TENNIS
Alcaraz crashes out
World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz on Friday crashed out of the Miami Open in his first outing, with Belgian veteran David Goffin pulling off a shock 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win, while Taiwan’s only remaining representative at Hard Rock Stadium also exited. Alcaraz was not convincing with his serve, despite winning the first set, but began to struggle in the second and was not able to rediscover his game. Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin was beaten in the round-of-64 by Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the US$9,193,540 tournament in Miami Gardens. Tseng on Wednesday advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over Italian Mattia Bellucci.
Photo: AP
BADMINTON
Five Taiwanese advance
Taiwanese shuttlers Lin Chun-yi, and twin brothers Lee Fang-jen and Lee Fang-chih on Friday advanced to the semi-finals at the Swiss Open. The world No. 21 Lee brothers pulled off a stunning upset to beat Indonesians Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 21-19, 14-21, 21-13 in the quarter-finals at the St Jakobshalle Arena in Basel. Both pairs put up a tough fight early in the opener, but the Taiwanese pulled away to take the first game. Unforced errors cost the brothers the second game, but they rallied to take an 11-9 lead in the third and reeled off six consecutive points to widen the gap before sealing victory. They were to play Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Daniel Marthin of Indonesia after press time last night. World No. 11 Lin bested Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-16, 21-15 in their men’s singles quarter-final in 43 minutes. Lin’s victory was due to his strategy of keeping his opponent under pressure through smashes and attacking the net, his coach Feng Sheng-chieh told reporters after the match. Lin was sheduled to play eighth-seeded Weng Hongyang of China after the Lees’ game. In the mixed doubles, Liu Kuang-heng and Jheng Yu-chieh were also to play after the Lees after beating Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch of Denmark 21-18, 21-18. They were to meet China’s Zhu Yijun and Zhang Chi.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images
BASKETBALL
Watford and Turner fined
The NBA on Friday fined Brooklyn Nets swingman Trendon Watford and Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner US$35,000 each for an altercation in a game this week. Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard also was fined US$20,000 for his role in initiating the altercation in the Pacers’ 105-99 win over the Nets on Thursday. The tensions started with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter when Watford ran toward Nembhard after a made basket and hit him with a forearm to the chest. Watford also shoved Turner after he ran toward the scuffle. On the court on Friday, the Magic beat the Wizards 120-105, the Rockets beat the Heat 102-98, the Timberwolves downed the Pelicans 134-93, The Thunder defeated the Hornets 141-106, the Spurs downed the 76ers 128-120, the Mavericks beat the Pistons 123-117, the Celtic defeated the Jazz 121-99, the Suns beat the Cavaliers 123-112, The Trail Blazers bested the Nuggets 128-109 and the Clippers beat the Grizzlies 128-108.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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