Section: Saudi Arabia
Smooth sailing for Halep and Wozniacki at Wuhan Open
WUHAN, China — Former French Open finalist Simona Halep took less than 70 minutes to reach the third round of the Wuhan Open, advancing Monday when fellow Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu retired in the second set of their second-round match. The No. 4-seeded Halep was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Begu retired with a back injury amid warm and humid...
Wozniacki to face Osaka
TOKYO — Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki produced a spirited fightback to beat fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the Pan Pacific Open final Saturday. Awaiting the Dane in Sunday’s Tokyo final will be Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka, who continued her fairytale run with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ukraine’s...
Mayor Raggi rejects Rome’s 2024 Olympic bid
ROME— Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi rejected the city’s bid for the 2024 Olympics Wednesday, effectively dooming the capital’s candidacy for the second time in four years. If approved by the city assembly, Raggi’s rejection would leave only Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, in the running for the 2024 Games. The...
African legend Toure retires from international football
MANCHESTER — Four-time African footballer of the year Yaya Toure of the Ivory Coast announced his retirement from international football Tuesday. The 33-year-old Manchester City midfielder — capped 113 times — said it had been an incredibly difficult decision. “Writing this note was probably ‘the most difficult match of my life’,” wrote...
‘Mission accomplished’
RIO DE JANEIRO — Rio said farewell to the 2016 Paralympics Sunday in a closing ceremony showcasing Brazil’s passion for music and celebrating what many consider to have been a surprisingly successful Games. The famous Maracana football stadium was packed, with the Paralympians themselves seated across the field, as proceedings kicked off...
French teen Dodin nabs first WTA title in Quebec City
MONTREAL — France’s Oceane Dodin, ranked 132nd in the world, won her first WTA title Sunday in her first final, defeating American Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-3 in Quebec City. Dodin, 19, fired eight aces in the one-hour, 38-minute contest to cap a dream week. She had twice reached the second round of major tournaments in 2015, but until this week...
China edges closer to 100 gold medals
RIO DE JANEIRO — China won three team events Friday and nine in total as it edged closer to a century of gold medals at the Rio Paralympics. The Asian nation finished the ninth day of competition with 93 gold, 74 silver and 49 bronze medals, ahead of Britain (58 gold), Ukraine (38), the United States (36) and Australia (17). Two of China’s...
Croatia stuns France for 2-1 lead
ZADAR, Croatia — Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig put Croatia 2-1 ahead in the Davis Cup semifinal against France by upsetting top-ranked doubles pair Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6 (6), 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3 Saturday. Cilic, who won his singles Friday, replaced Marin Draganja and it proved to be an inspired choice. Herbert, the more...
Del Potro outlasts Murray, gives Argentina lead in Davis Cup
GLASGOW, Scotland — Juan Martin del Potro ended Andy Murray’s 14-match winning streak in the Davis Cup, coming through a grueling five-setter to give Argentina a 1-0 lead over titleholder Britain in the semifinals Friday. Del Potro won 6-4, 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 in 5 hours, 7 minutes to gain a measure of revenge after losing the Olympic...
Durand bags 2nd gold
RIO DE JANEIRO — Day five’s action in Rio was packed with emotion and drama as 48 gold medals were awarded across eight sports. Alongside world records, more good news came in the form of ticket sales as the Rio Paralympics surpassed early warnings to become the second biggest Games yet in terms of tickets sold. An estimated 1.9 million...
