American Coco Gauff advanced to the round of 16 in the China Open Masters Tennis Championship “1000 points category” at the expense of the promising Chinese woman Xinran Sun, winner of the US Open (Flushing Meadows) title for junior women and runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same age group.
World number four Gauff needed an hour and 29 minutes to win 7-5 6-1 over the promising 16-year-old Chinese player.
The American star, who won the China Open title in 2024, advanced to the round of 16 in this tournament for the fourth time in a row, after winning 24 out of 28 matches against players younger than her.
Coco Gauff's only loss to a promising player was her exit from the Montreal Championship last year in 2025 at the hands of Canadian Victoria Mpoko, who later won the title.
Coco Gauff will play in the next round with Belgian Elise Mertens, who in turn advanced at the expense of Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
Coco Gauff praised the Chinese talent, saying after the match: “I think Sun is more mature than I was when I was a 16-year-old girl. I am relatively more disappointed than her, but she is a great player, and I knew that it would be a difficult confrontation because of her results in the junior women’s competitions, and I expect her to shine at the level of professional tournaments.”
The American star added: “This is the first match between us on this stadium, but I expect that it will be the first in a series of upcoming confrontations between us, and I look forward to playing against her again in the future.”
Manchester City will face a hostile reception at Liverpool on Sunday in their first match since being found guilty of serious breaches of the Premier League's financial rules, although the extent of the ruling's impact on the leaders remains unclear.
Fan chat rooms are full of opinions and insults, but this is nothing new when it comes to relations between the two long-time rivals.
The issue of “sham” commercial contracts has cast a shadow over the English Premier League for years, and may continue for another period after Manchester City filed an appeal against the decision.
It remains to be seen to what extent its impact will extend to the stands of Anfield and other stadiums throughout the season.
Gary Neville, the former Manchester United captain and England defender, recently said on The Overlap podcast: “If they want to understand how angry the game will be, Anfield will tell them what you can never believe. I think there might be signs, and there will definitely be cheers. "There will be a reception they have never seen at Anfield... It will be a tough day."
Merseyside Police said an appropriate security operation would be in place on the day.
Other commentators said that Liverpool fans have been calling Manchester City players cheaters since charges were brought against them by the Premier League in February 2023.
On Monday, the Manchester Evening News published a headline that said: “Manchester City players already know what fans of the opposing team will do in the midst of the repercussions of the charges (against the club).”
The newspaper added: “The situation will not be easy, but it will be surprising if this surprises the players given how accustomed they are to insults.”
City occupies the top of the standings without any defeat, three points ahead of defending champion Arsenal, and five points ahead of Brighton, who is in third place.
The Portuguese Football Federation and coach Jorge Jesus left the door open for the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the national team, after the sudden departure of the team captain from the last camp, stressing that the final decision is in the hands of the 41-year-old star.
Reuters reported that Ronaldo left the Portugal camp last week, after remaining on the bench without participating during the victory over Norway, and he later learned that he would not start against Denmark.
After his departure, Ronaldo wrote on his social media accounts that he would explain the reasons for his departure from the national team “at the appropriate time,” raising questions about the future of the all-time top scorer with his country.
But Jesus confirmed, after Portugal's victory over Norway 2-1 in the European Nations League on Sunday, that the door is still open for Ronaldo's return.
The Portuguese coach said: “If he wants, he will return to the national team.” "We can talk before the next list, but Chris is the one who will decide."
He added: “He is the one who must determine how he wants to end his career with the national team. In my first list, I told him: I need you, I want you close to me, whether you are playing or not, I need you. Now I say the same thing.”
The Portuguese national team, the holder of the European Nations League title, succeeded in achieving an away victory over Denmark with a score of 4-2 in the absence of Ronaldo, before defeating Norway 2-1, to maintain the full score in the fourth group of the first level and reserve its place in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, holds the record for the number of matches and goals with the Portugal national team, having scored 146 goals in 234 international matches.
Support for Ronaldo's return was not limited to the technical staff; Pedro Proença, President of the Portuguese Football Federation, confirmed that the national team captain is still part of the team’s plans, considering what happened merely a misunderstanding that must be resolved within the national team.
Proenca told the Portuguese network RTP: “He is in the national team based on his athletic merit, and this is something that should not be in doubt. We have to honor Cristiano Ronaldo.”
Jesus, who previously coached Ronaldo at Al-Nasr Club, expects the striker to be available during the upcoming international break, if he decides to return to the national team.
Portugal will host Denmark on November 14, before visiting Wales three days later, at a time when all eyes are on the decision that Ronaldo will take regarding the next chapter of his historic international career.
