I Dig Sports

Angels' La Stella breaks tibia, out 8-10 weeks

Published in Baseball

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 16:00

Los Angeles Angels All-Star infielder Tommy La Stella has a fractured right tibia and has been placed on the 10-day injured list, the team announced on Wednesday.

The typical timetable for a return to play after a fractured tibia is eight to 10 weeks, the Angels said in announcing the injury, which was revealed in a CT scan.

La Stella had fouled a ball off his right shin in the sixth inning of Tuesday night's game at the Texas Rangers and had to be helped off the field.

In his first season with the Angels and sixth in the major leagues, La Stella is batting .300 with 49 runs scored, 16 home runs and 44 RBIs. All the totals are career highs.

The 30-year-old was named an All-Star for the first time in his career on Sunday.

Also on Wednesday, the Angels placed outfielder Brian Goodwin on the 10-day IL with a right wrist contusion.

Tagged under

Wimbledon 2019: Kyle Edmund wins set after Fernando Verdasco blunder

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 08:13

Watch the bizarre moment Fernando Verdasco leaves a Kyle Edmund lob - thinking it is going out - only to see it catch the line and give the Brit the second set.

FOLLOW LIVE: Wimbledon - Live video & text commentary

Available to UK users only.

Find out how to get into tennis with the BBC Get Inspired guide.

Tagged under

Djokovic cruises through after Wawrinka loses five-set epic - highlights & report

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 12:34

Top seed Novak Djokovic cruised into the Wimbledon third round after three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka lost to American Reilly Opelka.

Serbia's Djokovic, 32, needed just one hour and 33 minutes to beat American Denis Kudla 6-3 6-2 6-2.

Ex-world number three Wawrinka had the upper hand against 2015 boys' junior champion Opelka after three sets.

But 6ft 11in Opelka fought back with ferocious serving to edge a three-hour match 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4 8-6.

Djokovic is the defending champion at SW19 and once again considered the man to beat as he chases a fifth title at the All England Club.

The 15-time Grand Slam winner was never threatened against Kudla, producing another efficient performance on Centre Court against the world number 111.

Djokovic, who has added former champion Goran Ivanisevic to his team for the tournament, played a high level throughout as he moved well and relentlessly tested Kudla.

"I'm pleased with my game overall. There were some moments in the match where I could have done better, I dropped my serve a couple of times," said Djokovic, who also beat Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets on Monday.

"But it was a solid performance, I was returning well, mostly I was serving well and I was holding a high percentage of first serves."

Djokovic will play Poland's Hubert Hurkacz - little over a month since the Serb beat him in the French Open first round - next on Friday.

Opelka 'deserved' win, while Anderson, Raonic & Auger-Aliassime go through

Opelka is the joint-tallest-ever ATP-ranked player, along with Ivo Karlovic. His 142mph (228kph) serve against Wawrinka was the fastest of the Championship so far.

After the match the Florida-raised player, who won his first ATP title in February with victory at the New York Open, bristled when asked how tall he was.

"I have answered this question, like, 150 times," he said. "It's the same as it was yesterday, and, I don't know. Close, 6'11", 7'0". Not sure."

Wawrinka added: "Against those big servers you know you're not going to have a lot of chances and you get under pressure a little bit more.

"At the end he went for it. He went bigger than me, more aggressive, and he deserved to win".

Opelka, 21, will face Canadian Milos Raonic in the third round.

The 2016 finalist, who is seeded 15th, defeated Dutchman Robin Haase 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 7-6 (7-4).

South African fourth seed Kevin Anderson, who lost to Djokovic in last year's final, advanced with a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 victory over Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic.

Russian Karen Khachanov got through a tricky test against Queen's champion Feliciano Lopez.

The 10th seed came from a set down to win 4-6 6-4 7-5 6-4 and make it through to the third round for the third year in a row.

Fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev, the 11th seed, defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4 6-4, while Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime progressed by beating France's Corentin Moutet 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2.

Tagged under

Wimbledon 2019: Strange moods, weird hats & a great catch - day three funnies

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 12:31

Watch the quirkier moments from day three at Wimbledon as Novak Djokovic works out on a medicine ball and Stan Wawrinka rocks court two.

WATCH MORE: Royals, Aussie antics & cheeky children - day two funnies

WATCH MORE: Why did he leave it? Verdasco's bizarre blunder gifts Edmund set

Available to UK users only.

