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Suarez Retirement Rumors Cause Concern at Brazil’s Gremio 

Gremio's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez reacts during the second leg final match of the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship, better known as the Gaucho Championship, against Caxias, at the Arena do Gremio stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil on April 8, 2023. (AFP)
Gremio's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez reacts during the second leg final match of the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship, better known as the Gaucho Championship, against Caxias, at the Arena do Gremio stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil on April 8, 2023. (AFP)
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Suarez Retirement Rumors Cause Concern at Brazil’s Gremio 

Gremio's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez reacts during the second leg final match of the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship, better known as the Gaucho Championship, against Caxias, at the Arena do Gremio stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil on April 8, 2023. (AFP)
Gremio's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez reacts during the second leg final match of the Rio Grande do Sul State Championship, better known as the Gaucho Championship, against Caxias, at the Arena do Gremio stadium in Porto Alegre, Brazil on April 8, 2023. (AFP)

Luis Suarez’s teammates at Gremio and the Brazilian club's president expressed concern Wednesday after media speculation that the striker is on the verge of retirement because of persistent knee pain.

The 36-year-old former Barcelona and Liverpool striker has not commented on Brazilian media reports this week, but Gremio president Alberto Guerra, defender Reinaldo and midfielder João Paulo Bitello have spoken publicly about the veteran player's difficulties in training and matches. His right knee is a main injury concern.

“(He needs) a lot of injections, a lot of medicine,” Guerra told reporters during an event at the club's stadium. “It is reaching a limit. But we don't know where that limit is, when is his last (match).”

Guerra said Suarez could even need knee replacement surgery at some stage.

Despite the speculation, the Uruguay striker is expected to play for Gremio against America in the Brazilian league game on Thursday.

Bitello said Suarez “complains about his pain, he has an overload in his legs, he sacrifices himself,” adding that the player has to put his health first.

“If that (retirement) happens it will be a huge loss for us. We get along very well, he is a great player. But his health comes before everything else,” Bitello told Radio Bandeirantes.

“He has (had) a beautiful career and we have to take care for this injury not to get worse. He never talked about retirement, but during training sessions he complains about pain.”

Reinaldo said he and his teammates “are enjoying every moment” with Suarez.

“We hope he can carry on this year and in the next one,” Reinaldo said. “He is a player that helps us a lot day-to-day and during matches.”

Suarez joined Gremio in December. He has played 25 matches for the southern Brazil team and scored 11 goals. His contract is due to expire at the end of 2024.

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Zheng Loses to No 97 Siegemund, Osaka Rallies to Advance at Australian Open

Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
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Zheng Loses to No 97 Siegemund, Osaka Rallies to Advance at Australian Open

Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund's aggressive approach, Zheng Qinwen's loss in the second round Wednesday fell a long way short of last year's run to the Australian Open final.
Zheng lost the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris and finish runner-up at the WTA Finals in a breakout season.
But her first tournament of the year ended in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss on John Cain Arena against 36-year-old Siegemund, who attacked from the first point and put Zheng off her game.
Zheng needed a change of shoes early in the second set, got a time warning on her serve from the chair umpire — she said she couldn't clearly see the clock — and was worried about some minor issues which sidelined her before the Australian Open.
“I feel maybe today is not my day. There’s a lot of details in the important points. I didn’t do the right choice,” The Associated Press quoted Zheng as saying.
Of a weak serve that bounced before the net, Zheng said the time warning from the umpire “obviously that one really distracted me from the match.”
“This is my fourth year in the tour, and never happen that to me.”
Both of last year's women's finalists were playing at the same time on nearby courts.
Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, extended her run to 16 wins at Melbourne Park by winning the last five games to beat No. 54-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5.
Naomi Osaka, another two-time Australian Open champion, reached the third round of a major for the first time since 2022 when she weathered an early barrage from US Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova before rallying to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Osaka lost in the first round here last year to Caroline Garcia in her comeback from maternity leave but avenged that with a first-round victory over Garcia this week.
Osaka said she used a loss to Muchova at the US Open as motivation.
“She crushed me in the US Open when I had my best outfit ever,” Osaka joked in a post-match interview. “I was so disappointed. I was so mad. This was my little revenge.”
Osaka will next meet Belinda Bencic, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist who is playing in her first major since the birth of her daughter, Bella, last year.
Also advancing were No. 7 Jessica Pegula, had a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens, and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 14 seed who beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
The scoreline in Sabalenka's match didn't reflect the difficulty, with Bouzas Maneiro taking huge swipes at the ball in her Australian Open debut and dictating some of the points against the world No. 1-ranked player. Her serve let her down, with Sabalenka able to relieve some pressure on her own serve with five breaks.
No. 7 Jessica Pegula had a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens to reach the third round, along with Belinda Bencic and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 14 seed who beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
Siegemund has never been past the third round in Australia, but is taking confidence from her big upset. Her only lapse was when she was broken serving for the first set. She recovered to dominate the tiebreaker, while Zheng remained too conservative in her tactics until right near the end.
“I knew I just had to play more than my best tennis. I had nothing to lose. I just told myself to swing free,” Siegemund said. Zheng is “an amazing player. One of the best players right now, but I know I can play well and I wanted to show that to myself.”
Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, aiming to add the Australian Open title to complete a set of all four major crowns, advanced 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka.
“The less time you spend on the court in the Grand Slams, especially at the beginning of the tournament, it’s gonna be better, especially physically,” Alcaraz said. “I just try to be focused on spending as less time as I can,” on court.