NAPLES -- Fans of Georgian football ace Khvicha K'varatskhelia were surprised to see photos of the Napoli star buried in a book on a flight from Naples to the port city of Genoa where his team played a Serie A game with the Ligurian club that ended up a lacklustre 2-2 draw.

 Life, as the saying goes, is what happens while we’re making other plans. At this year’s US Open, the plan was clear and longstanding. Everyone—fans, TV commentators, the world-wide tennis community—expected Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old star from Spain, to play Novak Djokovic for the title.

 After winning last year’s US Open, then beating Djokovic at this year’s Wimbledon, Alcaraz started to be hailed as unbeatable. Of course pro tennis has a notoriously short memory. Even most of the tennis press seems to suffer from amnesia. Alcaraz, according to many reports, had achieved unprecedented results for his tender age. This ignored the record of Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and Boris Becker, all of whom had won more Grand Slam titles at the age of 20 than Alcaraz has.

 On paper the Alcaraz vs Daniil Medvedev semi-final seemed done and dusted. The Russian, it was assumed, just couldn’t compete with the Spaniard’s power, shot placement and variety of strokes. But fortunately tennis matches are played on court, not on paper, and from the very first set it was obvious that Medvedev, at 6 ft 6  with a wingspan like a condor’s, could keep up with Alcaraz from the back court and serve well enough to pin Alcaraz on the baseline. This forced the Spaniard to take more risks, including frequent forays to the net where all too often Medvedev sent passing shots streaking by for winners.

 After taking the opening set 7/6 in a tiebreaker that wasn’t really close, Medvedev overwhelmed Alcaraz 6/1 in the second set. The Spaniard showed his inexperience, especially in his naïve shot selection. He has an effective drop shot but it became all too predictable and Medvedev frequently swept to the net and put the ball away.

 Alcaraz did rebound and win the third set 6/3, but he frittered away multiple opportunities to seize control of the fourth set. Over and over he had break points on Medvedev’s serve and ads on his own serve but could never convert them for winners.

 Even as Medvedev served at 5/3 for the match, Alcaraz had his chances, but his celebrated consistency deserted him and each of his winning shots quickly alternated with mishits of what looked to be easy points.

  Still, after Alcaraz’s defeat, a betting man would probably put money on his enjoying a long, successful career. Not as long and successful as his countryman Rafa Nadal or as Novak Djokovic who played Medvedev in the US Open final. The Spaniard is young enough to have learned a good lesson from this loss.

 Would that tennis fans and prognosticators learn the same lesson. In tennis as in life, assume nothing. Prove it on court.

  Michael Mewshaw is the author of 23 books including four about professional tennis.

 ROME- After Qatar hosted FIFA World Cup 2022, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of football, the country is now bringing the world closer once again for upcoming Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix 2023. The Roadshow will take place at Lusail International Circuit on Sunday, Oct. 8. All eyes will be on Qatar to watch the world’s fastest drivers race for glory.

 The Qatar Grand Prix that made its debut on the F1 calendar in 2021 is set to return next month after the emirate signed a 10-year-deal Formula 1. The thrilling race is expected to attract audiences and media from all over the world.

 Qatar Airways is of the official airline sponsor for the event. The Roadshow will give visitors a peek into the world of F 1 and learn more about the popular motorsport.

 The Qatari circuit is most famous for its association with the world of two-wheeled racing, with Losail having hosted the MotoGP series since 2004.

 The race’s inclusion on the calendar will create a three-part Middle Eastern ending to the 2021 season, with the race in Qatar followed up by the first ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on December 3-5, with the season rounded off by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 10-12.

 Formula 1, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is another example of Qatar’s strong passion for sport.

 jf-dk

 ROME- After Qatar hosted FIFA World Cup 2022, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of football, the country is now bringing the world closer once again for upcoming Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix 2023. The Roadshow will take place at Lusail International Circuit on Sunday, Oct. 8. All eyes will be on Qatar to watch the world’s fastest drivers race for glory.

 The thrilling race is expected to attract audiences and media from all over the world.

 Qatar Airways is of the official airline sponsor for the event. The Roadshow will give visitors a peek into the world of F 1 and learn more about the popular motorsport.

 The country will host a Formula One race for the first time and for 10 years starting in October.

 The Qatari circuit is most famous for its association with the world of two-wheeled racing, with Losail having hosted the MotoGP series since 2004.

 The race’s inclusion on the calendar will create a three-part Middle Eastern ending to the 2021 season, with the race in Qatar followed up by the first ever Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on December 3-5, with the season rounded off by the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 10-12.

 Formula 1, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, is another example of Qatar’s strong passion for sport.

 jf-dk

 Barcelona, Doha – Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), one of the world’s leading sports investment companies - together with the International Padel Federation (FIP) and the Professional Padel Association the founder of Premier Padel - and Damm, the owner of Setpoint Events which organises the World Padel Tour (WPT), have reached an historic agreement for the acquisition of WPT by QSI, officials said.

 Following this agreement, Premier Padel and WPT will subsequently be unified as a single global professional padel tour – called Premier Padel – governed by the International Padel Federation.

 The agreement is the culmination of months of negotiation between the parties and will see QSI acquire the business assets of WPT. In addition, the agreement will also see the resolution of outstanding disputes between the parties, including those affecting QSI, FIP and the professional padel players who have competed in both tours. Closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

 Throughout the remainder of the 2023 calendar year, the separate WPT and Premier Padel tours will be played as planned, while the unification of the competitions for the next calendar year – forming a single Premier Padel global tour under the governance of FIP starting in 2024 – is worked on.

 Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, World Padel Tour, established in 2013, has served as the pre-eminent tour in the sport. It has featured over 26 men's and women's tournaments across 14 countries, boasting 17 global sponsors, television broadcasting rights spanning more than 150 countries, and an impressive social media following of nearly 4 million.

 Premier Padel – the official professional padel tour governed by FIP and backed by the PPA and the International Padel Players Association (IPPA) – was only launched in 2022 and within its first year has become one of the fastest growing tours in world sport.

 Over 500 players from around the world competed in Premier Padel tournaments in its first year, played in some of the most iconic venues in sports history, including at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris.

 Premier Padel has secured multi-year broadcast agreements that cover 180+ countries reaching over 150 million households, while the inaugural 2022 Premier Padel season attracted 22.7 million views on YouTube. Over 110 leading professional female players joined Premier Padel in March this year.

 Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman of Qatar Sports Investments and Premier Padel, said: “This is an historic moment for the sport of padel, ultimately seeing the two leading professional padel tours unified as one single global Premier Padel tour under the governance of the International Padel Federation – starting next year.

 As the fastest-growing sport globally, QSI is proud to be at the heart of driving the development of padel professionally all around the world, always placing the players at the centre of our mission to grow the sport everywhere. We are very excited for this next chapter.”

 jp