TENNIS
Fernando Verdasco advances
Fernando Verdasco of Spain became the last player to advance to the second round of the US men’s clay-court championships on Tuesday night with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Argentina’s Carlos Berlocq. Verdasco came back from a break down in the second set to close out the match by winning the final five games. Earlier, Tommy Paul ousted Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi 6-2, 6-3. He is one of seven Americans still in the singles draw, joining Jack Sock, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Donald Young, Tim Smyczek and Denis Kudla. Querrey moved on by defeating US teenager Reilly Opelka 6-4, 7-6 (7/4); Young beat countryman Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-3; while Smyczek eliminated Nicolas Kicker of Argentina 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus routed Diego Schwartzman 6-0, 6-0 in the first ATP World Tour match this year in which the losing player failed to win a game. Other players advancing were Benjamin Becker, who beat Michael Berrer 7-6 (8/6), 6-0, and Matthew Barton, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Frances Tiafoe.
TENNIS
Gavrilova to make debut
Russian-born Daria Gavrilova is to make her Fed Cup debut for Australia against the US in Brisbane, Australia, next week after being named in the squad yesterday for the world group playoff. The rising 22-year-old talent, who reached the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, has already represented her adopted country after teaming up with Nick Kyrgios to win the Hopman Cup at the start of the year. Despite having received her Australian passport in December last year, Gavrilova was only cleared to play Fed Cup by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) last month. Former US Open champion Sam Stosur, Casey Dellacqua and Arina Rodionova round out the Australia team for the tie against the 17-times champions.
CRICKET
Radio duo suspended
A pair of New Zealand radio presenters were suspended yesterday for broadcasting a heated conversation with England all-rounder Ben Stokes’ mother without her knowledge. Radio Hauraki hosts Jeremy Wells and Matt Heath had been mocking Kiwi-born Stokes’ role in England’s loss to the West Indies in the World Twenty20 final on Sunday before the on-air incident. His mother, Deborah, called the radio station to take issue with her son’s treatment and found herself talking to Heath, unaware that she was on air. She subsequently realized she had been broadcast live and complained to station owner NZME. “Matt and Jeremy are famous for identifying where the line is and then ignoring it,” NZME group program director Mike McClung said in a statement. “However putting Ben’s mum to air without her knowledge, albeit defending her son, was obviously well over that line. They’ve been suitably reprimanded, and are off-air tomorrow.”
RUGBY UNION
Marler banned, fined
England prop Joe Marler has been banned for two matches and told to pay £20,000 (US$28,300) to an equality charity by rugby’s world governing body for using a racial slur toward an opponent during a Six Nations match. World Rugby charged Marler with misconduct after both England’s Rugby Football Union and the Six Nations took no further action against him for calling Wales prop Samson Lee a “gypsy boy” in England’s 25-21 win on March 12. A committee on Tuesday said that Marler’s remark was “unsporting and/or insulting and/or discriminatory by reason of race or ethnic origin,” bringing the game into disrepute.
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
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
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was