Hard-serving American John Isner’s remarkable run continued as he stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic to book an Indian Wells final showdown with world No. 3 Roger Federer.
World No. 11 Isner fired his 20th ace of the match to topple defending champion and top seed Djokovic 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) on Saturday.
Federer then used an ace on match point to seal a 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No. 2 Rafael Nadal as the two renewed their epic rivalry with their first meeting at the Indian Wells Masters.
Isner’s first victory over a world No. 1 ensures he will move into the top 10 in the world rankings for the first time.
“Not many people can say they’ve ever beaten the No. 1 player in the world,” the 26-year-old American Isner said.
For Djokovic, 24, it marked a second straight semi-final defeat after he fell at the same stage in Dubai to Andy Murray earlier this month. Reigning Australian Open champ Djokovic is now 14-2 on the season. Isner closed the 2 hour, 45 minute match out with his 20th ace in front of a crowd of about 15,000.
One of the sport’s great rivalries was on display in the second semi-final between 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer and reigning French Open champ Nadal, which started three-and-a-half hours late and was played in difficult windy and rainy conditions.
Federer had a few extra minutes to think about what turned out to be his final ace after officials pulled the players off the court because of rain just as he held match point leading 5-4 and 40-30.
He returned a few moments later and hammered the final nail in the coffin — a 201kph ace that ended the 1 hour, 31 minute match.
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