Tennis
Sakkari 0-2 Sambalenka: Maria’s great run in Madrid ended in the semis
Maria Sakkari lost to the formidable Arina Sabalenka with 0:2 sets and thus ended her presence at the Madrid Open in the semifinals.
Maria Sakkari’s stellar presence at the Madrid Open ended in the semifinals of the tournament after Arina Sambalenka defeated the Greek 2-0 in sets.
The world No. 2 confirmed his excellent form this year and managed to qualify for the final.
On the other hand, Maria Sakkari had some problems with her serve (especially the second) while having a particularly low break point rate, which comes at a cost in matches like this.
The match: Sabalenka started the game stronger and took a 3-0 lead with a quick break. However, Sakkari responded with the same coin and quickly leveled the set (3-3).
The 27-year-old Greek had two break chances but Sabalenka held in the seventh game. The two athletes held until the tenth game, with the Belarusian earning her second break to finish the set 6-4.
At the beginning of the second set, Sambalenka had another chance for a quick break, but Sakkari erased it, while the Belarusian athlete did the same immediately afterwards.
From then on, Arina Sabalenka completely dominated the court, managed two breaks and won the set 6:1, thereby securing qualification for the final at the same time.
Source: sport 24
Tennis
Elina Svitolina – Diana Schneider. Prediction and announcement for the Australian Open match
They will face each other in the 3rd round of the Australian Open on January 23 Elina Svitolina (WTA 12) and Diana Schneider (WTA 22).
The meeting is planned to start at 10:00 Kyiv time.
Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!
Elina Svitolina
Ukraine’s first racquet is having an excellent season; He confirmed his top seed status by winning the tournament in Auckland. Svitolina started her journey in this tournament by defeating Spanish athlete Cristina Buxa with scores of 6:4, 6:1. In the second round, she managed to defeat Polish Linda Klimovichova with sets of 7:5 and 6:1.
The Ukrainian player increased his first serve percentage in the second match compared to the first match: 64% versus 49%. The upcoming opponent for Elina is the toughest opponent of the season, this applies both in terms of ratings and class. Potentially, Svitolina could play the winner of Mirra Andreeva – Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the next round.
Diana Schneider
“Nötrka” has already managed to play in two tournaments this season, looked good and was ahead of its rivals in the top 10. In Brisbane, Schneider defeated another former “neutral” Anastasia Potapova, representing Austria, 6:1, 6:3. And then, in the tough fight, Madison Keys was defeated with scores of 7:6, 6:7, 6:7.
In Adelaide, the athlete defeated the following rivals: Leila Fernandez – 7:5, 6:3, Katerina Sinyakova – 6:1, 2:6, 7:5, followed by a victory over American Emma Navarro – 6:3, 6:3. Only in the semifinals did Mirra Andreeva lose with sets of 3:6, 2:6. At the Australian Open, the tennis player started with victories of 2:6, 6:3, 6:3 against the experienced Czech Barbora Krejcikova. The match against Australian Tallia Gibson was incredibly difficult – 3:6, 7:5, 6:3 and she managed to win three match points in the second set.
Match prediction
As statistics show, the rivals never played each other. The Ukrainian athlete is seen as the slight favorite of this pair. Svitolina is ten years older than him and has more experience.
In such a confrontation, a stubborn struggle that can lead to any outcome should be expected. There is no need to remind how important the match against the “neutral” will be for the Ukrainians. Here I would risk betting more than 20.5 total games for 1.64.
01/23/2026 –
10:00
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Tennis
MEDVEDEV: “Oleynikova? Her opinion and frankly I have nothing to say about it.”
Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev He reacted to the interview with a Ukrainian woman at the press conference Alexandra Oleynikova For the L’Équipe publication in which he accused the Russians of supporting Putin:
– The Ukrainian tennis player said that, in his opinion, Russians should not be allowed to participate in international tennis tournaments. He also condemned players, including you, for participating in an exhibition match sponsored by a major Russian oil company with ties to the war in Ukraine. How will you react to this?
