Former finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas extended his winning streak to eight matches on Friday for a place in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell semi-finals.
The second-seeded Greek, who captured his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (d. Rublev) last week, produced another impressive performance to beat No. 10 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 in 83 minutes.
“I think my hard efforts paid off,” said Tsitsipas, who has now won 14 sets in a row.
8 Matches 15 Consecutive sets@steftsitsipas is on a roll! 🇬🇷
“I wouldn’t say it was the best start, but I managed to win my serve from 0/40 down [in the second game]. That got me into the match and that helped me to break him at the end. I didn’t panic, but I knew what I was doing. It feels good to be able to play the way I am. I really hope the winning streak continues.”
Tsitsipas lost just seven of his first service points against Auger-Aliassime (29/37), striking 11 winners and committing just nine unforced errors. The 22-year-old is now 25-5 on the season.
Auger-Aliassime appeared to be the stronger in the first four games, but could not convert three break points in Tsitsipas’ first service game. Tsitsipas slowly worked his way into the match and once Auger-Aliassime struck a forehand into the net to be broken in the fifth game, the Greek grew in confidence. Tsitsipas closed the 46-minute opener after Auger-Aliassime his a forehand long.
Another groundstroke error cost Auger-Aliassime in the fourth game of the second set and Tsitsipas stayed in control to complete his 25th match win of the season (25-5).
The Greek will next face rising Italian star Jannik Sinner after the 19-year-old made another significant breakthrough, defeating the in-form Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4.
The Armenian Genocide remains at the forefront of Turkish-Armenian relations today. Here’s a quick guide to the Armenian Genocide:
What was the Armenian Genocide? The Armenian genocide was the mass deportation and murder of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One.
Ethnic cleansing: The Armenian Genocide was rooted in religious conflict and was succeeded by a long timeline of Christian-Islamic tension in the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire regarded Armenians as ’second-class citizens’ in Ottoman society.
The toll: The genocide claimed “more than a million” lives, according to the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS). Turkey disputes this figure, estimating a total of 300,000 deaths.
The fifth-biggest genocide in modern history: The Armenian Genocide is ranked fifth by death toll, after the Holocaust (1941-1945), the Nazi genocide of ethnic Poles (1939-1945), the Cambodian genocide (1975-1979), and the Circassian genocide (1864-1867).
The Armenian Genocide memorial complex in Yerevan, Armenia [Creator Serouj Ourishian] [Copyright: Creative Commons]
Classification as ‘genocide’: The Raphael Lemkin coined the term ‘genocide’ in 1944. The UN adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide four years later in 1948 and has since recognised the event as a genocide.
Impact on diasporas: Armenians are one of the world’s most dispersed peoples, largely in part due to the Armenian Genocide. Historians estimate that 800,000 – 1.2 million Armenians were deported during the period.
Parallels to the Holocaust: It was widely considered the greatest atrocity in history prior to the Holocaust. Austrian-Jewish writer Franz Werfel used the plight of Armenians in Musa Dagh, Turkey, in The Forty Days of Musa Dagh (1933) to warn of the dangers of Nazism. The Armenian Genocide is also the second-most studied genocide in history after the Holocaust.
National recognition and denial: 30 countries today recognise the events as genocide, including the US, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, and Russia. Turkey has condemned these countries for their recognition and continues to reject calls to follow suit.
The Ottoman Empire also led pogroms against Greek Christians: The Ottoman Empire also led genocides against Syriac and Greek Orthodox Christians of Asia Minor, known today as the Greek and Pontic Genocides. The Ottoman Empire is responsible for the deaths of 300,000-900,000 Christian Ottoman Greeks during 1913-1922.
Armenia-Turkey relations have made little progress: Turkey and Armenia signed a deal in late-2009, yet to be ratified, to establish diplomatic relations and open their borders. Nonetheless, tensions remain.
To serve with the Australian Defence Force for any time period, nationally or overseas, is an honour. Which is why Ken Tsirigotis’ 22 years of service in the Australian Army Corps is an accomplishment among the highest respect in the ADF community.
