Sport in brief

Tennis

Johanna Konta lost 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the semifinals of the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China. The British top seed took the first set comfortably but looked increasingly fatigued in the final WTA event of the year. Petra Kvitova will face Svitolina in the final after the Czech beat Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the third final in her last four tournaments. The event features the leading 12 players who did not qualify for last week’s WTA finals.

Rugby Union

Argentina’s Nicolas Sanchez scored two tries as the Pumas overpowered Japan 54-20 yesterday in their first Test under new coach Jamie Joseph. Sanchez kicked three penalties and added a try late in the first half as the visitors took a comfortable 21-6 lead at half-time. Joseph’s side rallied but Argentina stretched clear in the second half as they finished with seven tries in a comfortable victory in Tokyo.

Cycling

Katie Archibald and Manon Lloyd recovered from a fall to emerge victorious in the women’s Madison competition on day two of the Track World Cup in Glasgow. They fell on the 18th lap when attempting a charge entering the second sprint, but recovered to win four of the final five sprints to claim victory. “We all came down in a domino, which is kind of a hazard of the trade,” said Archibald. “Something about dangers in the work place. You can say that light-heartedly when we both got back up.”

Golf

American Beth Allen equalled the course record in the final round to claim the inaugural Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi. Allen carded nine birdies and a solitary bogey in a closing 64 at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to finish 21 under par, three shots clear of England’s overnight leader Georgia Hall. The 34-year-old Californian claimed her second Ladies European Tour title in two months following her recent success at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France and moves ahead of China’s Shanshan Feng at the top of the Order of Merit. “This is really special,” Allen said. “I just tried to make as many birdies as I could today and I made nine.”