“Paris Tournament”: Shelton and Rudd advance to the third round

American Ben Shelton and Norwegian Casper Ruud qualified for the third round of the Paris Masters Tennis Championship in the 1,000 points category, after the former defeated Briton Cameron Norrie, and the latter defeated Spaniard Rafael Godard, on Tuesday in the second round.

Shelton, ranked third in the tournament and fourth in the world, defeated Nouri in two sets without a response, with a score of 6/3 and 6/4. The American player succeeded in breaking Nouri's serve three times, compared to once for the Briton.

For his part, Ruud gave a strong performance against Godard, beating him in two sets without a response, with scores of 6/3 and 6/4, to compensate for his loss to the Spanish player in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Championship recently. The Norwegian began the confrontation by breaking his opponent's serve, leading 2-0, and winning the first set 6-3. Then the two players exchanged breaks in the second set, which Ruud decided after he led 5-4 and succeeded in holding his serve.

Brazilian Rafael Camara will compete in his first race in the Formula 1 World Championship on his home soil in Sao Paulo, early next week, after the Haas team confirmed that its driver, Esteban Ocon, will not return. Ocon was ruled out before the Mexican Grand Prix, last Sunday, for reasons that were not disclosed, but not related to his health condition, and was replaced by Japanese Ryo Hirakawa, who finished the race in tenth place. Haas announced last month that Kamara (21 years old), the Formula 2 championship leader and Ferrari Driver Academy driver, would replace Frenchman Ocon in 2027. Team president Ayo Komatsu said in a statement on Tuesday: “We have now informed Esteban Ocon that he will not return to racing with the TGR Haas Formula 1 team this season. Such decisions are never taken lightly, as was the case in Mexico City, but we feel, then and now, that this decision is definitely in the best interest of the team going forward. The conversations that ultimately took place between the team and Esteban remain an internal matter, and we will continue to respect the privacy of matters that take place behind closed doors.” Ocon denied that "any form of physical violence" had led to his exclusion, but admitted that there was a "difference of views" with the team. Kamara left a good impression on Haas when he tested one of its previous cars last August. Hirakawa has commitments with Toyota in the World Endurance Racing Championship, early next week. Haas occupies seventh place in the constructors' championship, just four points behind Audi. Briton Ollie Biermann scored 23 points out of the 31 points the team has collected in 19 races so far. Audi also includes Brazilian driver Gabriel Bortoletto, who finished eighth in Mexico.

Enzo Maresca stressed the need for all Manchester City players to bear the responsibility of scoring goals, and not to rely entirely on Norwegian star Erling Haaland, before facing German Leipzig on Wednesday in the fourth round of the Champions League. Haaland continued his brilliance in the City shirt, after raising his tally to 175 goals in 209 matches, making him only three goals away from overtaking Eric Brock and occupying second place on the club’s all-time top scorers list, behind Argentine Sergio Aguero. The Norwegian striker also has a distinguished record against Leipzig, City's competitor in Wednesday's Champions League match, after scoring six goals, including five goals in the historic 7-0 victory in March 2023. Maresca said in a press conference on Tuesday: “It is very important that we create chances in every match, and certainly having Haaland on the field gives us an advantage, because we know that he is capable of scoring or getting close to that.” The Italian coach added in statements reported by the English club’s official website: “We cannot rely on Haaland in every match. We need the rest of the players to score goals as well.” As part of his keenness to maintain the Norwegian striker's readiness, Maresca gave him an opportunity to rest during the match against Brighton in the League Cup, stressing the importance of recovery and rotation with the pressure of matches. He continued: “The season is like a long marathon, not a short race.” At the conclusion of his statements, Maresca stressed the necessity of thinking about the upcoming matches, and ensuring that all players reach the months of February and March in the best possible physical condition, to continue competing for various titles.