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Saudi Al Hilal Will Fight to the End to Defend Title, Says Defiant Diaz

Football - AFC Champions League - Final - First Leg - Al-Hilal v Urawa Red Diamonds - King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - April 29, 2023 Al-Hilal's Salem Al Dawsari in action. (Reuters)
Football - AFC Champions League - Final - First Leg - Al-Hilal v Urawa Red Diamonds - King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - April 29, 2023 Al-Hilal's Salem Al Dawsari in action. (Reuters)
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Saudi Al Hilal Will Fight to the End to Defend Title, Says Defiant Diaz

Football - AFC Champions League - Final - First Leg - Al-Hilal v Urawa Red Diamonds - King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - April 29, 2023 Al-Hilal's Salem Al Dawsari in action. (Reuters)
Football - AFC Champions League - Final - First Leg - Al-Hilal v Urawa Red Diamonds - King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - April 29, 2023 Al-Hilal's Salem Al Dawsari in action. (Reuters)

Al Hilal coach Ramon Diaz vowed his side will not give up on the defense of the Asian Champions League title despite surrendering an early lead and seeing Salem Al Dawsari sent off in their 1-1 draw with Urawa Red Diamonds in the final's first leg.

Al Dawsari displayed the best and worst of his game at Riyadh's King Fahad International Stadium on Saturday, putting Al Hilal in front in the 13th minute only to be sent off with four minutes remaining for kicking out at Urawa's Ken Iwao.

The red card came after Shinzo Koroki had leveled for the Japanese club eight minutes into the second half to leave the tie finely balanced going into the return leg at Saitama Stadium outside Tokyo next Saturday.

"We started the match very well, we were good offensively and deservingly scored," Diaz said. "However, this is the nature of a final and mistakes can complicate matters.

"The final isn't over yet. This final is over two matches and we will fight till the end."

Al Dawsari, a talismanic figure for Al Hilal who scored the winner in Saudi Arabia's historic shock 2-1 victory over Argentina at the World Cup last year, will not be available for the second leg as the Riyadh club chase a record-extending fifth Asian crown.

"There was some confusion after Urawa equalized and then came Al Dawsari's red card but we still had chances to score," Diaz said.

"We haven't given up hope and will do our best to be Asian champions again."

Urawa go into the second leg holding a slender advantage due to Koroki's away goal. Coach Maciej Skorza, leading his team in the competition for the first time, praised his players' battling performance.

"It is a very good result for us and I have great respect for the Urawa players as they fought till the end despite it being such a tough match," said the Polish coach, who was appointed to lead Urawa in December.

"This experience was crucial for the players and it was also a learning experience for me as well. We have learnt so much from this for the second leg and we are very hopeful of getting a result at Saitama next week."

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Monfils Beats Fritz to Reach Australian Open's 4th Round at Age 38

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Monfils Beats Fritz to Reach Australian Open's 4th Round at Age 38

Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 18, 2025 France's Gael Monfils celebrates winning his third round match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Gael Monfils joined Roger Federer as the only man to reach the Australian Open's fourth round at age 38 or older since the tournament field expanded to 128 players in 1988, coming back to beat No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
After punctuating his victory with a 134 mph (215 kph) ace — his 24th of the afternoon, doubling Fritz's total — Monfils did a celebratory dance at the baseline while thousands of fans at Margaret Court Arena roared, many waving red-white-and-blue French flags.
He started his season with a title at a hard-court event in Auckland, New Zealand, which made him the oldest man to win a tournament since at least 1990.
“Just fortunate. But every day is different. We work hard. I try to be very disciplined with the recovery. I am a strong believer (in) myself. Strong belief I can do some damage,” said Monfils, who has never been past the quarterfinals at the Australian Open but did reach two major semifinals, most recently at the 2016 US Open. “With a little luck, here we are in the second week of the Australian Open.”
Federer was a slightly older 38 when he got to the semifinals at Melbourne Park in 2020, which turned out to be his last appearance at the tournament.
Monfils next will take on a much-younger opponent, either No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy or No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States, who are both 22.
Playing his usual brand of charismatic, entertaining tennis in front of a loud crowd Saturday, Monfils compiled an impressive ratio of 58 winners to 34 unforced errors and dropped just one service game. And while Monfils won 11 of the 15 points he finished at the net, Fritz only went 16-for-30 when he pushed forward.
“I've done the job,” Monfils said.
The 27-year-old Fritz, the runner-up to Jannik Sinner at the US Open in September, became the highest-seeded man to exit the bracket at Melbourne Park this year. Fritz's right foot was treated by a trainer during the match.
The result ended a 12-match losing streak for Monfils against top-five players at Grand Slam tournaments.
Monfils' wife, Elina Svitolina, was scheduled to play in the same stadium on Saturday night — and also against a fourth-seeded foe, two-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini.
“I warmed up the court for her,” Monfils said.