Kumbulla describes life under Jose Mourinho
Roma loanee Marash Kumbulla – currently playing for Espanyol in La Liga – recounted his years in the Italian capital under Jose Mourinho.
'I feel very good in Spain, I integrated very quickly with my teammates and with the whole club here at Espanyol, as well as in a new league for me like the Spanish one,' the Albanian defender told Sportitalia.
'I didn't expect to start so well straight away given that it's the first time I've gone to live far from Italy. Spain is very close to Italy in terms of culture and habits, but I was afraid I might have some difficulty settling in at the beginning.'
'It wasn't like that and I'm happy about that. I thank my teammates and the coach who made me feel at home straight away.'
'My happiest memory at Roma? Obviously the victory of the Conference League in Tirana. It was the culmination of a beautiful journey where we suffered and rejoiced together. In the home games in Europe there was real chaos at the Olimpico.'
'I remember the day we celebrated the Conference League title very well. It was my first trophy won and for now the only one. Seeing the whole city celebrating, going around on an open bus through the streets of Rome and in front of the Colosseum… These are the images that pass through my mind that still excite me today.'
'Mourinho? I can say that everything he says has a weight. He improves you from all points of view and looks for the detail. As far as I'm concerned he made me grow a lot from the point of view of maturity, character and knowing how to pay attention to details that I didn't care about before.'
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Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Carlos Alcaraz roars past Jannik Sinner in epic French Open final
The French Open opened two weeks ago with a tribute to retired 14-time champion Radal Nadal and the Big Three of his generation. It ended Sunday on the clay court at Roland Garros in Paris with the unquestioned coronation of the Big Two. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz cemented their mark as the future of men's tennis in a classic French Open men's final when Alcaraz fought off three consecutive match points in the fourth set and rallied for a grueling 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) victory. "Honestly, I don't know what I did. Honestly, I don't know what happened," Alcaraz said on the TNT broadcast. "... I didn't think about anything else, just going point after point and putting my heart into it and getting all of my energy into it. I tried to not give up. We were in a final of a grand slam. There wasn't time to be afraid. There wasn't time to give up. I just tried to fight until the last ball." The 5-hour, 29-minute match was the longest ever for a French Open title, surpassing the 4-hour, 42-minute match at Paris in 1982 won by Sweden's Mats Wilander over Argentina's Guillermo Vilas. "First of all, Carlos, congrats. An amazing performance, an amazing battle, amazing everything," Sinner said following the match. "To you and your team, amazing job. I'm very happy for you and you deserve it. In defending his French Open title, the No. 2-ranked Alcaraz prevented world No. 1 Sinner from winning his third consecutive grand slam title. Even after five hours, a run of elite shot making continued with Alcaraz forcing the tiebreaker in the fifth set by holding serve. Alcaraz appeared to be in control while leading in 5-3 in the fifth set and served for the match at 5-4. But Sinner broke Alcaraz's serve to get to 5-5 then won his own at deuce to lead 6-5 before Alcaraz held serve to send the match to a tiebreaker at 6-6. Alcaraz roared out to a 7-0 lead in the 10-point fifth-set tiebreaker and was leading 9-2 when he sprinted across the baseline and ripped a forehand up the line for the winner. He immediately slumped to the red clay in relief. In a contest that featured countless twists, turns and tense moments, there was no bigger spot in the match than the seventh game of the fourth set, when Sinner broke the serve of Alcaraz, giving him a 4-3 lead. The Italian steamrolled through his own serve to go up 5-3 and had three championship points in the next game. But Alcaraz, of Spain, wasn't quite ready to relinquish his crown, coming back to hold serve. And any nerves Sinner had on those championship points continued into his service game. Sinner could muster just one point, putting the match back on serve at 5-5 when his shot went long. After two holds, Sinner and Alcaraz went to another tie-breaker. Sinner jumped to a 2-0 lead, with Alcaraz closing out seven of the next eight points to send the match to a two-set tie, setting up his final set heroics. When it was done, Alcaraz called it the best match of his young career, ahead of his previous four grand slam victories. "This match is the first one where I came back from two sets down and I think there wasn't a better location than a Roland Garros final against a No. 1 in the world in Jannik," Alcaraz said. "It was the perfect place to come back from two sets down. It was the best match I played in a grand slam and I'm really proud and happy this happened." The 22-year-old Alcaraz will next attempt to win his third straight trophy at Wimbledon, which begins June 30 in London. Alcaraz now leads their head-to-head meetings 8-4. This was their first clash in a Grand Slam final and the first time Alcaraz came back from a 2-0 deficit in a major to win a match. He had been 0-8. Both entered the match undefeated in grand slam finals. Sinner moves to 3-1, and Alcaraz to 5-0 in Grand Slams. The Spaniard now has back-to-back French Open wins to go with victories at Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024, and at the U.S. Open in 2022. Sinner won the past two Australian Opens and the 2024 U.S. Open crown. In fact, since Daniil Medvedev won in New York in 2021, no one other than Sinner, Alcaraz, Nadal or Novak Djokovic has won a Grand Slam event. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved

Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic reach semifinals at French Open
