Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the second round of the men's singles tournament at the Almaty Open tennis tournament, after defeating American Alexander Kovacevic.
Tsitsipas, the seventh seed in the tournament, defeated Kovacevic with a score of 7-6 (11-9), 3-6, 6-3, today, Tuesday, in the first round of the competition, which is currently being held in Turkey.
By winning this match, Tsitsipas, whose most notable achievement in the tournament was qualifying for the final match in 2022, added $7,335 to his total prize money, and if he wins the next match against Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin, he will add another $13,630.
This is the second victory achieved by Tsitsipas in his record of direct confrontations with Kovacevic.
Frenchman Terrence Attman also qualified for the second round, after defeating Australian Rinki Hijikata with a score of 7 - 6 (7 - 5), 6 - 2. Japanese Sho Shimabukuro also defeated Russian Roman Saviolin with a score of 6 - 7 (4 - 7), 6 - 4, 6 - 4.
Shimabukuro faced a high-caliber match in the next round with Russian Daniil Medvedev, the first seed in the competition.
Portuguese Jose Mourinho, Real Madrid's Spanish coach, said on Tuesday, on the eve of facing German Leipzig in the third round of the unified group of the Champions League competition, that there is no player above accountability in the royal team.
When he was asked about his Brazilian star, Vinicius Junior, who was suspended for three matches in the Spanish League, and who is threatened by the brilliance of the young Ivorian, Yann Dumande (19 years old), the Portuguese coach sent a clear message in a press conference: “Here, the only thing above accountability is the club badge. No player is above accountability. It's not about the status, the captaincy or the amount paid to sign him. What makes a player above accountability is his level on the field.”
However, Mourinho confirmed that Vinicius will start on Wednesday against Leipzig, without specifying whether he will replace Diomande, who is facing his former team, or not.
The 63-year-old coach said: “I cannot disclose the details. Vinicius is a left winger. I may be able to employ him in other positions, in some cases, but this is his position. That's all I can confirm. "Diomande doesn't need to know whether he will play or not, so you will see tomorrow."
Mourinho, nicknamed “Distinguished,” acknowledged that his team lacks “a lot” to reach the level he wants, but he is not “one of those stubborn coaches who are ready to sacrifice their ideas.”
He concluded his speech by saying: “I am fully aware of the high expectations at Real Madrid. I've been here for 3 years, and we still have a lot of work to do to improve. But I am open to analysis, understanding things, and searching for solutions.”
A few days before the “El Clásico” match against traditional rival Barcelona, the leader of “La Liga” and which has not yet tasted defeat, the Royal Club has the opportunity to come closer to qualifying for the knockout rounds of the main continental competition by achieving its third successive victory against Leipzig.
Vincent Kompany, coach of the German football team Bayern Munich, missed training, and he will also miss the press conference preceding his team’s match against its English guest, Arsenal, in the Champions League.
Despite this, the Belgian coach is planning to return in time to lead Bayern against the London team, tomorrow (Wednesday), in the third round of the league stage of the continental competition.
Kompany suffered from a viral infection and thigh problems, as he watched Bayern's landslide victory over Leipzig, 6-1, last Saturday, in the German League (Bundesliga) championship, while sitting on the bench, while his assistant, Aaron Danks, directed the players.
Bayern said in a statement today, Tuesday: “Vincent Kompany has been advised to rest due to a viral infection, and therefore he will miss the training session and press conference today.”
Danks supervised the training and will manage the press conference, a role he previously played last season when Kompany was suspended in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain, who later won the title.
Bayern will miss the efforts of its influential French winger Michael Oliseh against Arsenal, while veteran English striker Harry Kane called on the rest of the players to take advantage of this opportunity.
“When one of the key players is missing, you definitely feel the difference,” Kane said. But in such moments, other players must take responsibility and seize the opportunity. Others can participate, and we hope they will do the job well.”
It is noteworthy that Arsenal's last victory in Munich dates back to 2013, but the English team was able to defeat Bayern with a score of 3-1 in their last confrontation about a year ago in the British capital, London.
