Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva wins French Open to claim her first Grand Slam title
PARIS (AP) — Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva was already a tennis phenom at age 15. At 19 she’s a Grand Slam champion. The eighth-ranked Andreeva has ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the French Open final. Andreeva became the youngest player to win the women’s singles title since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she landed her third straight French Open in 1992. Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title. Alexander Zverev plays Flavio Cobolli in the men’s final on Sunday to conclude the wildest Grand Slam in recent memory.
Knicks coach Mike Brown again finds himself reveling in a long playoff win streak
It was April 23, or 6 1/2 weeks ago. The New York Knicks had just endured their second consecutive one-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks, and this one left them trailing 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Signs of trouble were everywhere. The mood in New York was abysmal. Mike Brown’s future as coach was a hot topic. The Knicks are 13-0 since. And Brown is now part of the two longest single-season playoff winning streaks in NBA history.
Iran’s soccer team leaves for World Cup as some officials still await US visas
ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — Iran’s World Cup soccer team is traveling from Turkey to their training base in Mexico. Some members of the Iranian Football Federation haven’t yet received U.S. visas. Iranian state television reports that key officials are among those waiting for visas before matches in Los Angeles and Seattle. The team’s participation is complicated by the Iran war. Visa issues have already forced Iran to move its training base from Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana. All players have been approved for visas, but some staff members have been rejected. The team has been training in the Turkish city of Antalya.
The World Cup pitches are the result of years of engineering to find just the right grass
The World Cup fields cover so much ground they’ll be hard to ignore. The crews that put them there would prefer if fans didn’t notice them at all. While it took a herculean effort to engineer the right grass for the different stadiums and to make sure it’s in pristine condition for the duration of the tournament, the goal is that it never really draws attention. After all, there’s nothing worse than uneven patches, divots and worn spots that can affect a player’s footing when the focus should be on the games themselves.
Game 3 looms large as Hurricanes and Golden Knights trade stunning comebacks
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Stanley Cup Final has been marked by wild swings. The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights each lament what could be a 2-0 series lead for either side. So it’s probably appropriate the teams split the first two games in Carolina. The winner of Saturday’s Game 3 will have an enormous edge if history is a guide. Teams that take a 2-1 series lead in the final went on to win the Cup 46 of 57 times. But this series has been unpredictable.
Knicks, up 2-0 in NBA Finals, say the job is far from over. And the Spurs aren’t conceding anything
The New York Knicks are up 2-0. They say they’re unfazed. The San Antonio Spurs are down 0-2. They say they’re unfazed. Such is the state of things in the NBA Finals, where both teams were taking a travel day on Saturday. Practices resume Sunday and Game 3 of the title series is Monday night at Madison Square Garden, where President Donald Trump will be watching alongside fans who are willing to pay nearly $10,000 for seats so far from the court that 7-foot-4 Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will look tiny.
From Carolina jeers to Vegas cheers, Carter Hart faces a different Stanley Cup Final test
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart faces mixed reactions in the Stanley Cup Final. In Games 1 and 2 at Carolina, he was targeted by boos and chants. Now back in Vegas, he receives strong support from fans. Hart’s performance has been crucial to the Golden Knights reaching the championship series. The series is 1-1. The chants relate to Hart’s acquittal in a 2018 sexual assault case. Despite defensive lapses, Hart has been defended by coach John Tortorella. The team aims to regroup for Game 3 on Saturday.
Wemby misses at the end, Knicks beat Spurs 105-104 for 2-0 lead in NBA Finals
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Go crazy, New York. Or, perhaps more accurately, crazier. The red-hot Knicks are going home, two wins away from an NBA championship that the capital of the world has been waiting to see for generations. Jalen Brunson hit a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Victor Wembanyama moments earlier, then Wembanyama missed a jumper at the end of New York’s 105-104 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20 for the Knicks — who have now won 13 straight, the second-longest streak by any team in NBA playoff history.
A comeback to savor, a finish to forget. Wemby and the Spurs let Game 2 of the NBA Finals get away
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama described himself in a rather unusual way when Game 2 of the NBA Finals was over on Friday night. “Very blurry,” Wembanyama said. As such, the San Antonio Spurs’ situation is very clear. They’re in trouble. Big trouble. And Wembanyama pointed the finger of blame squarely at himself. The Spurs had an epic comeback and an epic disaster in the same fourth quarter, falling to the New York Knicks 105-104 — after a finish that Wembanyama likely won’t be able to forget anytime soon.