TENNIS
Li Na humiliated in Beijing
French Open champion Li Na was humiliated in front of her home fans yesterday, crashing out in the first round of the China Open in straight sets to unheralded Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu. Li’s 6-4, 6-0 defeat was the second straight first-round exit for the 29-year-old, who made history as the first Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title in Paris in June. The world No. 5 dropped serve six times against Niculescu, slipping to defeat in just under 90 minutes in front of her stunned fans in the Chinese capital. There was further disappointment for those fans as Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia ended the hopes of Zhang Shuai 6-0, 6-2 and Kaia Kanepi of Estonia defeated Zheng Saisai 6-0, 6-3. Taiwan’s Chan Yung-jan and her partner, Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic, safely negotiated their first-round match in the doubles, defeating Poland’s Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska 6-2, 7-5.
MOTOGP
Pedrosa wins in Japan
Honda’s Dani Pedrosa won the Japanese MotoGP yesterday, finishing more than seven seconds ahead of reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. Spain’s Pedrosa sealed his third victory of the season in 42 minutes, 47.481 seconds, while championship leader Casey Stoner on a Honda, who started from pole, was third. Pedrosa kept his calm throughout an action-packed race that saw five riders retire after crashing. “Casey made the mistake ... so I had a free way,” said Pedrosa, who finished second in the previous three races. “I concentrated to do the best lap times I could. The bike was working quite well.”
GOLF
Hoey opens three-shot lead
Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey edged clear of the field at the Dunhill Links Championship on Saturday, opening up a three-shot lead heading into the final round. Hoey shot a 66 at Carnoustie to finish in the clubhouse on 18-under, ahead of compatriot Graeme McDowell on 15-under after the former US Open champion carded a 67 at St Andrews. South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen was lurking four shots off the lead after posting a 69, one ahead of seven golfers on 13-under that included world No. 1 Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy.
GOLF
Watney, Na lead in Vegas
Nick Watney, a two-time winner on the USPGA Tour this season, fired a seven-under 64 on Saturday to join Kevin Na atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Watney birdied the final three holes and five of the last six on the par-71 TPC Summlerin course en route to a 54-hole total of 17-under 196. Na, who shared the overnight lead with Venezuelan rookie Jhonattan Vegas and South Korea’s Charlie Wi, carded a five-under 66.
BOXING
Nishioka defends his title
Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka successfully defended his WBC super bantamweight title, unanimously outpointing Rafael Marquez on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Nishioka improved to 39-4-3 in his sixth title defense, receiving winning scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 from the judges. Marquez dropped to 40-7. On the undercard, Ramon Gonzalez retained his WBA light flyweight title by stopping Omar Soto after 36 seconds of the second round. Gonzalez improved to 30-0 with his 25th knockout, flooring Soto (22-9-1) with a left to the chin.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS