The first defeat of the season, Sunday's against Unicaja, almost like a necessary evil, was only an incentive for RealMadrid, a twist to the intensity of their path.. And Alba Berlin, the bottom of the Euroleague, paid the price on WiZink. A match that was a walk in the park because the whites took it almost as an affront, even though, as Chus Mateo complained, they needed to “get one more speed”. Even so, despite the “lower pace”, there are already nine career wins in the Euroleague, a wonderful dawn for the champion. [99-75: Narration and statistics]

There was not even the slightest loophole to surprise, to a night of doubts. It is true that the rival was favorable. Israel González's Alba tries to compensate with daring and “unpredictable” (and sometimes chaotic) basketball for its lack of talent, forced to reinvent itself and juggle one of the most humble budgets in the competition. In WiZink, in addition, he appeared with four resounding losses: Matt Thomas, Sterling Brown, Louis Olinde and Justin Bean. So in the blink of an eye (with the masked Eli Ndiaye starting due to Yabusele's injury) it was already 13 down, with Hezonja in a destructive plan, Tavares dominating the rings and Campazzo adding and adding assists, one of them, pure magic, under the legs of a rival.

Until the break, Madrid's piston slowed somewhat, even without Dzanan Musa, its offensive thickened, the world champion Thienmann became brave in the paint and only another three-pointer from Hezonja extended the maximum somewhat. But Alba was still alive.

Hezonja crushes against Alba, on WiZink. JUANJO MARTIN EFE

There were also no fireworks in the Palace when we returned from the locker room, a bland pace and a Madrid that could not achieve fluidity, that only advanced with individual spurts, with Alba at a distance that was not definitive and in which the class of Procida. And Musa and his repertoire appeared for the first time, an ace up Chus Mateo's sleeve, a luxury in that well-armed squad that, so far, has not received any major disappointments in the form of injuries.. Only in the third quarter, the Bosnian forward scored 11 points, joining a party led, as always, by Campazzo and his basket passes, a recital, 13 in the 23 minutes he was on the court (10 in 16 for Chacho).. Bases spreading joy.

The victory came under its own weight, an exchange without too much tension, almost as if it were a preseason match. The distance was too great to maintain the strength and Real Madrid is having difficulties with the calendar. Hezonja finished with 26 points (30 is his maximum), five of six in three-pointers, and the whites won, as is tradition, against Alba Berlin: the balance in the Euroleague amounts to 19-2.

The 10th day of the Euroleague left one of lime and another of sand for the other Spanish teams. Valencia Basket, which has lost its last four games, fell in Athens against Panathinaikos (90-73). Barcelona, despite the losses of Vesely and Jokuibaitis, obtained a very worthwhile victory in Belgrade, against Maccabi and its forced exile (90-92, with 23 points from Laprovittola). On Friday it is Baskonia's turn, who host Monaco at the Buesa Arena (8:30 p.m.).

Four days after winning his seventh Masters Cup in Turin, Novak Djokovic began his pursuit of his second Davis Cup with Serbia. The world number 1 and great protagonist of the season, seeks to put the best closure in the Martín Carpena pavilion to a year in which he has won three Grand Slam titles to finish for the eighth time at the top of the ranking. With residence in Marbella, where he spends some periods of the year, and without underestimating the large British fan base, Nole feels in some way a host, also on a surface on which he moves with the skill demonstrated by the consecutive indoor titles in Paris -Bercy and in Turin.

Absent Spain, eliminated last September in the first group stage, Djokovic and Sinner, who played for the title in the ATP Finals, are the main attractions in these Davis Cup Finals. After Italy's victory against the Netherlands, with the world number 4 multiplying successfully in singles and doubles, and Serbia's triumph against Great Britain, with victories in singles by Miomir Kecmanovic and Djokovic, Malaga will attend this Saturday to the third match between Sinner and Nole in just nine days.

It is, without a doubt, one of the most suggestive matches that can be enjoyed today, a generational confrontation that the transalpine managed to make fall on his side in the Turin round robin before finding a forceful reply in the final of the tournament. Serbia and Italy will play the second semifinal of the tournament, after Australia and Finland meet this Friday (4:00 p.m., Movistar).

