French Open: Zverev marches into quarter-finals after Griekspoor retires mid-match
The World No. 3 led 6-4, 3-0 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen when Griekspoor, seemingly drained of energy, called for the physio and then decided to end the match after 54 minutes. The Dutchman had made a bright start, breaking Zverev early and racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, but his intensity faded rapidly as the German regained control.
It marked the third meeting of the season between the two players, whose budding rivalry has produced thrilling battles throughout 2024. Griekspoor had claimed a landmark win over Zverev at Indian Wells earlier this year, saving five match points before clinching the biggest victory of his career in tense tiebreaks. Zverev responded by avenging the loss on home soil in Munich, edging another tight contest en route to lifting the title.
Now leading their overall 8-2, Zverev appears to be peaking at the right time in Paris. A finalist last year, where he fell in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev has looked assured in his 2025 campaign, brushing aside Learner Tien, Jesper de Jong, and Flavio Cobolli in earlier rounds before Monday's abbreviated win.
The 28-year-old will next face either top seed Novak Djokovic or Britain's Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals. While Djokovic holds an 8-5 edge in their past meetings, Zverev boasts a commanding 6-0 record against Norrie.
Griekspoor was trying to reach the quarter-finals at a major for the first time. Last week, the 28-year-old defeated Marcos Giron and Gabriel Diallo in four sets and overcame Ethan Quinn in a three-hour, 16-minute five-setter.
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Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Club World Cup: Fluminense, Palmeiras show Brazil is doing something right
Kolkata: European giants Inter Milan and Manchester City being eliminated in a matter of hours by a club from Brazil and another from Saudi Arabia are results that can provide validation to the Club World Cup. Fluminense's Brazil stalwart Thiago Silva celebrates as Lautaro Martinez looks on after Hercules scores in added time in the 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the last 16 of the Club World Cup in Charlotte, North Carolina. (REUTERS) Simone Inzaghi wasn't wide of the mark when he compared his new team Al-Hilal beating Manchester City 4-3 to climbing 'Mt Everest without oxygen'; the round-of-16 result was being the best advertisement for Saudi Arabia since billions were poured into its football project. Fluminense's story is even better: a club battling relegation last year are now among the best eight in the world, and they got there by surprising Inter Milan with an aggressive start and scoring very early (German Cano, 3) and very late (Hercules, 90+3) in the 2-0 win. 'Inter are a great team. They have much more money than us, but on the pitch it's 11 against 11. The group believed, fought hard and stayed focused for the entire 90 minutes. Bravo!' said Fluminense coach Renato Gaucho. Fluminense are 181st in an Opta power ranking list on clubs where Inter are in the top 10. They finished 13th in the Campeonato Brasiliero Serie A, 33 points behind champions Botafogo. It was some fall for the 2023 Copa Libertadores champions, the slide chewing up former Brazil coaches Fernando Diniz and Mano Menezes. Gaucho, a former Brazil and Fluminense forward, took charge in April and has implemented his high-pressing style in a short time in a team whose defence is marshalled by Thiago Silva, 40, and whose goalkeeper Fabio is 44. Gritty goalless draws against Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns and a 4-2 win against Ulsan Hyundai brought the 123-year-old club from Rio de Janeiro up against the 20-time Serie A winners and thrice European champions. Now, Al-Hilal stand between Fluminense and a semi-final berth in the 32-team Club World Cup that began in the USA on June 14. With some luck, Palmeiras could join them. The traditional giants of Sao Paulo play Chelsea having beaten Botafogo in an all-Brazilian round-of-16 clash. With Flamengo going down fighting against Bayern Munich, it has been a tournament for the giants of Brazil to show that they still matter. Exactly how seriously Brazil took this competition can be gauged by the league being paused for a month to get the clubs – all of whom having qualified by winning the Copa Libertadores (South America's equivalent of the UEFA Champions League) from 2021 to 2024 – ready. 'Teams are playing every game like it is the final,' Flamengo coach Filipe Luis has said. The idea of testing themselves against the best of Europe goes back to when Pele's Santos beat Benfica and AC Milan to win successive editions of the Intercontinental Cup, a competition between winners of the Champions League and Copa Libertadores, in 1962 and 1963. In 1981, Zico starred in Flamengo beating Liverpool 3-0. Gremio (1983) and Sao Paulo (1992 and 1993) have also won this event. Over time, even as the idea of continental supremacy got diluted, European clubs stamped their authority on the Club World Cup comprising six to eight teams before this. Santos lost 0-4 to Barcelona in 2011 and since Corinthians beat Chelsea in the 2012 final, no team from Brazil had defeated a side from Europe. That changed this time. 