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
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