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Author: Chirag

Rafael Nadal Cruises Past Medvedev to Reach Acapulco Finals

Posted on by Chirag

The 21 time grand slam winner in an unexpected form has turned back the clock as he cruised past the current and new world no 1, Daniil Medvedev. 

The Russian was favoured over Nadal after his brilliant form and almost winning against the Spaniard in the Australian Open finals, however Nadal dominated right out of the gate.

The King of Clay broke Medvedev’s service early on at 2-1 in the first set and it was Rafael Nadal the entire way since then. Nadal showed off his insane stamina and adaptation as he took everything Medvedev threw at him. 

As he took the first set 6-3, the two started the journey again in the second set as both wanted to break each other’s serve. Unlike any grand slams, these matches are best of 3 sets, which gives players lesser opportunities to equal scores after a major service break. That’s what happened as Nadal broke Medvedev’s serve again in the second set at 3-2 and didn’t give Daniil any chance to get back in the match. 

The Spaniard dominated the World no. 1 with his predictive plays and won the match 6-3, 6-3 as he continued his best opening to a season in his long and legendary career. He now stands at 14 wins with the finals of the Mexican Open next. The finals will be played today as Nadal will face Norrie who beat Tsitsipas in a shocker of a match.

Nadal after his match even mentioned proudly, how he beat the world no. 1 on his favourite surface, which is a sign that things have been going well since the start of his season back in Australia.

Chelsea Coach Tuchel Talks About Case Against Owner Abramovich

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Chelsea, back in the 2010s was bought by Roman Abramovich, a Russian businessman. With alleged ties to the state of Russia amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has come under the light.

Removed from England due to security concerns and under the scrutiny of courts due to corruption charges, he is now being talked about in the football world throughout. 

The Chelsea manager, Thomas Tuchel has come out and sympathised with the Russian saying,

“We should not pretend that this is not an issue,” Tuchel said. “The situation in general, for me and for my staff and for everybody here at Cobham, for the players, is horrible.

“Nobody expected this. It’s pretty unreal, it’s clouding our minds, it’s clouding excitement towards the [Carabao Cup] final and it brings huge uncertainty.

“To a certain degree I can understand it to such a degree the opinions and the critical opinions towards the club, towards us who represent that club. I can understand that and we cannot fully free ourselves from it.

“Maybe people understand that me as a coach or the players, we don’t have the insight what is really going on. At the moment we don’t feel responsible for all this. We feel that it is horrible and there can be no doubt about it. War in Europe was unthinkable for me for a long period.

“The impact is clear and the discussions have an impact. Let’s be a bit more patient and understand what the measurements will be and then we have to maybe deal with it.”

There have been demands of stripping Abramovich of the ownership rights of Chelsea as well. Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Champions League finals were also moved instantly from St. Petersburg, russia to Stade de France  in Paris.

Europe Take Note, Barcelona is Back

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The Europa League saw a very interesting knockout stage in play this week as German giants and Eerling Haaland’s club, Borussia Dortmund lost out to the Scottish Rangers on an aggregate score of 6-4.

Spanish sides like Sevilla and Real Betiz also made it to the Round of 16 beating their respective opponents by a goal.

However the headlines only saw one team’s name. FC Barcelona, and more importantly, Xavi’s FC Barcelona. La Blaugrana dominated Napoli in the Diego Maradona Stadium in Italy. The sheer pace and aggressive attacks by Barcelona were just too much for Napoli to handle.

As Napoli exited the tournament, Insigne also exited Europe as he heads over to the MLS in America to play for Toronto next season. 

Getting an early goal at just 8 minutes, Barcelona legend Jordi Alba started the proceedings for the visitors. The dominance continued with Frankie de Jong getting the second goal just 5 minutes later. With the likes of Traore and Pedri playing massive roles in getting the ball forward, Barcelona looked unbeatable. Alas, in a rare mistake and challenge by Ter Stegen, Insigne received a penalty kick which he completely capitalized on and brought back hope to the Italian fans. 

That hope however didn’t last long as Barcelona kept attempting and had a huge 8 shots on goal by just the 20th minute of the game. The fast paced game saw a massive goal by another player draped in Barcelona legend, Gerard Pique. 

With Barcelona up 3-1 in the match and 4-2 on aggregate by half time, all they had to do was keep up the pace. Pierre Emerick had a hard time in the first half as missed opportunity after opportunity, but in the second half, he finally opened his European goal scoring tally for Barcelona as he drilled one in the Napoli net. 

