TENNIS
Svitolina to play in Berlin in July
Ukraine’s top-seeded tennis player, Elina Svitolina, will perform at an exhibition tournament in Berlin in July, according to the BTU tennis news site. Svitolina’s opponents could be Julia Goerges and Andrea Petkovic from Germany, or Kiki Bertens from the Netherlands. According to media reports, participants in the men’s tournament will be German Alexander Zverev, Austrian Dominic Thiem, Italian Jannik Sinner and Australian Nick Kyrgios. The competition is to start on July 13 and will be held without spectators on grass and hard courts. The prize fund of the competition will be 100,000 euros for each tournament.
BOXING
Lomachenko fight postponed
Ukrainian WBA, WBC, WBO lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko is tentatively scheduled to fight against IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KO) of the U.S.A. in September, according to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum. The unification bout hopes to crown an undisputed lightweight champion. The fight had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was originally scheduled for May 30 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Gvozdyk announces retirement
Ukrainian light heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Gvozdyk, 33, has decided to retire from boxing. Gvozdyk last fought on October 19, 2019, when he lost the WBC championship title to Russian Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KO). Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) had 18 fights as a professional and is a 2012 Olympic bronze medalist. Boxing experts cited contributing factors of the coronavirus pandemic. Boxers’ fees are expected to no longer be the same as they were last year. Experts also underscored that the Ukrainian was no longer a priority boxer with his promoter, Top Rank, and its owner, Bob Arum. Rumors have also circulated that Gvozdyk had health problems and this was the main reason for his retirement from boxing.
Usyk seeks mandatory fight
Alexander Krassyuk, Usyk’s co-promoter, tells Sky Sports that Ukrainian heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KO) fully intends to enforce his WBO shot, and that they’ve already been lenient about the timing once to allow Kubrat Pulev (28-1, 14 KO) of Bulgaria to take his mandatory IBF shot against WBO, IBF, WBA, IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KO) of Great Britain. Mr. Krassyuk explains: “Usyk’s WBO mandatory had to happen before AJ vs Pulev. But we were flexible and did not put much pressure on, allowing AJ to complete his IBF mandatory while Usyk fights [Derek] Chisora (32-9, 23 KO) [of Great Britain]. But (Joshua-Pulev) was made with regards that the WBO champ has to make his mandatory versus Usyk. It means that either Joshua fights Usyk first or fights [Tyson] Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO) [of Great Britain] without the WBO belt.” Since his delayed move up to heavyweight last year, the 33-year-old Usyk and his team have been clear that they didn’t intend to wait around for too long. The WBO made him mandatory challenger before he even fought at the weight.
SOCCER
Shakhtar wins 3-1 against Dynamo
The Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) resumed matches in empty stadiums on May 31. Shakhtar Donetsk won 3-1 against Dynamo Kyiv, with Dynamo’s Vitaly Buyalskiy’s 38th-minute goal opening the scoring. Shakhtar’s Marlos Bonfim quickly equalized in the 39th minute, then he secured the lead with another goal in the 67th minute. Marcos Bahia finished the scoring in the 74th minute. Shakhtar leads the UPL standings with nine points, followed by Desna and Dynamo Kyiv with seven points each.