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.
Greek swimmer Kristian Gkolomeev was the only athlete to “beat” a world record on Sunday at the Enhanced Games, winning the men’s 50m freestyle at the divisive competition where athletes were free to take performance-enhancing substances. His time of 20.81 seconds — which is not considered official — came in the final event of the night in Las Vegas, sparing the blushes of organizers who made claims that multiple world records would be surpassed due to a sophisticated doping regime. Gkolomeev, who was wearing a synthetic “supersuit” long banned at events such as the Olympics, outpaced Australia’s Cameron McEvoy’s 20.88 set in
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
The manager of the Yomiuri Giants, one of Japan’s most popular baseball teams, resigned yesterday after he was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his teenage daughter. Shinnosuke Abe allegedly grabbed the 18-year-old and forced her to the floor at their home in central Tokyo on Monday evening, reported national broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News, citing unnamed police sources. “Leaving like this really means I’m causing you a lot of trouble, and I feel truly sorry about that,” Abe told a hastily arranged news conference, his eyes red with tears. The former star catcher, who is among baseball-obsessed Japan’s most recognized sports figures,
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