– In general, I respect everyone’s every opinion. I’m trying… It’s a little different on the field, isn’t it? However, I respect all opinions off the field. “This is his opinion and frankly I have nothing to say about it,” Medvedev said.
Oleinikova’s words were also commented on by Arina Sabalenko and Diana Schneider, whom Oleinikova also mentioned in her interview.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Tennis
VIDEO. Osaka and Kirstea had a falling out following their match at the Aus Open. What happened?
Japanese Naomi Osaka and Romanian Sorana Cirstea They were relegated after their match at the 2026 Australian Open.
On January 22, Naomi defeated Sorana in the 1/32 final match with scores of 6:3, 4:6, 6:2 in 1 hour 58 minutes.
In the third set, when Osaka was shouting “kamon” between Kirsty’s first and second serves, Sorana did not like it and turned to the referee: “Is this normal? Shout “kamon” between games? Not the first time in this match.” The Romanian then heard the answer that this was not prohibited by the rules.
Sorana Cirstea wasn’t happy with Naomi Osaka getting excited between sets 😳 @tntsports
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 22, 2026
After the conflict ended, Osaka and Cirstea coldly shook hands.
- Naomi Osaka: Why are you doing this?
- Sorana Cirstea: Because you don’t know what fair play is, my friend. You’ve been playing for so long that you still don’t know what fair play is.
Naomi Osaka and Sorana Cirstea spoke at the net after their match at the Australian Open.
👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/pB1qyNoUAR
— Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 22, 2026
During an on-court interview, Osaka explained what it would take to beat Sorana:
“Apparently there was a lot of ‘kamon’ and stuff that made him very angry. He’s a great player. Apparently this is his last Australian Open. It’s a shame it turned out this way. Although he could have simply said: ‘Hey, I’m sorry but you’re in the way.’ Sometimes emotions boil over, which is understandable. He had an incredible match.”
NAOMI OSAKA HAS THAT DAWGG INSIDE AND EVERYONE KNOWS, SORONA CIRSTEA WILL SEE THE ACCEPTS WHERE OSAKA WILL HIPPINE HERSELF IN HER SLEEP TN 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/QgViJK8T9V
— Noah’s Sports (@noah_everything) January 22, 2026
Sorana Cirstea said at the press conference that she and Naomi had resolved the situation:
“Everything is fine. We just had a chat. Nothing special. After today’s match, I don’t think that’s the main point. The match was good, he was stronger than me towards the end. And yes, he deserved to win. That’s all I have to say. I won’t talk about it. This is my last Australian Open, I’ve been playing for 20 years. I feel there was more than a five-second argument at the end of the match.”
Did you have a chance to talk to Naomi after the match? Is this the most important part of today? There was no drama in this; just two players who have been on Tour for a long time exchanged a few words in five seconds. This is between us. Again, this is my last match at the Australian Open. I’d like to stop there.”
Naomi Osaka also commented on the situation at the press conference:
“Honestly, I’ve never been in this situation before. I don’t know if we should leave it on the field and just keep communicating: ‘Hi, how are you?’ I’m a little confused, but I understand it’s very emotional for him. And I want to apologize. I think the first few things I said on the field were disrespectful. I don’t like disrespecting people. If he wants to talk about it, yes. When I back myself up, I don’t think, ‘Okay, I’m going to tear myself down now.’ [внимательность] another person.” This is just for me.”
🇯🇵 “Je n’ai jamais vécu ça. J’étais un perdue, mais je comprends que les émotions étaient fortes. Je m’sorry some mots étaient déplacés. Je n’aime pas manquer de, pas mon style. What motivates me is n’est jamais pour déranger”
Osaka sur Cirsteapic.twitter.com/gV5j0NEx0j
— TennisTemple (@tennistemple) January 22, 2026
Video review of Naomi Osaka – Sorana Cirstea match
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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