Tsitsipas outlasts Baez to advance to last 16 at Madrid Open

Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas returns the ball to Argentina's Sebastian Baez during their 2023 ATP Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid on Monday. (AFP)
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Updated 02 May 2023
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Tsitsipas outlasts Baez to advance to last 16 at Madrid Open

  • The Greek won the final four games of the opening set and the last three of the third to book his spot in the next round
  • In the women’s draw, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva’s impressive run was ended by second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka

MADRID: Stefanos Tsitsipas felt like he was facing a cheetah on center court at the Madrid Open.

Point after point, his opponent Sebastian Baez kept chasing down balls and running around to stay alive in the third-round match.

The third-seeded Tsitsipas came through in the clutch moments, though, earning a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over the 31st-ranked Argentine to secure a spot in the last 16 of the clay-court tournament on Monday.

The Greek won the final four games of the opening set and the last three of the third to book his spot in the next round.

“I had to bring the best out of my game,” Tsitsipas said. “He wasn’t missing much. Of course he’s someone that covers and runs around the court pretty well. He definitely utilized that pretty well against me, being able to navigate himself throughout the entire court with ease, just gliding through the court like a cheetah.”

Tsitsipas broke for 5-3 in the final set and saved two break points to serve out the match after more than two hours.

“He wasn’t going to give up,” Tsitsipas said. “He really fought for every single point and I’m glad obviously that I overcame this.”

Tsitsipas, seeking his first title of the season, improved to 8-2 on clay. He was a finalist in the Australian Open and last week in Barcelona. He also was a finalist in Madrid in 2019, and a semifinalist again in 2022.

Earlier in the women’s draw, Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva’s impressive run was ended by second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka.

After three straight-set victories against top-40 opponents in her main-draw debut, the 16-year-old wild card couldn’t get past Sabalenka in the fourth round, losing 6-3, 6-1 in her first center-court appearance in Madrid.

Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event after upsetting 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez in the first round, 14th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second and 19th-ranked Magda Linette in the third. She won 16 straight matches at all levels before falling to Sabalenka, her first top-10 opponent.

“It was a great match. I’m really happy with the result,” the second-ranked Sabalenka said. “In the first few games I was just trying to adjust to her game and her rhythm. After that I started feeling my game a little bit better and started playing better.”

Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion and the 2021 Madrid Open winner, has reached at least the quarterfinals in all seven tournaments she has played in 2023, carrying a 26-4 record for the year.

Her next opponent will be Mayar Sherif, who defeated Elize Merten 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 after nearly three hours to become the first Egyptian to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 tournament. She was already the first Egyptian woman to play in a Grand Slam, and the first to win a tour title.

“It means a lot, just mentally, to be able to know that I can do this, that I can compete at the highest level in tennis,” said the 59th-ranked Sherif, who lives and trains in Spain. “It gives me a lot of motivation to keep improving, to keep working on the things that I need to work on, and to obviously take that confidence for the rest of the year.”

Ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari reached the last eight by beating home-crowd favorite Paula Badosa 6-4, 6-4, while 12th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova defeated eighth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (2).

Men’s second seed Daniil Medvedev came from a break down twice in the final set to reach the last 16 at the expense of fellow Russian Alexander Shevchenko by 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. The victory took Medvedev to a tour-best 33-4 record. He will next face qualifier Aslan Karatsev, who defeated 16th-seeded Alex de Minaur 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz defeated Cristian Garin 6-1, 7-6 (4), while Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-3.


Man City and Chelsea both draw in Premier League after late goals

Updated 15 January 2025
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Man City and Chelsea both draw in Premier League after late goals

  • City conceded in the 82nd minute and again two minutes into stoppage time in a 2-2 draw

MANCHESTER: Manchester City showed more fallibility in squandering a two-goal lead to draw at Brentford in the Premier League on Tuesday as Chelsea's slump deepened despite a last-gasp equalizer.
City conceded in the 82nd minute and again two minutes into stoppage time in a 2-2 draw after Phil Foden scored twice for the struggling champions, who are battling to simply qualify for the Champions League this season.
Chelsea salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth thanks to Reece James' free kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time but saw their winless run in the league extend to five games.
West Ham beat Fulham 3-2 for a first win under new manager Graham Potter.
First-place Liverpool were playing third-place Nottingham Forest in the late game.


