Andreev forced the fight on Nadal

Chronicle of sporting events

In the 1/8 finals of the ATP tournament with a prize fund of $1.4 million, Igor Andreev almost knocked out the second racket of the competition, Rafael Nadal. The match, which lasted more than two and a half hours, ended with a difficult victory for the Spaniard in the tiebreaker of the third set - 6:2, 3:6, 7:6 (7:2). The 12th game in the deciding set turned out to be especially stubborn. It lasted about ten minutes, and Andreev won a point on his serve only after the judges recorded the score “exactly” six times.

At the competition in the gambling capital of the world Las Vegas, where the total bonus amount is $416 thousand, Igor Kunitsyn and Marat Safin were in the same group. Stefan Kubek kept them company. Both our tennis players confidently beat the Austrian: Kunitsyn prevailed with a score of 6:2, 6:2, Safin won 7:5, 6:2. The Russians met with each other late last night, Moscow time.

Saprykin made his debut in Ottawa

Hockey. NHL. Regular season. "Ottawa" -- "Carolina" -- 2:0, "San Jose" -- "Nashville" -- 3:4 (bullet) -- Radulov "N" (1+0) , "Calgary" -- “Minnesota” – 2:1 (bullet point).

Left winger Oleg Saprykin made his debut for Ottawa, who moved to the capital Canadian club from Phoenix. The Russian played 59 matches for the Coyotes this season, scored 14 goals and made 20 assists. In the first meeting for the Senators, Oleg made only one shot at the opponent’s goal and spent only seven and a half minutes on the ice, that is, less than the rest of the hockey players on his team.

Alexander Radulov not only scored his 12th goal in the regular season, but also scored in the post-match shootout, hitting the goal of his compatriot Evgeni Nabokov. Vladimir ILYIN

Alekno led the Russian national team

The All-Russian Volleyball Federation announced the results of the competition to fill the vacant position of head coach of the national men's team, in which the capital's Dynamo coach Vladimir Alekno and Gennady Shipulin from Lokomotiv-Belogorye, who had already led the national team to victories in the 1999 World Cup and the World League, took part. -2002.

Alekno was appointed as the successor to the Serbian specialist Zoran Gajic, with whom our team took only seventh place at the last World Championships in Japan. True, Italian and Polish media reported this fact last Saturday. Alekno’s task is to win the European Championship, which will be held in September in St. Petersburg and Moscow, at all costs, and to take at least a podium place at the November World Cup in Japan in order to guarantee a ticket to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Such guidelines were voiced by the head of the VFW, Nikolai Patrushev, after the decision was made to terminate the contract with Gayich. Also, when accepting applications for the competition, the leadership of the federation set an indispensable condition that the new head coach be relieved of work at the club. Alekno will finish this season in the “blue and white” camp, and then hand over the reins to another specialist. Ilya TRISVIATSKY

The match between Betis and Sevilla was not completed

The return match of the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey between Betis and Sevilla was abandoned in the 59th minute with the score 0:1, after a glass bottle thrown by one of the home fans hit the visiting coach Juan Ramos in the head. The coach lost consciousness, he was carried off the field on a stretcher and sent to the hospital, where he finally came to his senses. Doctors recorded a concussion. The decision on whether to replay this match or count a technical defeat to the hosts will be made by the leadership of the Spanish Football Federation at an extraordinary meeting. The rest of the semi-finalists have already decided: Deportivo won against Valladolid on aggregate (1:0 and 1:1), Osasuna turned out to be stronger than Getafe (1:0 and 1:0), Barcelona knocked out fight "Zaragoza" (2:0 and 2:1).

In the FA Cup, at the stage of the 1/8 finals, a fiasco awaited London's Arsenal. The Gunners played a goalless draw at home with Blackburn, but on the road they conceded a goal in the 87th minute and said goodbye to their hopes of winning the trophy. Vladimir ILYIN

Ural Great is strong with reserves

The matches of the first round of the semifinal round of the Children's and Youth Basketball League championship have ended in Moscow and Perm. Of the 26 teams that started the tournament, a dozen teams continue to fight for the honorary prize. At the second, semi-final stage, they were divided into two groups - “West” and “East”. The rivalry in both sixes turned out to be truly combative and unpredictable. As a result, after the first round, eight teams at once retain their chances of getting into the decisive round: Perm Ural-Great (5 wins in 5 matches), Moscow Dynamo, CSKA and Novosibirsk Lokomotiv (4 each), Khimki, Saratov Avtodor (3 each), Chelyabinsk Dynamo, Magnitogorsk Metallurg and Kazan UNICS (2 each). The fate of the coveted six tickets to the decisive stage of the championship will be decided in mid-March, when the teams play the second round in Kazan and Novosibirsk.

The current Youth League Championship is the fifth in a row. Over the years of its existence, this competition has gained enormous popularity and social significance. And this is happening largely thanks to the reliable partner of the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) - the general sponsor of the league, the Lebedyansky holding, whose investments in children's and youth sports are already bringing results. Suffice it to say that at one time such well-known players as Anton Ponkrashov, Nikita Kurbanov, Nikita Shabalkin, Vitaly Fridzon (all are players of the national team) came out of the DYBL. In addition, it is on the basis of the Junior Youth League that Russian junior national teams are formed, which in recent years have successfully performed on the international stage. Thus, in 2005 and 2006, our men's and women's youth teams alternately became European champions. Vladimir ILYIN

Ilya TRISVIATSKY