Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark defeated Karin Knapp of Italy 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Istanbul Cup on Wednesday.
Kristina Mladenovic of France upset third-seeded Klara Koukalova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-3 in the second round, while seventh-seeded Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia was ousted by Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-4 at the Koza World of Sport Complex.
Fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine brushed aside Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 6-0, 6-3.
The hard-court Istanbul Cup has rejoined the WTA calendar after a three-year break.
SWEDISH OPEN
AP, BASTAD, Sweden
Estonian qualifier Anett Kontaveit is out of the Swedish Open, a day after beating top-seeded Alize Cornet.
Kontaveit lost to Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round.
Lara Arruabarrena of Spain beat sixth-seeded Annika Beck of Germany 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) at Bastad Tennis Stadium, while Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa defeated Germany’s Laura Siegemund 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Two seeded players went out of first-round matches on Wednesday.
Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada beat third-seeded Camila Giorgi of Italy 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Julia Goerges of Germany ousted seventh-seeded Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain 6-2, 6-0.
Spain’s Silvia Soler-Espinosa beat Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-7 (7/3), 6-3, 6-3.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and