Garantat 100% cu Simona Halep (@TVR1): https://youtu.be/dLrg5pQp2lk

SERENA WILLIAMS - MARIA SHARAPOVA // The promise made by the American: "I will never lose in front of that bastard!" Sports Gazette article - Friday, August 23, 2019 Serena Williams (37, 7 WTA) and Maria Sharapova (32, 87 WTA) will face the shock of the first US Open tour. The history of the direct confrontations between the two players is a long and interesting one. The match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova is played on Monday, at an hour to be announced by the organizers. 2004 is the year the two first met. The premiere was in the finals of Miami, with the victory of the American, score 6-4, 6-3. There were only two rows in which Sharapova succeeded. The first took place in 2004, in the final of the London Grand Slam. Sharapova then prevailed with 6-1, 6-4, and provoked an uncontrolled reaction of the American people, as Maria reveals in her autobiographical book: "I think Serena hated me because I was a weak girl, who ruined her aura, who defeated against all calculations in the Wimbledon final. I heard Serena tell a friend « I will never lose in front of that bitch! »". Sharapova won only one victory in the Champions League that year, scoring 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Serena kept her promise, winning the next 19 direct confrontations with Russia. Continue on https://amp.gsp.ro/article/575449 https://youtu.be/GkuDViOUcG8

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1f0UP0hjvU/?igshid=ztf3mjg33b5m

2019 - BRONX - UNITED STATES Giorgi saves four match points, ousts Wang to reach Bronx final Camila Giorgi, 2019 Bronx (Jimmie48/WTA) Camila Giorgi reached her second WTA singles final of the month, saving four match points en route to a final-set tiebreak victory over top seed Wang Qiang in the NYJTL Bronx Open semifinals. BRONX, NY, USA -- Camila Giorgi of Italy moved into her second singles final of the month on Friday, saving four match points en route to outlasting top seed Wang Qiang of China, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) in a closely contested semifinal tussle at the NYJTL Bronx Open. "Each point, I was there," Giorgi told the press, after her hard-fought victory. "I was trying to do my best, run the balls down and play my game." Giorgi needed two hours and 38 minutes to overcome World No.18 Wang, withstanding one match point at 5-4 in the final set and three more in the tiebreak. Giorgi came back from 3-6 down in the breaker to earn her second singles final appearance of the season after reaching the championship match at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. three weeks ago. "It’s weird, because I didn’t have so many matches this year," Giorgi said about her recent run of form, after missing three months of action in the spring due to a wrist injury. "But I think I was very consistent, and I was focusing on each point. Nothing else." The Italian improved her head-to-head lead against Wang to 3-0, as she moves one win away from earning a third career WTA singles title. Both players broke serve eight times during the barnburner, before Giorgi won the final five points of the tilt to eke out the win. Continue on https://www.wtatennis.com/news/giorgi-saves-four-match-points-ousts-wang-reach-bronx-final

