Miami
28
03
2024
Stefanos Tsitsipas, together with Paula Bandosa, visited the facilities of Inter Miami and met David Beckham up close. But for the Greek tennis player, the important acquaintances and meetings with former and current football players who have worldwide fame, do not stop there.
After being eliminated by Shapovalov at the Miami Open, he stayed in Florida for a few days of rest and essentially tourism.
After David Beckham, Stefanos Tsitsipas met another football star. The newest meeting was with Neymar! The Brazilian is recovering in Miami from his serious injury and of course Tsitsipas did not miss the opportunity to have his picture taken with him.
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Miami
24
03
2024
While it was smooth passage for Sakkari it was rough going for Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the fourth seed having to dig deep to see off determined Danish qualifier Clara Tauson 3-6 7-5 6-4 in a near empty Hard Rock stadium.
After splitting the opening two sets in a ragged back-and-forth contest, 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina finally seized control with a break to nose in front 3-2 in the third and would never let go of the lead.
Sakkari, putting the 6-4 6-0 California drubbing at the hands of world number one Iga Swiatek in Sunday’s final in the rearview mirror, was all business after having failed at the first hurdle in her last two visits to Miami.
Having collected her first WTA Tour title in Austin last month and following that up with a quarter-final run at Indian Wells, Yuan represented a potentially tricky first test for eighth seeded Greek.
But the 28-year-old passed with flying colours, breaking her Chinese opponent five times in the 79-minute masterclass.
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Athens
23
03
2024
It’s been 20 years since German coach Otto Rehhagel led an unheralded team to the title at Euro 2004 in one of soccer’s biggest surprises, and 12 years since Portuguese manager Fernando Santos helped Greece reach the Euro 2012 quarterfinals.
That was the last time Greece played at the Euros, but the team is now one game away from returning to the tournament under Poyet, the cultured Uruguay midfielder who spent most of his playing and coaching career in England.
“Greece have been absent from the Euros for too long,” Poyet said Thursday after his team cruised past Kazakhstan 5-0 in Athens in a qualifying playoffs semifinal.
Poyet now takes his confident team to Georgia on Tuesday for a winner-takes-all match in a noisy, 50,000-seat national stadium in Tbilisi.
“What everybody is talking about is that 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the Euro 2004 triumph,” the Greece coach said. “It is a good coincidence and we will try our best.”
Poyet’s contract is set to expire at the end of next week, but a win on Tuesday could see him get an extension through the tournament in Germany this summer.
“If you ask me would I like to stay in Greece, I will say yes, no doubt,” Poyet said in a recent interview in Ireland, where he has been linked with the vacant national team job.
Two years ago, Poyet seemed an unlikely hire for Greece after a series of short stays with clubs in Chile, France, China and Spain.
Still, he did have experience of the Greek league in a six-month spell at AEK Athens, although that ended with him being fired in April 2016 on the eve of a cup semifinal.
Santos had coached three Greek clubs before taking the national team into the knockout stage at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup — its last appearance on the biggest stage.
The next coach from abroad after Santos, Claudio Ranieri, was new to Greece and lasted only a few months. Ranieri was fired after a humiliating 1-0 home loss against the Faeroe Islands — only to bounce back by leading Leicester to a stunning Premier League title.
Since Rehhagel arrived 23 years ago, the national team has had just two Greek coaches for brief spells totaling 13 games. Poyet is not even the first Uruguayan to hold the job, with Sergio Markarián having had a short stint in 2015.
“I know the mentality of Greek people. Sometimes they are too down, sometimes they are too high. We need to control the emotions,” Poyet said, looking ahead to Georgia.
The reward for a win on Tuesday will be to enter a Euro 2024 group that contains the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal, neighboring Turkey and the Czech Republic.
And for Poyet, maybe a renewed contract.
“If you had given me the chance 2 years ago to have one match in order to go to the Euro,” Poyet said, “I would take it.”
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20
03
2024
The Germans will host Ukraine in Nuremberg on June 3 before taking on Greece in Moenchengladbach four days later. Euro 2024 kicks off on June 14 with Germany facing Scotland in their first Group A match.
“We have to prepare for different styles and systems of opponents ahead of the Euro (2024),” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said in a statement.
“Ukraine and Greece are two fighting, passionate teams and we had problems with such opponents lately.”
Nagelsmann, who took over following the sacking of Hansi Flick in September 2023, has had a mixed start with a win and a draw during a US trip in October followed by two straight losses in Austria and at home against Turkey in November.
There is now mounting pressure in Germany for Nagelsmann and his team to start delivering with the Euros less than 100 days away.
“That is why both these teams after the matches against France and Netherlands [in March] are the right tests,” Nagelsmann said.
