Belinda Bencic wins second round in straight sets over Lamens

Belinda Bencic with her eyes on the ball during the second round of the Australian Open.

Belinda Bencic made it another straight-sets win at the Australian Open on Wednesday. The Swiss star dispatched Dutch player Suzan Lamens 6-1, 7-6(3) on Court Six at Melbourne Park. Bencic scored 20 winners with a combined 18 unforced errors which was less than half of Lamens. 

The Swiss star made an impressive start to 2025 in her straight-sets win over Jelena Ostapenko on Monday. Bencic saved two set points in the tiebreak before clinching her first top-50 win since returning from maternity. Lamens went two hours against a fellow debutante, barely surviving the battle with Veronika Erjavec. Facing a seasoned athlete, the Dutchwoman knew that the difficulty rose exponentially going into the second round. 

Lamens won the opening point of her service, right before Bencic conducted the remainder of the first and captured the break. She consolidated the early success on serve, rolling through Lamens to remain solely in the lead. The 25-year-old charged in the fourth, breaking the former world number four, only to see herself broken back in the fifth. Bencic coasted to a set win that took 25 minutes, achieving the easy shutout on serve and break to love. 

Lamens wanted to tell Bencic that she wouldn’t be an easy competitor, taking the Swiss star to deuce for the first time in the match. Bencic overcame the deficit on serve, playing two breaks before achieving the hold. The 27-year-old broke the qualifier, then shut her down in the third. Lamens got onto the scoreboard scoring an ace from the forehand, and a winner to clinch the service game.

By the sixth, the Dutchwoman had two under her belt, sitting in a better spot to challenge Bencic. The Swiss star led the way, with Lamens gaining a third win in the set on a break. Bencic broke back for the 5-3 lead, going for the match on serve. The 25-year-old jumped out to another break chance in the ninth, forcing tough shots for Bencic to smack into the net. Lamens managed to dig in and level the score, holding Bencic from taking the easy route. Bencic took the initiative in the 12th, putting pressure on her opponent to either force a tiebreak or fall out. 

The game went deep, with Lamens defending her side of the court, and Bencic hunting for a break chance. After six times at deuce and two blown match points for the Swiss, Lamens took the long-awaited win on serve to force a second-set tiebreak. Bencic used her experience in the situation, jumping out to a 4-1 stand, until Lamens surged. She put that to an end, reaching a third match point, and solidifying her way to the third round on a final error from Lamens ending 1 hour and 40 minutes on the court. 

Elina Svitolina coasts in first round win at Australian Open

Elina Svitolina celebrates during her first round of the Australian Open against Sorana Cirstea.

Elina Svitolina had a successful win to start 2025 at the Australian Open on Monday. The former world number four took down Sorana Cirstea in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 on Court Seven at Melbourne Park. The 30-year-old showed minimal struggle, moving well to get back in the form she wanted. 

The Ukrainian and Romanian met for the fourth time, and both were coming off four months of absence from tennis. Svitolina required foot surgery, which would be tested against Cirstea, who also needed the same surgery. Her path to comeback was five months in waiting after losing six straight from May to July. Despite Svitolina’s three-match wins playing Cirstea, both players came into the open hungry to tally wins under their belts. 

Cirstea opened the match serving well to Svitolina, until the Ukrainian got her hands on the ball. The 28th seed glided through her serve in the second, then broke Cirstea for the lead. Svitolina got into a groove, marking another win from her service for a 3-1 stand. The Romanian struggled to make the returns in the fifth, allowing the 28th seed to widen the gap. The Ukrainian ran into problems with both sides of her hitting, committing a second double fault late in the game. 

Cirstea gained the AD point for the break and consolidated a hold that brought her within a game after seven played. Svitolina reeled in her offense in the eighth to put pressure on the 34-year-old. She made a statement at the business end of the set, smashing winners near the baselines to send the pressure her opponent’s way. Svitolina managed the challenge earning a shutout of the Romanian to go up a set after 40 minutes. 

The opening of the second set was a challenge for Cirstea, who fell short of the 28th seed but forced a deuce on serve. They went three breaks before the Romanian sealed the win. Through the next seven games, the two players held serve, trading off control to one another. The ninth became the most competitive as Cirstea again fought from behind the score. 