Tagged under

Wimbledon 2019: Coco Gauff beats Magdalena Rybarikova to reach third round

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 13:36

Coco Gauff's fairytale introduction to Wimbledon continued with a second-round victory that belied her years over Magdalena Rybarikova.

The 15-year-old American qualifier needed just one hour nine minutes to beat her Slovakian opponent 6-3 6-3 under Court One's new roof.

Gauff, who beat five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams on Monday, will play Slovenia's Polona Hercog next.

"I'm still shocked I am even here," Gauff told BBC TV.

"I played well on pressure points, she was serving amazing. I've not been able to relax, there is so much going on.

"I believe I can beat anyone across the court."

At such a tender age, Gauff is only eligible to play 10 tournaments at professional level between her 15th and 16th birthdays yet she appears to be taking the grand occasion of Wimbledon in her stride.

Earlier on Wednesday, she had trained briefly under the gaze of 18-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal before being approached for a chat by Roger Federer, an eight-time winner in these parts, more than six hours before she finally got to play.

After a late court switch, the match finally got under way just after 20:00 BST, but Gauff looked at home straightaway against the world number 139, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon two years ago.

She broke 30-year-old Rybarikova's serve to love to go 4-2 up, losing just five points on her own serve throughout the entire first set.

Rybarikova, somewhat unsettled by the crowd's fierce support for Gauff, had her serve broken once again early in the second set.

But, showing glimpses of the form that saw her formerly become the world number 17, Rybarikova started to rally, twice defying Gauff on break point.

Yet this was always to be Gauff's night, seeing out the win by breaking serve once again.

More to follow.

Tagged under

Fatigued Edmund and Watson lose in second round - highlights & report

Published in Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 12:38

Britain's Kyle Edmund says he must improve his fitness after squandering a two-set lead to lose to Fernando Verdasco in the Wimbledon second round.

The British number one was three games from victory before a slip and fatigue derailed him in a 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-4 loss.

British women's number two Heather Watson was also knocked out after being outclassed by Anett Kontaveit 7-5 6-1.

Five other Britons will seek to reach the third round on Thursday.

Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jay Clarke are still in the men's draw, while British number one Johanna Konta and Harriet Dart are the remaining home hopes in the women's singles draw.

"It was a long match, quite a physical match," Edmund, 24, said. "The sort of physical intensity that I showed in the first part of the match gradually just declined. I was not able to keep that level up.

"I should have probably finished the match in the first place in the first part of the match, having obviously a two-sets-to-love lead and a break."

Edmund unravels after slip

Edmund, who reached a first Tour-level grass-court semi-final at Eastbourne last week and said he believed he could win Wimbledon, began confidently against 35-year-old former world number seven Verdasco.

After pushing the Spaniard hard on his serve before getting the break in the 10th game of the opening set, he was handed the second set in bizarre fashion when Verdasco decided not to chase after a lob he thought was going wide.

The ball bounced in and Edmund's roar was repeated by a packed Centre Court crowd.

But that was just about the last bit of luck Edmund had, squandering an early break to find himself taken into a third-set tie-break.

A slip towards the end of the third set left him walking gingerly and he called on the physio for treatment on his right leg and back after the tie-break.

"When you slip, it's just a bit of a shock," Edmund said.

"It didn't hold me back at all. I physically was not able to keep going with, like, the power and reaction and stuff."

Edmund, who withdrew from his second-round match at the French Open in May with a left knee problem, was once again let down by his body.

His movement became laboured and his shoulders dropped as the momentum swung in the favour of Verdasco, who wrapped up victory on the first of three match points.

'I've got to put some more hours in'

Edmund says he will work on improving his strength so that he can deal better with longer matches.

His season has been disrupted by the left knee problem that cut short his 2018 season but he said he did not want to use that as an excuse.

"Now I've got to try and put some more hours in. We talk about [matches lasting] three and a half, four hours, getting to that level. I've got to do that," he said.

"I've got to be able to play at the intensity I started the match for longer. These are not excuses. These are just stuff I've got to get a bit better at.

"I was in a position to win, and didn't."

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

Edmund says his third set slip had absolutely no bearing on the result - admitting instead that he was just not able to maintain his physical intensity of the first couple of sets.

