TENNIS
Germany take early lead
Alexander Zverev yesterday handed Germany a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup World Group first-round tie against Australia when he outlasted Alex de Minaur in a four-hour marathon in Brisbane, Australia. Zverev was forced to fight every step of the way before seeing off the challenge of the 18-year-old De Minaur 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) on Pat Rafter Arena. The world No. 5 had looked down and out when De Minaur, playing superb defensive tennis, took a two sets to love lead. However, Zverev fought back to win the fourth set before recovering from an early break in the fifth to force a tiebreak. He then created a mini-break at 3-4 in the tiebreak and served superbly to take the match and give his country the early advantage. Zverev, 20, has had a disappointing Davis Cup record, with one win and four losses before yesterday’s match.
GOLF
Haas leads at Phoenix Open
Bill Haas used a hot start to jump to the first-round lead on Thursday, as several big names queued up close behind at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona. Haas shrugged off a late tee time to card seven-under-par 64 in front of a typically raucous and large crowd at TPC Scottsdale, two strokes ahead of a five-strong group including fellow American Rickie Fowler. Spanish world No. 2 Jon Rahm is three behind, while American Justin Thomas trails by four. In a field that includes four of the top five players in the world rankings, Japanese two-times defending champion Hideki Matsuyama made a decent start to trail by five shots, but out-of-sorts American Jordan Spieth struggled to a one-over 72.
OLYMPICS
Russians hail ban ruling
Russia has hailed a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday to overturn Olympic doping bans on 28 of the country’s athletes, with the Russian Ministry of Sports declaring that “justice has finally triumphed.” The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence that 28 Russians, including several medalists, had broken anti-doping rules at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia. “This, of course, cannot but give us joy,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “It confirms our position on the fact that the vast majority of our athletes are clean.” On Tuesday, Putin had admitted that some Russian athletes had been involved in doping, but he portrayed allegations of a state-sponsored doping program at the 2014 Sochi Games as a politically motivated attack on Russia by Western countries.
FORMULA ONE
Grid girls, start times out
Having controversially dropped grid girls from Formula One, chiefs on Thursday axed another long-standing tradition — the 2pm start time. From this year, races are to start 10 minutes later, while the European and Brazilian grand prix are to begin an hour later than in previous years, Liberty Media Co said. “Some broadcasters usually go on air precisely on the hour, hence missing the tension and emotion that characterize the minutes before the start of each Grand Prix,” a statement said. “Thanks to this change, television viewers will be brought closer to the teams and the drivers and fully enjoy the spectacle offered just before the red lights go out.”
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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