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Aaand the new Madrid Open WTA champ is Iga Swiatek! She defeated last year's Madrid champion Aryna Sabalenka 7:5, 4:6, 7:6! That was one hell of a match and Aryna had 3 championship points during the match!
Madrid ATP tournament is one of the weirdest of all time: a lot of players have withdrawn including the semi-finalist Jiri Lehecka.
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Is there a chance Sinner is taking a precautionary measure to withdraw here to minimise the
risk of getting injured before Rome?
...
Definitely yes. However this Is not the favorite surface for him so I see the chance for the win really hard. In Italy there Is a "Sinner mania" probably linked to the fact that Is a new kind of "sport influencer" ... Far away from what we have seen in the past (One of the top players here was Fognini... Called also "fogna" - sewer). There Is a lot of pression to see here live (there Is a big hype for the tournament tickets for the final are already soldi out...) By the way It seems Sinner Is already suffering for hip injury like Murray... Here the difference Is the young age ...  Yeah, so true, Sinner is a real nice guy and a role model for young tennis players not only in Italy but all around the world. There's some Federer-esque aristocratic touch to his image. And yeah, huge difference with arrogant and pompous Italian tennis bad boy Fognini...  |
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Nice parachute into the semi final against either Medvedev or Lehecka, TBH I dont know who
to pick for a win of this match, maybe n over 22.5 bet here.
To me it's a no-brainer: my bet will be on Medvedev. He's got much more experience playing at later stages of Masters series tournaments. And despite clay is not his preferred surface he's still quite dangerous opponent literally for any player on tour. Lehecka is in top form that's right and he's got plenty of confidence after winning Rafa on clay, but... Medvedev is my pick this time. |
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In any case, for most Ukrainian pilots the first flight is also going to be the last...
Yeah, that's another factor to consider. On one hand we have Russia that still has a large number of air-defenses which include high quality and long range radars and anti-air missiles alongside a large air-force with modern aircrafts with pilots flying them who have been trained for a long time under favorable conditions. On the other hand we have Ukraine that has lost most of its air-defense and basically has a handful of low tier, low quality air defenses with lower range radars and anti-air missiles, alongside a small number of old/used aircrafts flown by pilots who have had little training under bad conditions. For example @Argoo talks about "dogfight". That is easier said than done. Even the so called expert American pilots with years of training and most sophisticated systems at their disposal are not capable of performing decent dogfights. Not much is expected of a Ukrainian pilot with little training abroad (language barrier) on a Western system they are not even familiar with. Another serious issue that may be overlooked is overhaul. Ukrainians may be able to fix a Russian/Soviet made aircraft since they've had them before (eg. Sukhoi and MiG) but they neither have the infrastructure nor the know-how to fix a Western aircraft such as F-16. Any small issue in an F-16 means they'll have to ship it back abroad (possibly to US itself) for Lockheed Martin to fix that issue. That's not a sustainable air-force that can make any change. Lest we forget the Abrams tanks... This is why I said too little and too late... You are absolutely right! Not only language barrier and inability to reach decent levels of flying in shorter periods of time/training but mainly just the lack of pilots. Most of the Ukrainian pilots were Russian-trained and flew Russian-built planes. Unfortunately, most of them are already dead. The remaining pilots have very poor level of English as you precisely pointed out. As a result, some time ago it was announced by a Ukrainian news outlet that there are only 6 pilots who could proceed with training abroad! 6 pilots/planes certainly doesn't sound like a gamechanger! |
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...
What were the odds on Rafa today?
...
Rafa Nadal odds against De minaur was @2.50 but lowered up to @2.20 during pre-market. I wasn't able to follow the match but the result surprised me a bit. It is obvious that in his home tournament he wants to achieve maximum results and visibility, but I don't know up to what match his physical condition can be satisfactory. Rafa announced he is going to play doubles together with Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympics in Paris this summer. Very interesting decision, I wonder who initiated this: Rafa or the Spanish tennis federation? Rafa is known to be an average doubles player with rather poor performance at the net. Spain, on the other hand, have one of the longest rosters in sport and can choose from at least a dozen of top level players. What do you think? Is Rafa the right candidate? |
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My guess is all these fighter jets would do is to only knock Russia down from having air dominance to having air superiority. And that's best case scenario.
