| FOOTBALL. April 4--5. Champions League. Quarterfinals. Return matches. April 6. UEFA Cup. Quarterfinals. Return matches. Russian Championship. Premier League. 4th round. April 8. CSKA - Tom, Moscow - Luch-Energia, Saturn - Shinnik, Rostov - Torpedo. April 9. "Spartak" (M) - "Lokomotiv", "Amkar" - "Dynamo", "Wings of the Soviets" - "Zenit", "Spartak" (Nch) - "Rubin".
St. Petersburg's Zenit has a very slim chance of reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup before the return home game against the Spanish Sevilla. On the road, the players from the banks of the Neva lost disastrously - 1:4, and attacking midfielder Andrei Arshavin and Norwegian defensive player Erik Hagen were sent off from the field. Due to red cards, they will be forced to miss the match in St. Petersburg. Other pairs include: English “Middlesbrough” and Swiss “Basel” (first game – 0:2), German “Schalke” and Bulgarian “Levski” (3:1), Romanian “Steaua” and “Rapid” (1: 1).
On Tuesday and Wednesday, matches are held at the same stage of the main club tournament of the Old World - the Champions League. On April 4, Villarreal (Spain) hosts the Italian Inter (first game 1:2), Milan will meet the French Lyon (0:0). The next day, Juventus will try at home to eliminate the two-goal deficit that arose after the away match with London Arsenal (0:2), Barcelona will play with the Portuguese Benfica (0:0).
BASKETBALL. April 4, 6. Euroleague ULEB. Quarterfinals. The first and second matches of the series up to two victories. April 7-9. “Final Four” of the FIBA European Cup. Men. Kyiv (Ukraine).
Russia has an excellent opportunity to win its third continental trophy this season. On the first day of the Final Four of the European Cup (formerly the FIBA Euroleague), the current trophy winner Dynamo St. Petersburg will compete with Khimki near Moscow in the Russian derby. Unlike, for example, the volleyball Champions League, where Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv-Belogorye Belgorod were in different pairs in the strongest quartet, according to FIBA regulations, clubs from the same country are necessarily brought together in the Final Four. The winner of the match between the “blue and white” and Khimki will fight for the cup with the Spanish “Juventud” or the hosts of the BC “Kyiv” site in a day.
In the game "Khimki" - "Dynamo" the team of Sergei Elevich is considered the favorite. The Moscow Region club has demonstrated stable and confident play throughout the season, while the St. Petersburg club is now in limbo - there is no guarantee that Dynamo, due to financial problems, will continue to exist next season in its current form. By the way, Kyiv was going to host the decisive matches of the tournament last year, but due to inconsistencies with the organizers of the Eurovision music festival, it was forced to cede its rights to Istanbul, which, however, did not bring any dividends to the local Fenerbahce.
In the ULEB Euroleague, the quarterfinal series are held according to the “1-1-1” scheme. On Tuesday, CSKA will play with Efes Pilsen in the Russian capital, and on April 6 in Istanbul. The Red-Blues have never defeated their current opponent away from home - all the previous four matches were successful for the Turkish club. The rest of the pairs look like this: “Barcelona” (Spain) - “Real” (Madrid, Spain), “Maccabi” (Tel Aviv, Israel) - “Olympiacos” (Greece), “Panathinaikos” (Greece) - “ Taugres" (Spain).
VOLLEYBALL. April 6. Russian Championship. Women. Quarterfinals. Second matches . April 6, 7. Russian Championship. Men. Quarterfinals. Third and fourth matches.
Already the first matches of the best-of-three series gave fans two five-set matches. With a score of 3:2, Lokomotiv-Belogorye beat Lokomotiv-Izumrud from Yekaterinburg at home, and Iskra Odintsovo tipped the scales in its favor in the match with Kazan Dynamo-TTG. This week the teams will switch venues, and it is possible that fifth matches, scheduled for April 11, will be needed to determine the winners in these two pairs. For women's teams, the first round of the playoffs is held in a reduced format - a series of up to two victories according to the “1-1-1” scheme. On Thursday, the matches will take place at the sites of the teams that took lower places in the standings following the results of the regular season: CSKA - Dynamo (M), Tulitsa - Zarechye-Odintsovo, Kazanochka - Dynamo ( Moscow region), “Nugget” (Khabarovsk) - “Uralochka”.
HOCKEY. April 3-9. Russian Championship. Semi-finals.
Odd days of the month are reserved for matches between the Ak Bars and Lokomotiv pairs, and even days are reserved for the confrontation between the winner of the regular championship, Magnitogorsk Metallurg and Avangard.
TENNIS. April 3-9. BTA 2nd category tournament. Amelia Island (USA). April 7-9. Davis Cup. World group. Quarterfinals.
Captain of the Russian men's national team Shamil Tarpishchev determined the following lineup for the match with France - Nikolay Davydenko, Mikhail Youzhny, Marat Safin, Dmitry Tursunov. Richard Gasquet, Arnaud Clément, Sebastien Grosjean, Michel Llodra will play for the French on the synthetic taraflex surface of the sports palace in Pau, which seats seven thousand spectators. On Friday and Sunday, the first singles matches will begin at 15:00 Moscow time, and Saturday's doubles match will begin at 16:45. Other games: Croatia - Argentina (Zagreb, taraflex), Australia - Belarus (Melbourne, hard) USA - Chile (Misson Hills, grass).
CYCLE HIGHWAY. April 9. One-day race of the Pro Tour series Paris-Roubaix.
The most spectacular one-day race in the world, which dates back to 1896 and will be held for the 104th time. Its main feature is that the peloton travels for more than five tens of kilometers in the countryside along a narrow road lined with paving stones. The winner is awarded an ordinary cobblestone, albeit on a special stand. If it rains during Paris-Roubaix, the race becomes a living hell. Many cyclists admit that they hate it, but getting to the start of this one-day event is a matter of honor. Last season, Belgian Tom Boonen won here. The hosts of the track have not won since 1997, and this is becoming a sore subject for French cycling fans.
CHESS. April 3-9. Individual European Championship. Men, women. Kusadasi (Türkiye).
The tournament will last until April 16. Regulations - 11 rounds according to the Swiss system. Prepared by Ilya TRISVIATSKY
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