■ITALY
Roma maintain their form
AS Roma maintained their formidable form on Thursday with a 2-0 home win over Udinese in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final. Mirko Vucinic latched on to a pass from deep by Daniele De Rossi before slotting the ball into the corner and Philippe Mexes headed home in the first half to put the hosts in command of the tie. The victory stretched Roma’s unbeaten run in all competitions to 18 games, having moved level on points with second-placed AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday after a 2-1 win over Siena. On Thursday, they played some neat one-touch soccer in the opening phase with captain Francesco Totti back from injury along with fellow striker Vucinic, who gave them a 12th-minute lead with the help of some distracted defending. Udinese, who are fourth-from-bottom in Serie A, had more possession as the first half wore on, but created few chances. French defender Mexes beat the defense to a David Pizarro free-kick to extend Roma’s lead in the 40th minute.
■PORTUGAL
Deco to retire after finals
Portugal midfielder Deco has decided to retire from international soccer after the World Cup finals in South Africa. “I will close my time [with the Portugal team] at the end of the World Cup, because of my age and because it is tiring,” the 32-year-old told Brazil’s Radio Globo. Deco started his Portugal career in a friendly against his native Brazil in March 2003. He went on to win 72 caps and score five goals for the Iberian country. He played in the European championships in 2004 and 2008 and the World Cup in 2006. “The responsibility is always big. For me, the 2006 side had more experience, while the current one has younger players. Technically they are similar,” he said. The Chelsea player added that he planned to return to Brazil to play at club level after the end of next season.
■ITALY
Ronaldinho denies partying
AC Milan star Ronaldinho has denied claims he partied for three nights in a row ahead of the crucial Milan derby against Inter two weeks ago. Reports in the press this week claim the 30-year-old spent three nights out on the town until the early hours as preparation for the top of the table clash, but writing on his official Web site, the former Barcelona forward said those rumors simply weren’t true. “I want to unburden myself and explain this to all those of you who follow me,” he told his fans. “Rumors are circulating in the press that I organized a ‘mega party’ during the days leading up to the Inter-Milan derby and even though it is true that I stayed in the hotel, it’s not true that I organized a party and the details reported are even less true.”
■NETHERLANDS
Tomasson’s strike enough
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s second-half goal earned Feyenoord a 1-0 away win at bottom side RKC Waalwijk in the Dutch league on Thursday. A lackluster Feyenoord had a poor first half, but improved directly after the break when Tomasson scored with a fine volley. Feyenoord finished with 10 men after Denny Landzaat was sent off six minutes before time.
■URUGUAY
Racing make group stage
A double strike from Liber Quinones lifted Uruguay’s Racing into the group stage of the Copa Libertadores with a 2-0 home win over Colombia’s Atletico Junior on Thursday. Quinones converted a penalty in the 12th minute and sealed the victory with a second goal in the 88th minute to complete a 4-2 aggregate win.
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