CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, September 11, 2020 | 19 SPORTS

Fall or nothing TENNIS Xu savoring her New York odyssey

Chinese doubles checks are all part of daily life, has made her New York stay extra ace thriving in memorable. testing times “It’s really a different experience. The stadiums and the hotel are the By SUN XIAOCHEN only two places you can go, where­ [email protected] as we used to hang out freely in the city every year during the tourna­ As the first Chinese mainland ment in the past,” said the 32­year­ player to reach a US Open final, Xu old Tianjin native. Yifan is relishing her thrilling but As part of the US Open’s virus­ strange route to history inside the control measures, players and their tournament’s bio­secure bubble in limited entourages are confined to New York. the bubble, and can only move Even with international compe­ China’s Xu Yifan (left) and between the Billie Jean King titions canceled at home for the Nicole Melichar of the US have National Tennis Center and desig­ remainder of the year, Chinese ten­ reached Saturday’s US Open nated hotels, where lounges, coffee nis still has plenty to cheer about women’s doubles final. XINHUA bars, outdoor food trucks, ping thanks to Xu’s victory with her pong tables, gaming arcades and American doubles partner Nicole golf simulators offer downtime Melichar on Wednesday. Xu’s sturdy return forcing an error options. A nerve­jangling 6­4, 3­6, 7­6 (7) from Muhammad to win match “Everyone wears a mask while triumph over US pair Asia Muham­ point in the tiebreaker. not playing or practicing, which mad and Taylor Townsend at an “With Nikki hitting hard and makes it feel pretty safe,” said Xu. empty Louis Armstrong Stadium heavy on the baseline while I am “We have a lot of amenities at the earned Xu her first Grand Slam running up and down the court, we hotels such as an open­air lounge final appearance. make a good combination,” said and a game zone, where we can Managing to achieve the break­ Xu, who also made it to the doubles relax. It’s kind of fun.” through during a season badly dis­ final at the Western & Southern Xu is now one victory away from rupted by the COVID­19 pandemic Open with the same partner two her first major title after finishing has made her feat feel extra special. weeks ago. runner­up in women’s doubles at “To be able to come here and still “We’ve been talking to each oth­ the 2019 Wimbledon (with Cana­ compete on the court of the US er since the end of last season to da’s Garbriela Dabrowski). Open means so much to me,” Xu, a team up and it seems we worked it Standing in her way is the No 3 seed in doubles, said after the out pretty well.” unseeded pair of Germany’s Laura three­set semifinal thriller, which With most of her compatriots Siegemund and Russia’s Vera lasted 2 hours and 8 minutes. opting out of the resumed tennis Zvonareva, who stunned seventh “Coming into the tournament I season due to coronavirus fears, Xu seeds Victoria Azarenka and Sofia didn’t have much expectation. Now and singles ace Zhang Shuai are Kenin as well as defending champi­ I feel over the moon that I’ve made the only two Chinese players who ons Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabal­ it into the final for the first time.” made it to the US amid health risks enka en route to Saturday’s final. Outsized and often overpowered and travel restrictions. “It’s definitely going to be a by their opponents, Xu and Meli­ Aside from her deep run at tough match facing such an experi­ Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry manages to get a shot away after being sandwiched by Boston Celtics’ Brad char were broken six times by their Flushing Meadows, the experience enced team,” Xu said. “For us, we Wanamaker (left) and Daniel Theis during Wednesday’s NBA Eastern Conference semifinal game in US rivals. However, it was the of living in the so­called “bubble” just need to stick to playing how we Lake Buena Vista, Florida. OG Anunoby nailed a go­ahead 3­pointer with 57.5 seconds left in double American­Chinese tandem’s bolder environment, where frequent dis­ know best and fight bravely with­ overtime as the Raptors held on to beat the Celtics 125­122 to force Game 7. AP shot selection that prevailed, with infection, testing and temperature out hesitation.”

Digest

SOCCER was expecting to see progress, say­ the fifth and a grand slam in the sev­ early in the third. The Clippers the opening of free agency, currently withdraw from next week’s US Messi returns to full ing: “There is a new coach and new enth. Travis d’Arnaud, Freddie Free­ responded with a 21­5 run to gain set for Oct 18, and push back the start Open,” Koepka said. “I’m looking training with Barca ideas. That’s good, but then we have man, Ozzie Albies and Ronald some separation. of the 2020­21 season, though ESPN forward to getting healthy and com­ to see how the team responds and Acuna Jr. also homered for Atlanta. Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 11 said a memo detailing the draft pro­ peting at 100% again very soon.” Lionel Messi whether or not it will allow us to boards for a Nuggets team that finds posal does not address free agency. was back in full compete at the top level.” BASKETBALL itself in an all­too­familiar situation. MOTOR SPORTS training with They were down in their first­round GOLF Barcelona on Clippers close on finals Perez departure opens BASEBALL as Kawhi takes control series against Utah before becoming Koepka out of US Open door for Vettel switch Wednesday for Braves blast Marlins to the 12th team in NBA history to the first time Kawhi Leon­ overcome a 3­1 deficit. with lingering injury Formula One driver Sergio Perez since conceding romp into record books ard finished an Two­time announced Wednesday he is leaving defeat in his bat­ Behind Adam Duvall’s three assist shy of his NBA could postpone champion the Racing Point team after this sea­ tle to leave the Lionel Messi homers and nine RBIs, the Atlanta first playoff tri­ Brooks Koepka son, opening the door for Sebastian club. Braves set a modern­era (since 1900) ple­double and draft until November withdrew from Vettel to replace him. Unlike Mon­ National League record for runs in a the Los Angeles The 2020 NBA Draft could be the US Open on Perez posted a statement on social day, when the Argentine superstar single game on Wednesday. Clippers beat the moved back a month under a pro­ Wednesday media saying that “after seven years had to train alone under La Liga’s Atlanta led the visiting Miami Denver Nuggets Kawhi posal agreed to by the NBA and because of lin­ together, my time with the team will coronavirus protocol, Messi joined Marlins 29­9 through eight innings. 96­85 in Game 4 Leonard National Basketball Players Associa­ gering pain in Brooks come to an end after the season”. up with the rest of the squad in a The old modern­era NL mark for on Wednesday tion, according to multiple reports his left knee that Koepka Vettel had already been linked session overseen by new coach runs was 28, set by the St. Louis Car­ night to move a step closer to their Wednesday. has troubled him with a move to Racing Point, which Ronald Koeman. dinals against the Philadelphia Phil­ first Western Conference finals. The draft is scheduled to be held for most of the year. will be rebranded as Aston Martin A club statement reported that lies in 1929. Leonard filled up the stat sheet on Oct 16, but Nov 18 is the new pos­ Koepka had played eight times in next season, and Perez’s departure others