Some of the world’s best tennis players, including world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Novak Djokovic, traded in their rackets for soccer boots on Wednesday on behalf of Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims.
About 15 ATP stars, in Miami for the Masters 1000 hardcourt tournament that started this week, joined with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the second-level North American Soccer League in a light-hearted match that ended in a 4-2 victory for the Strikers.
The tennis stars received enthusiastic backing from a crowd that included a host of children.
The ATP players delivered a relaxed and entertaining performance, displaying an easy teamwork that belied their more usual duels across the net.
Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Scotland’s Andy Murray both scored for the tennis team captained by Djokovic, who has won all 18 of his tennis matches this season.
The ATP starting 11 included Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Despite Spain’s status as World Cup champions, Nadal and compatriots David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco were among the reserves.
The match, featuring two halves of 20 minutes each, was followed by a gala dinner and proceeds from the two events were to benefit American Red Cross relief efforts in Japan.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB