Best of the Rest

Cirstea saves 6 match pts:

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova lost from 6-2, 5-1 ahead against Sorana Cirstea in the Dubai Championships quarterfinals on Thursday.

Vondrousova blew six match points in losing 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2.

Cirstea also won their previous two matchups but the Romanian veteran admitted she thought she was going to lose heavily in Dubai.

“This has to be the biggest comeback of my career,” Cirstea said. “To be honest, at a set and 5-1, I wasn’t really thinking about winning anymore. I was like, make it nicer for the public, try to make it a little bit longer, try to give them a little bit of nicer tennis. I still don’t know how I managed it.”

She suddenly started swinging freely while No. 7-seeded Vondrousova gradually grew more passive. (AP)

❑ ❑ ❑ Artur Jorge dies at 78:

Artur Jorge, the Portuguese soccer coach who led Porto to the European Cup title in 1987 and had two spells in charge of his national team, has died. He was 78.

Jorge’s death was announced through a family statement issued in Portuguese media, including state broadcaster RTP. It said Jorge “died peacefully, surrounded by his closest family” after a long illness.

Easily identifiable because of his thick moustache, Jorge was best known for becoming the first Portuguese coach to win the European Cup when Porto beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in Vienna thanks to two late goals - the first being an impudent backheel by Rabah Madjer.

He coached Porto in two spells - from 1984-87 and 198991 - and won the Portuguese league three times with the team. He also won the French league as a coach with Paris Saint-Germain in 1994, and managed clubs in Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Algeria. (AP)