Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Rafael Nadal tore his headband off, thrust his arms in the air, and soaked up the cheers. It was only a second-round win, but coming from where Nadal had been just a few weeks ago when he couldn't even get on the court, he could have been savoring a trophy.
He had just beaten Alex de Minaur 7-6 (6), 6-3 at the Madrid Open on Saturday, avenging a straight-set loss to the Australian less than two weeks ago.
Nadal is no longer aiming to add to his 92 titles after being decimated by injuries in recent years. The 37-year-old just wants to play like Rafael Nadal, or as close to that as he can. So he is going forward game by game, measuring his efforts to avoid an injury that would likely force his definitive retirement, with the ultimate goal of being competitive one more time at next month's French Open.
I have been through some very difficult months when there were moments when I didn't see the reason to continue, but I had the dream of experiencing feelings like this again and above all at home," Nadal said. "It was incredible."
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was cheered on by Spanish King Felipe VI, soccer great Zinedine Zidane and a raucous crowd that packed the Caja Magica to see what will most likely be the tennis great's last tournament in Spain.
Nadal was playing just his fourth competitive match since his latest injury layoff in his farewell season.
The 11th-ranked De Minaur beat Nadal just 11 days before in Barcelona, where the Spaniard returned to the courts for the first time in more than three months. Nadal looked much better this time around.
Before starting the tournament, Nadal said this week he was not 100% and, "If it wasn't Madrid, maybe I wouldn't play." He added he would have to feel even better to play at Roland Garros.
Nadal got a straight-set win over American teenager Darwin Blanch on Thursday, but De Minaur was much stiffer competition and the tension in the stands of Manolo Santana Stadium was palpable.
The first set saw both players break serve twice. De Minaur then saved four set points before Nadal finished him off in the tiebreak to take the lead. Nadal pressed his advantage, broke De Minaur's first service game of the second set and closed out the victory.
Nothing less than sports royalty in his Spain, Nadal grunted out his first "Vamos!" (Let's go!), more to himself than his staff or fans, after winning his first point. He pumped his fists after landing his hammer of a left-hand drive; he argued heatedly with the chair judge over whether or not he challenged a line call on time; he shook his head when he hit long, chiding himself for not adjusting to Madrid's high altitude.
And the crowd ate it up, shouting "Viva Rafa!" between points and "Ole! Ole! Ole!" after his backhand winner set up match point. De Minaur double-faulted to do himself in.
Nadal has won a record five times in Madrid, the last time in 2017.
Next up will he face Pedro Cachin in the third round after the Argentine beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4.
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek brushed aside their first opponents.
Sinner downed fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3 in the second round to improve to 5-0 against his countryman. The Australian Open champion had a first-round bye.
Sinner will next face Jordan Thompson or Pavel Kotov. He is chasing his fourth title of the season after winning at Melbourne Park and in Rotterdam and Miami -- all hard-court events. Just one of his 13 career titles has come on clay, in 2022 at the Croatia Open.
Swiatek, likewise, made quick work of Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to reach the women's last 16.
The top-ranked Swiatek, who lost last year's final to Aryna Sabalenka, improved her record this season to 26-4. She will next face Sara Sorribes Tormo on Monday after the Spaniard ousted Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (0), 6-3.
Swiatek is preparing to make a run for a third consecutive title at the French Open next month. She is a three-time champion at Roland Garros (2020, `22, '23). The Madrid Open is the only major European clay tournament the Pole has yet to win.
Fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari ended Sloane Stephens' seven-match winning run by 6-1, 6-3.
Ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko beat Argentine qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle 6-3, 6-3.
On the men's side, Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro upset Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.
The seventh-ranked Tsitsipas fell to Monteiro, ranked 118th, after having run up a 10-1 record on clay going into the match. Tsitsipas won Monte Carlo this month before reaching the final of Barcelona last week.
Sebastian Korda and Jiri Lehecka also advanced.
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
The final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
A growing number of civilians and police officers are demanding the dismissal and arrest of Haiti's police chief as heavily armed gangs launched a new attack in the capital of Port-au-Prince, seizing control of yet another police station early Saturday.
Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
The rolling hills leading to the hamlet of Rosebud are dotted with sprawling farms and cattle pastures -- and a sign sporting a simple message: No Race Track.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.