The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>Stephen Curry was spotted dining with Joel Embiid at wife Ayesha Curry's restaurant, International Smoke, in San Francisco ahead of Thursday night's game between the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers. Steph Curry and Joel Embiid dine together at Ayesha Curry’s restaurant International Smoke in SF ahead of the Warriors/Sixers game today. pic.twitter.com/2gECbHq6Kt — TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) January 31, 2019 Asked Thursday if Embiid trash-talked him during their meal, Curry replied, "Nah, you can't trash-talk the host of the dinner." Curry played a role in Under Armour's recruitment of Embiid last year, encouraging him to sign an endorsement deal so they could help grow the brand together.<doc-sep>OAKLAND – The news came as a surprise to Stephen Curry. Perhaps that is what happens after a long trip. Perhaps that is also what happens after seeing DeMarcus Cousins excel for five games since nursing a left Achilles tendon injury for nearly a year. But when the Warriors (36-14) visit the Philadelphia 76ers (33-18) on Thursday, Cousins will make his Warriors debut at Oracle Arena. “I didn’t realize that. I didn’t think about it,” Curry said. “We’re doing this for five games now on the floor. It’s going to be electric. His first bucket, he’s going to get the crowd going crazy. He’ll still have a nice adrenaline rush and excitement to get on the floor. That hopefully brings some energy to the whole team.” That will likely bring some trash talk between Cousins and Sixers center Joel Embiid. After all, some bragging rights might be at stake. While Cousins has averaged 15.2 points on 49.1 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game, Embiid has averaged 27.2 points on 49 percent shooting and 13.3 rebounds in 33.4 minutes per game. “We all know how well Joel is playing this year and how tough it is to stop him one-on-one. But I like DeMarcus’ chances in taking on that challenge,” Curry said. “It’s not just going to be a one-on-one thing. DeMarcus can make him work at the other end. They’re going to go at each other. That’ll happen naturally as the game goes on.” Klay Thompson subscribes. You can too for just 11 cents a day for 11 months + receive a free Warriors Championship book. Sign me up! After all, Embiid never shies away from talking trash on the court, in interviews and on social media. Embiid apparently only stays quiet when Curry hosts him for a dinner at his wife’s restaurant in San Francisco. As Curry said, “you can’t trash talk the host of a dinner.” But Embiid can talk trash to Cousins and Draymond Green. And vice versa. “It’s a lost art in terms of the amount of people and personalities you have on the floor. But they are a little sensitive now and there are cameras around,” Curry said. “So who knows what you can get away with on the court. But for the guys that enjoy it and the guys that are in a good place where they leave it on the floor, those are entertaining games.” * * * Want Warriors news delivered to your phone? Sign up for a free trial of Mark Medina’s Warriors text messaging service * * * WARRIORS HQ PODCAST: Be sure to visit our podcast page at mercurynews.com. You can also get notified of new episodes on iTunes, Google Play Music, Spotify, Stitcher and SoundCloud. * * * Follow Bay Area News Group Warriors beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.<doc-sep>
An odd duo was spotted dining out on Wednesday night at Ayesha Curry’s restaurant in the San Francisco area. Prior to their matchup on Thursday night, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors met up to share a meal together. Apparently, Steph arranged the meetup, because when asked if Joel gave him a hard time (as he is known to do to his competition), Curry had this to say: Steph Curry on DeMarcus Cousins/Joel Embiid. Did Embiid talk trash to Steph at their dinner? Steph: “Nah, you can’t talk trash to the host.” pic.twitter.com/VSZl7EieAA — Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 31, 2019 Part of the reason Joel bit his tongue while dining with Steph could be the special connection between the two. Curry is the face of Under Armour Basketball, to whom Joel Emiid is signed to as well. However, it also could have just been due to wanting to save his best efforts to get at Curry until they took the court. Embiid is having an incredible season so far, even claiming some MVP consideration for himself. Through 47 games this season, Joel is averaging 27.2 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game. His efforts have helped the Sixers climb their way to the third seed and his team looked primed to take on all competitions come playoff time. He isn’t the only one whose name gets brought up in MVP talks, though. After a red-hot start to the season, Steph has cooled down a little but is still playing phenomenal basketball. This season, Curry is averaging 29.3 points, 5.4 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. It is likely that their meeting over dinner was nothing more than two players getting a little chummy, though it is likely to leave the door open just enough for some rumors to swirl.