Every morning, first thing in the morning, Eurosport.ro makes a short press review, to give you the most interesting and fresh information in sports.
1. Jaqueline Cristian – Daniele Collins, in the 3rd round from Madrid
Jaqueline Cristian is going through one of the best moments of her career. After putting her shoulder to Romania’s qualification to the final tournament of the Billie Jean King Cup, our athlete is doing a big tournament in Madrid. Coming from the qualifiers, Jaq has already reached the 3rd round at Caja Magica, after a fantastic victory over Barbora Krejcikova, score 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Cristian is in the 3rd round of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in his career and hopes not to stop there, but his mission will be a hellish one in the next round. The Romanian will duel with Daniele Rose Collins, the most fit player in the circuit. After winning the titles in Miami and Charleston, the American started with the right and the competition in Madrid, but not without emotions.
Collins had a free first round, being the 13th seed, and in the 2nd round she faced Olga Danilovic. The match was a marathon, but Collins pulled it off, winning dramatically, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8), after two hours and 45 minutes of play. The American was led with a set and a break, and in the decider Danilovic served for the match. Collins managed to save himself in-extremis, and in the tie-break awarded his victory, although he needed 6 match points to close the match, which ended almost at 2:00 in the morning (Romanian time).
Daniele Collins reached 14 consecutive victories on the WTA circuit, the longest streak of her career. Despite the extraordinary form she is going through, the American is determined to retire at the end of this season. The match between Jaqueline Cristian and Daniele Collins, which will be played on Sunday, will be the first direct duel between the two.
2. Sweden refuses to implement the VAR system in the domestic championship
Sweden’s professional football leagues will not implement the video refereeing system (VAR) after the clubs expressed their opposition to this technology, said the president of the Swedish Football Federation (SvFF), Fredrik Reinfeldt, writes Agerpres.
VAR has consistently been at the center of controversy in the championships where it has been introduced, with complaints ranging from its extensive analysis of offside phases to delays that often extend to several minutes.
In July 2023, the Swedish professional football leagues, which represent clubs in the top two divisions of Swedish football, stated that the majority of clubs were “categorically opposed” to the introduction of VAR.
“If we counted correctly, we have 18 clubs from the elite value echelons and two districts that said they don’t want to introduce VAR”said Reinfeldt, former prime minister of Sweden. “We respect their decision”he emphasized.
Last year, Reinfeldt was criticized by supporters after saying that “VAR is the future”.
3. Alexandra Predescu missed the qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris
Romanian fencer Alexandra Predescu took 5th place, on Friday, in the women’s epee competition in the Differdange (Luxembourg) tournament, the last qualifying criterion for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Predescu beat Sara Fernandez Calleja (Spain) in the round of 15, 15-10, but lost in the quarterfinals to Sweden’s Emma Fransson, 14-15. The Swiss Pauline Brunner won the event and qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.
In the men’s foil event, Alexandru Sîrb ranked 20th (out of 22 fencers), after obtaining only one victory in the preliminary group. Cypriot Alex Tofalides qualified for the Olympic Games.
Romania participates in the competition with six fencers, three for women and three for men, only the winner of each event getting the ticket for Paris.
On Saturday, the male saber (Iulian Teodosiu) and female foil (Mălina Călugăreanu) events take place, and on Sunday the female saber (Sabina Martiş) and male epee (Alex Oroian) events.
Fencing brought Romania 16 medals at the Olympic Games, of which four gold, five silver and seven bronze.
Tags: morning news Jaqueline Cristian hellish duel #3rd Madrid meet player moment WTA
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