TENNIS
Teen makes semis
French teen Oceane Dodin advanced to her first WTA semi-final on Friday by defeating Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck 6-2, 6-4 in Quebec City. The 19-year-old from Lille, who is ranked 132nd in the world, took only 76 minutes to win her quarter-final and faces 125th-ranked Julia Boserup today. Boserup eliminated Catherine Bellis 7-6 (7/0), 6-4 in an all-Californian quarter-final. US qualifier Lauren Davis, the highest-ranked player remaining in the field at 104th, ousted Russia’s Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). Davis will next play Czech qualifier Tereza Martincova, who held on to beat Jessica Pegula of the US 6-3, 7-6 (9/7).
CRICKET
Southee out of Tests
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been ruled out of the three-match Test series in India with an ankle injury and will be replaced by paceman Matt Henry. Southee felt pain in his front foot while bowling in training and a scan had shown a ligament strain in his left ankle, New Zealand’s cricket board said. The 27-year-old, New Zealand’s most experienced Test bowler with 52 matches and 177 wickets, will return home for rest and rehab, but was expected to be available for the one-day internationals starting in the middle of next month. “Tim has been working hard in preparation for this tour, so he’s understandably very disappointed to be ruled out of all three Tests,” New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said. “The focus now is for Tim to give his ankle seven to 10 days rest, before slowly building his bowling loads back up ahead of the ODI series. We’ve got a replacement who is ready to go in Matt Henry and he’ll join the team before the start of the first Test.” The 24-year-old Henry has played just three more Tests since his debut against England at Lord’s last year, his last match against Australia in Christchurch in February. The series opener starts in Kanpur on Thursday next week before further matches in Kolkata and Indore. New Zealand are bidding to win their first Test series in India.
GOLF
Chun In-gee leads in France
South Korea’s Chun In-gee grabbed a two-shot lead at the Evian Championship by carding a five-under 66 in the second round on Friday. Chun, who earned LPGA Tour membership by winning the US Women’s Open last year, moved to a total of 13-under 129 after scoring six birdies and one bogey on a rainy day in Haute Savoie, France. Compatriot Park Sung-hyun, who shared the lead with Chun after Thursday’s play, was tied for second with China’s Feng Shanshan. Park lost ground by hitting three bogeys in a disappointing round of 68. “There is no benefit for just long hitters,” Feng said. “The rough is really long.” World No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand returned a 68, but she was nine shots off the pace. One Taiwanese was in the top 10. Candie Kung had a share of ninth on 136 overall after a second-round 67. Yani Tseng was two shots back in a share of 13th. Min Lee missed the cut after a second round of 76.
GOLF
Paisley one stroke in front
Chris Paisley took a one-stroke lead in the second round of the Italian Open on Friday before thunderstorms ended play early. Seeking his first European Tour win, Paisley was at 10-under through 13 holes, putting him one shot ahead of Masters champion and fellow Englishman Danny Willett. Clubhouse leader Richard Green, Chris Hanson and Alexander Levy were at 8-under.
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
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two