■TENNIS
ATP supports Andy Murray
Tennis chiefs insisted on Monday that Andy Murray was within his rights to withdraw from this week’s Marseille Open. The British star was due to be the top seed at the tournament, but he won’t be playing in France after deciding to continue his recovery from the Australian Open, where his bid to win a maiden grand slam title ended with a defeat by Roger Federer in the Melbourne final. Tournament director Jean-Francois Caujolle was quoted on Monday in a British national newspaper calling for Murray to be suspended after missing the tournament for the second straight year, but said later he was merely “really disappointed” with the Scot. The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) said that, in any event, there were no grounds for suspending Murray. “There are clear rules and regulations in place with regard to player withdrawals and Andy Murray followed them,” it said in a statement. “We understand a situation like this can be frustrating for a tournament, but we are looking forward to a great week of tennis in Marseille with a strong field led by six of the world’s Top 20 players.” Earlier on Monday, Caujolle told Sky Sports News: “I never said that he should be suspended, but it’s true I was really disappointed because he was my top player. “There is a responsibility for the credibility of all the game when it’s a top player. Sometimes you have to force yourself and be responsible ... I understand he’s quite young and it’s not a huge tournament but it’s quite disappointing and we had the same last year. Last year he played in Rotterdam and was a bit injured and I understand that. He sent me an e-mail saying next year I will play,” Caujolle said.
■SOCCER
Celtic’s profit plummets
Celtic’s profits have dropped dramatically and its debts have increased following the team’s failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League. The Scottish Premier League club says its pretax profit for the six months ending Dec. 31 was down 85 percent to £1.27 million (US$1.99 million) and its bank debt increased more than threefold to £3.13 million. Celtic finished runner-up to fierce city rival Rangers last season and was beaten in Champions League qualifying in August by Arsenal. Club chairman John Reid said soccer and commercial success went hand in hand. Celtic trails Rangers by 10 points with about a third of this season remaining.
■SOCCER
Uruguayan great dies
Juan Carlos Gonzalez a member of the Uruguayan squad that won the 1950 World Cup, died on Monday aged 85, local media reported. Gonzalez, who also won the Uruguayan title with Penarol, played in two of the Uruguayan side’s matches, but did not play in the final where they beat Brazil 2-1. His remains will be transferred to the Olympic Pantheon in Montevideo and will be buried alongside other Uruguayan sporting heroes.
■BASKETBALL
Gasol wins European award
Spaniard Pau Gasol has been voted European player of the year for last year, winning the award for the second year in a row, the governing body FIBA Europe said on Monday. The 2.15m center won an NBA championship title with the Los Angeles Lakers and followed that up by helping Spain to win their first European championship gold medal in Poland in September. Gasol came in ahead of Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki and Serbia’s Milos Teodosic in the voting by fans and a panel of experts.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Armand Duplantis will be among the reigning Olympic champions adding star power to the world indoor championships this weekend when the Chinese city of Nanjing hosts the first major global athletics meet since the Paris Games last year. The three-day event was originally slated for 2020 and faced multiple postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Nanjing’s Sports Training Center would finally welcome more than 570 athletes for the start of the showpiece today. One of the main attractions would be pole vaulter “Mondo” Duplantis, who soared 6.27m to break the world record for a staggering 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last
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