■SPAIN
Nadal attire draws comment
Rafael Nadal has abandoned his trademark sleeveless tops and capri pants for T-shirts and above-the-knee shorts at this year’s Australian Open. Not everyone likes it. Sports bloggers and fan forums have been puzzled by his new attire, with at least one female blogger complaining that she missed seeing his sculpted biceps. Nadal shrugged off the interest. “For sure, when you have a change, some people like, other people don’t like,” Nadal said. “For sure with the sleeveless, not everybody like the sleeveless. Right now gonna be the same, no? I feel good like this,” he said. “Important thing in the end is not the clothes; is the ball and racket and play well.”
■FRANCE
Fan goes too far
Sebastien de Chaunac appreciated his vocal fans during his second-round match on Thursday — all but one. The Frenchman was serving to American James Blake at the beginning of the third set when a man courtside began to encourage him. De Chaunac asked the chair umpire to intervene. Later, during a big rally, the man started again. “It was a pretty big point, it was probably my last chance to break James ... and the guy was talking to me before every hit, saying, ‘Come on, come on, yeah, yeah, allez,”’ de Chaunac said. “I could have won the point, but I lost it.” De Chaunac approached the man and spoke to him: “I just told him in a bad way in French to shut up.” The man apologized but later in the match was escorted out when he continued to talk during points. De Chaunac lost to Blake 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. “I don’t know if he was doing it on purpose or he didn’t realize,” de Chaunac said. “He looked so happy to be there, maybe more happy than I was. It was kind of an awkward situation. You want to keep him on your side, but on the other hand, he’s too loud.”
■UNITED STATES
Serena recalls best win
Asked for her greatest win ever, Serena Williams nominated a triumph over Andy Roddick, when she about 11. “There’s an argument about the score,” the second-seeded Williams, winner of nine Grand Slam singles titles, said. “I think I beat him like 6-1. He says it was 6-4. He always says he’s ready for a rematch, but there’s no need for a rematch.” She said Roddick, winner of the US Open in 2003 and seeded seventh in the men’s draw here, will “hate me for saying that!” Williams said her victory came in a practice match in Florida when they were both much younger but noted that “age doesn’t matter.” And she had other “unofficial” wins, she said. “Indirectly, you know, I’ve beaten a lot of people on the men’s tour,” she laughed. “Indirectly I have wins over [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal. Just so exciting.”
■CZECH REPUBLIC
‘Bad girl’ Vaidisova fined
Nicole Vaidisova became the first woman to be fined at this year’s Australian Open yesterday, joining 18 men penalized for bad behavior at the season’s first grand slam. The Czech received a US$2,000 penalty from the International Tennis Federation for failing to appear at a news conference after her 6-2, 6-1 first round loss to Severine Bremond of France. The former world No. 7 has slipped down the rankings after a poor run last year and is now outside the top 50. Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov has copped the heftiest dent to his wallet in the first five days, being fined US$500 for racket abuse and another US$2,500 for verbal abuse. Both fines stemmed from the 29th seed’s first round loss to Italian qualifier Flavio Cipolla.
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
THREES KINGS: The Celtics claimed a piece of league history by setting a new record for the number of threes in a season, ending their game with 1,370 Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun on Friday combined for 65 points as the Houston Rockets halted Oklahoma City’s 11-game winning streak with a statement 125-111 victory. In a potential Western Conference finals preview, the Rockets produced a dominant all-round performance to jolt the top-seeded Thunder’s all-conquering preparations for the post-season. Green finished with 34 points from 11-of-24 shooting, while Turkish big man Sengun made 31 points as second-placed Houston improved to 51-27. Oklahoma City grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Houston soon knocked the Thunder out of their stride with a physical approach to move into the
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that