VIENNA (AP) — Russia’s state-owned natural gas company Gazprom stopped supplies to Austria early Saturday, according to the Vienna-based utility OMV, after OMV said it would stop payments for the gas following an arbitration award.
The official cutoff of supplies before dawn Saturday came after Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Friday held a hastily called news conference to emphasize his country has a secure supply of alternative fuel for this winter.
OMV said it would stop paying for Gazprom gas to its Austrian arm to offset a 230 million-euro ($242 million) arbitration award it won from the International Chamber of Commerce over an earlier cutoff of gas to its German subsidiary.
The Austrian utility said in an email that no gas delivery was made from 6 a.m. on Saturday.
OMV said Wednesday it has sufficient stocks to provide gas to its customers in case of a potential disruption by Gazprom, and said storage in Austria was more than 90% full.
“Once again Putin is using energy as a weapon,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He is trying to blackmail Austria & Europe by cutting gas supplies. We are prepared for this and ready for the winter.”
Russia cut off most natural gas supplies to Europe in 2022, citing disputes over payment in rubles, a move European leaders described as energy blackmail over their support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
European governments had to scramble to line up alternative supplies at higher prices, much of it liquefied natural gas brought by ship from the U.S. and Qatar.
Austria gets the bulk of its natural gas from Russia, as much as 98% in December last year, according to Energy Minister Lenore Gewessler.
FILE - A worker sits on his water tank truck next to the business tower Lakhta Centre, the headquarters of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky, File)
U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz reached another big final at the ATP Finals by beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) on Saturday.
Fritz became the first American finalist at the elite eight-man event since James Blake lost the 2006 final to Roger Federer.
The last American to win the trophy was Pete Sampras in 1999.
In Sunday’s final, Fritz will face top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the player he lost to in the U.S. Open final — or Casper Ruud, who were playing later.
Sinner also beat Fritz in straight sets in the group stage this week.
It was Fritz’s fourth consecutive victory over Zverev, who replaced Carlos Alcaraz at No. 2 in the rankings this week.
Fritz, who is No. 5, also beat Zverev at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, plus the Laver Cup.
It was a matchup of big servers between the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Fritz and the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev, and when Fritz broke Zverev for 4-2 in the first set, it marked the first time that Zverev lost a service game in four matches in Turin.
Eventually, though, the match turned into a physical duel from the baseline. Fritz rallied from 0-40 and held his serve for 3-2 in the third after a nine-minute game full of long rallies – winning one such exchange that lasted 30 strokes.
Zverev, the finals champion in 2018 and 2021, entered the semifinals on an eight-match winning streak after taking the Paris Masters.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts during a semifinal tennis match against Germany's Alexander Zverev at the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts during a semifinal tennis match against Germany's Alexander Zverev at the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Germany's Alexander Zverev reacts during the semifinal tennis match against Taylor Fritz of the United States at the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Germany's Alexander Zverev returns to Taylor Fritz of the United States during their semifinal tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Germany's Alexander Zverev watches a video review during the semifinal tennis match against Taylor Fritz of the United States at the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Germany's Alexander Zverev returns to Taylor Fritz of the United States during their semifinal tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Taylor Fritz of the United States returns to Germany's Alexander Zverev during their semifinal tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts during a semifinal tennis match against Germany's Alexander Zverev at the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
