■ GOLF
Ochoa wins title at home
Lorena Ochoa won her first US LPGA Tour title in her home country on Sunday, closing with a 4-under 69 to hold off Julieta Granada and Paula Creamer in the Corona Morelia Championship. Ochoa, who never trailed after shooting a course-record 64 in the second round on Friday, won for the fourth time this season to tie Australia's Karrie Webb for the tour lead. The 24-year-old Mexican finished at 20-under 272 on the hilly, Jack Nicklaus-designed Tres Marias course, five strokes better than Granada. Granada, the 19-year-old up-and-comer from Paraguay, shot a 71.
■ GOLF
Love wins Chrysler Classic
Davis Love III won on the course he redesigned, shooting a 6-under 66 on Sunday for his second victory in the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro in North Carolina. A native of the state who also played at the University of North Carolina, the 42-year-old Love had three straight birdies late in the round to seal his 19th US PGA Tour victory and first since 2003. He finished at 16-under 272 and earned US$900,000. Jason Bohn (66) finished two strokes back at 14 under and Eric Axley (67) and Steve Flesch (68) were another shot behind. Love, a six-stroke winner in the 1992 Chrysler Classic, redesigned the Forest Oaks Country Club course three years ago.
■ TENNIS
Agassi nearly loses rackets
Andre Agassi nearly lost a grip on two special rackets at a benefit auction before his wife, Steffi Graf, bought them for US$360,000. In the live auction before Agassi's 11th Grand Slam for Children on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the tennis star was almost ready to donate the racket that he won his first professional match with and the racket he used in his final US Open. Bidding topped US$320,000 before Graf intervened. "Those rackets are supposed to stay with us," she said, after making the final, top bid. Agassi offered the next highest bidder a free tennis lesson. "It's all crazy money, so thank you," he said from the stage. In all, US$8.6 million was raised at the benefit.
■ BASKETBALL
Parker sparks Spurs in Paris
Tony Parker scored 27 points to help the San Antonio Spurs beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 97-84 on Sunday in an exhibition game in Paris. Tim Duncan added 15 points, while Manu Ginobili scored 10 to give the Spurs their second straight win in France, Parker's home country. "It's been a long week," said Parker, who scored 26 points against Asvel Villeurbane on Thursday. "It's been a pleasure to come back here and see family and friends and we had two good games and two wins." Parker, who missed playing for France at the world championships because of a broken finger, has fully recovered, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
■ GOLF
Jenkins wins soggy SAS
Tom Jenkins earned his seventh career Champions Tour title on Sunday after soggy conditions forced the cancelation of the final round of the SAS Championship. The 58-year-old finished at a 10-under 134 for 36 holes, beating out Champions Tour money leader Loren Roberts and tour newcomer Chip Beck by one stroke. "I was looking forward to competing with Loren and Chip, but I am certainly happy to be the champion," said Jenkins, who has now won a tournament in each of the last five seasons. "A win is a win. The weather was on my side this year."
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set