Showing posts with label Czech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Czech. Show all posts
Monday, 17 August 2026
Saturday, 15 August 2026
Monday, 22 June 2026
Wednesday, 5 November 2025
SLAVIA PRAGUE 0-3 ARSENAL; HIGHLIGHTS, MAN OF THE MATCH, STATS AS 122-YEAR-OLD RECORD EQUALLED IN MERINO MASTERCLASS
Arsenal equalled an astonishing 122-year-old clean sheet record and Mikel Merino produced an attacking masterclass in a 3-0 Champions League league-phase victory away to Slavia Prague.
There was little to write home about on Arsenal's end during the first 30 minutes, where their Czech hosts showed a few glimpses of attacking promise, but nothing that would truly trouble David Raya.
However, the customary dead-ball Gunners goal arrived just past the half-hour mark via a Bukayo Saka penalty, before auxiliary striker Mikel Merino doubled the visitors' lead just 36 seconds into the second half.
The former Real Sociedad man then harnessed his aerial prowess to double his tally and bag Arsenal's third of the night, before the Gunners preserved their customary clean sheet thanks to a late Slavia spot kick being overturned on review.
Tuesday's result means that Arsenal have now kept eight straight clean sheets in all tournaments for just the second time in their history, after managing to do so as Woolwich Arsenal in 1903.
Ahead of the 8pm kickoffs, Mikel Arteta's side are now sitting pretty in first place in the 36-team league-phase table with a perfect 12 points from 12, while Jindrich Trpisovsky's Slavia sit 30th and are still searching for their first win
SPORTS MOLE'S VERDICT.
No Martin Odegaard. No Viktor Gyokeres. No Martin Zubimendi. No Gabriel Martinelli. No Kai Havertz. No Gabriel Jesus. No Noni Madueke.
No. Problem.
It has been said and will continue to be said for as long as Arsenal are on this magnificent run, but the Gunners' squad depth truly is something to behold, as the majestic Merino demonstrated in the second half tonight.
The Spaniard has sometimes looked awkward and out of place when starting as Arteta's focal point, but when he channels his inner number nine, he is a marvellous presence inside the penalty area and took his two goals with aplomb in Prague.
Arsenal did not have it all their own way in the opening phases of the game, but they did what they do better than anyone else during their slow first half hour - restrict the opposition from having a single shot on target.
Arteta's momentum train is running at full throttle ahead of Bayern Munich later this month, and in this form, there is nothing to suggest that Arsenal cannot compete for a phenomenal Premier League and Champions League double.
Saturday, 31 May 2025
INDOMITABLE SINNER OBLITERATES LEHECKA TO REACH FRENCH OPEN FOURTH ROUND
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| Reuters |
PARIS - World number one Jannik Sinner delivered a flawless performance to pulverise Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-0 6-1 6-2 in little more than 90 minutes on Saturday, to burst into the French Open fourth round and issue a ominous warning to other title contenders.
The 23-year-old Italian, who returned to tennis in May after a three-month-doping ban, won the first 11 games in a row, and has so far found no resistance en route to the last 16.
He has yet to drop a set in his second tournament back, after reaching the final in Rome earlier in the month.
"Today I was playing really, really well," Sinner said. "He was serving very well and brave. But I am very happy.
"My coach had (his) birthday yesterday and usually when he has birthday I don't play good. Luckily I was not playing yesterday."
"This morning I said to my team I feel well," he added. "I warmed up feeling really well, trying to go on court with a good focus. My team gave me the right tactics. It is a combination also being happy on court."
Sinner exploded into action, racing through the first set with a bagel in 25 minutes.
The Czech was left stunned, wondering how to counter such power and precision, but before he came up with any answer he was already trailing 3-0 in the second set.
Pinned to the back, Lehecka could only watch how Sinner's shots flew past him, including a sensational baseline forehand winner that earned the Italian a 4-0 advantage.
The 23-year-old world number 34 earned a big cheer when he finally got onto the scoreboard at 5-1 but his ordeal was far from over.
Sinner served out the second set before proceeding to break shell-shocked Lehecka at the very start of the third.
Running his panting opponent ragged, Sinner earned another break and put him out of his misery with his first match point.
The top seed has now stretched his winning streak at Grand Slam events to 17 matches, after winning the titles at the 2024 U.S. Open and the Australian Open in January prior to his doping ban.
He will next face 17th-seed Andrey Rublev, who advanced after his opponent Arthur Fils of France withdrew with a back injury.
- Karolos Grohmann
Sunday, 19 January 2025
NOVAK DJOKOVIC BEATS JIRI LEHECKA IN STRAIGHT SETS AND WILL FACE CARLOS ALCARAZ IN LAST EIGHT OF AUSTRALIAN OPEN
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| Novak Djokovic celebrates beating Jiri Lehecka (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/AP) |
Novak Djokovic will take on Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster quarter-final at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Alcaraz benefited from Jack Draper’s retirement after two sets of their clash before Djokovic defeated Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-4 7-6 (4).
It will be an eighth meeting overall and fourth at a grand slam between the Serbian and Spaniard, with Djokovic having triumphed in the semi-finals at the French Open in 2023, while Alcaraz has won the last two Wimbledon finals.
Their last meeting came at Roland Garros in the Olympic final last summer, when Djokovic claimed an emotional first gold medal.
His fall in ranking to seventh means this is the earliest stage at a slam they will have done battle, and there is a huge amount on the line for both men.
Their last meeting came at Roland Garros in the Olympic final last summer, when Djokovic claimed an emotional first gold medal.
His fall in ranking to seventh means this is the earliest stage at a slam they will have done battle, and there is a huge amount on the line for both men.
Djokovic is bidding to win a record-breaking 25th slam title while Alcaraz can become the youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam.
Djokovic, under the guidance of his long-time rival Andy Murray, began the tournament slowly, dropping sets against unfancied Nishesh Basavareddy and Jaime Faria.
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| Novak Djokovic gestures to the crowd (Mark Baker/AP) |
But he stepped up a level against Tomas Machac in round three, and he played an impressive match against another Czech in 24th seed Lehecka.
The only slight blip came at the start of the third set, when he broke serve only to be broken straight back, while Djokovic again seemed unhappy with the behaviour of some of the crowd.
The 37-year-old refused to do the customary post-match interview, instead taking the microphone to thank fans for coming, prompting loud booing on Rod Laver Arena.
There were plenty of Serbian flags evident in the stands, and it will be interesting to see who the crowd favours when Djokovic takes on Alcaraz
The Spaniard, who has dropped only one set so far, said of the match-up with a smile: “This is not the right player to play in a quarter-final, I guess.
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| Carlos Alcaraz, left, has won back-to-back Wimbledon finals against Novak Djokovic (Mike Egerton/PA) |
“I think in a grand slam, from quarter-finals to the final, those players are the best in the world. If it wasn’t Djokovic in the quarter-final, it could be another player who is in the top of the ranking.
“But, facing Novak, for me it’s not going to change anything if I’m playing him in a quarter-final or semi-final. Probably change a little bit if it is a final, obviously.
“Being in a quarter-final, I’m going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see. I know my weapons. I know that I’m able to play good tennis against him, I’m able to beat him.”
The final stages are shaping up to pit the leading players against each other, with second seed Alexander Zverev also making it through.
The German recovered from losing the second set to defeat France’s Ugo Humbert 6-1 2-6 6-3 6-2 and will next face 12th seed Tommy Paul, who beat a physically hampered Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-1 6-1.
- Eleanor Crooks in Melbourne
Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Tuesday, 18 June 2024
Saturday, 25 May 2024
TOMAS MACHAC UPSETS NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN GENEVA OPEN SEMIFINALS
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| Photo: Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP |
GENEVA -- Novak Djokovic will defend his French Open title in Paris still without a trophy this season after losing in the Geneva Open semifinals Friday.
The 44th-ranked Tomas Machac beat Djokovic 6-4, 0-6, 6-1 in the last clay-court event to prepare for Roland Garros, where main draw play starts Sunday.
"Of course I am worried. I haven't been playing good at all this year," Djokovic said.
His record in 2024 dropped to 14-6 overall and 0-3 in semifinals, including at the Australian Open against Jannik Sinner.
"I don't consider myself a favorite there," the top-ranked Serb said of his chances at Roland Garros, where he has won two of the past three titles and three overall among his men's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles. "I'm going to take it match by match and see how far I can go."
Machac took his first match-point chance, which came on Djokovic's serve, and clinched when Djokovic pushed a backhand long.
