TENNIS
Nadal to return to Queen’s
Rafael Nadal will start his bid to win a third Wimbledon title by returning to the grass-court tournament at Queen’s Club later this year. Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam champion, has reached the Wimbledon final in each of the five years he played at Queen’s, but UK tax laws forced the world No. 3 to turn his back on the west London event. The 28-year-old Spaniard had instead prepared for Wimbledon by playing in Germany at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle in recent years. Since his last visit to Queen’s in 2011, Nadal has failed to get past the fourth round at the All England Club and the former world No. 1, who last won Wimbledon in 2010, has decided to return after a three-year absence.
RUGBY UNION
Ugo Monye plans to retire
Harlequins’ former England and British and Irish Lions wing Ugo Monye plans to retire at the end of the season, he announced on the English Premiership club’s Web site on Monday. “It is a decision that I have been thinking about for a long time, and one that I haven’t taken lightly,” said Monye, who has spent his entire playing career at Quins, making 237 appearances. “I have had an unbelievable 13 years at Quins, and look back on my career with no regrets.” Monye, 31, won 14 England caps between 2008 and 2012, and played in two Tests on the Lions’ 2009 tour of South Africa, scoring one try in the third-Test victory in Johannesburg. He added: “I can honestly say that the one thing I am most proud of is that I have been a one-club man in a game that is ever-changing, and I am excited to be staying on at the club after my retirement in a different capacity.”
BASEBALL
Dodgers’ Ryu placed on DL
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, a South Korean left-hander, is scheduled to begin the upcoming Major League Baseball season on the disabled list, team manager Don Mattingly said. Ryu, who turns 28 today, went 14-7 with a 3.38 earned-run average last season. However, he has a nagging left shoulder injury that prompted the Dodgers to send him home from pre-season training in Arizona to be examined by a doctor. Mattingly said a cortisone injection, treatment that helped ease shoulder stiffness last season, was delivered last week, but Ryu was barely able to lob a ball on Sunday.
SOCCER
Lucarelli banned over insult
Crisis-hit Parma have yet another problem. Captain Alessandro Lucarelli has been banned for three matches for insulting the referee. The incident occurred when Lucarelli was sent off in Sunday’s 2-0 loss at home to Torino. Parma were declared bankrupt by an Italian court last week with debts of more than 200 million euros (US$219.7 million), and the club’s new owner and president, Giampietro Manenti, was arrested on charges of money laundering and embezzlement. Players have not been paid all season and Parma sit last in Serie A.
RUGBY UNION
Manu to move to Edinburgh
Highlanders cocaptain Nasi Manu is to leave the Super 15 competition at the end of the season to join Edinburgh, the New Zealand club said yesterday. The Highlanders said Manu had signed a two-year contract with the Scottish club, but remained focused on this year’s Super 15 campaign. Manu should find conditions familiar in Scotland — the Highlanders home city Dunedin has a similar climate and is known as “the Edinburgh of the south.”
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS