TENNIS
Gulbis, Delbonis in Nice final
Second-seeded Ernests Gulbis was to meet Federico Delbonis in the Open de Nice final yesterday after brushing aside defending champion Albert Montanes on Friday. Gulbis of Latvia dropped just one point on his first serve on his way to a 6-0, 6-3 victory over the Spaniard. Seventh-seeded Delbonis also made light work of home favorite Gilles Simon, defeating the fourth-seeded Frenchman 6-2, 6-4. Gulbis has won all five of his previous finals on the ATP tour, and triumphed in Marseille in February. Delbonis, who beat top-seeded John Isner in the quarter-finals, is 1-1 in his previous tour finals. The 23-year-old Argentine lifted his first title in Sao Paolo in March, after losing in Hamburg last year.
SOCCER
PSG sign David Luiz
French champions Paris Saint-Germain have agreed terms with Chelsea to sign Brazil defender David Luiz, the clubs said on Friday. “The move is now subject to David Luiz agreeing personal terms with PSG and passing a medical examination,” Premier League club Chelsea said on their Web site (www.chelseafc.com). British media reported that the fee for the versatile 27-year-old would be a world record for a defender of between £40 million and £50 million (US$67.37 million and US$84.21 million). That would surpass the £36 million Qatari-backed PSG paid for Luiz’s Brazil teammate Thiago Silva in 2012, although neither club disclosed the financial terms of their agreement. The easily recognizable Luiz, with his long and shaggy hair, joined Chelsea in January 2011 from Benfica and helped the London side win the Champions League the following year.
SOCCER
Evra extends contract
France leftback Patrice Evra has signed a contract to stay at Manchester United for another year, extending his Old Trafford career to a 10th season, the Premier League club said on Friday. There had been media speculation he would leave, but with two experienced defenders, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, already departing, United were “delighted” to announce on their Web site that Evra will remain at the club. The Frenchman, who was 33 last week, joined United from AS Monaco in 2006 and has made 379 appearances for the club, winning 10 major honors. He has been first-choice leftback since and stood in for Vidic as captain on numerous occasions. Dutchman Alex Buttner moved to Old Trafford in 2012 as Evra’s deputy and British media reports say United have lodged a £27 million (US$45.5 million) bid to sign 18-year-old Southampton defender Luke Shaw to fill the position in the long-term.
TENNIS
Murray to name coach
Wimbledon champion Andy Murray on Friday revealed he is close to appointing a new coach after identifying the person he wants to succeed Ivan Lendl. Murray began his coaching search last month after the announcement that the Scottish star’s successful two-year partnership with Lendl had ended. The 27-year-old, who won Wimbledon, the US Open and the men’s Olympic singles gold medal during his time with Lendl, has been linked with legends like John McEnroe and Mats Wilander, as well as well-respected coaches Bob Brett and Larry Stefanki. Murray, who is in Paris as he prepares for the French Open, confirmed he has one name in mind and he has held talks with that person, although no deal has yet been offered or agreed.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but
Taiwanese gymnast Lee Chih-kai failed to secure an Olympic berth in the pommel horse following a second-place finish at the last qualifier in Doha on Friday, a performance that Lee and his coach called “unconvincing.” The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist finished runner-up in the final after scoring 6.6 for degree of difficulty and 8.800 for execution for a combined score of 15.400. That was just 0.100 short of Jordan’s Ahmad Abu Al Soud, who had qualified for the event in Paris before the Apparatus World Cup series in Qatar’s capital. After missing the final rounds in the first two of four qualifier