TENNIS
World No. 116 beats Serena
Serena Williams suffered her first loss since 2012 to a rival outside the WTA’s top 100, falling to compatriot Shelby Rogers in a Friday quarter-final at the Top Seed Open. Rogers, ranked 116th, outlasted ninth-ranked Williams 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) after 2 hours, 7 minutes to oust the 23-time Grand Slam champion with a service winner. “It’s every kid’s dream growing up to be able to do something like that,” Rogers said. “Weird circumstances, weird surroundings — but a win is a win.” The US Open hardcourt tune-up event is being staged in a quarantine bubble in Lexington, Kentucky.
BOXING
Boxer loses due to weight
Unbeaten American fighter David Benavidez on Friday lost his World Boxing Council super-middleweight title on the scale, failing to make weight for his bout yesterday against Colombia’s Alexis Angulo. The main event was to take place as planned in a COVID-19 quarantine bubble at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, but only Angulo could capture the vacated 76.2kg division belt. Benavidez weighed in at 77.45kg, while Angulo tipped the scale at 75.98kg. “This is obviously my first time missing weight. Just very disappointed to lose the title on the scale, but I’m still going to win the fight,” Benavidez said.
BASKETBALL
Storm win seven straight
Breanna Stewart scored 21 points and Alysha Clark had 15 with seven rebounds to lead the Seattle Storm to an 83-65 victory over the Dallas Wings on Friday for their seventh straight WNBA win. It is the longest regular-season streak for Seattle since its 2010 championship team won 13 straight. Jewell Loyd added 12 points for Seattle (9-1), while Sue Bird had seven points and five assists in 21 minutes. Stewart scored 20-plus for the fifth time this season, shooting 9 of 12 from the field. Seattle made three three-pointers in the opening six-plus minutes of the game for a 23-10 lead and retained a 13-point advantage at halftime.
OLYMPICS
Indians to train in Dubai
Three of India’s top swimmers are to begin two months of training in Dubai next month, sports officials said yesterday, as pools in India remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced that Virdhawal Khade (50m freestyle), Srihari Nataraj (100m backstroke) and Kushagra Rawat (400m freestyle) are to train at Dubai’s Aqua Nation Swimming Academy from the first week of next month. “It will be a 60-day camp in Dubai, but if pools in India don’t open in 60 days, SAI might extend it,” Swimming Federation of India secretary-general Monal Chokshi said.
BASEBALL
Cole posts 20th straight win
Gerrit Cole pitched seven strong innings to win his 20th straight decision and the New York Yankees on Friday remained unbeaten in games played at Yankee Stadium with a 10-3 rout of the slumping Boston Red Sox. Cole (4-0) became the sixth pitcher to win 20 consecutive decisions in baseball history and the first since Jake Arrieta did it for the Chicago Cubs from Aug. 4, 2015, to May 25, 2016. The all-time record is 24 straight decisions by Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell from July 17, 1936, to May 27, 1937, with the New York Giants.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Stade Rennais, four days after firing coach Habib Beye, stunned Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on Friday, snapping the defending champions’ seven-match winning run in French Ligue 1. Second-placed RC Lens could leapfrog the champions and retake top spot last night after press time if they beat Paris FC in the capital. PSG started brightly, with Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue carving openings to no avail. Rennes fired Beye on Monday and promoted his assistant Sebastien Tambouret, and the same players who had lost four games on the bounce seemed transformed. Jordanian forward Mousa al-Tamari bagged the opener, unleashing a fierce strike
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Manchester City FC halved Arsenal FC’s lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home defeat of Fulham FC, and Aston Villa FC stayed in the frame with a late 1-0 victory at home to Brighton and Hove Albion FC on Wednesday. Nottingham Forest FC squandered a chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom three as they drew 0-0 at home to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Second-from-bottom Burnley FC pulled off a remarkable 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace FC to boost their slender survival hopes. City have little margin for error in their pursuit
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