sports Fri/Sat/Sun July 14~ 16, 2017 Murray stunned...
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06 ❘ sports CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected] Fri/Sat/Sun July 14~ 16, 2017 LIMPING between points and fading down the stretch, defend- ing champion Andy Murray was stunned by 24th-seeded Sam Querrey of the U.S. 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 1-6 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals Wednesday. The top-seeded Murray flicked a cross-court backhand passing shot so forcefully, placed it so perfectly, that Querrey barely got his racket on the ball, send- ing a volley well wide. With that, Murray was up by a set plus a break in the second. As he headed to the sideline for the changeover, though, Murray limped, bothered by a sore left hip. As the match wore on, the hitch in Murray’s step became more pronounced, his shots less effective. And Querrey took full advantage, hitting 27 aces and dominating down the stretch to stun Murray, and a partisan Centre Court crowd, with a 3- 6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1 victory, earning a spot in the first Grand Slam semifinal of his career. “I am still in a little bit of shock myself,” said Querrey, the first U.S. man to reach a major semi- final since Andy Roddick was the 2009 Wimbledon runner-up. Another quarterfinal surprise arrived later Wednesday, taking out yet another member of the sport’s Big 4 and owner of mul- tiple Wimbledon titles: Novak Djokovic stopped playing because of a right elbow injury while trailing 2010 runner-up CHINESE Super League leader Guangzhou Evergrande has re- signed striker Muriqui on a six- month contract until the end of the current season, the club announced Wednesday. The Brazilian, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the AFC Champions League (ACL) in 2013 when his 13 goals in 14 games helped steer the club to its first continental crown, pre- viously spent four years with the southern Chinese side. In addition to the ACL, Muriqui also claimed three CSL titles and the 2012 Chinese FA Cup and scored 77 times in 133 appearances. “Guangzhou Evergrande is pleased to announce the re- signing of the club’s legendary player, Muriqui,” Evergrande said in a statement on its website (www.gzevergrandefc.com). “Muriqui is joining the club as a free agent and the contract is valid for six months, with the option to extend.” Muriqui originally joined Guangzhou in June 2010, when the club was in the second divi- sion, helping it gain promotion. He was named the Chinese Football Association’s Footballer of the Year in 2011 when he fin- ished as the CSL’s top scorer and was also named the Asian Foot- ball Confederation’s top foreign player in 2013. He left China midway through 2014, joining al-Sadd in Qatar before stints with FC Tokyo and Vasco da Gama in Brazil. “At this late stage in the summer transfer window, and after full consideration of all aspects of the team and in order to maintain our target of win- ning four trophies this season, head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has proposed to bring back the versatile veteran, who also knows the club very well,” added the statement. “When Muriqui received the invitation from his second home, he cancelled the contract with the club he was serving at the time. He has joined the club as a free player with a very flexible con- tract. We believe that Muriqui will repay the club and the fans with his passion and effort.” (SD-Agencies) RUSSELL WESTBROOK won best male athlete at The ESPYS, while Olympic gymnast Simone Biles earned best female athlete honors Wednesday night. The ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Perfor- mance Yearly Award) is an acco- lade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN, to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related per- formance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. The 25th annual show honor- ing the past year’s top athletes and sports moments was hosted by Peyton Manning. Westbook was the NBA MVP, led the league in scoring and set a record for most triple-doubles in a season with 42. The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the trophy over Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, Sidney Crosby of the Pitts- burgh Penguins and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Biles became the most deco- rated U.S. Olympic gymnast at the Rio de Janeiro Games, win- ning five medals, including four golds and a bronze. She beat out Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, WNBA star Candace AHEAD of two grueling days filled with some truly punishing ascents, the main contenders on the Tour de France were all hoping that Wednesday would be a nice, relaxed day on the bike. That didn’t happen. Instead of what riders call a “transition” day, with a com- fortable run to the gateway to the Pyrenees mountains, the 11th stage proved to be a brutal expe- rience for some of the top riders after a series of crashes left them nursing cuts and bruises. When crosswinds started making the bunch nervous toward the end of the stage from Eymet to Pau, the stress became palpable and led to several crashes at the back of the peloton. German sprinter Marcel Kittel steered clear of trouble and claimed the stage in a sprint finish, taking his tally to five stage wins since the race started. Frenchman Romain Bardet, who is third overall behind race leader Chris Froome, was not so fortunate. He hit the deck and slightly hurt his knee, but the AG2R La Mondiale rider was able to continue after changing bikes and did not lose any time. Two-time