■TENNIS
Autograph causes injury
Signing autographs is usually the easy part after a match but French Open quarter-finalist Fernando Gonzalez’s twisted ankle told a different story. Rather than boasting of a spectacular shot he had made to cause it, the Chilean admitted the injury that interrupted his Roland Garros preparations had come about in a bizarre manner. “I was signing autographs after one of the matches in Rome [last month]. They called me from the other side of the court, and I went running and twisted my ankle,” he told reporters after beating Victor Hanescu in the fourth round on Sunday. “I went back to the locker room because it was really painful. That’s how it happened. It was curious. Let’s call it curious.”
■MOTO GP
Stoner wins in Italy
Casey Stoner won the Italian Moto Grand Prix on Sunday to move to the top of the championship standings and break Valentino Rossi’s seven-year stranglehold on the race. The Australian judged the wet and dry conditions better than his opponents to finish in 45 minutes, 41.894 seconds. He was a second faster than Jorge Lorenzo, who led the overall standings ahead of the event. Defending world champion Valentino Rossi finished third after winning the race the last seven years in a row. Rossi had a poor qualifying session on Saturday and started from fourth. Stoner leads the standings with 90 points, four more than Lorenzo. Rossi is third with 81 points.
■INDY CAR RACING
Dixon wins AJ Foyt 225
New Zealand’s reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon won the AJ Foyt 225 on Sunday to take over the lead in this year’s standings. Dixon overtook Australian Penske driver Ryan Briscoe for the lead 25 laps from the finish and pulled away for his second victory of the season. Briscoe, who started from pole position, settled for second place behind Dixon and ahead of Scotland’s Dario Franchitti. With the victory Dixon took over the series lead from Ganassi teammate Franchitti. “What a long race. I’m just so happy to win at this place,” Dixon said. Graham Rahal and Danica Patrick rounded out the top five, both on the same lap as Dixon. Patrick’s finish was her fourth straight top-five of the year. After the last round of pit stops, Briscoe led Dixon, Franchitti, Rahal, and Raphael Matos to the restart on lap 172. But Briscoe got stuck behind a slow Tomas Scheckter, who was a lap back. Dixon took advantage of the backmarker traffic to make his move past Briscoe for his 18th career IndyCar win. Brazilian Helio Castroneves, who claimed his third Indianapolis 500 triumph last Sunday, started from the rear of the grid after a qualifying crash and finished in 11th place.
■SOCCER
Perez returns as president
Florentino Perez was returned as president of Real Madrid yesterday with no other candidates standing against him by the deadline for applications of midnight on Sunday. The three challengers who had been expected to oppose the construction magnate all pulled out and Perez took office yesterday in a ceremony at the Bernabeu Stadium. Architect of the “Galacticos” policy that brought the likes of Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham to the Bernabeu, Perez has promised to construct a spectacular sporting project but has yet to name any players or the coach he plans to bring in. Spanish media have reported that Villarreal’s Manuel Pellegrini is the front runner for the coach’s role and Perez has been linked with players including Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping