SOCCER
Deportivo, Rayo draw 2-2
RC Deportivo de La Coruna twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against Rayo Vallecano de Madrid on Monday. Nicolas Fedor Miku put Rayo ahead in the eighth minute and Jozabed Sanchez Ruiz restored the visitors’ advantage in the 23rd, while Deportivo got equalizers from Lucas Perez in the 19th and Faycal Fajr in the 46th. Fajr’s goal shortly after the interval was a remarkable long-range shot that curled into the top corner. The result left Deportivo in ninth place with 30 points from 22 rounds. Rayo were 18th with 20 points. Deportivo have not won a league game since December.
TENNIS
Marcos Baghdatis advances
Eighth-seeded Marcos Baghdatis advanced to the second round of the Open Sud de France on Monday with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Lukas Lacko. Baghdatis hit nine aces and converted four of his eight break points to win his first match this season at the indoor tournament. “I don’t have many matches in my legs, because I only played the Australian Open this year. Here I was lucky enough to get the wild card,” Baghdatis said. He next faces Taro Daniel, who beat Denis Istomin 6-2, 6-2. Also advancing to the second round was Alexander Zverev, who saved one match point to rally past Luca Vanni 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 7-5. Zverev next faces second-seeded Marin Cilic.
SOCCER
Marseille sign Fletcher
Olympique de Marseille have signed Scotland striker Steven Fletcher on loan from Sunderland AFC until the end of the season, the Premier League side confirmed on Monday. Fletcher joined Sunderland from Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolves for ￡12 million (US$17 million) in 2012 and scored 23 goals in 108 appearances, but he fell out of favor with Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce and has been allowed to move to the French giants. The 28-year-old’s Sunderland contract expires at the end of the season, making it unlikely he will return to the Stadium of Light once he has completed his surprise spell in Ligue 1. “Sunderland AFC have confirmed that striker Steven Fletcher has joined French side Olympique Marseille until the end of the season, when his contract with Sunderland expires,” Sunderland said on their Web site. Fletcher had played just 10 times since Allardyce took over from Dick Advocaat in early October last year.
MOTOGP
Baz in high-speed crash
Frenchman Loris Baz escaped serious injury when his rear tyre exploded, hurling him off his bike in a spectacular high-speed crash during MotoGP pre-season testing in Malaysia yesterday. Baz, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday, said that at the time of the incident he was traveling at about 290kph along the Sepang circuit’s main straightaway. A reporter witnessed the rear tyre on Baz’s Ducati blowing out just before he went down. His Avintia Racing team said they were investigating the cause of the crash. “Now we have to check what happened,” the team said on Twitter. Baz counted himself lucky afterward. “What do you say when you walk away [from] a 290kph crash with a bruised elbow and nothing else? BIG THANKS YOU TO Alpinestars,” he said on Twitter, referring to the manufacturer of his protective gear. Tires are among a number of technical issues expected to be in sharp focus this year after Michelin replaced Bridgestone as MotoGP’s official supplier of tires from this season. Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain set the pace on the first day of testing Monday, just ahead of his Yamaha teammate, Italy’s Valentino Rossi.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
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