Pressure builds on Dortmund boss Sahin after loss at Kiel

Updated 14 January 2025
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Pressure builds on Dortmund boss Sahin after loss at Kiel

  • Dortmund were heavily favored against their promoted opponents
  • Kiel have now won two of their last three to boost their chances of avoiding a direct relegation

KIEL, Germany: Borussia Dortmund’s struggles in the league continued with a 4-2 loss at Holstein Kiel on Tuesday, raising the heat on under-fire coach Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund were heavily favored against their promoted opponents, who sit second-last in the table, but were overrun as Kiel scored three goals in 22 first-half minutes.
Shuto Machino, Phil Harres and Alexander Bernhardsson found the net to have Kiel up by three at half-time.
Dortmund’s Gio Reyna and Jamie Gittens scored in the second half but the visitors could not pull off an unlikely comeback, with Jann-Fiete Arp scoring Kiel’s fourth in stoppage time.
Kiel have now won two of their last three to boost their chances of avoiding a direct relegation.
With half the season played, Dortmund sit eighth, 14 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
Questions will continue to be asked of coach Sahin, who replaced Edin Terzic in the summer, despite the latter taking Dortmund to the Champions League final in June.
With want-away forward Donyell Malen joining Aston Villa just an hour before kick-off, Sahin handed teenage forward Julien Duranville a starting XI debut.
In cold, foggy conditions on Germany’s northern coast, Dortmund dominated possession for much of the first half-hour, but were unable to break through the dogged hosts.
With 27 minutes gone, Kiel forced Julian Brandt into an error near his own penalty box, Bernhardsson then found Machino who blasted in the opener.
Harres, a fourth-division player this time last season, doubled Kiel’s lead with a clever header on the counter shortly afterwards.
Kiel hit a third just before half-time, Bernhardsson tapping in a Harres cross to have Dortmund reeling.
Sahin made four attacking changes in the opening 15 minutes of the second half as Dortmund pursued an unlikely comeback.
But despite goals by Reyna and Gittens, the visitors were unable to find a third, with local boy Arp scoring in the dying moments to seal a famous Kiel win.
Later on Tuesday, champions Bayer Leverkusen can close the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich with a victory at home against fifth-placed Mainz.


Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus to undergo surgery for ACL injury

Updated 14 January 2025
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Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus to undergo surgery for ACL injury

  • “Gabby will undergo surgery in the coming days and will soon begin his recovery,” Arsenal said
  • He is expected to miss the rest of the season

LONDON: Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus will undergo surgery for an ACL injury sustained in the team’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United on Sunday.
The Premier League club on Tuesday confirmed the Brazil international’s injury after completing scans of his left knee.
“Gabby will undergo surgery in the coming days and will soon begin his recovery and rehabilitation program,” Arsenal said in a team statement.
He is expected to miss the rest of the season, though no timetable was specified.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had earlier warned that the forward’s injury was “not looking good at all.”
Second-place Arsenal, which host Tottenham on Wednesday, are already without Bukayo Saka due to a hamstring injury.
The team are “actively looking in the market to improve the squad” during the January transfer window, Arteta added.
“It would be naive not to do that because it is always an opportunity to evolve the team and improve the squad, especially with the circumstances,” he said.
“So yes, we are looking and we are trying and let’s see what we are able to do.”


Jurgen Klopp says fans of Red Bull clubs ‘deserve good football’ as he defends new role

Updated 14 January 2025
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Jurgen Klopp says fans of Red Bull clubs ‘deserve good football’ as he defends new role

  • “I thought, do they not deserve good football?” Klopp asked, referring to the Leipzig supporters
  • Watzke said he remained friends with Klopp, but that they would no longer be able talk about Dortmund