The Germans travel to France on March 23 and host the Netherlands three days later in their friendly matches this month.
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Athens
17
03
2024
The changes were showcased at a grand event held at the Hellenic Olympic Committee on Tuesday, where the HOC thanked the sponsors and supporters of the Greek team, presented High Priestess Mary Mina and new ceremonies' composer Dimitris Papadimitriou, as well as the new black-and-white robes that will be worn by the priestesses in the revamped ceremony. In addition, 6 male and female athletes modelled the new Team Greece outfits prepared by the company 4F for the Paris Games.
HOC President Spyros Capralos kicked off the evening by thanking the sponsors for their support, which had allowed Greece to assist more than 200 athletes in preparing for the Olympics.
The president of the HOC Olympic Torch Relay Committee Thanassis Vassiliadis then presented the ceremony's new High priestess, award-winning actress Mary Mina, and internationally acclaimed composer Dimitris Papadimitriou, while announcing the rest of the team involved in the ceremony, including presenter Nikos Aliagas, soprano Joyce DiDonato, choreographer Artemis Ignatiou, soprano Myrsini Margariti, tenor Babis Velissarios, artistic director Fokas Evaggelinos, the ERT musical ensembles and choir, children's choirs, the women's choir Chores and WolvesTeam.
The HOC also paid homage to the previous High Priestess, Xanthi Georgiou, as well as the previous composer and costume designer, Yiannis Psimadas and Eleni Kyriakou, respectively.
The new costumes, inspired by ancient Greece and designed by Mary Katrantzou, were then presented through a performance involving two priestesses and a kouros.
The Olympic Flame-lighting ceremony will take place on April 16, with Mina using the traditional curved mirror to light the Olympic Torch using the sun's rays. The High Priestess will then deliver the Olympic Flame to the first runner in the Torch Relay, rowing Olympic medallist Stefanos Douskos, at the edge of the ancient stadium in Olympia, kicking off the 11-day relay in Greece. The Olympic Flame will be handed over to the organisers of the Paris Games on April 26, in Athens, spend the night in the French Embassy and then depart for France on the ship "Belem" the following day.
The ship is due to arrive in the port of Marseille on May 8, where the French section of the Torch Relay will begin, lasting 68 days until it culminates in the lighting of the Olympic Flame at the Opening Ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games on July 26.
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Indian Wells
16
03
2024
Sakkari will play top-ranked Iga Swiatek in Sunday’s final. Swiatek routed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 to improve to 19-2 this year, with her match wins leading the WTA Tour.
Swiatek has beaten Sakkari in 3 of their 5 meetings.
There were delays of 20 minutes and 2 hours during the semifinal between third-seeded Gauff and ninth-seeded Sakkari.
Sakkari broke Gauff twice in taking a 5-2 lead in the second set. But Gauff won 4 straight games and fought off 3 match points in the 10th game to take a 6-5 lead.
Sakkari held to force the tiebreaker in which she fell behind 6-2 before Gauff won it, 7-5.
There were break points in each of the first six games of the third. After dropping serve to open the set, Sakkari twice broke Gauff and then held for a 4-1 lead. She held again to go up 5-2 and then one hour and 10 minutes after her first three match points, Sakkari hit a forehand winner to set up her fourth. She closed out the match on Gauff’s forehand error.
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Athens
10
03
2024
The half-marathon will follow a course roughly resembling a 'V' and will include Syntagma Square and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier through central Athens, Michalakopoulou, Messoghion, Patission, Stadiou, and Rizari streets, among others.
Shorter races will also take place, including a Family Run and a 5-kilometer race.
Restrictions include parking and waiting cars at the affected roads.
More information will be provided by Greek police at the Half Marathon operations center, on Saturday (08.00 to 23:00) and Sunday (06.00 to the end of events), at the following telephones: 210-8708237, 210-8708238, 210-8708239.
For more information on the events, see https://athinahalfmarathon.gr/index.php/en/.
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Glasgow
04
03
2024
The amendment World Athletics is proposing involves introducing a take-off zone where jumps would be measured from an athlete’s take-off to landing position, getting rid of foul jumps to make the event more appealing to fans.
“I consider long jump to be one of the hardest events because of the board and the accuracy you need,” Tentoglou told reporters.
“You need to run like a sprinter, to hit the board perfectly – this is the difficult part of the long jump. The jump itself is easy. The hard part is the run-up.
“So if they want to remove this, the long jump would be the easiest event,” he added. “If that happens, I will not do long jump anymore. I will be a triple jumper.”
The 25-year-old Tentoglou, also the reigning Olympic and world outdoor champion, and 19-year-old Italian Mattia Furlani both leapt 8.22 meters in Glasgow with the Greek taking gold on the tiebreak due to his longer second-best jump.
