TENNIS
Taiwan’s Chan makes final
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico yesterday reached the final at the China Open. Chan and Olmos defeated Poland’s Magda Linette and Peyton Stearns of the US 7-5, 6-4 at the National Tennis Center in Beijing to book a place in today’s championship match against the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova and Sara Tormo of Spain, who beat Brazilian pair Luisa Stefani and Ingrid Martins 6-2, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
SOCCER
Nantes defeat Strasbourg
Two second-half goals on Friday helped Nantes earn a 2-1 win against RC Strasbourg Alsace in their Ligue 1 match. Both teams played cautiously during the opening 45 minutes. Nantes scored a goal in the 51st minute when Marcus Coco beat Matz Sels from close range. Samuel Moutoussamy then made it 2-0 from a rebound seven minutes later. Substitute Moise Sahi Dion pulled a goal back for Strasbourg in stoppage-time. Nantes moved to eighth place in the standings, one point above Strasbourg ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games.
SOCCER
Sancet scores for Bilbao
Oihan Sancet on Friday celebrated his first call-up to Spain’s national team by scoring in Athletic Bilbao’s 3-0 win over last-placed UD Almeria in La Liga. Gorka Guruzeta and Dani Garcia also scored for Athletic as they ended their brief winless run and moved into the top four in the standings with the victory at San Mames Stadium. The 23-year-old Sancet earlier on Friday was included in the squad by Spain coach Luis de la Fuente for their European Championship qualifiers. The midfielder sealed Athletic’s victory in the 81st minute after Guruzeta scored in the 10th minute and Garcia in the 63rd. The win moved Athletic two points behind third-placed Girona and one point ahead of fifth-place Atletico Madrid, who had two games in hand ahead of their game among the rest of the weekend’s games. Almeria, who had only one shot on target, are the only team without a win after nine rounds.
ROWING
Naked Australian rescued
A naked Australian adventurer was rescued on Friday by a cruise ship near Vanuatu after capsizing while attempting to row solo across the Pacific Ocean. Tom Robinson clung to the hull of his heavily modified rowing boat for almost 13 hours before he was plucked out of the water, a statement on the expedition’s Web site said. The 24-year-old was seeking to become the youngest person to row across the Pacific Ocean — a journey of about 8,000 nautical miles (14,800km) starting in Peru and ending in Australia. Robinson’s team said in the statement that the situation “was caused by an unexpectedly large wave that came through the main hatch and flooded the cabin.” After activating his emergency distress beacon, Robinson was spotted by a plane dispatched from the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia. A cruise ship that was diverted to rescue Robinson found him clinging naked to the overturned hull of his homemade boat, his team said, adding that he “sounded well after a precarious night.” Robinson set off from Peru in July last year and was aiming to make landfall on Australia’s eastern coast by December after stops in Tahiti, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Italian champions SSC Napoli on Sunday came unstuck at Bologna, losing 2-0 to cede the Italian Serie A summit to Inter, who downed SS Lazio by the same scoreline. AS Roma, who beat Udinese 2-0 earlier, briefly held the summit, only for Inter to dislodge them on goal difference. With the game just three minutes old, Lautaro Martinez put Inter in control with Ange-Yoan Bonny doubling the lead on the hour with a shot from close range. Goals in the capital either side of the break by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik sent Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma temporarily to the
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