But what’s more inspirational than his 22 years in the Army is his lifelong dedication to ensuring the families of veterans are being well taken care of with Melbourne Legacy.
Melbourne Legacy is the oldest Legacy in Australia and has spent the past 95 years ensuring veterans and the families of veterans are receiving the support they need to build a brighter future.
After retiring from the Army, Ken Tsirigotis joined Melbourne Legacy as a full-time volunteer in 2016, helping provide support services such as counselling, encouraging like-minded friendships, and advocating for entitlements and services.
“The cases that we deal with are much more complex than what they were many years ago, because they’re mainly mental health related,” Ken Tsirigotis said.
“Without the volunteers, we wouldn’t exist, and without the volunteers, we would be missing the essence of this organisation…. and what we’ve done is we’ve collaborated that service delivery.
“So all the social isolation and having little concerts and having little widows’ clubs and going out and visiting the elderly war widows is done mainly by our volunteers.”
Tsirigotis became Chief Operating Officer of Melbourne Legacy in 2019. Partnered with his lengthy service in Army, the Greek Australian said there is an element of “grassroots truth” when supporting the families of veterans and building the Legacy.
“You have a foundation to leverage off, so my foundation was always: What could this organisation do if something was to happen to me and what would I want this organisation to do for my family?,” Tsirigotis said.
“Five years ago when I started at legacy, legacy was doing fantastic work as they had done for the last 90 years, but the demographic of our clients, which we call beneficiaries, was mainly the older cohort.”
Anzac Day service, 1955. Photo: The Legacy.
“So our older elderly war widows, our disabled dependents and then a sprinkling of younger people.”
Mr Tsirigotis clarified that when he joined the Legacy, the word ‘younger’ still referred to elderly men and women in their 60s, with few families being under 30. Knowing how many young veterans’ families were in Melbourne, he decided to extend a hand to the Victorian community.
“There’s a generational gap,” Tsirigotis said.
“So basically, using my experience and using my networks, I let the community within Melbourne and Greater Melbourne know that we’re here.”
Doing a needs assessment, they incorporated this into their service delivery to build capacity and shift their focus into a cycle: Observe, orientate, decide, act. This is known as the OODA loop, which is commonly used in the Defence Force.
A son of Greek immigrant parents, Ken Tsirigotis grew up in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. At the age of 13, Tsirigotis’ future as a soldier became certain, with his friends and family knowing that he would one day join the ADF.
Melbourne Legacy ensures beneficiaries receive government benefits or pensions they are entitled to. Photo: The Legacy
“I joined the army straight after school and it was a blessing of my parents,” Ken said with a grateful tone.
“As you can imagine, they were worried like any parent would about service. But my father had served, all my uncles had served back in the old country.”
“I was the first of the family to ever serve in the Australian Defence Force.”
Most people with a fear of heights would steer far and clear from jumping out of planes. However, wanting to conquer his fear, Tsirigotis jumped at the opportunity to volunteer to train as a paratrooper, eventually spending much of his career in the specialised unit.
The Greek Australian also qualified and trained as a reconnaissance soldier, where he was deployed to countries such as Indonesia, France, Belgium, Thailand, Switzerland, UK and many other countries on either exchange, training activities or representational duties.
Ken Tsirigotis. Photo: Supplied
According to the 2019 Defence Census, only fifteen percent of army serviceman spent over 20 years in the Army, with the Army also recording the highest proportion of members with shorter service (44% with 5 years or less).
Retiring after two decades of service and joining Melbourne Legacy, Tsirigotis always felt that his work was a continuation of service to his country.
“I had to prioritise my time individually to my family… I left my son when he was one years old to deploy to Afghanistan and missed his first steps,” Ken said.
“When I left, he was crawling. When I came back, he was running. I missed birthdays and weddings and baptisms, and I thought I can prioritise my time to my family, but can also prioritise my time to my community.
“And the community I think I fit best into is the defence community.”
The veteran also noted the “thousands of Greek Australians that have served in the Defence Force”, along with many Cypriots and Cypriot Australians.
“I would say that my Greek heritage has shaped me,” Ken said.
“My kids go to Greek school, I’m married to a Greek Australian girl, my parents, I’m very fortunate they’re in their 80s but they’re still around, and we still maintain our customs and traditions.”
Ken added that he always tried to bring an essence of philotimo, meaning “love of honor”, into Melbourne Legacy’s service delivery, care, compassion, empathy and transparency.
“I like to be a mentor when I can for younger Greek guys, whether they’re first, second, third generation, that might think that they’re roughies… And just indicate to them that there is no respect or good outcomes from the wrong path, so it’s easy to do the easy left rather than do the hard right,” Ken concluded.
“And that if they commit themselves to doing something that they believe in and it’s for the right reasons, then good things will happen to them.”
Rebekah Elmaloglou rose to fame as ‘Sophie Simpson’ on Home and Away in 1990. Since then, she’s starred in a number of films and TV shows, now recognised for her role as Terese Willis on the long-running soap opera Neighbours.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the Sydney girl said she’s happy after making the move to a Federation property just north of Melbourne.
“I feel so lucky to still be here and have regular work. When we got tired of renting and being at the mercy of a landlord we thought, ‘let’s see if we can buy’.
Rebekah Elmaloglou became a household name during her early acting days.
“We only got into the market about four years ago and we couldn’t be happier,” says Rebekah. “We’re really homebodies and we take pride in our house. Also, being part Greek I love to entertain.”
With an English mother who was raised in Kenya and Greek father who spent his childhood in France, dinner parties at Rebekah’s house are an exotic affair.
“I’m really lucky to have such a great cultural mix. In my parent’s old house in Sydney they had a vine tree and we would pick the leaves and make dolmades.
“That vine came from a relative generations back — my parents have sold that house, but I have taken a few cuttings and I am hoping they will take root. I need to keep that tradition going.”
Elmaloglou left school at the age of 15 and trained at the Keane Kids studios in Sydney, where she studied acting, singing and dancing. Two of her brothers, Dominic and Sebastian Elmaloglou, have also appeared on Home and Away.
The Battle of Alamana was a battle during the Greek War of Independence which took place on the 23rd of April 1821 in Thermopylae, which is famous for many battles, including the Persians, Ottomans and the Bulgarians. Although the battle was unsuccessful it taught the Greeks traits of heroism, patriotism and nationalism.
This battle was initiated after Livadeia fell to Greek fighters on the 1st of April. The fight was under the command of Athanasios Diakos and Vasilis Bousgos. This would lead to a retaliation of by Hursid Pasha in order to reclaim the area of Roumeli (central Greece at the time) and proceed to the Peloponnese to Tripoli.
The Ottoman advanced was halted due to the Greek fighters taking defensive positions into three sections. The force had about 1,500 men. There was defensive posts at the bridge in Gorgopotamos, the heights of Halkomata and at the bridge at Alamana.
Their Ottomans set up camp in Lianokladi. The Ottomans would hit back and attack the 3 posts in which the Greeks set up, with a real emphasis on the bridge at Alamana. This was due to many of the Greek rebels already fleeing. Diakos was at the bridge and continued the fight with 48 men, despite being told to retreat, until after many hours, Diakos was wounded in battle and captured. Diakos was confronted by Kiose Mehmet and Omer.
Athanasios Diakos is known as a true hero to Greek patriotism. Upon being asked to join the Ottoman army. And denouncing his faith, Diakos responded with “I was born a Greek, and I will die a Greek”. A true testament to the attitude of the fighter. Diakos was ordered to be impaled, and onlookers said they heard him sing, in reference to the Greek uprising against the Ottoman Empire. His death showed the brutal nature of the Ottomans.
This battle was a catalyst for Greeks to continue fighting for independence, and to continue to keep their Christian faith and nationalism.
