Lampard Calls for Fans to Get Behind Everton after Fourth Straight Loss

Football - Premier League - Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - December 26, 2022 Everton manager Frank Lampard reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - December 26, 2022 Everton manager Frank Lampard reacts. (Reuters)
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Lampard Calls for Fans to Get Behind Everton after Fourth Straight Loss

Football - Premier League - Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - December 26, 2022 Everton manager Frank Lampard reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - December 26, 2022 Everton manager Frank Lampard reacts. (Reuters)

Everton manager Frank Lampard has urged fans to get behind the team after jeers rang out from the stands following Monday's 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Everton's previous defeat at Bournemouth before the World Cup break had seen a confrontation between players and fans and Lampard said the frustration was palpable during the game against Wolves, who scored a last-gasp goal to take all three points.

"You can feel the stadium getting edgy and that is not easy for the players at times. I played for nearly 20 years so I know how it can affect a player," Lampard said.

"It (fans' reaction) was understandable after Bournemouth away, I didn't like the performance. (Against Wolves) I thought the lads played well and had the right intentions, so I would love the crowd to stick with them."

Everton, who are 17th, have won only one of their last nine matches and lost their last four in all competitions.

The current relationship with the supporters stands in stark contrast to nearly a year ago when Lampard took the reins and guided Everton to safety.

"We saw what a positive it could be last season, so let's not come away from that," Lampard added.

"I am not asking us to play 100 passes in our own third, I am not that type of coach, but to be a bit braver on the ball is nice to see and good players want to play. So for that point, I would like to get some backing."



Sinner, Berrettini Lift Italy Past Australia and Back to the Davis Cup Final

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
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Sinner, Berrettini Lift Italy Past Australia and Back to the Davis Cup Final

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball against Australia's Alex de Minaur during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini won matches Saturday in front of a supportive crowd to lift defending champion Italy past Australia 2-0 and back into the Davis Cup final.

Sinner extended his tour-level winning streak to 24 singles sets in a row by beating No. 9 Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 after Berrettini came back to defeat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5, The Associated Press reported.
“Hopefully this can give us confidence for tomorrow,” said Sinner, now 9-0 against de Minaur.
Italy will meet first-time finalist Netherlands on Sunday for the title. The Dutch followed up their victory over Rafael Nadal and Spain in the quarterfinals by eliminating Germany in the semifinals on Friday.
Italy, which got past Australia in last year's final, is trying to become the first country to win the Davis Cup twice in a row since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013. Italy’s women won the Billie Jean King Cup by defeating Slovakia in Malaga on Wednesday.
The much shorter trip for Italian fans than Australians meant the 9,200-seat arena sounded like a home environment Saturday for Berrettini, with repeated chants of “I-ta-lia!” or “Ole, ole, ole, ole! Matte’! Matte’!” amplified by megaphones and accompanied by drums and trumpets. Chair umpire James Keothavong repeatedly asked spectators to stop whistling as Kokkinakis was serving.
“We're in Spain,” Kokkinakis said, “but it felt like we were in Italy.”
Sinner received the same sort of backing, of course, although he might not have needed as much with the way he has played all year, including taking the title at the ATP Finals last weekend.
“It's an honor, it's a pleasure, to have Jannik with us,” Italian captain Filippo Volandri said.
The biggest suspense Saturday on the indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martina Carpena in southern Spain came in Berrettini vs. Kokkinakis.
Berrettini, the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021, needed to put aside the way he gave away the opening set, wasting three chances to finish it, and managed to do just that. He grabbed the last three games of the match, breaking to lead 6-5, then closing it out with his 14th ace after 2 hours, 44 minutes.
The big-hitting Berrettini has been ranked as high as No. 6 and is currently No. 35 after missing chunks of time the past two seasons because of injuries or illness. He sat out two of this year’s four major tournaments and lost in the second round at each of the other two.
But when healthy, he is among the world’s top tennis players, capable of speedy serves and booming forehands. He was in control for much of the match against No. 77 Kokkinakis, who was the 2022 Australian Open men’s doubles champion with Nick Kyrgios and helped his country get past the United States in the quarterfinals Thursday.
Berrettini earned the first break to lead 6-5 in the opening set and was a point away while serving at 40-30. Kokkinakis saved that via a 21-stroke exchange that ended with Berrettini sending a forehand long, then ended up breaking back when the Italian missed again off that wing.
Then, ahead 6-4 in the tiebreaker, Berrettini had two more opportunities to own the set. But Kokkinakis — who saved four match points against Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals — saved one with a gutsy down-the-line backhand passing winner and the other with a 131 mph (212 kph) ace, part of a four-point run to close that set.
“It wasn’t easy to digest ... because I had so many chances,” Berrettini said.