TENNIS
Nadal pulls out of Open
Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal yesterday pulled out of the Australian Open with a “micro tear on a muscle” barely a week after making his comeback from a year-long injury absence, but said he remained positive. The 37-year-old had been out of the game since injuring his hip at last year’s Australian Open, undergoing surgery before making his comeback at the Brisbane International. “During my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news. Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of five-set matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.”
SOCCER
Brazil mourns Zagallo
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday declared three days of national mourning for four-time World Cup-winning legend Mario Zagallo, a day after his death at age 92. Zagallo, who played alongside Pele in Brazil’s 1958 and 1962 World Cup-winning teams and later won the trophy as a coach, died on Friday of multiple organ failure, said the Barra D’Or Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he had been treated for a series of health problems in the past few months. Lula led a flood of tributes to the man known as the “Old Wolf,” who coached Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning side starring Pele — considered by many the greatest team in history — and served as assistant coach when the “Selecao” repeated the feat in 1994. “He was one of the greatest football players and coaches of all time,” Lula said in a statement. “Courageous, passionate ... [he] leaves a lesson of love, dedication and the will to overcome for our country — and for world football.” Current and former players also paid their respects, including Brazilian World Cup winners Ronaldinho, Romario, Bebeto, Taffarel and Cafu. “Thank you for everything, Professor!!! Rest in peace,” Ronaldinho posted on Instagram, alongside a photograph of him and Zagallo. “He’s as important as Pele,” Romario told journalists. “Today is a sad day for football.”
BASKETBALL
Draymond Green reinstated
The NBA on Saturday reinstated Draymond Green from his suspension after the Golden State Warriors star missed 12 games for hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face on Dec. 12. The league said Green “demonstrated his commitment to conforming his conduct to standards expected of NBA players” during his suspension, which began on Dec. 14. He has met with a counselor as well as had multiple joint meetings with representatives of the league, the Warriors and the National Basketball Players Association. Those meetings would continue throughout the season, the league said. The Warriors have gone 7-5 without Green, who also was suspended for five games in November last year for placing Minnesota center Rudy Gobert in a headlock. After agreeing to a new US$100 million deal with the Warriors in the summer last year, Green lost nearly US$1.9 million in salary during the suspension.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia yesterday advanced to the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open after defeating New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3 in their semi-final. Hsieh has won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and has a shot at a 10th tomorrow, when the Latvian-Taiwanese duo are to play Taylor Townsend of the US and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the championship match at the A$96.5 million (US$61 million) outdoor hard court tournament at Melbourne Park. Townsend and Siniakova eliminated Russian pair Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva 6-7
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
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
Things are somewhat out of control at the Australian Open this year, and that has only a little to do with the results on the courts. Yes, there were some upsets, including Madison Keys eliminating No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles semi-finals on Thursday. It also was the first time since 1990 that three teenagers beat top-10 men’s seeds at a Grand Slam tennis tournament. The loser of one of those matches, Daniil Medvedev, got fined US$76,000 for behaving badly. Last year’s women’s singles runner-up exited in the first round. However, the real fuss is happening elsewhere. The rowdy fans, for one
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