JEDDAH: Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli declared his side injury-free ahead of Wednesday’s Asian Champions League Elite semifinal against Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah as the Saudi Pro League side look to reach the final for the first time in almost 30 years.
The Riyadh-based outfit last made the decider in 1995, but a brace from Jhon Duran and strikes by Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 4-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday to move the Saudi side to the cusp of a first title.
“We are ready for the match, but in training we will decide which group is going to play,” Pioli said. “The team is ready to play the game with great spirit, high performance.”
Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals, the first time a single nation has dominated the latter stages of the competition to such an extent.
The huge injection of cash into the country’s leading clubs by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2023 which prompted the signing of numerous high-profile players from around the world is having a major impact on this year’s competition.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday.
Japan’s Kawasaki are the only team from their half of the confederation left in the competition after their win over Qatar’s Al-Sadd, and the J-League side have been further disadvantaged by having one day less to recover than Al-Nassr.
Frontale needed extra-time to defeat Felix Sanchez’s side and coach Shigetoshi Hasebe admitted he was concerned about his players’ lack of freshness ahead of the Al-Nassr clash.
“All the players are tired because they played for 120 minutes, which is very difficult for us,” he said. “But we’ll be playing in a different stadium, so we can have a new feeling and I can imagine the players will play very well tomorrow night.”
Kawasaki midfielder Kento Tachibanada stressed it was important not to obsess over the reputations of their opponents.
“The key point is not to be afraid of the famous players and their big names,” he said. “Many people think the teams from Saudi will win, but I want to break that type of image tomorrow night.”
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Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown
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Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown
- Riyadh giant Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals
- Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday
Inconsistent Sabalenka advances to the fourth round at the Australian Open
- Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka is chasing her third Australian Open title in four years
- Daniil Medvedev rallies from two sets down to beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary
MELBOURNE: Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka overcame several bouts of inconsistent play Friday to beat Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) and advance to the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Sabalenka, chasing her third Australian Open title in four years, led 6-5 and 40-0 in the opening set but Potapova saved all three set points to send it to a tiebreaker. Sabalenka led 3-0 in the tiebreaker before Potapova leveled at 3-3.
Sabalenka held two more set points and clinched the set when she laced a backhand down the line off Potapova’s second serve.
After trailing 4-0 in the second set, Potapova rallied to tie it 4-4 and again force a tiebreaker. Potapova had three set points to win the set in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka rallied when the pressure was on.
“She played incredible tennis,” Sabalenka said of Potapova in her on-court TV interview. “I was always on the back foot. There are days where you just have to fight and … it was such a fight.”
Sabalenka won the Australian Open title in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago to Madison Keys. Sabalenka has also won the US Open twice.
In other women’s matches, No. 17 Victoria Mboko defeated 14th-seeded Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3.
On the men’s side, No. 11 Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down to beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. Medvedev is the 2021 US Open champion.
Also, No. 19 Tommy Paul of the United States beat Alejandro Davidovich when Davidovich retired after dropping the first two sets 6-1, 6-1.
And 25th-seeded Learner Tien of the United States defeated Nuno Borges 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-2. Tien will play Medvedev in the fourth round.
In later matches on Friday, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz played Corentin Moutet, and third-seeded Coco Gauff played fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
Sabalenka, chasing her third Australian Open title in four years, led 6-5 and 40-0 in the opening set but Potapova saved all three set points to send it to a tiebreaker. Sabalenka led 3-0 in the tiebreaker before Potapova leveled at 3-3.
Sabalenka held two more set points and clinched the set when she laced a backhand down the line off Potapova’s second serve.
After trailing 4-0 in the second set, Potapova rallied to tie it 4-4 and again force a tiebreaker. Potapova had three set points to win the set in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka rallied when the pressure was on.
“She played incredible tennis,” Sabalenka said of Potapova in her on-court TV interview. “I was always on the back foot. There are days where you just have to fight and … it was such a fight.”
Sabalenka won the Australian Open title in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up a year ago to Madison Keys. Sabalenka has also won the US Open twice.
In other women’s matches, No. 17 Victoria Mboko defeated 14th-seeded Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3.
On the men’s side, No. 11 Daniil Medvedev rallied from two sets down to beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3. Medvedev is the 2021 US Open champion.
Also, No. 19 Tommy Paul of the United States beat Alejandro Davidovich when Davidovich retired after dropping the first two sets 6-1, 6-1.
And 25th-seeded Learner Tien of the United States defeated Nuno Borges 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-2. Tien will play Medvedev in the fourth round.
In later matches on Friday, top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz played Corentin Moutet, and third-seeded Coco Gauff played fellow American Hailey Baptiste.
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