No. 1 Djokovic ousted by Chile’s Tabilo in Rome
Alejandro Tabilo of Chile upset World No. 1
Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-3 to move to the fourth round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Sunday.
Djokovic, who has won six times in Rome, had just 14 winners against 12 unforced errors in the 68minute match. Eight of those winners came on aces, and he also had five double faults and his serve broken four times.
It was the first time Tabilo, the 29th seed in Rome, had played the top-seeded Serbian. He didn’t face a break point.
“It’s incredible,” the 26-year-old Tabilo said. “I came on court just looking around, just trying to soak it all in and trying to process everything. I’m just trying to wake up right now.”
Tabilo became the first Chilean to defeat a World No. 1 since 2007 when
Fernando Gonzalez beat
Roger Federer at the Nitto ATP Finals round robin.
“I was just trying to keep my nerves in, trying to keep swinging,” Tabilo said. “Obviously every time you feel like you are closer to the end, your arms start to get a little tighter and you start to swing shorter, so I was just trying to not think about it and take it point by point. It’s crazy. I can’t believe what just happened.”
Tabilo’s fourth-round opponent will be Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the 16th seed, who ousted 20th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-2, 6-4.
ETC.
Golf: Rose Zhang birdied four of her last five holes to overtake Sweden’s
Madelene Sagstrom and win her second LPGA title at the Cognizant Founders Cup in Clifton, New Jersey.
Zhang, 20, posted a 6-under 66 in her final round to reach 24-under 264 at Upper Montclair Country Club, two better than Sagstrom, who carded a 69 Sunday. The pair ran away from the pack on the weekend, as Australia’s
Gabriela Ruffels (71) was a distant third at 9 under.
Zhang’s triumph ended
Nelly Korda’s personal five-tournament winning streak. Korda was trying to become the first player in LPGA history to win six consecutive starts, but she posted 73 for the second straight day and tied for seventh at 7 under.
“I’m still shaking right now,” Zhang said. “I think I never gave up. I always knew I had something in me to just grind it out, enjoy the time.”
Korda was in the mix after the first two rounds, trailing 36-hole co-leaders Zhang and Sagstrom by only four. But after an up-and-down Saturday, Korda managed just two bogeys and a birdie amid 15 pars Sunday.
College football: Missouri State will move up to the highest tier of Division I and join Conference USA in 2025, the Associated
Press reported. Missouri State will become the 12th full member of CUSA and the third school — along with Kennesaw State this season and Delaware in 2025 — to move up from the FCS to the FBS and join the league over the next two seasons. Conference USA had nine football teams, including FIU, for the 2023 season.
NASCAR: The 23XI Racing team run by Michael Jordan will enter a third car in next month’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Nashville, with Corey Heim behind the wheel in his first appearance for the team. The team has entered three cars on three previous occasions. 23XI’s full-time drivers are Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick.