TENNIS
Nishikori wins in Barcelona
Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday and claim his first career title on clay and fifth overall. Giraldo started well with an early break, but an argument with the chair umpire about a line call seemed to rattle the unseeded player. Shortly afterward, Giraldo failed to reach Nishikori’s drop shot before hitting a costly double fault to cede his serve. The fourth-seeded Nishikori went on to win eight straight games to claim the first set and take control of the match. He converted five of seven break chances, while Giraldo committed five double faults. Nishikori said he hopes his maiden win on clay will carry over to upcoming tournaments and the French Open. “There are three big tournaments coming up in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, so I hope I can do well and increase my [ranking] points. My next goal is to get to the top 10,” he said. “I was good on clay when I was little... I was winning all the European juniors events. Now it’s much tougher than hard courts and I was struggling a bit, but I’ve been playing well these past couple years so there’s no fear to play on clay.” The Japanese player’s second title of the year marked the first time a non-Spaniard has won the ATP tournament at the Real Club de Tenis in the Spanish city since 1996.
TENNIS
Dimitrov takes Rosol’s title
Top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov defeated defending champion Lukas Rosol 7-6 (2), 6-1 on Sunday to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy for his third ATP title. The 22-year-old Bulgarian needed 55 minutes to take the first set from Rosol, who broke Dimitrov’s serve in the third game. The 16th-ranked Dimitrov got into his stride to take the second set in 25 minutes and finished the tournament in Bucharest, Romania, without dropping a set.
TENNIS
Torro-Flor has first WTA win
Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain won her first WTA singles title by defeating Romina Oprandi of Switzerland 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday in the Grand Prix SAR final in Marrakech, Morocco. Torro-Flor broke for a 5-3 lead in the first set, but dropped serve at 2-1 in the second as Oprandi evened the match. The 71st-ranked Spaniard broke Oprandi twice in the final set to lead 5-1, but wasted a chance to serve out the match. It was both players’ first final, with Torro-Flor winning their sole previous meeting two years ago in Bucharest, Romania. Torro-Flor broke into the Top 100 in October 2012 and her previous best result was a semi-finals appearance at the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan last year.
GOLF
Noh claims first US PGA title
Noh Seung-yul claimed his first title on the US PGA Tour by firing a one-under-par 71 for a two-shot victory at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday. The 22-year-old South Korean finished at 19-under-par 269 to beat out the US’ Andrew Svoboda and Robert Streb. “I’m very excited and very happy,” said Noh, who was making his 78th career start on the North American tour. Svoboda (69) and Streb (70) closed with birdies at 18 to move into a tie for second place at 17-under, while Jeff Overton (70) finished in fourth at 16-under. Robert Garrigus (64), Erik Compton (68) and Charley Hoffman (71) shared fifth at 14-under 274, a shot ahead of Justin Rose (68), Keegan Bradley (75) and Tommy Gainey (71) at the TPC Louisiana course. Noh has two previous international victories, winning the 2008 Midea China Classic and the 2010 Malaysian Open.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two