The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, addressed Greek Australians on Thursday night during a special online conference hosted by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Greek Consul General in Sydney, Christos Karras.
The conference, which was part of the Greek Australian Dialogue Series, began with the Consul General introducing Mr Bakoyannis and his career background to the over 100 people who attended digitally.
The Mayor of Athens then began his own address by describing his recent meeting with His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia in Constantinople and stressed the continuous and strong connection between Greek Australians and Greece.
The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, addressed Greek Australians on Thursday night during a special online conference.
“It is my true pleasure and honour to be with you today. It is the highlight of my week. We hope you are as proud of us as we are of you,” Mr Bakoyannis began.
From there, Mr Bakoyannis went on to talk about his plans to maintain Athens as a modern, vibrant metropolis in three main ways: (1) by reclaiming or liberating quality public space, (2) by adopting a new model of sustainable mobility, and (3) by maintaining the soul of the city.
“We want to achieve these goals without losing our soul. We want to keep the spirit and DNA of Athens alive,” he said.
“No idea is too small. We are building a sustainable city and reducing emissions. We are also doing our best to reclaim hills, like Mount Lycabettus, and put them back on the map with new projects.”
Some of the specific project mentioned by Mr Bakoyannis included ‘pocket parks,’ tech innovation hubs and pedestrianisation – all of which he says are being recognised around the world.
The Mayor also said that post COVID-19, his municipality hopes to build a campaign to push for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece as now is not the right time.
“Athens doesn’t just receive good ideas anymore, but provides good ideas as well… [and] we look forward to welcoming you to Athens very soon and hope you will see a city improving little by little,” he said at the conclusion of his address.
Oscar winning actor Russell Crowe has revealed his role in Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder as the Olympian god Zeus in the film, speaking in an interview.
The man who played the biblical figure Noah, Roman gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius and hooded arrow-man Robin Hood will now be entering the world of Greek and Norse mythology.
“Now, I’m gonna get on my bicycle, I’m gonna ride up to Disney-Fox studios… and ‘round about 9:15, I shall be Zeus in Thor 4,” Crowe told his radio hosts as he prepared to exit his interview. “It’s my last day of Zeus-ing about.”
Official movie poster for Thor: Love and Thunder
After announcing that he would be playing a literal ‘king of the gods’, many would think that he would be playing a major role in the film. However, an earlier report of Crowe’s casting stated that his role was intended to be a “fun cameo” kept secret by Marvel Studios until the film’s release in theaters.
It’s unknown how large or small Crowe’s role will be in Love and Thunder, however as his first entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the actor says he’s excited for the opportunity.
Thor: Love and Thunder is being directed by Taika Waititi, who also directed Ragnarok. The cast will include Chris Hemsworth, of course, Natalie Portman, who is returning to play the Jane Foster last seen in Thor: The Dark World, Chris Pratt, Tessa Thompson, and Christian Bale as the villain, Gorr the God Butcher.
Former Chairman of The Dow Chemical Company, Andrew Liveris AO and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young clashed during ABC’s Thursday night program ‘Q&A’, on the topic of Australia’s fossil fuels use.
Speaking on the panel, Andrew Liveris discussed Australia’s need to have a “fossilfeed stock”, which the Greek Australian described as “all of your modern life”.
“If you want a chemistry lesson,” he said, referring to the other panellists, “I’ll help you out the back.”
“Women should be able to appear on @QandA & speak without being spoken down to, interrupted, mocked, patronised, have a finger pointed at them & spoken over the top of,” the party tweeted.
“That was appalling behaviour from Andrew Liveris & disappointing to see it not called out by the host #qanda.”
Tensions continued on the panel between Mr Liveris and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who called out the Greek Australian businessman for allegedly lying about how many Australian jobs there were in industries using gas as feed stock.
Andrew Liveris during a National Press Club address. Photo: AAP/Lukas Coch
Mr Liveris said there were 850,000 jobs.
