TENNIS
Bacsinszky wins title
Top-seeded Timea Bacsinszky comfortably beat qualifier Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 6-2, 6-1 to win the Grand Prix SAR on Saturday. It was a fourth career title for Bacsinszky and a first on clay for last year’s French Open semi-finalist. Bacsinszky, ranked 15th, took a little more than an hour to defeat a player ranked 171 places below her. The Swiss broke her opponent’s serve seven times, and dropped just one set in five matches in Rabat, Morocco.
SOCCER
Torino thrash Udinese
Udinese remain uncomfortably close to the relegation zone after being thrashed 5-1 at home by Torino in Serie A on Saturday, while ACF Fiorentina’s miserable run continued with a goalless draw at AC Chievo Verona. Luigi de Canio’s Udinese are six points clear of US Citta di Palermo, who were to host UC Sampdoria yesterday, with two rounds remaining. Defender Pontus Jansson headed Torino ahead in the 12th minute with his first club goal and Afriyie Acquah blasted a second into the roof of the net on the stroke of halftime. Udinese, jeered off the pitch at the end of each half, got back into the match immediately after the restart through Felipe, but Josef Martinez swiftly restored Torino’s two-goal cushion. Andrea Belotti and a second from Martinez completed the rout. Both Chievo and Fiorentina hit the woodwork in the second half. Chievo almost snatched all three points when substitute Antonio Floro Flores thought he had scored in the 89th minute. His effort squirmed through the legs of Ciprian Tatarusanu, but the Fiorentina goalkeeper turned around swiftly and stretched out an arm to scoop it off the line in time.
CYCLING
Froome claims stage win
Two-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome snatched a dominant win on the penultimate stage of the Tour of Romandie on Saturday, but Colombian rival Nairo Quintana stayed on course for overall victory. Team Sky star Froome, who has no chance of winning the race after a puncture on Thursday sent him down the standings, enjoyed a four-second advantage on the stage to Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, after a grueling day negotiating three premier category climbs in biting cold and rain. French rider Thibaut Pinot, who was third on the stage, right on the wheel of Spain’s Ion Izagirre, kept second place overall.
SOCCER
Worker dies on site
FIFA World Cup organizers say a worker has died after falling ill on the site of one of the stadiums being constructed for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy on Saturday said that 48-year-old Indian national Jaleshwar Prasad died after he “fell ill on-site around 9:30am on Wednesday.” Prasad, who was a steel worker employed on the Al Bayt Stadium project, “received first-aid treatment until paramedics arrived,” a statement said. “He was transferred to Al Khor Hospital, but sadly passed away around 11:30am. Al Khor Hospital reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest. A full investigation is underway.,” it added. Qatar has been criticized by rights groups and trade unions for alleged abuses and deaths on a range of construction projects linked to the 2022 World Cup since it won hosting rights in 2010. Qatar is relying heavily on construction workers from south Asia.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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