BOYS' U19 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP - RESULTS AND STANDINGS PHOTO Argentina's Agustin Gallardo tries to get the ball past the block of Germany's Jan Kolakowski and Julian Hoyerat the 2019 FIVB Boys' U19 World Championship in Tunis. Tunis, Tunisia, August 23, 2019 - The Czech Republic stunned defending champions Iran with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-22) that sent shockwaves through the 2019 FIVB Boys' U19 World Champioship, as the competition entered its third day here on Friday. Matous Drahonovsky scored the match high of 17 points, including 5 blocks and 3 aces, with Jiri Mikulenka following close behind with 16 points and an attacking efficiency of 63% (15/24) to lead the European side who were totally dominant on the net with 13 blocks (to 4) and 41/79 for 52% (to 33/76 for 43%) in attack. Italy remained undefeated and now stand at the top of the Pool A standings, following their 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-13) win over Colombia in which coach Vincenzo Fanizza got the opportunity to try out varying lineups. Tommaso Rinaldi emerged top scorer of the game on 18 points. Cuba avoid mishaps to stay undefeated Cuba had to fight hard for their third win on the trot, eventually just dropping one set in their 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 25-20) win over Chinese Taipei. Led by Jose Gutierrez who scored 18 points, Cuba dominated the game especially on the net, both outblocking (including 4 stuffs from Victor Andreu) and outserving (with four out of seven aces from Christian Thondike) Korea. Brazil came from behind in the first set and even cancelled one set point of Tunisia, but then cruised past the hosts 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-14) to score their first in the tournament, after their opening match loss to Cuba in five. The South Americans, six-time youth world champions, were led by Darlan Ferreira who scored 19 points. Egypt go three for three Egypt held off Japan's attempt at a comeback, wrapping up with a 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 15-25, 15-10) win that sees the African side extend their record to 3-0 in Pool C. Japan did force a tie-brak after finding themselves two sets down, but Egypt impressively pulled together in the fifth, breaking away after the court-switch and opening up a lead before Abdelrahman Elhossiny Jr put the last ball away. Elhossiny Jr powered the winners with a 27-point scoring performance, as Egypt produced some solid blocking of 14 stuffs (including six from Omar 'Sherif' Deigham alone). PHOTO Japan's Daiki Yamada tries to tip the ball over the Egypt block of Abdelrahman Elhossiny and Omar 'Shrif' Deighamat at the 2019 FIVB Boys' U19 World Championship in Tunis. Germany got their first win of the tournament a little later on, handing Argentina their first defeat 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-20, 25-21) - both teams now standing at 1-1 in Pool C. The match was tight throughout, but Germany broke away whenever it mattered - by just enough to claim the win, with Simon Torwie hauling in 24 points and Jan Kolakowski dominating on the net with his blocking. Russia break away with second win Russia, the 2016 Boys' U16 silver medallists, pulled together after dropping the first set and went on to beat Korea 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-23) and stay undefeated at the top of Pool D. PHOTO Korea's Joung Hanyong gets stopped by the Russia triple block of Roman Murashko, Mikhail Fedorov and Ilya Kazachenkov at the 2019 FIVB Boys' U19 World Championship in Tunis. It was tighter then the final score may suggest, but at 23-21 in the second set back-to-back aces by Ilya Kazachenkov on Park Yuhyeon clinched the set for Russia. And in the fourth it took just one match ball for Russia to close the game outright with a crosscourt kill from Omar Kurbanov. Kazachenkov and Kurbanov shared top-scoring honours for Russia with 21 points each, though the match high of 26 was by Korea's Joung Hanyong. USA wrapped up the day with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-20) sweep of Nigeria, with Alex Knight leading the way on 18 points as the Americans produced a vastly superior attacking efficiency of 55% (46/84) - compared to just 43% (29/67) of Nigeria. PHOTO USA's Alex Knight, top scorer in the match against Kenya, keeps the ball in play at the 2019 FIVB Boys' U19 World Championship in Tunis. Summary Statistics - 2019 FIVB Boys' U19 World Championship Highest Scorer by Day 23 – Simon Torwie of Germany v Egypt (2-3) on August 21 33 – Joung Hanyong of Korea v USA (3-1) on August 22 29 – Abdelrahman Elhossiny Jr of Egypt v Japan (3-2) on August 23 Top Scoring Performances 33 – Joung Hanyong of Korea v USA (3-1) on August 22 31 – Darlan Ferreira of Brazil v Cuba (2-3) on August 22 29 – Abdelrahman Elhossiny Jr of Egypt v Japan (3-2) on August 23 27 – Amir Hossein Toukhteh of Iran v Bulgaria (3-1) on August 22 27 – Daiki Yamada of Japan v Egypt (2-3) on August 23 26 – Joung Hanyong of Korea v Russia (1-3) on August 23 24 – Simon Torwie of Germany v Argentina (3-1) on August 23 Top Individual Blocking Performances 6 – Dzmitry Dyleuski of Belarus v Chinese Taipei (3-2) on August 21 6 – Nicola Cianciotta of Italy v Bulgaria (3-2) on August 21 6 – Alessandro Gianotti of Italy v Czech Republic (3-0) on August 22 6 – Gustavo Andre of Brazil v Cuba (2-3) on August 22 6 – Omar 'Sherif' Deigham of Egypt v Japan (3-2) on August 23 6 – Jan Kolakowski of Germany v Argentina (3-1) on August 23 Top Individual Serving Performances 7 – Elyes Bouachir of Tunisia v Belarus (3-2) on August 22 6 – Aliaksandr Piatrevich of Belarus v Chinese Taipei (3-2) on August 21 6 – Alessandro Michieletto of Italy v Bulgaria (3-2) on August 21 Top Team Blocking Performances 17 – Italy v Bulgaria (3-2) on August 21 16 – Cuba v Brazil (3-2) on August 22 15 – Belarus v Chinese Taipei (3-2) on August 21 15 – Italy v Czech Republic (3-0) on August 22 15 – Brazil v Cuba (2-3) on August 22 Top Team Serving Performances 15 – Tunisia v Belarus (3-2) on August 22 14 – Russia v Dominican Republic (3-0) on August 22 13 – Russia v Korea (3-1) on August 23 10 – Italy v Bulgaria (3-2) on August 21 9 – Belarus v Chinese Taipei (3-2) on August 21 9 – Czech Republic v Colombia (3-0) on August 21 9 – Cuba v Brazil (3-2) on August 22 Highest Scoring Sets 31-29 – United States v Dominican Republic (2nd Set) on August 21 28-26 – Nigeria v Korea (2nd set) on August 21 28-26 – Belarus v Tunisia (4th set) on August 22 27-25 – Egypt v Germany (2nd set) on August 21 27-25 – Cuba v Brazil (5th set) on August 22 Highest Scoring Matches 236 – Cuba v Brazil 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 27-25) on August 22 216 – Tunisia v Belarus 3-2 (25-22, 15-25, 25-23, 26-28, 15-12) on August 22 206 – Egypt v Germany 3-2 (17-25, 27-25, 25-17, 13-25, 17-15) on August 21 202 – Egypt v Japan 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 15-25, 15-10) on August 23 196 – Italy v Bulgaria 3-2 (25-14, 21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-7) on August 21. CONTINUE ON https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/czechs-shock-defening-champs-as-boys-u19?id=88416

