■TENNIS
Vinci beats second seed
Defending champion Roberta Vinci of Italy defeated second seed Aravane Rezai of France 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Barcelona Ladies Open on Tuesday. Top-seeded Francesca Schiavone beat fellow Italian Alberta Brianti 6-2, 6-1 on the rain-affected outdoor clay courts of the David Lloyd Club Turo. Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez dispatched Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-4, justifying her third seeding while fourth seed and 2008 champion Maria Kirilenko defeated Masa Zec Peskiric of Slovenia 7-5, 6-1.
■SOCCER
Indian star makes debut
India’s Sunil Chhetri made his Wizards debut in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids in a US Open Cup qualifier on Tuesday, a day after his visa and international transfer certificate were cleared. Chhetri, the first Indian national on a Major League Soccer team, started and played the first half for Kansas City. He agreed to terms on March 25 and was added to the 24-man Wizards squad on Monday. Teal Bunbury opened the scoring for the Wizards in the fourth minute but Wells Thompson scored in the 24th and 80th minutes to secure the win for the visiting team. The Indian international is one of the most popular players in his home country. The Wizards’ Facebook page has added more than 6,000 fans since Chhetri signed and nearly every move he’s made has been on news pages in India. Chhetri had a decent scoring chance stopped early and received yellow card in the 20th minute for taking down Thompson from behind. He was replaced by Kei Kamara in the second half.
■SOCCER
Monaco reach Cup final
Substitute Moussa Maazou struck in extra time to lift Monaco to a 1-0 win over RC Lens on Tuesday and a place in the French Cup final. Striker Maazou headed home with 10 minutes left in the extra period after Lens had dominated an entertaining game at the Stade Louis II. Monaco will face amateurs Quevilly or Paris St Germain, who played yesterday, in the final. Lens were more aggressive in midfield but failed to convert two clear chances before the break through Kanga Akale. The winger missed the target after breaking down the left flank in the sixth minute. Shortly after the half hour, Akale collected a defense-splitting pass from Yohan Demont but was denied from close range by Monaco goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier. Monaco earned a penalty 10 minutes into the second half when Alejandro Alonso was brought down in the box by goalkeeper Vedran Runje. Nene converted it but, with a few players in the box when he took his shot, referee Stephane Bre asked for the spot kick to be retaken and the striker skied his second attempt. With the match into extra time, Lens midfielder Sebastien Roudet had a clear chance in the 98th minute but his header was parried away by Ruffier. A minute later, Maazou replaced Alonso and immediately made his presence felt when he headed home a Nene cross.
■SOCCER
Benfica win Lisbon derby
Second-half goals from Oscar Cardozo and Pablo Aimar gave Benfica a 2-0 win over Sporting Lisbon and put the Eagles six points clear at the top of the Portuguese league. Striker Cardozo, the league’s top scorer with 21 goals, deflected in a Fabio Coentrao shot after 68 minutes in the Lisbon derby on Tuesday. Playmaker Aimar scored on a break 10 minutes later. Benfica are unbeaten at home this season and with six games to play have 67 points. Braga are second on 61 and Porto third on 56. Sporting have 41 points in fourth.
■SOCCER
Cagliari sack ‘Coach of Year’
Massimiliano Allegri became the 16th coaching change of the season in Serie A’s 20-team league as he was fired by Cagliari on Tuesday only two months after he had been voted coach of the 2008-2009 season by his peers. Allegri has been replaced by youth team coach Giorgio Melis. The 42-year-old — who received 40 percent of the vote from his fellow coaches for the award — was almost two years into a three-year contract and was seen as one of the bright young prospects in Italy’s top flight. In his first Serie A job, he guided Cagliari to an impressive ninth place finish last season and for large parts of this term they were challenging for European qualification. But they had not won in their last nine games and Cagliari released a brief statement thanking him for his work and wishing him the best in the future.
■SOCCER
Paraguay coach unrepentant
Paraguay’s Argentine coach Gerardo Martino is unrepentant over his penchant for picking naturalized compatriots for the team he is preparing for the World Cup finals. Buenos Aires-born striker Lucas Barrios is the latest to take Paraguayan citizenship through his mother, with Martino suggesting the Borussia Dortmund player could be in his World Cup squad. Paraguayans have questioned Martino’s use of players born in neighboring Argentina, though the coach was adamant he would continue the policy. “It doesn’t seem logical to me to miss out on an important player,” Martino told the Cardinal radio station in Asuncion on Tuesday. “The people will hang me for losing, not for nationalizing [players].” Midfielders Jonathan Santana and Nestor Ortigoza have played for the team and Jonathan Fabbro of local side Guarani has also taken Paraguayan nationality.
■SOCCER
Twente suffer second defeat
An own goal by defender Peter Wisgerhof condemned Twente Enschede to only their second defeat of the season, the Dutch league leaders going down 1-0 to AZ Alkmaar on Tuesday. At the other end of the table RKC Waalwijk were relegated after suffering their 27th defeat of the season, losing 4-1 at Heracles Almelo, with Brazilian Everton scoring twice. With two matches remaining Twente top the standings with 80 points. Second-placed Ajax were aiming to reduce the gap to one point when they visited Willem II Tilburg yesterday. Wisgerhof found his own net in the eighth minute to put Alkmaar ahead and although Steve McClaren’s side dominated the second half they were unable to find an equalizer. Twente were unlucky to be denied a penalty despite an obvious handball from defender Simon Poulsen while he was trying to block striker Blaise Nkufo’s header.
■CRICKET
Windies crush Canada
A fine knock by veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul saw hosts West Indies romp to a 208-run victory over Canada in their one-day international in Kingston on Tuesday. The 35-year-old hit 101 off 120 balls including six fours and a six as West Indies racked up 316 for 4 off their 50 overs. Dwayne Bravo contributed 74 off 75 balls including two sixes whilst the match featured the return of class batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan for the first time since he returned home from the tour of Australia late last year with a back problem. Sarwan showed he was in good order as he hit a quickfire unbeaten 47 off 26 balls with six boundaries including a six. Canada were never in the hunt with just Umar Bhatti putting up much resistance with 32 not out — Nikita Miller returning the best figures for the West Indies of 3-15.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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