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Tunisian tennis star, Ons Jabeur wins first WTA title of 2023 at Charleston Open

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Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur on the verge of history (Photo Credit: BBC Sports)

Tunisian female tennis star, Ons Jabeur won her first WTA title of 2023 after she triumphed over Swiss Belinda Bencic, 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the final of the Credit One Charleston Open held on Sunday in South Carolina, USA.

The 28-year-old world number five ranked player’s win over Bencic meant she enjoyed the best campaign of her career in 2022 since she reached the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, after she was sidelined due to knee injury she sustained in this year’s Australian Open.

The Tunisian’s return to the courts after the injury was marked by early exits at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, and she came into Charleston without consecutive wins since early January.

But at the WTA 500 event, she stormed to the final without dropping a set throughout the entire tournament.

On her way to the final, Jabuer defeated Lesia Tsurenko, Caroline Dolehide, Anna Kalinskaya and Daria Kasatkina to set up a mouth-watering clash with Bencic.

In the final, Jabuer did not find it easy as she had to fight back to break her opponent in the opening game of the first set.

Down 5-4 in the opener, Jabeur broke back at the last opportunity to keep the set alive and after falling 6-4 behind in the tie-break, she rattled off the next four points in a row to steal it.

In the second set, the Tunisian had to take her chances as she only had three break-point chances compared to Bencic’s five, but was able to convert all three, while the Swiss could only grab two.

The final was a rematch from last year’s Charleston Open title match, where Bencic defeated Jabeur in three sets, and her first title since the German Open in June, where she again had to overcome Bencic in the final.

Jabuer has so far won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as eleven singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Circuit.

She was the runner-up at both Wimbledon and US Open in 2022, becoming the first African player to reach a Grand Slam final.

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Italian couple name new born baby after Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman

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An Italian couple have reportedly named their new born baby after Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman, after he scored a spectacular goal against Olympic Marseille of France in the Europa League semifinal second leg match to take Atalanta to the final.

The Nigerian striker opened the scoring for Atalanta before Ruggeri and Toure sealed the win in their second-leg semi-final tie to set up a mouth-watering final tie with Victor Boniface’s Leverkusen.

According to reports from EuroFoot on X, Ademola’s performance was recognised by the couple who live in Palosco, a district in Bergamo where the Italian club is based.

“Somebody named their child after Ademola Lookman following his goal which helped send the Italian club to the Europa League final!” EuroFoot said in the post.

The post added that Lookman’s contribution to Atalanta’s advancement to the Europa League final caught the attention of the adoring Italian couple who decided to name their child after him.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian international was on Friday, named the Europa League Player of the Week following his outstanding performance in Atalanta’s 4-1 aggregate victory over Marseille in the semifinal.

According to UEFA’s official website, Lookman’s performance also included three attempts, further highlighting his influential role in Atalanta’s dominant display

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AIU suspends Kenyan marathoner Josephine Chepkoech over alleged use of prohibited substances

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The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended Kenyan half distance runner, Josephine Chepkoech, over alleged use of prohibited substances during the Barcelona Half Marathon held on February 17, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.

The AIU, in a statement on Thursday, said Chepkoech was suspended following allegations of doping involving the prohibited substance, testosterone.

In the statement, the AIU said Chepkoech had been served with a Notice of Allegation for violating Article 2.1 and Article 2.2 of its anti-doping regulations.

“The AIU has provisionally suspended Josephine Chepkoech (Kenya) for Presence (Testosterone Metabolites)/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Testosterone),” the AIU stated.

Chepkoech ran a personal best marathon time of 2:22:38 in February at the Seville Marathon, but with the suspension, the record is not likely to stand.

The AIU said the move was part of its crackdown on prohibited substances in athletics which has seen a rising number of Kenyan athletes penalized.

The 35-year-old had made her marathon debut in 2018 at the Nairobi Marathon, dominating the women’s race with a winning time of 2:33:11.

Her provisional suspension means she cannot participate in any competition until a final decision is reached which could result in an acquittal or a formal ban.

She faces a two-year ban pending a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal.

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