Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Melbourne Summer Set due to asthma, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Kyrgios was set to begin his season against Alex Molcan on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night, but withdrew about six hours before he was due on court.
The withdrawal leaves Kyrgios with just one lead-up tournament – the Sydney Tennis Classic – before he begins his Australian Open campaign.
More to come.
On a Tuesday morning during the Christmas Holidays the Port Noarlunga Fish and Chips Shop (also known as Jimmy’s Fish and Chips) is full of people -tourists and locals alike- queuing up to enjoy freshly, hand cut chips and some of the best fish in Adelaide’s south.
Behind the counter meeting and greeting their customers is owner Jimmy Leonardos with his daughter Marina.
“I love what I do,” Jimmy (nicknamed ‘Old Man’), 70, says with a beaming smile.
With almost half a century combined experience in the hospitality industry, he and his Italian wife Kathy, had been running the business for three decades before their daughter Marina and son-in-law Kosta, took over the daily operations a few years ago.
“We got tired after all these years working non-stop and it was time to slow down. Marina and Kosta are doing great. We are by their side and they have our support,” Jimmy says proudly.
Throughout our interview, the Greek Australian restaurateur extends warm smiles to everyone that passes through his doors and exchanges jokes with the employees who are more like family.
It’s obvious that the business is a second home to him.
“We had nothing when we came to Australia from Epidavros, apart from some relatives who had immigrated to South Australia in the 1950s,” he says, when I ask him to delve into his family’s story.
It took them nearly a month aboard one of the Chandris Line migrant ships to reach Australian soil. Jimmy was then 10 years old.
“I was one of six children and there was no financial assistance for families back then apart from a $2 government relief payment for every child in the family.
“We had to work to support ourselves”
During the early years, the family lived in Renmark in a picker’s house for four years where they all did grape picking and pruning to make ends meet before they had enough savings to buy a house in Adelaide.
Jimmy was attending High school and, in the weekends, he was working at his uncle’s Fish and Chips shops in North Adelaide where he discovered his passion that he later turned into a business.
“I have done nothing else in my life but this,” he says.
Providing the community with quality food remains his most valued priority.
“We don’t sell something we don’t feed our family with,” clarifies Jimmy.
This value has been upheld and passed on to the new generations.
“Every night, no matter the workload and how busy the day has been we filter our oils,” son-in-law, Kosta says.
“There is a lot of work involved but we’d rather do this than compromise our quality and undermine our reputation. We respect our customers.”
Kosta admits that their business is neither immune to the challenges brought-on by the pandemic nor to general supply issues the industry is currently facing but the family chose to keep an optimistic perspective while supporting local growers and fishermen whenever they can.
“I come to the shop with a smile on my face or I don’t come at all,” he says boldly.
“We have a long-lasting legacy and we will not let it slip. We will be here for a long time to come. For at least another 30 years.”
Freshly cooked food, some Greek ‘Philotimo’, warm hospitality and a bright smile to go with all this!
Here is to the next 30 years Port Noarlunga Fish and Chips Shop!
The International Baccalaureate (IB) results have been released this week and Greek Australian students across New South Wales have excelled.
The IB is an international school-leaving credential. It has fewer in-class assessments and about 80 percent of a student’s result is based on the final exam.
In NSW, a total of 584 students successfully completed the course with an average score of 37.77 out 45.
90 students received a “perfect score” of 45 out of 45, which equates to an ATAR score of 99.95.
10 of those students came from MLC School in Burwood in Sydney’s inner west — a feat never seen before in Australia. One of them was Montana Cominos.
“It’s very surprising – it’s so good,” Ms Cominos told The Sydney Morning Herald.
Ms Cominos was also joined by a number of other Greek Australian students across the state including Anastasia Gikas from Saint Sabina College, Ross Psaroulis from Redlands and Alexandra Bako from Kambala Girls with scores of 45. Denis Antipas from Newington College also received a 42 IB score.
In South Australia, Alana Spirou from Mercedes College also scored 41 IB points, equating to an ATAR of 98.55.
Congratulations to all Greek Australian students!
*Please Note: The above recipients are those The Greek Herald could identify by their Greek name. If you believe you should be on this list please contact: info@foreignlanguage.com.au.
The Greek Culture Ministry has revealed that a life-size marble female statue was discovered by accident in the excavation area of ancient Epidavros in December last year.
The statue, which archaeologists have tentatively dated from the Imperial Roman Period, was found after heavy rain hit the area revealing a small part of the back of the statue, the ministry said in a press release.
The figure was wearing a tunic and a robe, but it was missing its arms and head. The statue was transferred to a warehouse for storage, cleaning and maintenance.
The site where the object was discovered has been systematically excavated since 2015 by a research team of the University of Athens, with the financial support of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation.
Source: Ekathimerini.
Turkey’s Defence Ministry has uploaded a provocative video on Twitter showing navy cadets swimming a similar distance to the Greek island of Kastellorizo, in a symbolic effort to underscore the island’s proximity to the Turkish coast.
In comments made on December 24, Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar challenged Greece’s maritime zone around Kastellorizo, emphasising that the Greek island is located at a distance of 1,950 meters from the country’s coast.
Later, in a video uploaded on January 1, twelve cadets of the National Defense University Naval Academy are seen swimming from their academy to the islet of Tuzla, which is approximately the same distance.
“A cadet at the military academy can swim to it,” Akar said.
Source: Ekathimerini.
Tennis fever has hit Adelaide and Sydney this week with both the Adelaide International and ATP Cup tournaments going ahead.
A number of Greek tennis stars have been playing in these tournaments and so far there’s been mixed success with plenty of wins but also a number of losses.
Here’s your Monday rundown.
Relative newbie, Despina Papamichail, has kicked off her tennis season with a bang at the Adelaide International tournament.
Papamichail first beat 9th seed, Francesca Jones, in qualifying 3-6 6-2 6-1.
READ MORE: Despina Papamichail looks forward to seeing Greek Australian fans at the Australian Open.
Later, in her second qualifying match on Monday, Papamichail beat the Swiss, Stefanie Voegele, 6-4 7-6, after nearly three hours.
This win secured Papamichail’s place in the main board of the tournament. In the first round, she will face Czech tennis player, Marie Bouzkova.
For Maria Sakkari, she also battled past Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek in three sets to reach the second round of the Adelaide International on Monday.
The 26-year-old world number six Greek was on court for just over two hours before seeing off Zidansek 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
READ MORE: “I am here to win this tournament”: Maria Sakkari.
Sakkari admitted she had been well below her best as she warms-up for the Australian Open later this month.
“It wasn’t a good match from my side but I found a way through it, I did everything I had to do to win – which sometimes is enough – and I’m excited to be in the second round,” she said after the match.
Argentine ace, Diego Schwartzman, has upset world No.4, Stefanos Tsitsipas, to claim the tie against Greece and keep his nation top of Group D in Sydney.
The Argentine won the epic battle 6-7(5) 6-3 6-3 on Monday.
Tsitsipas, who had surgery in November and missed Saturday’s meeting with Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz before playing the doubles rubber, took advantage of Schwartzman’s misfiring serve to gain the early advantage at the Ken Rosewell Arena.
He grabbed an early break in the second set but lost his way thereafter, as Schwartzman clawed his way back and levelled the contest before fending off a late comeback attempt to help Argentina stay unbeaten in Group D.
After the match, Tsitsipas revealed he was unsure whether the elbow injury would allow him to continue playing in the ATP Cup.
“I really don‘t know how I’m going to feel tomorrow,” Tsitsipas said.
While Tsitsipas said he thought he would have enough time to recover and play at the Australian Open in two weeks, he conceded he was in uncharted waters.
“That is enough (time to recover), I believe. But I haven‘t had (this kind of injury) before, so I don’t know. It’s my first time experiencing something like this,” he said.
Michail Pervolarakis fought against Federico Delbonis (No. 44) in the ATP Cup on Monday, but was ultimately defeated in both sets.
The 25-year-old tennis player, No. 399 in the world, was defeated 7-6 (5), 6-1 in 91 minutes by the left-handed Argentine.
This was Team Greece’s second defeat in the tournament, meaning they are now out of the semi-finals.
Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni completed a terrific day for Argentina at the ATP Cup with a tiebreak doubles victory over Greece in Sydney.
Gonzalez and Molteni triumphed 6-3, 4-6 (11-9) over Markos Kalovelonis and Petros Tsitsipas to complete a 3-0 clean sweep and stay top of Group D ahead of Poland.
Fragments of the Parthenon Marbles exhibited at the Athens Archaeological Museum were reunited in the Acropolis Museum on Monday during a symbolic ceremony.
The handover ceremony at the Acropolis Museum was attended by Greek Culture Minister, Lina Mendoni, and Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who again called for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Greece.
“This sends a strong message for the reunification of all parts of this unique monument to humanity,” Mitsotakis said.
“It is a first, but very important, step in the effort to gather here at the Acropolis Museum, all the smaller and larger parts of the Parthenon that are now scattered in various museums around the world.”
Mitsotakis then went on to highlight recent efforts made by Greece to call for the reunification of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum and stressed his belief that UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, “will not block any possible future agreement [on the Marbles].”
“If necessary, he could initiate the amendment of the British law on museums in order to facilitate the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures. There are no more substantial arguments to delay this important issue…” Mitsotakis said.
The fragments being returned on Monday were from the frieze, the metopes and pediments of the Parthenon. One of them is the head of a youth from a sculpture that is currently held in the Louvre in Paris, while the second is from the north section of the frieze.
The event ended with the placement of the shards in their permanent positions.
Maria Sakkari battled past Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek in three sets to reach the second round of the Adelaide International on Monday and kick off the new WTA season.
The 26-year-old world number six Greek was on court for just over two hours before seeing off Zidansek 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
Sakkari, admitted she had been well below her best as she warms-up for the Australian Open later this month.
“I didn’t feel great to be perfectly honest,” she said.
“It wasn’t a good match from my side but I found a way through it, I did everything I had to do to win -which sometimes is enough- and I’m excited to be in the second round.”
Third seed, Sakkari will now play either American Shelby Rogers or a qualifier.
“I want to be ready for the next match and yes, I am here to win this tournament but my main goal is to be prepared for the Australian Open.”
Asked whether she will participate in the upcoming Sydney Tennis Classic, Sakkari said it all depends on how far she will progress at the Adelaide International.
“I am not confident with moving states due to COVID so at this point we will try not to take unnecessary risks.”
Last year apart from making two Grand Slam semifinals, Sakkari debuted at the WTA Finals, broke into the top-10 for the first time in her career and was also announced Greece’s best female athlete.
Conveying her message to the youngsters who look up to her, the World No 6 says that she owes a lot to her team and to the values her parents instilled to her.
“Growing up, my parents taught me that no matter how far I reach in my career I need to be myself and remain humble. I am where because of those values and hard work.”
In 2021 Sakkari enjoyed the best season of her career at the age of 26 and now she definitely has started the season right in Australia with the Greek community by her side.
“It feels amazing. Wherever I go in Australia I see Greek people who appreciate what we have achieved so far and admire us. It’s great,” Sakkari concluded.
Greek Australian soccer legend, Ulysses Kokkinos, has passed away today at the age of 73.
Kokkinos’ death has rocked the community, with many posting tributes in honour of the former soccer player and manager.
“It’s with sadness to hear of the sad loss of former South Melbourne FC, Panathinaikos and Football Victoria state team player Ulysses Kokkinos, whom I had the pleasure to meet and interact with over the years. Rest In Peace Ulysses,” the Head of Marcomms & Corp Affairs at Football Australia, Peter Filopoulos, wrote on Twitter.
Kokkinos is known primarily for his career in Victorian soccer, in particular with South Melbourne FC. He also played in his native Greece with Panathinaikos, Paniliakos and Panserraikos.
In the early 1970s, he represented the state of Victoria against various touring sides, making five appearances and scoring twice.
We’re coming to the end of another year and although the news cycle has been dominated by COVID-19, there have also been some fantastic community stories which have captured the attention of The Greek Herald’s readers.
From 100-year-old Christina Giannakis sharing her secrets to a long life, to celebrations across Australia for the Greek Revolution bicentenary, and even a 104-year-old living Anzac who fought in the Battle of Crete, here’s our list of the 15+1 most-read The Greek Herald stories of 2021.
In August this year, former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian responded to a letter by 7-year-old, George Vrahas, where he expressed how upset he was that he was not able to celebrate his birthday due to the lockdown.
In her response, Ms Berejiklian wrote that “it’s important that we follow the health advice to keep us all safe during this time” and signed off with a personalised signature: ‘Auntie Gladys.’
Greek Australians, Lefka Georgantis, Helen Logas and Aphrodite Lambrou, took a leap of faith seven years ago and used their business experience to develop a new Greek paradise, the White Pebble Suites in Pollonia, Milos.
Lefka told The Greek Herald that the fact White Pebble Suites is a ‘Greek Australian hotel’ makes it unique in its own right and brings a new experience to the people of Greece, while simultaneously making Australians feel at home.
From Canberra to Melbourne, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney, the whole of Australia celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution this year by proudly displaying Greek flags and lighting their iconic monuments blue and white.
The Greek Herald also launched its #GreekFlagWeek campaign, asking people to share on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram how we proudly Fly, Share and Post our Greek flags. The movement was a success, with one reader, Titan Cranes, even sending in a photo of his Greek flag flying proudly on a huge crane!
A migrant from the Greek island of Kefallonia, Christina Giannakis, celebrated her 100th birthday this year with friends and family at the South Australian aged care home where she currently lives.
In an interview with The Greek Herald, Ms Giannakis looked back at her life and migration journey to Australia along with her youngest son, Chris Giannakis, and shared her secrets to a long life.
“My faith is what gives me strength. I am healthy and health is wealth,” she said at the time.
Thousands poured into the Darwin Esplanade over the June long weekend to get their filling of yiros, baklava and Mythos beer as the Darwin GleNTi returned with a bang.
The festival, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is organised annually by the Greek Orthodox Community of Northern Australia (GOCNA) and this year it marked 200 years of the Greek Revolution.
Pastitsio (Pasta Bake) is Greece’s answer to Italian lasagna. Yiayia Rose and her granddaughter, Christina, from Homemade By Rose shared their authentic recipe with us and you loved it!
Homemade by Rose started a few years ago after Christina began to share Yiayia Rose’s traditional recipes on social media as “a way of documenting and keeping our traditional cooking going.”
The COVID-19 vaccination drive was ramped up across Australia this year and many of The Greek Herald‘s readers were interested in a number of initiatives launched by their local Greek communities.
In NSW, the gymnasium of All Saints Grammar in Belmore opened to the public on Wednesday, August 18, as a pop-up vaccination clinic. On opening day, hundreds of people, both from the Greek and wider community, turned out to get their vaccination.
At Belmore Sports Ground, a steady stream of cars turned up as people went to receive their Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines at Sydney’s first drive through vaccination clinic. The clinic was in the heart of one of Sydney’s 12 hotspot Local Government Areas and was at the spiritual home of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (a NRL team with a large number of Greek supporters).
In Victoria, the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) also launched a pop-up vaccination hub at its Greek Orthodox Church of St George in Thornbury to help the local community get their COVID-19 vaccine.
At 104 years of age, Alf Carpenter is one of Australia’s oldest surviving Anzacs. He’s lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, 9/11 and now the coronavirus pandemic, but none are as personal to him as the Battle of Crete – which this year marked its 80th anniversary.
Mr Carpenter spoke with The Greek Herald about his time during the battle and described how the reception Greek people gave the Anzac contingent when they arrived was unbelievable.
“I was never afraid of the enemy, they had equal chances with us and the Greeks couldn’t do enough for us,” he said in the interview.
Walking into Olympia Cafe in the rural New South Wales town of Bigga is like going back in time to the good old days of Greek milkshake bars and fish and chip shops. There are still the pristine floorboards, marble-top tables, a soda fountain and even an old-fashioned milkshake maker.
Standing proudly amongst all these things is 84-year-old, Helen Faros, and she told The Greek Herald exclusively that the cafe celebrates 95 years this year and she has no plans of slowing down any time soon.
From a young age, Angelina Lati was always healthy, bubbly and energetic. That is until, at the tender age of 15, she received the heartbreaking diagnosis of Lafora Disease, which is a form of childhood dementia.
In an informative article, The Greek Herald shared the facts around childhood dementia and spoke with Angelina’s mother, Niki Markou, who shared Angelina’s slow decline.
“It’s like she’s fading away. That’s the only way to describe it. You watch old videos back and that’s when you really realise the difference of how she was and how she is now and how quick the progression is,” Ms Markou explained.
Recognised as Australia’s most respected, trusted and longest-running children’s series, it was known that if you had made it on the ABC program ‘Play School,’ you had made your mark on the television industry.
For Greek Australian actor, Alex Papps, being accepted as a cast member in 2005 was a dream come true. Now, 15 years after his debut on screen, The Greek Herald spoke exclusively with Alex, who reminisced on his wonderful experiences on Play School and his Greek heritage.
To observe the powerful connection that Greek Australians have with sport, people need to look no further than the leaders of some of the nation’s biggest sporting clubs, stretching across the NRL and A-League.
Yet, there are none prouder of their heritage than Jason Sourasis, Chairman of Western United FC.
Mr Sourasis spoke exclusively with The Greek Herald about his struggle to keep the club’s historical importance alive, while building its relevance with second and third generation Greek-Australians.
At least 14 prominent Greek Australians in the areas of community service, visual arts, health, architecture and sport were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2021.
This includes: Dr Michelle Aléna Cretikos, Evie Georgas, Professor Leonard George Notaras AM, Lee Christofis, Epaminondas Katsalidis, John George Kotzas, Andrew Papadopoulos, Maria Alexiadis, George Amarandos, Dr Costas Costa, Arthur Papadimitriou, Helen Patsikatheodorou, Faye Spiteri, and Professor Eugene Athan.
They were part of a larger group of 1,190 Australians who’s contribution to their community was noted by their peers as worthy of recognition.
Devastating and uncontrollable fires ravaged Greece this year due to the worst heatwave experienced in the country since 1987.
Thousands of people were displaced, properties and livestock were destroyed and cities, villages and outlying settlements were consumed by wildfires.
In response, Greek diaspora in Australia and across the world united to raise funds to help those fighting fires in their homeland.
Greek-owned family business, Christopher’s Cake Shop, has been serving a variety of handcrafted cakes, pastries and Greek inspired desserts across 10 locations in Sydney since 1955. But despite this success, they haven’t been immune to the critical labour shortage impacting Australia’s hospitality industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.
We spoke with the CEO of Christopher’s Cake Shop, Kyriakos Panayi, about the impact of this shortage on his business and he said that without the support of JobKeeper payments “we were looking at closing six out of the ten shops.”
To mark International Women’s Day this year, The Greek Herald launched its 21 Women for 2021 series where we spoke with 21 Australian women of Greek heritage and from different career paths.
The trailblazing women who were interviewed include:
All the women spoke about the importance of challenging stereotypes, giving back to the community and becoming role models for future generations.