TENNIS
Hsieh cruises to quarters
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Laura Siegemund of Germany took just 54 minutes to advance to the quarter-finals of the doubles at the Brisbane International yesterday with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over US duo Christina McHale and Asia Muhammad. Hsieh and Siegemund failed to save the one break point they faced, but they converted four of seven, winning 57 of the 90 points contested to advance to a quarter-final clash against fourth seeds Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain.
CRICKET
NZ beat Bangladesh in T20
Kane Williamson belted 73 off 55 balls as New Zealand cruised to a six-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first Twenty20 match in Napier, New Zealand, yesterday. New Zealand reached their 142-run target with two overs to spare as captain Williamson held the innings together with support from Colin de Grandhomme after the first four wickets fell cheaply. New Zealand debutant Lockie Ferguson took the wickets of Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar with his first two deliveries. He finished with 3-32.
CRICKET
Rabada makes breakthrough
South Africa bowler Kagiso Rabada ended a stubborn Sri Lanka opening partnership when he bowled Kaushal Silva on the second day of the second Test at Newlands in Cape Town yesterday. Sri Lanka were 56-2 at tea in reply to South Africa’s first innings of 392. Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne defied South Africa for 73 minutes before Rabada made the breakthrough when Silva played on to his stumps. Kusal Mendis, who had earlier slog-swept for six, then tried to repeat the shot and top-edged a catch to J.P. Duminy. Karunaratne was unbeaten on 24.
FOOTBALL
Broncos’ Gary Kubiak quits
An emotional Gary Kubiak stepped down as coach of the Denver Broncos on Monday because of health concerns, less than a year after he led the team to a Super Bowl crown. The 55-year-old fought back tears as he told reporters he was “retiring from coaching” at a farewell news conference in Denver, Colorado. “This decision is strictly my decision, based on what I’ve been through this year and how I’m feeling,” Kubiak said. “I just feel like it’s time for me to do something different.”
SOCCER
Five-year-old wins award
A five-year-old Sunderland fan who has terminal cancer was adjudged the joint winner of the BBC’s goal of the month award for last month. Bradley Lowery, who earlier this season had his name chanted by Sunderland and Everton fans in the fifth minute of their match in which he led the Black Cats out, beat Chelsea reserve goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from the penalty spot at halftime of the English Premier League game last month. Lowery, who received 250,000 Christmas cards following the penalty, shared the award with Manchester United’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan. “We have woken up this morning to the news that Bradley’s goal got joint goal of the month,” his mother, Gemma, told the Sunderland Echo. “We can’t actually believe this and would like to thank every single one of you for your support. This is a very special moment for us and something we can treasure forever.”
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
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