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What a match it has been after a gruelling four hours of play between Novak Djokovic & Rafa Nadal to close out Day 10 of the 2022 French Open. Nadal was too good to open this quarter-final account while Djokovic fought back in the 2nd set, even though it was a very competitive battle to tie 1-1 apiece. However, it’s Nadal who responded well to Djokovic’s fight with another easy 3rd set spell, before he denied the Serbian a 5th set lifeline that turned into his semi-final’s ticket for tomorrow v Alexander Zverev from Germany. The final score is 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 via 4-7 tiebreaker.

Djokovic was gutted not to make the Final 4 on his first grand slam campaign of 2022 at the French Open. He shown plenty of fight in a bid to stay in contention against a tough elite grand slam opponent, having responded well from the opening set down before Djokovic almost tied Nadal at 2-2 towards a possible 5th set decider. Unfortunately, he just couldn’t find a way to overtake Nadal for the lead, as well as the need to stay ahead, which ultimately cost Djokovic a semi-final berth.

And congratulations to Nadal after a hard-fought win v the reigning French Open champion. He fired off well very easily for a start with the opening set lead. Now Nadal may have fallen just short by a game or two in the 2nd set, but he’s so good at responding to this fight where he was too good in the 3rd set, cancelled Djokovic’s lifeline towards a possible 5th set decider & turned into a win of his own here under the lights at Court Philippe-Chatrier.

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We also saw another brilliant match-up over at Court Suzanne Lenglen in the 4th Round yesterday of this year’s French Open, but in the women’s singles draw between American Jessica Pegula & Irina-Camelia Begu from Romania. Begu did a great job shutting down Pegula following a very competitive battle that saw her lead the opening set. But it’s all about racing towards the finish line where Pegula proved too good to eliminate Begu, having tied 1-1 ahead of the 3rd set decider before she earned her spot in the Final 8; 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Begu would be disappointed not to advance into the Final 8 as her best grand slam finish is just outside any finals appearance so far for the third time since 2016 here. She fired off really well even though Pegula doesn’t give Begu an easier pass that secured the opening set lead from the Romainian but then the momentum dropped and couldn’t find a way to stay in this fight ever since. She’s 31 right now but there’s still some time left to improve if Begu wants to go one better and secure her first ever grand slam finals appearance at Wimbledon next month.

And what a rebound it has been from Jessica Pegula. Yes, she may have fallen so short during the opening set spell by a close two game difference, but Pegula just never gave up battling 100%. She credits the renewed momentum that helped her close in on Begu ahead of the 3rd set decider before Pegula pulled off comfortably with another Quarter-Finals appearance on top of the Australian Open so far this year. It’s also her first finals taste here at the French Open, but she will need to overcome World No.1 Iga Swiatek for the semi-final spot against either Veronika Kudermetova or Daria Kasatkina on Day 11 tomorrow.

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It looks like we have a new challenger ahead of the French Open Quarter-Finals v 8th seed Casper Ruud (Norway) in 19-year-old Holger Rune from Denmark, who upsetted World No.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas yesterday on Day 9 during the fourth round at Court Philippe-Chatrier. The opening two sets was tight between the two competitors with Rune started off well for the early lead while Tsitsipas tied 1-1 apiece. But Rune was too good in the 3rd set before he shut the door on Tsitsipas following another series of close duels; 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Commiserations from Tsitsipas with the shock defeat there. He really put in his absolute best during every game that helped earned his way as a Top 5 grand slam player, even though he hasn’t won any titles yet so far. Tsitsipas had to work his way from the opening set down where he almost held Rune back which would’ve gone towards the 5th & final set decider of this tie. However, it wasn’t his day when Tsitsipas just couldn’t match the consistency & execution that Holger Rune offered in the end.

And congratulations to Rune who emerged himself as the next elite grand slam star in the making from Copenhagen, Denmark. He played an really exceptional game that tested him well against a player with plenty of grand slam finals experience. The strong starts are shown through each and every set, as well as the response to fight back from the 2nd set down, before he held off a really competitive battle right through the wire where Rune’s patience and fight helped knock down one of the current Top-5 ranked players in Tsitsipas. What a moment it has been from this rising star!

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By Haider Manzar

Preview: Yesterday, May 28, the Champions League final was played between the Royal Whites of Spain and The Reds of England. This was the ninth meeting between these two teams in the UEFA Champions League and the previous competition European Cup.

Liverpool was not able to get any win against Real Madrid in their last five matches (D1 L4). This was also the third time these two European Giants were facing each other in the final of UCL (1st in 1981, 2nd in 2018).

Liverpool, after days of speculation, started Konate and Thiago. Diaz joined Salah and Mane on the front. Meanwhile, Real Madrid had 5 players from the lineup that won the 2018 UCL final.

The match was also delayed by 30 minutes due to a drama that happened outside the stadium as the fans climbed the gates and entered the stadium without tickets. The pepper spray was also sprayed on the fans which resulted in quite a drama before the final.

1st Half: The first half started and as expected from the Klopp boys, they started well. They did everything to get the lead in the early minutes. At minute 16, Salah’s shot was blocked by Belgium wall Courtois, who has been phenomenal for Real Madrid this season. 5 minutes later, another attempt by Mane was saved by Courtois.

The match kept going on at an incredible pace and just before the end of the first half, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema scored after a mix-up by Liverpool defenders but to their great luck, the goal was ruled offside by VAR. The first half ended with Liverpool being the dominant side but the result was still 0-0.

2nd Half: The second half started and Salah was again leading the attack but his shot at the 58th minute was again denied by Madrid’s keeper. After the rebound, the second shot was blocked by Alaba’s hand but the penalty wasn’t awarded as it was unintentional and his hand couldn’t be moved away. At minute 59, the ever-hungry young gun of Real Madrid – Vinicius Jr scored the goal and gave Real Madrid the lead.

Liverpool didn’t let themselves down and their attack kept attacking at Real Madrid’s goal but what a guy Courtois is. After this Salah was again denied by Courtois two times. He blocked 9 shots from Liverpool’s attack and kept the clean sheet till the end of the match.

Result: Real Madrid won their record 14 UEFA Champions League, twice more than any other team in the competition. Real Madrid did it again just 3 years after they did the 3-peat UCL. Liverpool did everything in their power but the Klopp boys were not able to get the prestigious trophy. The main credit goes to Courtois because he was the man that kept Real Madrid in this final fully alive till the end. Real Madrid are the CHAMPIONS of Europe!

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Luke Romano left Leichhardt Oval tonight with lots of hard work on his sleeve at No.4 (second row position) for the Blues. He still has so much physicality to unpack alongside his vast World Cup and All Black winning-experience at the age of 36 which is amazing. All he did tonight was protecting his team’s defensive line, as well as being a huge presence going forward so the Blues know where to score through the gate. And having talked a bit about leadership a bit earlier on, he’s good at talking them up especially when passing over his word to these youngsters. Not only it helped the Blues respond to the Tahs’ double try from Mark Nawaquanitawase in the 2nd 40, but he also inspired his side with the win they wanted at the last minute.

The next Blues player after Romano is Zarn Sullivan who wears the No.15 shirt at full-back. He’s gotta be the complete package here; he’s very mobile with the pace where he bursts his way through the channels, as well as being able to track back and tackle in defensive mode, and most importantly, his kicking accuracy. He also credits the Blues change of tactics in the last 40 with a couple of fresh faces off the bench, and him replacing Jock McKenzie as the leading kick taker, whether it’s via line outs or taking a shot towards the goalpost. That favoured kicking responsibilities was also another good reason why the Blues never stopped fighting with an extra edge of a few successful two-point conversions, until Sullivan secured his drop goal moment not long after the final hooter delivered his Blues team a game-winning result.

And we can’t get enough of Mark Nawaquantawase’s finishing on the wide right for the Waratahs. His back-to-back tries helped his side lead at one point with credit from the renewed momentum following the half-time break. However, he wishes that more of executions would’ve been done at the start, despite creating numerous chances that was gifted from these winning penalties. Unfortunately, it’s one huge weakness that puts so much pressure to stop the Blues defensively before it’s too late when Zarn Sullivan broke their hearts.

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What a way to finish Day 5 of the 2022 French Open with a four-hour thriller between Zdenez Kolar from Czech Repiblicj & Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Tsitsipas went up ahead early in the first half while Kolar was never being given a free pass where he showed plenty of fight throughout the whole time. But a 3rd set win alone from Kolar wasn’t enough to drag this game even further towards a 5th set decider & a possible shock upset, as Tsitsipas takes out the win; 3-6, 6-7 via 8-10 tiebreaker, 7-6 via 7-3 tiebreaker, 6-7 via 7-9 tiebreaker.

It’s unlucky to see Kolar being eliminated after he did everything possible to stay in this fight during his Round 2 match-up. He responded really well from the opening set down where Kolar held back Tsitsipas until the very end through the tiebreak, which is a super competitive effort from the 25-year-old, who is currently ranked at World No.134. Although he denied Tsitsipas a straight sets win at the first attempt following the 3rd set, but a poor start and finishing just saw Kolar being too far behind when it comes to matching his opponent’s elite stature. There’s always room for improvement because Kolar never gave up & fought hard against a top-ranked player like an underdog tonight, as he hopes to come back better with even more miracles at Wimbledon late next month.

And congratulations To Tsitsipas with the win where he will advance to Round 3 on Day 7 Saturday v Mikael Ymer from Sweden. It was a very easy fire off as always with the opening set lead. Now Tsitsipas wasn’t given an easy ride as this tie goes on where he was constantly being challenged by Kolar that went all the way through the tiebreak. He almost got the job done in straight sets at one point, having secured a close 2nd set win before Kolar struck one back going into the fourth set. However, he finally found light at the end of the tunnel when Tsitsipas used his first-half advantage that came back to haunt Kolar & closed his gruelling night at the office on a high note.

