WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2017 SPORTS For Haiti’s NBA dreamers, someone to look up to PORT-AU-PRINCE: At the edge of the Association career-or making more Labissiere’s home collapsed during education in the United States on a bas- players will travel to Texas for a week court, in a steamy Port-au-Prince gym, than one million dollars a year. But Haiti’s devastating January 12, 2010 ketball scholarship. of training in August. dozens of young players crowd the thanks to Labissiere, they are getting earthquake, trapping him, his mother “A lot of doors have been opened For the Haitian Basketball standout silhouette of Skal Labissiere. encouragement and hope. If they work and brother in the rubble. Labissiere’s thanks to people like Skal who have Federation, the help and contacts Their hometown hero is now living their hard enough, as he urges them, they legs were injured, and it would take made it to NBA level, and who have got mobilized by the national stars are NBA dreams. could end up playing with him and weeks before he could walk again. At recruiters to keep an eye on Haiti,” said a invaluable. “For sure, life is a chess This towering 21-year-old Haitian NBA stars like LeBron James, Stephen this point Pierre Valmera, a former hopeful Michael Alphonse, one of the match. It’s tough. Young people already survived a major earthquake to then Curry and James Harden. Haitian international basketball player gym players. know that by living here. So if we can leave for the United States, and played “It’s a blessing and a real pleasure to who had already spotted the boy’s Measuring 2.06 meters high and a show them examples of success, show in college before going pro in style. He come back and share my experience potential as a hoops star, intervened to recent high school graduate, 18 year- them that there is hope, it will help played this season with the with the young people here,” Labissiere help get Skal to the United States old Alphonse dreams of holding the them fight hard. And that, it will defi- Sacramento Kings. said with a smile. “Seven years ago, I despite his injuries. Haitian flag in international competi- nitely change the mentalities here,” said The young men who have turned never thought I would be where I am Valmera is the co-founder of tions. “This is finally going to take away Federation director Patrick Washington. out at the gym in the capital of poorest today,” he adds, thoughtfully staring POWERforward International, a Boston- the old image of poverty that the “If we take care of these young people nation of the Americas can hardly down from his 2.11 meters (six feet 11 based nonprofit group that helps world has of our country,” said today, they will take care of the country imagine a National Basketball inches). young Haitians gain a private-school Alphonse, who with nine other young later,” he added. —AFP TENNIS French Open champ Ostapenko falls to US qualifier Lepchenko TORONTO: Qualifier Varvara Lepchenko match despite hitting no aces and making shocked the reigning Roland-Garros cham- 10 double faults compared to her oppo- pion while 37-year-old Venus Williams got nent’s four aces and six double faults. But off to another shaky start in the opening Williams won 68 percent of her first-serve round at the WTA hardcourt tournament in points and was able to break Begu’s serve Toronto on Monday. five times. Lepchenko rallied to stun French Open Williams advances to the second round winner Jelena Ostapenko 1-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 where she will face world number 40 (7/5). Ninth seeded Williams also needed Katerina Siniakova, who defeated qualifier three sets and close to two hours to elimi- Mariane Duque-Marino 4-6, 6-0, 6-4. nate qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1, 3-6, Elsewhere, two-time Wimbledon winner 6-3. American veteran Lepchenko, 31-years Petra Kvitova, seeded 14th fended off old and ranked 68th in the world, trailed 6- Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 7-6 (7/5). 1, 3-0 before turning things around against Kvitova breezed through the opening set, the 12th-ranked Latvian, who had followed but had to battle back from 1-4 down in up her French Open triumph by reaching the second to finish off the Spaniard in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. straight sets. “I think I woke up, I was a little bit in the sleeping mode for a set and a half,” said PLISKOVA GETS BYE Lepchenko, a former top-20 player herself. Top seed Karolina Pliskova and second- “All the credit to her, she played amazing seeded Simona Halep-who won the tennis - she hardly missed any ball from the Canadian crown last year when the WTA very beginning. played in Montreal-were among the top “Once I gave her a little push back, that’s eight players enjoying first-round byes. when the game started. I pretty much In other early action, Czech Barbora focused on my game. “I know I have power- Strycova upset 13th-seeded Kristina ful shots and I’m as good a player as her, so Mladenovic of France 6-2, 6-3. Strycova, SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, right, tags out Chicago Cubs’ Kris Bryant at home plate as Bryant tried to score from I knew I just had to give my best, and it ranked 26th in the world, raced to a 5-0 third base on a ground ball from Willson Contreras during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, in San Francisco. — AP photos would be a battle.” Lepchenko notched her lead in the first set as Mladenovic struggled first win this season over a top-20 player to find her rhythm. Although Strycova was and her first since she beat then 15th- broken the first time she served for the set, BASEBALL ranked Timea Bacsinszky at the US Open she finally served it out with a love game last year. The match was one of the Centre and quickly took a 4-0 lead in the second Court highlights on the opening day of this frame. She again turned back a late chal- key US Open tuneup. Seven-time Grand lenge from Mladenovic, who cut the deficit Scherzer pitches 7 innings Slam champion Williams, who is the oldest to 4-3 but was unable to convert three player in the draw, faced a stern test from break points that would have seen her level Romanian Begu, who is ranked 59th in the the set. It was another disappointing world. Heading into Monday’s match, Canadian outing for Mladenovic, who has as Nationals top Marlins Williams had lost five out of seven opening- never won a match in Montreal or Toronto. round matches in the event, which switch- Elsewhere, British qualifier Heather Watson es back-and-forth between Toronto and bowed out early, retiring while trailing WASHINGTON: Max Scherzer pitched seven Montreal each year. Japan’s Naomi Osaka 6-1, 4-1 with a shoul- sharp innings in his first start since he was side- This marked the first career meeting der injury. lined by neck spasms, helping the Washington between the two. Begu had already won a Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens was up 6-2 Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Monday tournament in 2017 at Bucharest, while when Croatian opponent Ana Konjuh night. Bryce Harper homered for Washington, Williams, who finished runner-up in this retired, the victory sending Flipkens into a and pinch hitter Adam Lind singled in the event in 2014, is looking for her first title of second-round clash with fourth-seeded tiebreaking run in the eighth inning. The the season. Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza Nationals expanded their lead in the NL East Williams won the one hour, 56 minute of Spain. — AFP over second-place Miami to 14 games. Brandon Kintzler (4-2) worked the eighth and Sean Doolittle got three outs to earn his sixth save. Both pitchers were acquired shortly before the Nadal eyes number one in July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. Giancarlo Stanton hit his major league-leading 37th homer Montreal, Murray sidelined for the Marlins, matching his previous career high. Jarlin Garcia (0-2) got the loss. Scherzer MONTREAL: Rafael Nadal says he’ll focus Murray is trying to recover from a nag- struck out nine and gave up two runs. The right- on the foes in front of him at the ATP ging hip injury in time for the final Grand hander was coming off an abbreviated start Montreal Masters this week, and not on his Slam of the season that starts later this against the Marlins six days earlier, when he was chance to return to number one in the month in Flushing Meadows. pulled after one inning with neck spasms. world. A semi-final run in Montreal would Nadal claimed his 10th French Open see the Spaniard supplant Britain’s Andy title this year but bowed out in the fourth CARDINALS 11, ROYALS 3 Murray atop the rankings. round at Wimbledon-his fifth exit before Matt Carpenter hit a three-run homer in St “I don’t even think about that now,” the quarter-finals in his last five appear- Louis’ six-run fourth inning, helping the Nadal said of number one. “I’m trying to ances at the All England Club. Roger Cardinals earn their third consecutive victory.