Italian Sinner advances to Miami finale
Jannik Sinner’s groundstrokes consistently travel more than 80 mph, impressive even by pro tennis standards, and the 19-year-old Italian has joined some fast company at the Miami Open.
Sinner became the fourth teenager to reach the Miami men’s final. The others: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi.
Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer skipped the tournament, creating opportunities for the four semifinalists.
“We knew many players were not coming here, especially the big three,” Sinner said.
“It’s nice, but it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. “The road to have a big name is long. It’s not done in one week of a tournament.”
Sinner next will face No. 26-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 final by beating No. 4 Andrey Rublev, 6-3, 6-4.
Hurkacz, 24, improved to 9-0 in Florida this year, including his second career ATP title in Delray Beach in January.
On the women’s side, No. 1-ranked Ash Barty will play for her second consecutive Miami title Saturday against No. 8 Bianca Andreescu, who edged No. 23 Maria Sakkari in a three-setter.
“I love a challenge,” Andreescu said, “and I know she’s going to challenge me on Saturday.”
Golf
Cameron Tringale made a move for his first PGA Tour victory with a 3-under 69 and a two-shot lead after two rounds of the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. Tringale was at 9-under 135 after a round that included five consecutive birdies and leads Jordan Spieth and Englishman Matt Wallace. Spieth continued his comeback from a three-year winless slump and was at 7-under after a 70. Wallace shot 68. Kyle Stanley also shot 68 and was at 5-under with Brandt Snedeker (67), Kevin Stadler (70) and Erik van Rooyen (68).
• The Augusta National Women’s Amateur already become has a showcase event for amateurs and NBC Sports is televising the final three hours from Georgia. Jennifer Kupcho finished with an eagle and three birdies to beat out close friend Maria Fassi. U.S. Amateur champion Rose Zhang, the No. 1 female amateur, and Ingrid Lindblad of Sweden were tied for the lead at 1-under 215 after two rounds.
Pro basketball
Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was shocked that the COVID19 test he took in the morning turned up positive. Carlisle said he has been fully vaccinated since January, and that he is hopeful the test result was a false-positive. Carlisle missed Friday night’s game against the Knicks.
• Kevin Durant was fined $50,000 by the NBA for his offensive and derogatory language in social media messages to actor Michael Rapaport. Rapaport released images of the private messages Tuesday on his Twitter account, and they reportedly included homophobic and misogynistic language from the Brooklyn Nets star.
Football
Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is accused of sexual assault and harassment in lawsuits filed by 21 women, is being investigated by police after a report was filed regarding the NFL player, officials said. The Houston Police Department said a complainant had filed a report with the agency about Watson.
Colleges
No. 17-ranked Pitt baseball (12-8, 8-7 ACC) faces a pair of old-time foes, No. 12 Notre Dame (11-4, 10-4) and West Virginia (11-9, 3-1 Big 12), in a four-game homestand Saturday-Tuesday. The Panthers square off against the Irish in a three-game series at 1 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday and 1 p.m. Monday,and then the Mountaineers at 3 p.m. Tuesday. All four games are available to be streamed on WatchESPN/ACCNX.
• The No. 18 Pitt volleyball team (16-4, 14-4 ACC) finished up its regular season with a sweep against host Virginia Tech (6-10, 5-10 ACC) to complete a perfect spring season at 12-0. It was Pitt’s second consecutive sweep, with the Panthers winning by scores of 2511, 25-18, 25-21. Senior cocaptain Chinaza Ndee led the Panthers with 14 kills on .435 hitting.
Wrestling
J’den Cox, a bronze medalist from the 2016 Olympics and one of the United States’ most dominant wrestlers, missed weight on the opening day of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team trials, ending any hope for him to go to this summer’s Tokyo Games.
Elsewhere
The World University Games that were due to open in China in just over four months have been postponed until next year, the governing body the FISU said. The Lausanne Switzerlandbased FISU said COVID19 and travel restrictions prompted the postponement, adding the decision was made jointly with officials in China.