It was the fifth time Djokovic had his service broken, and he also made 27 unforced errors.
"If you play against Novak, you just hope and try to play your best and see how it looks," Machac said in an on-court interview.
Djokovic warmly greeted the Czech player at the net and smiled as he walked off court, applauding the fans.
Djokovic took a medical timeout after the first set for a stomach issue.
"It was a terrible feeling with stomach and health today. It was not a great night and today as well," he said. "I don't want to take anything away from his win. He deserved it."
Machac will play his first tour final Saturday against two-time Geneva champion Casper Ruud, the French Open runner-up for the past two years, or the unseeded Flavio Cobolli. Their semifinal did not start on time because of a lengthy rain delay.
- Associated Press
Monday, 11 March 2024
ALCARAZ, SWIATEK ADVANCE AT INDIAN WELLS
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| USA TODAY Sports |
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz moved into the fourth round at Indian Wells on Sunday with a 6-2 6-3 win over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Third seed Jannik Sinner also advanced with a 6-3 6-4 win over Jan-Lennard Struff while 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat home hope Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-3.
In the women's draw, world number one Iga Swiatek powered past Czech Linda Noskova 6-4 6-0.
Spaniard Alcaraz, who next plays Fabian Marozsan, said one of the keys to defending his title was to put the previous year's victory out of his mind.
"I think the first thing that you have to do if you want to defend the title is you forget about you won the title last year," said the 20-year-old.
"It's about being yourself, being at 100% every day if you want to do a good results here".
Alcaraz also said the ankle injury which forced him to withdraw from the Rio Open last month was not an issue during his matches.
"I'm not going to say I forget about it, but in matches, I forget all about it," he added. "I'm moving very well. I don't think about the ankle in matches, in training. But off the court, of course, I have to take care of it."
- Reuters
Saturday, 20 January 2024
WORLD NO. 1 IGA SWIATEK EXITS AUSTRALIAN OPEN IN A 3RD-ROUND LOSS TO CZECH TEENAGER LINDA NOSKOVA
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| AP Photo |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Already down a set and facing a break point against Iga Swiatek, No. 50-ranked Linda Noskova decided she had nothing to lose.
She won 11 of the next 12 points to take the second set and swing momentum in their third-round match Saturday, ultimately becoming the first teenager to beat a No. 1-ranked woman at the Australian Open since 1999.
With a big serve and equally big groundstrokes, she unsettled Swiatek and held her cool, even under pressure in the last game to serve it out, for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that means there's no top 10 players in the top half of the draw.
“I’m just really kind of exhausted mentally and physically,” Noskova said in her post-match news conference following the upset. “I just believed my game tonight. I just really wanted this.”
Swiatek is a four-time major winner but has never been past the semifinals at Melbourne Park. Even so, she was on an 18-match winning streak and expected to account for the 19-year-old Noskova, who is making her main draw debut at the tournament.
Swiatek beat 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round and had to rally from 4-1 down in the third to overcome 2022 finalist Danielle Collins in the second.
Sunday, 17 September 2023
Friday, 25 August 2023
Sunday, 16 July 2023
UNSEEDED VONDROUSOVA STUNS JABEUR TO WIN TITLE
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| Reuters |
Czech Marketa Vondrousova left Tunisia's Ons Jabeur heart-broken once again as she claimed a surprise 6-4 6-4 victory on Saturday to become the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women's singles title.
The 24-year-old left-hander, who a year ago needed wrist surgery, proved too steady for the error-strewn Jabeur who ended up as runner-up as she did in 2022.
Jabeur, beaten by Elena Rybakina last year and by Iga Swiatek in the 2022 U.S. Open final, was bidding to become the first Arab player to win a Grand Slam title and the first African woman to lift one of the four major trophies.
Thursday, 8 June 2023
FIORENTINA PRESIDENT CALLS WEST HAM 'ANIMALS' AFTER EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE FINAL
Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso branded West Ham as “animals” after losing the Europa Conference League final.
Jarrod Bowen scored a last-minute winner to end a 43-year wait for a major trophy for the east London club.
It was an ill-tempered affair both on and off the pitch in Prague with sixteen arrests made prior to kick-off after Fiorentina supporters attacked a group of West Ham fans.
Friday, 2 September 2022
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