Sports weekend

The latest from tennis, women's handball and football

Florin Orban, 03.02.2023, 13:45

Romanian tennis player Monica Niculescu this
coming Saturday will prove her mettle in the women’s doubles semi-finals
of the WTA 250 tournament in Lyon, an event with 225, 480 Euros in prize money. Pairing
up with Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, In the quarterfinals, Niculescu
secured her qualification winning the match against the all-American pair made
of Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria, 5-7, 6-1, 10-7.

Romanian women’s handball team SCM Râmnicu
Vâlcea on Saturday play a home game against German opponents Thuringer. The
fixture counts towards the fourth round as part of the EHF European League’s group
stage. With 6 points in three games, Thuringer are at the top of the table in Group
D. With 2 points but with a better goal average, SCM Ramnicu Vâlcea are second-placed,
on a par with 3rd and 4rd-placed teams, Paris 92 of France and Hungary’s Vac.

The Champions League will see matches being
played, counting towards the last-but-one-round of the group stage. On Saturday,
Rapid Bucharest travel to France for a match against the Group B leader, Metz
Handball. For holders Rapid, the game is extremely important for their direct qualification
to the quarterfinals.

Two rounds ahead of the group stage, Metz Handball
have 21 points. Following in descending order are Hungarian team Gyor, Denmark’s
Esbjerg and Rapid Bucharest, with 18 points each. On Sunday and on home turf, in
Group A CSM Bucharest play also a French team, Brest Bretagne. Romania’s
vice-champion team have already secured their ticket to the quarterfinals, also
being the leaders in the rankings, with 21 points. Following in descending order
are Norway’s Vipers Kristiansand, with 19 points. Playing straight to the Champions
League’s quarterfinals are only the first two teams in each group. According to
a round-robin system, 3rd,
4th, 5th and 6th-placed teams compete in the League’s play-off stage.

Matches counting
towards the 24th round of the Romanian football Superleague are scheduled at
the weekend. On Friday, Chindia Târgovişte play UTA Arad and FC U Craiova face Universitatea
Cluj. On Saturday in Sibiu, the local side Hermannstadt receive the visit of FC
Arges, while in Bucharest Rapid play FC Voluntari. On Sunday, Mioveni play a home game against Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. The 24th
round’s derby will see CFR Cluj traveling to Bucharest for a fixture against
FCSB. On Monday, Petrolul Ploiesti play
FC Botosani, away from home, while in Ovidiu, in the south-east, Farul
Constanta face Universitatea Craiova. With 50 points, CFR Cluj are at the top
of the table, while Farul Constanta are the runner-up team, with 48.(EN)