A lack of endurance was also an issue at last August's US Open. Regular bouts of illness had held him back, and it was hoped the removal of his tonsils had solved the problem.

But by then he had developed a knee problem which has restricted him to just 22 matches this year.

His next stop will be the gym: Edmund says he hopes to make the most of the three and a half weeks before his next tournament in Washington.

Gulf in rankings shows in Watson defeat

Estonian 20th seed Kontaveit was always going to be a difficult opponent for world number 122 Watson, who had suffered first-round exits at her previous three grass-court events.

But the Briton started well in breezy conditions, breaking in the opening game and then holding before being pegged back for 2-2. They matched each other for the rest of the set before Kontaveit stepped up a gear at 5-5.

The Estonian won the next two games to love, with Watson hitting long to hand her the first set.

From then on Kontaveit was uncompromising. She went a double break up in the second and made Watson run around the court, capitalising when the Briton's errors crept in.

"I thought today in general I was too defensive," Watson said. "I didn't use my variety enough, coming to the net.

"I'd say the first two games started well. That first set, I just felt like I had so many chances, but wasn't able to play aggressive tennis and get there. I sort of went on the back foot, just made too many errors.

"After that first set, I don't feel that I changed a lot. I just feel like she relaxed and really stepped up her level, didn't give me a look in at all."

Kontaveit, whose only WTA title was won on grass, will face Czech Karolina Muchova for a place in the third round.

Mixed fortunes for Britons in doubles

There were plenty of other Britons in action when the doubles began on Wednesday, with Cameron Norrie among those to reach the second round.

He and Spanish partner Jaume Munar beat fellow Briton Dom Inglot and American Austin Krajicek 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-7 (11-13) 6-3.

Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram, who were runners-up to Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez at Queen's, also progressed with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over Malek Jaziri and Radu Albot.

They are joined in the next round by Ken Skupski and Australian John-Patrick Smith after their 6-2 6-4 6-2 victory over the all-British pairing of Jay Clarke and James Ward.

But there were defeats for Jack Draper and Paul Jubb, Freya Christie and Katie Swan, Luke Bambridge and Jonny O'Mara, Sarah Beth Grey and Eden Silva, Harriet Dart and Katie Dunne, and Naomi Broady.

Tagged under

Celebrated names start quest, face testing adversaries

Published in Table Tennis

Tuesday, 02 July 2019 13:18

Most pertinently, generations apart, now 38 years old Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan and China’s 20 year old He Zhoujia take to the stage; both players who have made major impacts on the international scene.

At the 2002 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, Chuang Chih-Yuan won the men’s singles title; last year in the counterpart women’s singles event, He Zhuojia was the runner up.

Equally, bronze medallist earlier this year at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships, the host nation’s An Jaehyun must earn his spurs; moreover in the second preliminary round he faces one of Europe’s rising stars. He confronts Anders Lind, crucial to Denmark’s fourth place at the recent Minsk 2019 2nd European Games. Similarly, Chuang Chih-Yuan opposes a most dangerous adversary in the guise of India’s Harmeet Desai.

Testing times but I would suggest for illustrious names there are even more exacting challenges, Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura confronts China’s Sun Wen, semi-finalist last month in Sapporo, Kristian Karlsson also opposes Chinese adversary, he meets Xu Yingbin, a player who has a liking for Sweden; in the previous round he ended the hopes of Truls Moregard.

Meanwhile, in the second preliminary round of the women’s singles event, He Zhuojia plays Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Ying-Chen, a contest in which she is the clear favourite.

However, there are contests that are very much in the balance; the experience of Germany’s 36 year old Shan Xiaona against 17 years of age Miyu Nagasaki is intriguing, as in Hong Kong’s Minnie Soo Wai Yam against China’s Liu Weishan and the host nation’s Choi Hyojoo in opposition to Qian Tianyi, also from China.

Enthralling but top of the list, my vote goes to the player Qian Tianyi beat in the final of the World Junior Championships last year in Bendigo; colleague Shi Xunyao. She meets Japan’s Hina Hayata, the winner of three women’s singles titles on this year’s Seamaster ITTF Challenge Series.

Undoubtedly a captivating day awaits in Busan.

