In a first weekend of December rich in sport, several major results are to be noted. The Russian Tennis Federation, led by Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, won the Davis Cup at the expense of Croatia.
In the F1 world championship standings, Lewis Hamilton made up for lost time on Max Verstappen while in Top 14, UBB took first place. At the World Handball Championship, the Blues emerged victorious from their match against Slovenia. French biathletes, meanwhile, continue to stock up on medals in Östersund.
Formula 1: perfect equality between Hamilton and Verstappen before the last Grand Prix
After a very lively and tense Grand Prix between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, it was the Briton who won in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) ahead of the Dutchman. The two pilots fought a battle on the track sometimes at the limit of the rules, while their teams scrambled with the race marshals, by interposed radios, to obtain sanctions against their rival.
Finally, after two interruptions and several safety cars, Hamilton won the 25 points awarded to the winner but also the point for the fastest lap in the race. He closes his gap on Verstappen and returns to perfect equality, with 369.5 points, before the last Grand Prix of the season, in Abu Dhabi, next Sunday.
Tennis: Russian Federation wins Davis Cup
No flag or anthem due to doping sanctions, but it was the Russian players who won the Davis Cup in Madrid against Croatia. Strongest team on paper, with world number 2 Daniil Medvedev and number 5 Andrey Rublev, the Russian Tennis Federation only needed the two singles matches to beat the Croats.
Rublev won 6-4.7-6 against Borna Gojo, 279th in the world and revelation of the competition thanks in particular to his victories over Lorenzo Sonego (27th) and Dusan Lajovic (33rd). Daniil Medvedev brought the second decisive point for his team by triumphing over Marin Cilic, 7-6 / 6-2. The Silver Salad Bowl heads to Moscow for the third time.
2002, 2006, 2021
RTF are World Champions for the third time! #DavisCupFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/LcJjse9frn
– Davis Cup (@DavisCup) December 5, 2021
Handball: the Blues assert themselves against Slovenia
After their first victory, Friday, for their entry into contention against Angola (30-20), the Blue won again, against Slovenia (29-18), Sunday evening. With a successful start to the match and excellent performances from Grâce Zaadi and Laura Glauser, the Olympic champions heal their goal average and consolidate their position as leader of Group A in this preliminary round of the competition.
Biathlon: Östersund smiles at the Blues
Rain of medals for French biathletes in Sweden. On Saturday, Anaïs Bescond, thanks to a clear shot, and Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, climbed the second and third steps of the pursuit podium. On the same day, the men’s relay, made up of Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin, Simon Desthieux and Quentin Fillon Maillet, took second place, behind Norway, untouchable in shooting and on skis.
The beautiful French dynamic continued on Sunday with the victory of the women’s relay ahead of Belarus and Sweden. Anaïs Bescond, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, Julia Simon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet signed the first French success in the women’s relay since January 2019. To end this beautiful weekend for the French biathlon, Emilien Jacquelin took the third step of the podium in the chase, behind Vetle Sjastad Christiansen and Sebastian Samuelsson.
The final women’s competition in Oestersund ends with a tremendous Relay victory for France!
@FedFranceSki
@bybiathlon
@SWEOlympicWatch the Women Relay on https://t.co/bk5aBBso9Q pic.twitter.com/5tlBeYWc5G
– BMW IBU World Cup (@IBU_WC) December 5, 2021
Rugby: the Bordeaux-Bègles Union takes the lead of the Top 14
In the shock of the 12th day of Top 14, Union Bordeaux-Bègles emerged victorious from its duel against Stade Toulousain on Saturday (17-7). This meeting saw two international French hinges clash, with the pair Matthieu Jalibert-Maxime Lucu on the Bordeaux side and Romain Ntamack-Antoine Dupont on the Toulouse side.
The first were more evident, with two penalties entered by Jalibert, left affected in the thigh at the break. Maxime Lucu then took over and also scored six points on foot. He also delivered an assist to Bastien Vergnes Taillefer, author of the only Bordeaux test. This success allows the UBB to overtake its opponent from the weekend in the standings and to seize the place of leader.