Firm Kecmanovic

Djokovic took to the court with the support of Kecmanovic's victory, who had defeated Jack Draper, British number two, 7-6 (2) and 7-6 (6). The one from Belgrade responded to the confidence of his captain, Viktor Trocki, who chose him despite having a worse ranking than Laslo Djere and Dusan Lajovic, the other alternatives. More temperate than his rival, Kecmanovic penalized the young left-hander's vulnerability in the tiebreakers.

The survival of Great Britain was in the hands of Cameron Norrie, 18th, an intelligent and combative tennis player but who had only managed to take one set from Djokovic in their three meetings, last year in the Wimbledon semi-finals.. Comfortable from the beginning, Nole managed the only break to take the first set, conveying the impression that after winning consecutively against Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner in the ATP Finals, to fight successfully in the tournament that brings together the eight best of the course, he traveled quite comfortably against a lower-ranked opponent. Djokovic's superiority was once again reflected at the start of the second set. As happened to Sinner in the final last Sunday, Norrie had to attend little less than an exhibition by the winner of 24 Grand Slam titles.

At 36 years old, Djokovic performs with surprising freshness when most tennis players have their reserve on.. Not only did he win 6-4 and 6-4, but he did so with a sufficiency that strengthens him as a favorite in the third match against Sinner in such a short period of time. On the Italian's side is the value of having been the only one capable of beating him in the last 24 games. Since he lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, only Sinner has been able to stop Djokovic, who, however, took little time to respond to the affront.

As if football or sports were mathematics, the numbers brought together two strong personalities, but with great adventurous capacity.. Thus, after the disappointment of last year, being on the verge of promotion, the owner of CD Castellón, the famous bettor and analyst Haralabos Voulgaris, convinced Dick Schreuder to join his project.. “I loved the team, the atmosphere of the public, the training fields…. and I wanted to help the club take another step,” Schreuder tells EL MUNDO.

Schreuder had just promoted modest PEC Zwolle to the Eredivisie with unprecedented offensive football. Before, he had only coached an English team in the fifth division, replacing Edgar Davids, and had been an assistant to several teams around the globe.. He was even the same for his own brother, Alfred, in German club Hoffenheim.. “It is not very common in Holland because they think it is very risky,” he explains about his sports bet..

Then, Voulgaris, a Canadian professional bettor of Greek origin, who amassed his fortune making predictions, decided, pardon the redundancy, to bet on him.. The owner of Castellón since 2022, who belonged to the Dallas Mavericks discipline as Director of Data and Development between 2018 and 2021, saw a winning horse in Schreuder. At the moment, he is at the head of the race.

CD Castellón is the highest scoring team in the five main categories of Spanish football with 34 goals in 13 games. The Castellón players beat the next one, Llanera de Tercera RFEF, by one goal. The podium is completed by Míchel's Girona with 31, leader of LaLiga EA Sports. These numbers have allowed them to add 9 victories in the last 10 games. “The team is doing well, we have to enjoy the moment,” says Schreuder.. Take care of the famous positive dynamics that coaches like so much in football.

Whether it was good or bad, the Dutch coach was not going to change his playing philosophy because “it's what I believe in,” he says.. “I told the footballers: 'Don't be afraid, if we score more goals than the rival, we will win,'” he says.. And that's what they're doing. But it's not just the goals, it's also the pressure in the rival field and the recovery. As Schreuder reveals, his team barely takes five passes from the opponent to recover the ball, also the leader in this statistic in Spanish football, and triples the average of the category with the highest number of passes in the opponent's area.. They don't play offensively, they harass their rivals.

It is often said in football that when you cover your head your feet are uncovered, referring to the fact that a very aggressive game tends to have defensive gaps but, as if it were the exception that complies with the rule, CD Castellón has barely conceded 11 goals , is in the top five of his group, so his total balance is +23. Only Llanera de Tercera RFEF, again, surpasses them with a +25 and one less goal scored, but it is also true that they do so with two games less.

The challenge for the coach and the club is not only to promote to Second, but to take it to First, a category in which it has played 11 times in its entire history.. To do this, he has a group of established and offensive players like his top scorer Jesús de Miguel, who has 10 goals, but also a couple who have followed their Zwolle coach. Among them is Haris Medunjanin. The Bosnian has coincided with his coach in three different teams: the American Philadelphia Union, the Dutch Zwolle and now CD Castellón.

