■BRAZIL
Derby turns ugly
Three players were sent off as Sao Paulo and Corinthians drew 1-1 in a bad-tempered Brazilian derby on Sunday where rivalries were fueled by a row over tickets. Corinthians were furious after being allocated only 10 percent of the tickets by Sao Paulo for the Paulista championship game at the Morumbi. The row had simmered all week, with Corinthians describing their rivals as “elitist.” The bad feeling spilled over onto the pitch as the match produced 11 yellow cards. Corinthians midfielder Tulio was first to be sent off for punching an opponent after the two tangled in the 38th minute. Sao Paulo’s Wagner Diniz followed after halftime for a tackle from behind. Borges put Sao Paulo ahead following a neat move in the 75th minute, but Andre Santos leveled five minutes later, only to be sent off shortly afterwards for a second bookable offense. Gremio forward Jonas scored twice in six minutes to help his side win 2-1 at Avenida in the Rio Grando do Sul championship in southern Brazil. The game was held up three times in the first half as the paper thrown onto the field by fans caught fire, also burning advertising hoardings.
■NETHERLANDS
Ajax bag rare victory
Ajax earned their first win in five matches on Sunday by beating 10-man Feyenoord 2-0 in the Dutch league. Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen converted Kennedy Bakircioglu’s free-kick in the 52nd minute to put Ajax in front. Midfielder Urby Emanuelson, who had hit the post with a free-kick in the 73rd minute, added the second in the 90th minute after taking a pass from Luis Suarez. Dwight Tiendalli was sent off in the 82nd minute after picking up a second yellow card. Also on Sunday, Gonzalo Garcia and Marcus Berg scored a goal each as FC Groningen beat Heracles Almelo 2-0. NEC Nijmegen and SC Heerenveen drew 1-1, with Youssef El-Akchaoui’s 39th minute goal canceling out Viktor Elm’s opener. Sparta Rotterdam drew 0-0 with Vitesse Arnhem.
■GREECE
Panathinaikos go second
Panathinaikos moved back to second place despite a 0-0 draw at Iraklis in the Greek league on Sunday. The Athenians now have 43 points, the same as PAOK, who beat Levadiakos 3-0 on Saturday. Olympiakos lead the league with 57 points after their 2-1 win over Aris on Saturday. After an action-free first half, Panathinaikos charged forward in the second, squandering a major scoring chance in the 58th minute when a shot by midfielder Clayton sailed over the crossbar with Iraklis goalkeeper Wojciech Kowalewski out of position. In the 78th minute, Vangelis Mantzios thought he had scored for Panathinaikos, but referee Anastasios Kakos disallowed it for offside. Six minutes before the end of the game, Panathinaikos wanted a penalty when Grigoris Papazacharias handled inside Iraklis’ area, but the referee played on. Also on Sunday, it was OFI Crete 1, Asteras 1; Panthrakikos 0, Larissa 1; and Panserraikos 1, Xanthi 0.
■PORTUGAL
Porto maintain their lead
Porto eased to a 3-1 home victory over Rio Ave in the Portuguese Premier League on Sunday to retain their one-point lead over Benfica, who kept the pressure on the leaders with a 3-2 win against Pacos de Ferreira. Argentine Ernesto Farias score twice in the champions’ victory, while his compatriot Lucho Gonzalez added the other. Benfica’s goals all came in the second half through Oscar Cardozo, Ruben Amorim and Angel di Maria, but the hosts were given a late scare when Pacos scored their second goal in injury-time.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
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