Maria Sakkari demolished last year’s French Open runner-up, Sofia Kenin, 6-1, 6-3 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The world number 18 needed just 68 minutes to defeat the fourth-seeded American and set up a clash with reigning champion, Iga Swiatek, or Ukrainian teenager, Marta Kostyuk, for a place in the last four.
Sakkari broke Kenin six times as the 2020 Australian Open winner committed 32 unforced errors and served nine double faults.
Upset ahead? 🔭
No.17 seed Sakkari secures the first set 6-1 over No.4 seed Kenin in just 27 minutes.
“I’m speechless. I love Paris. I’m having a great time and I don’t want to leave anytime soon,” Sakkari, who reached the last 16 in Melbourne and New York last year, said.
“I’m actually enjoying myself, that’s the most important thing. I’m not actually torturing myself when I’m on court.”
Finish Line Found 🏁@mariasakkari is headed to her first Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-3 win over 2020 finalist Kenin in just over an hour.
The win over Kenin was Sakkari’s third win over a top-five player this season. It also left eighth seed Swiatek as the highest-ranked player left in the women’s draw.
“The match before yesterday gave me a lot of confidence,” Sakkari, who beat 14th seed Elise Mertens in three sets in the previous round, said.
“I played really good tennis and so today I was really ready for a battle.”
Greek music, dancing and food filled Darwin’s Waterfront on Saturday as the ‘Taste of GleNTi’ event kicked off with thousands in attendance.
The mini festival, which was organised by the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia, marked the official launch of a week of events leading up to the annual Darwin Greek GleNTi Festival on June 12-13 at Bicentennial Park, Darwin Esplanade.
The free event included activities like face painting, balloon making and a surprise performance by Peter Rabbit, while the ‘Honey Puff King’ also attended the event, selling special Greek foods like Greek ice coffee, honey puffs, baklava and Greek vanilla slice.
Everyone enjoyed themselves at the ‘Taste of GleNTi’ event. Photo copyright: Georgia Politis Photography. Republished with permission.
While people enjoyed their food and mingled at the souvenir stores, they were also treated to a number of eye-catching Greek dancing performances from the Greek Traditional Dance Group, the Cyprus Community Dance Group and the OPA School of Hellenic Dance Group.
A special ‘Greek Agora’ stall was even set up for the participating Greek dance groups to help them raise much needed funds to purchase the magnificent Greek costumes they use for their special dance routines.
DJ Rossi Kourounis also entertained the crowds with his upbeat and eccentric tunes.
Photo copyright: Georgia Politis Photography / Republished with permission.
Photo copyright: Georgia Politis Photography / Republished with permission.
“The mini GleNTi went exactly as I imagined it. I’m really pleased with how the vision came to fruition,” President of the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia, Nicholas Poniris, tells The Greek Herald.
“The buzz on the day couldn’t be captured. You had to be there to experience the enthusiasm from everyone who turned up. It was fantastic.”
Photo copyright: Georgia Politis Photography. Republished with permission.
Saturday’s event will be followed by a soccer match, called GleNTi Cup, on Tuesday, June 8 between fierce Football NT rivals and Grecian-based clubs, Darwin Olympic and Hellenic.
This sporting rivalry will be followed up by a concert on Wednesday, June 9, with international Greek singer, Dimitris Basis. The concert, Mr Poniris says, will mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution this year.
But of course, all the Greek festivities will culminate on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, when the annual Darwin Greek GleNTi Festival will be held.
With a sold-out Dinner Dance held on Saturday, 5 June at the Chian Association Hall in Rosewater, Adelaide, the Cretan Association of SA concluded its second week of commemorative events for the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of Crete while raising vital funds for the Club.
In his opening speech for the evening, the Association’s President, Pantelis Fridakis welcomed the attendees and special guests, before he went on to talk about on the importance of the Battle of Crete and the bravery of those who participated.
“Putting on events like this, it’s not an easy task,” said Fridakis thanking the committee members and volunteers for their efforts and ongoing commitment.
“As you are aware, the last 18 months have been tough for all of us both personally and professionally. Our club was shut for a year and this is the second event we were able to do so far, so I thank each and every one of you for helping us keep the club’s doors open,” he said.
Special guests included Fr Ioannis Choraitis from the Greek Orthodox Community of The Nativity of Christ Port Adelaide, Fr Chris Tsoraklidis from St Dimitrios Greek Orthodox Parish of Salisbury, Commander Fernando González from the Australian Air Force with his wife and Megan Spencer, the producer of a podcast series about war, remembrance and Australian prisoners of war in Germany during the Second World War.
Addressing the attendees, Commander González, said that being Cretan and wearing the traditional outfit is equivalent to wearing a uniform and medals, while in lieu of a Soldiers Roll of Honour he mentioned -in Greek- the places where the Allied Forces fought to keep the invaders off the Cretan soil. Speeches were also given by Fr Tsoraklidis and Megan Spencer.
The event concluded with music, traditional delicacies prepared by the volunteers and Cretan dances performed by the Association’s Dance Group.
The next commemorative event which will include a ‘Mnimosino’ followed by a screening of the Battle of Crete Documentary is set to take place on Sunday 13 June at the Holy Monastery of St Nectarios, Croydon Park.
Dylan Birbas, 21, was “very lucky” to avoid jail in the Adelaide District Court on June 4 after he was caught dealing cocaine, MDMA, marijuana and magic mushrooms.
According to The Advertiser, the court heard Birbas was stopped by police on August 25, 2020 in Adelaide and a search of his car found “468kg of female cannabis,” “850g of marijuana” and “25.5g of magic mushrooms.”
Police later searched Birbas’ house and according to Judge Adam Kimber, they found a backpack in his bedroom containing “magic mushrooms weighing 96.9g” and “two amounts of cocaine…”
The court heard police also found 99 MDMA capsules, empty resealable bags and electronic scales.
Dylan Birbas avoided jail in the Adelaide District Court for six counts of drug trafficking. Photo: Facebook.
“You are not what is sometimes called an impoverished street level dealer – you appear to have been relatively organised,” Judge Kimber said.
“You were able to obtain four different drugs and were trafficking in each – you were selling to support your lifestyle.”
The Morphett Vale local had previously pleaded guilty to six counts of drug trafficking. The court heard the current offending breached Birbas’ two-year good behaviour bond, which he was sentenced to in September 2019 for drug trafficking.
But the court also heard Birbas, who had spent four months in custody, had employment available to him and had returned negative drug tests during his time on home detention bail.
“You are still a young man who has shown some early signs of rehabilitation,” Judge Kimber said.
Judge Kimber sentenced Birbas to three years and five months jail, with a non-parole period of 22-months. He ordered the sentence be served on home detention.
“You are very lucky not to be going to jail for a considerable period of time… Don’t waste the chance you’ve been given,” Judge Kimber said.
The burning of the Ottoman flagship took place on the night from the 6th to 7th of June 1822 just off the Greek island of Chios.
The episode, which happened during the Greek War of Independence, was a retaliation for the massacre of Greeks living in Chios, that occurred two months earlier. In the burning of the flagship, 2,000 Ottoman sailors were slain, including the famous Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.
Torching the Turkish flagship:
The Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire began in March 1821. It was an 8 year battle often referred to as ‘agonas‘ – “the struggle.” The revolution would result in Greece’s independence from the Ottomans after over 400 years of oppression.
In 1822, a year after the beginning of the war, Ottoman armies landed on and attacked the Greek island of Chios, killing around 30,000 locals and around 50,000 Greeks were kidnapped and sold as slaves in Izmir and Istanbul.
The burning of the Turkish flagship by Kanaris, painting by Ivan Aivazovsky (1881). Source: San Simera.
Konstantinos Kanaris was a Greek admiral, Prime Minister, and Greek War of Independence hero. He came to popularity and obtained hero status after the burning of the Ottoman ship.
Unlike most other major personalities of the War, Kanaris had never been inducted into the Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends), which played an important part in the uprising against the Ottoman Empire. The society was crucial in the uprising, mainly due to the secret recruitment of followers against Turkish authority, so it was even more impressive that Kanaris acted independently.
