TENNIS
Hsieh advances in Madrid
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko yesterday beat Ukraine’s Nadiia Kichenok and Xu Yifan of China 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) in women’s doubles to advance to the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open. The third seeds on Friday defeated Briton Olivia Nicholls and Slovak Tereza Mihalikova 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round. Compatriot Chan Hao-ching and Mexican partner Giuliana Olmos did not fare as well in their opener on Saturday, losing 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 10-6 to Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
BASEBALL
Duran steals home after triple
Jarren Duran on Saturday barely had time to catch his breath after tripling in the third inning, but it did not matter, he had already made up his mind to run again. Duran pulled off Boston’s first straight steal of home plate in exactly 16 years, scoring on the next pitch from Doug Nikhazy as the Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in the second game of a doubleheader. It marked the first straight steal of the plate by the Red Sox since Jacoby Ellsbury against the New York Yankees on April 26, 2009. Duran’s two previous thefts of home were part of double steals last season on May 21 and on June 7.
BASKETBALL
Thunder reach second round
The Oklahoma City Thunder, fueled by 38 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, on Saturday held off the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 to complete a 4-0 sweep in their NBA Western Conference playoff series to become the first team to reach the second round. The Cleveland Cavaliers were on the brink of advancing, taking a 3-0 stranglehold on their Eastern Conference series with a 124-87 blowout of the Miami Heat. The Denver Nuggets leveled their Western Conference series with a stunning 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers sealed by Aaron Gordon’s put-back dunk at the final buzzer.
RUGBY UNION
England win Six Nations
England on Saturday survived a sparkling French comeback to win the Women’s Six Nations Championship decider 43-42 at Twickenham Stadium. In an encounter between two unbeaten teams, England led 31-7 after 24 minutes and 43-28 with 10 minutes to play, and held off a late rally for a seventh consecutive European title. “I am so proud of all of the girls’ effort, we battled it out today. France came at us, so all credit to us for holding on,” England skipper Zoe Aldcroft told the BBC. “When we build pressure we need to keep our foot on the throttle. We will have a couple of drinks after this and enjoy tonight.”
SURFING
Australians win at Bells
Australia’s Jack Robinson yesterday earned his first victory of the season on the World Surf League Championship tour, while compatriot Isabella Nichols won the women’s title at the prestigious Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, south of Melbourne. Paris Olympics silver-medalist Robinson scored 7.77 on his third wave after a 6.37 earlier to finish with a two-wave total of 14.14, edging out Japan’s Kanoa Igarashi, who finished with 13.87 and missed out on a second tour victory of his career. Nichols earlier outclassed Brazilian Luana Silva to prevail with best scores of 8.33 and 7.93 for a total of 16.26 to her opponent’s 12.67.
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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