She forced deuce, going five breaks with the Ukrainian, who gained every break chance. A total of seven were saved before Svitolina broke the 34-year-old to serve for the match. She jumped out to a strong lead, achieving two set points before a return landed behind the baseline to end her first-round victory in 1 hour and 31 minutes. 

Penguins storm off with Detroit's opening night 6-3

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The Pittsburgh Penguins put a sour note to the Red Wings opening night on Thursday night. Anthony Beauvillier scored two on the night, while Joel Blomqvist debuted his first NHL victory beating Detroit 6-3 at Little Caesars Arena. What looked like great coverage in the beginning disappeared by the Red Wings, who had to switch goaltenders in their loss.

The Red Wings opened their seventh season, with Larkin leading a stacked team in his fourth season with the “C”. Detroit faced Pittsburgh, who were already into the action despite their shutout loss to the Rangers on Wednesday. The Penguins wanted to avoid getting gooseegged but faced a team with many veterans in its lines. The Red Wings acquisition of Tarasenko and extensions of Raymond and Seider, left their performance to determine their place back in the postseason 82 games from now. 

Detroit's first four minutes were very productive. They spent a lot of time getting shots on goal in the Penguins' zone. At 3:46, DeBrincat shot it top shelf behind Pittsburgh's goaltender. They marked their first shot on goal against the Red Wings, but great defense from Olli Maatta cut them off. They dug in to get more chances against Husso in between the pipes for Detroit, but the home team continued to dictate. 

The Red Wings earned a power play from Lars Eller and attacked Blomqvist, gaining a second opportunities on the loose puck. The Penguins killed off Detroit’s power play but trailed the Red Wings on shots and scoring chances. With less than five to play in the period, Beauvillier leveled the score. Whiffing a shot near the net on a pass from Crosby, the left winger’s second attempt bounced off Ben Chiarot and across the goal line, ending their short goalless streak. 

While things looked even on the scoreboard, the Red Wings' transition game continued to dominate the Penguins. Detroit earned a second man advantage with three to go, doubling their shots at the net when it came to an end. Twenty minutes was in the books between the two, and the Red Wings looked strong. 

The second period went the way of the Penguins, who increased their shots at Husso in the first two minutes. Beauvillier got his second of the night after a win from the faceoff by Crosby, who shot the puck to the net where the left winger consolidated the rebound. It was 3-1 58 seconds later with Malkin breaking through the slot and the Red Wings defense. He found Drew O’Connor, who took the shot and credited his team to widen the gap. It got worse for Husso, who suffered an awful goal just flying above his glove from Marcus Pettersson making it 4-1 for Pittsburgh.

Cam Talbot came off the bench to replace him in the crease, hoping to stop the onslaught and get Detroit back in check. Their first test down a man came at 7:50 fighting the shots that Pittsburgh took. The Detroit PK did well in working with Talbot and clearing out the puck. They earned a third chance and got close, but despite not happening on the power play, Vladimir Tarasenko made it 4-2. He rifled one from the back part of the faceoff, making his presence known on the team. 

It was almost 5-2 for the Penguins, but a hand pass seen by the officials negated that opportunity for them to go up three. After 40, the Penguins outshot Detroit 14-11, destined to take their lead and charge forward. A bad penalty from Detroit in the third cost them a small gap to cover and turned into a larger one. Karlsson scored his first with the team, with assists from Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. Four minutes went by, with Detroit looking helpless and out of ideas on how to strike back three goals down. Letang, put the Red Wings on the power play until another Noel Acciari made it a 5 on 3. Detroit fought hard to make good of their push to score on the advantage, doing so on a second goal from DeBrincat. His efforts were felt through the squad, who took every opportunity to inch forward on the Penguins. 

Kevin Hayes returned the Penguins to a three-goal lead, ringing the puck around in the Detroit net, with 7:39 left in regulation. Both teams had eight shots on goal in the period, but the margin was not going to change for the home team. 

 

El Bakkali repeats as Olympic champion in men's steeplechase

Morocco's Soufiane El Bakkali wins his second straight gold medal in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase 

Soufianne El Bakkali made history in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Paris Olympics Tuesday night. The Moroccan became the first man since the 1936 Berlin games to repeat as gold medalist in the event at Stade de France. Team USA's Kenneth Rooks stayed within reach of El Bakkali to earn silver, and Kenyan Abraham Kibiwot got bronze. 

