Sporting Sack Pereira, Borges Appointed as Replacement

Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
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Sporting Sack Pereira, Borges Appointed as Replacement

Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)
Sporting Lisbon's Portuguese coach Joao Pereira is pictured during the Portuguese League football match between Gil Vicente FC and Sporting CP at the at the Cidade de Barcelos stadium in Barcelos, on December 22, 2024. (AFP)

Sporting have appointed Rui Borges as head coach, the Portuguese champions announced on Thursday, following the sacking of Joao Pereira.

Sporting said Borges has signed a contract until June 2026, with an option to further extend it by a year.

Pereira, who took over after Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United in November, was in charge for eight matches, of which Sporting won just three.

Under the former Portugal and Sporting defender, the Lisbon club suffered successive Champions League defeats and fell to second in the Primeira Liga standings behind cross-town rivals Benfica.

Pereira's replacement Borges takes charge of the club after stepping down from his role at fellow Portuguese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes.

Sporting paid Vitoria a settlement of 4.1 million euros ($4.26 million) for the 43-year-old's services.

Borges, who has coached a string of Portuguese clubs, took charge of Vitoria in May. He guided them to the knockout stages of the Conference League, where they finished the group stage as one of only two unbeaten clubs alongside England's Chelsea.

Sporting next host Benfica in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.



Top Seeds Zverev and Sabalenka Advance with Easy Victories at Madrid Open

 Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 25, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev serves during his round of 64 match against Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut. (Reuters)
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 25, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev serves during his round of 64 match against Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut. (Reuters)
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Top Seeds Zverev and Sabalenka Advance with Easy Victories at Madrid Open

 Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 25, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev serves during his round of 64 match against Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut. (Reuters)
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 25, 2025 Germany's Alexander Zverev serves during his round of 64 match against Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut. (Reuters)

Top seeds Alexander Zverev and Aryna Sabalenka scored comfortable victories in their opening matches at the Madrid Open on Friday.

Zverev cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over home favorite Roberto Bautista Agut, while Sabalenka triumphed 6-3, 6-4 against qualifier Anna Blinkova.

Zverev, the Madrid champion in 2018 and 2021, needed only 69 minutes to extend his winning streak to six matches. The German player moved to No. 2 in the world after capturing the Munich title last week.

"A good match, I knew I had to focus against Roberto," said Zverev, who improved to 24-5 in Madrid. "I knew that it was going to be a tough challenge. This is my favorite center court in the world, I only lost twice here in my entire life. I hope that stays the way throughout the next 10 days and that I can continue playing good tennis."

In the third round, Zverev faces Nuno Borges or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Sabalenka tops Blinkova Sabalenka, winner in Madrid in 2021 and 2023 and last year's runner-up to Iga Swiatek, converted three of her seven break opportunities to defeat the 76th-ranked Blinkova.

The top-ranked Sabalenka will face No. 28 seed Elise Mertens in the third round.

Anastasia Potapova upset eighth-seeded Qinwen Zheng, while 15th seed Amanda Anisimova lost 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 to fellow American Peyton Stearns. Sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini eased past Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-2.

In other action on the men's side, fourth-ranked Taylor Fritz of the U.S. routed Christopher O'Connell of Britain 6-1, 6-4, and Casper Ruud beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4.

Juan Manuel Cerundolo beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, while Danill Medvedev advanced after Laslo Djere withdrew.