TENNIS
Zverev claims debut title
US Open champion Stan Wawrinka came up short against rising German star Alexander Zverev in the Saint Petersburg Open final on Sunday, the teenager claiming his debut ATP Tour title 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. “I’m full of emotions. I just couldn’t have chosen a better place to win my maiden title,” said Zverev, who has Russian origins. “It was really hard when I was trailing 3-0 in the deciding set, but I forced myself to keep on fighting and now I’m really happy with my win.” Wawrinka congratulated Zverev, calling him the future of tennis. “You’re the future of the tennis, but you’re already at the top,” Wawrinka said. “Today you’ve played a great match and won deservedly. My congratulations for what you’re doing so far.”
TENNIS
Pouille triumphs in Metz
France’s Lucas Pouille won his first career ATP Tour title on Sunday when he downed top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in the Moselle Open final. World No. 18 Pouille, who defeated Rafael Nadal on his way to the US Open quarter-finals, claimed the victory in 78 minutes. The 22-year-old Frenchman notched his fifth victory over a top-10 opponent this year and a 30th match win overall. “Winning a title is a big step, it’s an objective I wanted to achieve this year. It was a well-played final. We both played at a high level,” Pouille said.
SOCCER
It could’ve been six: Noble
West Ham United’s Mark Noble admitted with rare post-match candor that his side were fortunate to escape with a 3-0 defeat by Southampton at the London Stadium on Sunday — their fourth successive reverse in the English Premier League. “To be honest, it could have been six,” said Noble, the club captain and veteran of 12 years. “It was laughable. We probably could have played until tonight and still not scored.” Manager Slaven Bilic looked shell-shocked after the match, answering questions with soft, measured tones. “It is the same players and manager who were doing good things last season [when they finished seventh]. Eighty percent of the team is like that, but we were not happy with how we played in the last third of the pitch,” he said.
CYCLING
Terpstra wins Eneco Tour
Dutch rider Niki Terpstra of Etixx-QuickStep won the Eneco Tour after taking second to Edvald Boasson Hagen in Sunday’s seventh and final stage. Norway’s Boasson Hagen of Dimension Data claimed the closing day’s honors in a sprint at the end of a challenging 197.8km ride from Bornem to Grammont, Belgium. Terpstra was placed fifth going into Sunday’s stage, almost half a minute behind Australian BMC Racing rider Rohan Dennis, the overall leader, but Dennis’ hopes of victory were compromised when he crashed after 48km.
GOLF
Levy edges Fisher in playoff
Frenchman Alexander Levy beat England’s Ross Fisher on the second hole of a playoff to win the European Open title in Bad Griesbach, Germany, on Sunday. After both players parred the 18th on their first attempts, Levy claimed his third European Tour title with a 30-foot putt to win the event, which was reduced to 54 holes by bad weather. It was Levy’s first title since the 2014 Portugal Masters.
Taiwanese gymnast Tang Chia-hung on Sunday topped the men’s horizontal bar event at the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, scoring 15.233 to take his third title this season. Tang delivered an outstanding performance in the final, earning a difficulty score of 6.500 and an execution score of 8.633 with a 0.1 stick bonus. His closest competitor was Milad Karimi of Kazakhstan, who finished second with 14.933 points. It was Tang’s third gold medal in the FIG World Cup series this year, following his horizontal bar wins in Azerbaijan on March 8, and in Turkey on March
The Daredevils yesterday took eight catches in the final as they eked out a victory in the Taiwan Cricket Triangular Tournament against PCCT at Yingfeng Cricket Ground in Taipei’s Songshan District. PCCT’s batting lineup collapsed after they asked the Daredevils to bowl in the T20 decider of the weekend tournament that also involved the Formosa Cricket Club. PCCT were bundled out for 76 in 16.2 overs against a disciplined Daredevils attack. Ninad Malwade was the top scorer in the innings with 21, but he was among those who offered chances to the fielders. Shane Ferreira and Jason Cameron took three wickets each, with
This year’s Taiwan Athletics Open, which offers Taiwanese athletes an opportunity to compete against their international peers, would be held under a new name after its organizers had earlier announced the event’s cancelation. In a statement issued yesterday, the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association said the competition would still take place on June 6-7 at Banciao Stadium, but under the name “New Taipei City Athletics Open 2026.” The event was given a new name to emphasize its local identity and conform with the international practice of naming World Athletics Tour events after cities, the association said. It said it would soon
Taiwanese shortstop Cheng Tsung-che on Friday made history for the Boston Red Sox’s Triple A affiliate, hitting the Worcester Red Sox’s first cycle, while netting two runs, as they beat fellow Taiwan teammate Stuart Fairchild’s Columbus Clippers. The 24-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect went 4-4, completing a full cycle, starting with a triple in the second inning off Ryan Webb in the WooSox’s 9-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians’ Triple A affiliate. He scored in the same inning after teammate Vinny Capra, a fellow former Pirate, grounded out. The Pingtung County native followed that up with a walk in the third, an
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