'Botafogo was the team that defended the best against us,' said Paris St-Germain coach Luis Enrique after the Champions League winners lost 0-1 in the group stage. Flamengo made the most of Nicolas Jackson's 68th minute red card to beat Chelsea 3-1. And then Fluminense surprised Inter who finished second in the Champions League and Serie A. A Reddit post shows that the four Brazilian teams have played more matches than most European teams in the last 12 months. But what can explain the uptick in performance is that Brazilian clubs are in the middle of the season while those from Europe are tired having had to stretch theirs to accommodate this tournament. Teams from Brazil being more used to the scorching American summer is another. But above and beyond these are how Brazilian clubs have reshaped themselves, proof of which lies in winning the past six successive Copa Libertadores titles. 'A European club who happens to be in South America,' World Soccer quoted an unnamed coach in Copa Libertadores as saying of Flamengo. Proceeds from selling Vinicius Jr and Lucas Paqueta have been channelled into building a solid squad. The Athletic quoted Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano as saying that Palmeiras have 'two, even three, high level players' in every position. 'It is the same with Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo. They have invested a lot of money.' John Textor, who has stakes in Crystal Palace and Lyon, has a stake in Botafogo; Bahia are part of the City Football Group and Bragantino are in the Red Bull stable. It means Brazilian clubs can afford to retain talent and in the case of Palmeiras forward Vitor Roque, pay €25m to buy him from Barcelona. Even after helping Colombia reach the Copa America final, attacking player Jhon Arias has stayed at Fluminense. Jefferson Savarino (Botafogo), Girogian de Arrascaeta (Flamengo) and Flaco Lopez (Palmeiras) have shone in the USA but are yet to play in Europe. The path to Carlo Ancelotti being appointed Brazil coach was paved by Portuguese coaches at clubs. Step forward, Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras). Till the defeat to Palmeiras, Portuguese Renato Paiva helmed Botafogo. Foreigners can infuse fresh ideas and Portuguese coaches have won four of the past six Brazilian league titles. In his column, Tostao, the 1970 World Cup winner, had asked readers if they could imagine how wonderful it would be if a Brazilian team were to win this edition. That the possibility exits is an acknowledgement to how well clubs from the land of five-time world champions have performed.
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First Post
7 hours ago
- First Post
Pep Guardiola, Enzo Maresca criticise FIFA Club World Cup after Jurgen Klopp: 'It's not football'
Pep Guardiola and Enzo Maresca have joined Jurgen Klopp in criticising the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, raising concerns over player workload and congested schedules. read more Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola and Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca have come out in support of Jurgen Klopp, who has labelled the FIFA Club World Cup as 'the worst idea ever implemented in football'. Klopp, currently Red Bull's 'head of global football', had told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the FIFA World Cup has crowded the football calendar and it meant there was no time for players to recover mentally or physically. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Guardiola agrees with Klopp over Club World Cup criticism Agreeing with the former Liverpool manager, Guardiola said that he understands Klopp's arguments and would also 'defend them.' 'Jurgen – we fought together many, many times, I know where the idea comes from, we fought a lot in England, when we went to UEFA meetings, especially on the Premier League, (about) the calendar, to try to (increase the) quality,' Guardiola said before Man City's match against Al Hilal. More from Football 'So the players rest, and the managers rest, (then) you have more quality, so it didn't surprise me, I understand him, I respect him. 'I have an incredible relationship with Jurgen, when we were rivals… I understand his argument, because his argument I would defend as well.' However, Pep said, despite the criticism the tournament has received, he is 'proud' to be competing in the tournament. 'At the same time we're in a job, we follow FIFA, UEFA, Premier League, Serie A… the managers are not going to organise the competitions, everyone has their own role, they organise the competitions,' continued Guardiola. 'I have said many times, I am so proud to be here, because in the end many, many teams complain about the competitions, because they are not here, otherwise they would love maybe to be there. 