Russian Lawmaker Trying To Get Daria Kasatkina Listed As A ‘Foreign Agent’  - UBITENNIS
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Russian Lawmaker Trying To Get Daria Kasatkina Listed As A ‘Foreign Agent’ 

The term “foreign agent” was used by the Soviets for political dissidents. Today under Russian law those who are categorised as one are subjected to various restrictions.

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Daria Kasatkina pictured with the champions trophy at the 2022 Granby National Bank Championships (image via twitter.com/wta)

Daria Kasatkina has shrugged off a recent attempt made by a Russian politician to have her blacklister in her home country. 

 

Roman Teryushkov, who is currently serving as a member of the 8th State Duma, confirmed in an interview with RB Sport that he sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice requesting that the tennis star be added to the list of ‘foreign agents.’ Under Russian law, those who are classed as a foreign agent are subjected to strict labelling and auditing requirements. They are also banned from state funding, teaching at state universities or working with children, as well as having their websites blocked without a court order. The law was expanded in December amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

The reason why Teryushkov wants Kasatkina on the list is linked to an interview she conducted earlier this year with a Russian vlogger. In it, she spoke openly about her views regarding the war in Ukraine, admitted that she might consider changing allegiance if it helped her professional career and became one of the most high-profile Russian athletes in history to come out as gay. 

“Using your fame as a tool to influence others on issues of politics or ideology, you need to be prepared not only to receive preferences from the customer, but also to measures of responsibility from the state,” said Teryushkov. 
“Kasatkina, (Karen) Khachanov, (Yevgeny) Kafelnikov openly criticize the actions of the Russian authorities, permanently residing outside the territory of the Russian Federation, acting in a neutral status [without the Russian flag and anthem], demonstrating to the whole world distancing themselves from the NWO and Russian society. Their actions fall under the law on foreign agents.” He added. 

Despite the appeal, it failed to have any impact on Kasatkina who is supported by many in her home country, including the president of the Russian Tennis Federation. (Note: rt.com is not accessible in some countries)

“Kasatkina, I have submitted an appeal to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to include her in the list of foreign agents. The department responded with a formal reply, expressing disinterest in stopping the illegal actions of the tennis player. In turn, I re-sent a deputy request to check the legality of such a response and take appropriate measures,” Teryushkov continued. 

It is not the first time the lawmaker has chosen to specifically single out Kasatkina. In September he criticized the decision to award the tennis star the Honored Master of Sports medal for her performance in tennis. In a rant on Telegram, he accused Kasatkina of promoting ‘LGBT propaganda’ in Russia. The country recently passed a law expanding their anti-gay laws to ban the positive portrayals of gay relationships in books, films, the media and the Internet, regardless of age.

As for Kasatkina’s response, she appears not at all bothered by the efforts being made by Teryushkov. 

“How nice to have fans from the State Duma 🥰,” she wrote on her telegram channel.

Kasatkina is currently Russia’s highest-ranked women’s player at No.8 in the world. This year she has won two Tour titles and reached the semi-finals of the French Open. 

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Hamad Medjedovic moves to 2-0 in Red Group at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Hamad Medjedovic edged past Luca Van Assche 4-2 2-4 4-3 (9-7) 4-1 to move to 2-0 In Red Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah one day after winning a marathon five-set match against Alex Michelsen. 

 

Medjedovic broke serve in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. He held serve and saved two break points in the sixth game to close out the first set 4-2. 

Van Assche saved three break points at 2-2 before breaking serve in the sixth game  with a running forehand pass to seal the second set 4-2. 

Medjedovic earned a break point in the first game of the third set, when Van Assche made a double fault. Van Assche saved them to hold on his serve. Both players held on serve en route to a tie-break. Van Assche raced out to a 5-1 lead. Medjedovic won three consecutive points to claw his way back to 4-5. Van Assche earned three set points at 6-4, 6-5 and 7-6, but Medjedovic won the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7. 

Medjedovic left the court for nine minutes for a bathroom break. 

Medjedovic broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. When he was serving out the match, he saved three break points as he closed out the win with two unreturned serves. 

“For sure the tie-break changed a lot of things in this match. He had three set points. I stayed focused on the important points. I was consistent, hitting the ball hard, and I am glad that I won the tie-break”, said Medjedovic. 

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Abdullah Shelbayh upsets Alex Michelsen to win his first win at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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Jordan’s wild card Abdullah Shelbayh beat world number 97 Alex Michelsen 4-2 1-4 4-0 4-0 to clinch his fourth top 100 win. Shelbayh moves to 1-1 in Red Group. 

 

Shelbayh hit 26 winners, including seven aces. The Asian player will face Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic in his third round robin match. 

Shelbayh earned the first break in the third game of the opening set to take a 2-1 lead. The wild card held his next two service games at 30 to close out the first set 4-2. 

Michelsen, who reached the ATP 250 final in Newport last summer, broke in the second game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead, when Shelbayh made a backhand error. 

Michelsen earned a break point in the first game of the third set, but Shelbayh saved it with an ace. The Jordanan player held serve before breaking serve to close out the third set 4-0. Shelbayh won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to win the fourth set 4-0. 

“Having the opportunity to play here now to finish here, I could not ask for a better end to the year. I appreciate all the support throughout the week that I have been receiving already, throughout the year and from the Arab world especially. It makes me happy to represent my country. There is some pressure but you feel like it’s good pressure to have on you shoulders when you are representing your country and the region you come from”,said Shelbayh. 

Shelbayh improved his ATP ranking from world 470 to 185. His tennis idol is Rafael Nadal. Shelbayh has trained at the Rafa Nadal for more than five years. Toni Nadal flew to Jordan when Shelbayh was 13 years old to recruit him to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy. He became the first Jordanan player to win a main-draw ATP Tour match last April against Elias Ymer in Banja Luka. 

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Arthur Fils eases past Flavio Cobolli to move to 2-0 at the Next Gen Finals in Jeddah

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World number 36 Arthur Fils eased past Flavio Cobolli 4-1 4-2 4-2 in 59 minutes to move to 2-0 in Green Group at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fils won 72% of his first service points and fired five aces. 

 

Fils saved a break point in the first game on the deciding point. The Frenchman broke serve in the second game and rallied from 0-30 down to hold serve in the third game. 

Fils served out the first set 4-1 with a hold at love. 

Cobolli made a double fault at 30-30 in the first game of the second set, but Fils broke serve when Cobolli hit his backhand into the net. 

Cobolli saved a break point with an ace on the deciding point in the third game. Fils won his next two service games with ease to seal the second set 4-2. The Frenchman dropped two points on serve in the second set.

Fils earned an early break in the first game of the third set. Cobolli broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Fils broke for the second time at love in the third game with a backhand down the line return winner and sealed the win on his second match point. 

Fils, who beat Luca Nardi in five sets in his opening match, will face Dominic Stricker in his third round-robin match. 

“I played very nice today. I served very good, and I was moving well on the court, so I am very happy with it. Tomorrow I have a good match against a great opponent. He already beat me once this year, so let’s what I can do”, said Arthur Fils. 

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