TENNIS
Osaka dumped in Madrid
Naomi Osaka yesterday suffered a second-round exit at the Madrid Open as the Japanese second seed lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to Karolina Muchova. Osaka, the reigning US and Australian Open champion, has seven career hard-court titles, but has never managed to lift a clay-court trophy. Osaka beat compatriot Misaki Doi in the first round, but came unstuck against an opponent making her top 20 debut this week. Muchova used a single break of serve to claim the opening set against the world No. 2. Osaka fell 3-1 behind in the second set, but rallied to win the next five games and force a decider. Muchova regrouped and broke Osaka early in the third set, and then again for a 5-1 lead, before sealing victory in just less than two hours. The Czech faces either Greek 16th seed Maria Sakkari or Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit for a place in the quarter-finals.
BADMINTON
Axelsen forfeits final
World No. 2 Viktor Axelsen was yesterday forced to withdraw from the European Championships final in Kiev after testing positive for COVID-19. Axelsen was to face fellow Dane Anders Antonsen, who claimed his first European title with a walkover. “Top seed and defending champion Viktor Axelsen returned a second positive test for COVID-19, ruling him out of contesting the men’s singles final,” Badminton Denmark announced. It said the 27-year-old Axelsen returned a first positive test after beating Finn Kalle Koljonen in the semi-finals on Saturday and must isolate in Kiev. “He will remain in hotel room quarantine for the next 13 days,” it said.
BOXING
Parker overcomes Chisora
Former world champion Joseph Parker on Saturday took another step to becoming a heavyweight title contender after beating Derek Chisora by split decision in Manchester Arena. Parker overcame being knocked down by a right swing just seconds into the non-title bout. The New Zealander, who lost his WBO title to Anthony Joshua in 2018, gradually came back in a toe-to-toe fight that he tipped thanks to his late pressure, cleaner punches, and work rate. Two judges gave Parker 116-111 and 115-113 scores, and one gave Chisora 115-113. Parker’s fifth successive win since he lost to Joshua and Dillian Whyte improved his record to 29-2.
SNOOKER
Selby to face Murphy in final
Former winners Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy are to meet in the final of this year’s World Championship after coming through tough semi-finals on Saturday. Selby saw off Stuart Bingham 17-15 in a match that was paused with Selby leading 16-15 to allow Murphy and Kyren Wilson to complete their match at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. Selby broke the deadlock when his match resumed when a plant set up a break of 41 only to lose position. A lucky red allowed qualifier Bingham to lay a snooker which set him up for a break of 59. With all the reds off the table, Bingham lost position, but laid a snooker behind the black. Selby made a superb escape and eventually laid a brilliant snooker on the green that saw Bingham give away several fouls that left his opponent in front. Selby, a three-time world champion, then cleared to the pink to complete a 17-15 win.
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus’ four-year suspension for doping, ruling that her positive test for a banned substance was caused by kissing her then-boyfriend, American fencer Race Imboden. Thibus, a silver medalist in team foil at the Tokyo Games, had tested positive for ostarine, a prohibited muscle-building substance, during a competition in Paris in January last year. However, CAS concluded there was no intentional wrongdoing, finding it scientifically plausible that repeated kissing over several days with Olympic medalist Imboden — who was taking ostarine at the time — led to accidental contamination. The court
RSS