Off the wire

TENNIS Williams, Kenin both lose

Serena Williams lost a Fed Cup singles match for the first time in her career, falling to Anastasija

Sevastova in three sets on Saturday night as Latvia pulled even with the United States at 2-all in the best-of-five match in Everett, Wash. Sevastova won 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (4), avenging a loss to Williams in their only previous meeting in the 2018 U.S. Open semifinals when Sevastova won only three games. This time it was Sevastova celebrating at the end, closing out the match with a huge serve Williams couldn’t return. Williams had been 14-0 in Fed Cup singles dating to her debut in 1999, including a straight-sets win over

Jelena Ostapenko on Friday night that had two tiebreakers. Both of the top-ranked Americans stumbled in singles on Saturday. Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin lost in three sets to Ostapenko in the opening match. Ostapenko beat Kenin 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to give Latvia its first point against the Americans. Ostapekno broke Kenin four times in the third set as the former French Open champion outlasted the most recent Grand Slam winner. Fatigue from a whirlwind past seven days since winning in Melbourne may have finally caught up with Kenin. She struggled with Ostapenko’s power before adjusting to dominate the second set, but she couldn’t hold serve in the final set.

TRACK & FIELD Purrier sets American record

Elle Purrier set an American record with a time of 4 minutes, 16.85 seconds in winning the Women’s Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in New York Saturday afternoon. Purrier broke Mary Tabb’s record of 4:20:50 set in 1982. And it was the second-fastest indoor mile ever, behind Ethiopia’s Genzebe

Dibaba world record of 4:13:31, set in 2016. Among the pre-eminent events on the track and field calendar, the 113th edition of the Millrose Games at The Armory was viewed by athletes as the start of a season that culminates at the Tokyo Olympics.

World pole vault record falls

Swedish pole vaulter Armand

Duplantis broke the men’s world record on Saturday. Duplantis jumped 6 meters, 17 centimeters (20 feet, 2.9 inches) at the indoor meet in Torun, Poland, beating by one centimeter the record set by France’s Renaud Lavillenie in 2014. Nicknamed “Mondo,” Duplantis broke the world record in his second attempt on Saturday after earlier winning the meet with ease. The 20-year-old Duplantis, who was born and raised in the United States, was a child prodigy who broke agegroup records on his way to joining the pole vaulting elite. He chose to compete internationally for Sweden, his mother’s home country. He won the silver medal at last year’s world championships.

GOLF Cho grabs LPGA lead

Ayean Cho shot a 2-under 70 on a difficult day for scoring to take a one-stroke lead over Madelene

Sagstrom after three rounds of the LPGA’s Vic Open in Barwon Heads, Australia. Choi had a three-round total of 12-under 205 at the 13th Beach Golf Links. Canada’s Alena Sharp was in third, two strokes behind Cho after a 70. Alana Uriell (Arkansas Razorbacks) missed the third-round cut by one stroke.

Women’s event postponed

The Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur has been postponed next week in Thailand because of the new virus from China. That makes three golf events canceled or rescheduled because of the coronavirus that has infected more than 34,800 people worldwide and killed more than 800 — nearly all in China — since the first illness was reported in December. The LPGA Tour previously canceled the Blue Bay LPGA scheduled for the first week of March in Hainan Island, China. The PGA Tour China Series moved its qualifier at the end of February from China to Singapore.

BASEBALL Benintendi signs $10M deal

The Boston Red Sox avoided ar- bitration with Andrew Benintendi

(Arkansas Razorbacks) by signing the outfielder to a $10 million, twoyear contract Saturday. The 25-yearold Benintendi hit .277 with 51 home runs and 259 RBI in his first threeplus seasons in the major leagues. In 2018, he led all players with 15 runs in the postseason while helping the Red Sox win the World Series. His game-ending catch in Game 4 of the ALCS was The Associated Press “Play of the Year.” Last year, he hit .266 with 13 home runs, 68 RBI and 10 stolen bases.

Giants catcher out 8 months

San Francisco Giants catcher

Aramis Garcia had surgery on his right hip after getting injured during winter ball in the Dominican Republic in December. He will miss up to eight months. The Giants said Saturday that Garcia underwent surgery Thursday to repair the labrum in his hip. He has begun a rehab program. Garcia, 27, has played in 37 games the past two seasons, batting .229 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI.

Echevarria dead at 48

Former major league outfielder Angel Echevarria, who played seven seasons with three different teams, has died. He was 48. The

Connecticut Post reported Saturday that Echevarria died on Friday at Bridgeport Hospital. The story said his girlfriend, Jazmine Cox, told them he took at fall in his Bridgeport home earlier in the day. Drafted in the 17th round by the Colorado Rockies in 1992, Echevarria made his MLB debut on July 15, 1996, for the organization. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs during his seven seasons and later played two seasons in Japan. His best MLB season was 1999 when he batted .293 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 102 games. He finished with a career .280 average.

BASKETBALL Hornets waive two

The Charlotte Hornets waived former No. 2 overall pick Michael

Kidd-Gilchrist and 15-year NBA veteran Marvin Williams on Saturday. The 6-foot-6 Kidd-Gilchrist was selected behind Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis in the 2012 draft, but he found himself out of Charlotte’s rotation this season under Coach James Borrego. He has played in only 12 games, averaging four points. The 26-year-old KiddGilchrist holds career averages of 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per game during his eight seasons in Charlotte. The 6-foot-8 Williams averaged 7.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 27.1 minutes per game since joining the Hornets in 2014.

Clippers release Thomas

The Los Angeles Clippers waived guard Isaiah Thomas on Saturday, two days after acquiring him as part of a three-team trade. The move had been expected since Thursday’s deal with the Wizards and Knicks. Thomas has averaged 18.1 points and 5.0 assists during his career with seven NBA teams. The 31-year-old guard was drafted by Sacramento out of the University of Washington in 2011.