“Hong Kong Tournament”: Alex Eala qualifies for the final after a marathon match against Sakkari

Filipino Alex Ayala qualified for the final of the Hong Kong Open tennis tournament (250 points category) held on hard courts, after a difficult victory over Greek Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals, on Saturday.

Ayala clinched the qualification card after a marathon match that was stopped more than once due to rain.

The Filipino star decided the match in her favor with a score of 7/5, 3/6, and 6/4, advancing with great difficulty at the expense of the former third-seeded Greek player, after two hours and 43 minutes of actual play.

Alex Ayala is preparing to compete in the third final of her career in the WTA Championships, as she previously qualified for the final of the Eastbourne Championship in 2025, and achieved her first title in the Washington Championship this year.

Eala will play in the final match against American Claire Liu.

The American Liu advanced by defeating the Russian Alexandra Shubladze with a score of 7/5 and 6/4, after a match that lasted an hour and 57 minutes.

Defending champion Arsenal struggled to overcome its guest, Hull City, 1-0, on Saturday, and move away from the top of the English Football League in the tenth stage.

Despite its almost complete control of the match, Arsenal waited until the 72nd minute to translate the advantage through its Norwegian captain, Martin Odegaard, after he followed up on a ball shot by Nuno Mawicki and it was returned by Greek goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzoulakis.

Arsenal raised its score to 27 points at the top, temporarily six points ahead of Manchester City, which plays host to Nottingham Forest later on Saturday.

Tzoulakis played a prominent role in confronting Arsenal throughout the match, but he was unable to avoid the team's third loss in a series of nine matches in various competitions in which it did not taste victory.

Mikel Arteta's team played without international winger Bukayo Saka, who will be absent "for several weeks" due to injury, according to what the Spanish coach announced on Friday.

After the international break, Arsenal will play two difficult matches in the Champions League against German Borussia Dortmund and then Spanish Real Madrid, on November 24 and December 9. Between these two summits, the team will host Manchester City in the English Premier League, before competing in the North London derby against Tottenham.

Newcastle United settled for a 1-1 draw with its host, Fulham. The first, Jacob Murphy (80), and the second, Brazilian substitute Rodrigo Muniz (83), scored.

The draw raised Newcastle's score to twelve points in eleventh place, two points ahead of Fulham fifteenth.

Manuel Neuer became the oldest player to participate with Bayern Munich in the German League, on Saturday, at the age of 40 years and 225 days.

According to the Opta Franz statistical platform, the appearance of goalkeeper Neuer in the Mainz match on Saturday means that he exceeds the record recorded in the name of former goalkeeper Bernd Dreher, estimated at 40 years and 198 days.

Neuer still has two goalkeeping legends ahead of him in terms of participation in the German League historically.

Topping the list is former Hamburg goalkeeper Uli Stein, who played until the age of 42 years and 170 days, while former Cologne star Tony Schumacher played until the age of 42 years and 73 days, when he last participated.

Neuer was forced to leave the field in the first half due to a renewed injury to his foot.

The goalkeeper, who often suffered from injuries, made a mistake while trying to block a cross with his fist, but he was lucky to cancel Mainz's equalizer due to offside, in a decision that sparked controversy.

After that, Neuer fell on the field, pointing to his foot, and was replaced by goalkeeper Jonas Orbig. Neuer recently missed three matches due to a foot injury, in a season that is expected to be his last as a player.