Sports flash

The latest from football and tennis

Radio România Internațional, 19.12.2024, 13:45

Romanian football champion team, FCSB, has wasted the opportunity to advance to the Romanian Cup’s quarterfinals. This past Wednesday in Bucharest, FCSB sustained a nil-2 defeat by Universitatea Craiova. Universitatea have thus climbed up to the 2nd place in Group B and will carry on in the competition, alongside Group B winner, second-tier team Metalul Buzau.

Also in Group B, the match pitting Dinamo Bucharest against Petrolul Ploiesti ended in a blank draw, while in Buzau, Metalul grabbed a 3-nil win against third-tier team Agricola Borcea. Also on Wednesday in Group C, Farul Constanta outclassed UTA ARAD, 5-1 on the latter team’s turf. In Iasi, the match pitting the local side Poli against FC Hermannstadt Sibiu ended in a blank draw.

Third-tier team Sanatatea Cluj and second-tier team Unirea Ungheni drew, 1-all. Farul Constanţa advance to the quarterfinals, while Poli and Hermannstandt will engage in a playoff fixture. We recall that on Tuesday second-tier team CSM Resita of Group B advanced to the quarterfinals, as well as third-tier team Unirea Alba Iulia.

Romanian businessman Dan Şucu is the new majority stakeholder of Italian football club Genoa, Sucu purchased 77% of the stakes for the sum of 40 million Euro. Genoa Cricket and Football Club is Italy’s oldest football club, while Genoa is 13th-placed according to Serie A’s as-it-stands table. Dan Şucu owns a big furniture company in Romania and the president of an employers’ association. Also, Sucu is the majority stake holder for Romanian football club Rapid Bucharest.
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has been given a wild card for the 2025 edition of the year’s first Grand Slam tournament qualifiers, the Australian Open, to be held in Melbourne over January 6 and 26.

33-year-old Halep is currently 877th-placed according to WTA ranking. Fresh from a four-year doping ban which was then reduced to nine months, Halep could only play five matches in 2024. A former WTA number 1 tennis player, in 2018 Simona played an Australian Open final, conceding a three-set defeat to Danish challenger Caroline Wozniacki.

Four other Romanians will play in the Melbourne qualifiers: Ana Bogdan, Anca Todoni, Gabriela Ruse and Miriam Bulgaru. Booking a position in the women’s singles’ main draw are Sorana Cîrstea, Irina Begu and Jaqueline Cristian.