World No.132 Diatchenko stuns Sharapova in Wimbledon 1st round
Wimbledon, July 4 : Russia's Maria Sharapova suffered an upset against 132nd-ranked countrywoman Vitalia Diatchenko, who prevailed 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in the first round of Wimbledon tennis championships here on Tuesday.
The 24th-seeded Sharapova, who was playing Wimbledon for the first time since returning to the WTA Tour last year after serving a 15-month doping suspension, won the first set in part due to her opponent's six double faults, reports Efe.
But the 27-year-old Diatchenko was more solid down the stretch and corrected her serving problems, committing just three double faults over the final two sets.
The underdog's superior winning percentage on second-serve points (a reflection of her superiority from the baseline) was the difference, as she won 53 per cent of those points compared to 41 percent for her much more accomplished countrywoman.
The 2004 champion and 2011 runner-up, who did not compete in last year's event due to injury, had never before lost in the first round of Wimbledon in 13 previous appearances.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Simona Halep of Romania began her journey at the 2018 Wimbledon with 6-2, 6-4 first-round victory over Kurumi Nara.
The world No. 1, fresh off winning her first Grand Slam title at the French Open, needed just an hour and 18 minutes to beat the Japanese world No. 100.
The Romanian star had not played an official tournament match since her breakthrough performance in Paris.
Halep will square off in the second round against Chinese world No. 126 Saisai Zheng.
In the men's section, three-time champion Novak Djokovic cruised into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 victory over American Tennys Sandgren.
The score was a perfect reflection of the reality on court, as the Serbian 12-time Grand Slam champion faced just one break point (losing it to drop serve) and converted seven of his 19 break-point chances.
Sandgren was a potentially tough first-round opponent who made a surprise run to the quarter-finals of this year's Australian Open. But he was no match for an all-time great player who has shown in recent weeks that he has put his injury woes behind him and is ready to go deep at major tournaments.
Djokovic will next take on Argentina's Horacio Zeballos in the second round.
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Deepfake video of Nirmala Sitharaman used to dupe Belagavi man in Rs 7.9 lakh scam
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): A 76-year-old man in Belagavi city was allegedly cheated of Rs 7.9 lakh in an online investment scam that used an AI-generated deepfake video misusing the name of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to lure investors, police said on Wednesday.
An online fraud case was registered at the cybercrime police station on May 1, they said.
According to Belagavi Police Commissioner Bhushan Gulabrao Borase, the victim, Prakash Gubbi, a senior citizen, stated in his complaint that in November last year, he came across a video on YouTube in which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appeared to endorse an investment scheme.
The video also mentioned a link in its description for making investments.
The victim clicked on the link, entered his details, and was later contacted on social media by a person identifying himself as Adarsh Anand, who persuaded him to invest, the officer told reporters.
Citing the complaint, the officer said the victim initially invested a small amount, after which the application began showing profits of USD 65,000.
When he attempted to withdraw the amount, the accused demanded a “customs duty” payment of Rs 4.2 lakh, claiming it was required to process the withdrawal.
The victim paid the amount, after which he was asked to pay an additional Rs 2 lakh. It was at this stage that he realised he had been cheated. In total, he lost around Rs 7.9 lakh in the fraud, the officer added.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and police are investigating the matter, police said.
The commissioner cautioned the public not to trust such videos, stating that the finance minister does not endorse any such schemes.
He warned that such content is created using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology.
He further advised the public to remain vigilant, avoid offers that appear too good to be true on the internet, and invest only through legitimate, registered agencies or trusted channels.
Deepfake technology enables the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings, and images that can mislead viewers by superimposing one person’s likeness onto another, altering their words and actions. This can present a false narrative or spread misinformation.