SALZBURG: Jürgen Klopp’s charm offensive as Red Bull’s head of global soccer began in Salzburg, Austria on Tuesday when the former Liverpool manager was officially presented in his new role and hit back at critics of the move.
Klopp’s decision to join the energy drinks giant to develop its branded soccer clubs around the world has confounded fans of his previous clubs – particularly in Germany, where as coach he led Mainz to Bundesliga promotion in 2004, then Borussia Dortmund to Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012.
On Sunday, Klopp was in Leipzig to see the Red Bull-backed team reclaim fourth place with a 4-2 win over Werder Bremen.
“I thought, do they not deserve good football?” Klopp asked, referring to the Leipzig supporters. “I really felt they deserve it. And it’s not only there, it’s in Salzburg, the football fans in New York deserve it if they want to be part of that journey, in Japan, in Brazil, they deserve support, improvement, all these kind of things. That’s why I want to do it. I love football.”
But Klopp is joining an organization that’s seen by many soccer fans in Germany as the antithesis of everything they love about the game.
Supporters in Mainz responded with protests when Red Bull announced Klopp’s signing in October.
“Have you forgotten everything we gave you?” asked one banner during a match against Leipzig, referring to Klopp’s tearful farewell speech when he left the club after 18 years as a player and coach in 2008.
Klopp’s decision also stung in Dortmund.
“Jürgen knows full well he could have almost picked his job at Borussia Dortmund,” the club’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sport Bild last month.
Watzke said he remained friends with Klopp, but that they would no longer be able talk about Dortmund. Watzke had previously said that Leipzig only existed as a marketing campaign.
“Football is played there to get a drinks can to perform,” Watzke said in 2016.
The Red Bull website pays tribute to co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz for developing “not only a new product but also a unique marketing concept” when he launched the drink in 1987.
Red Bull, which announced record turnover of 10.5 billion euros in 2023, started locally when it began investing in extreme sports in Austria in 1988. It branched into motorsport in the following year by sponsoring Austrian Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger, and went international in 1994 by sponsoring windsurfers Robby Naish and Björn Dunkerbeck.
The company’s foray into soccer started in 2005 when it bought SV Austria Salzburg and rebranded the club with its own livery. Despite opposition from the club’s supporters, violet was discarded in favor of Red Bull’s red and white, and the club was renamed Red Bull Salzburg.
The company repeated the feat in Germany in 2009 when it purchased the playing license of fifth-tier SSV Markranstädt, and rebranded the club as it had Salzburg. The club was named Rasenballsport (lawn-ball-sport) Leipzig as the company was prohibited from using its name for the club. But it financed the team’s steady ascent to the Bundesliga, which it reached in 2016.
Klopp will oversee a stable of Red Bull-backed clubs around the world that also includes New York Red Bulls, Bragantino in Brazil and Omiya Ardija in Japan. The company also has a minority stake in second-tier English club Leeds, and is set to become a minority stakeholder in French second-division club Paris FC, which Klopp observed in action on Saturday.
“I think if you want to understand you can understand, if you don’t want to understand, you will not. That’s how it is,” Klopp said of the criticism.


Ex-Tottenham player Bentaleb back training with Lille after cardiac arrest

Updated 14 January 2025
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Ex-Tottenham player Bentaleb back training with Lille after cardiac arrest

  • Coach of the Ligue 1 side, Bruno Genesio, said Bentaleb resumed individual training a few days ago
  • Bentaleb collapsed on June 18 while playing a five-a-side match with friends, French media reported at the time

LILLE: Nabil Bentaleb, the former Tottenham and Algeria midfielder who suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest less than seven months ago, is back training with his club Lille.
Coach of the Ligue 1 side, Bruno Genesio, said Bentaleb resumed individual training a few days ago with a physical trainer and started practicing with the ball on Monday.
“I’ve seen him, and spoken to him for the past two or three days. He’s in good spirits, he’s motivated,” Genesio said.
Bentaleb collapsed on June 18 while playing a five-a-side match with friends, French media reported at the time. At Lille University Hospital, he was put into an artificial coma before being fitted with a pacemaker-defibrillator days later.
The 30-year-old Bentaleb is hopeful he will be able to resume his career, following in the footsteps of Christian Eriksen. The Danish playmaker, who collapsed because of cardiac arrest during a European Championship game in June 2021 and had a type of pacemaker fitted, has made a full recovery and plays in the Premier League with Manchester United.
Bentaleb joined Lille in 2023, returning to the club where he honed his skills as a youngster. He was born in the northern French city and trained at the club academy after his talent was spotted when he was just 10 years old.
After being released, he started his senior career in the Premier League with Tottenham, where he made more than 60 appearances, then joined German side Schalke. Bentaleb also played for Newcastle and Angers.