Tennis players return to the World Group and the defeat of hockey players from the Americans at UChM: sports events of the weekend

The first semifinal of Medvedev at the "Masters"

The first soil tournament of the Masters Series this season, held in Monte Carlo, presented many surprises to tennis lovers. One of its authors was the Russian Daniel Medvedev.

The 14th racket of the world has never been a specialist in this coverage, having only two victories in 13 matches, but at the start of the tournament managed to make a significant contribution to future success. He was without any problems, the Portuguese Joao Sozu and Moldovan Radu Albota, and in the third round, prevailed over the first serious rival - the rising star of world tennis Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In the quarterfinals, Medvedev was expecting double triumphant competition in Monte Carlo Novak Djokovic. Given the statistics of personal meetings (3: 0 in favor of the Serb) and the difference in experience, few people doubted the victory of the first racket of the world. Nevertheless, the Russian managed to demonstrate a more stable tennis, over and over again forcing the opponent to make mistakes, and ended up in his first semifinal of the “Masters” with a score of 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 2.

The victory, which Medvedev himself called the best in his career, should have inspired him, especially since Dusan Layovich, the 48th World No., was on the way to the final, never reaching the decisive meetings at ATP tournaments.

To the chagrin of Russian fans, this match turned out to be less spectacular than the quarterfinal. The Russian led 5-1, but then gave six games in a row, and with them the first batch. In the second set, he never managed to get together and retire after a bad start, and the Serb, in turn, did not miss the opportunity given to him and gave the opponent only one game.

After the meeting, Medvedev paid tribute to his opponent and complained about the lack of implementation.

“I continued to fight. We know that on the ground you can change the course of the match at any moment. The proof is my defeat after leading 5-1 in the first set. I told myself that at any moment I could fix everything, but this did not happen, ”the ATP official website quotes the Russian as saying.

In the final of the tournament, Laiovich lost to Italian Fabio Fonini with a score of 6: 3, 6: 4.

The victory of the Russian national tennis team over Italy

The Russian women's team will have a long return to the elite of world tennis, but the next small step on this path was made after the victory over Italy in the play-out round of World Group II.

Despite the importance of this stage, the match signs were not replete with big names. On the eve of the competition, it became known that one of its leaders, the 30th World No. Kamila Georgi, would not play for the “Squadra Azzurra”. The team got the finalist "Roland Garros" Sarah Errani, who returned after the disqualification, but she was announced only to the pair meeting. As for the Russians, the first number of the national team in the absence of Daria Kasatkina was Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Her company was Anastasia Potapova, which occupies the 74th line of the WTA rating, as well as Vlada Koval, who is still in the rank of hopeful tennis players.

Domestic athletes made a weighty bid for victory already on the first day of the competition, which started with the triumph of Potapova over Martina Trevisan. The 146th World No. rendered worthy resistance to a more eminent opponent by sweeping in the scoring after the first set. The second game also began with Italian break-point, but then the Russian woman managed to take control of the situation, winning five games in a row. The ending was dictated by a Russian who finished the match with a score of 2: 6, 6: 3, 6: 1.

No less intense was the second meeting between Pavlyuchenkova and Yasmina Paolini. Tennis players consistently took their feed until the sixth game, when the Italian made a break at zero. However, the leader of the Russian team managed to translate the set into a tie-break and win it with a score of 7: 4.

The second batch was held on a similar scenario. Pavlyuchenkova gave her pitch, and then managed to take the pitch Paolini. The outcome of the match was again decided on a tiebreaker, in which the Russian woman managed to cope with the nerves.

Interestingly, the national team has never in its history lost to the Federation Cup, leading 2-0. The current draw was not an exception.

The second competitive day began with the confrontation of the first numbers of teams. Pavlyuchenkova showed a confident game at the reception, although she had some difficulties on her serve. Tennis players exchanged breaks at the beginning of the meeting, but Trevisan could not resist the onslaught of a rival. The second game took place according to a similar scenario, however, the Russian woman had to recoup this one. The key was the fourth game, after which the Italian could not oppose anything more eminent athlete, who assured the match with a score of 6: 4, 6: 3.

After Russia led the series 3-0, the other two meetings were a formality. In the doubles match, Koval and Potapov snatched victory from Erani and Paolini with a score of 4: 6, 6: 3, 10: 7. The fifth round meeting was canceled.

This victory allowed the Russian national team to enter the second world group, in which Slovakia and Japan are already waiting for it.

WBO Crawford title defense

In New York, the fight for the title of the welterweight champion according to the World Boxing Organization (WBO) between title holder Terence Crawford and Amir Khan. The American was considered the favorite of the meeting, the ending of which, however, caused a lot of question from boxing fans.

The Briton actively began the fight, but all his attempts to attack were reduced to nothing after a knockdown in the performance of the absolute world champion. The second and third rounds went through a similar scenario. Khan acted with the second number, and Crawford, in turn, tried to exhaust the opponent, who by the fourth three-minute look looked more tired and offered less and less resistance. He conducted several successful moves, including a blow to the head on the right.

The intrigue of the meeting finally died in the fifth round, when the American struck Khan with a left-wing aperotte below the belt. The Briton had the right to a five-minute rest, however, through the doctor he announced that he could not continue the meeting, and the referee considered a technical knockout.

Subsequently it became clear that there was a misunderstanding between the judge and the loser’s team for an unknown reason.

“I didn’t want to be taken off the battlefield and didn’t. Terence is a great fighter, but if people want to think that I have refused to continue, so be it, ”BoxingCcene quotes Hana.

In response, Crawford called on the opponent to recognize the truth, as he clearly saw that he was talking to his coach.

The defeat of the junior national team of Russia at the World Cup

The Russian national hockey team continues to fight for first place in Group B at the Junior World Championships, which is being held in Sweden these days. On Saturday, the wards of Vladimir Filatov won a landslide victory over Latvia with a score of 5: 1. Already on Sunday, they were to meet with the leader of the quintet, the United States.

Recently, in the North American country, there has been a real rise in hockey, and at almost every level of competition, the national team is in the rank of one of the main favorites. There are seven applicants for the first round of the National Hockey League (NHL) draft pick, starting with goalkeeper Spencer Knight and ending with forward Cole Cofield.

For the Russians, the match began the best way possible. Already in the eighth minute, they led 2-0 after the goals of Yegor Chinakhov and Rodion Amirov. However, after two minutes, Jack Hughes reduced the backlog, and in the end of the first period, Alex Turcott equalized the score altogether.

In the second segment of the meeting, US hockey players continued to dominate on the ice, preventing the opponent from taking possession of the puck. One more goal was scored by Matthew Bolldi and Kofield.

In the third period, Russia managed to win back one point thanks to the puck of Egor Spiridonov, but the North Americans managed to come off again. Kofield scored a double, and Matthew Beniers set the final score on the scoreboard - 6: 3.

Wards Filatov continue to occupy second place in group B, having in his asset six points.