Kanaris himself planned to avenge those lost in the Chios massacre and organised 64 ships from Hydra, Psara, and Spetses to meet at Psara at the end of April and wait for an opportunity to strike the Ottoman forces.
Kanaris and Andreas Pipinos took control of the operation and after several failed attempts, an opportunity arose on the night of June 6 to June 7, 1822.
Biography of Konstantinos Kanaris written in French, Paris 1925. Source: Argolykos Archival Library of History and Culture.
Turkish officers gathered on the flagship of the Turkish armada to celebrate the end of Ramadan. Pipinos attempted to burn the flagship’s rear, but despite significant damage it did not sink because the crew quickly saw the fireboat.
On the other hand, Kanaris managed to attach a ship he set alight to the Ottoman flagship. The Ottoman flagship ‘Mansue al-liwa’ was an 84 gun ship and was full of gunpowder storage.
The flames from Kanaris’ fire-boat reached the gunpowder storage, causing an explosion and sinking the ship. Approximately 2,000 men on board were killed, including Kara Ali, the perpetrator of the Chios massacre.
Kanaris’ victory was quickly spread around Europe. His action inspired famous European artists like Eugene Delacroix, Victor Hugo and Von Hess. A British historian wrote that he is the most outstanding and important representation of Greece’s courageousness and bravery.
An exclusive story by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes aired last night, revealing how some of Australia’s most dangerous crime bosses have organised themselves into a cartel earning an estimated $1.5 billion a year by smuggling drugs past the nation’s border with the help of corrupt government officials and border insiders.
This intel comes from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission which says nine Australian men, drawn mostly from Australian bikie gangs and Middle Eastern crime syndicates, make up what the agency has named the “Aussie cartel.”
The CEO of the Commission, Michael Phelan, told the media outlets that the cartel’s members are “the baddest of the bad” and estimated they were responsible for “about one-third of the drug importations into our country.”
CEO of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Michael Phelan.
The nine crime bosses have also developed extensive methods of penetrating border security, known as “doors,” giving them an unrivalled capacity to meet Australia’s market for drugs, Mr Phelan said.
“They share supply routes, they share logistic supply chains. They share among themselves the doors or the way into Australia. They share any corrupt networks they may have here to swap information to each other,” Mr Phelan said in the interview.
While Mr Phelan declined to identify the members of the cartel, state and federal policing agency sources told the media outlets they include: Comanchero boss Mark Buddle (who lives in the United Arab Emirates), Hells Angels boss Angelo Pandeli (in Greece and UAE), Triad-linked figure Michael Tu (Hong Kong), George Dib (Lebanon) and Hakan Arif (Turkey). An Adelaide bikie boss recently deported from Singapore and a Sydney logistics, port and transportation expert are also cartel members.
Some official sources have confirmed that two members of the cartel in particular are believed to have government insiders in Australia and overseas in their networks.
Some members of the Aussie Cartel: Hakan Ayik (centre), Mark Buddle (left) and Angelo Pandeli.
The cartel’s founding member and Australia’s most wanted priority target is Hakan Ayik, whom The Age, the Herald and 60 Minutes tracked down to Turkey, where he lives under a new name, Hakan Reis.
Ayik is suspected of co-operating with Pandeli and Buddle, formerly warring bikies who are now working together as part of the cartel to arrange importations, including a $1 billion methamphetamine shipment into Western Australia in 2017 and a January 2020 importation into Melbourne.
Why is the Commission seeking to find these cartel members now more than ever before?
“At this particular point in time, Australia is facing a very serious threat from [offshore] serious and organised crime,” Mr Phelan said.
“I don’t care about playing fair either… Absolutely, we’re hunting them and we make no apology for that.”
Police on the Greek island of Corfu said on Sunday that a Greek man facing eviction killed his landlady and another man who came to her rescue and then committed suicide.
The deaths occurred shortly before noon Sunday, in the resort town of Dassia, in the island’s northeast.
