196 Posts in Sports

Sakkari's match with Wozniacki was held as part of the "2023 TennisFest GNP" exhibition tournament, hosted in Mexico and specifically at the "Plaza de Toros" which was transformed into a huge tennis court. The capacity reaches 42,000 spectators, but the match took place in the presence of about 25,000 tennis fans. Immediately after the end of this match, Carlos Alcarath and the American Tommy Paul (No. 12) took turns on the court, with the young Spaniard (No. 2 in the world) winning 7-6, 6-3.

The "deers" finished their matches for the B group of the tournament 4-0 and will face the Knicks with home advantage in the quarterfinals of the tournament. In the other East quarterfinal, the Pacers (4-0) will host the Celtics (3-1) in Indianapolis. The first scorer for the Bucks was Giannis Antetokounmpo with 33 points (10/14 two-pointers, 1/2 three-pointers, 10/13 shots), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 4 errors in 40 minutes of participation. His worthy supporter is Damian Lillard, who scored 13 of his 32 points in the 4th period while also having 9 assists. For the Heat, who were without Jimmy Butler (ankle) and Tyler Hirow (ankle), Bam Adebayo had 31 points while Kyle Lowry and Josh Richardson had 21 and 20 points, respectively. The Bucks' next opponent is the Bulls in Chicago, in the early hours of Friday (1/12) at 03:00. The quarter-final with the Knicks will take place either in the early hours of Tuesday 5/12, or in the early hours of Wednesday 6/12. The Sacramento Kings also advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating the Warriors 124-123. The "Kings" (4-0) will face New Orleans (3-1) in the quarterfinals, while the Lakers (4-0) and the Suns (3-1) will face each other in the other pair. The first scorer of the winners was DeAaron Fox with 29 points, while Kevin Herter and Malik Monk each had 21 points. As for Sasha Vezenkov, he had 8 points (1/3 two-pointers, 2/6 three-pointers), 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks in 15 minutes of participation. For the "warriors", Andrew Wiggins and Steph Curry each had 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Clay Thompson added 20 points with 9 rebounds.   The pairings of the quarterfinals of the in-season tournament: EAST Milwaukee-New York Indiana-Boston   WEST Lakers-Phoenix Sacramento-New Orleans In games for the NBA basketball championship, the following results were recorded: Boston-Chicago 124-97 Brooklyn-Toronto 115-103 Cleveland-Atlanta 128-105 Miami-Milwaukee 124-131 New York-Charlotte 115-91 Minnesota-Oklahoma City 106-103 Dallas-Houston 121-115 Sacramento-Golden State 124-123   RATINGS ----------- EAST REGION ==================== ATLANTIC DISTRICT Boston 14-4 Philadelphia 12-5 New York 10-7 Brooklyn 9-8 Toronto 8-10 CENTRAL DISTRICT Milwaukee 13-5 Indiana 9-7 Cleveland 10-8 Chicago 5-14 Detroit 2-15 SOUTHEAST DISTRICT Orlando 12-5 Miami 10-8 Atlanta 8-9 Charlotte 5-11 Washington 3-14 WESTERN DISTRICT ================= NORTHWEST DISTRICT Minnesota 13-4 Denver 12-6 Oklahoma City 11-6 Utah 6-11 Portland 5-12 PACIFIC DISTRICT Phoenix 11-6 Sacramento 10-6 LA. Lakers 10-8 Golden State 8-10 LA. Clippers 7-9 SOUTHWEST DISTRICT Dallas 11-6 Houston 8-7 New Orleans 9-9 Memphis 3-13 San Antonio 3-14

The match will take place as part of the "2023 TennisFest GNP", which will be hosted in Mexico and in a stadium with a capacity of 42,000 spectators, while after the Sakkari match, the meeting between Carlos Alcarath (No. 2 in the world) and American, Tommy Paul (No. 12).      On the sidelines of this tournament, the young Spaniard promised a "very intense 2024", stating that he wants to "prevent" Novak Djokovic's dominance.      "Djokovic said he is ready to win the four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal, but we are here to stop him," Alcarath said, adding:      “The first part of my season was spectacular, but after Wimbledon I had a bit of a negative period. However, I think it's normal and I have to learn from these situations."      Alkarath then suggested to his critics to “prepare their televisions because 2024 is going to be a year full of energy and good times. I will train and try to be at the same level or even better than this year. I'm still the same boy. The fact that I am famous is not going to change my personality, even with all the expectations of people who compare me to Federer or Rafa (s.s. Nadal)."

The Greek champion remained in 9th place in the world and will remain until the end of 2023, while Iga Sviatek will remain at the top, leaving behind Arina Sambalenka. The top ten is as follows:   1. Iga Sviatek (Poland) 9,295 points   2. Arina Sabalenka (Belarus) 9,050   3. Coco Goff (USA) 6,580   4. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) 6,365   5. Jessica Pegula (USA) 5,975   6. Ons Zamber (Tunisia) 4,195   7. Marketa Vodrusova (Czech Republic) 4,075   8. Karolina Muhova (Czech Republic) 3,651   9. Maria Sakkari (Greece) 3,620 10. Barbora Krejčkova (Czech Republic) 2,880

Stefanos Tsitsipas, for his part, remained at No. 6 in the world ranking, where he will also be in his final position for 2023. The top ten is as follows:   1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 11,245 points   2. Carlos Alcarath (Spain) 8,855   3. Daniil Medvedev (Russia) 7,600   4. Yannick Sinner (Italy) 6,490   5. Andrei Rublev (Russia) 4,805   6. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 4.235   7. Alexander Zverev (Germany) 3,985   8. Holger Rune (Denmark) 3,660   9. Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) 3,245 10. Taylor Fritz (USA) 3,100

The Olympic flame will be lit in Greece’s Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Games, on April 16 in a traditional ceremony with an actress playing a high priestess igniting the torch using a parabolic mirror and the sun. The high priestess will pass the flame to Ntouskos, who won gold in the men’s single sculls at the Tokyo Games in 2021, at the edge of the ancient Olympic stadium in Olympia. After an 11-day relay across mainland Greece and seven of its islands, with the help of 600 torchbearers, the flame will be handed over to Paris Games organizers in Athens on April 26, with water polo Olympic silver medallist Ioannis Fountoulis as the final torchbearer.   The flame will depart on board a three-masted ship, the “Belem”, for the French port city of Marseille, where the sailing competitions at the Olympics will take place, for the start of the French leg of the relay. The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26-August 11th.

Tsitsipas, the 2019 champion, was trailing 2-1 in the opening set when he had a lengthy conversation with his trainer before slowly getting to his feet, shaking his head and walking over to shake Rune’s hand. That was after only 17 minutes of play and led to boos from the crowd in Turin, which instead had to settle for an exhibition match between alternates Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz. “My apologies to all the fans and the crowd that came to support me today and watch the match. I’m really gutted that I wasn’t able to finish the match,” Tsitsipas said. “My doctors and the countless visits that I had in the last few days suggested that I play, they gave me the green light to go and try.   “Unfortunately I felt terrible on the court … I hate retiring from matches, I’m not that kind of person that likes leaving mid-match and it kills me not to be able to finish this tournament, the one that I’ve prepped for for so long, made sure that I’m completely fit to perform at my best and show my capacities as a player.” Tsitsipas, who lost to Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday, had cut short a practice session on Friday because of an apparent physical issue but the Greek player said he was “absolutely fine.” Hurkacz will replace Tsitsipas and play top-ranked Novak Djokovic on Thursday. Rune lost his opener to Djokovic 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), 6-3 but the Dane now leads the green group ahead of Djokovic’s match against Sinner.   “For sure [not the way I wanted to win]. It is very unfortunate,” Rune said. “You could see in the first service game, he was not serving as full as he can. “For sure, something was up and when he called the physio I knew. It’s a long season, I wish him all the best.” Tsitsipas also withdrew from the tournament in 2021 after losing his opening match. “It’s very unfortunate. I’ve had two editions here in Turin where I had to withdraw from the tournament,” Tsitsipas said. “Never happened to me before that I had to withdraw. Very, very few occasions that I can recall on that matter. “It definitely hurts me a lot because this is the tournament that means the most to me, including the Grand Slams. I’m not able to compete the way I want to compete.”

