SOCCER
Another Neymar suit filed
The Rennes supporter who was hit in the face by Neymar last season has filed a lawsuit against the Brazil star. The fan’s lawyer, Philippe Ohayon, told L’Equipe that his client decided to take legal action after a meeting between members of Neymar’s entourage and the alleged victim failed to ease tensions. The Paris Saint-Germain striker was given a three-game ban for lashing out at the fan following a loss in the French Cup final in April. Neymar reacted angrily to the man who was filming and verbally goading players as they walked up the stairs to collect their runner-up medals. Neymar exchanged a few words with the supporter and then raised his hand to him.
TENNIS
Murray to return next week
Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray on Friday said he would return to singles competition next week at the Cincinnati Masters, seven months after having right hip surgery that he feared might end his career. The 32-year-old Scotsman has fallen to 325th in the world rankings after his January operation to ease nagging hip pain. His first match next week in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the final major tuneup for the US Open will be his first competitive singles outing since the Australian Open in January. “Good news for the sport,” Rafael Nadal said. “After all the retirement that he predicted in Australia ... six months later seems like he’s back again, healthy, competing well.” Murray will face Richard Gasquet in the first round in Cincy. Should Murray make it to the second round, he would face fourth seed Dominic Thiem.
BASEBALL
Davis sorry over flare-up
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis said he reached a “breaking point” when he charged at manager Brandon Hyde in the dugout on Wednesday night, and expressed regret during a lengthy conversation with Hyde. The flare-up occurred in the fifth inning of Baltimore’s 14-2 loss to the New York Yankees. Hyde walked over to Davis and said something that the first baseman clearly did not like, and Davis attempted to charge at the manager before being restrained by teammate Mark Trumbo and hitting coach Don Long. Davis is batting .182 with nine homers and 31 RBIs, hardly the production the Orioles expected from a slugger who is in the middle of a US$161 million, seven-year contract. Last season he batted .168, the worst average in MLB history by a player with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
ATHLETICS
Long-time record broken
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce on Friday broke the 40-year-old Pan American Games 200m record. The two-time Olympic 100m champion clocked 22.43 seconds. The tournament’s previous record of 22.45 seconds was set by American Evelyn Ashford in 1979. Brazil’s Vitoria Cristina Rose won silver and Bahamian Tynia Gaither took bronze. “It’s a long time since I’ve broken a record, so I feel great about that,” the 32-year-old said. Although it took a while to warm up in Lima’s damp, chilly weather, she was focused on her strategy, Fraser-Pryce said. “My coach told me to run the first half very hard and I decided to go for it from the gun,” she said. She is still working on getting a “perfect finish,” and her goal now is to break Elaine’s Thompson’s Jamaican record and win the gold at the World Championships.
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
RSS