El Bakkali didn’t have the best time to qualify, but it was enough to get him into the final with 14 other competitors. In the last 1,000 meters, the Moroccan seemed uncomfortable as he sat in the middle of the pack. The final lap was drama-filled as El Bakkali interacted with the leaders. Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma fell hard after tripping the hurdle. He did not finish the race and was taken off on a stretcher. 

The three stayed with one another, clearing the remainder of the pack to medal at the end of the night. The time of 8:06.05 was put up by El Bakkali, followed by the American, who beat Kibiwot by six-hundredths of a second. 

Winfred Yavi wins gold in womens steeplechase

Winfred Yavi of Bahrain celebrates her Olympic Record-breaking performance in the women's 3000 meter steeplechase at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

The reigning world champion of the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase snatched the title away from the defending Olympic champion Tuesday night. Winfred Yavi of Bahrain bided her time in the seven-lap race at Stade de France, passing Permuth Chemutai of Uganda in the last 40 meters to win the gold medal. 

Yavi set an Olympic record at 8:52.76, beating the Ugandan by half a second. Faith Cherotich of Kenya was denied her chance at the title, with her country missing out in the race’s fifth edition. 

Rebeca Andrade wins gold in floor, US wins silver, bronze

Rebeca Andrade celebrated her gold medal win in the women's floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

The women’s gymnastics competition ended stunningly at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Monday night. Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won her first gold medal on the floor exercise at Bercy Arena. Simone Biles won her 11th Olympic medal in silver, along with Jordan Chiles, whose score was changed to come through with a bronze. 

The final apparatus marked the last chance for Biles to tie Vera Cavslavska for second on the most medals won by gymnasts, with 11. Her fall during the balance beam final negated her chance to sit in second by herself, but having the best routine of any competitor kept her in the hunt to get the job done in Paris. 

Andrade earned 14.166 to set the bar for the last six gymnasts to perform. Halfway through the event, no one got anywhere close to the Brazilian. Before the second half got underway, Biles went up to warm up and had an issue with her left calf again, applying more tape to it before her turn. Ana Barbosu of Romania got 13.700 bringing her into the medal conversation.

D’Amato earned 13.600, followed by Biles, who stepped with both feet out of bounds twice. The American managed 14.133, moving into second, with two gymnasts left. After Romanian gymnast Sabrina Maneca-Voinea, it was Chiles last for the United States to seal her place in Paris Olympic history. 

In a stunning turn of events, the 23-year-old got 13.666, but an inquiry was made on her behalf to suddenly get into the bronze medal position. Chiles moved to 13.766 beating Romania’s Ana Barbosu by a tenth to join Biles on the podium

Alice D'Amato wins gold in women's balance beam, US fails to medal

Italy's Alice D'Amato celebrating her balance beam routine at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. 

The women’s balance beam final was brutal for everyone but Italy’s Alice D’Amato at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The Italian had the best routine of the day, earning the gold medal at Bercy Arena on Monday night. China’s Yaquin Zhou held her place for the silver, and Manila Esposito joined her teammate on the podium with bronze. It marked the first time since 2000 that the United States failed to medal in a gymnastics event. 

Biles attempted to be the first gymnast in Olympic history to win a medal in an apparatus final three times. Her two bronze medals from Rio and Tokyo were tough to attain in an unforgivable event final. China only had one gymnast in play, hoping to get her in place to be at the top. 

Zhou was first to go up, miscalculating a skill that cost her a five-tenth deduction. The judges score her at 14.100, putting her in a decent position, despite the mistake. Lee had a much bigger one during her routine, falling off the beam during a flip combination. She got back up to finish the last elements, before sticking the landing to end it. 13.100 was what Lee earned, leaving her way out of medal contention. 

The first four competitors didn’t have clean routines including Manila Esposito, who didn’t fall, but had a minor balance check. Her teammate was the first gymnast to nail every part of her routine, giving D’Amato a medal victory with 14.366. Biles was second to last and was another victim to the beam. She moved fast during a run, taking a fall from the apparatus. The judges gave her 13.100, leaving Andrade to decide her fate. 

The Brazilian had a balance check, but nothing serious to guarantee herself a place on the podium. Despite having a clean routine, the judges scored her 13.933, shocking most of the crowd and D’Amato, becoming Italy’s first of two individual medalling in the sport.