'Their media will be here, their supporters will be here, there will be their income in terms of money to be here, and they will be happy to be there.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Nonetheless, Man City on Monday after losing to Al Hilal on Monday. Maresca blasts weather rules of FIFA Club World Cup in US Chelsea's Maresca criticised the in the USA as the match against Benfica on Saturday was suspended for almost two hours due to a thunderstorm in Charlotte. Italian manager Maresca was unhappy that the match lasted for four hours and 38 minutes due to US safety regulations forcing Chelsea and Benfica to go off the pitch. The whole game lasted for four hours and 38 minutes. 'It's not normal to suspend a game. In a World Cup, how many games are suspended? Probably zero. In Europe, how many games? Zero,' said Maresca. 'For me personally, it's not football. You cannot be inside for two hours. It is something completely new,' said Maresca, who questioned whether the U.S. - along with Mexico and Canada - would make a suitable host for next summer's World Cup finals. 'I can understand that for security reasons, you are to suspend the game. But if you suspend six, seven games that means that probably is not the right place to do this competition,' he said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
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Business Standard
8 hours ago
- Business Standard
German Cano's early goal sends Fluminense past Inter in Club World Cup R16
The Brazilians move on to face the Al Hilal on Friday in Orlando, Florida. AP Charlotte (USA) German Cano scored on a header three minutes into the match, and Fluminense held on to upset Champions League finalist Inter Milan 2-0 to advance to the Club World Cup quarterfinals in front of a sparse crowd of 20,030 at Bank of America Stadium on Monday. The Brazilians move on to face the Al Hilal on Friday in Orlando, Florida. Almost before both teams were able to break a sweat in the 90-degrees Fahrenheit heat, Jhon Arias sent a slightly deflected crossing pass from the right corner that Cano headed between goalkeeper Yann Sommer's legs into the net for a 1-0 lead. It was all they would need. The Brazilians appeared to add to their lead late in the first half, but Ignacio's header into the net was waived off due to being offside. On the other end of the pitch, Milan kept pressing, eager for the tie. The Italians controlled the time of possession throughout the match, owning the ball 68% of the time, and certainly had its chances after outshooting the Brazilian team 16-11. But Milan simply couldn't will the ball into the net. It was one bad bounce after another. And often times when one of their shots was saved there was no one there to score off a rebound. Fluminense's Hercules eventually added a goal on a wide open shot for Fluminense in stoppage time for the final 2-0 margin. As the match was winding down Fluminense players jumped up and down on the sideline. That celebration carried over to the field after the match, where they hopped up and down in unison in a huddle, their arms wrapped around each other. After the game, frustrated Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martnez told reporters that whoever doesn't want to be here should leave. The match got heated at one point after a Fluminense player on the bench appeared to grab one of the balls on the sideline to prevent an Inter Milan advantage after a ball was kicked out of bounds. The Brazilian team received a yellow card, but not until after players exchanged shoves. Key momentMartnez had a point-blank shot in the second half to tie the game, but the ball hit off the upright. He couldn't believe his bad luck and shook his head in disbelief. TakeawaysFluminense had changed its defensive strategy before the match to use three defensive backs to defend against Milan. I thought a lot about what scheme we would use, Fluminense coach Renato Gacho said. We should have three backs so we could mirror their own group. They were compliant with my instructions. We have been humble and we knew how to respect the opponent when they had the ball. I told them I trust you.' I told them yesterday and I told them again today and I told them, I believe it.' The players adapted very well. Fluminense played more poised throughout the match and became the second Brazilian club team to reach the quarterfinals, joining Palmeiras. Noteworthy Just 20,030 fans were in attendance at the 74,867 capacity stadium. Stadium officials invited patrons from the upper deck to come sit in the lower deck, which was still half empty. What they saidWe are representing Brazil football beautifully. ... The fans are happy and feeling strong because we are here playing the big European teams. Gacho on reaching the final eight. We need to look one another in the eye and accept the fact that we need to be self-critical and never point the finger at one another. Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
