TENNIS
Nishikori wins in Barcelona
Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday and claim his first career title on clay and fifth overall. Giraldo started well with an early break, but an argument with the chair umpire about a line call seemed to rattle the unseeded player. Shortly afterward, Giraldo failed to reach Nishikori’s drop shot before hitting a costly double fault to cede his serve. The fourth-seeded Nishikori went on to win eight straight games to claim the first set and take control of the match. He converted five of seven break chances, while Giraldo committed five double faults. Nishikori said he hopes his maiden win on clay will carry over to upcoming tournaments and the French Open. “There are three big tournaments coming up in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros, so I hope I can do well and increase my [ranking] points. My next goal is to get to the top 10,” he said. “I was good on clay when I was little... I was winning all the European juniors events. Now it’s much tougher than hard courts and I was struggling a bit, but I’ve been playing well these past couple years so there’s no fear to play on clay.” The Japanese player’s second title of the year marked the first time a non-Spaniard has won the ATP tournament at the Real Club de Tenis in the Spanish city since 1996.
TENNIS
Dimitrov takes Rosol’s title
Top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov defeated defending champion Lukas Rosol 7-6 (2), 6-1 on Sunday to win the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy for his third ATP title. The 22-year-old Bulgarian needed 55 minutes to take the first set from Rosol, who broke Dimitrov’s serve in the third game. The 16th-ranked Dimitrov got into his stride to take the second set in 25 minutes and finished the tournament in Bucharest, Romania, without dropping a set.
TENNIS
Torro-Flor has first WTA win
Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor of Spain won her first WTA singles title by defeating Romina Oprandi of Switzerland 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday in the Grand Prix SAR final in Marrakech, Morocco. Torro-Flor broke for a 5-3 lead in the first set, but dropped serve at 2-1 in the second as Oprandi evened the match. The 71st-ranked Spaniard broke Oprandi twice in the final set to lead 5-1, but wasted a chance to serve out the match. It was both players’ first final, with Torro-Flor winning their sole previous meeting two years ago in Bucharest, Romania. Torro-Flor broke into the Top 100 in October 2012 and her previous best result was a semi-finals appearance at the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan last year.
GOLF
Noh claims first US PGA title
Noh Seung-yul claimed his first title on the US PGA Tour by firing a one-under-par 71 for a two-shot victory at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday. The 22-year-old South Korean finished at 19-under-par 269 to beat out the US’ Andrew Svoboda and Robert Streb. “I’m very excited and very happy,” said Noh, who was making his 78th career start on the North American tour. Svoboda (69) and Streb (70) closed with birdies at 18 to move into a tie for second place at 17-under, while Jeff Overton (70) finished in fourth at 16-under. Robert Garrigus (64), Erik Compton (68) and Charley Hoffman (71) shared fifth at 14-under 274, a shot ahead of Justin Rose (68), Keegan Bradley (75) and Tommy Gainey (71) at the TPC Louisiana course. Noh has two previous international victories, winning the 2008 Midea China Classic and the 2010 Malaysian Open.
A seven-year-old horse had to be euthanized on Friday after breaking its back on the final fence of a Grand National steeplechase race that it won despite sustaining the serious injury. It follows the death of four horses at the Cheltenham Festival last month — including one after the prestigious Gold Cup. Gold Dancer was competing in the Mildmay Novices’ Chase during Ladies Day at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. The horse managed to cross the finish line approximately four lengths ahead of runner-up Regent’s Stroll. “The winner of our second race of the day, Gold Dancer, was pulled up after
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
RSS