TENNIS
Tsonga advances to quarters
Top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga served 10 aces and saved all five break points to defeat Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 at the Moselle Open on Wednesday. Tsonga won the title in Metz in 2011 and 2012. He is to face eighth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium or German Tobias Kamke in the quarter-finals of the indoor tournament. Tsonga can still qualify for the ATP finals in London from Nov. 9. Goffin beat French qualifier Florent Serra 6-2, 6-2, while Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen set up a meeting with Jerzy Janowicz after beating Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-1, 6-4. Local favorite Paul-Henri Mathieu joined Tsonga in the quarter-finals as he defeated fourth-seeded Czech Lukas Rosol 6-3, 6-4. Joao Sousa saved all four break points to beat Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-2 in the first round, while Jeremy Chardy got the better of Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.
TENNIS
Li Na set to retire
China’s two-time Grand Slam winner Li Na is poised to retire, state media reported yesterday, in a move which would bring down the curtains on Asia’s most successful tennis career. CCTV-5, sports channel of state broadcaster China Central Television, quoted unnamed insiders as saying Li, 32, will announce her retirement because of injuries today. “According to insiders, Li Na will officially announce her retirement on September 19,” CCTV-5 said on its verified microblog. “She is reportedly retiring because she is unable to continue competing due to her physical condition,” it said. An employee at the Beijing office of Li’s agency, IMG, said that Li’s manager was in a meeting and unable to confirm. CCTV-5’s report comes after web portal SINA Sports, also quoting unnamed sources, said IMG would hold a briefing today to announce Li’s retirement. The world No. 6 won the Australian Open in January, but her season has been troubled by injury. Li became one of the region’s biggest stars when she won the 2011 French Open, becoming the first Asian national to win a Grand Slam singles title.
SOCCER
Name-changer banned
Democratic Republic of the Congo-born player Etekiama Agiti Tady was handed a two-year ban on Wednesday after playing for Rwanda under a different name. A Confederation of African Football (CAF) statement said the suspension was decided at an Africa Cup of Nations committee meeting in Addis Ababa. The striker from Kinshasa club Vita became Dady Simeon Birori when appearing for his adopted country. Rwanda were disqualified last month from the Cup of Nations qualifiers when a team they defeated, Congo Brazzaville, complained to CAF about Tady.
SOCCER
VC on England kit gets flak
The Rugby Football Union has apologized for causing offence with its decision to use the Victoria Cross (VC) as part of England’s new kit. An image of the medal, which is the highest award for gallantry that armed forces from Britain and the Commonwealth can receive, is replicated on the new jerseys, which cost ￡90 (US$150) each. Charities including the Victoria Cross Trust had criticized the design as disrespectful and inappropriate. “We would like to apologize to those who may have taken offence with our new kit,” the union said in a statement on Wednesday. “We will be contacting the Victoria Cross Trust and the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association to see how we can also support their worthwhile work going forwards.”
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
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
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