Friday briefing: a star is born |

In the spotlight: First British Grand Slam finalist since 1977

Hello everybody. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the best stories today.

Great Britain have a new sports superstar in the making after Emma Raducanu reached the US Open final with a straight-set victory over Maria Sakkari under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York overnight. The 18-year-old from Kent showed immense composure to become the first qualifier to reach the final of a major Open-era tournament, beating the No.17 seed of Greece 6-1, 6-4. She is also the first Briton to reach a Grand Slam final since Virginia Wade in 1977. She will face another teenager, Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada, in the final on Saturday night. “Honestly, the time here in New York has gone by so fast,” she said after the game. “I just took care of every day and before you know it I’m in the final and can’t believe it.” Tim Henman, the former British No.1, called his performance “absolutely astonishing”.

His victory crowned a remarkable few months for Raducanu who was ranked outside the world top 350 in June. But after earning a bachelor’s degree in math and economics (both A-grade, by the way), she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and then thrived for five weeks on the US tour. Now, having not even lost a set in the entire tournament, she is one win away from one of the sport’s biggest prizes.

Credit crunch – Scrapping the £ 1,000 a year increase in universal credit next month will trigger mental illness and ill health for thousands of people, and hit the UK’s sickest areas hardest, news shows research. Boris Johnson’s pledge to “get better” has been questioned by a Health Foundation study that comes as ministers are already under fire for a national insurance hike that will leave workers in the hundreds of pounds. low salary. The abandonment of the universal credit boost has hit areas such as Blackpool, Hartlepool, Wolverhampton, Peterborough and parts of east London the most.

Overpressure – The vaccine watchdog is under pressure to approve a program of Covid booster shots in time for the winter, as the number of people hospitalized with the virus surpassed 8,000 for the first time since March. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization is expected to render its decision on the recalls within days. However, one of the leading figures in the development of the Oxford AstraZeneca jab, Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, said immunity “lasts well” for most people and suggested that additional doses should be directed to countries. with low vaccination rates. The Scottish Parliament has approved a vaccine passport scheme for entry to nightclubs and major events from 1 October. In the United States, President Joe Biden has responded to a wave of cases by announcing a vaccine mandate “to turn the tide” against Covid.

China “strategic vacuum” – Boris Johnson has been accused in a Lords report of avoiding a clear strategy on China lest it force him to make tough decisions that put human rights ahead of better trade. The report says there is a “strategic vacuum” at the heart of Britain’s approach to dealing with Beijing and warns that we must prepare for a “potentially long and serious period of disruption to its trade and political relations with China.” . Meanwhile, Joe Biden told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the two countries should avoid “turning to war” in their first appeal in months.

Cancer “revolution” – Lung cancer patients in England will become the first in Europe to benefit from a new “revolutionary” drug capable of stopping the growth of tumors. Sotorasib will be ramped up for NHS patients after it has been shown in clinical trials to stop the growth of lung cancer for seven months. The drug targets the mutation in the KRAS gene, which is found in a quarter of all tumors and is known as the “Death Star” mutation due to its spherical appearance and impenetrable nature.

Mercury sound – Arlo Parks won the 2021 Mercury Award for Outstanding UK Album of the Year for his debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams. Parks, who grew up in West London, fended off competition from rivals such as Wolf Alice, Celeste and Mogwai for the top prize of £ 25,000. Our music reviewer said it was well deserved for his warm voice and diaristic lyrics.

Today in Focus Podcast: Islamophobia in the UK since September 11

Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and Nabil Abdul Rashid both came of age in the early 2000s, as British Muslim communities felt the backlash from 9/11. In a conversation with Nosheen Iqbal, the poet and stand-up comedian looks back on the past two decades and what the future holds for British Muslims.

Lunchtime Reading: Fauci – The Documentary

American disease expert Anthony Fauci – praised for his dedication to saving lives and even described as “the sexiest man in the world” – has become an unlikely cult hero and is now the subject of a documentary film.

sport

Fifa’s sweeping plans to host a biennial World Cup came under attack hours after their official unveiling on Thursday – with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe warning of growing anger in Olympic sports and the president of UEFA’s Aleksander Ceferin saying the proposals could “kill Football.” England cricket breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Indian players had passed an emergency round of Covid-19 testing and that the fifth test of Friday at Old Trafford should go as planned.

After a season of tears and grief, Dina Asher-Smith finished second behind Elaine Thompson-Herah in the Diamond League 100m, while Briton Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m in Zurich. England narrowly snatched their decisive T20 women’s series game against New Zealand in Taunton, hitting their goal of 145 with one ball to lose. Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th goal for Arsenal, scoring a hat-trick against Slavia Prague to secure her side’s place in the Champions League group stage. Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care has welcomed this week’s proposal for a world 12 tournament, saying the sport needs to move forward and most modern rugby tests leave it cold. And Lewis Hamilton insisted he looked forward to the challenge of having George Russell as a teammate next season with the British duo being given the green light to fight.

Business

An increasingly feverish fight grows over who controls most of the short-haul flights from Gatwick airport after EasyJet rejected an unsolicited takeover approach – believed to have come from the Hungarian company Wizz Air. The UK carrier yesterday launched a £ 1.2bn fundraising appeal to allow it to slowly recover from the pandemic, but our financial commentator Nils Pratley says it won’t do much to encourage shareholders . The FTSE100 looks flat this morning as the pound climbed to $ 1.384 and € 1.171.

The papers

There is some discrepancy regarding the Covid booster vaccine, with the Times in the lead with “huge increase in protection against Covid booster injections” and the Telegraph splash saying “Oxford jab professor: we don’t need mass boosters”. In Scotland, the Herald reports that “Scotland’s vaccine passports will start on October 1”.

The Guardian leads with “Revealed: Ending benefit increases will hit the sickest areas hardest”, and the Mail has a story about the increase in deaths allegedly caused by the lack of face-to-face medical appointments: “Death toll of ‘remote’ GPs”. The Mirror leads with Rio Ferdinand speaking on racism – “The torment of racism in my family” – while the Express handles Rishi’s “immense pride” in bouncing back in Britain “. The FT says “the ECB will slow down its support in times of crisis as confidence in the recovery grows” and the Yorkshire Post carries a warning from Lord Heseltine saying “‘Johnson will not deliver power-sharing'”.

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