The skippers of the Route du rhum still at the dock, the XV of France wins in pain against the Wallabies but the women’s XV of France loses by one point in the semi-finals of the World Cup, at 19 years old , Holger Rune enters the big leagues at Bercy against Novak Djokovic and Caroline Garcia who climbs to the final of the Masters… This is what you should not miss from this weekend of sport.
Sailing: capricious weather on the Route du rhum, the start postponed
The start of the 12th edition of the solo transatlantic race has been postponed. The 138 skippers are still waiting in Saint-Malo, because of the passage of a very violent meteorological depression which does not allow the boats to sail in complete safety. On Saturday, the organizers formalized the postponement to “Wednesday early afternoon”. As a reminder, the competitors in the six classes of boat, the multihulls (Ultim 32/33, Ocean Fifty, Rhum Multi) and the monohulls (Class40, Imoca, Rhum Moni), must travel 3,542 nautical miles (6,560 kilometers) to reach Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.
Tennis: Caroline Garcia becomes the third French woman to reach the Masters final
Amélie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce were the only players from France to have reached a final in a Masters. Since 2006, no Frenchwoman had done so well. After failing in the semi-finals during her first participation in 2017, Caroline Garcia did not miss the second opportunity, Sunday, dominating in the semi-final Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2. Victorious during the summer of the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, and semi-finalist at the US Open, the 6th player in the world will try, against Aryna Sabalenka surprise winner of world number 1 Iga Swiatek, to become the second French player to put her name on the list, 27 years after Amélie Mauresmo. And she has already secured her place among the top 5 in the world at the end of this last tournament of the season.
They are French and have qualified for the final of the Masters:
1997: Mary Pierce
2003: Amelie Mauresmo
2005: Amélie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce
2006: Amelie Mauresmo
2022: Caroline Garcia pic.twitter.com/wyhiKqeBDe— Game, Set and Maths (@JeuSetMaths) November 6, 2022
Rugby: a victory and a record for the XV of France
The first test match of the autumn tour of the XV of France has kept all its promises. And there is no doubt that the supporters present on Saturday evening in Saint-Denis appreciated the fight of Fabien Galthié’s men against the Wallabies. All the more so with an outcome like this: just remember Damian Penaud’s solo rush four minutes from the end of the game, giving the victory to the Blues (30-29), to bring back the emotions. With Charles Ollivon back at the highest level and an 11th success in a row for the French team – a record – the lights seem to be green for the tricolor rugby players before a new shock, next Saturday, against South Africa. South.
If one point was enough for the happiness of the XV of France, it is on the contrary what the Blues missed in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Against the New Zealand Black Ferns, Caroline Drouin and her teammates broke down at the end of the match (25-24) and lost, for the eighth time, in the last four of the competition. Saturday, November 12 (4:30), they will still try to finish in style in the match for third place against Canada.
Tennis: Rune brings down Djokovic at Bercy
Holger Rune seems limitless. 103rd in the world at the start of the season, the Dane entered the top 10 on Monday. The 19-year-old signed the best victory of his short career on Sunday, overthrowing Novak Djokovic (3-6, 6-3, 7-5) in the Masters 1 final 000 of Paris-Bercy, depriving the Serb of a seventh coronation on this court in the French capital.
After more than 2h30 of intense combat, Rune went to seek his first coronation in a tournament of this importance – when “Djoko” was chasing his 91st title on the circuit – after a perfect week, crowned by successes against Stan Wawrinka, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, world number one Carlos Alcaraz and Félix Auger-Aliassime. The quarter-finalist of the last Roland-Garros already has everything a (very) great.
Handball: Darleux and Les Bleues do not miss their entry into the Euro
A well-controlled first pool match for Olivier Krumbholz’s players. Against North Macedonia on Saturday, the Blues did not miss their entry into the competition (24-14). In goal, Cléopâtre Darleux was impassable (nine saves, no goal conceded for 15 minutes). It remains to work on finishing in attack (44% success in shooting) during the next meeting of the France team, from Monday against Romania (8:30 p.m.). The main thing was elsewhere for the vice-champions of Europe, who intend to go and recover the title gleaned by Norway two years ago.
Moto GP: Fabio Quartararo loses his crown
The new king in MotoGP is called Francesco Bagnaia. At the end of a final Grand Prix in Valencia, won by Alex Rins (Suzuki), the Italian driver (Ducati) won, at 25, his first title in the premier category. Crowned last year, the French Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), at the top of the riders’ classification for nearly six months, could not save his crown, handicapped by a deficient motorcycle and unfortunate falls at important moments. “El Diablo” has already promised that he will come back even stronger next year to reclaim his throne.