Tagged under

Adding to success, play concludes in Alexandria

Published in Table Tennis

Tuesday, 02 July 2019 15:30

The class 3 winner, Ahmed Koleosho partnered colleague Nasiru Sule to success in class 1-5; the pair recording a 2-0 win at the final hurdle in opposition to Egypt’s Mohamed Sameh Eid Salah, the class 4 gold medallist and Hassan Tolba.

Further success for Ahmed Koleosho, it was the same for Ahmed Sayed Moahmed; he partnered Abousteir Abdelmoniem to victory in class 6-8, the player he had beaten in the class 7 final. In a group organised competition, in the vital contest a 2-1 win was posted against Nigeria’s Victor Faniloye and Temitope Ogunsanya; notably in the men’s singles events, Victor Farniloye had won class 8.

Meanwhile, in class 9-10 Tajudeen Agunbiade and Alabi Olufemi combined to secure gold, both having succeeded the previous day. Tajudeen Agunbiade had emerged successful in class 9, Alabi Olufemi had secured the class 10 title. Also, a group organised event, runners up spot finished in the hands of Algeria’s Karim Boumedouha and Madani Zerigui.

Play concluded in Alexandria, attention now turns to the Chinese city of Taichung; the 2019 Asian Para Championships commences on Tuesday 23rd August and concludes on Saturday 27th August.

2019 Para African Championships: Latest Results and Draws

Meanwhile, Moataz Ashour, President of the Egypt Table Tennis Federation was in a most positive mood at the close of proceedings; the success of the tournament being even more gratifying as it clashed with the major continental football event, the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations.

Not only did Egypt enjoy considerable success from a playing perspective, the national federation underlined its capacity to organise major international events.

“Egypt is a big country and is capable of hosting any forum, whether sports or political, as evidenced by the fact that we now host two continental championships and the African Paralympic Table Tennis Championship. Egypt has a sub-structure, hotels, clubs and stadiums to host these important sporting events.

The tournament was very advanced technically for both men and women. The technical level was high; many close matches that excited the audience. Also, as this tournament coincided with the biggest African football event; the tournament received good promotion; this encouraged the players to participate. It is largest number of players to participate in the tournament and this is evident in the number of categories in the men’s event without merging one category to another. Class 11 was played for the first time in Africa.

Many of the players showed up with a high level of skill and especially for players from Egypt and Nigeria, who showed their class in the tournament.” Moataz Ashour

Tagged under

Busan highlights: qualifiers known, close calls, casualties

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 06:46

In the men’s singles event Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan, Portugal’s Marcos Freitas and Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson advanced but there was no progress for Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura. Likewise, in the women’s singles competition, it proved a successful day for China’s He Zhuojia in addition to Japan’s Miyu Kato and Honoko Hashimoto but not for Canada’s Zhang Mo.

Men’s Singles

…………Chuang Chih-Yuan beat Korea Republic’s Park Ganghyeon (11-6, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7) to secure his main draw place.

…………Maharu Yoshimura beat China’s Sun Wen (12-14, 17-15, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8) to avenge his defeat of one month earlier in Sapporo but was then beaten by colleague, Yuki Hirano (11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 16-14).

…………Kristian Karlsson advanced but only just; he was extended the full seven games distance by China’s Xu Yingbin (10-12, 11-8, 11-6, 10-12, 10-12, 11-9, 13-11), before rather more comfortably accounting for Uzbekistan’s Zokhid Kenjaev (11-6, 11-6, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6).

…………Marcos Freitas claimed his main draw place. He ended the hopes of the host nation’s An Jaehyun (8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4), a player on whom eyes were focused having reached the penultimate round at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships.

…………Defeat for Maharu Yoshimura but not for younger brother Kazuhiro Yoshimura in a contest against an adversary who had likewise won on the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour. The winner in Hong Kong, Kazuhiro Yoshimura beat China’s Zhen Peifeng (7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 15-13, 7-11, 12-10, 12-10), the winner in the Czech Republic.

…………Crowned world junior champion in 2017, China’s Xue Fei made his presence felt; keeping the pen-hold grip style of play alive, he accounted for the Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik (11-4, 11-7, 11-1, 13-11), prior to causing a major upset by overcoming Egypt’s Omar Assar (11-4, 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, 14-16, 11-7).

Women’s Singles

…………He Zhuojia beat Singapore’s Zeng Jian (11-3, 11-9, 10-12, 11-4, 11-6) to secure her main draw place.