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World No.1 Iga Swiatek was just too good against Alison Riske in straight sets at Court Suzanne Lenglen. Her first set spell so was outstanding that went unchallenged with six games to zero.

Although Riske may have fought back a game or two after the break, but it’s all about the overall performance where Swiatek closed this off comfortably from start to finish; 6-0, 6-2.

It was not the exit Riske wanted, having been blown away by Swiatek’s elite offerings on the table. She did the best she can when Riske fought back a couple of games, as well as shown some late progress with two games being accrued in the 2nd set. But the ship was already sailed by that stage when it comes to the overall lead.

And there’s so many good things to say about Swiatek where she dominated this game for the whole time; left, right & centre. She will continue her French Open campaign going into Saturday for Round 3 against Danka Kovinic from Montenegro, in a bid to secure her 2nd grand slam triumph since that breakthrough here as a 19-year-old two years ago. And although she would’ve love to challenge Ash Barty at any final, but with Barty now retired, It’s Swiatek’s time now to prove herself that she can win grand slam singles’ tournaments every year.

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It was an easy run for the majority from the World No.13 in Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic while Canadian Bianca Andreescu made up some lost time with the 2nd set rebound. At the end of the day though, it’s Bencic who cancelled Andreescu’s possible 3rd set lifeline in a straight sets win at Court Philippe Chatrier; 6-2, 6-4.

Belinda Bencic was just too good with the strong fire offs that helped her get the ball rolling through a massive lead, so she can give herself some time to hold back her opponent. She was prepared for whatever Andreescu throws at her during the 2nd set, having almost been tied at 1-1 going into the final set decider at one point. However, Bencic eventually found a way to shut down Andreescu’s best game with her opponent’s lack of finishing while she still held a comfortable lead, where the Swiss No.1 came out unscathed that helped secure a 3rd Round tie with another Canadian in Leyland Anne Fernandez tomorrow.

And Bianca Andreescu responded well as of late in the 2nd set where she did the best she can to stay in contention towards the 3rd & final set decider, as Bencic doesn’t give any opponent including Andreescu a free pass. However, the poor starts really hurt Andreescu while Bencic take advantage of her weaknesses with a huge lead before it’s too late. The knee hasn’t been great to her over the last year or two since her heroics at the US Open back in 2019, but there’s still a lot of time to climb back into her best form towards pre-2020 level at age 21.

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It was an easy start by Novak Djokovic while Slovakian Alex Molcan began to make up some lost time after he was beaten easily in the opening set. However, Molcan’s late fightback in the 3rd set wasn’t enough to save his French Open campaign, as Djokovic closed out this Round 2 tie in straight sets with the win; 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 via 7-4 tiebreaker.

Congratulations to Djokovic who is through to Round 3 tomorrow against Aljaz Bedene from Slovenia. He was simply outstanding for the majority during these two opening sets. Although he had to overcome a competitive duel in the third while Molcan tried to keep this game alive, but Djokovic used the lifeline well going into the tiebreak and capped off in style with the win. Brilliant response there to hold back his opponent in a couple of areas that helped Novak being prepared to fight hard & show grand slam quality on the court.

Meanwhile, Moclan played some brilliant shots that earned him a few games, especially when he tried to stay in this fight which went all the way through the tiebreak in the 3rd set. But a poor opening set spell alongside a couple of gaps with his inconsistency just couldn’t him challenge the elite stature of Djokovic in the end. He came off a great run recently in the ATP Tour despite a couple of runner-up losses so far in 2022. But there’s still room for improvement though at age 24 where his best grand slam appearance was the US Open 3rd Round last year, as well as being the 38th ranked singles’ player right now.

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And 3rd seed Spaniard Paula Badosa was just too good against Fiona Ferro from France in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0. She basically wrapped this up real quick in just 54 minutes from start to finis, as Badosa’s next opponent going into Round 2 tomorrow will be Estonian Kaja Juvan.

She’s currently ranked Number 2 behind Iga Swiatek from Poland in the world of the women’s singles game after Ash Barty chose to retire on a high with an Australian Open women’s singles’ title two months. Her best grand slam performance to date was the Quarter-Finals here last year where she was defeated by Slovakian Tamara Zidansek.

However, this is her only grand slam finals appearance so far after she couldn’t get past the Round of 16 earlier this year at the Australian Open by American Madison Keys in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. It’s still a long way to go but a great tournament last year here on clay, as well as a great WTA Tour campaign, also off the back from the same year, will hopefully be her breakthrough in a bid to win her first grand slam career here at the Roland Garros.

And unlucky with the heavy loss from Ferro where she was eliminated very early in this tournament. She was on the same page as Badosa with a point or two at the beginning of this match-up, but she just couldn’t keep up the high standards Badsoa has set ever since.

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