Other Sports

After Day 11, the men’s singles Final Four draw has also been finalised for Day 13 throughout tomorrow at least in the daytime ahead of Sunday’s final day – with Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz for semis No.1 as well as Alexander Zverev & Casper Ruud in the 2nd semis tie. Zverev & Tomas Martin Etcheverry both players shared the lead at 1-1 before Zverev went on to win the final two sets, even though it wasn’t easy (6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4). Then we saw another thrilling contest to close the Final 8 bracket where Holger Rune won the 3rd set after being easily blown away during the first half. But then couldn’t stop Ruud all along despite trying to stay in contention as of late (1-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3).

Etcheverry never gave Zverev an easy run, having kept a close eye on him who is about as tall as his opponent. He did well to share the lead at 1-1 apiece but just didn’t have the 2nd half momentum & execution to hold him back further in his tracks. Meanwhile, Zverev was so aware of Etcheverry’s game who got away with the opening set lead before he was held back after the 2nd set loss. But he replied really well to maintain his top spot position before things starting to be easier going into the fourth set & he has nailed it towards the end without any rush thanks to that winning advantage he’s got there.

Then Holger Rune came from behind to stop Ruud from wrapping up in straight sets while continuing to stay in this fight in the hope of a 5th set decider & finish it off his way But it doesn’t mean he can stop Ruud for the whole match itself where his 1st half display wasn’t good from the start before Rune did the best he can to hang & it was simply too much to grasp with loads of pressure for him. And Ruud really had the best start and 1st half momentum where he was way ahead of Rune. Yes, he had to be wary of Rune’s 2nd half resurgence, but took his time well to find his way out unscathed for the win.

Tonight’s women’s singles semi-finals (or later today over in Paris) are all set at Court Phillipe Chatrier where four players will become two for a shot on Saturday’s big final – it’s Karolina Muchkova v Aryna Sabalenka followed by Iga Swiatek v Beatriz Haddad Maia. We saw Beatriz Haddad Maia rise up from the opening set down to beat Ons Jabeur after she held on really well that went all the way through the tiebreak as not only she set up the 3rd set decider, but she too has won as well (3-6, 7-6 (7-5 tiebreak) & 6-1). And not too long later, Iga Swiatek got away with a competitive opening stage battle v Coco Gauff before she was being too good in straight sets (6-4, 6-2).

Jabeur is disappointed with the loss there after an easy start. However, she struggled to build on that good start where not only she couldn’t find the sweet spot going into the 3rd set decider, but was also easily run down by Maia in the end as well. Speaking of Maia, she had a great game to turn this around from the 1st down. She might have built that momentum that late before Jabeur had that 1-0 lead, but grasped her opponent’s game well to stay in the fight before these two lifelines gave Maia the better pull towards punching that semi-finals ticket.

Meanwhile, Gauff showed some excellent response from the beginning to keep Swiatek in check, especially when facing such a difficult opponent who is the top-ranked seed of this draw. But then her momentum began to go downhill where not only she fell short ahead of Set 2, but just couldn’t hold on under pressure before it was too late. Meanwhile, Swiatek was really patient along the way that allowed her to find some time before she found that checkpoint with the opening set lead. And that puts her in a great position with the 1-0 advantage going into the 2nd set where she was good in the end.

We saw two excellent match-ups to begin this year’s Quarter Finals in the men’s singles draw of the Roland Garros – one is where Carlos Alcaraz being too good following an easy win v Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-2, 6-1, 6-6 (7-5 tie)), while the other was a bit more intense between Novak Djokovic & Karen Khachanov (4-6, 6-6 (7-0 tiebreaker), 6-2, 6-4). That now puts both Alcaraz & Djokovic head-to-head for Friday’s 1st semi-final match-up (Day 13).

Not the day Tsitsipas wanted to see out on clay this year where he fired off not bad as well as being able to try and save himself in contention particularly during the third set & go from there, even though it might be a long hill to climb back. Sadly, his performance today wasn’t on par with the Spaniard where he fell way behind while beaten easily as this tie goes on. For Alcaraz, he was simply too good all around from start to finish. Yes, he had some challenges along the way during the 3rd set. But he was tested really well to hang in there before that tiebreak period gave him another chance to get the job done & he has done it en route to the last 4 here – legend v emerging grand slam champ for a spot in the Final, can’t wait!!

Commiserations to Khachanov who challenged Djokovic really well at times for the majority & knows how to get the ball rolling, having won the opening set + some near wins during 2nd & 4th set spells. But when it comes to being tested under all sorts of pressure, that is when his momentum began to nosedive during the 2nd set tiebreak & couldn’t rebound much through the rest of this tie. And Djokovic might had fell short in the opening set, but he never gave up by fighting back really well where he credits the 2nd set tiebreak as his turning point; So he can go on by overtaking Khachanov for the lead and finish this tie off calm & composed.

There’s two more QF ties left for Day 11 on the road for the 2nd semis match now with Alexander Zverev v Tomas Martin Etcheverry followed by Casper Ruud v Holger Rune.

Meanwhile, there were also two women’s singles quarter-finals to commence Day 10 before the men’s singles QFs take over at Court Phillipe Chatrier. Karolina Muchkova & Anastasia Paulychenkova both had a really competitive first set spell, but Muchkova had the better pull in straight sets (7-5, 6-2). Then in the second QF straight after the Muchkova v Paulychenkova tie between Elina Svitolina & Aryna Sabalenka, it was somewhat more competitive right through until the end of each set. But again, there can only be one winner & Sabalenka managed to get the job done also in straight sets (4-6, 4-6) where she will now face Muchkova in the 1st semis match tomorrow (Day 12).

So close from Paulychenkova where she responded well to Muchkova’s fast start with a few rebounds of her own before it all the way through the tiebreak. But she just lacked the execution there to pull off while struggling to catch up under pressure before it was too late after a good restart to the 2nd set. On the other hand, great game by Muchkova when not only she fired off well but stayed patient too that helped her tick off both sets.

Looking back at the other tie now & oh so close as well from Svitolina who showed some excellent fightback including these good starts & restarts to stay on track. But sadly, she lacked the other half momentum where she couldn’t get the job done to finish off the 1st set, before trying to hold back Sabalenka in the hope of a decider & it was simply just too late. And speaking of Sabalenka, she’s so relieved after overcoming some great battles v Svitolina. Her patience was tested really well where she may have been challenged at times, but she found the execution to escape with the 1-0 lead & did the exact same thing again towards the finish line.

We now look forward to Day 11 tonight to see out the other two Final 8 ties with Ons Jabeur v Beatriz Haddad Maia followed by Iga Swiatek v Coco Gauff.

Wow!! What a game!! And what a Final that is that goes on and on right until the very end of this Europa League season – this time between Sevilla FC (Spain) v AS Roma (Italy) from the  Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.

Roma struck the opening goal thanks to Paulo Dybala, even though there’s a bit of backlash from Sevilla’s end as to whether or not if it was a foul beforehand during the first half (34th min). But never mind, Sevilla were right back in the mix at 1-1 apiece after the 55th minute thanks to Roma centre-half Giancula Mancini, who made an unfortunate error to his own keeper (Rui Patricio) before he booted the wrong way with the ball inside the net. 

Nothing much happened after that going into full-time & the same again throughout extra time, particularly the 2nd 15 min instalment that lasted for so so long (10 mins) following the original six mins of added stoppage time. So for the third straight time in recent Finals’ history, it all comes down to penalty shootouts where the winner will not only get to lift the trophy but also secure Champions League group stage qualification for next season.

That winner belongs to now 7 x Europa League champions Sevilla who were spotless all long while Roma had a few hit and misses, even though none of Sevilla’s players has scored at all through the first 120-130 odd mins of play.

Post Notes

Looking back at that winning moment, Right-back Gonzalo Montiel thought his penalty shootout strike was blocked by Roma goalie Rui Patricio but then Patricio jumped out of his line somewhat early. So a penalty had to be re-taken by the referee & this time it’s through into the net where Sevilla became Europa champions once again – the exact same thing how he helped Argentina wrap up that World Cup Final as World Champions last year v France via penalties in Qatar (4-2 following 3-3 in two halves & Extra Time).

How good!! Even though they might have a mixed domestic season (La Liga) in 9th right now with a game to spare, but it doesn’t mean they can’t taste European glory as Sevilla will now play in one of Europe’s elite club competitions amongst the best next season (2023/24) thanks to their Europa League triumph tonight.

And as for Roma, they were halfway there towards lifting another European triumph following their win last year in the Conference League v Feyenoord. However, a few ill-disciplines, fouls & a lopsided momentum across the pitch allowed Sevilla to make up some lost time before they made few hit & miss strikes including from some winning free-kicks around the goalposts. 

Yes, gotta feel sorry for Giancula Mancini following two unlucky moments – an own goal where Sevilla levelled at 1-1 & a failed penalty shootout strike. But sadly, Roma’s brilliant start began to falter as the game goes on before they were under pressure going into sudden death penalties, and they just couldn’t get past Sevilla over the line with the loss. Roma may still be playing Europa League next season & go one better as long as they can finish 5th or 6th in the Italian Serie A League, but it might not be under Head Coach Jose Mourinho who could switch over to PSG in Paris, France.

Now after a wonderful Europa League Final night of soccer once again, bring on the Champions League Final next Sunday AM (Australian time) where current EPL champs Manchester City will take on Inter Milan at Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Man City have yet to win a UCL title, having made the final once back in 2020-21 as they were runners-up 0-1 by Chelsea. Inter on the other hand, have last won a title there back in 2009-10 where they defeated Bayern Munich 2-0.

How good? Having just saw another thrilling drag race finish to the 148th Preakness Stakes over at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a shorter seven entry field being lined up this time after 2nd favourite First Mission had to pull out due to injury (left hind ankle). 

Looking back on the race itself now, there were great starts into the Top 2 earlier on from the following few horses such as National Treasure & CoffeewithChris. 

Plus, we saw a mix of overtakes fighting for third through race favourite & current Kentucky Derby champ Mage, Red Route One & Blazing Sevens.

Then there’s the climax on the run home after Turn 3 where Blazing Sevens moved up to 2nd side-by-side with National Treasure. Blazing Sevens tried to push that overtaking edge past him at the last minute after he emerged out of late, but it’s National Treasure who held off top spot all along by such a really close margin through the finish line for the win. 

Well done to jockey John Velasquez & owner/trainer Bob Baffiert all around on what has been such a tremendous race to watch!! Oh so close from Blazing Sevens where he almost got it but probably the early momentum might have cost him there in 2nd. And Mage finished in 3rd  

who was jockeying mightily around the mid-pack following a good start to 3rd, but then Mage was nowhere near the standard National Treasure has set by a few lengths behind the Top 2 finishers.

Red Route One finished in 4th followed by Chase the Chaos who were both also circling outside the Top 2; Perform came home in 6th where benefited a late move off CoffeewithChris after the early race contender (CoffeewithChris) just couldn’t find the execution he badly needed to pass National Treasure out of Turns 3 & 4.

Now that the 2nd Triple Crown race is done with no repeat triumph to carry on from the Kentucky Derby opener by Mage, we look forward to the 155th Belmont Stakes in New York on Saturday 10th June (US Time)/Sunday 11th June (Australian time in the morning). The only change to this next event is that Fox will be replacing NBC as the main broadcaster there for the 3rd & final Triple Crown event of the year.