“I don’t think that’s true. I think you’re way out off the chart,” Mr Turnbull told him.
“Malcolm, I use the same people you use for research. When you were Prime Minister. Go talk to the people in Canberra,” Mr Liveris said.
“I don’t mind you mansplaining me,” Mr Turnbull said, appearing to reference the earlier spat with Ms Hanson-Young.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was left saluting the courageous effort of Alex de Minaur after ending Australian singles hopes at the Barcelona Open by knocking out the country’s No.1-ranked player in straight sets.
While Tsitsipas’s 7-5 6-3 victory on Thursday showcased a player currently at the top of his game following his Monte Carlo Masters triumph, it did not give a fair reflection of de Minaur’s bold effort in trying to derail the Greek superstar’s current brilliant run.
After his seventh straight match victory had earned him a quarter-final place, Tsitsipas accepted that he’d really been given a test and paid a warm tribute to the fighting spirit of the 22-year-old Sydneysider.
“Alex was competing for every ball, running left, right, getting every single ball back, playing close to the line, so it was definitely difficult,” said the 22-year-old, who has won his last 13 sets in competitive action.
“Alex is a good competitor, always puts out his best game. Running and getting an extra ball back is actually his biggest strength and it always makes him very difficult to play against.
“But I found ways to go through and qualify for the next round, which was important to me.”
De Minaur’s struggles on clay are well-known and his victory over Alexander Bublik in the previous round had been, remarkably, only the third clay court victory of the world No.25’s entire ATP tour career.
But he took the fight to Tsitsipas, going on the attack whenever possible and sprinkling his game with variety and plenty of drop shots to make the opening set a very even affair until the Greek pounced in the 12th game.
Tsitsipas’s ferocious forehand which brought him a dozen winners during the one hour 24 minute encounter proved crucial as he overpowered de Minaur to break to 30 and seal the opening stanza.
But the Australian fought back to earn an immediate break in the second set, only prompting the No.2 seed to find his best game, break twice and take victory to set up a last-eight meeting with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
An independent United States’ commission on International Religious Freedom has found Turkey’s religious freedom conditions to be at a “troubling trajectory”, showing concerns at the government’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque and their failure to prevent the destruction of Greek churches in Turkey.
The US report made key findings about religious freedoms in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malesia, Nicaragua, Uzbekistan and Turkey. The report showed great concern over the choice made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to convert the Chora Museum and Hagia Sophia into mosques.
“In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a decree converting back into a mosque the famous Hagia Sophia, a former church that had been serving as a museum, in a move that many denounced as divisive and hostile to Turkey’s religious minorities,” the reports states.
“While the government took similar steps to reopen as a mosque another former church, the Chora Museum, it reportedly paused those efforts.”
The Turkish high court ruled that Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia was to be converted back into a mosque on July 10, 2020, following the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Hagia Sophia was built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral during the Byzantine Empire, and was since turned into a UNESCO World Heritage Site, visited by millions of tourists each year.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The report goes on to say the Turkish government made “little to no effort to address many longstanding religious freedom issues”, referring to the governments decision to deny requests for elections to be held by religious minority communities.
“Similarly, the government disregarded calls for the reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary and continued to deny legal personality to all religious communities,” the report says.
“Members of the ruling party and its coalition partner rejected efforts to recognize Alevi gathering houses (cemevleri) as places of worship, and the government declined to resolve other religious freedom concerns for Alevis and other communities, such as their objection to compulsory religious courses and other educational policies.
Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary.
“Although officials made a point to meet with some religious minority community leaders, the government appeared to take no subsequent action following that meeting to address those communities’ concerns.”
Following the demolition of a Greek Orthodox church by vandals, as well as the destruction of a Yazidi cemetery in Mardina, the report criticised the government for failing to “prevent or punish” the ones behind the attacks.
The report concluded with US Government recommending and supporting the reopening of the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary, “and for full compliance with European Court of Human Rights rulings on freedom of religion or belief.”
