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Yankees down Fowler wins Orioles, Royals The Players tame Tigers TUESDAY, MAY 12, 2015 15 17 Rosberg’s win in Spain puts heat on Hamilton Page 16 ITALY: Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria returns a shot to Jerzy Janowicz of Poland during the ATP Rome Open tennis tournament. — AFP Simon, Dimitrov and Keys advance ROME: Gilles Simon of France took advan- unforced errors as the Frenchman (48-24). improved to 26-5 this year; Anastasia titles at Munich and Madrid in the space of ing with altitude to no altitude there,” the tage of a few key double-faults by Jack With the temperature at the Foro Italico Pavlyuchenkova of Russia beat Sam Stosur seven days last week, with a decision on his Spaniard said. Sock and rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 win soaring above 25 degrees Celsius (nearly 80 of Australia 6-4, 7-5; and Zarina Diyas of participation and second-round start against “I’ll try to have a good week in Rome - and yesterday in the opening round of the Fahrenheit), fitness was key on the red clay Kazakhstan eliminated Tsvetana Pironkova Jeremy Chardy of France due on Tuesday. by a good week, that does not mean only to Italian Open. courts. Tenth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov also of Bulgaria 7-5, 6-1. The Italian Open is the The third-ranked Scot could not have win. That means to do things good through Sock was up a break in the second set played cleanly in a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Jerzy last big warm-up tournament for the French asked for a better French Open preparation the different days. Doing things well every until his usual commanding serve deserted Janowicz of Poland. Dimitrov had only 11 Open, which starts May 24. and might not want to risk either injury or single day, that’s a good week.” Nadal called him. The 12th-seeded Simon quickly leveled unforced errors to Janowicz’s 31. A semifinal- Meanwhile, Andy Murray was due in fatigue with Roland Garros starting in 13 the event “a very complicated tournament, the set and then jumped out to a 4-0 lead in ist last year, Dimitrov improved to 9-3 on Rome late yesterday to ponder his participa- days. we have the top players there. But I also the tiebreaker with the help of two double- clay this year. Also, Philipp Kohlschreiber of tion in the Italian Open after winning a It’s a different story completely for Nadal, know if I manage to play the level I did (in the faults by Sock. Germany beat Donald Young of the United breakthrough Masters 1000 title at the who desperately needs matches and confi- Madrid semi-finals) yesterday I can be com- Simon, who has won 12 ATP titles in his States 6-4, 6-1. weekend in Madrid. dence after going down in front of his home petitive against every single player”. career, broke late in the third and closed it In women’s play, 15th-seeded Madison Murray’s comprehensive 6-3, 6-2 defeat of public to Murray in a Madrid final which did The 14-time Grand Slam champion is set out at love in the final game. Sock, a 22-year- Keys defeated Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-4. A Spanish ace Rafael Nadal knocked the king not even extend to 90 minutes. to play in an 11th straight edition at the Foro old American ranked a career-high 33rd this semifinalist at the Australian Open, Keys of clay down to seventh on the ATP list, his Nadal insisted he feels his tennis is on the Italico and has played the final nine times in week, appeared to lose energy as the match served seven aces to Brengle’s one. lowest position in a decade. right path despite not having won a spring 10 visits. The seven-time champion failed to wore on and couldn’t deal with Simon’s con- Also, Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky upset Murray and his team are due to discuss clay title. “I’m already thinking in Rome, it’s reach a final only in 2008 when he lost in the sistency - committing twice as many 11th-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-0 and his options after winning his first two clay an important change. You change from play- second round. — Agencies James hits jumper Nadal slides at buzzer, lifts Cavs down rankings CHICAGO: LeBron James hit a jump shot and nine rebounds. J.R. Smith came on LONDON: Rafa Nadal’s slide down the ATP rankings means if he wins a from the corner at the final buzzer to strong down the stretch, scoring all but record-extending 10th French Open title early next month it would go give the Cleveland Cavaliers an 86-84 vic- two of his 13 in the fourth quarter. down as one of the greatest achievements of his illustrious career. The tory over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, Rose scored 31 points and Jimmy Spaniard dropped three places to seventh yesterday as a consequence of leveling the Eastern Conference semifinal Butler added 19 for Chicago, which was his 6-3 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Britain’s Andy Murray in the final of the Madrid Masters the previous day. series at 2-2. James finished with 25 playing without Pau Gasol. He sat out And with another 600 points to defend at this week Rome Masters, the points to help the Cavaliers win in anoth- with a strained left hamstring, and his 28-year-old could fall to his lowest ranking for 10 years by the time play er wild finish, returning the favor after status for Game 5 is in question. begins at Roland Garros on May 24. Not since April 2005, just before his Chicago took Game 3 on Derrick Rose’s In Sunday’s other playoff, DeAndre maiden French title, has Nadal been lower than seventh. The Spaniard banked 3-pointer at the buzzer. Jordan scored 26 points, surviving insisted after losing to Murray that he was beginning to feel the “old sensa- This time, James got whistled for an Houston’s intentional-foul fest in the first tions” again after struggling to find his best form in the wake of the wrist offensive foul when he elbowed Mike half as the Los Angeles Clippers took a 3- injury and appendicitis issues that undermined him last year. But the fear Dunleavy Jr. That led to a tying layup for 1 series lead to put the Rockets on the factor that once inhibited opponents on the red clay appears to have dis- Rose with 9.4 seconds left. brink of elimination in the Western appeared. In Monte Carlo, he was soundly beaten by world number one “I was supposed to take the ball out,” Conference semifinals. Novak Djokovic. He then lost to Italy’s unpredictable Fabio Fognini in James said. “I told Coach there was no Jordan made 14 of 34 free throws, Barcelona and in Madrid, after appearing to be getting back on track with way I’m taking the ball out unless I could attempting an NBA playoff-record 28 in wins against Grigor Dimitrov and Tomas Berdych, he was stopped in his shoot it over the backboard and go in. So the first half, and had 17 rebounds. Blake tracks by Murray. I told him, ‘Have somebody else take the Griffin added 21 points, J.J. Redick had 18 Murray had never beaten Nadal on clay and was thrashed in last year’s ball out.’ The play that was drawn up, I points and Chris Paul finished with 15 French Open semi-final, but on Sunday he won with nonchalant ease. scratched it. I just told Coach, ‘Just give points and 12 assists in the Clippers’ sec- “I will just stay with the good things that happened this week, and there me the ball. We’re either going to go into ond straight blowout win in the best-of-7 are a lot of them, more good than bad. I will try to recover the good feel- overtime or I’m going to win it for us.’” series. ings in Rome,” Nadal said. James , playing the final quarter on a They can advance to the conference “Whatever will happen will be. It’s something that we have to realise, all sprained left ankle, ended it with the finals for the first time in franchise history of us, that what’s happening during these last years, it’s very complicated jumper from the corner over Jimmy with a victory in Game 5 today in to be 10 or one years without leaving the top four.” Barring an early loss in Butler. Game 5 is today in Cleveland. Houston. James Harden scored 21 points Rome, Nadal should manage to stay in the top eight but the possibility of a James committed eight turnovers and and Trevor Ariza added 18 for the quarter-final meeting with Murray, Djokovic or world number two Roger struggled again from the field, hitting 10 Rockets. Dwight Howard was held to sev- Federer looms. of 30 shots. He is 18 of 55 the past two en points and six rebounds after being in Unlike Wimbledon, where ATP rankings can be adjusted to reflect per- games. But he also had 14 rebounds and foul trouble most of a game that grinded formances on grass, the French Open sticks stringently to the rankings. eight assists. to a halt early on when Houston started CHICAGO: Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson (left) And while that does not look good for Nadal, it will also worry the Kyrie Irving, playing with a sore foot, forcing Jordan to the line.