Napoli did manage to get another goal back, however it was too late and Barcelona were just too good. Now Barcelona await the draw to see which one of the seeded teams they will face out of Leverkusen, Monaco, West Ham, Moskva, Frankfurt, Zvezda, Galatasaray or Lyon.

Alexander Zverev Apologises After ‘Unacceptable’ Behaviour in Mexico

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Alexander Zverev, the defending Acapulco champion, has been all over the headlines the past couple of days following his interesting week in Mexico. 

After setting the record for the match that ended most late in the day at 4:56 am in his first round, he headlined newspapers after his temper tantrum in Mexico during a tie break in his first round doubles match. Now the German has come out to apologise for this shameful incident and make peace with the tennis world.

“I have privately apologised to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable.”

As you know I leave everything out on the court,” he wrote.

“Yesterday I left too much. I am going to take the coming days to reflect on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again.”

With stars like Andy Murray, who’s playing in the Dubai Open currently and was taken out of the singles race by Jannik Sinner earlier this week, also commenting on this incident, Zverev has been in deep trouble and under the risk of a heavy fine by ATP. 

Meanwhile stars like Medvedev and Nadal have been cruising past their opponents and are in the quarterfinals in their separate brackets. 

With this disqualification from Acapulco, Zverev missed out on a chance to face either of them and also close the gap to World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev.

Andy Murray Condemns ‘Dangerous’ Zverev Outburst

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Overin Acapulco, amidst the insane amount of tennis being played this week, controversy ensued as defending champion Alexander Zverev was ousted by the tennis organisers after his furious outburst against the umpire.

The German was playing a doubles match with his Brazilian partner Melo and even managed to secure the second set before losing in the tie break. During the tie break is when the controversy started. The umpire made a call and Zverev disagreed. With the tie break at 8-6, the ball was called in, however Zverev saw it bounce outside the line and chaos ensued.

The German, in an offensive and graphic language, ranted about the decision, screaming loudly. “Look where the ball bounced. It’s 8-6 in the tie-break, look where the ball bounced. For f*** sake, it’s your line. It’s f****** your line. You f****** idiot.” Zverev continued his rant, ““You f*****g destroyed the whole f*****g match. The whole f*****g match.”

Zverev was supposed to face the lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk in the singles second round but Peter was given the walkover after Zverev was eliminated entirely from the tournament.

Playing for the first time in five years at the Dubai open, tennis legend Andy Murray condemned the incident and said, ““It was not good. It was dangerous, reckless,” the former world No 1 said after his loss to Sinner.

“I understand athletes across lots of sports can get very frustrated. Certainly me, I’ve not always acted in the way I’d want on the court. I’m certainly not claiming to be an angel. I’m not perfect myself.”

Meanwhile for the other players, Nadal easily passed by opponent Kozlov in straight sets (6-0, 6-3) as he secured the quarter finals spot against Tommy Paul and continued his winning streak of 12 matches since the start of his season in Australia.

Conte and Spurs at a New Low After Continuous Defeats

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The London side, Tottenham Hotspurs have been in terrible form since the past month. Losing the last 4 out of 5 games in the Premier League. They have now fallen behind in the race for next year’s European qualification and now sit in 8th place.

The coach and manager Antonio Conte has acknowledged the poor form as of late and is willing to make changes but has also come to terms with the realisation that they might not make it to the big leagues next season. 

“In the last five games we’ve lost four. This is reality. Not the performance. We lost four of the last five, nobody deserves this situation, this is the reality,” Conte told reporters after the game.

“I came in to try to improve the situation but maybe in this moment, I don’t know. I’m not so good to improve it. It is very frustrating. Working hard, working a lot and trying to get out the best of players. Too honest to close my eyes.

“On Saturday we play another game, it’s the moment to see the situation and make an assessment, really frustrated, not used to seeing these situations. I’m trying to do everything but the situation is not changing.

“In the last five games, we are playing like we are in relegation this is the reality, maybe there is something wrong, I want to take responsibility, if I have that, I’m open for every decision, I want to help Tottenham from first day I arrive. Also to take my salary. It is not right at this moment.”

Nadal Cruises Past Kudla as Champion Zverev Kicked Out of Acapulco

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Acapulco has seen a lot of tennis the past couple of days with the likes of Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Nadal and Zverev all in action.

The now 21 time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal cruised past his first round opponent Denis Kudla with a score of 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard showed off his insane banana forehands to his Mexican fans as he made it to round 2.

Meanwhile, Zverev, the defending champion, created history in Acapulco in his first round when he ended and won his match at 4:56 am in the morning. He and Brooksby played  a match that became the match to end most late in the day in Mexican tennis history.

