TENNIS
Taiwan’s Chan makes final
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico yesterday reached the final at the China Open. Chan and Olmos defeated Poland’s Magda Linette and Peyton Stearns of the US 7-5, 6-4 at the National Tennis Center in Beijing to book a place in today’s championship match against the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova and Sara Tormo of Spain, who beat Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Ingrid Martins 6-2, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
SOCCER
Nantes defeat Strasbourg
Two second-half goals on Friday helped Nantes earn a 2-1 win against RC Strasbourg Alsace in their Ligue 1 match. Both teams played cautiously during the opening 45 minutes. Nantes scored a goal in the 51st minute when Marcus Coco beat Matz Sels from close range. Samuel Moutoussamy then made it 2-0 from a rebound seven minutes later. Substitute Moise Sahi Dion pulled a goal back for Strasbourg in stoppage-time. Nantes moved to eighth place in the standings, one point above Strasbourg ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games.
SOCCER
Sancet scores for Bilbao
Oihan Sancet on Friday celebrated his first call-up to Spain’s national team by scoring in Athletic Bilbao’s 3-0 win over last-placed UD Almeria in La Liga. Gorka Guruzeta and Dani Garcia also scored for Athletic as they ended their brief winless run and moved into the top four in the standings with the victory at San Mames Stadium. The 23-year-old Sancet earlier on Friday was included in the squad by Spain coach Luis de la Fuente for their European Championship qualifiers. The midfielder sealed Athletic’s victory in the 81st minute after Guruzeta scored in the 10th minute and Garcia in the 63rd. The win moved Athletic two points behind third-placed Girona and one point ahead of fifth-place Atletico Madrid, who had two games in hand ahead of their game among the rest of the weekend’s games. Almeria, who had only one shot on target, are the only team without a win after nine rounds.
ROWING
Naked Australian rescued
A naked Australian adventurer was rescued on Friday by a cruise ship near Vanuatu after capsizing while attempting to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. Tom Robinson clung to the hull of his heavily modified rowing boat for almost 13 hours before he was plucked out of the water, a statement on the expedition’s Web site said. The 24-year-old was seeking to become the youngest person to row across the Pacific Ocean — a journey of about 8,000 nautical miles (14,800km) starting in Peru and ending in Australia. Robinson’s team said in the statement that the situation “was caused by an unexpectedly large wave that came through the main hatch and flooded the cabin.” After activating his emergency distress beacon, Robinson was spotted by a plane dispatched from the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. A cruise ship that was diverted to rescue Robinson found him clinging naked to the overturned hull of his homemade boat, his team said, adding that he “sounded well after a precarious night.” Robinson set off from Peru in July last year and was aiming to make landfall on Australia’s eastern coast by December after stops in Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
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