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Tsitsipas – Melbourne finalist who was ‘a few breaths from dying’

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Tsitsipas - Melbourne finalist who was 'a few breaths from dying'

Stefanos Tsitsipas will become Greece’s first Grand Slam champion and a world number one if he wins the Australian Open final on Sunday — he will have his father to thank if he does.

There are not many athletes whose careers and outlooks have been forged by near-death experiences, but the 24-year-old world number four is an exception.

In 2015, while taking part in a third-tier event in Crete, a teenage Tsitsipas and a friend went swimming and almost fatally misjudged the strength of the currents.

“We couldn’t breathe, I felt awful to be inside the water and was terrified. I didn’t know how all this was going to end,” Tsitsipas once recalled.

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“My father saw us from afar and he jumped in, started swimming towards us and pushed us towards the beach. I was just a few breaths away from dying.

“If we were supposed to die and lose our lives that day, we would have to do it together. My father was a hero.

“That was the day I saw life with a different perspective. I remember after that how much psychologically it changed me.”

Tsitsipas shares the same birthday as Pete Sampras — August 12 — and is studious, contemplative.

Stefanos Tsitsipas signs autographs after his victory against Russia’s Karen Khachanov

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He speaks Greek, English and Russian, and has dabbled in Spanish and Chinese.

Sporting family

Sport is in his genes. Life-saving Apostolos is his coach while mother Julia Salnikova is an ex-tennis pro.

His grandfather, Sergei Salnikov, was a 1956 Olympic gold medallist in football playing for the Soviet Union.

Since turning pro in 2016, Tsitsipas’s career has been on a steadily upward curve.

He was ranked 210 in the world in his first season but was inside the top 100 by the end of 2017 and as high as five in 2018, the first Greek to achieve such a status.

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By the time he was 21 he had already swept wins over the sport’s three biggest beasts — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Tsitsipas was the first Greek man to win a tour title and has claimed nine in total, but a Grand Slam crown has remained elusive.

He hopes that will change when he faces Djokovic in Sunday’s Australian Open final. Victory would also make him world number one for the first time.

His only previous major final was in 2021 when he came agonisingly close to the French Open crown, racing into a two-set lead in the final over Djokovic before the Serb mounted an epic comeback to claim victory.

His biggest win to date came while he was still 21. He captured the 2019 season-ending ATP Finals title, becoming the youngest champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001.

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‘Very smart’

Blond-haired and standing 6ft 4ins (1.93m) tall, Tsitsipas has long been touted as a possible heir to Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

He comes across as one of tennis’s more rounded players, but he can be feisty too.

He has developed an intriguing rivalry with Daniil Medvedev, another coming up fast behind the “Big Three”.

The Russian once described Tsitsipas’s game as “boring”.

Tsitsipas branded Medvedev an “(expletive) Russian” in a fiery encounter in Miami.

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His Melbourne opponent Djokovic, no stranger to controversy himself, is a fan.

“He is a hard worker, dedicated, nice guy,” the Serb once said.

“He’s very smart and wise. I love the fact that he is more than just a tennis player and he’s always looking to learn from experience and to understand something new about himself.

“That’s the trait of a champion, of someone who has great potential to be number one in the world and win Slams and be a great ambassador for the sport.”

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Babar Azam retains top spot in latest ODI batting rankings

Babar Azam retains top spot in latest ODI batting rankings

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Babar Azam retains top spot in latest ODI batting rankings

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam maintained a healthy lead at the top of the ODI batting rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday.

In the rankings, there are a group of South Africa players who have made good ground on the prolific right-hander. Heinrich Klaasen rises 13 spots to 30th after he hit a brilliant century in the Proteas’ impressive victory over the West Indies in the third and final match of the series in Potchefstroom, while Temba Bavuma improves 17 places to 33rd following his big knock in the second game in East London.

The second place retained by South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen while Pakistani batter Imamul Haq jumped one place to secure third place. Quinton de Kock has been ranked fourth while Shubman Gill is at the fifth place.

India pacer Mohammed Siraj copped the brunt of the attack by Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head during the second match of his side’s ODI series with Australia and as a result has lost his place at the top of the rankings for ODI bowlers.

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Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood – who is absent from the ongoing series in India – re-claims pole position ahead of New Zealand left-armer Trent Boult, with Siraj dropping into a tie for third with in-form quick Mitchell Starc, ICC said in its press release.

West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph jumps to a career-high rating and 11th place on the ODI bowling rankings following a strong series against South Africa, while teammate Akeal Hosein (up four spots to 20th) is another big mover.

The top place in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Batting Rankings is held by Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne. New Zealand’s batter Kane Williamson rose to the second place.

It means Steve Smith (third), Joe Root (fourth), Babar Azam (fifth) and Travis Head (sixth) all drop one place, while Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (10th) takes the spot of India captain Rohit Sharma inside the top 10 after he scored three half-centuries in the series against New Zealand.