………… Miyu Kato progressed by beating colleague Satsuki Odo (13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9); somewhat similarly Honoka Hashimoto overcame the host nation’s Yang Haeun (11-9, 11-9, 12-10, 11-5).

…………Zhang Mo suffered a second preliminary round defeat at the hands of China’s Liu Xi (12-10, 12-10, 13-11, 11-6) but for Liu Xi there was no further progress. She was beaten in the next round by India’s Manika Batra (7-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7, 11-13, 11-6, 11-7).

…………Japan’s Hina Hayata ended the advance of players for whom China has great hopes. She beat Shi Xunyao (7-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6), prior to overcoming Chen Ke (7-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-9, 4-11, 11-7).

…………Only 13 years old, employing her defensive skills to the full, Japan’s Haruna Ojio beat Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz (9-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4, 11-5) and Portugal’s Shao Jieni (11-6, 8-11, 6-11, 14-12, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8) to secure her place in the main draw.

…………Equally, from Japan, 14 year old Miyuu Kihara and 17 years of age Miyu Nagasaki progressed. Miyuu Kihara beat Hong Kong’s Mak Tze Wing (4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4, 4-11, 11-9) and Singapore’s Lin Ye (11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8); Miyu Nagasaki ousted Germany’s Shan Xiaona (11-6, 13-11, 8-11, 10-12, 11-5, 4-11, 11-9).

Mixed Doubles

…………A new pairing but one that could have a major impact; Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito beat Uzbekistan’s Zokhid Kenjaev and Rimma Gufranova (11-5, 11-1, 11-5) in the preliminary round.

Tagged under

Train to Busan has arrived!

Published in Table Tennis

Wednesday, 03 July 2019 09:25

After two days of exhilarating qualification rounds in the city which will host next year’s World Table Tennis Championships, many of the sport’s greatest global stars are set to do battle between now and Sunday 7th July with prestigious silverware, prize money and valuable world ranking points all at stake!

ENTER THE NEW WORLD NO.1

XU Xin (CHN) rose to the summit of the ITTF world ranking on Tuesday and will look to end the week with what would be his second World Tour title of the year.

The 2019 Japan Open champion begins his campaign against Yuki HIRANO (JPN) and could face world no.4 Tomokazu HARIMOTO (JPN) in a potential semi-final. Harimoto faces Jon PERSSON (SWE) on Thursday in a repeat of their World Championships clash, won by the Japanese 16-year-old.

Two other teenagers face off on his side of the draw: LIN Yun-Ju (TPE) and WANG Chuqin (CHN) both have very bright futures in the sport and will be under close inspection by their rivals and fans alike.

CAN JANG WOOJIN DO IT AGAIN?!

JANG Woojin (KOR) is out to defend his men’s singles and doubles titles from last year’s incredible triple crown success. First of all, the seeded home favourite must get past XUE Fei (CHN). A potential clash with compatriot JEOUNG Youngsik (KOR) could await him afterwards, followed by a quarter-final contest against world no.3 FAN Zhendong (CHN).

A two-time winner already on the 2018 ITTF World Tour (in Qatar and China), MA Long (CHN) could well set up a quarter-final against Mattias FALCK (SWE), whom he beat at this year’s World Championships final in Budapest.

WOMEN’S SINGLES SHOWDOWNS

In a draw dominated by Chinese and Japanese star players, arguably the most eye-catching fixture from Thursday’s round of 32 pits LIU Shiwen (CHN) against Hina HAYATA (JPN).

Hayata defeated Liu at this year’s Challenge Plus Portugal Open to win the title in what remains the world champion’s only defeat to a non-Chinese opponent so far in 2019.

DING Ning (CHN) locks horns with compatriot HE Zhuojia, who shocked the world no.3 at the semi-final stage of 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, also played on Korean soil in Incheon.

WANG Manyu (CHN) will face Manika BATRA (IND) in the round of 32 and her likeliest quarter-final opponent would be Mima ITO (JPN), whom she defeated just one month ago in the semi-finals of the China Open.

Meanwhile, world no.1 CHEN Meng and world no.4 ZHU Yuling could rekindle their rivalry too in a potential quarter-final meeting. The Chinese duo have so far won 11 times each across 22 international encounters.

ENJOY THE RIDE!

Stay tuned on all the comings and goings in Busan by following these links:

Tagged under