BOXING
Zhang knocks out Joyce
Chinese heavyweight Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang knocked out Britain’s Joe Joyce in the third round of their rematch at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday. Forty-year-old Zhang sent his 38-year-old opponent sprawling to the canvas with a huge right hook to his jaw. Joyce got back to his feet and received oxygen after the referee waved off the fight. Zhang, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist who stopped Joyce in six rounds at London’s Copper Box in April last year, is the WBO’s mandatory challenger for Ukraine’s WBO, IBO, IBF and WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk. “Like I said before the fight, it’s going to end sooner than the first one,” Zhang, now with a record of 25 wins with one defeat and one draw, told the crowd through a translator.
SOCCER
Rapinoe retires regret-free
Megan Rapinoe is to bid farewell to international soccer with no regrets about her time on and off the pitch, she told a news conference on Saturday ahead of her last game, a friendly against South Africa yesterday. The striker, who earned recognition not only for being a two-time world champion but also for her activism, gained fame for her advocacy of LGBT+ rights, solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick and famously confronting former US President Donald Trump. “The off-field stuff is what is most meaningful [to me], and I think what I’m most proud of leaving this team and leaving the game,” she said. “Being so vocal about racial justice or gay rights, I feel like the team really stepped into it and took upon itself to be so much more of what we were on the field and really focus on that.”
TENNIS
Sakkari’s title wait over
Second-seeded Maria Sakkari on Saturday ended her four-year wait for a second WTA title, beating Caroline Dolehide 7-5, 6-3 to win the 1000 level Guadalajara Open. Greece’s Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, had come up empty in six finals since her breakthrough victory in Rabat in 2019. That included the Guadalajara final last year, when she lost to the US’ Jessica Pegula, and a loss to Coco Gauff in the final at Washington this year. An emotional Sakkari thanked her coach of five years. “We’ve heard so many bad things — that I will never win a title, that I’m a top-five player with only winning one title, that was very hard for me to overcome,” she said. “I’m so happy that I did it here this week.”
SOCCER
Kane beats Bayern record
Harry Kane on Saturday bettered a record first set by legendary German striker Gerd Mueller when he hit a hat-trick in Bayern Munich’s 7-0 rout of VfL Bochum, which took the champions back to the top of the Bundesliga. Kane fired in Bayern’s second just 13 minutes in, before scoring a penalty in the second half. He added a third with two minutes remaining when he tapped in a low cross from Leroy Sane. With six goals in five games, the England captain now has more goals in his first five league matches than any other player in Bayern’s history, beating the mark of Mueller (1965), Miroslav Klose (2007) and Mario Mandzukic (2012), who all scored five times in their first five games for the club. “I’m happy to play my part and I hope there will be many more to come. So far so good,” Kane said.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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