BRAZIL
Corinthians lose to Avai
Corinthians had their Brazilian championship lead cut to a single point with a 3-2 defeat at Avai on Sunday, losing for the second time in a row after they opened the season with a 10-match unbeaten run. Second-placed Flamengo remain the only unbeaten team in the championship as they eased to a 2-0 victory over Gremio on Saturday with an inspired Ronaldinho scoring one of the goals in his first ever match against the club where he started his career. Avai, in 18th place and previously without a home win in Florianopolis, appeared ideal opponents for Corinthians to recover from their first defeat last weekend and the visitors went ahead through striker Emerson after half an hour. However, within 14 minutes of the restart, Avai had turned the match around with strikes from forwards William and Rafael Coelho, whose second goal eight minutes from time secured the win, despite Jorge Henrique pulling one back in stoppage-time. Flamengo’s Ronaldinho laid on the opener for midfielder Thiago Neves at Rio’s Olympic Stadium in the first half and sealed the win in the second after Gremio goalkeeper Victor tried to dribble past him and lost the ball.
GERMANY
Schalke thrash Teningen
Holders Schalke 04 thrashed tiny Teningen 11-1 on Sunday to take their place in the second round of the German Cup. Teningen ply their trade in the seventh tier of German soccer and they were no match for Ralf Rangnick’s side, for whom Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored four times. Raul, Lewis Holtby and Mario Gavranovic all added doubles, with Greece’s Kyriakos Papadopoulos completing the scoring. Hannover 96, Hertha BSC Berlin, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, FSV Mainz 05 and Cologne were the other top-flight clubs to win on Sunday, but SC Freiburg were sent packing by Unterhaching, a third-division club from the Munich suburbs. Freiburg’s defeat makes them the fourth Bundesliga side to be eliminated at the first hurdle, after Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen and VfL Wolfsburg were all knocked out earlier in the weekend. Champions Borussia Dortmund were comfortable winners at third-division Sandhausen on Saturday.
FRANCE
Hilton to sign for Montpellier
Olympique de Marseille defender Vitorino Hilton, who has wanted out of the club since being attacked in his own home last month, is set to join Montpellier Herault, a source said on Sunday. Hilton, 33, was expected to sign a one-year deal with the option of a further 12 months yesterday. The Brazilian made just eight Ligue 1 appearances last season and the signing of Nicolas Nkoulou from Monaco this summer has pushed him even further down the pecking order at the Stade Velodrome. Hilton was at home with 10 members of his family on July 12 when a six-strong gang of armed men broke in shortly before midnight. The masked intruders restrained those inside the house, escaping with cash and valuables. Hilton was slightly injured during the attack after being struck with a gun butt, although he did not require hospital treatment.
SPAIN
Afellay out of Super Cup
Barcelona’s Dutch winger Ibrahim Afellay will be out of action for four to five weeks after suffering a thigh injury, the club said on Sunday. The 25-year-old suffered the tear in his left thigh muscle during Barcelona’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United in Washington on Saturday. He will miss the Spanish Super Cup ties against archrivals Real Madrid on Aug. 14 and Aug. 17.
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