SOCCER
Another Neymar suit filed
The Rennes supporter who was hit in the face by Neymar last season has filed a lawsuit against the Brazil star. The fan’s lawyer, Philippe Ohayon, told L’Equipe that his client decided to take legal action after a meeting between members of Neymar’s entourage and the alleged victim failed to ease tensions. The Paris Saint-Germain striker was given a three-game ban for lashing out at the fan following a loss in the French Cup final in April. Neymar reacted angrily to the man who was filming and verbally goading players as they walked up the stairs to collect their runner-up medals. Neymar exchanged a few words with the supporter and then raised his hand to him.
TENNIS
Murray to return next week
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray on Friday said he would return to singles competition next week at the Cincinnati Masters, seven months after having right hip surgery that he feared might end his career. The 32-year-old Scotsman has fallen to 325th in the world rankings after his January operation to ease nagging hip pain. His first match next week in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the final major tuneup for the US Open will be his first competitive singles outing since the Australian Open in January. “Good news for the sport,” Rafael Nadal said. “After all the retirement that he predicted in Australia ... six months later seems like he’s back again, healthy, competing well.” Murray will face Richard Gasquet in the first round in Cincy. Should Murray make it to the second round, he would face fourth seed Dominic Thiem.
BASEBALL
Davis sorry over flare-up
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis said he reached a “breaking point” when he charged at manager Brandon Hyde in the dugout on Wednesday night, and expressed regret during a lengthy conversation with Hyde. The flare-up occurred in the fifth inning of Baltimore’s 14-2 loss to the New York Yankees. Hyde walked over to Davis and said something that the first baseman clearly did not like, and Davis attempted to charge at the manager before being restrained by teammate Mark Trumbo and hitting coach Don Long. Davis is batting .182 with nine homers and 31 RBIs, hardly the production the Orioles expected from a slugger who is in the middle of a US$161 million, seven-year contract. Last season he batted .168, the worst average in MLB history by a player with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
ATHLETICS
Long-time record broken
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Friday broke the 40-year-old Pan American Games 200m record. The two-time Olympic 100m champion clocked 22.43 seconds. The tournament’s previous record of 22.45 seconds was set by American Evelyn Ashford in 1979. Brazil’s Vitoria Cristina Rose won silver and Bahamian Tynia Gaither took bronze. “It’s a long time since I’ve broken a record, so I feel great about that,” the 32-year-old said. Although it took a while to warm up in Lima’s damp, chilly weather, she was focused on her strategy, Fraser-Pryce said. “My coach told me to run the first half very hard and I decided to go for it from the gun,” she said. She is still working on getting a “perfect finish,” and her goal now is to break Elaine’s Thompson’s Jamaican record and win the gold at the World Championships.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite