General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
BEIJING (AP) — Third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz’s athleticism was again on show as he advanced to the final of the China Open with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.
“I felt great on the court once again, so I’m really happy about it,” Alcaraz said. “I think I couldn’t ask for a better semifinal.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion — including this year’s French Open and Wimbledon — extended his head-to-head record against the Russian to 6-2. Alcaraz will play either top-ranked Jannik Sinner or Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete, who play later Tuesday, in the final.
The 21-year-old Spaniard found his way through a testing first set that had five breaks of serve, but crucially it was Alcaraz’s third service break in the 12th game that secured the set.
With the confidence of a set lead, Alcaraz accelerated and Medvedev had no answers as the Spaniard wrapped up the semifinal in 88 minutes.
Alcaraz has now won eight straight matches — across the Davis Cup, Laver Cup and in Beijing — since his loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round at the U.S. Open.
Pegula crashes out
Paula Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over U.S. Open finalist Jessica Pegula at the China Open to reach her eighth career quarterfinal at a WTA 1000-level event.
From 3-1 down in the opening set, former No. 2-ranked Badosa dominated in her first-ever win over third-ranked Pegula.
“She’s one the of the players I never want to face — she’s very solid, hits very flat, changes very well direction,” said Badosa, who was 0-3 previously against Pegula. “I prepared myself for a battle, but I think today everything worked pretty well.
“Every point was very important for me, especially against Jessica, because she can come back at any moment.”
Badosa next faces 35-year-old Chinese player Zhang Shuai, who continued her resurgence with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech of Poland.
Zhang entered the China Open on a 24-match losing streak and ranked No. 595, but she’s yet to drop a set in four matches this week. That includes eliminating U.S. Open semifinalist Emma Navarro in straight sets for her first win over a Top 10 player in two years.
Zhang is now into her first women’s tour quarterfinal since Tokyo in 2022, and her first at a WTA 1000 tournament since Cincinnati in the same year.
“In this draw, everyone has a higher ranking than me,” Zhang said. “Just step on court, just play. So I do not have much to think about, to prepare. I will just focus on myself.”
Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine also caused an upset loss beating No. 14-ranked Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 6-0.
The No. 115-ranked Starodubtseva will play the winner of the marquee women’s match of the day between four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and sixth-ranked Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals.
It will be the first meeting between the two Grand Slam champions in more than two years, with the head-to-head series tied at 2-2.
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NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Gaza Strip early Monday killed at least four people and triggered a fire that swept through a tent camp for people displaced by the war, leaving more than two dozen with severe burns, according to Palestinian medics.
NICOSIA - A memorandum of understanding for joint projects was signed between Cyprus’ Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy with the United Arab Emirates’s Khazna, that country’s biggest operator in the data sector.
WASHINGTON (AP) — With characteristic bravado, Donald Trump has vowed that if voters return him to the White House, “inflation will vanish completely.
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian man was rescued in the stormy Sea of Okhotsk after surviving for more than two months in a tiny inflatable boat that lost its engine, but his brother and nephew have died, officials said Tuesday.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United great Alex Ferguson will step down from his role as club ambassador at the end of the season, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday.