■BOXING
Klitschko retains titles
Ukraine’s Vladimir Klitschko knocked out American Tony Thompson in the 11th round to retain his WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles on Saturday. Klitschko, who has held the IBF belt since April 2006, was fighting for the first time since taking the WBO crown off Russia’s Ruslan Ibragimov in February in New York. The 32-year-old took control of Saturday’s fight from the fourth round, before going on to inflict Thompson’s second defeat in 33 fights. Klitschko now has a record of 51 wins and three defeats. Saturday’s fight was his first in his adopted home of Hamburg, Germany, in eight years. He and brother Vitali moved there in 1996 following his Olympic Games victory. “It was a tough fight and Thompson put on a great defensive effort,” Klitschko said. “It is not so easy to defend all the titles and it has been a while since I last had a black eye, so today I really look like a boxer. I did not expect the victory to come that hard. You could see that he really wanted to win.”
■RUGBY UNION
Du Plessis receives ban
Springbok hooker Bismarck du Plessis has been banned for three weeks for careless conduct during Saturday’s 30-28 Tri-Nations victory over New Zealand. Du Plessis was cited by match officials after he appeared to make contact with the eye area of All Blacks flanker Adam Thomson in the 11th minute of the first half. However, he was cleared of charges that he eye gouged Thomson, with judicial officer Kim Garling ruling the contact was careless and not deliberate. Garling viewed video footage of the incident, heard evidence from du Plessis and received reports from the match referee and assistant referees. Du Plessis admitted his fist had come into contact with Thomson’s lower cheek, but did not come into contact with the eye itself. Television footage confirmed that there was no visible mark to the face of Thomson as a result of the contact. Garling concluded that the contact was careless and not deliberate and therefore the punishment should be at the lower end of the scale. Du Plessis will miss only one Test during his suspension, against Australia in Perth on Saturday.
■TENNIS
Chang enters Hall of Fame
Michael Chang, who captured the French Open title at the age of 17 to end a 34-year Roland Garros drought by US men, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday. Chang won the 1989 French Open just three months after his 17th birthday, defeating Sweden’s Stefan Edberg in the final, to become the event’s youngest men’s winner after having earlier toppled top seed Ivan Lendl. “It is truly an honor,” Chang said. “I will always cherish and forever remember my experiences on tour with my family, friends and fans.” Also enshrined on Saturday were sports marketing pioneer Mark McCormack and Tennis Week publisher Gene Scott, both posthumous inductees as contributors. The Hall now has 207 members. Chang went 662-312 in a 16-year career, winning 34 titles and spending seven years ranked in the top 10, peaking when he became world No. 2 in September 1996. Chang, who also reached three other Grand Slam singles finals.
■BASEBALL
Matsui resumes practice
New York Yankees outfielder-designated hitter Hideki Matsui resumed on-field batting practice on Saturday, taking 55 swings as he continues to rehab a sore left knee. Matsui, who went on the 15-day disabled list on June 27, also hit off a tee and took part in a soft-toss session for the fourth consecutive day. Matsui is batting .323 with seven homers and 34 RBIs.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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