Novak Djokovic continued making his quest for a record-extending 10th Australian Open title look like a walk in the park by demolishing Andrey Rublev to reach the last four on Wednesday.

The Serb, still wearing a thigh strapping but looking supreme, raced to a 6-1 6-2 6-4 victory with a performance that would have been uncomfortable viewing for American Tommy Paul.

Unseeded Paul won 7-6(6) 6-3 5-7 6-4 in an All-American quarterfinal clash against 20-year-old Ben Shelton to advance to the semifinals of a major for the first time.

A disbelieving Magda Linette continued her dream Australian Open run by stunning former world number one Karolina Pliskova to set up a semifinal against Aryna Sabalenka.

Fifth seed Sabalenka, the only top-10 seed left in the women’s draw, earned her spot in the semi-finals by outmuscling Donna Vekic 6-3 6-2 in a ferocious battle of big hitters on a baking Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic is making a mockery of the theory that the second week of Grand Slam tournaments gets tougher.

In the last 16, he dropped five games against home hope Alex de Minaur and he was just as ruthless against Rublev as he made it 25 successive wins in succession at the Australian Open.

Fifth seed Rublev has now lost all seven Grand Slam quarter-finals which he contested.

“I would rank this as very close to the performance of two nights ago,” Djokovic said on court. “I’m playing very solid from the back of the court and really love these conditions.

“The scoreline maybe in the first two sets tonight didn’t show the reality of the match. But all the important moments I found my best tennis.”

Paul is only the third active American man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal, joining John Isner (2018 Wimbledon) and Frances Tiafoe (2022 US Open) but will have to register a seismic shock if he is to go any further.

“I’m really excited, man. It’s really cool. I think it’s even cooler if I do play Novak,” the 25-year-old Florida-based Paul said after his victory.

“To play Novak here in Australia would be awesome. Obviously, he’s pretty comfortable here in Australia. It’s going to be a challenging match. But I’m playing some of my best tennis.”

Paul, the first American man to reach the semifinals in Melbourne since Andy Roddick in 2009, withstood some ferocious serving from Shelton who banged down 24 aces.

“Ben’s tough to play against and he’s going to be in many matches like this,” Paul said.

Paul is not the only unseeded player in to the semis.

The unheralded Linette, ranked 45th in the world, played wonderfully controlled tennis to wrap up a thoroughly deserved 6-3 7-5 victory over powerful Czech Pliskova.

Linette, who had never been beyond the third round at a Grand Slam and had been expected to play second fiddle to fellow Pole Iga Swiatek at Melbourne Park, will now face Sabalenka on Thursday to decide who meets either Victoria Azarenka or Elena Rybakina in the final.

“It’s so much and I can’t really believe it,” the 30-year-old said. “I will never forget this. I’m breaking through some really difficult things for me. This will stay with me for life. So I’m really grateful.”

MISFIRING SERVE

Sabalenka later took her chances in a physical one-hour first set littered with break points before running away with the second to reach her fourth Grand Slam semifinal, but first in Melbourne.

Vekic had held a 5-1 career record against the Belarusian but was unable to match the level of the new, improved Sabalenka with 13 double faults not helping the Croatian’s cause.

Sabalenka also made plenty of errors but her once-fragile serve was largely solid, and when she got her explosive forehand going it was always going to be hard for Vekic to cope.

Two double faults as Sabalenka served for the match were a sign of nerves but the 24-year-old saved three break points and sealed the win with a huge forehand that struck the running Vekic in the body.

“I think it was because I was calm and I expected this game from her, so I was able to stay in the game no matter what. That was the key,” she said of her victory.

Linette had no problems serving out her quarterfinal against twice Grand Slam finalist Pliskova, whose 36 unforced errors sabotaged yet another bid to win a first major.

“She really played well from the baseline,” said Pliskova. “I just didn’t find any space in the court to go for my winners. Obviously the serve was not great today at all.”

Celtic announced the signing of South Korea international Oh Hyeon-gyu on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old forward joins from K League 1 club Suwon Samsung Bluewing for a reported fee of £2.5 million ($3 million).

Oh, who has one cap for his country, scored 14 times in 53 appearances for Suwon.

He joins Celtic’s collection of Asian talent with six Japanese players having followed manager Ange Postecoglou to Scotland from the J-League over the past two years.

“He is a young, talented striker with great attributes and someone who is ready to take the next stage in his career,” Postecoglou told the Celtic website.

“I have watched Oh for some time and he is the striker I really wanted as I think he will be a great fit in our squad.

“Really importantly, I know that he had his heart set on joining us too and that his own perseverance has been crucial in making this deal happen.”

Oh will sign a five-year deal with the Hoops subject to international clearance.

He is expected to replace Giorgos Giakoumakis with the Greek international reportedly close to a move to MLS side Atlanta United.

World Cup bronze medallists Croatia were drawn against hosts the Netherlands in the Nations League semifinals in June while Italy and Spain will reprise their rivalry in the competition in the other semi.

The four countries were winners of their respective League A groups last year and compete in the mini-tournament in mid-year to decide the 2022-23 title.

Wednesday’s draw, conducted at Uefa headquarters in Switzerland, has the Dutch hosting the Croats, fresh from reaching the World Cup semifinals in Qatar, in Rotterdam on June 14 with Italy and Spain clashing in Enschede the next day.

The winners advance to the final in Rotterdam on June 18, with the third-place playoff earlier the same day in Enschede.

Spain were runners-up to France in the last edition in 2021, first eliminating hosts Italy in their semifinal with a Ferran Torres double in a 2-1 victory in Milan.

Italy and the Netherlands also return for a second appearance at the finals while this is Croatia’s first time.

The Italians were third in 2021 while the Dutch runners-up in the inaugural event in Portugal in 2019.

The Nations League is a biennial competition contested by all European countries who are divided into a four-tier league structure.

It has effectively replaced friendly matches previously played on dates on the international match calendar.

DRAW:

Semifinals
June 14: Netherlands v Croatia, Rotterdam
June 15: Spain v Italy, Enschede

Third-place playoff
June 18 in Enschede

Final
June 18 in Rotterdam

The Red and Yellow cards are the most popular cards in different sporting disciplines, especially football.

Most people including those who do not follow the beautiful game are aware of the meaning behind these two cards.

However, a historic moment happened on Saturday, January 21, when the first White card was issued in a women’s match between Portuguese rivals Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.

Catarina Campos, the referee who officiated the match, showed a White card to the medics of both clubs after they saved the life of one of the fans who had fainted.

Her action was met by thunderous claps from the over 15,000 supporters who had graced the match held at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.

Although they appreciated Campos’ actions, most of them perhaps did not have any clue as to what the card meant.

What does it mean to be shown a White card?

The White card was proposed by the Portugal National Plan for Ethics in Sport and approved by the nation’s football federation.

It is used to appreciate good actions or recognize fair play. However, when someone or a group of people are shown the White card they do not get any reward.

Apart from Portugal, no other federation in the world has approved the use of the White card.

In the case of Kenya, a decision is yet to be made on whether to introduce the card in domestic matches.

Football Kenya Federation CEO Barry Otieno denied AFC Leopards from airing their Premier League fixture live.

Through a letter dated, Wednesday, January 25, the Federation noted that Ingwe was not allowed to air live any match for commercial purposes.

AFC had announced that accessing the live stream of a single match would cost one Ksh500.

AFC Leopard’s management had written to the Federation requesting for permission to air their matches live.

“Reference is made to our letter, approving your request to live stream your home match against Kakamega Homeboys FC, on condition that the purpose for the broadcast shall solely be for the interest of the public and not commercialisation purposes,” part of the statement read.

FKF noted that it only approves live streaming requests for the sole purpose of public interest and not commercialisation.

“Moreover, we wish to remind you that FKF and its members have the sole and exclusive rights to exploit any and all Broadcast Rights including but not limited to mainstream and digital Broadcast rights relating to all FKF leagues and/or competitions,” the statement read in part.

The Federation indicated that if it were to secure a broadcasting partner, all rights associated with the broadcast of matches in all leagues will revert back to the federation.

AFC won their match against the Police, 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ojo Olaniyi in the 71st minute.

Ingwe’s next match will be against rivals Gor Mahia in the Mashemeji Derby on Sunday, January 29.

Following two consecutive fight nights from December last year to the latest one in mid-January, the Kenya Professional Boxing Commission (KPBC) office is more than ready to keep the steady momentum going.

The plan being to at least host a continental fight every month, rolling back to the days when boxing would be the word on the street.

No other man is as keen as KPBC President Reuben Ndolo in making this a reality.

“We want to get to the next level in March,” Ndolo remarked on the commission’s future plans.

“We intend to have a big reunion fight-night that will have boxers from our neighboring East African countries, Asia and Europe. It will basically be a clash of champions.”

Dubbing the event as ‘World Boxing Extravaganza’, Ndolo added that the fans would get a chance to witness Kenyan champions – Maurice Okola, Rayton Okwiri and if possible, WBC champion Fatuma Zarika.

“Our idea is to bring boxing and sports back home,” the former Makadara Member of Parliament said.

Rayton Okwiri recently signed a deal with a management team and Ndolo has now revealed that there are separate discussions with respective sponsors that would see the African Boxing Union middleweight champion get a shot to a continental title bout on February 24th in Mombasa.

The talks as per Ndolo are said to be 70-80% done, pending an official announcement.

With sponsors showing some level of affinity to commited pro-boxers, Ndolo also asked the upcoming talents and athletes to remain committed to their craft and to present themselves in the best way possible to easily land such opportunities.

“Okwiri’s journey has been all about discipline. That’s why he is successful to the level that corporates want to be associated with him,” Ndolo said.

“From being an amateur, making the Olympics teams to becoming an African champion in the pro level. He presents himself as a committed boxer, regularly hits the gym, eats well, has good coaches around him and knows what’s right to do outside the ring. That is how I want our young boxers to aspire to be.”

To the government, Ndolo was critical of how it treats its heroes and champions, asking the concerned leaders to recognize pro boxers and offer support.