China's Geng Chenwen, the host of the tournament, presented one of her best performances to defeat Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (6/8) on Friday, in the quarter-finals of the Beijing Open 1000 Tennis Tournament, and reserve her place in the semi-finals.
Chenwen, a wildcard participant in Beijing, achieved her first victory in two straight sets in this year's edition, after spending more than 10 hours on the court to reach the quarter-finals.
The world number 54 enthused the crowd with her winning shots along the lines, but Svitolina, ranked seventh, came back strong and imposed a tiebreak in the second set.
The Chinese player committed a double fault on the first point, but overcame a 0-2 deficit, before falling on her back in joy after the second match point was decided.
The 24-year-old said to the crowd: “Honestly, I was very nervous because I wanted so much to achieve this victory.”
She added: “I played in a very aggressive style in the decisive moments,” noting that her opponent “raised her level” in a close second set.
Svitolina committed only 13 direct errors during the match, which lasted an hour and 47 minutes, but the 2024 Olympic champion surpassed her by scoring 48 winners.
Later on Friday, Polish Iga Swiwontek, champion of the 2023 edition, will meet Belgian Elise Mertens, in a confrontation for the final qualification ticket to the semi-finals.
Jose Mourinho, coach of the Spanish football team Real Madrid, revealed the only club where he did not feel any real human connection throughout his coaching career.
The controversial Portuguese coach admitted that his period with English club Tottenham Hotspur was completely different from any other station in his career.
In a lengthy interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, reported by the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, Mourinho stated that he still maintains good relations with most of his former clubs, including Benfica and Porto of Portugal, Chelsea and Manchester United of England, Inter Milan and Roma of Italy, and Fenerbahce of Turkey, noting that Tottenham represents the only exception.
It is noteworthy that Mourinho took over as coach of Tottenham between November 2019 and April 2021, before moving to the Italian League to coach Roma.
Mourinho explained that the Corona virus pandemic had the greatest impact on shaping his experience in the British capital, London. The fans were absent for long periods, and he did not have the opportunity to build a direct bond with the fans.
Mourinho spoke about his period with Tottenham, saying: “That period coincided with the Corona pandemic. There was no human contact, as the stadium was almost empty most of the time. We played two or three matches in the presence of fans, then we played the rest of the matches without fans and without any interaction. "I didn't feel that connection with Tottenham."
The veteran coach (62 years old) also revealed the details of the news that linked him to coaching Real Madrid after his time with Benfica, stressing that the sequence of events went in reverse.
Mourinho revealed: “Usually things start with making contacts, then conversations and rumors appear based on those contacts, but in this case the exact opposite happened. “The conversations and rumors started before any contacts were made.”
He added: “I was surprised by it.” No one spoke to me, and I said to myself: (This is not true). "I never thought it could be real."
Veteran LeBron James gave a strong performance in the first half during his first preparatory match with his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers, in its new look, but he failed to avoid his team’s loss to the New York Nets 108-114 in Brooklyn.
James, the league's all-time leading scorer, announced last July that he had signed a two-year contract worth $8 million with the 76ers, putting an end to weeks of speculation about his destination as a free agent, after eight seasons and one title with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 41-year-old “King” is playing his twenty-fourth season in the league, which is a new record, after previously winning two titles with Miami, a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and a fourth title with the Lakers.
LeBron aspires to help the 76ers win their first title since Julius Erving led them to the crown 43 years ago.
Thursday's match was an opportunity for James to play alongside his new teammates, Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecomb, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown, who recently joined from the Boston Celtics.
James scored 10 points; He made his only shot from open play and scored all eight of his free throw attempts. He also added four rebounds, five assists and a steal during 18 minutes in the first half.
Brown topped the scoring list with 18 points, while Randle scored 14 points for the Nets, who outscored the 76ers 37-23 in the third quarter to take control of the match. But all eyes were on James, starting with his famous move of scattering chalk powder before kickoff while wearing a 76ers jersey.
James led his new team's attack smoothly during his time on the field, providing all five of his assists in the first quarter, and showing effective chemistry with Maxi.
“I think there were very good things that happened, you know, right from the beginning,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said after seeing his key players play together for the first time.
He added: “The performance witnessed good movements behind the defenders, perfect passes, etc., but there were periods in which we lost the ball a lot... The performance was also marred by some moments that were characterized by confusion and lack of smoothness. However, we must not forget that this is the pre-season, and it is the first time that the team plays with its current squad together.”
He continued: “I think we have to look at the matter from the perspective of the positives and lessons learned, and identify the aspects in which we can improve.”
The 76ers have two matches remaining in the pre-season, both against the Boston Celtics, before playing the opening match of the regular season in the league against the New York Knicks, the defending champion, in Madison Square Garden on October 20.
Since joining the team, James has found himself facing the “noise” and external comments surrounding his new team.
James resorted to Instagram to refute a report issued by the match commentator during the team’s first match in the preparation period on Monday. The report claimed that he reprimanded his teammate Embiid for being late for training. “He was never late,” he wrote. So stop lying.”
James had acknowledged, during the team's media day last month, that such external hype surrounding the 76ers would double, triple, and quadruple "now that I'm here."