My guess most of them will be destroyed on the ground before even being able to become airborne. Russian intelligence has improved A LOT since the beginning of the war and they are now being able to locate and destroy targets like HIMARS, Patriot systems, foreign mercenary camps etc even far away from the frontline. Airports/airfields are such an easy target for Russian missiles. You can't hide an airfield or build a new one secretly. In any case, for most Ukrainian pilots the first flight is also going to be the last... |
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I think Blanch in 2-3 years will be in top 200
More like in top 20.  Nadal will take part in this year's Laver Cup, perhaps this will be his last tournament before finally retiring from tennis completely. What about Roland Garros? I guess RG is the ultimate goal for Rafa this season. If not for RG, Rafa would have retired from tennis already. He just wants to play in Paris so bad for one final time... I posted yesterday that if Rafa doesnt feel like he is going to be competitive at RG he is not going to play! He has already said that this years Madrid is his last one so I guess this is his final year. Well, this definitely IS his final year the only question is whether or not he is going to play RG. Meanwhile, enjoying Rune v Navone. Argentinian surprisingly was up a set (7:5) and 6:5 in the second set 30:15 on his serve (a point away from a match point) but double-faulted and lost that game eventually. Now it's 3rd set and Rune is leading with an early break 3:1. Sooo exciting to watch! |
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They are planning to unban Bitcoin with the only intention to ban it next day. Because "China bans Bitcoin" is the worst disaster which can happen in Bitcoin world. |
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I think Blanch in 2-3 years will be in top 200
More like in top 20. Nadal will take part in this year's Laver Cup, perhaps this will be his last tournament before finally retiring from tennis completely. What about Roland Garros? I guess RG is the ultimate goal for Rafa this season. If not for RG, Rafa would have retired from tennis already. He just wants to play in Paris so bad for one final time... |
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It certainly will be interesting to see how he competes, also Sinner who has taken a mini
break and should be fresh. He is top seed!
Nadal is playing tomorrow. He has also mentioned that this is his last Madrid tournament
and if he doesnt think he is competitive he wont play at Paris!
Yeah, the 16 yo guy who is going to play Rafa, I know him a bit. Not personally ofc but I have a certain connection to junior tennis as I mentioned before. So that Blanch guy is really good and is definitely capable of defeating Rafa question is if he's mentally ready for this. That is going to be an exciting match. No is the answer serveria! he was like a "deer caught in the headlights", the prospect of facing off against a living legend of the game was too much. There were some nice rallies and great shot making but he just made too many mistakes, and you cant do that against the top guys, no doubt we will hear more of him! Funny how the draw works out sometimes, Nadal faces de Minaur next, a replay of their meeting at Barcelona 2 weeks ago! Another youngster of the game Fonseca won today in 3 sets against Michelsen and plays Norris next, bit of a chance there for him to progress. Yeah, I was a bit disappointed to tell you the truth. I know Blanch is a talented youngster and he is capable of playing at a much higher level but... I guess you're right and it's some lack of confidence, the guy was not ready to oppose the King of clay today... |
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It certainly will be interesting to see how he competes, also Sinner who has taken a mini
break and should be fresh. He is top seed!
Nadal is playing tomorrow. He has also mentioned that this is his last Madrid tournament
and if he doesnt think he is competitive he wont play at Paris!
Yeah, the 16 yo guy who is going to play Rafa, I know him a bit. Not personally ofc but I have a certain connection to junior tennis as I mentioned before. So that Blanch guy is really good and is definitely capable of defeating Rafa question is if he's mentally ready for this. That is going to be an exciting match. |
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The Russian Black Sea Fleet suffered further losses. On Sunday, April 21, in annexed Sevastopol, after a Ukrainian missile attack, the rescue ship “Kommuna” of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which was moored at berth No. 14 on the northern shore of Sevastopol Bay, caught fire. It is quite possible that it was not the target of the Ukrainian missile, but the real target was the Yamal BDK, which was standing nearby, but due to its smooth trajectory, the missile caught on the high side of the Commune.
This is the oldest ship in the Russian fleet, which managed to take part in two previous world wars. In 1913, the ship was launched and on July 15, 1915, it became part of the Russian Imperial Navy under the name Volkhov. The vessel's displacement is 3100 tons, length - 96 meters, width - 18.57 m, height - 8.40 m, draft - 3.65 m. In February 1918, the Volkhov was captured by German troops in Reval (now Tallinn), and later transferred to socialist Russia. Before and during World War II, the Commune recovered dozens of sunken submarines, ships and vessels in the Baltic Sea. The importance of this vessel was appreciated by Forbes, stating that without the Commune, the remaining submarines of the Black Sea Fleet will have to sail without support. A fire was recorded on it, but the extent of damage is still being determined.
Despite the systematic destruction, Russia continues to retain a large number of Black Sea Fleet ships in occupied Crimea. But these are secondary ships; the most valuable assets are located in Novorossiysk on Russian territory. Large landing ships, support vessels, minesweepers, and everything that the Russian Federation is ready to sacrifice in order to maintain its combat functionality remain in Crimea for repairs.
Muahahaha.... this is shameful you realize that? A 1913 ship? 114 years old? I bet it costs less than the rocket which hit it... |
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The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already carried out successful attacks on 14 Russian oil refineries, which led to a reduction in the export of petroleum products by a third. At the same time, some politicians in the United States were indeed dissatisfied with such attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since as a result, prices for gasoline and diesel fuel rose. But Ukrainian President Zelensky directly stated that he would not listen to this advice and that the terrorist country Russia can only be stopped if it strikes military facilities and other Russian facilities that support the invasion of Ukraine.
Zelensky is of course an actor, but very poor acting by him. You need to realize one thing: there is no Ukraine and no allies. There's US fighting Russia with the hands of Ukrainians. So this theatrical show (can also be called a good cop vs bad cop scenario) is there just to show that US government cares about oil supply and prices. Do they care in fact? Definitely not! Actually, they're happy the prices are going up so they can get more money for their own oil. Zelensky is just a sockpuppet reading out loud stuff received from the US sources. Considering that Russia continues to methodically launch missile and bomb attacks on populated areas of Ukraine, trying to destroy them to the ground, including such a multi-million Ukrainian city as Kharkov, killing civilians every day, it seems that any ban on attacks on military targets on Russian territory with the help of Western weapons has already been removed or will be removed in the near future.
Even now, after years of war, the number of civilians killed in this war (not only by the Russians btw) is lower than in any other recent war. It's at least five times lower than Israel's violent assault on Gaza. And I'm talking only about initial 2-3 weeks of Israeli occupation of Palestine. And don't forget the infamous UN report exposing war crimes of AFU, including placing artillery and MLRS units in residential areas.  Today the US Senate is scheduled to vote on the $60 billion aid bill to Ukraine, which was approved by the House of Representatives on April 20. Biden has already stated that he will sign it as quickly as possible and weapons, including long-range ATACMS shells, will soon arrive in Ukraine. Then it will be possible to clearly see at what depth in Russia military installations will explode under the blows of high-precision Western weapons.
In this regard, the Crimean Bridge, it seems, will soon tire and fall in parts to the bottom of the sea.
Don't worry, Ukraine is not going to receive $60 billion worth of military support. As to the ATACMS missiles, Ukraine already used them (slightly shorter range though) and they don't require too much effort from the Russians to intercept and destroy. Even if Ukraine is going to hit the Crimea bridge, it won't change anything on the battlefield: AFU are losing more villages and towns every day, more territories being captured by Russia without any chance to regain later. |
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So, two finals today I'd advise you to focus on: Ruud v Tsitsipas in Barcelona These guys have just recently met in another final (in Monte-Carlo) where the Greek won the title. Stefanos is on fire now and Ruud's lack of confidence will only amplify his performance. Rybakina v Kostyuk in Stuttgart The girls will decide who is going to take a brand new Porsche home. Rybakina defeated Swiatek in her semi and will be super confident today against the junior Grand Slam champion Kostyuk. My bet will be on Elena. UPDATE: And Rybakina wins the title in Stuttgart! |
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Guys, what is up with Djokovic?
Has he taken up an acting career?
He's complaining of being injured, has a sore this and a sore that, is it gamesmanship to
put off his opponents? Its tiring looking at him TBH.
I'm pretty sure Nole is taking some "special medicine". Have you spotted how aggressive he is: he is yelling at his team, at fans etc. It started about a year ago. Approx. at that time he started drinking some strange looking potions his team give him. I was going to a gym for around 10-12 years and I can say that it's typical for peeps taking anabolic steroids/testosterone to have these anger outbursts. Is Nole on steroids now to compensate for his aging body? |
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Putin's Russia has no escape route. Putin is well aware that if his troops leave Ukraine, it will not only be the end of his more than two decades of rule, it will most likely end with his death. In Russia such mistakes are not forgiven. Unable to turn the war in his favor on the battlefield, Putin is relying on terrorism and intimidation of the Ukrainian population.
Muahaha as a good troll you're trying to present the situation exactly opposite to what happens in reality. In fact, Ukraine is employing the tactic of terrorism and intimidation: MLRS and battle drones are heavily used against civilian targets in Belgorod, Kursk and other Russian cities, including Moscow. I'm not even mentioning the Crocus City Hall tragedy, masterminded by the CIA and Ukrainian intelligence services. As to the inability to turn the war in their favor, let me remind you that the "counter-offensive" of AFU ended with huge losses and no significant gains for Ukraine. Russia is attacking now all along the frontline, Ukraine is losing 1-2 towns and villages DAILY. Since the beginning of the year, AFU have lost more than 80000 troops. Most of the Western equipment had been destroyed. And you still think Ukraine is winning? Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, at an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on March 28, said that 97 percent of Russian strikes against targets on Ukrainian territory were against civilian infrastructure, and their total yield since the beginning of 2024 exceeded nine kilotons. Already this year, Russia has practically destroyed all large thermal power plants in Ukraine.
Then explain me this: how is that possible, if Russia is attacking 97% civilian targets, why total civilian losses in Ukraine (after 3 years of war) are at least 5 times as low as civilian losses in Palestine? Last time I checked civilian losses in Ukraine were around 10k while in Gaza they have reached 50k after just a few weeks of fighting (was a while ago, perhaps even more now). Perhaps you could also explain why you are calling power plants in Ukraine civilian targets, but at the same time you're calling oil refineries in Russia "legitimate targets" and "military targets"? What is the difference? At the same time, Russia is looking for all possible ways to reduce the assistance provided to Ukraine by the international community. Therefore, not a single source of military tension can now exist without Russia, including the Hamas attack on Israel in October last year. Politicians bought by Russia are working all over the world like never before. And we must admit that Putin partially achieved his goal. Since October, there has been virtually no US military assistance to Ukraine. But anyway, the terrorist Putin regime will come to an end very soon.
Perhaps you could elaborate on this? How exactly this is going to happen? And they really don't have to try and persuade anyone to stop or reduce assistance because the "international community" is running out of resources they can send to Ukraine without jeopardizing their own defensive capacity. |
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Yes what a great win from Sinner, he dug deep to take the 3rd set although Rune's serve
abandoned him in his last game. Sinner plays Tsitsipas in todays semi final, this is a big
challenge, Tsitsipas has been playing at hos very top level, this is a big change.
My money is on Tsitispas today, he is a better clay player and has good H2H against Sinner, 5:3 in total but 3:1 on clay. Sinner on the other hand is playing in the form of his life and that makes this match 50/50 for me. Then when you see odds @3.7 for Tsitsipas it becomes no no-brainer. Don't think I have seen a more "value" bet in a long time. And Tsitsipas is through to the Monte-Carlo final! It looked like Sinner had a thigh injury in the 3rd set though. I hope he gets well soon! |
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Did anyone see Tsitsipas v Zverev today? absolutely great match, Tsitsipas was fantastic,
its veen a while that he was this good eventhough in the second set he was up 5-0 but
Zverev caught up to bring the second set to a tie break.
Tsitsipas v Zverev encounter is a modern classic already. Tsitsipas managed to win yesterday, despite apparently losing focus and almost losing the match from a set up and 5:0 in second. Today one match in the spotlight in Monte-Carlo: Sinner v Rune. Sinner is a heavy favourite in this one but who knows perhaps the Dane will be able to fight back today. Djokovic v de Minaur and Tsitsipas v Khachanov matchups also look promising. |
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Meanwhile, it turns out Zelensky's best buddy Macron has been buying Russian LNG like there's no tomorrow: France has paid Russia over €600 million this year for liquefied natural gas, new data shows. That’s an EU-leading rise from last year. Such grumbling is percolating across Europe as new data reveals France quietly ramping up gas payments to Russia just as President Emmanuel Macron loudly positions himself as one of Ukraine’s staunchest defenders.
In the first three months of this year, Russian liquified natural gas deliveries to France grew more than to any other country in the EU compared to last year, according to data analyzed by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) think tank for POLITICO. Although the fuel accounted for just five percent of the EU’s gas consumption last year, EU countries paid Moscow more than €8 billion for its exports, according to a new report from CREA out Thursday. France is far from the only culprit. At least nine EU countries continue to buy Russian LNG, the shipping data showed. But Paris led the bloc in both absolute volumes imported in 2024 — 1.5 million tons in total — and the increase in purchases compared to the same period last year. Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/france-talk-tough-ukraine-while-gobble-up-more-russia-gas/ |
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