Daily News Roundup

TUESDAY JUNE 4

Queensland’s Ashleigh Barty has demolished the conquerer of Serena Williams to power into the French Open quarter-final.

The win raised hopes of a first Australian singles triumph at Roland Garros in more than 40 years.

Barty beat  American Sofia Kenin 6-0, 3-6, 6-0 and will now play American 14th seed Madison Keys to reach the last four in Paris.

Barty is only the fourth Australian woman to make the quarter-finals in over 45 years.

Barty showed grit and poise on Monday to end the giant-killing run of the unseeded American Kenin, the third-round slayer of Serena Williams.

Barty overcame the disappointment of dropping her first set of the tournament to subdue her free-hitting but temperamental opponent in one and a half hours.

Provisionally set to climb into the world’s top five after clinching an equal tour-best 28th victory of the year, Barty prevailed over the 35th-ranked Kenin with 11 aces and 25 winners.

In advancing to her second successive grand slam quarter-final, eighth-seeded Barty closed to within three wins of becoming Australia’s first French Open singles champion since Margaret Court in 1973.

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A horror shark attack has left a teenage girl without a leg and several fingers after she was saved by her hero dad who punched the predator five times.

Paige Winter, 17, was swimming at the Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina on Sunday when she was attacked by the shark.

Paige’s dad, a firefighter and paramedic, rushed to his daughter’s aid before punching the creature five times on the nose. The shark then let go of the girl and swam away.

The bite left “deep lacerations to her leg, pelvic and hand areas” which saw Paige undergo surgery on Sunday.

The teen’s grandmother, Janet, took to Facebook, writing that Paige lost a leg above the knee in the surgery and might need a hand transplant.

She wrote: “Thank God our son was with her, he said he punched the shark in the face five times before it let go. Wish we could be with them.

“Surgery over she is still alive, one leg gone. May need a hand transplant in the future and several on the other. Please keep her in your prayers.”

Paige issued her own statement from her hospital bed: “I would like to thank everyone for reaching out and helping me the last 24 hours as a result of the shark attack that occurred at Fort Macon on June 2.

Although I have extensive injuries, including an amputated leg and damage to my hands, I will be okay.

“Thank you to the care team at Vidant Medical Center who is continuing to provide excellent care. I know I have a long road to recovery, which includes additional surgeries. I will continue to stay positive and be thankful that it was not worse.”

The family has since set up a GoFundMe page to help fund Paige’s medical costs.

Last week, a 65-year-old man was mauled to death by a shark in Hawaii.

The unnamed victim was said to have been bitten while visiting the island of Maui while on holiday from California.

Also in May, Parisian surfer Kim Mahbouli was killed when a shark ripped his leg off in the Indian Ocean.

And in March, new figures showed the country with the highest number of shark attacks in 2018 was the US.

The investigation also revealed that there were 32 shark attacks in the US in 2018 — the highest in the world — with one incident being fatal.

Second worst was Australia, with 20 non-fatal and one fatal shark attacks.

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Newsagencies reported that Trump’s interventions into Britain’s political crisis over Brexit had threatened to overshadow his state visit to London but instead the president appeared to relish the royal red carpet that his hosts laid on for him and wife Melania.

The three-day trip was cast as a chance to celebrate Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States, boost trade links in a post-Brexit world and reaffirm security cooperation ahead of the 75th anniversary of the allied D-Day landings in World War II.

“The bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great crusade,” Trump said in a speech at the lavish banquet in his honour at Buckingham Palace.

“As we honour our shared victory and heritage, we affirm the common values that will unite us long into the future; freedom, sovereignty, self-determination, the rule of law and reference for the rights given to us by almighty God.”

While the proudly unpredictable 45th US president lavished praise on the 93-year-old queen, his views on Britain’s exit from the European Union, on the possible successor to Theresa May as British prime minister and a row over China’s Huawei have cast a pall over the visit.

Even as he flew into the British capital, he reignited a feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan – who had written on Sunday that Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet for Trump – describing the mayor as a “stone cold loser”.