Hurting Kyrgios out at Indian Wells, van de Zandschulp advances

Hurting Kyrgios out at Indian Wells, van de Zandschulp advances
Botic Van De Zandschulp hits a shot against Nick Kyrgios during his first round match of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Thursday. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)
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Updated 07 March 2025
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Hurting Kyrgios out at Indian Wells, van de Zandschulp advances

Hurting Kyrgios out at Indian Wells, van de Zandschulp advances
  • Brazilian teen sensation Joao Fonseca rallied from a break down in the third set to beat Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
  • Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic eased past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-1, 6-1 in just 65 minutes

INDIAN WELLS: Lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp advanced to face five-time Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic on Thursday as first-round foe Nick Kyrgios was forced out of his latest comeback event with a right wrist injury.

A distraught Kyrgios trailed 7-6 (9/7), 3-0 when he called a halt after consulting the trainer.

The mercurial Australian, last seen grimacing from an abdominal injury and firing expletives at his coaching box as he fell in the first round at the Australian Open, was playing on a protected ranking after missing 18 months following knee surgery and wrist reconstruction.

“It’s always hard to see someone walk off court like that,” van de Zandschulp said. “But especially Nick. His previous year, couple of years, have been tough ... (it’s) tough to see someone hurting like this.”

Kyrgios had displayed some of his crowd-pleasing best in the opening set, keeping one rally alive with two between-the-legs shots.

Down two breaks he rallied to force the tiebreaker, but after saving one set point he failed to convert one of his own before van de Zandschulp pocketed the set.

“It’s never easy to play someone like him,” van de Zandschulp said. “You never know what to expect. Had to be sharp every point.”

Kyrgios, who hasn’t won an ATP match since 2022, was clearly hurting in the second set, flexing his hand and staring at his wrist between points.

After withdrawing, he sat with his head in his hands before walking dejectedly off the court.

Van de Zandschulp, ranked 85th in the world, will now get a chance to add another big name to his victims list.

The Dutch 29-year-old toppled Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open last year and beat Rafael Nadal in Davis Cup play in what proved to be the last match of the Spaniard’s career. He’s played Djokovic once before and lost.

“What I remember from the last match is I actually played pretty good — lost 6-3, 6-1,” he said.

Earlier, Brazilian teen sensation Joao Fonseca rallied from a break down in the third set to beat Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

The 18-year-old from Rio de Janeiro, who became the 10th-youngest ATP Tour champion in history when he triumphed at the Argentina Open last month, kept his cool on a blustery day in the California desert, winning the last five games to clinch the match.

In women’s first-round action, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic eased past Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-1, 6-1 in just 65 minutes.

Bencic, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist in 2021, captured the title in Abu Dhabi in February, her first trophy since she returned from maternity leave during which she gave birth to daughter Bella last April.

The 27-year-old, already ahead of schedule in her comeback, said coping with the conditions was key to the match.

“Obviously today the main topic was the wind, trying to accept it and not trying to make it pretty — just staying in the rallies, trying to be more smart rather than playing amazing shots.”

Indian Wells newcomer Moyuka Uchijima of Japan cruised past former US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-2 to set up a second-round meeting with world number three Coco Gauff.

Britain’s Raducanu was back in action for the first time since she was targeted by a stalker in a troubling incident in Dubai last month.

“I didn’t have what happened in Dubai in my head at all today,” Raducanu said, adding that it was Uchijima’s game that was the problem.

“It was a lot of balls that were, very, very spinny on these courts in the day and in the wind,” she said. “So (the ball) was just jumping up a lot, and then kind of short, almost like mishits, and then deep, spinny and then flat.

“So I didn’t really know what was coming.”


Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2
Updated 12 May 2025
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 25 points and leads Thunder past Denver 92-87 to tie series 2-2
  • Denver looked poised to put the top-seeded team in the West on the cusp of elimination when Aaron Gordon’s turnaround jumper made it 73-66

DENVER: The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets at their own game Sunday.

The NBA’s youngest team made all the clutch plays in crunch time against an experienced squad teeming with a championship pedigree, knotting the second-round series with a 92-87 win in Game 4.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored nine of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, pulling the top-seeded Thunder from the brink of a 3-1 deficit against a Denver team known for closing out games while winning six of its last seven playoff series — and the two tight games earlier in this series that resumes Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

About 36 hours after an exhausting overtime Game 3 Friday night, the early Mother’s Day tip-off produced an ugly first half that featured a combined 25 points in the first quarter and ended with OKC up 42-36 at the break.

“Quick turnaround with an early game today, we made an intentional effort to use our depth today and get everybody going,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

Down by eight points early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder used an 11-0 run fueled by reserves Cason Wallace, who had a pair of 3-pointers, and Aaron Wiggins, who added another, to wrest control.

Wallace’s second 3-pointer put Oklahoma City ahead for good at 75-73.

“I really thought the difference in the game was their bench kind of lit a fuse for them,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “They made 3s ... pretty incredible in a game where the two teams shoot 21 of 86 from 3.”

Denver looked poised to put the top-seeded team in the West on the cusp of elimination when Aaron Gordon’s turnaround jumper made it 73-66.

This time, however, it was the Thunder who came up big down the stretch and the Nuggets who fumbled away the chance to put OKC in a 3-1 hole. Denver’s many late miscues included a key five-second inbounds violation.

Nikola Jokic had 27 points and 13 rebounds but his three assists were a low for this playoff run and gave him 22 assists to go with 23 turnovers in this second-round series.

Jokic said he never thinks about fatigue so he didn’t blame anything or anyone else for Denver’s 31 percent shooting clip and 34 missed 3s. And Adelman wouldn’t go so far as to say the NBA erred with the early tip-off, either.

“I don’t want to say that,” Adelman said. “I will say that both teams were very tired coming off an unbelievably physical overtime battle late Friday night. ... I mean, both of us had super tired legs, so it was about who’s going to make that final run.”

Not his team, not this time.

“We fought. We stayed the course,” Gilgeous-Alexander said, .”.. and then we closed the game.”

The Thunder simply don’t have Denver’s playoff pedigree but Daigneault said his team is gaining that much-needed experience by the day.

“Every time you take punches and you get back up, you get stronger,” he said. “That’s what we’re preaching to our team. We lost a tough one the other night in overtime. We stood back up today.”


Barca edge Real Madrid in thriller to move to brink of Liga title

Barca edge Real Madrid in thriller to move to brink of Liga title
Updated 12 May 2025
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Barca edge Real Madrid in thriller to move to brink of Liga title

Barca edge Real Madrid in thriller to move to brink of Liga title
  • Barcelona battled back to claim a fourth Clasico victory from four meetings this season, showing their dominance over Carlo Ancelotti’s side

BARCELONA: Barcelona mounted a spectacular comeback to beat Real Madrid 4-3 in La Liga on Sunday and move to the brink of the title after overcoming a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappe.

The France striker threatened to haul Madrid back into the title race but Raphinha’s double and goals from Lamine Yamal and Eric Garcia gave Barcelona a seven-point lead on the reigning champions with three matches remaining.

Hansi Flick’s side were knocked out of the Champions League in the semifinals by Inter Milan on Tuesday and risked their season collapsing if they were beaten by Madrid, but they resisted after Mbappe’s early brace.

Barcelona battled back to claim a fourth Clasico victory from four meetings this season, showing their dominance over Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

“We’ve opened up an important gap, it was key to win this game after the Champions League (defeat), the fans have forgotten it and so have we, let’s enjoy this,” Yamal told Movistar.

“It was important to win today to bring the league title closer and it went very well, we’re very happy.”

Real Madrid are set to finish the season without a major trophy.

“We have to defend better, that is quite evident from today’s game, we defended badly and that’s that,” said Ancelotti.

“Mbappe did well... in an attacking sense the team had clear ideas, but we could have defended better.”

Madrid had made the perfect start to what is expected to be the Italian coach’s final Clasico at the helm.

Mbappe earned a penalty when he was scythed down by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, although the Catalans complained in vain the forward was offside in the build-up.

The striker beat Szczesny, who dived the right way and got his fingers to it, but could not keep it out.

In the 14th minute Mbappe doubled Madrid’s advantage with a lethal finish after Vinicius Junior played him through, with Barcelona complaining again about a perceived foul on Yamal earlier in the move.

It was his 26th La Liga strike, taking him past Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski on 25 at the top of the scoring charts, and his 38th of the season across all competitions, beating Ivan Zamorano’s club record of 37 in a first season with Los Blancos.

Just as they have done on so many occasions this season, Flick’s spirited young Barcelona fought their way back in front with a stirring comeback.

Garcia headed home Ferran Torres’ flick-on from a corner to spark it.

Then Madrid could not stop 17-year-old star Yamal from levelling with a cultured bending effort beyond Courtois after Torres laid the ball off to him.

Two minutes later, Raphinha drilled Barca ahead, with Pedri threading him through.

Mbappe thought he had won another penalty when he fell under pressure from Frenkie de Jong but VAR revealed an offside in the build-up.

Moments later, Raphinha netted his second, picking Lucas Vazquez’s pocket on the edge of the area, exchanging passes with Torres and beating Courtois.

Mbappe netted from an offside position before the break, bringing a rollercoaster first half to a close.

Yamal had a goal ruled out for offside early in the second half as Barcelona looked to put their arch-rivals to the sword.

However Vinicius got behind Barca’s high line and he fed Mbappe for his hat-trick.

Barcelona appealed for a penalty when Aurelien Tchouameni blocked Torres’ shot with his arm, but the referee did not give it despite being called to review it by VAR.

Real Madrid substitute Victor Munoz fired high and wide when sent through, and Szczesny denied Mbappe, who had another strike ruled out for offside.

“For me it’s not always fun, sometimes I really suffer a lot,” admitted Flick, who said his team made too many mistakes in defense.

Barcelona thought they had wrapped up their win with a superb Fermin Lopez solo effort but it was harshly disallowed for handball.

Madrid had no time left to fight back though, and Barcelona, who last won the league in 2023, could seal the title as early as Wednesday, should Los Blancos stumble against Mallorca.

If Madrid avoid defeat Barcelona will be champions with a win at Espanyol the next day.

“We’ll seal it on Thursday and that’s all,” said Torres.


Benzema puts Al-Ittihad within touching distance of SPL title

Benzema puts Al-Ittihad within touching distance of SPL title
Updated 11 May 2025
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Benzema puts Al-Ittihad within touching distance of SPL title

Benzema puts Al-Ittihad within touching distance of SPL title
  • The Tigers are now nine points clear of Al-Hilal in second with three games remaining

JEDDAH: Karim Benzema fired Al-Ittihad to a 3-0 win over Al-Fayah on Sunday to put his team within touching distance of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) title.

The Tigers are now nine points clear of Al-Hilal in second with three games remaining. If Hilal lose their game in hand against Al-Orubah on Monday then it will virtually be all over.  

Just when a little frustration was starting to creep in at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, Benzema showed his attacking ability in the 24th minute.

The former Real Madrid marksman swapped passes with Unai Hernandez on the left corner of the area but there was still a lot of work to do. Surrounded by defenders, the Frenchman made a little space for himself and then fired a low shot into the opposite bottom corner for league goal number 20.

Number 21 came nine minutes after the restart. Abdulrahman Al-Oboud slipped the ball into Benzema on the edge of the area and the Frenchman side-footed coolly home, the goal of a striker confident and in form.

Soon after, the 37-year-old went off with an injury but he had already done the damage to take the team towards a vital win. 

The points were sealed with 14 minutes remaining. Mohammed Al-Baqawi tried to get to a cross before Al-Oboud only to shoot past his own goalkeeper into his own net. 

Earlier in the day, Al-Qadsiah moved into third place with a 1-0 win at Al-Taawoun. An own goal from Andrei Girotto was enough to seal the win for the visitors.

The newly-promoted club went above the newly-crowned Asian champions. Al-Ahli lost 3-1 at Al-Shabab. The star of the show was Abderrazak Hamdallah who scored twice –goals number 149 and 150 in the SPL to take him within four of the record holder Omar Al-Somah-- and 20 and 21 this season.

The Moroccan was then sent off for a second yellow card with 13 minutes remaining but the real headlines belonged to Karim Benzema.


Jeddah to host World Pool Championship and Snooker Masters this summer

Jeddah to host World Pool Championship and Snooker Masters this summer
Updated 11 May 2025
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Jeddah to host World Pool Championship and Snooker Masters this summer

Jeddah to host World Pool Championship and Snooker Masters this summer
  • The tournaments are part of a landmark ten-year strategic partnership between the Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation and Matchroom

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s sporting calendar continues to expand with the announcement that Jeddah will host two major cue sports events in July and August 2025, the World Pool Championship and the Snooker Masters.

The tournaments are part of a landmark ten-year strategic partnership between the Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation and Matchroom, in collaboration with the World Nineball Tour (WNT) and the World Snooker Tour (WST).

The events are being organized under the supervision of the Saudi Ministry of Sports and are set to feature top international players from around the world.

Returning to the Kingdom for the second consecutive year, the World Pool Championship will take place from July 21 to 26, 2025, at the Green Halls in Jeddah.

The tournament will gather the world’s top 100 players competing for a total prize pool of $1 million.

Among the headline names are current world champion Fedor Gorst of Russia, 2023 champion Francisco Sanchez Ruiz of Spain, and five-time US Open winner Shane Van Boening of the United States.

Following shortly after, the Snooker Masters will run from August 8 to 16, bringing together 128 of the world’s top professionals alongside 16 emerging Saudi talents, who will participate via special wild card invitations.

With a total prize pot of £2 million ($2.66 million), the tournament ranks as the second most lucrative event on the 2025 World Snooker Tour calendar and is widely regarded as the fourth most prestigious event in the sport.

Commenting on the announcement, Nasser Al-Jaweeni, President of the Saudi Billiards and Snooker Federation, said: “We are pleased to launch this partnership that places the Kingdom at the heart of global billiards and snooker, reflecting international confidence in Saudi Arabia’s organizational capabilities and offering an opportunity to develop local talent and nurture a new generation of Saudi players.”

Emily Frazer, CEO of Matchroom Sport, praised the Kingdom’s efforts.

“We are proud to return to the Kingdom as part of this inspiring partnership. Last year, we witnessed outstanding organization and an exceptional experience for the players, which raised professional standards and opened doors for the next generation of talent,” she said.

Steve Dawson, Chairman of the World Snooker Tour, described the hosting of the Snooker Masters as a landmark moment.

“Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the Snooker Masters marks a significant milestone in the sport’s history. The impact was evident from the very first edition, and we’re all excited to see Saudi players rise through the ranks in the years ahead,” he said.


Newcastle go third with 2-0 win over 10-man Chelsea

Newcastle go third with 2-0 win over 10-man Chelsea
Updated 11 May 2025
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Newcastle go third with 2-0 win over 10-man Chelsea

Newcastle go third with 2-0 win over 10-man Chelsea
  • The win leaves Newcastle in third spot on 66 points, three ahead of Chelsea

NEWCASTLE: An early goal from Sandro Tonali and a late Bruno Guimaraes effort gave Newcastle United a 2-0 home win over Chelsea on Sunday that moves the Magpies a step closer to Champions League football next season, with Blues striker Nicholas Jackson denting his side’s hopes by being sent off in the first half.

The win leaves Newcastle in third spot on 66 points, three ahead of Chelsea, who hold the fifth and final Champions League spot with two games to play.

Aston Villa are level with Chelsea on points, with Nottingham Forest, who face already-relegated Leicester City later on Sunday, two points further back.

Newcastle were good value for their win but it was Jackson’s moment of madness that decided the game, robbing Chelsea of their best goal-scoring option in a game the Conference League finalists could not afford to lose if they wanted to be at Europe’s top table next season.

The Blues got off to a bad start when midfielder Tonali ghosted in at the far post to steer home a pass from Jacob Murphy in the second minute, delighting the home crowd as they basked in the bright sunshine.

Newcastle’s task appeared to get easier when Jackson had his initial yellow card upgraded to a red in the 35th minute after a long VAR review, with the replay showing that the Senegalese striker had looked in the direction of Newcastle’s Dan Burn before leading with his elbow toward the
defender’s face.

Despite going down to 10 men, Chelsea dominated for much of the second half, forcing Eddie Howe to make a number of changes to bolster the home side’s defense and, after withstanding Chelsea’s onslaught, Guimaraes finally sealed the three points with a deflected shot from outside the box in the 90th minute.