In the second place was Kilimo from Kenya with 2. 12.36 In statements after the end of the race Kiptoo thanked the organisers that invited him and also thanked his family, "I was well prepared, I did not expect the break the record" 

The 40th Authentic Athens Marathon is counting down. Today (12:30) the opening ceremony of the Marathon is scheduled at the Tomb of the Marathon, with the transfer of the Flame to the Historic starting point of the route. Tribute to Grigoris Lambrakis There the organizing committee of the Athens Marathon will pay tribute to the memory of the fighter, doctor and long-distance Balkan runner Grigoris Lambrakis, to whose memory the Marathon is dedicated. This year even marked the 60th anniversary of his murder. Grigoris Lambrakis on April 21, 1963, managed to complete the Peace March. One march was banned by the Police, who arrested many of the demonstrators, including the late Miki Theodorakis. A month later, Grigoris Lambrakis was assassinated after his peace speech in Thessaloniki. There, next to the bust of Grigoris Lambrakis, Vassilis Koulas will "travel" the friends of the AMA with his lyre. The artistic events The Municipal Art Theater of the Municipality of Marathon (DITHEMA) has undertaken the performance of the artistic drama, directed by Nikos Gesoulis (DITHEMA). In the ceremony, two professional actors and 50 children from the Marathon Primary School will take part, who will form the symbol of peace with their school bags in front of the Tomb. The 42 kilometers and 195 meters of the AMA and the other races On the two days of November 11 and 12, where in addition to the 42 kilometers and 195 meters of the Authentic Athens Marathon, two 10 km races are scheduled. and the 5km, transforming Athens into a ...stadium, with more than 70,000 runners, among them 18,000 from abroad. Of these, 21,000 will be at the start of the 40th Athens Marathon (12/11) for the route to the Panathenaic stadium. The return of top athletes This year's race is of particular importance for one more reason, since it marks - for the first time since 2019 - the return of elite athletes from various parts of the world to the event. Among them Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo (Kenya), who has covered the distance in 2.08.56 in the Seoul Marathon this year, while in 2022 he achieved 2.06.52, but also 27-year-old Ronjas Lokitam Kilimo (Kenya), who has achieved this year 2.08 .08. Among the women, the best performance among the participants is Caroline Jepchirhir (Kenya) with 2.26.11 individual record and 2.27.46 this year's performance from the Vienna race. With claims for a good performance, Vaida Nekriosine (Lithuania) will also take a starting position with 2.36.04.   The program of events-matches of the AMA Saturday, November 11 Marathon 12.30'-1.15': Marathon Opening Ceremony (Marathon Tomb) - Transfer of the Flame to the Historic Starting Point of the Marathon Road 13.50'-14.10': Lighting of the Altar of the Marathon Flame Athens - Amalia Avenue (Height of the National Garden) 17.00'-20.20': OPAP 10km Road Race 17.00': Start of the OPAP 10km Road Race   (Includes: Panhellenic 10km Championship outside SEGAS Stadium,   Panhellenic Championship 10km EOA Kofon ) 18.30': Start of the Universities Night Run OPAP Race Start on Amalia Avenue at the height of Megaros Bodosakis Finishing inside the Panathenaic Stadium Athens - Panathenaic Stadium 17.30'-17.31': Estimated Finishing Time of the 1st Runner 10km OPAP 19.02'-19.04': Estimated End Time of the 1st Runner Universities Night Run OPAP 18.45'-19.30': Awarding of Medals for the OPAP 10km Road Race & Universities Night Run OPAP   Sunday, November 12, 2023 Athens - Amalia Avenue (Height of the National Garden)   08.15'-10.00': STOIXIMAN 5km Road Race   (Includes: Panhellenic 5km EOA Deaf Championship) 08.15': Start of the STOIXIMAN 5km Road Race Start on Amalia Avenue at the height of Megaros Bodosakis Finishing inside the Panathenaic Stadium Marathon - Installation of the Historic Marathon Starting Point 09.00'-17.45': Marathon Road (42.195m on the Authentic Route) (Includes: SEGAS Panhellenic Marathon Championship, Balkan Marathon Championship and Military Marathon Games) 09.00': Start of the Marathon Road Race Start of the Marathon from the Historical Starting Point of the Marathon Finishing inside the Panathenaic Stadium Marathon Route Municipalities 09.15'-10.20': Children's Road Races in Municipalities along the Authentic Marathon Route Race Completion Time per Municipality: 15' before the crossing of the 1st Marathon Road Athens - Vasilissis Sofias Ave. (Ypsos Voulis) 10.15'-10.30': Road Race SPECIAL OLYMPICS HELLAS (SOH) 1200m 10.30'-10.47': Children's Road Race 1200m Start on Vas. Sophia Avenue at the level of the Parliament Finishing inside the Panathenaic Stadium Athens - Panathenaic Stadium 08.30'-08.31': Estimated Finishing Time of the 1st Runner 5km STOIXIMAN 10.20'-10.35': STOIXIMAN 5km Road Race Medal Awards 10.22'-10.25': Estimated Finishing Time of the first Athletes of the SOH Race 10.35'-10.37': Estimated Finishing Time of the first Athletes of the Children's Race 10.45'-10.55': Honorary Awards Special Olympics Hellas Road Race 1200m & Honorary Awards Children's Road Race 1200m 11.09'-11.12': Estimated finish time of the 1st Marathon 11.20'-11.29': Estimated finish time of the 1st Greek Marathon 11.33'-11.45': Estimated finish time of the 1st Marathon 11.45'-11.50': Estimated finish time of the 1st Greek Marathoner 11.55-12.30': Awarding of Road Marathon Medals SEGAS Panhellenic Marathon Championship Medal Awards Balkan Marathon Championship Medal Awards

With today's victory, the Greek tennis player secured his participation for another year in the ATP Finals, which will be hosted November 12-19 in Turin. The next opponent of Stefanos Tsitsipas will be the Russian Karen Khachanov (No. 15 in the world), who a little earlier prevailed with an upset (4-6, 6-4, 6-2) of his compatriot, Roman Shafiulin. The Greek tennis player previously had an impressive "6 out of 6" against Khachanov, but was defeated in their last encounter, at the Miami Masters, last March. The start of the match was ideal for Tsitsipas, who took a 3-0 lead by breaking in the second game and coming back from 15-40 in the next, while also missing two break points for 4-0. On the first point of the fifth game, the Greek champion stepped awkwardly and injured his right leg, but after about a five-minute break and the necessary care of the physiotherapist, he recovered and easily held his serve to 5-2. But when the set came to an end, "Steph" made effortless mistakes, missed two set points and allowed Zverev to break, cut to 5-4 and then level at 5-5 and 6-6 . In the tie-break, however, Tsitsipas found excellent serves (three aces and another that the German couldn't return), took three points on his opponent's serve and won it 7-2, winning the first set. With psychology back in his favor, Tsitsipas started the second set with a break and from then on he tried to hold his serve to "close" the match. In the 8th game he found himself behind 0-30, but got out of the difficult position with consecutive excellent serves (two aces), while at 5-3 he lost two match-points, with Zverev making it 5-4 with an ace. With the match "on a razor's edge", "Steph" again found two big serves and, with a volley and an ace, "wrote" 6-4 and celebrated the victory.

The Greek champion said after the match: "I was very stressed . The result of the previous match was in my head at the beginning. My biggest victory against Elena was that I overcame that fear on the court. I thought I would buckle without playing well and end the season in a bad way, but the performance she gives me confidence going forward. It could have been ugly, but in the end I came close to winning."

That’s one reason the two-time MVP changed his mind and signed a three-year, $186 million extension rather than waiting until next summer to make his future plans known. Antetokounmpo, 28, explained his decision Tuesday, one day after announcing on social media he had agreed to the extension. “I don’t need the media talks to be about my contract and if I’m going to stay, if I’m going to leave,” Antetokounmpo said. “Because I knew in my heart that I wanted to stay. I don’t want people, when we lose a game to come back and say, ‘Oh, Giannis is being irritated, he doesn’t like what’s going on, this, that, he’s going to leave, blah, blah, blah.’ No. The conversation right now is going to be straight basketball.”   Antetokounmpo noted he made a similar decision back in 2020, when he signed his supermax extension about a week before the start of the season rather than pursuing free agency the following summer. The Bucks went on to win their first title in a half-century. “It was very helpful,” Antetokounmpo recalled. “I didn’t have to think about it. And I don’t think it’s just helpful to me, it’s helpful to the team too. They don’t want to hear about, ‘Oh, Giannis is leaving. Giannis is staying’ the whole year.” Antetokounmpo said he feels a responsibility to put the organization at ease. “I want to be here, right?” Antetokounmpo said. “There’s no secret in that. Everybody knows that. It feels good. Like I stress a lot of people out. And I don’t want to be the reason that a lot of people are stressed out because my life is really stressed out and I know how I feel. So, if I can make it easier on the organization and my teammates and put us in a better position to win a championship, heck yeah. Let’s do it.”   Antetokounmpo’s announcement on the eve of the NBA’s season opener capped an eventful few months for the Bucks and their superstar. The Bucks posted the NBA’s best regular-season record last year but lost to the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, a result that led to the firing of coach Mike Budenholzer and the hiring of Adrian Griffin. Antetokounmpo then said this summer he wouldn’t sign an extension this year and wanted to see how committed the Bucks were about competing for another championship. Milwaukee then acquired seven-time all-NBA guard Damian Lillard – like Antetokounmpo a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team – from the Portland Trail Blazers. Even after that move, Antetokounmpo said he would wait until the summer before signing an extension because it didn’t make financial sense to do it now. “He’s the best player in the world,” Griffin said Tuesday. “Having him commit for a few more years is just amazing.” Antetokounmpo is now under contract for at least four more years – and a fifth if he’s so inclined. He will earn about $94.4 million over the next two seasons, then about $120 million more from 2025-27. If he exercises his option for the final year, he could make roughly $66 million in 2027-28. Had he waited until next year to sign the extension, it could have been a four-year agreement at a figure exceeding $250 million. Antetokounmpo signed the extension and then gave the pen to his mother, who owns the pens from all the contracts he has signed since joining the NBA. “I hope I can add more pens to her collection moving forward,” Antetokounmpo said. Antetokounmpo said he realized he could benefit financially by signing now and then again in 2026 when he’s eligible for another extension. Antetokounmpo said he also followed some advice from his older brother, Bucks teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo. “Obviously I trust Thanasis to death,” Antetokounmpo said. “Me and Thanasis, we haven’t separated ourselves since I was born. We were always there. He always looks out for me and has my back in so many ways. I have his back in so many ways. It’s a judgment that I trust blindly.” This decision means the Bucks could keep their top four players – Antetokounmpo, Lillard, three-time All-Star Khris Middleton and 7-footer Brook Lopez – together for years to come. Lillard’s contract runs through 2025-26 with a player option for 2026-27. Lopez signed a two-year deal and Middleton signed a three-year deal with a player option on the third year this summer rather than leaving via free agency. “It just allows me to go back home, and when I wake up, I wake up excited to go to work because I know we have a chance, and that’s all you can ask for,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s not a guarantee. But I know having good players on your team, you have a chance to win a championship.” Antetokounmpo has spent his entire career with the Bucks, who selected him out of Greece with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft. He won consecutive MVP awards in 2019 and 2020 and led the 2020-21 Bucks to the franchise’s first championship in a half-century, scoring 50 points in the title-clinching victory. He is Milwaukee’s career leader in points, assists, blocks, triple-doubles and games played. “I’m extremely happy,” Antetokounmpo said. “I know the ins and outs of the city. The city shows me a lot of love, and also whenever I go out there and have time with my family, they also give me space, which is crazy to me. When they see me on the street, [they] give me space. They respect who I am as a person and what I’ve done for the city of Milwaukee. And for that, I can’t turn my back. Not now, not in the future, not never. “And I want to be committed, I want to give back to the city of Milwaukee. We won one championship, but I believe we can win a second.”