Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Belgian Kemer Kobegans 6-3, 7-5 today, Thursday, in the first round of the Shanghai Masters Tennis Championship, continuing his slow rise in the rankings of the World Association of Professional Tennis Players.
Tsitsipas, who was ranked third in the world rankings in 2021, was forced to play two qualifying matches to reach the main round in the Japanese Championship, which was held last week, where he lost in the second round. In the previous tournament he participated in, the US Open, he lost in the fourth round to American Ben Shelton, who lost the final.
After falling to 87th place in the middle of the year, the player, who finished runner-up in two of the four Grand Slam tournaments, made his way to 43rd place.
In the rest of the matches, Jenson Brooksby defeated Jaume Munar 7-5, 6-4, Nuno Borges defeated Facundo Acosta 7-6, 6-2, Pavel Kotov defeated Talon Grikspor 6-4, 7-6, and Camilo Ugo Carabelli defeated Ilya Simakin 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Hubert Hurkacz also defeated James Duckworth 6-3, 7-6, Mateo Arnaldi defeated Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-1, Thiago Agustín Tirante defeated Hamad Medjovic 6-4, 6-2, and Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Mariano Navone 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Adolfo Vallejo defeated Valentin Royer 6-3, 6-1, Sebastian Baez defeated Marcos Giron 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, Zachary Svaida defeated Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-6, and Juan Manuel Cerundolo defeated Nicolas Mejia 6-4, 6-4.
Boteach van de Zandschlub also defeated Danielle Aguilar 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Martin Landalos 6-4, 6-4, and Bo Junchaukiti defeated Luca van Assche 7-6, 6-3.
Media reports stated that Slovenian Aleksander Ceferin intends to run for a fourth term as president of the European Football Association (UEFA).
The British news agency (PA Media) reported that Ceferin, who was elected for the first time in 2016, informed the heads of the national federations that are members of UEFA, during a meeting in Berlin this morning (Thursday), of his intention to run again in the upcoming elections.
Ceferin has already ruled out running for the presidency of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) against the current president, Gianni Infantino, but his continuation of 4 additional years in the leadership of UEFA would likely enhance stability and unity within the European Union, at a time when it is preparing to escalate its moves to confront Infantino’s presidency of FIFA.
Ceferin would not have been able to run for a new term had it not been for the controversial amendments made to the UEFA statute regarding presidential term limits, during the federation’s general conference in Paris in 2024.
The English Football Association opposed these amendments, but after they were approved by a vote, Ceferin announced that he would not run again in any case, noting that he made his decision 6 months ago to leave his position at the end of his third term in 2027.
But he has now informed the delegates of his intention to run for a new term extending until 2031, during the UEFA General Conference scheduled for next year in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
Ceferin had clearly declared his opposition to Infantino, after reports revealed last July that the Swiss was working on a plan to attract private investments to a company that manages the commercial interests of FIFA tournaments, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.
UEFA said that it had lost confidence in Infantino. Because of the way he dealt with that plan, he announced last August that he would work to identify a credible alternative candidate to compete with him for the presidency of FIFA.
There was speculation last September that Thursday's meeting in Berlin might see the European federations agree on a candidate to run in the competition, but that did not materialize. The deadline for submitting nominations for the presidency of FIFA ends on November 18, while sources within UEFA indicated their confidence in the possibility of identifying a candidate before the deadline.
Yesterday (Wednesday), Ramon Vega, the former Tottenham defender, became the first person to officially reveal his intention to compete with Infantino for the presidency of FIFA.
Infantino, who has also been in office since 2016, still appears to be a strong competitor, based on a broad base of influence, especially in Africa and South America, as well as a large number of Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
It also appears that the President of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, has softened his stance towards Infantino, according to a letter seen by the British news agency (PA Media).
Sheikh Salman had previously joined Ceferin and Victor Montagliani, president of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Football (CONCACAF), in calling on Infantino to step down from his position. But his new letter indicates a proposal to form an internal working group to study possible reforms to FIFA’s governance system.
The International Automobile Federation said: The organizer of the Formula 1 World Championship said on Thursday that it will use the same software modification to the power unit that was hastily implemented in Malaysia last Sunday if the Singapore Grand Prix early next week witnesses rain.
The International Automobile Federation conducted an investigation after what it described as a “software error” that caused chaos. The cars slowed to a crawl during two preparation laps conducted after heavy rain in Sepang forced organizers to cancel the start procedures for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
The Bahrain Grand Prix was held in Malaysia due to the Iran war and the situation in the Middle East.
The “review” concluded that some cars that were operating at low engine revs at certain points of the circuit suffered “a loss of power that exceeded what was originally intended, and it was not possible to recover it in those sectors.”
She added: “As a result; The settings set for the Sepang race will be re-applied for the Singapore Grand Prix if similar weather conditions are expected. In addition, an additional software update for driving in wet conditions will be released before the American Grand Prix on October 25.
Singapore will host a speed race for the first time on Saturday, with the main Grand Prix race being held at night under floodlights on Sunday.
The International Automobile Federation has already announced the risk of high temperatures over the weekend at the Marina Bay Circuit. This means temperatures in excess of 31°C can be expected, requiring teams to equip drivers with a cooling system, such as a liquid-cooled vest, although they are not required to use one and can instead incur a weight penalty.
The review also recommended implementing measures to test the software to make it as reliable as possible, and the FIA said it would work with teams and manufacturers.
Nicholas Tombazis, head of the FIA's "single-seater" sector, told reporters on Sunday that not conducting pre-season tests in wet conditions; As “Sepang” witnessed the first start on a wet track this season, it played a role in the chaos, but the “International Federation” made this clear.
He said: “Before implementation, the teams and power unit manufacturers conducted simulation exercises to validate the software package, which was later tested in full-scale operation during the first free practice sessions in the (Belgium) and (Netherlands) races.”
The FIA also published a chronology of events at Sepang, where start procedures were suspended at 15:45 local time, and the cause of the problem was identified within 5 minutes.
He said that the teams received technical guidance and clarifications at 16:03 local time regarding installing and running the modified software configurations.
The merger was completed by 16:20, and the cars left the pit lane again at 16:33.
The drivers are expected to discuss the situation with the International Automobile Federation during the Singapore Race.
Mexican Sergio Perez, a Cadillac driver, said: “It is something we must learn from and make sure it does not happen again.”
