Serena enters Wimbledon semis with comeback victory
London, July 11 : Serena Williams is one step closer to her eighth Wimbledon trophy after she beat Camila Giorgi of Italy 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
"I never thought I was in danger of losing this match. Even when I was down in the first set, I thought, "Well, she's playing great, (but) I'm doing a lot of the right things.
"I never felt it was out of my hands. If there is one lesson I would teach my daughter it's never give in, always fight. It's really important in life, no matter what you're going through, to never quit," Williams said afterwards, reports Xinhua news agency.
This is only her fourth tournament since giving birth to daughter Olympia in September 2017, and the 23-time Grand Slam winner pointed out how motherhood had changed her approach to tennis.
"It's different now obviously because I have the baby. Being a mom is totally different," she said. "I just want to be more of a role model for my daughter, for lots of people out there that just want to be inspired."
Williams will take on No.13 seed Julia Gorges of Germany, who also managed a comeback win against Kiki Bertens 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 to make her first appearance in the semifinals at the All England Club.
The other semi-final will see No.11 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany take on No.12 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia as they both bested their respective oppenents in straight sets.
With all top 10 seeds having been knocked out before the quarter-finals, 2016 runner-up Kerber is the highest-ranked player still in the ladies' competition.
In the men's singles, Juan Martin Del Potro finally defeated Gilles Simon 7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 after a total of 4 hours and 24 minutes, in a match that stretched over two days.
The Argentine will have to recuperate quickly, as his quarter-final match against world No.1 Rafael Nadal is just around the corner.
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Two FIRs lodged against Mithun Chakraborty for 'provocative' speech
Kolkata, Nov 6: Two FIRs have been lodged against actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly making provocative statements during a BJP event in Salt Lake area near Kolkata last month, police said on Wednesday.
The complaints pertain to Chakraborty's speech on October 27 at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, during a BJP programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kolkata to launch the party's West Bengal membership drive.
The first FIR was filed at the Bidhannagar South police station based on a complaint by an individual, while the second was lodged at Bowbazar police station.
"We have started an investigation into the case," a senior officer of Bidhannagar police said.
Shah was also present at the programme, which was organised to kick off the West Bengal leg of the BJP's membership drive. Shah had also felicitated Chakraborty for being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
Although Chakraborty was unavailable for comment, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar described the FIRs a result of "vendetta politics.".
Majumdar alleged that the TMC government "has once again used the police to unfairly target well-known actor and senior BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty".
He accused the chief minister of employing such tactics "to serve political interests" and claimed that the state government's actions were part of an ongoing attempt to discredit political opponents.
"There is nothing provocative in his speech. These are nothing but attempts to intimidate him by using police as a political tool," he said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dubbed the BJP's allegations as baseless.
"The allegations of political vendetta are baseless. He shouldn't have made such provocative remarks. The law will take its own course," he said.
Chakraborty, who received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, earlier this year, had asserted on October 27 that the 'masnad' (throne) of West Bengal would belong to the BJP after the 2026 assembly elections, promising to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal.
While speaking at the programme, Chakraborty, a BJP leader, said, "In 2026, the 'masnad' will be ours, and we will do everything to achieve the goal."
In an apparent reference to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's communal remarks aimed at BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections, Chakraborty had allegedly made provocative remarks.
Chakraborty cautioned that no one should attempt to intimidate saffron party voters into abstaining from voting in the next assembly elections.
He called upon the booth-level workers of his party to resist any such attempts.
