TENNIS
Estrella Burgos wins first
Victor Estrella Burgos became the oldest player to lift a maiden ATP Tour title and the first from the Dominican Republic when he upset world No. 14 Feliciano Lopez to win the Ecuador Open on Sunday. The 34-year-old beat the Spanish first seed 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5) in the ATP 250 clay court tournament, a day after he played in and lost his first doubles final on tour. “I was nervous at the beginning, but thank God I was able to win the first ATP [tournament] in Quito and the first for me,” Estrella Burgos was quoted as saying by Ecuadorean daily El Comercio. The world No. 73 rated his good preparation for the rarefied air at nearly 3,000m in Quito, saying: “Today I felt as if I was playing at sea level. I felt very good on court.”
TENNIS
Gasquet wins Open Sud
Local favorite Richard Gasquet won the Open Sud de France when Jerzy Janowicz retired ill while trailing 3-0 in the first set on Sunday. The fourth-seeded Gasquet, who did not lose a set all week, lifted the trophy for the third time after winning in 2006, when the tournament was held in Lyon, and 2013. Last year, Gasquet was runner-up to his French Davis Cup teammate Gael Monfils, whom he beat in the semifinals on Saturday. Janowicz retired after losing 14 straight points, as the 28-year-old Gasquet, who was born in the nearby city of Beziers, raced to a 3-0, 30-0 lead. “I’m extremely disappointed because I felt pretty OK the whole week,” the big serving Pole said. “I saved six match points in the first round and after that I played pretty good tennis. Two days ago, I got sick. I haven’t slept in almost two days. I had a fever and the flu and I’m so weak. There was not much that I could do today.” It was Gasquet’s 11th title and his first since 2013.
SPEEDSKATING
Fontana, Migunov win 500m
Italy’s Arianna Fontana and Russia’s Dmitry Migunov won 500m races on Sunday at a short track speedskating World Cup meet. Fontana led from start to finish to beat European champion Elise Christie of Britain and Fan Kexin of China. Fan’s third place was enough to secure the overall 500 title. Migunov finished ahead of Canada’s Francois Hamelin for his third win of the season. South Korea’s Kwak Yoon-gy was third. South Koreans dominated the women’s 1,500, with Shim Suk-hee finishing ahead of compatriot Kim A-lang. Tao Jiaying of China was third, ahead of American Jessica Smith. Russia’s Semion Elistratov won the men’s 1,500. Canada won the women’s 3,000 relay final for its first relay victory of the season, while the Netherlands won the men’s race.
RUGBY UNION
France replace Debaty, Suta
France have called up Vincent Debaty and Jocelino Suta to replace injured pair Alexandre Menini and Alexandre Flanquart ahead of their trip to Ireland this coming weekend. Toulon prop Menini, 31, has an injured foot and is replaced by fellow veteran Debaty, 33, of Clermont. Lock Flanquart, 25, hurt his neck while playing for Stade Francais CASG against Union Sportive Oyonnax Rugby at the end of last month and is still not at 100 percent, France said in a statement released on Sunday. He did not feature in Saturday’s 15-8 win over Scotland at the Stade de France and has now been replaced by Toulon second row Suta, 32. France travel to Dublin on Saturday to tackle reigning Six Nations champions Ireland, who began with a 26-3 win in Italy.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two