returning to the main group The all­time NL record is 36 runs, with 30 points, 11 rebounds, four sible date, and it will be discussed in a 10­week span, including six in a could pave the way for the four­time were Philippe Coutinho, Sergio Bus­ established by the Chicago Colts steals and two blocked shots. He has meetings with league owners and row, to try to catch up from missing F1 champion. quets, Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati. (precursor to the Cubs) in 1897, scored 30 or more points six times general managers on Thursday and so much time from a knee injury Vettel is leaving Ferrari at the end Messi faces another season with against the Louisville Colonels. during this postseason. Friday, ESPN reported. suffered last October. It reached a of this season but has yet to sign the Catalan club after losing his The modern­era major­league Reserve Montrezl Harrell added By delaying the draft, the NBA and point where he withdrew before the with a new team. stand­off with Barca president Josep record is the 30 runs scored by the 15 points to help the Clippers take a the players union would have addi­ start of the FedEx Cup playoffs, end­ Racing Point’s other driver is Maria Bartomeu over a 700­million­ Texas Rangers in the opener of a 3­1 lead. They can close out the Nug­ tional time to amend certain aspects ing his season in the hopes that time Lance Stroll, the son of co­owner euro ($827­million) release clause. doubleheader against the Baltimore gets on Friday night. of the collective bargaining agree­ off would help. Lawrence Stroll, who is keeping his The 33­year­old hit out at Bartomeu Orioles in 2007. After building an 18­point lead in ment and settle upon a 2020­21 sala­ Based on his post on Twitter, it seat for next season. in his bitter announcement last week Duvall hit a two­run homer in the the second quarter, Los Angeles saw ry cap and luxury tax, ESPN reported. didn’t. that he was staying and warned he second inning, a three­run shot in Denver storm back and tie it at 48 Moving draft day would also shift “Unfortunately, I have decided to XINHUA — AGENCIES

Scoreboard

BASEBALL Naesen (BEL/ALM) s.t., 10. Ryan Gibbons (RSA/ Neilson Powless (USA/EF1) 14 26. Abraham Ancer (MEX) 3.86 Trn Money Standings after Tuesday’s matches (tabulated DDT) s.t., 11. Matteo Trentin (ITA/CCC) s.t., 12. Under­25 white jersey: 27. Im Sung­jae (KOR) 3.83 2. Park In­bee 6 $613,691 under matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals Results of the MLB games on Wednesday (home Alexander Kristoff (NOR/UAE) s.t., 13. Anthony 1. Egan Bernal (COL/INE) 46hrs 15mins 45sec., 2. 28. Shane Lowry (IRL) 3.65 3. Austin Ernst 8 $577,203 for, goals against and points): team in CAPS): Turgis (FRA/TDE) s.t., 14. Edvald Boasson Hagen Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE) at 23, 3. Enric Mas 29. Kevin Kisner (USA) 3.42 4. Minjee Lee 7 $529,317 Group A Milwaukee 19 DETROIT 0 (NOR/DDT) s.t., 15. Niccolo Bonifazio (ITA/TDE) (ESP/MOV) 1min 41secs, 4. Sergio Higuita (COL/ 30. Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 3.42 5. Jasmine Suwannapura 9 $482,248 Guangzhou Evergrande 10­8­1­1­25­8­25 Kansas City 3 CLEVELAND 0 s.t. 16. Clement Russo (FRA/ARK) s.t., 17. Elia Vivi­ EF1) 5:47, 5. Daniel Martinez (COL/EF1) 52:12, 6. ­­­­­­­ 6. Nasa Hataoka 5 $361,470 Jiangsu Suning 10­5­3­2­17­11­18 NY Yankees 7 TORONTO 2 ani (ITA/COF) s.t., 18. Cees Bol (NED/SUN) s.t., 19. Harold Tejada (COL/AST) 52:48, 7. Valentin Mad­ 114. Li Haotong (CHN) 1.40 7. Madelene Sagstrom 8 $333,226 Shandong Luneng 10­5­2­3­14­8­17 Chicago White Sox 8 PITTSBURGH 1 141. Zhang Xinjun (CHN) 1.20 Daryl Impey (RSA/MIT) s.t., 20. Kevin Ledanois ouas (FRA/FDJ) 1 h 03:30, 8. Marc Hirschi (SUI/ 8. Stacy Lewis 8 $292,784 Shanghai Shenhua 10­3­4­3­11­14­13 NY METS 7 Baltimore 6 (FRA/ARK) s.t. SUN) 1 h 06:42, 9. Neilson Powless (USA/EF1) 1 h 292. Wu Ashun (CHN) 0.56 Shenzhen FC 10­3­2­5­13­15­11 9. Celine Boutier 9 $287,056 SAN DIEGO 5 Colorado 3 Overall standings: 07:48, 10. David Gaudu (FRA/FDJ) 1 h 15:16. Dalian Pro 10­2­4­4­16­15­10 10. Jodi Ewart Shadoff 7 $278,347 Cincinnati 3 CHICAGO CUBS 0 1. Primoz Roglic (SLO/Jumbo) 46hrs 15mins 24sec, PGA Tour FedEx Cup leaders Guangzhou R&F 10­3­1­6­10­23­10 11. Anna Nordqvist 7 $268,578 ATLANTA 29 Miami 9 2. Egan Bernal (COL/INE) at 21sec, 3. Guillaume GOLF Through Sept 6 Henan Jianye 10­1­3­6­12­24­6 TEXAS 7 LA Angels 3 Martin (FRA/COF) 28, 4. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) Points Money 12. Nelly Korda 7 $256,806 OAKLAND 3 Houston 2 30, 5. Nairo Quintana (COL/ARK) 32, 6. Rigoberto World rankings 1. Dustin Johnson 3,471 $5,837,267 13. Lydia Ko 6 $240,638 Group B SAN FRANCISCO 10 Seattle 1 Uran (COL/EF1) 32, 7. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE) 44, Through Sept 6 2. Zon Rahm 3,080 $5,959,819 14. Angela Stanford 7 $229,307 Shanghai SIPG 9­6­2­1­20­8­20 LA Dodgers 6 ARIZONA 4 (10 innings) 8. Adam Yates (GBR/MIT) 1min 02sec, 9. Miguel 1. Dustin Johnson (USA) 9.96 3. Justin Thomas 2,570 $7,344,040 15. Kim Sei­young 3 $209,326 Beijing Guo’an 9­5­3­1­22­14­18 gel Lopez (COL/AST) 1:15, 10. Mikel Landa (ESP/ 2. Jon Rahm (ESP) 9.87 4. Webb Simpson 2,163 $5,097,742 16. Marina Alex 6 $203,294 Wuhan Zall 9­5­1­3­15­10­16 3. Justin Thomas (USA) 8.34 BASKETBALL BAH) 1:42, 11. Richie Porte (AUS/TRE) 1:53, 12. 5. Collin Morikawa 2,025 $5,250,868 17. Cydney Clanton 9 $203,239 Hebei China Fortune 9­4­2­3­15­16­14 Enric Mas (ESP/MOV) 2:02, 13. Bauke Mollema 4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 7.86 Shijiazhuang Ever Bright 9­3­4­2­15­11­13 6. Daniel Berger 2,007 $4,439,420 18. Andrea Lee 7 $197,115 Results of the NBA playoffs in Orlando on (NED/TRE) 2:31, 14. Tom Dumoulin (NED/JUM) 5. Collin Morikawa (USA) 7.53 Chongqing Lifan 9­2­3­4­10­17­9 7. Harris English 1,805 $3,299,366 19. Gaby Lopez 4 $195,130 Wednesday: 3:22, 15. Richard Carapaz (ECU/INE) 3:42, 16. Dami­ 6. Webb Simpson (USA) 7.03 Qingdao Huanghai 9­1­4­4­9­14­7 8. Bryson DeChambeau 1,682 $4,998,495 20. Jennifer Song 8 $194,404 Eastern Conference semifinals ano Caruso (ITA/BAH) same time, 17. Alejandro 7. Brooks Koepka (USA) 6.14 ­­­­­­­­­­ Tianjin TEDA 9­0­1­8­7­23­1 Toronto 125 Boston 122 (OT2) 8. Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 6.02 9. Im Sung­jae 1,650 $4,337,811 Valverde (ESP/MOV) 3:43, 18. Sergio Higuita (COL/ 26. Liu Yu 8 $156,875 (Best­of­seven series is level at 3­3) EF1) 6:08, 19. Esteban Chaves (COL/MIT) 12:13, 20. 