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.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
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
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
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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