TENNIS
Top seed Sharapova ousted
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova made it through to the WTA Paris Open final at the expense of her Russian compatriot and top seed Maria Sharapova on Saturday. Pavlyuchenoka, ranked 26th in the world, ended the 2012 French Open champion’s run at the Stade Coubertin 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The former junior champion meets Italian third seed Sara Errani, who got the better of French hope Alize Cornet in a three-hour marathon 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) in the other semi-final.
TENNIS
Makarova to face Pliskova
Fourth seed Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Pattaya Open where she faces Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic for the first time. Makarova is chasing her second career title after winning in Eastbourne in 2010. She needed 1 hour, 46 minutes to eliminate Czech doubles specialist Hlavackova. “She was playing so aggressive, so flat... I really wanted to fight to make her move,” the 28th-ranked Makarova said. “The final will be similar... I need to do the same like today, making her [Pliskova] move as much as I can.” Pliskova served 13 aces to beat Julia Goerges of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 1 hour, 35 minutes. She reached her second career WTA final after winning in Kuala Lumpur last year.
GOLF
Gallacher snatches lead
Champion Stephen Gallacher amassed seven birdies and an eagle on the back nine on Saturday, tying a European Tour record, as the scintillating Scot snatched the Dubai Desert Classic third-round lead from Rory McIlroy. Gallacher, 39, blitzed his way to a nine-under 63 — the joint lowest round of this year’s event — to finish with a 16-under total of 200, two clear of world No. 6 McIlroy having started the day four shots adrift. McIlroy carded a birdie on the 17th to add some luster to another frustrating round for the twice major winner, who returned a 69 after finding only four fairways and missing a series of putts. Playing partner Brooks Koepka (70) of the US and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen (65) shared third spot on 204.
GOLF
Watson leads by two shots
Bubba Watson, seeking his first win since his 2012 Masters Triumph, fired a three-under 68 on Saturday to take sole possession of the Phoenix Open lead. Watson had shared the lead after each of the first two rounds. He finished 54 holes with a two-stroke cushion atop the leaderboard with a 15-under total of 198. Watson was two strokes in front of Kevin Stadler, who fired a third-round 67 for 200. Ryan Moore jumped into a share of third on 201 with a seven-under 64. He was joined by Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (68) and Harris English (69). Brendan Steele notched the lowest round of the tournament with a nine-under 62, moving into a tie for sixth on 202.
BOXING
Golovkin retains his belt
WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin beat Osumanu Adama by a techincal knockout in the seventh round, his impressive speed and accuracy flooring his challenger three times in Monaco on Saturday. The Kazakh fighter successfully defended his belt for the 10th time to improve to 29-0, including 26 knockouts. The bout was the mismatch it appeared on paper, as Adama was ranked 12th by the WBA. “I feel terrific, I’m very happy with my performance,” Golovkin said. “From the opening round I was comfortable with the fight and felt good about my power and the pace of the fight.”
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker on Monday combined for 63 points as the Phoenix Suns sent LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers tumbling to their first defeat of the season. Booker bagged 33 points and Durant 30 to give the Suns a thrilling 109-105 win at Phoenix’s Footprint Center, avenging the Lakers’ 123-116 win over the Suns in Los Angeles on Friday last week. The Lakers arrived in Phoenix buoyed by an impressive 3-0 start to the campaign under new head coach J.J. Redick. They looked poised to keep that run going after making a blistering start, sprinting into an early 26-8
WORLD SERIES: ‘The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community,’ the Los Angeles county sheriff said Rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the LA Dodgers won the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores and lighting fireworks. A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials said that most fans celebrated peacefully. Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area on Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the MLB World Series at Giants Stadium in New York. Another video showed someone standing atop
TENSIONS BOIL OVER: Grant Williams was ejected after a hard check, LaMelo Ball was given a flagrant foul and Miles Bridges was ejected late for punching the ball NBA champions the Boston Celtics, fueled by 32 points from Jayson Tatum, on Friday bounced back from an overtime defeat with a gritty 124-109 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Tatum added 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while Jaylen Brown scored 25 points with six rebounds and five assists in a physical game that saw tensions erupt in the fourth quarter when former Celtics player Grant Williams sent Tatum sprawling with a shoulder-to-shoulder check. Williams was ejected, but Brown and others were clearly angered. Less than a minute later, LaMelo Ball was assessed a flagrant foul for crowding in under