TENNIS
Alcaraz crashes out
World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz on Friday crashed out of the Miami Open in his first outing, with Belgian veteran David Goffin pulling off a shock 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win, while Taiwan’s only remaining representative at Hard Rock Stadium also exited. Alcaraz was not convincing with his serve, despite winning the first set, but began to struggle in the second and was not able to rediscover his game. Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin was beaten in the round-of-64 by Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the US$9,193,540 tournament in Miami Gardens. Tseng on Wednesday advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over Italian Mattia Bellucci.
Photo: AP
BADMINTON
Five Taiwanese advance
Taiwanese shuttlers Lin Chun-yi, and twin brothers Lee Fang-jen and Lee Fang-chih on Friday advanced to the semi-finals at the Swiss Open. The world No. 21 Lee brothers pulled off a stunning upset to beat Indonesians Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 21-19, 14-21, 21-13 in the quarter-finals at the St Jakobshalle Arena in Basel. Both pairs put up a tough fight early in the opener, but the Taiwanese pulled away to take the first game. Unforced errors cost the brothers the second game, but they rallied to take an 11-9 lead in the third and reeled off six consecutive points to widen the gap before sealing victory. They were to play Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin of Indonesia after press time last night. World No. 11 Lin bested Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-16, 21-15 in their men’s singles quarter-final in 43 minutes. Lin’s victory was due to his strategy of keeping his opponent under pressure through smashes and attacking the net, his coach Feng Sheng-chieh told reporters after the match. Lin was sheduled to play eighth-seeded Weng Hongyang of China after the Lees’ game. In the mixed doubles, Liu Kuang-heng and Jheng Yu-chieh were also to play after the Lees after beating Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch of Denmark 21-18, 21-18. They were to meet China’s Zhu Yijun and Zhang Chi.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images
BASKETBALL
Watford and Turner fined
The NBA on Friday fined Brooklyn Nets swingman Trendon Watford and Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner US$35,000 each for an altercation in a game this week. Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard also was fined US$20,000 for his role in initiating the altercation in the Pacers’ 105-99 win over the Nets on Thursday. The tensions started with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter when Watford ran toward Nembhard after a made basket and hit him with a forearm to the chest. Watford also shoved Turner after he ran toward the scuffle. On the court on Friday, the Magic beat the Wizards 120-105, the Rockets beat the Heat 102-98, the Timberwolves downed the Pelicans 134-93, The Thunder defeated the Hornets 141-106, the Spurs downed the 76ers 128-120, the Mavericks beat the Pistons 123-117, the Celtic defeated the Jazz 121-99, the Suns beat the Cavaliers 123-112, The Trail Blazers bested the Nuggets 128-109 and the Clippers beat the Grizzlies 128-108.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
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