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.
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
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
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
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later