Montenegro and Millwall Goalkeeper Sarkic Dies Aged 26

Matija Sarkic playing for Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier in Norway in 2021. Hakon Mosvold Larsen / NTB/AFP
Matija Sarkic playing for Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier in Norway in 2021. Hakon Mosvold Larsen / NTB/AFP
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Montenegro and Millwall Goalkeeper Sarkic Dies Aged 26

Matija Sarkic playing for Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier in Norway in 2021. Hakon Mosvold Larsen / NTB/AFP
Matija Sarkic playing for Montenegro in a World Cup qualifier in Norway in 2021. Hakon Mosvold Larsen / NTB/AFP

Montenegro and Millwall goalkeeper Matija Sarkic has died at the age of 26, his club and national football association announced on Saturday.
The Montenegro Football Association said he "died suddenly early this morning", calling him a "beloved member of the 'Brave Falcons', an eternally smiling guy."
Grimsby-born Sarkic played nine times for Montenegro. He made his debut against Belarus in 2019 and started in goal in a friendly against Belgium on June 5, AFP said.
His twin brother Oliver is a midfielder with Montenegrin champions Decic Tuzi.
He started his club career in the youth academy at Anderlecht before moving to Aston Villa in 2015.
He had loan spells at Wigan, Stratford and Havant & Waterlooville in England, and Livingston in Scotland, before joining Wolves in 2020. After further loan spells at Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Stoke, he moved to Millwall.
"Millwall Football Club is completely devastated to announce that Matija Sarkic has passed away at the age of 26," his English Championship club said in a statement.
"Sarkic, The Lions' number one goalkeeper, made 33 appearances for the club since joining from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2023."
"Everyone at the club sends their love and condolences to Matija's family and friends at this immensely sad time."
The Montenegro football federation echoed the sentiment.
"In the jersey of that iconic London club, he left a mark, which was yet to become part of a bigger and more beautiful story. Premature death stopped that and caused great pain to the Sarkic family."



Swiatek Recovers from 0-6 Loss in 1st Set to Beat Keys in Madrid Quarterfinals

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran
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Swiatek Recovers from 0-6 Loss in 1st Set to Beat Keys in Madrid Quarterfinals

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 30, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her quarter final match against Madison Keys of the US REUTERS/Ana Beltran

Iga Swiatek recovered after losing the first six games of the match to defeat Madison Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 and stay on track to defend her title at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Swiatek was overpowered by Keys early in their quarterfinal but eventually found a way to rally past the fifth-ranked American on center court, The Associated Press reported.
“It was one of the weirdest matches I played,” the second-ranked Swiatek said. “Maddie was playing just perfectly at the beginning and I wasn’t really proactive with anything. I let Maddie do more mistakes by just putting the ball back and the momentum changed.”
It was the first meeting between the two since Swiatek squandered a match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.
Swiatek is trying to reach her third straight Madrid final. She beat Aryna Sabalenka last year after losing to her in 2023.
Sabalenka, the No. 1 player in the world, later faces 24th-seed Marta Kostyuk in her quarterfinal match.
Swiatek hasn’t gone past the semifinals at any tournament since last year’s French Open.
It was the second consecutive day without disruptions at the Caja Magica tennis complex following a major blackout on Monday that brought Spain and Portugal to a standstill and prompted more than 20 matches to be postponed.