Sports Weekend

Florin Orban, 29.03.2019, 12:33

Romania’s
Simona Halep missed the chance to resume her world no. spot in women’s tennis
as she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the Miami tournament. The
Czech player won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, in 1 hour and 14 minutes. The
match was suspended on several occasions because of rain. Halep was leading 5-3
in the first set, but then she lost 9 consecutive games, until she was 5
matches behind in the second set. Halep won 354,000 dollars and 390 WTA points
in Miami. Karolina Pliskova will next play Australia’s Ashleigh Barty for the
title. Barty, who is seeded 12th, defeated Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit
in the other semifinal, 6-3, 6-3.

It’s
news from fencing next. Dinamo’s Tiberiu Dolniceanu won the National
Championship title in men’s individual sabre. He defeated another Dinamo
fencer, Iulian Teodosiu, 15-13, in the final. Dolniceanu thus won his second
consecutive national title. Teodosiu had won in 2016 and 2017. Aged 31, Tiberiu
Dolniceanu has won many medals at world and European championships, both in
individual events and with his team. He won the silver medal with the Romanian
sabre team at the 2012 Olympic Games hosted by London.

We
end with football. A new leg of the Romanian football League One takes place
this weekend. In Group 2, Dinamo Bucharest face FC Hermannstadt on Friday. On
Sunday, Concordia Chiajna face FC Voluntari at home, and Poli Iasi play Gaz
Metan Medias, also at home. On Monday, FC Botosani face Dunarea Calarasi. In
Group 1, CFR Cluj receive Astra Giurgiu on Saturday; FCSB play against
Universitatea Craiova on the National Arena in Bucharest on Sunday; and Sepsi
Sfantu Gheorghe take on Viitorul Constanta on Monday, in the last match of the
leg. CFR Cluj lead in the ranking with 33 points followed by Craiova with 29
points and FCSB with 28 points.