9. Patrick Reed (USA) 5.76 10. Hideki Matsuyama 1,587 $3,665,825 44. Lin Xiyu 8 $103,304 TENNIS Western Conference semifinals Emanuel Buchmann (GER/BOR) 15:35. 10. Adam Scott (AUS) 5.42 11. Brendon Todd 1,576 $3,390,258 LA Clippers 96 Denver 85 Green points jersey: 11. Xander Schauffele (USA) 5.39 12. Rory McIlroy 1,516 $4,408,415 US Open (LA Clippers lead best­of­seven series 3­1) 1. Sam Bennett (IRL/DEC) 243 pts, 2. Peter Sagan 12. Patrick Cantlay (USA) 5.22 13. Patrick Reed 1,485 $4,250,060 ICE HOCKEY Results on Wednesday (x­denotes seeding): (SVK/BOR) 175, 3. Bryan Coquard (FRA/VCC) 157, 13. Daniel Berger (USA) 4.93 14. Xander Schauffele 1,449 $3,813,636 Result of Game One of the NHL Eastern Confer­ Men’s singles quarterfinals CYCLING 4. Caleb Ewan (AUS/LOT) 155, 5. Matteo Trentin 14. Tony Finau (USA) 4.66 15. Sebastian Munoz 1,421 $2,864,142 ence final on Wednesday: Daniil Medvedev (RUS x3) bt Andrey Rublev (RUS (ITA/CCC) 140, 6. Wout van Aert (BEL/JUM) 131, 7. 15. Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) 4.63 16. Lanto Griffin 1,392 $3,188,586 x10) 7­6 (8/6), 6­3, 7­6 (7/5); Dominic Thiem (AUT Tour de France 16. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 4.61 At Edmonton, Alberta Alexander Kristoff (NOR/UAE) 100, 8. Michael 17. Scottie Scheffler 1,391 $2,833,438 x2) bt Alex de Minaur (AUS x21) 6­1, 6­2, 6­4. Results from stage 11 of the Tour de France, a Morkov (DEN/DEC) 92, 9. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA/ 17. Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 4.36 Tampa Bay 2 NY Islanders 1 18. Joaquin Niemann 1,366 $2,914,136 Women’s singles quarterfinals 167.5km run from Chatelaillon­Plage to Poitiers DEC) 82, 10. Cees Bol (NED/SUN) 72 18. Tiger Woods (USA) 4.28 (Tampa Bay leads best­of­seven series 2­0) 19. Tyrrell Hatton 1,275 $3,434,867 Serena Williams (USA x3) bt Tsvetana Pironkova on Wednesday: Polka­dot king of the mountains jersey: 19. Justin Rose (ENG) 4.23 10. Tony Finau 1,237 $2,932,286 (BUL) 4­6, 6­3, 6­2; Victoria Azarenka (BLR) bt 1. Caleb Ewan (AUS/LOT) 4hrs 0mins 1sec, 2. Sam 1. Benoit Cosnefroy (FRA/ALM) 36 pts, 2. Nans 20. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 4.20 SOCCER Bennett (IRL/DEC) same time, 3. Wout van Aert Peters (FRA/ALM) 31, 3. Marc Hirschi (SUI/SUN) 21. Paul Casey (ENG) 4.20 Elise Mertens (BEL x16) 6­1, 6­0 (BEL/JUM) s.t., 4. Bryan Coquard (FRA/VCC) s.t., 26, 4. Ilnur Zakarin (RUS/CCC) 25, 5. Toms Skujins 22. Gary Woodland (USA) 3.96 LPGA Money leaders Chinese Super League Women’s doubles semifinals 5. Clement Venturini (FRA/ALM) s.t., 6. Mads Ped­ (LAT/TRE) 24, 6. Quentin Pacher (FRA/VCC) 20, 7. 23. Marc Leishman (AUS) 3.90 Through 6 Results of the 10th round on Wednesday: Xu Yifan/Nicole Melichar (CHN/USA x3) bt Asia ersen (DEN/TRE) s.t., 7. Luka Mezgec (SLO/MIT) Primoz Roglic (SLO/JUM) 18, 8. Tadej Pogacar 24. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 3.89 Trn Money Guangzhou Evergrande 2 Shenzhen FC 0 Muhammad/Taylor Townsend (USA) 6­4, 3­6, 7­6 s.t., 8. Hugo Hofstetter (FRA/ICA) s.t., 9. Oliver (SLO/UAE) 14, 9. Carlos Verona (ESP/MOV) 14, 10. 25. Matt Kuchar (USA) 3.87 1. Danielle Kang 7 $643,933 Shanghai Greenland 1 Shandong Luneng 1 (9/7).