Defending champion Rafael Nadal dug deep to outmanoeuvre powerful Russian Karen Khachanov and win their thrilling US Open third-round match in four sets.

Nadal, 32, was a set and a break down before fighting back to win 5-7 7-5 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3).

The Spanish top seed failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the fourth, but recovered to take the tie-break.

World number one Nadal will play Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the last 16.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion, aiming for a fourth US Open title, needed all of his enormous will-to-win and tactical nous to see off Khachanov, who hit 22 aces and 66 winners.

The match ebbed and flowed throughout as it became one of the matches of the tournament so far.

It was Nadal’s first real test after not dropping a set in his previous two matches at Flushing Meadows.

Nervous Nadal gets over the line

Nadal had breezed into the third round after David Ferrer, his close friend and Davis Cup colleague, retired injured in the opening round and Canada’s Vasek Pospisil was swatted off in three sets on Wednesday.

This time he was pushed all the way by 22-year-old Khachanov, who showed why he is considered one of the game’s rising stars.

After Nadal moved into a two-sets-to-one lead, the world number 26 may have been expected to fade.

Yet he showed remarkable resolve to stop Nadal serving out at 5-4 and take the fourth set to a tie-break.

From there, Nadal regained control – although not before missing two of his five set points – to clinch victory in four hours 23 minutes.

Bending his knees, raising his arms and roaring into the air, Nadal’s relief was evident in his exuberant celebration.

Roof closure gives Nadal thinking time

Khachanov had never taken a set off Nadal in their four previous meetings but, after winning the opener, was left to rue not taking another golden opportunity which came his way in the second set.

If a break to love in the second game was too early to leave Arthur Ashe Stadium sensing an upset, another by the Russian for a 5-4 lead – after Nadal had levelled a game earlier – certainly did.

Not for long, however.

Khachanov wobbled in the next game and failed to consolidate, allowing Nadal to level again before rain interrupted what was fast becoming an epic.

The break allowed Nadal some much-needed thinking time to make a tactical tweak, returning with added pace and precision on his forehand side.

Khachanov felt the pressure on his serve at 6-5, coughing up two double faults and allowing Nadal to take the set in deuce.

Tide turns after third set tie-break

Nadal began to look more comfortable in his service games in the third set, although could not take the only break opportunity which came his way at 3-2.

That led to a captivating tie-break which would prove pivotal.

Four set points were blown by Nadal as tension started to creep in on both sides of the net, before an aggressive second serve by Khachanov at 8-7 led to his third double fault of the breaker and handed over a fifth chance for Nadal.

This time he came out on top after toughing out a baseline rally to win a remarkable 39-shot rally which brought Ashe almost entirely to its feet.

Khachanov beating a top-five player for the first time looked unlikely from that point – and so, ultimately, it proved.

If there’s anyone out there who still thinks cartoons are only for children, they simply haven’t been paying attention. Even discounting adult-oriented shows like Rick & Morty and Bojack Horseman, the animated spectrum of television has never been more appealing to older audiences than it is now. 

Smart, appealing animated shows must toe the line between creating a world that children can understand while still remaining interesting to people who expect more substance in their entertainment, and shows like Star Wars Rebels, We Bare Bears, and Adventure Time all do this wonderfully. 

Another example, and perhaps the best of its genre, is Steven Universe. 

Steven Universe tells the story of Steven, a half-human, half-alien boy whose extraterrestrial lineage comes through his mother, a warrior named Rose Quartz who fought thousands of years in the past to free Earth from her own planet’s rule. In the absence of his mother (she gave up her corporeal form in order to give birth to Steven…it’s a whole thing), he is raised by both his human father Greg and a trio of aliens called the Crystal Gems, who themselves fought alongside Rose to free the earth. 

As Steven grows up, he learns more about his mother’s past, how to control the alien powers she bequeathed to him, and becomes tangled in the intergalactic conspiracies that led to his mother and the Gems defending the earth in the first place. Sometimes after an adventure, Steven and the Crystal Gems get pizza. 

This simple-sounding premise highlights several of the show’s more important and grown-up themes, like the importance of family (found and otherwise), the limitations of being born into someone else’s legacy, and the effects of war on its soldiers and survivors. Its stories are character-driven, and Steven Universe uses its quick, 11-minute episodes to build its characters from seemingly one-dimensional stereotypes — the “cool” gem, the “anxious” gem, the “gross” gem, the excitable little boy — into fully realized people/aliens with motivations and secrets that guide every moment of their behavior.

