TENNIS
Vandeweghe wins Ricoh
Coco Vandeweghe on Sunday won her second Ricoh Open title by beating Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 7-5 in a final blighted by long rain delays. Vandeweghe also won the grass-court tournament in 2014 — her only other title on the tour. The match was first suspended after five games and again after the sixth-seeded Vandeweghe had won the first set. Vandeweghe had seven aces and saved two of three break points. Third-seeded Mladenovic was in her first final of the year. The men’s final between Nicolas Mahut and Gilles Muller was suspended because of rain after Mahut had won the first set 6-4. The final was scheduled to be continued yesterday.
TENNIS
Rain delays Mercedes final
Heavy rain has forced organizers to suspend the Mercedes Cup final between Dominic Thiem and Philipp Kohlschreiber. The match, already an hour late to start, was halted for about five hours on Sunday. It was then finally suspended after another delay, with the two tied 6-6 and Kohlschreiber up 3-2 in the tiebreaker. Workers tried to dry the slippery court with hot-air blowers, but the rain kept returning to make it impossible to play. The match was scheduled to be completed yesterday.
TENNIS
Pliskova secures Aegon title
Top seed Karolina Pliskova on Sunday saved six set points to take the first set on a nail-biting tiebreaker on her way to clinching the Aegon Open title. The Czech made it a fifth WTA crown — but a first on grass — with the hard-fought 7-6 (10/8), 7-5 victory over Alison Riske of the US. Pliskova’s first title this year sets her up perfectly for Wimbledon, which begins in two weeks. The world No. 17 also won titles in Prague last year, Seoul and Linz in 2014 and Kuala Lumpur in 2013.
GOLF
China’s Wu wins Lyoness
China’s Wu Ashun rallied to win the Lyoness Open for his second European Tour victory, improving his chances of playing in the Rio Olympics. Wu, 30, closed with a three-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Spain’s Adrian Otaegui. The Volvo China Open winner last year, Wu finished at 13-under 275 at Diamond Country Club.
OLYMPICS
Bolt ready to give up medal
World and Olympic sprint king Usain Bolt said he was “heartbroken,” but prepared to give up his 4x100m relay gold from the 2008 Beijing Games after teammate Nesta Carter reportedly tested positive for a banned substance. “It’s heartbreaking, for years you’ve worked hard to accumulate gold medals and you work hard to be a champion, so it’s heartbreaking, but it’s one of those things,” Bolt told newspaper the Gleaner on Sunday. “Things happen in life, if it’s confirmed or whatever and I need to give back my gold medal, it’s not a problem to me.” A retest of Carter’s A sample from Beijing found traces of methylhexaneamine, the newspaper said, placing one of Bolt’s six gold medals in jeopardy. The result of retests of Carter’s B sample is not yet officially known. If Carter is subjected to doping sanctions, it could mean Bolt stands to lose his relay gold. Carter, 30, ran the first leg for Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team in Beijing, which also included Michael Frater, Asafa Powell and superstar Bolt. The team took gold in what was then a new world record of 37.10 seconds, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Japan.
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