champion Alberto Contador went down twice. Second-place Fabio Aru lost Murray stunned, Djokovic out Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (2), 2-0. Djokovic’s elbow was massaged by a trainer during a medical timeout after the opening set. A day earlier, during his fourth-round match, Djokovic also took a medical timeout. “It was only getting worse,” said Djokovic, explaining his elbow was in the most pain when he hit serves and forehands. “Unfortu- nately today was the worst day. Probably the fact that I played yesterday, kind of days adding up, as I’ve said before, it wasn’t helping at all.” The owner of three champion- ships at the All England Club, and 12 major trophies overall, said his elbow has been bothering him for more than a year, that he opted against surgery and that he will consider taking a break from the tour. Time off has paid dividends for Roger Federer, who missed the last half of 2016 to allow his surgically repaired left knee to heal, then skipped the clay-court season this year. He, Djokovic, Murray and Rafael Nadal com- bined to win the past 14 Wimble- don titles, but only Federer now remains in the field. Federer, 35, is the tournament’s oldest semifi- nalist since Ken Rosewall in 1974 at age 39. (SD-Agencies) Muriqui Guangzhou re-signs Muriqui Kittel wins 11th Tour stage one of his Astana teammates when Dario Cataldo was forced to retire with a broken wrist after a crash in the feed zone midway through the stage. Fifth-place Jakob Fuglsang, another Astana rider expected to play a key role alongside Aru in the mountains, was caught in the same crash. He was able to reach the finish, but Astana sports director Dmitry Fofonov said Fuglsang also had a wrist injury. “It was a nervous day,” Froome said of the crashes. Froome kept his overall lead intact ahead of the big battle in the Pyrenees. The British rider has an 18 second-lead over Aru, with Bardet 51 seconds off the pace. (SD-Agencies) Westbrook, Biles win athlete of year honors at The ESPYS Parker and Serena Williams for the honor. Phelps won record-setting performance for extending his record Olympic medal haul and as best male Olympic athlete. The biggest ovation of the night belonged to former first lady Michelle Obama, who posthumously honored Eunice Kennedy Shriver with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for champi- oning the rights and acceptance of people with intellectual dis- abilities through her founding of Special Olympics. (SD-Agencies) Germany’s Marcel Kittel celebrates as he crosses the finish line during the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednes- day. SD-Agencies Great Britain’s Andy Murray (L) and Sam Querrey of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match at Wimbledon on Wednesday. SD-Agencies Russell Westbrook at The ESPYS in Los Angeles on Wednesday. SD-Agencies
Transcript of sports Fri/Sat/Sun July 14~ 16, 2017 Murray stunned...
06 x sportsCONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected]
Fri/Sat/Sun July 14~ 16, 2017
LIMPING between points and fading down the stretch, defend-ing champion Andy Murray was stunned by 24th-seeded Sam Querrey of the U.S. 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 1-6 in the Wimbledon quarterfi nals Wednesday.
The top-seeded Murray fl icked a cross-court backhand passing shot so forcefully, placed it so perfectly, that Querrey barely got his racket on the ball, send-ing a volley well wide. With that, Murray was up by a set plus a break in the second. As he headed to the sideline for the changeover, though, Murray limped, bothered by a sore left hip.
As the match wore on, the hitch in Murray’s step became more pronounced, his shots less effective. And Querrey took full advantage, hitting 27 aces and dominating down the stretch to stun Murray, and a partisan Centre Court crowd, with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1 victory, earning a spot in the fi rst Grand Slam semifi nal of his career.
“I am still in a little bit of shock myself,” said Querrey, the fi rst U.S. man to reach a major semi-fi nal since Andy Roddick was the 2009 Wimbledon runner-up.
Another quarterfi nal surprise arrived later Wednesday, taking out yet another member of the sport’s Big 4 and owner of mul-tiple Wimbledon titles: Novak Djokovic stopped playing because of a right elbow injury while trailing 2010 runner-up
CHINESE Super League leader Guangzhou Evergrande has re-signed striker Muriqui on a six-month contract until the end of the current season, the club announced Wednesday.
The Brazilian, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the AFC Champions League (ACL) in 2013 when his 13 goals in 14 games helped steer the club to its fi rst continental crown, pre-viously spent four years with the southern Chinese side.
In addition to the ACL, Muriqui also claimed three CSL titles and the 2012 Chinese FA Cup and scored 77 times in 133 appearances.
“Guangzhou Evergrande is pleased to announce the re-signing of the club’s legendary player, Muriqui,” Evergrande said in a statement on its website (www.gzevergrandefc.com).
“Muriqui is joining the club as a free agent and the contract is valid for six months, with the option to extend.”
Muriqui originally joined Guangzhou in June 2010, when the club was in the second divi-sion, helping it gain promotion.
He was named the Chinese Football Association’s Footballer of the Year in 2011 when he fi n-ished as the CSL’s top scorer and was also named the Asian Foot-ball Confederation’s top foreign player in 2013.
He left China midway through 2014, joining al-Sadd in Qatar before stints with FC Tokyo and Vasco da Gama in Brazil.
“At this late stage in the summer transfer window, and after full consideration of all aspects of the team and in order to maintain our target of win-ning four trophies this season, head coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has proposed to bring back the versatile veteran, who also knows the club very well,” added the statement.
“When Muriqui received the invitation from his second home, he cancelled the contract with the club he was serving at the time. He has joined the club as a free player with a very fl exible con-tract. We believe that Muriqui will repay the club and the fans with his passion and effort.”
(SD-Agencies)
RUSSELL WESTBROOK won best male athlete at The ESPYS, while Olympic gymnast Simone Biles earned best female athlete honors Wednesday night.
The ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Perfor-mance Yearly Award) is an acco-lade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN, to recognize individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related per-formance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony.
The 25th annual show honor-ing the past year’s top athletes and sports moments was hosted by Peyton Manning.
Westbook was the NBA MVP, led the league in scoring and set a record for most triple-doubles in a season with 42. The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the trophy over Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, Sidney Crosby of the Pitts-burgh Penguins and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.
Biles became the most deco-rated U.S. Olympic gymnast at the Rio de Janeiro Games, win-ning fi ve medals, including four golds and a bronze. She beat out Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, WNBA star Candace
AHEAD of two grueling days fi lled with some truly punishing ascents, the main contenders on the Tour de France were all hoping that Wednesday would be a nice, relaxed day on the bike.
That didn’t happen.Instead of what riders call a
“transition” day, with a com-fortable run to the gateway to the Pyrenees mountains, the 11th stage proved to be a brutal expe-rience for some of the top riders after a series of crashes left them nursing cuts and bruises.
When crosswinds started making the bunch nervous toward the end of the stage from Eymet to Pau, the stress became palpable and led to several crashes at the back of the peloton.
German sprinter Marcel Kittel steered clear of trouble and claimed the stage in a sprint fi nish, taking his tally to fi ve stage wins since the race started.
Frenchman Romain Bardet, who is third overall behind race leader Chris Froome, was not so fortunate. He hit the deck and slightly hurt his knee, but the AG2R La Mondiale rider was able to continue after changing bikes and did not lose any time.
Two-time champion Alberto Contador went down twice. Second-place Fabio Aru lost
Murray stunned, Djokovic out
Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (2), 2-0. Djokovic’s elbow was massaged by a trainer during a medical timeout after the opening set. A day earlier, during his fourth-round match, Djokovic also took a medical timeout.
“It was only getting worse,” said Djokovic, explaining his elbow was in the most pain when he hit serves and forehands. “Unfortu-nately today was the worst day.
Probably the fact that I played yesterday, kind of days adding up, as I’ve said before, it wasn’t helping at all.”
The owner of three champion-ships at the All England Club, and 12 major trophies overall, said his elbow has been bothering him for more than a year, that he opted against surgery and that he will consider taking a break from the tour.
Time off has paid dividends
for Roger Federer, who missed the last half of 2016 to allow his surgically repaired left knee to heal, then skipped the clay-court season this year. He, Djokovic, Murray and Rafael Nadal com-bined to win the past 14 Wimble-don titles, but only Federer now remains in the fi eld. Federer, 35, is the tournament’s oldest semifi -nalist since Ken Rosewall in 1974 at age 39.
(SD-Agencies)
Muriqui
Guangzhou re-signs Muriqui
Kittel wins 11th Tour stage
one of his Astana teammates when Dario Cataldo was forced to retire with a broken wrist after a crash in the feed zone midway through the stage.
Fifth-place Jakob Fuglsang, another Astana rider expected to play a key role alongside Aru in the mountains, was caught in the same crash. He was able to reach the fi nish, but Astana sports director Dmitry Fofonov said Fuglsang also had a wrist injury.
“It was a nervous day,” Froome said of the crashes.
Froome kept his overall lead intact ahead of the big battle in the Pyrenees. The British rider has an 18 second-lead over Aru, with Bardet 51 seconds off the pace. (SD-Agencies)
Westbrook, Biles win athlete of year honors at The ESPYS
Parker and Serena Williams for the honor.
Phelps won record-setting performance for extending his record Olympic medal haul and as best male Olympic athlete.
The biggest ovation of the night belonged to former fi rst lady Michelle Obama, who posthumously honored Eunice Kennedy Shriver with the Arthur Ashe Courage Award for champi-oning the rights and acceptance of people with intellectual dis-abilities through her founding of Special Olympics. (SD-Agencies)
Germany’s Marcel Kittel celebrates as he crosses the fi nish line during the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednes-day. SD-Agencies
Great Britain’s Andy Murray (L) and Sam Querrey of the U.S. during their quarterfi nal match at Wimbledon on Wednesday.SD-Agencies
Russell Westbrook at The ESPYS in Los Angeles on Wednesday. SD-Agencies
