Sloane, Coco also out at Aussie
Venus Williams, the fifth-seeded American and a finalist last year, was beaten by Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, 6-3, 7-5, as the Australian Open began in Melbourne Monday.
The 20-year-old Bencic saved five break points in the eighth game before a rain delay caused an almost halfhour suspension of play as the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena. She returned on a roll, winning the next six points to hold serve and then clinch the set.
Also, U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens lost to Zhang Shuai of China, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2. No. 13-seeded Stephens was serving for the match in the 10th game of the second set but dropped her serve and was outplayed in the tiebreaker and third set. Since beating fellow American Madison Keys in the U.S. Open final, Stephens has lost all eight matches.
And 10th-seeded American CoCo Vandeweghe, who was assessed a code violation for taking too much time to return to the court — she was eating a banana — and then screamed an obscenity while trailing 1-5 in the second set, lost to Timea Babos of Hungary, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
UMPIRE DOUG HARVEY DIES AT 87
Doug Harvey, one of 10 umpires enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame, has died. He was 87. The Hall said Sunday that Harvey had been in hospice care in Visalia, Calif. He died Saturday of natural causes.
Harvey umpired in the National League from 1962 through 1992, and was a crew chief for 18 of his 31 seasons. He worked the World Series five times, six All-Star Games and 4,673 games in the regular season. His plaque at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., noted that “his knowledge of the rules and no-nonsense control of the game led players to refer to him as ‘god.’
MAN CITY’S MATCH STREAK ENDS
Manchester City’s 22-match unbeaten run in the English Premier League came to a halt with a 4-3 loss to Liverpool in a wild game at Anfield on Sunday.
Before Sunday, City had won 20 games and drawn its other two this season, leading many to believe Pep Guardiola’s side could emulate Arsenal’s “Invincibles” of the 2003-04 season.
DRIVER DAN GURNEY DIES AT 86
Dan Gurney, the first driver to win in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR, died Sunday in Newport Beach, Calif., from complications of pneumonia. He was 86. His wife, Evi, announced his death in a statement distributed by All American Racers.
Gurney began racing in 1955 and won in nearly every racing series he attempted. He drove for Ferrari, BRM, Porsche and Brabham in Formula One, then formed his own team. He won the Belgian Grand Prix in 1967 in his own car, the first and only time an American won an F1 race in a car of his own design. Gurney teamed with AJ Foyt that year to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Ford GT40, and he’s often credited with starting the tradition of spraying the champagne from the podium at that race. He retired from driving in 1970 with 51 victories.