Sports flash
The latest from tennis, water polo and men's basketball
Eugen Nasta, 09.01.2025, 13:45
Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar on Thursday advanced to the women’s doubles finals as part of the WTA 250 tennis tournament in Tasmania’s Hobart, an event with 275,000 USD in prize money all told. On Thursday, the Romanian-Hungarian pair in the quarterfinals defeated the second-seeded Norwegian Japanese pair made of Ulrikke Eikeri and Makoto Ninomiya, 6-1, 7-6. Monica and Fanny play straight in the finals as their scheduled semi-finals opponents, pulled out of competition. They were third-seeded US player Sofia Kenin and Magda Linette of Poland.
Romanian motorcyclist Emanuel Gyenes on Wednesday succeeded the best result so far at the ongoing edition of the Dakar Rally. In the fourth leg of the moto class, Gyenes came in 22nd, arriving 25 minutes and 21 seconds later than the winner, Australia’s Daniel Sanders. Also, Gyenes is 12th-placed according to Rally 2 ranking. Emanuel Gyenes is also the leader according to the ranking of pilots competing with no technical assistance.
Romania’s national water polo team sustained yet another defeat in the second game as part of the World Cup in Otopeni, nearby Bucharest. In Division One’s Group C, on Wednesday Romania sustained a 12-16 defeat by Japan, being placed at the bottom of the table according to the final ranking. In Group A, Hungary are at the top of the table. Greece won Group B, while the United States, Group C. In Group D, Croatia emerged at the top of the table.
Group winners have advanced straight to the quarterfinals alongside Japan, the best second-placed team. On Thursday, three other games are scheduled for the other places in the quarterfinals, as Spain takes on Serbia, France play Montenegro, while Romania goes against Georgia.
In news from basketball, U-BT Cluj-Napoca on Wednesday sustained at 79-91 home defeat by Israeli opponents Hapoel Jerusalem, in a Group B confrontation as part of EuroCup men’s competition. Haopel thus took their revenge as in October 2024 in Bulgaria’s Samokov, U-BT Cluj Napoca grabbed a 81 – 73 win. According to Group B tables, Spain’s Valencia are at the top, with 12 wins and two defeats. Holders U-BT Cluj-Napoca are 5th-placed with seven wins and seven defeats. U-BT’s next scheduled fixture is this next week’s away game against Italian opponents of Umana Reyer of Venice.
