Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Off the wire

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Murray out at Queen’s

Top-ranked Andy Murray headed a list of high-profile departures in the first round at Queen’s on Tuesday, with the Wimbledon champion losing to a player who found out he was competing only on the morning of the match. Murray put in a sloppy and error-prone display in losing to 90th-ranked Jordan Thompson 7-6 (4), 6-2, joining Stan Wawrinka and

Milos Raonic in getting eliminated on a day of shocks at the Wimbledon warmup event in London. They were the top three seeds. The second-seeded Wawrinka was beaten by big-serving Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 7-5, with the Spanish player sealing victory off a net cord from a sliced backhand return. Raonic lost 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) to No. 698-ranked

Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was playing only his sixth singles since November 2015 because of injury problems.

Federer advances

Roger Federer bounced back from his surprise first-round defeat in Stuttgart last week with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Yuichi Sugita of Japan in the opening round of the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany, on Tuesday. Federer, an eighttime champion in Halle, continues his bid for his 16th grass-court title against Germany’s Mischa Zverev, who beat Slovakian qualifier Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-4. Kei Nishikori toiled for his opening grass-court victory of the year, beating Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4. The seventh-seeded Roberto Bautista

Agut beat Carlos Berlocq 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, Robin Haase defeated David Ferrer 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and Florian Mayer defeated Benoit Paire 6-0, 6-4.

Muguruza survives

Garbine Muguruza, trying to find good times in tennis again after conceding her French Open title, barely survived her first grass match of the season at the Aegon Classic on Tuesday in Birmingham, England. The fifth-seeded Muguruza frequently had to abandon her elegant game and scramble to stay in the rallies during a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory against Elzaveta Kulichkova, a Russian qualifier who hit the ball with a complete absence of inhibition. In the second round Muguruza will face Alison Riske, a top-50 American who thrives on grass and is a former semifinali­st at the Aegon. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova also won her opening match beating Tereza Smitkova 6-2, 6-3. Third-seeded Dominika Cibulkova failed to convert two second-set match points and lost 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-5 to Lucie Safarova, the former top-10 Czech.

PGA to test blood

The PGA Tour is beefing up its anti-doping policy by adding blood testing next season. The tour also is bringing its list of banned substances in line with the World Anti-Doping Associatio­n. The revised policy takes effect in October at the start of next season. Blood testing will allow the tour to detect any use of human growth hormone, which is on the list of banned substances but cannot be detected through urine. The tour, however, still plans to use urine samples for most of its drug testing next season. The tour said it will report any suspension­s for drugs of abuse. Under the current policy, the tour is required to announce when a player has been suspended only for performanc­e-enhancing drugs.

Tiger in clinic Tiger Woods has checked into a clinic to get help for dealing with pain medication, and his agent said he is not sure how long he will be there. Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management said he could not disclose the location of the in-patient treatment Woods is receiving, or how long the golfer would be there. Woods said Monday night that he is receiving profession­al help to manage his medication­s and how he deals with pain and a sleep disorder. Steinberg said Woods’ May 29 arrest in Jupiter, Fla., on a DUI charge shook him up. He said he’s proud of Woods for seeking help, and that the objective is all about a healthy lifestyle more than playing golf again. Woods said his arrest stemmed from a reaction to prescripti­on medicine.

Lefty, caddie split

Phil Mickelson and his longtime caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay have “mutually decided” to part ways. Mackay confirmed the news in a statement sent to Sports Illustrate­d on Tuesday afternoon, describing his 25-year run as Mickelson’s righthand man as “amazing.” Mackay said player-caddie relationsh­ips “don’t often last that long. I will always be grateful that I was around to witness so much of Phil’s career.” Among those accolades with Mackay at his side, Mickelson racked up 42 PGA Tour victories and more than $80 million in winnings, according to ESPN’s Jason Sobel. Mackay will be replaced by Mickelson’s brother Tim for the remainder of this season. Mickelson said his relationsh­ip and history with Mackay “far exceeds golf. He has been one of the most important and special people in my life since the day we met, and I will always be grateful for everything he has done for me.”

Lions DT suspended

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Khyri Thornton has been suspended for the first six games of the 2017 season for violating the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse, the league announced Monday. Thornton played in 13 games and had one sack as a backup for the Lions last year, and was scheduled to compete for a roster spot this fall with sixthround pick and former Arkansas Razorback Jeremiah Ledbetter, as well as a handful of lower-priced free agents. Ledbetter, who played both end and tackle at Arkansas, and free-agent additions Jordan Hill, Ego Ferguson and Bruce Gaston also will vie for backup spots. Thornton still is eligible to take part in training camp and preseason games, but his suspension will run through the Lions’ Oct. 15 game against the New Orleans Saints.

Riley’s pay upgraded

New Oklahoma Coach Lincoln Riley already had a major upgrade in his job title. Now he’s got the financial upgrade to match. Oklahoma’s Board of Regents on Tuesday approved a five-year deal for Riley that starts at $3.1 million for the first year. It increases by $200,000 annually, with a national championsh­ip bonus of $425,000. Riley was promoted from offensive coordinato­r to head coach this month after longtime coach Bob Stoops abruptly stepped down following an 18-year run. New assistant head coach Ruffin McNeill has a twoyear deal starting at $560,000.

U.S. filly wins in England

American filly Lady Aurelia won at Royal Ascot at Ascot, England, for the second consecutiv­e year, cruising to a three-length victory in the King’s Stand Stakes under replacemen­t jockey John Velazquez on Tuesday. Frankie Dettori was scheduled to ride Lady Aurelia, but pulled out of the entire meeting early Tuesday after failing to recover from an arm injury sustained when he was thrown off a horse in a parade ring last week. Godolphin Racing won three races on opening day, including the St. James’s Palace Stakes with 5-2 shot Barney Roy as favorite Churchill finished fourth in the signature race. Ribchester won the Queen Anne Stakes, and Sound And Silence won the Windsor Castle Stakes, both for Godolphin.

Former U.S. team coach dies

Tony DiCicco, who coached the U.S. to the 1999 Women’s World Cup title, has died. He was 68. Son Anthony DiCicco said on Twitter his father died Monday at home in Wethersfie­ld, Conn., with his family there. DiCicco became the U.S. coach in 1994 and led the team to the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the first games to include women’s soccer. He then guided a team filled with superstars — and such women’s sports pioneers as Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Michelle Akers — to the ‘99 World Cup title. DiCicco is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He is the winningest coach in U.S. Soccer by percentage as well as the only coach to win more than 100 games. He went 103-8-8 from 1994 to 1999. He then left coaching and did television work. In 2008, DiCicco took over the U.S. Under-20 women’s team and led it to a world title.

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