LONDON: Roger Federer has been given a tough task if he is to defend his Australian Open title.
The Swiss sensation memorably won in Melbourne 12 months ago to claim his 19th Grand Slam title. The 36-year-old goes into the year’s first major as overwhelming favorite with many of his big rivals either out (Andy Murray) or just back from injury (Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic).
But Federer is all too aware there are no easy paths to Slam success and he found out he is not only in the same half of the draw as Djokovic but also the same quarter as world No. 7 David Goffin, Juan Martin del Potro, Sam Querrey, and Milos Raonic.
Federer beat Nadal in the final last year on his return from six months on the sidelines and is seeded No. 2 as he bids for a 20th Grand Slam singles title. The Swiss gets his title defence off against Ajaz Bedene of Slovenia.
Djokovic is in the same quarter as the Zverev brothers — fourth-seeded Alexander could meet older brother and 32nd seed Mischa in the third round — 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka, and world No. 5 Dominic Thiem.
Djokovic had a contrasting 2017, starting the year as world No. 2 but losing in a second-round upset at the Australian Open and not playing again after Wimbledon. It was the first year since 2009 that Djokovic did not reach at least one Grand Slam final. He delayed his return until two exhibition appearances this week.
Top-ranked Nadal will open against Victor Estrella Burgos, has a potential fourth-round match against John Isner, and world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in his half of the draw. He followed his run to the final in Melbourne by winning the French Open and US Open, splitting the Grand Slam honors with Federer for the year.
In the women’s draw Venus Williams, who lost the all-Williams Australian Open final last year, has a tough opener against Belinda Bencic — who combined with Federer to win the Hopman Cup for Switzerland last week — and is also in the same quarter as US Open winner Sloane Stephens.
Top-ranked Simona Halep opens against Australian wildcard Destanee Aiava, has a potential second-round match against 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard, and is in the same half as Garbine Muruguza, the Wimbledon champion.
Third-seeded Muguruza is in a difficult quarter containing former Australian Open champions Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber, and US Open finalist Madison Keys.
Roger Federer landed in tough half of draw at Australian Open
Roger Federer landed in tough half of draw at Australian Open
Juventus ‘not for sale’ say Agnellis, rejecting crypto giant Tether’s bid
- Tether bid values Turin club at €1.1 billion
- Buying Juventus could burnish crypto firm’s image in Europe
- Juve struggling amid financial and sporting challenges
- Juventus ‘not for sale’ say Agnellis, rejecting crypto giant Tether’s bid
MILAN: Italy’s Agnelli family has no intention of selling Juventus to crypto group Tether or anyone else, the CEO of their holding company said on Saturday, rejecting Tether’s shock offer for Italy’s most successful football club.
“Juventus, our history and our values are not for sale,” said Exor CEO John Elkann, who wore a team hoodie in a rare video address posted on the Turin-based Serie A club’s website.
Tether, headquartered in El Salvador and run by Italian Paolo Ardoino, a Juventus supporter, said on Friday it had submitted an all-cash proposal to buy Exor’s stake in the club.
Tether said it would make a public tender offer for the remaining Juventus shares at the same price and it planned to invest one billion euros to support the club known in Italy as Juve if the deal goes ahead.
The crypto company is offering Exor €2.66 per share, a source familiar with the matter said, valuing Juventus at just over one billion euros ($1.17 billion) and offering a 21 percent premium over Juventus’ closing share price of €2.19.
Amsterdam-listed Exor said in a statement its board had unanimously rejected the offer and had “no intention of selling any of its shares in Juventus to a third party.”
Juventus has not made an annual net profit for almost a decade, and its shares are down 27 percent so far this year.
Tether stablecoin pegged to dollar
Tether, the issuer of a US dollar-referenced stablecoin dubbed USDT, has already built a stake of more than 10 percent in Juventus this year, becoming its second-largest shareholder.
By acquiring a European soccer club, Tether — whose business faces mounting EU regulatory scrutiny — could hope to gain credibility with the continent’s establishment, while boosting its wider popularity.
Tether said it is proposing to buy Exor’s 65.4 percent of the total Juventus share capital, without officially disclosing a price.
Exor, the largest shareholder in automaker Stellantis and which controls sports car-maker Ferrari , has been streamlining its Italian portfolio.
This year it agreed the sale of truck maker Iveco to India’s Tata Motors, and said on Monday it was in talks with Greek media group Antenna to sell its news operations, including two major newspapers and three popular radio stations.
A sale of Juventus would likely be seen as the clearest sign yet of the family’s gradual disengagement from their home country. The family’s ties with the club date back to 1923 when Edoardo Agnelli became chair, and Elkann said in November that the family had no intention of selling shares.
Investors, led by Exor, have poured around a billion euros of fresh cash into Juventus in the past seven years.
Juventus has sruggles in last five years
Juventus has won the Italian championship 36 times, more than any other team, but has struggled since a ninth consecutive title in 2020. It currently sits in seventh place in Serie A.
Once home to stars such as Michel Platini, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero and Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus has helped the Agnellis build consensus and popularity in Italy.
Its support has weathered match-fixing and financial scandals, the most recent in 2023, when a false accounting case linked to player trading led to a 10-point deduction in Serie A.
Juventus was also a driving force behind the failed attempt to launch a breakaway European Super League with a dozen other top clubs in 2021, challenging the authority of European soccer’s governing body UEFA.
Like other leading Serie A teams, it has had a hard time remaining competitive financially amid the growing dominance of England’s Premier League and European powerhouses such as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
Tether’s USDT accounts for more than half the market of stablecoins pegged to the dollar, the Bank of Italy says.
It had a market capitalization of around $186 billion as of Friday. The token is backed by US Treasuries and dollars, and Tether is one of the 20 largest holders of US government debt.
Stablecoins are digital tokens that aim to maintain a stable value through a one-to-one peg to a traditional currency. They are backed by reserves, government bonds or deposits.