With the defending champion in good spirits, it came as a shock when he was kicked out of the tournament after an incident last night.  The incident took place after Zverev’s double match, in which he partnered Brazilian tennis player Marcelo Melo against the British-Finn pair of Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

Following the conclusion of the match, which saw Zverev and his partner lose 6-2 4-6 (10-6), the World no 3 went and smashed his racquet repeatedly on the umpire’s chair, despite official Alessandro Germani seated on it.

“Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco,” the ATP said in a statement.

Zverev was upset with the official over a line call, which took place earlier in the match. He also hurled expletives at Germani.  

Zverev’s second round singles opponent Gojowczyk was also given a walkover following this incident.

Atletico Hold Off Manchester United at 1-1 in First Leg

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Last night the Champions League saw its second set of Round of 16 teams play their first leg as Atletico Madrid were greeted by Manchester United at home.

The red devils dawned on the dark blue and black away jerseys and looked to beat a very game Atletico Madrid. However, a rare diving header from a striker put the visitors behind when Joao Felix scored in the 7th minute and scored an early goal to get the lead.

The Spaniards played very well by holding off United’s lacklustre attack throughout the match. Ralph Rangnik continues to struggle with a star studded line up performing inconsistently. 

Though the score by the end was 1-1, Atletico edged out United in terms of style of play, goals, pass accuracy and overall shots on goal.

The equaliser came very late at minute 80 when Anthony Elnaga made a quick break for it alongside Fernandes. Bruno Fernandes gave the assist for the equaliser proving his worth for the Red Devils once again.

The red devils did manage to get a hold of the possession by the latter half of the second period but just couldn’t convert any opportunity to score a winner.

The overall style of play by United has worsened over the past few months, however one thing that has improved is how aggressively and quickly United have been getting the ball back from their opponents. A similar technique to that of the struggling Barcelona side. 

Atletico who have also had a bad month and have dropped a few positions in the La Liga standings, will look to be more aggressive at the Old Trafford. The match will be even more special as United have recently lost a few games at home as well.

Djokovic Returns to On Court Action With A Thrilling Win

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The World No. 1 made a comeback last night in Dubai as he played his first official match of 2022. 

The Serbian took on Italy’s Loreonzo Musetti in a thriller under the burning heat as he defeated him 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets. Novak looked to have not lost a single step as he slid his way across the court for outstanding returns.

Recently Nadal and Novak himself have compared Djokovic’s style to that of the current World No. 2 breathing down Novak’s neck and Australian Open finalist, Daniil Medvedev. Is a 2022 dream match on the cards this year with the likes of Djokovic, Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Nadal all in a tournament at the French Open possibly?

“A pleasant experience,” he said.

After thanking the crowd following his first match of 2022, Djokovic added: “I couldn’t pick a better place to kick start the season – it was the best possible experience tonight.

“All in all, it’s a straight-set win so of course I have to be satisfied, especially after not playing for two and a half, almost three months.”

“It’s always in the heat of battle, the atmosphere where you need to get that energy out. Sometimes you are frustrated with yourself, your game, the things that are happening.”

He later said he had received a “very friendly” welcome back to competition by the “majority” of players.

He added: “I’m very thankful for that because having the kind of an understanding at least, I would say, if not support from my peers and my colleagues, is very important to me because they are the people that I get to see sometimes more than my family.

“I care greatly about the relationships that we have.”

Aguero Talks About Watching Football Post Retirement

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Sergio Aguero, former Manchester City striker, recently retired at the Camp Nou after being transferred and only playing a couple of warm up friendlies for La Blaugrana.

The reason behind his retirement was his absurd heart condition that resulted in him being substituted off early in one of his first La Liga matches back in Spain. The Argentinian followed up with doctors and finally it was determined that if he continued to play the issue could become a serious one. 

Now that he’s retired, we wonder how much football he actually watch.

“Today I want to play, but I’m scared. I trained all my life to the maximum and in big competitions. I don’t watch football or the news, I don’t care what’s going on.

“I concentrate on what I like the most, like friends. Returning to play comes into my head from time to time but I know it’s something I can’t do. They told me I was lucky because I could easily have had a heart attack. Now it is time to relax. I’m happy with what I’m doing.

“We’re still talking about what role I’ll have. [Argentine FA president Claudio Tapia] has always been nice to me and asked me to come.

“We’re going to chat a little more to see if I’ll go to the World Cup draw. I’ll be there with the guys, I get along very well with them. I’ll be there with them and helping them with tense situations.”