Schreuder's followers

“I will play for you, no matter where it is,” the footballer once told his coach.. And, at 38 years old, he has kept his word and continues to perform as if he were 10 years younger. “It's good to bring him back, he has experience in Spain, at Deportivo, and he speaks Spanish,” Schreuder begins and then praises his physical ability by “taking great care of his body” and tactics: “When he retires I will have him on the staff,” indicates.

The other one who has followed Schreuder from Zwolle is defender Daijiro Chirino. He did it because of “the great evolution” he had under his leadership and because of his style of play.. Even after having been “upset” with him for leaving the team after achieving promotion to the Eredivisie. But they continued to keep in touch and their paths ended up coming together again.

It has happened in the third category of Spanish football, a category that “has a higher level than the second Dutch category”, according to Chirino.. And from which they hope to leave this year and, with luck, fulfill the dream of everyone who is in this team, which is to reach the First Division: “I want to reach the top. “My dream is to play in LaLiga and I hope it is with Castellón.”

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, warned that the city “will not be prepared” for the 2024 Olympic Games, alleging that the capital's public transport has an insufficient number and frequency of trains in certain areas.

Questioned by the media, the person in charge spoke of “two things for which we are not going to be prepared”, namely, “transport” and “accommodating people without a fixed home.”

“We still find ourselves in difficulties in daily transportation and we cannot reach the level of punctuality, of comfort for Parisians,” said Anne Hidalgo.

When asked to specify what would not be ready for the Olympic Games (July 26 to August 11) and Paralympic Games (August 28 to September 8), the mayor mentioned the future RER station E Porte Jersey. “In fact, there are places where transportation will not be ready because there will be no number of trains or frequency,” he explained.

When asked if the responsibility fell on the Île-de-France region, which has authority over transportation in the area, Hidalgo responded: “The government also a little bit.”. “But we do all this together, so I feel worried too,” she added.

The Delegate Minister of Transport was quick to react. “We would have appreciated Anne Hidalgo's presence on the mobility committees of the Olympic and Paralympic Games if she had any proposals to make regarding transportation,” the president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, also addressed her. , in X.

“Thanks to her for solving the problem of traffic jams in Paris to allow buses to circulate!” he joked once again.

Mobility in the Paris region during the Olympic and Paralympic Games constitutes a challenge for the authorities, “because we have committed to ensuring that 100% of access to the competition venues can be made by public transport”, stressed Clément Beaune at the end of October.

Nearly 15 million spectators and accredited people are expected to attend the events, the vast majority of which will take place in Paris and Île-de-France.

Viktor Troicki made a risky decision. With Laslo Djere, 33rd, and Dusan Lajovic, 46th, more qualified in the ranking, he opted for Miomir Kecmanovic, 55th, to open the tie against Great Britain. It was easier for Leon Smith, the British captain, who, in the absence of Daniel Evans, who was injured, made the only possible choice, which was none other than Jack Draper.. If all the points have enormous importance with the new format of the Davis Cup, this one turned out to be crucial, given the presence of Novak Djokovic against Cameron Norrie in the second match.

Kecmanovic responded to his captain's confidence and made use of his greater stability to win 7-6 (2) and 7-6 (6). Serbia's number two made the most of his second match point against a brave and talented opponent, but vulnerable in short distances, where his opponent's good distribution of the ball led him.. Kecmanovic has among his baggage having taken Carlos Alcaraz to the limit in the Miami quarterfinals in 2022. It was no small feat in the midst of the Spaniard's explosion, who ended up winning his first Masters 1000 there.. Alcaraz recognized that his opponent had deserved the victory in a very tough match resolved in the tiebreaker of the third set. The 24-year-old Serbian pointed out then, but he has not yet managed to translate his qualities into good results.

Draper has a capital weapon on this type of surface. Consummate server, he pulled it out of a dangerous setback. He was 4-3 and 15-40 down in the first set when he left a poisoned second serve to the T and an ace to maintain balance. The resources of the British left-hander do not stop there, as two games later he saved his first set point with a backhand drop shot. Paradoxically, two double faults would penalize him to lose the first of his tiebreakers.

He resisted afterwards, but without threatening his opponent's serve once in the entire match. Brought to the same destination, he sinned again through incompetence. Kecmanovic's tempered hand put Serbia on the road to the semi-final against Jannik Sinner's Italy.