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Australia choose to bat in deciding 3rd ODI against India

Australia choose to bat in deciding 3rd ODI against India

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Australia choose to bat in deciding 3rd ODI against India

Australia’s stand-in-skipper Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first in their series decider against India for Wednesday’s third one-day international in Chennai.

The visitors made two changes to the side that routed their hosts in Sunday’s last match at Visakhapatnam.

Opener David Warner returns from his second Test elbow hairline fracture for all-rounder Cameron Green while spinner Ashton Agar replaces pacer Nathan Ellis.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma fielded an unchanged team.

The two top-ranked 50-over teams are warming up for the ODI World Cup in India later this year.

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Teams

Australia: David Warner, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (capt), Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

Umpires: Jayaraman Madangopal (IND), Nitin Menon (IND)

TV umpire: KN Ananthapadmanabhan (IND)

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Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

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African players in Europe: Kessie is El Clasico hero

African players in Europe: Kessie is El Clasico hero

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African players in Europe: Kessie is El Clasico hero

Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie came off the bench to score an added-time winner for Barcelona in a 2-1 El Clasico triumph over Real Madrid at the weekend.

The dramatic victory confirmed Barca as hot favourites to regain the Spanish title for the first time since 2019.

Kessie often celebrates his goals with a military-style salute — a tribute to his late father, who became a soldier after a professional football career.

Here, AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:
ENGLAND

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JEFFREY SCHLUPP (Crystal Palace)

Ghana international Schlupp scored a consolation goal for managerless Crystal Palace in their 4-1 defeat at league leaders Arsenal. The 30-year-old midfielder hammered home from close range following a corner in the 63rd minute to make it 3-1 but any faint hopes of an unlikely comeback were quashed when Bukayo Saka restored the home side’s three-goal margin.

EMMANUEL DENNIS (Nottingham Forest)

Nigeria forward Dennis opened the scoring for struggling Nottingham Forest against high-flying Newcastle. Dennis, who joined Forest from Watford this season, latched onto Sven Botman’s back-pass before dinking the ball over Nick Pope in the 26th minute but Alexander Isak struck twice to seal a 2-1 win for the Magpies.

ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE (Everton)

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Mali midfielder Doucoure found the net in Everton’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea, nodding over the line to cancel out Joao Felix’s opener. Chelsea restored their lead through a Kai Havertz penalty but Ellis Simms scored a late equaliser, set up by Doucoure.

SPAIN

FRANCK KESSIE (Barcelona)

A low cross from Alejandro Balde set up Kessie at the far post to sweep the ball into the corner of the net. The match-winner gave Barcelona a 12-point advantage with 12 matches remaining.

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE (Villarreal)

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The Nigerian winger continued his fine recent form by opening the scoring in Villarreal’s 3-0 win at Osasuna. Drifting into the area unmarked, Chukwueze kept his cool to volley home Alfonso Pedraza’s pinpoint cross.

ITALY

VICTOR OSIMHEN (Napoli)

The Nigeria forward was once again one of the stars of the show as Napoli continued their march to the Serie A title. Towering headers in each half in a 4-0 win at Torino helped Napoli eventually stretch their massive league lead to 19 points and took Osimhen’s tally for the domestic campaign to 21 goals.

Victor Osimhen (L) scored two headers as Napoli continued their march towards the title

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KINGSLEY EHIZIBUE (Udinese)

Germany-born Ehizibue struck the goal which sealed Udinese’s 3-1 win over AC Milan and gave his team their first home win since September. Ehizibue, who represents Nigeria internationally, scored his second goal of the season in the 70th minute and helped Udinese up to eighth in Serie A.

GERMANY

SEBASTIEN HALLER (Borussia Dortmund)

Haller scored twice in Dortmund’s 6-1 demolition of Cologne. In the first half, he hammered home and was on the spot in the second half to tap in a rebound from a free-kick.

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OMAR MARMOUSH (Wolfsburg)

Egypt forward Marmoush scored his second goal in three games for Wolfsburg amid speculation he will join Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of the season. His long-range effort gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 win at Stuttgart.

FRANCE

BAMO MEITE (Lorient)

The 21-year-old defender from the Ivory Coast, who moved to Paris from Abidjan as a child, scored his first senior goal for Lorient in their 1-1 draw with Nice, a result which keeps alive their slim chances of qualifying for Europe. Meite only made his first-team debut for Lorient in January but has quickly become a regular starter.

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HABIB DIALLO (Strasbourg)

The Senegal international striker had an eventful game for Strasbourg in their relegation six-pointer against Auxerre. He won a first-half penalty only to then see his kick saved. Diallo atoned by scoring late on to seal a 2-0 win for his side. With 14 goals this is already his most prolific season at this level. 

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