TENNIS
Cuevas victorious in Brazil
Pablo Cuevas won his third ATP title on Sunday by defeating qualifier Luca Vanni 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) in the Brazil Open final. The 32nd-ranked Uruguayan lost his serve at 4-4 in the third set, but rebounded to force the tiebreaker and clinch the victory at the clay-court tournament in Sao Paulo. Cuevas has won all three singles finals he has played. His first two titles came last year, also on clay. The 149th-ranked Vanni, who served 13 aces, had the tournament of his career despite the loss. The 29-year-old Italian had never won a match on the ATP World Tour entering the week. He was the first qualifier to reach the Brazil Open final in the tournament’s 15-year history.
TENNIS
Nishikori wins in Memphis
Top seed Kei Nishikori completed a Tennessee triple when he won the Memphis Open tennis tournament in straight sets on Sunday. Japan’s Nishikori beat second-seeded South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 for his third consecutive title in this indoor hard-court event. Nishikori clinched his eighth ATP Tour title in what proved to be his easiest match of the week. He dropped the first set in each of his three previous matches before battling back to advance. The 25-year-old Nishikori became the first Asian man to make a Grand Slam singles final when he finished runner-up at last year’s US Open.
CYCLING
Cavendish fastest in Spain
Mark Cavendish continued his flying start to the season as he sprinted to victory in the Almeria Classic on Sunday. The British rider edged out Spaniard Juan Jose Lobato and Australia’s Mark Renshaw to claim victory in the 185.9km race in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia in a time of 4 hours, 36 minutes, 19 seconds. Cavendish won two stages on his way to overall victory at the Tour of Dubai last week.
ICE HOCKEY
Montador found dead
Former NHL defenseman Steve Montador has died aged 35. Peel Region Police say Montador was found unconscious in his home in Mississauga, Ontario, early on Sunday morning and was later pronounced dead. No foul play was suspected. Montador made his NHL debut in 2001 with Calgary and played for six teams in parts of 10 seasons. The defenseman had 33 goals and 98 assists in 571 career games. Montador had five goals and nine assists in 52 games with Chicago in his last NHL season. He suffered a concussion in February 2012 and played in just one game the rest of the year.
SKIING
Grange claims slalom gold
Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Grange stole the limelight from reigning champion Marcel Hirscher of Austria to win the men’s slalom on Sunday in the final event of the Alpine Ski World Championships. Fifth after the opening leg, 2011 world champion Grange stormed down the twisting Birds of Prey piste in steady snowfall to post a combined time of 1 minute, 57.47 secondS. Grange, 30, covered the second run in 53.21 seconds. German Fritz Dopfer finished 0.35 seconds back in second with his compatriot Felix Neureuther taking bronze. Hirscher, bidding for his third gold medal of the championships, led by 0.28 seconds after the morning run and stayed out in front through the first three intervals of his second trip down the track before skiing out after straddling a gate.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
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