And then there’s the music. Not every episode of Steven Universe features an original song, but many do and they’re almost universally good. The show uses music both to bring its characters together, like in Season 4’s “Here Comes A Thought,” and to isolate them in contemplative moments, as in Season 3’s “It’s Over Isn’t It,” and its genres span from smooth jazz to metal to Broadway. 

The most impressive thing about Steven Universe, however, is also what makes it a remarkable watch for older audiences: its dedication to worldbuilding. While the show begins on a seemingly small scale with stories of Steven’s everyday life in Beach City, throwaway lines, songs, and minor plot points snowball into stunning, macro-level reveals about the world of the Gems that as much fun to sleuth out as they are to be surprised with. 

Come to Steven Universe for the charming characters, great music, and wonderful messages about love and family. Stay for the edge-of-your-seat intergalactic war mysteries and beautifully queer ethos.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump told Congress Friday that he wants to go forward with a U.S.-Mexican trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement – possibly leaving Canada out in the cold.

Even though Trump’s top trade negotiator said he would continue talking to Canadian officials next week, Trump made clear publicly something that he previously would only say privately: He has no interest in compromising with Canada now that he has a Mexican deal in hand.

In Charlotte, N.C., Trump complained about a leak of an off-the-record portion of his interview Thursday with Bloomberg News in which he said he would not compromise with Canada. But then he added, “It’s O.K., because at least Canada knows how I feel.”

In a statement Friday afternoon, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer sent a conflicting message, saying talks with Canada “were constructive, and we made progress.”

By sending a formal notification to Congress Friday, Trump triggered a 90-day clock to fast-track the new trade deal. 

“I hereby notify the House of Representatives and the Senate that I intend to enter into a trade agreement with Mexico – and with Canada if it is willing, in a timely manner, to meet the high standards for free, fair, and reciprocal trade,” Trump said in his letter to Congress.

The three nations have been trying to reach a trade agreement since Trump threatened to pull out of the NAFTA last year.

The top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee said Trump is moving too fast.

“It sure looks like the president is more concerned with announcing a deal during election season, rather than getting the best deal possible for American workers,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

The decision came at Trump’s self-imposed Friday deadline for negotiations – a timeline that could allow him to win a political victory just in time for the November congressional elections that have Republican trying to defend their majorities in the House and Senate.

Any deal with either or both countries will need approval from Congress, where members are certain to scrutinize its provisions to see how they would affect industries in their states.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland suggested that Canada wouldn’t be rushed into a bad deal, but struck an optimistic tone.

“We know that a win-win-win agreement is within reach,” Freeland told reporters late Friday at a news conference. “With goodwill and flexibility on all sides, I know we can get there.”  

Earlier in the day, she said “we will only agree to a deal that is a good deal for Canada.”

Those talks were upended by a Canadian newspaper report on Trump’s off-the-record comments. The Toronto Star reported that Trump said any U.S.-Canadian agreement would be “totally on our terms” and that he could not be seen publicly refusing to compromise.

“It’s going to be so insulting they’re not going to be able to make a deal,” he was quote as saying in the Bloomberg interview.

Trump later confirmed the remarks.

A U.S. trade official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door negotiations, said Canada had not made any concessions on agriculture.

That could be a significant sticking point, since Trump has been particularly critical of Canada’s 270% tariff on dairy products. “We can’t have that. Can’t have that,” President Trump said at a rally in Evansville, Ind. Thursday night.

“So we made a great deal with Mexico,” Trump said. “And as you know, Canada didn’t want to do what we have to have done. And after the deal was made with Mexico, Canada came along, and they’re negotiating right now at the White House, at our territory.”

Trump said the U.S. wins whether Canada stays in the free trade zone or not. “If it doesn’t happen, we’ll put tariffs on the cars coming in from Canada, and that’ll be even better,” he said.

Canada is the second biggest supplier of automobiles to the United States, after Mexico. Trump has proposed tariffs of 25 percent on Canadian-built cars coming into the United States. 

The tentative deal with Mexico, meanwhile, would provide for duty-free imports of cars assembled in Mexico – but only if at least 75 percent of the parts originate in the U.S. or Mexico. And many of those parts would have to be made by workers earning at least $16 an hour.

After reaching the agreement with Mexico earlier this week, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross had expressed optimism that Canada would join in. “But if not, they will then have to be treated as a real outsider,” Ross told Fox Business News.

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The Syrian government and its ally Russia have hinted, in recent statements, that a push to retake the northern province of Idlib, the last major rebel-held area, may begin soon.

It is a sign that Syria’s seven-year civil war may be entering its final stages, but also a warning that the conflict will not end without at least one more humanitarian crisis.

Russia has called Idlib a “hotbed of terrorists”, and even Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, says he believes as many as 10,000 al-Qaeda-linked fighters may now be gathered in the province.

Idlib is also home to nearly three million people – almost half of them displaced from territory already recaptured by the Syrian government – including Aleppo, Eastern Ghouta and Deraa province.

Syria’s foreign minister said on Thursday that his government plans to “liberate” Idlib, and Russia is reported to be building up its naval forces in the Mediterranean Sea.

There has been talk of humanitarian corridors to help ease human suffering in the province, but there is little doubt any government offensive to retake Idlib will come at a terrible human cost.

What is next for Idlib and for Syria as a whole, if its civil war is, indeed, entering its final phase?

Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests:

Alexey Khlebnikov – Middle East expert at the Russian International Affairs Council

Mamoun Abu Nowar – retired Jordanian air force general

Haid Haid – research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation 

Source: Al Jazeera News

In the latest episode of Hot Ones, Jeff Goldblum is his Goldbum-iest self as he compliments host Sean Evan’s teeth, shares his love of Quavo, and talks about how he likes to be called “daddy.”

If you’ve never seen an episode of this hit YouTube series, here are the CliffsNotes: celebrities are interviewed while eating spicy wings that range from mild to mouth-numbingly hot.

The interview begins (as it always does on Hot Ones) with a few softball questions. Goldblum talks about his failed TV show Tenspeend and Brown Shoe, one of his favorite Pittsburgh eateries, and jazz lingo. 

Oh, and if you’re interested in watching Goldblum expertly scat, I suggest you fast forward to about the 9:20 mark.

Evans asks Goldblum about what kinds of Instagram comments he receives, and if he likes it when his fans call him “daddy.” 

“Isn’t that sexy talk? I think it means sexy talk,” Goldblum asks Evans, before explaining that he is literally a “daddy” to his two children.

“Sometimes they say zaddy,” Goldblum added. “What’s that mean? Really hot, more like this side [motions to spicier wings], spicy daddy. Yeah sure, I like it. Zaddy.”

Goldblum is able to keep up with Evans, eating the progressively spicier wings, but has difficulty pushing through when he takes a bite out of the Da’ Bomb’s Beyond Insanity-coated wing. 

But of course, Goldblum perseveres through the rest of the interview, discussing fashion, his fascination with his wife, the hot sauces he sampled.

Tiny as she may be in stature, Ariana Grande had a huge presence at Aretha Franklin’s funeral Friday.

Accompanied by her fiance Pete Davidson, Grande traveled to Detroit to attend the ceremony and perform one of Franklin’s signature hits, “(You Make Me Feel Like) “A Natural Woman,”which she previously sang on the “Tonight Show” on Aug. 16 shortly after Franklin’s death.

Her fiery rendition even moved her ex-boyfriend, Big Sean. The rapper was also in attendance at the funeral and was spotted swaying to Grande’s singing and giving her a standing ovation when she finished. 

After Grande’s performance, Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, the officiant leading the service, brought the singer to the podium, where he cracked a joke about her name sounding like a Taco Bell menu item.

“I’ve got to apologize, because I have to brush up. My 28-year-old daughter told me, ‘You are old at 60,’” Ellis said. “When I saw Ariana Grande on the program, I thought that was a new something at Taco Bell.”

Grande laughed at his comment, hugged him and told the crowd, “I love you, Aretha” before leaving the podium.

Some Twitter users were up in arms over Grande’s funeral attire, criticizing the singer for wearing a minidress to church. 

“Ariana Grande baby that’s not what you wear to a funeral,” one user tweeted, with someone else comparing her outfit to “how you look when you come straight to church after being out at the club.”

Grande also had her defenders, with some fans arguing in favor of her sartorial choices.

“If Ariana Grande’s dress makes anyone uncomfortable, I’d suggest you check that demon within yourself and not blame that young lady for YOUR perverted mind and or the perverted minds of others whom for whatever complicit reason you choose not to check instead,” read one pro-Grande tweet.

Twitter also had plenty of jokes about Davidson’s presence at the funeral, with people puzzling over why, besides being Grande’s plus-one to the event, he got an invitation in the first place.

“Ok we all have limits and my limit is Pete Davidson sitting VIP at Aretha Franklin’s funeral,” one user tweeted. Another wondered, “Can you imagine being at #ArethaHomegoing…looking over and seeing Pete Davidson?”

But there was no doubt on social media that Ellis was too close during his awkward Grande embrace from the podium.

 

 

 

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