TENNIS
Pospisil out of Chennai Open
Vasek Pospisil of Canada was the only seed not to reach the Chennai Open second round when he lost to Aljaz Bedene of Britain 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) on Tuesday. Pospisil, seeded seventh, beat Bedene two months ago indoors in Valencia, Spain, but the closely ranked pair virtually went point for point outdoors in Chennai, India. The other two seeds in action, No. 5 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain and No. 6 Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, won three-setters. Russian teen Andrey Rublev, a wild card, beat local qualifier Somdev Devvarman 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for a shot at two-time defending champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland. Also the top seed, Wawrinka is aiming for a fourth Chennai title. Second-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa also learned of his next opponent, 248th-ranked wild-card Ramkumar Ramanathan of India, who beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 6-2, 6-0 for his second career win on the ATP Tour.
SOCCER
Dyke eyes England success
Football Association (FA) chairman Greg Dyke said: “We’ll all shoot ourselves” if Roy Hodgson’s team fall at the group stage of Euro 2016. England face Wales, Russia and Slovakia in the tournament in France from June 10, haunted by the memory of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where they were eliminated at the group phase for the first time since 1958. Dyke stood by manager Hodgson after the debacle in Brazil, but said a repeat this year would mean heads would roll. “I think we’ll all shoot ourselves if we don’t get out of the group,” Dyke said. “We’ve got to get out of that group. If we don’t, that really is bad news for English football.” The 68-year-old former BBC director-general was speaking at the launch of a year of celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of England’s 1966 World Cup success. “The FA is the richest FA in the world, the most income. The FA has to take some of the blame,” Dyke said.
SOCCER
Elect right man: Prince Ali
Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter and suspended UEFA president Michel Platini were “totally irresponsible” to agree a payment that has brought ignominy to world soccer, said Prince Ali bin al-Hussein, who hopes to take over the FIFA presidency next month. The Jordanian crown prince said the global governing body would be heading for a new “catastrophe” if it fails to elect the right candidate to succeed Blatter in the presidential election on Feb. 26. Eight-year bans against Blatter and Platini have left the pair in disgrace and fighting to save their names. Prince Ali said there is no way they could avoid trouble over a US$2 million payment approved by Blatter to Platini in 2011, adding that it is the sort of dark practice that must be rooted out. “In this day and age, to have an oral agreement is totally irresponsible,” he said.
FOOTBALL
Browns hire DePodesta
The Cleveland Browns hired MLB executive Paul DePodesta of as their chief strategy officer on Tuesday, taking an unconventional route to fix their NFL woes. DePodesta, 43, served as the vice president of player development and scouting for the New York Mets from 2010 and helped the franchise reach the World Series this past season. DePodesta previously had front office roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. He gained further exposure as a key figure of Moneyball, a book-turned-movie that chronicled the Oakland Athletics and their method of using sabermetrics to target players.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Aaron Civale got a little wild in the right-hander’s first start for the Chicago White Sox two days after he was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers. Civale on Sunday walked four of the first seven hitters he faced in a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. The 30-year-old finished with four walks, one off his career high, while allowing six hits and two runs in five innings. He threw 65 strikes and 39 balls. Chicago trailed 2-1 when he was replaced by Dan Altavilla to start the sixth. “Not the cleanest,” Civale said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a week. First couple
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