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.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Olympic flame for the Milan Cortina Winter Games landed in Rome on Thursday following a handover in Greece. The flame was carried in a small lantern aboard an ITA Airways flight between the Greek and Italian capitals. Tennis player Jasmine Paolini — an Olympic gold medalist — and local organizing committee president Giovanni Malago carried the flame off the plane. “I feel honored. It’s an incredible emotion,” Paolini said in brief remarks before the lantern was driven away toward the presidential palace. A 63-day torch relay covering 12,000km is to start in Rome today and wind its way through all 110 Italian provinces
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
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