NÕLVAK/TIISAAR FEELING AT HOME IN JURMALA PHOTO Estonia's Kusti Nõlvak and Mart Tiisaar end the day top of pool E at the Jurmala 3-Star Jurmala, Latvia, August 23, 2019 - Kusti Nõlvak and Mart Tiisaar from Estonia top their group at the 2019 FIVB World Tour FIVB Jurmala 3-Star defeating Germany’s Philipp Arne Bergmann/Yannick Harms, 2-0 (21-17, 22-20). Nõlvak/Tiisaar opened their Jurmala campaign with a win over Spain’s César Menéndez Ortego/ Alejandro Huerta Pastor, 2-0 (21-10, 22-20). The Estonians then took on Bergmann/Harms, Y. on centre court for a place in the second round of single elimination. “It’s always really good to win and especially against such good opponents, we have played them in the past, I think lost twice and won once, so we got a really decent result this time and feels good,” said Tiisaar. “Mart played like a beast, he was smashing the ball so hard, getting in really good blocks and I was just serving there and setting to him, so it was good,” said Nõlvak. PHOTO Kusti Nõlvak (EST) serves in their opening Jurmala match against Spain’s César Menéndez Ortego/ Alejandro Huerta Pastor Nõlvak/Tiisaar’s best results of the year were two quarterfinal finishes in Sydney 3-Star and Edmonton 3-Star and are happy to be again progressing well through the main draw. “We haven’t been playing that well for the last month, the European Champs, we had a tough pool and we didn’t have really good matches and so it’s good to see we are finally out of the downfall right now and we are enjoying the game, so that’s a huge step forward for us,” said Nõlvak. “We wanted to find our game again here because we played really good at the beginning of the season and we haven’t had that run lately so we’re here to find that,” said Tiisaar. With Estonia just a four hour drive from Jurmala, the team are enjoying the support of some familiar faces. “We have some relatives and family and friends here cheering for us which is adding to the vibe a lot,” said Tiisaar. PHOTO Martins Plavins (LAT) receives the Mikasa in Jurmala Latvia’s Martins Plavins/Edgars top their group after a nervous start. The Latvian team dropped their opening set before turning the match around to delight the centre court crowd against Estonia’s Timo Anders Lohmus/Mart Tammearu, 2-1 (19-21, 21-15, 15-6). In their second match against Lithuania’s Lukas Kazdailis/Arnas Rumsevicius, the Latvians were confident earning the win, 2-0 (21-16, 21-19). Aleksandrs Samoilovs and Janis Smedins also end the day at the top of their pool defeating qualifiers Poland’s Marin Chiniewicz/Michal Korycki in their opening match, 2-0 (21-19, 21-13) and then Nejc Zemljak/Jan Pokeršnik to close the day, 2-0 (21-19, 21-18). PHOTO Aleksandrs Samoilovs (LAT) faces Martin Chiniewicz (POL) during Jurmala pool play Aliaksandr Dziadkou/Pavel Piatrushka from Belarus top pool C after beating Jurmala number three seeds USA’s Stafford Slick/William Allen, 2-0 (22-20, 21-13). PHOTO Pavel Piatrushka and Aliaksandr Dziadkou (BLR) top their Jurmala pool An all American match decided the winner of pool F. Casey Patterson/Chase Budinger and Miles Evans/William Kolinske fought it out in a 53 minute back and forth, before Patterson/Budinger closed it, 2-1 (21-17, 22-24, 15-11). Continue on https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/nlvaktiisaar-feeling-at-home-in-jurmala?id=88404

Australia’s Boomers record historic win over Team USA in front of 52,000 fans Boomers make history Rohan Smithnews.com.au Detractors will tell you it was just an exhibition match. That it didn’t mean anything. Even the Boomers will try to keep a lid on it. But Saturday afternoon’s historic 98-94 win over the visiting Team USA — the first time Australia has ever beaten a team from America — means something. It signals to the world that Australia’s men’s basketball team can genuinely compete for a gold medal at the upcoming FIBA World Cup. And it will no doubt send shockwaves around America where losing is not something that is taken lightly. This is how the world reacted to the Boomers first win against Team USA in 55 years. Continue on https://www.news.com.au/sport/basketball/australias-boomers-record-historic-win-over-team-usa-in-front-of-52000-fans/news-story/8a0120298274ad72229595005cb25d70

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/world-economic-forum_amsterdam-netherlands-ugcPost-6570622224263446528-bXyI