SWEDISH OPEN
Benoit Paire advances
Benoit Paire of France advanced to the second round of the Swedish Open with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory over Markus Eriksson on Monday. Paire’s next faces top-seeded David Goffin of Belgium. In Monday’s other first-round match, wildcard entrant Christian Lindell of Sweden beat Joao Souza of Brazil 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. The 23-year-old Lindell was next to meet either fellow Swede Elias Ymer or sixth-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil.
CROATIA OPEN
Fognini eliminates Vesely
Fifth-seeded Fabio Fognini beat Jiry Vesely 6-4, 6-4 on Monday to reach the second round of the Croatia Open. Fognini, a finalist in 2013, broke at the start of both sets and played aggressively on his Czech opponent’s second serve, winning 67 percent, or 18 out of 27 points. The Italian improved his record at the event to 14-7, despite heavy conditions on a hot and humid day. Aljaz Bedne of Britain also advanced after defeating Mate Delic of Croatia 6-4, 6-3. Delic delivered only 39 percent of his first serves in the opening set and his problems with serve continued in the second as Bedene broke for a 3-1 lead before sealing victory.
CLARO OPEN
Sugita stages comeback
Yuichi Sugita of Japan came back to defeat Colombia’s Nicolas Barrientos 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Claro Open on Monday. Sugita next faces fourth-seeded Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic in the round of 16 of the ATP 250 hard-court tournament. In another first-round match, Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin was leading wild-card Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-3, 2-3 when officials suspended play because of rain. Top-seeded Ivo Karlovic of Croatia is to debut later in the week. Bernard Tomic of Australia is the second seed in Colombia.
GASTEIN LADIES
Friedsam injures ankle
German Anna-Lena Friedsam was carried off the court on a stretcher after spraining her ankle while leading Klara Koukalova of Czech Republic 6-1, 4-0 in the first round of the Gastein Ladies on Monday. Tournament organizers had no immediate update on Friedsam’s injury. The 21-year-old German reached a career-high 73rd on this week’s WTA rankings. Koukalova, who double-faulted nine times and failed to hold serve during the match, next faces second-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia or Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia. In the only other first-round match completed, Danka Kovinic of Montenegro defeated eighth-seeded Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-4. No. 4 Carina Witthoeft of Germany was leading Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 5-5 when play was suspended because of rain. Organizers rescheduled the remaining matches for yesterday.
ISTANBUL CUP
Seeded players beaten
Second-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine was beaten 6-1, 6-3 by Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia in the first round of the Istanbul Cup on Monday. Rybarikova took advantage of a far more effective service game, winning 70 percent of her first serves, compared with 41 percent for Svitolina. Svitolina was not the only seeded player to make an early exit. Sixth-seeded Daria Gavrilova was also beaten, as was No. 7 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine beat Gavrilova 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-3, while Roberta Vinci of Italy defeated Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-1. Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia also advanced to the second round, rallying to beat Yaroslava Shvedova 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
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
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