TENNIS
Nadal, Djokovic advance
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic turned in impressive displays to reach the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals on Thursday. Nadal, chasing a record-extending 12th Monte Carlo title, broke Grigor Dimitrov’s serve on four occasions to defeat the Bulgarian 6-4, 6-1. After recovering from two break points down in his opening service game, Nadal attacked Dimitrov’s backhand with power and precision to move into a 3-1 lead. The 32-year-old Spaniard continued to extract errors from Dimitrov to claim the first set before racing to his 15th quarter-final on the Monte Carlo clay. After struggling to rediscover his rhythm in his opener against Philipp Kohlschreiber, Djokovic looked in complete control as he swept past Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-0. The 31-year-old Serb quickly adjusted the pace on his groundstrokes to claim three consecutive service breaks and take the opening set. Fritz failed to offer any kind of resistance in the second set and was ultimately undone by his 28 unforced errors. Djokovic faces Russian Daniil Medvedev for a semi-final spot. Medvedev defeated sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. Serb Dusan Lajovic pulled off the biggest upset of the day as he saved seven of nine break points faced to knock out Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3.
GOLF
Ji leads in Hawaii
Ji Eun-hee rebounded from a bogey on the par-four 18th with an eagle on the par-five first and shot a seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Nelly Korda at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii on Thursday. Ji had a 15-under 129 total to break the tournament 36-hole record by five strokes. She played her final nine in the afternoon at Ko Olina in six-under 30, following the eagle with birdies on four of the next seven holes. Korda birdied four of her final five in the morning in a 68, also finishing on No. 9. Two Taiwanese made the cut, with Hsu Wei-ling the best placed in a share of 48th with rounds of 73 and 69. Chien Pei-yun was right on the cusp in a share of 69th after a 70 and a 74. Yani Tseng missed the cut after rounds of 81 and 73.
SOCCER
MLS to expand to 30 teams
Major League Soccer is to expand to 30 teams, league commissioner Don Garber said on Thursday at a board of governors’ meeting in Los Angeles. The league is currently at 24 teams, with Cincinnati joining the league this season. Nashville and Miami are to start next year, with Austin to come aboard in 2021.
ATHLETICS
China bans marathoners
China has banned for life three runners who broke the rules at the Boston Marathon on Monday, accusing them of giving the country a bad name and vowing to root out cheats. Marathon running is growing fast in China, but there have been numerous instances of cheating, including a woman who jumped on a bike in a recent domestic race and several others who took shortcuts. In the latest cases, one entrant in Boston gave his bib to someone else, while two other Chinese participants presented forged certificates of previous races to gain entry, the Chinese Athletic Association (CAA) said. “All the three runners were hit with a life ban from all road running races under the CAA,” said Xinhua news agency, citing the association.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was