TENNIS
Van Uytvanck advances
Third-seeded Alison Van Uytvanck advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Women's Open at Hiroshima with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday. Van Uytvanck went up a break in the second set after easily winning the first, but Flipkens then won five of six games to even the match. Van Uytvanck picked up two early breaks to take a 3-0 lead in the third set. The Belgian will next face Mihaela Buzarnescu, who beat Kurumi Nara 7-6 (1), 7-5. Seventh-seeded Sara Sorribes Tormo also advanced, defeating Varvara Flink 6-3, 6-1.
Pliskova postponed
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova will have to wait another day to finish her second-round match against Polona Hercog as rain played spoilsport at the Zhengzhou Open at Zhengzhou, China, on Thursday. Pliskova was leading 6-3, 2-5 when their match was suspended late Wednesday due to rain. They couldn't restart it on Thursday, forcing organizers to reschedule for today. No. 2-seeded Elina Svitolina and No. 3 Kiki Bertens are also waiting for the rain to clear to complete their second-round matches.
Halep, coach to reunite
Two-time major champion Simona Halep said she is reuniting with coach Darren Cahill after a year apart. Halep said in a video posted Thursday on Twitter that "Darren will be back by my side next season" and that she "can't wait to finish what we started." They worked together for four years in the past. During that time, Halep won the 2018 French Open for her first Grand Slam title and twice finished at No. 1 in the WTA year-end rankings. She also was the runner-up at three major tournaments. In November 2018, Cahill said he was taking a 12-month break from coaching to spend more time with his family and do TV broadcasting. Without him as her coach, Halep won Wimbledon this July. She is currently ranked No. 6 after a second-round loss to Taylor Townsend at the U.S. Open.
Clijsters to return
Kim Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam singles winner, said Thursday that she would end her second retirement from tennis and attempt to return to the WTA Tour next year. Clijsters, 36, won the U.S. Open in 2005 but retired two years later at age 23. At the time, she cited injuries, her pending wedding and her eagerness to turn her attention to a "new life." She married a former Villanova basketball player, Brian Lynch, and gave birth to a daughter. But Clijsters returned to the tour in 2009 and had her best run as a pro, winning the U.S. Open twice more, in 2009 and 2010, and the Australian Open in 2011. She then retired again, seemingly for good, at age 29, and had two more children. Since stepping away from the game as a player in 2012, she has worked as a commentator and run a tennis academy. She said a trip to the Australian Open this year with her family inspired her to think about returning.
BASEBALL
Severino set to return
Six months after shutting down in spring training, Luis Severino's 2019 season is finally ready to begin. The right-handed ace is scheduled to start Tuesday night, when the New York Yankees open a homestand against the Los Angeles Angels. Severino will join the Yankees this weekend in Toronto and "the thought is he'll probably start on Tuesday," Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said prior to Thursday afternoon's doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers. Initially sidelined with right shoulder inflammation, Severino developed a Grade 2 lat strain during his initial rehab, setting him back another two-plus months.
Ohtani out for season
Shohei Ohtani will miss the rest of the Los Angeles Angels' season to have surgery on his left kneecap. The Angels announced the decision Thursday. Los Angeles (67-80) has been eliminated from playoff contention with 15 games left. Ohtani will need eight to 12 weeks to recover from surgery on a bipartite patella, or a two-part kneecap, according to the Angels. The team didn't specify the reason for addressing the condition now. Ohtani finishes his second major league season batting .286 with 18 home runs and 62 RBI in 106 games as the Angels' designated hitter. The 2018 American League Rookie of the Year didn't pitch this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year. He is expected to pitch and hit in 2020.
No surgery for Yelich
Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich won't need surgery on his broken right kneecap, but the team said it's unlikely he'll return this season. Brewers General Manager David Stearns said Yelich's recovery is expected to take eight to 10 weeks. Yelich was back in Milwaukee for tests on Wednesday, a day after the reigning National League MVP fouled a ball off his leg during a game in Miami. "At this point we have good news on Christian based on the MRIs and additional imagining he took yesterday," Stearns said Thursday before the Brewers' game at Miami. "It looks like Christian will be able to avoid surgery. If that is the case, the time for return will be eight to 10 weeks." Yelich hit .329 with 44 home runs and 97 RBI along with 30 stolen bases. He was leading the majors in slugging percentage and OPS when he was hurt.
OLYMPICS
5-year plan proposed
Leaders of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee are teasing a five-year strategic plan designed to improve life for athletes and address the shortcomings exposed by the way the federation handled the Larry Nassar sex-abuse scandal. CEO Sarah Hirshland and chairwoman Susanne Lyons addressed the USOPC Assembly on Thursday. They acknowledged that the task of fixing the federation is a work in progress. Hirshland is previewing the five-year plan with sports and athlete leaders this week, and details will be rolled out later. In what could be viewed as a thinly veiled rebuke to Congress, Lyons said: "We don't have to wait for anyone to make rules for us. We can best do that for ourselves." Lawmakers in Washington have proposed a bill that would reshape the USOPC and, among other things, give lawmakers the authority to fire Lyons and the rest of the board.
SOCCER
Former official banned
FIFA has banned former soccer official Juan Angel Napout for life, almost 21 months after he was convicted on racketeering and corruption charges in a Brooklyn court. FIFA said its ethics committee judges found Napout guilty of bribery between 2012 and 2015, and fined him 1 million Swiss francs ($1.01 million). It is unclear how FIFA can enforce payment. Napout was a FIFA vice president, and leader of South American soccer body CONMEBOL, when he was arrested in Zurich in December 2015. The U.S. Justice Department had requested a second wave of arrests at a luxury hotel in FIFA's home city in a sweeping investigation of soccer corruption. Napout, from Paraguay, was found guilty of taking bribes worth millions of dollars linked to commercial contracts for South American soccer competitions. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in August 2018, nine months after a trial that lasted several weeks.
BASKETBALL
U.S. loses, clinches worst tournament finish
DONGGUAN, China — The U.S. will leave the World Cup with its worst finish in a major international tournament, assured of finishing no better than seventh after falling to Serbia 94-89 in a consolation playoff game Thursday night.
The previous worst finish for a U.S. men’s team in 45 tournament appearances was sixth at the 2002 world championships. The Americans — the top-ranked team in the world — will be either seventh or eighth in China, depending on the outcome of their consolation finale Saturday.
Harrison Barnes scored 22 for the U.S., which got 18 from Kemba Walker and 16 from Khris Middleton.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 28 for Serbia, which ran out to a quick 25-point lead and handed the U.S. its second loss in two days. Vladimir Lucic scored 15 for Serbia, which will play for fifth place Saturday.
A Serbia-U.S. meeting was widely expected to be one for gold this weekend. The prospects of that were hyped plenty going into the tournament — especially after Serbia Coach Sasha Djordjevic called out the Americans in a television interview by saying “if we meet, may God help them.” But all that was on the line Thursday night was bragging rights and a few world ranking points.
Serbia led 44-40 at the half, a margin that may suggest the first 20 minutes were of the back-and-forth variety.
They were not. Instead, it was just two really big runs, one by each team.
Serbia won the first quarter 32-7. The U.S. won the second quarter 33-12. Serbia shot 64% in the first quarter and the U.S. shot 19%; in the second quarter, it was the Americans shooting 72%, Serbia 31%.
The U.S. has been sending teams to major international competitions — the Olympics, the World Cup (formerly the world championship) and FIBA Americas — since 1936, a span of 45 tournaments in all. This is only the fifth time the Americans won’t medal; they were fifth at the 1970 world championship, fifth at the 1978 world championship, sixth at the 2002 world championship and fourth at the 2005 FIBA Americas. They’ve medaled in all 18 Olympic competitions, winning gold 15 times.
Sports on 09/13/2019