The French Open's final four is set, as Italy's Jannik Sinner and Serbia's Novak Djokovic each prevailed in the event's quarterfinals on Wednesday in Paris to advance to the semifinals. They'll face off in one half of the semifinals Friday, joining Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who will also do battle in advance of Sunday's final at Roland Garros. Sinner, the world's top-ranked player, closed out Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in straight sets in a little under two hours, making short work of him on the clay court. In pursuit of his first French Open championship, Sinner won 6-1, 7-5, 6-0, sprinting out to an easy win in the first set at Court Philippe-Chatrier before being pressed in Set 2. Bublik held advantages of 4-3 and 5-4, before the 23-year-old Sinner reeled off three straight wins for the rally. From there, it was smooth sailing in the final set. 'We played a couple times already, so you know a little bit what to expect,' Sinner said. 'But in another way, with him, you never know what is happening. He deserved to be in the quarterfinals. He beat very tough opponents. I tried to stay focused from my side of the court and play as solid as possible as he can have some ups and downs.' To wit, Sinner grabbed 31 winners, while Bublik endured a whopping 37 unforced errors in the match. Having won his last 19 matches at major events, Sinner became the first Italian man to reach six major semifinals. Despite never advancing beyond the semifinals in this event before, Sinner expressed excitement over the upcoming opportunity. 'I am very happy and happy with how I arrived in the semifinals,' Sinner said. 'Semifinals in Grand Slams are very special, so I am looking forward to it.' Djokovic, 38, took three hours and 20 minutes to defeat Germany's Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to stay in contention for what would be his first major since 2024 (Australian Open). It continues a hot run on clay for Djokovic, who won in Geneva and has now won nine matches in a row on the surface. It wasn't easy, especially early on as Zverev seized control 2-0 and made that advantage stick for an opening-set victory. Djokavic corrected that error in Set 2, building a 4-1 advantage. He did the same, going up 2-0 in Set 4. Set 3 was different, with Zverev going up 1-0 and 2-1, before Djokovic rattled off five straight wins for the set. 'My tactic was just to play drop shots,' Djokovic said. 'So, I played three or four in a row ... Maybe you can't see it on TV, but there is a lot of wind from one side, so it gives the sensation that you must hit twice as hard. It was important to vary the game.' Despite all that, Zverev never conceded, and only lost on winners 42-38. The German also proved himself relatively equal on return points won (35 to 37) and saved four match points, compared to none for Djokavic. Yet in the final game of the day, the two exchanged 41 shots, with the Serbian finally winning after converting his fifth match point. 'Evidently there was a lot of pressure at the end,' Djokovic said. 'Zverev has been one of the best players in the world over the past six years. Matches like this tonight are the reason why I still want to play and compete.' Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved


Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz to collide in French Open final
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz will meet in a Grand Slam final for the first time after prevailing in the semifinals of the French Open on Friday at Paris. After Lorenzo Musetti retired in the fourth set of his match against Alcaraz due to a leg injury, Sinner set the Sunday showdown against the defending champion by defeating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) at Roland Garros. Sinner is going for his third straight Grand Slam title after winning the 2024 U.S. Open and 2025 Australian Open. Per TNT, the 23-year-old Italian is the youngest player since Pete Sampras in 1993-94 to win 20 straight matches in majors. Alcaraz is 7-4 against Sinner all-time, including at the final in Rome last month. "My head-to-heads lately, they don't look great against Carlos, so let's see what I can do," Sinner said with a chuckle. "But again, I'm very happy to be here in the final and then we see what we can do." Sinner broke Djokovic's serve in the fifth game of Set 1 and twice during the second set. The sixth-seeded Serbian, aiming to extend his record of 24 Grand Slam titles, looked poised to win the third set and held double set point in the 10th game. But Sinner rallied to the first of three deuces in the game and finally broke through on advantage to tie it 5-5. They ended up in a tiebreaker, where Sinner took a 3-0 lead, absorbed two Djokovic points and then sped away. "I enjoy these moments. I think these are very rare and special moments in my career, so of course we try to enjoy it," Sinner said in his on-court interview. "... This is a very special place for me." Djokovic, 38, hinted that Friday's bout may have been his final appearance at the French Open, which he has won three times. "This could have been the last match ever I play here, so I don't know," Djokovic said. "That's why it was a bit more emotional in the end, but if this was the farewell match of the Roland Garros for me in my career, it was a wonderful one in terms of the atmosphere and what I got from the crowd." Sinner called Djokovic "the best player in (the) history of our sport" during his interview, drawing a round of cheers. As for Alcaraz, the second-seeded Spaniard was leading 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-0, 2-0 when Musetti was unable to continue the semifinal match. The Italian No. 8 seed received treatment on his left thigh during the third set. "It's never great getting through or winning a match like this," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "Lorenzo is a great player. He has had an incredible clay season. (He is) one of the few players who achieved at least the semifinals at all the biggest events on clay. I think just four players had done that before ... I always wish him all the best, a quick recovery, and hopefully we are going to enjoy his tennis pretty soon." Alcaraz improved to 6-1 against Musetti, including wins in the Monte-Carlo final and the Rome semifinals this year. "The first two sets were really tough," Alcaraz said. "I had chances to break his serve in the match. I couldn't make the most of them. He was playing great tennis. When I won the second set, there was a little bit of relief, and then in the third set I knew what I had to do at the beginning: Just push him to the limit and try to be aggressive. Not let him dominate the game more and just be myself." Alcaraz broke Musetti's serve to take a 2-0 lead in the fourth set. At that point, Musetti slowly walked toward the net and embraced Alcaraz to signify the end of the match. "I felt at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I start losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop," Musetti said. "I think was the right decision to make, even if it was not what I wanted. Tomorrow I will do exams." Alcaraz, 22, has a 4-0 record in Grand Slam finals. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved