TENNIS
Rain washes out Aegon
No matches were completed at the Aegon Open on Friday, as rain washed out play at the women’s grass-court tournament. In the only match that got on court, Alison Riske led Anett Kontaveit 5-3 in the quarter-finals when play was called off for the day. That match was scheduled to resume yesterday. The other quarter-final matches are: top-seeded Karolina Pliskova versus Ashleigh Barty; No. 4 Monica Puig versus Tamira Paszek; and Zheng Saisai versus Tara Moore. The semi-finals were also scheduled to be played yesterday, weather permitting.
TENNIS
Muller advances to semis
Gilles Muller on Friday fired 17 aces to come from behind and beat top-seeded David Ferrer 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) for a place in the semi-finals of the Ricoh Open. Second-seeded Bernard Tomic also lost after winning the first set. He was beaten 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-2 by eighth-seeded Nicolas Mahut. Seventh-seeded Muller next plays No. 3 Ivo Karlovic, who cruised past Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-4. Mahut is to play fifth-seeded Sam Querrey, who routed Stefan Kozlov 6-3, 6-0. Among the women, top-seeded Belinda Bencic beat qualifier Viktorija Golubic 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/2) to set up a semi-final against Kristina Mladenovic. Mladenovic topped qualifier Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-3. The other semi-final is to pit Coco Vandeweghe against Madison Brengle. Vandeweghe beat Evgeniya Rodina 6-2, 6-2, while Brengle defeated Kateryna Kozlova 7-5, 6-4.
GOLF
Lombard, Bourdy share lead
Zander Lombard on Friday overcame two consecutive bogeys to card a two-under 70 and share the lead with Gregory Bourdy after the second day of the Lyoness Open. Lombard and Bourdy are tied at seven-under 137, followed by Gary Stal at 136 and Borja Virto another stroke behind in fourth. Bourdy led the event for three days last year before being overtaken by Chris Wood. The defending champion from England repeated his 71 from the opening round and was in 11th at two-under heading into the weekend. Overnight leader Adrian Otaegui dropped to fifth following a 76, which included a double-bogey on the par-four 11th.
FOOTBALL
Police investigate Agholor
Philadelphia Eagles receiver Nelson Agholor is under investigation by police, reportedly after a female dancer at a strip club accused him of sexually assaulting her. “We are aware of the police investigation involving Nelson Agholor,” the Eagles said in a statement. The incident involving a 27-year-old dancer allegedly occurred at Cheerleaders Gentlemen’s Club in south Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon and was reported to police later that night. Philadelphia police did not named Agholor as the suspect during a news conference on Friday, but released a statement saying the allegation was “regarding a sexual assault and a member of the Philadelphia Eagles organization.” Agholor was Philadelphia’s first-round pick last year. He caught 23 passes for 283 yards last season.
SOCCER
Gladbach sign Vestergaard
Borussia Moenchengladbach said they have signed central defender Jannik Vestergaard from Bundesliga rival Werder Bremen. The Denmark international signed a five-year deal. Financial details were not given. Vestergaard has also played for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Moenchengladbach finished fourth in the Bundesliga and are hoping to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
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
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care