“It was very close. I hope everyone had some fun today, at least, it was exciting in the end,” Tentoglou said.
Furlani, whose silver was his first global medal, flew to what looked to be the winning jump on his sixth and final attempt, but the red flag went up to signal a foul because he stepped past the take-off board.
Under the proposed rule amendment, he would probably have won the gold medal, but the Italian was not too disappointed.
“Wow, what a great day. I am so excited because it is the first steps for me on the world stage,” he said. “I have got time now [in my career] to improve my speed and my power. But I am so excited to have done this.”
Carey McLeod of Jamaica won bronze with 8.21 meters.
A third of all jumps at the 2023 world outdoor championships were no-jumps, prompting World Athletics to look at ways of changing the rules.
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Glasgow
03
03
2024
In the statements he made to ERT after the completion of the final, Tentoglou emphasized: "My match was a mess, not even my worst enemy to make a final in the morning. The worst. Very difficult, I really didn't feel like it. I was trying to activate myself. I was moving all the time, I had a good warm-up. I was trying to do my best in my jumps, but the performance just wasn't coming out. It was low eights, all right. A very bad match."
Referring to what he didn't like, he pointed out: “I've won this race before. The other guys here haven't won it again. They are young athletes, they are more "hungry" than me. I have to find an appetite, because I've done it before, I've won it all. And it's hard to find that appetite many times and especially when it's like this in the morning. I felt like I was in Panhellenic, in Balkan, it was a very strange match, I wasn't happy about it at all".
Regarding the gold medal, he emphasized that "I didn't care about the gold medal, but it could have gone much better if the race was in the afternoon", while when asked if he was satisfied with his level, he said: "I'm at a good level, this today was not representative. In the summer I will be stronger and I will also start the season early from Doha."
Regarding the three major events of this season and if he thought about managing, he emphasized that "some choose not to go to an event. I could do it too, but I don't like to lose matches, I like to go to everyone. And it goes without saying that I will be there at the Olympics and at the European Games and I will try for everything", while, referring to what he is keeping from today's final, he said: "That there were many Greeks in the stands and applauding. Nothing else. I fought really badly."
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24
02
2024
“Thank you for all the emotions, the support on and off the court, and the belief you had in me since day one. We grew together, and you helped me realize that everything is possible. Not only did you make me a better tennis player, but you also made me a better person,” Sakkari posted Thursday on social media.
“Thank you for always wanting the best for me and for always having my back! Good luck on the next chapter in your career.”
Hill wrote that the pair is “ending our professional partnership but will continue to remain close friends.”
The news comes with Sakkari on a 3-match losing streak and expected to drop out of the Top 10 in the WTA rankings on Monday. She was eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open by Elina Avanesyan last month, then lost her opening matches to Sorana Cirstea at the Abu Dhabi Open last week and to Linda Noskova at the Qatar Open on Tuesday.
The early exit at Melbourne Park marked the ninth consecutive Grand Slam tournament at which Sakkari lost in the fourth round or earlier — a stretch that came right after she reached the semifinals at the 2021 U.S. Open. Her other semifinal run at a major came earlier that season at the French Open.
Sakkari is a 28-year-old from Greece who climbed to No. 3 in March 2022. She was No. 9 this week.
“Working with Maria has been an absolute privilege and I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together. We both believe this is a step forward in our respective paths, allowing us to explore new opportunities and exciting challenges that lie ahead,” Hill wrote on Thursday.
Thank you, Maria, for the amazing journey. I’m excited about what the future holds for you!”
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Los Campos
23
02
2024
The Greek champion struggled in the first set, but eventually overcame the American, Alexander Kovacevich (No. 100), 7-6(1) and 6-3 in 1 hour and 39 minutes and qualified for the semifinals of the tournament, where he will duel with Casper Rudd (No. 12) for a place in the final. Tsitsipas talked about the qualification and the next fight in the tournament against Rude:
“At first I struggled, but I managed to raise my performance and control the match more. My best period of the match was the second set, where I found my rhythm and made things more difficult for him, playing on my own terms in some cases", he emphasized and concluded:
"We have played a few times, the conditions suit both of us. He is a player who can push you to the limit. I have to be properly prepared, I have to approach it like any other match, with the right mentality and see it as an opportunity to improve my tennis through a difficult battle."
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Doha
18
02
2024
The draw held in Doha pitted the Tokyo silver medalists against new world champions Croatia and finalists Italy, while the group is completed by the USA, Montenegro and Romania, who qualified as Olympic runners-up after the South withdrew Africa. The (apparently more difficult) Group B consists of the Olympic title holder Serbia, the 2 previous world champions, Spain and Hungary, the host and up-and-comer France, Australia and Japan. The top 4 teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament.
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