The victims were the Greek landlady and a Greek-French man, both in their 60s; the man divided his time equally between Greece and France and also rented an apartment from the woman, police said.
Initial incorrect reports said that the two victims were married and reversed their nationalities, a police spokesman told AP News, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk about a case still under investigation.
Police said the 67-year-old alleged attacker was having a heated argument with the landlady outside the house when the other man, who also had problems with the perpetrator, came to her defense.
The attacker retrieved a hunting rifle from his apartment and killed them both, before going back to the apartment and turning the rifle on himself.
The reason for the threat of eviction was not immediately clear.
Stefanos Tsitsipas recorded a Tour-leading 37th victory of the season on Sunday as he cruised past Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the Roland Garros quarter-finals.
“My performance was good. I was very mentally there in every single game,” Tsitsipas said. “Whether I was serving or not, I was very concentrated in the procedure, in the process.”
The FedEx ATP Race to Turin leader hit 41 winners and only made 17 unforced errors in an impressive display to improve to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head against Carreno Busta.
Tsitsipas, who reached the semi-finals in Paris last year, prevailed in two hours and six minutes and has dropped just one set through four matches.
“I think every single match that I had against him was a learning experience. I had high expectations for him, and that’s a good thing, going into the match having high expectations [for] your opponent,” Tsitsipas said.
“I think I also had a great start, very good start, where I didn’t let him attack a lot. I actually gave him not that much space to get going.”
It was the Greeks’ 20th clay-court victory of 2021, with a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (d. Rublev) a high point. He will face second seed Daniil Medvedev for a spot in the semi-finals. The Russian leads their ATP Head2Head series 6-1.
The fifth seed made a roaring start on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion showcased a mixture of power and precision on his backhand and found consistent depth on his forehand return to move 4-1 ahead.
While Carreno Busta worked his way into the contest, stepping into the court to fire away winners on Tsitispas’ second serve, the Greek held firm to fend off two break points at 4-2. He then sealed the set with one of the six aces he hit.
Tsitsipas (right) with Pablo Carreno Busta. Source: Abied / Twitter.
Tsitsipas continued to open his shoulders and strike the ball aggressively at the start of the second, breaking in the first game with an impressive crosscourt forehand winner. The 22-year-old reeled off the next three games to lead 4-0 as he controlled proceedings.
The Spaniard’s level had dropped from the first set, as he won just 30 percent of points on Tsitsipas’ second serve, a decline from 55 per cent in the opener.
Momentum changed at the start of the third though, with Carreno Busta breaking for the first time to lead 3-0 as he began to dictate proceedings on his forehand. However, he could not sustain his level with Tsitsipas closing to 3-4 when the Spaniard fired wide on the backhand.
The Greek, who won 75 per cent of points on his first serve (47/63), then claimed four of the final five games to advance.
Carreno Busta is a two-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist, and he only dropped one set on his way to the fourth round this year. However, the 29-year-old’s seventh defeat of the season (17-7) means the Spaniard’s focus will move to the grass.
Jono Petrohilos was recently announced as a keynote speaker for the first ever Greek Fitness Conference and will look to educate some of the world’s most passionate fitness trainers.
The founder of Fitness Education Online, Petrohilos has worked in the fitness industry for eight years. He created the online program as a global “go-to” for all fitness up-skilling and training needs. The courses are recognised by leading fitness course providers in Australia, including high profile institutions like Fitness Australia, FitRec, and in New Zealand, REPs New Zealand.
The conference will discuss the catalytic role of new technologies in the future, with well-known Greek and international speakers, specialised scientists and professionals speaking about the new challenges of the field.
“My topic is how to run a hybrid challenge, combining face to face with online,” Jono Petrohilos said to The Greek Herald.
Jono Petrohilos with Influencer Gary Vee.
“I’ve sort of always done both. Even before covid, I always said ‘I’m going to run a fitness boot camp’, but there’s only so much you can do with someone in one hour a day.”
“I thought, what are the other little things that I can do or that people can do when they’re not actually with me. What are some fun little challenges people can do that are that are easy to do, that are fun to implement for the trainer and give and give more accountability and give the client a better result.”
In 2020, the Greek Australian was named the national winner of Fitness Australia’s Educator of the Year award. The Awards are held each year by Fitness Australia, with this last year’s virtual event attracting a record 2000 nominations across 11 categories.
“I’ve sort of got a reputation to uphold now…and I’m pretty proud of my Greek Australian heritage too.”
Some of the topics to be discussed at the conference include the creation of digital services based on international standards, the importance of digital reform in the field of Fitness and the expansion of the digital fitness market.
Along with rest of the world, Greece is slowly returning to the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions with the implementation of the vaccine. However, Petrohilos says the online resources and tools will “always still be there”, therefore giving people alternative options in the future.
“I think it’s cool that the Greek fitness industry is doing this, because it’s the first ever time they’re doing it,” Petrohilos added.
“We’ve had them in Australia for years… so I think it’s really cool that they’re doing it. And I think it’ll help their industry, which will in turn help the health and fitness of the country.”
Petrohilos will be the only Australian presenting at the conference. Due to COVID restrictions, the conference will be streamed online to fitness professionals across Greece and Cyprus.
Greek Sydneysiders flocked to the Governors Centre at Moore Park on Saturday night to attend the book launch of ‘Who Owns History? Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure‘, written by Geoffrey Robertson QC.
The evening celebrated the launch of the book in Australia and was hosted by Jim Tsolakis, Secretary of the Athenian Association of NSW.
For his book, Robertson focuses his razor-sharp mind on one of the greatest contemporary issues in the worlds of art and culture: the return of cultural property taken from its country of creation. Specifically, Robertson observes the British Museums withholding of the Parthenon Marbles; A treasured piece of Greek history that is being kept in a foreign land.
“…What is undoubtedly the greatest survivor of the ancient world. The Parthenon Marbles. To see them together, reunified under a blue, Attic sky,” Robertson said.
Geoffrey Robertson. Photo: The Greek Herald
Jim Tsolakis. Photo: The Greek Herald
Robertson says the naming of the ‘Duveen gallery’ in the British Museum, which currently holds the Parthenon Marbles, is representative of the way Duveen stole the cultural history of the ancient Greeks.
“He bought the Duveen gallery and do you know the first thing he did? He said ‘I want those marbles whiter than white’. And of course they weren’t white! In Greece they were a riot of colour, that was what made them stand out.”
“But, he paid for workman to use crowbars and chisels to get all the original paint off the marbles so they could be Hellenistically white.”
Geoffrey Robertson has had a distinguished career as a barrister and human rights advocate, serving as a UN war crimes judge, counsel in many notable Old Bailey trials, and has won landmark rulings on civil liberty in courts in Britain, Europe and the Commonwealth.
David Hill. Photo: The Greek Herald.
“At the end of the day, the British will accept a court judgement which tells the truth, which the British museum has tried so long to cover up. That the marbles were stolen, that they belong in Athens, so that the world can see not just the glory of Greece but the glorious beginning of democracy,” Robertson concluded.
David Hill, who has lobbied and campaign for the reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures for year, also spoke at the event. Hill spoke highly of Gough Whitlam, who was a patron of Australians for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures.
“He was a constant source of guidance and support for me, as Chairman of the Australian organisation, and about 20 years ago I went to visit him… I remember he said to me, ‘Comrade, when next you’re in London, talk to Geoffrey’. And I did and I’m glad I did,” Hill said.
Honourable dignitaries attending the event included Mr Christos Karras, Consul General of Greece in Sydney, Katia Gkikiza, Trade commissioner of Greece in Sydney, Kathy Valis, President of the Athenian Association of NSW Inc, David Hill, Chair of the Australians for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures, Bill Skandalakis, President of AHEPA NSW Inc, Stergitsa Zamagias-Hill, CEO of the Hellenic Initiative Australia, Mrs Liana Vertzayias, President of the Hellenic Lyceum Sydney, Maria Anthony, President of Pontoxeniteas NSW, and Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Chair of the Modern Greek Department at the University of Sydney.
