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Iran Banned from Hosting International Football

Iranian women cheer during the football match between their national team and Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. (AP)
Iranian women cheer during the football match between their national team and Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. (AP)
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Iran Banned from Hosting International Football

Iranian women cheer during the football match between their national team and Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. (AP)
Iranian women cheer during the football match between their national team and Cambodia in the 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. (AP)

Iran's football federation said Friday it has been told it will not be hosting any international matches on Iranian soil.

The federation said it received a letter from the Asian Football Confederation saying that all matches involving Iranian teams will be held in a third country.

The Iranians did not say if any reason was given or if the decision is related to the accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian jetliner last week, which killed all 176 people on board.

The AFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Iran is fully ready to host various teams as it has repeatedly proven during the past several years," Amirmahdi Alavi, a spokesman for the Iranian federation, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

He pointed to Iran's hosting of the 2018 AFC Champions League final at Azadi Stadium in the capital, Tehran, as an example. He also said the Sports Ministry has provided the required security guarantees to the AFC.

Iran's federation, which has four teams in the AFC Champions League, said it would meet with AFC officials to express its opposition to the decision.

Last season the Iranian teams played Saudi teams in the United Arab Emirates. the Saudi teams did not travel to Iran because the two countries severed diplomatic relations in 2016.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard accidentally shot the Ukrainian flight down on Jan. 8 as it was expecting a counterattack after firing several missiles at US troops in Iraq. The missile attack was retaliation for the killing of Iran's top general in a US airstrike.

Iranian officials initially blamed the crash on a technical problem and only admitted responsibility three days later, after Western leaders said there was mounting evidence the plane was brought down by a surface-to-air missile.

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Alex Michelsen Upsets Tsitsipas at the Australian Open and Thanks His Mom

Alex Michelsen of the US plays a backhand return to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
Alex Michelsen of the US plays a backhand return to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
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Alex Michelsen Upsets Tsitsipas at the Australian Open and Thanks His Mom

Alex Michelsen of the US plays a backhand return to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)
Alex Michelsen of the US plays a backhand return to Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP)

Alex Michelsen produced the biggest win so far of his fledgling career to upset 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round of the Australian Open, and he knew instinctively where credit was due.

The 20-year-old American overcame nerves on his serve in the fourth set before clinching a 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win Monday over Tsitsipas, a 26-year-old from Greece who has a career-high No. 3 ranking and has contested two Grand Slam finals.

Michelsen started playing tennis around age 3 and hit most days as a kid with his mother, Sondra, a school teacher who played college tennis.

"Yeah, I’m sure she’s watching right now," Michelsen told the crowd on John Cain Arena, one of the three main show courts at Melbourne Park. "Yeah, we hit a million balls from the baseline every day. We’d go like 30 minutes up the middle, then we go across each way for like an hour and a half.

"I mean we would just go out there and she would never miss a ball — she’s incredible. But no chance I’d be here without her, so thanks Mom. Love you."

The No. 42-ranked Michelsen reached the third round last year on his Australia debut before losing in the first rounds at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and in the second round at the US Open.

His win over Tsitsipas was Michelsen's first against a player ranked in the top 20 at a Grand Slam.

He played with freedom against Tsitsipas, taking big swipes with his service returns — including three in the ninth game of the fourth set that helped earn him a vital break.

He got a bit tense on serve, surrendering two hard-earned breaks in the fourth set, but stayed composed in the last game.

"Yeah, I didn’t take the most direct path, that’s for sure. Shouldn’t have got broken twice in the fourth. My serve let me down. Served double faulting way too much," he said. "But I was also returning really, really well. I felt like I was winning most of the baseline rallies when I was inside the baseline and controlling the point.

"So I was thinking at 4-all, after I got broken twice, saying, ‘You’re still in this, just play every point for what it is.’ I played a great 4-all game and got it done at 5-4."

He finished the match with eight aces and eight double-faults, but hit 46 winners to only 40 unforced errors.

"First of all, I was just trying to stay super composed out there. I knew it was going to be a battle in the end," he said. "It’s all about the mindset."