FRENCH OPEN MOVED BACK 1 WEEK BY COVID

For the second year in a row, the traditional French Open schedule is being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The clay-court Grand Slam tennis tournament said Thursday it will push back the start of this season’s event by one week because of surging virus cases in France.

“This postponement will give us a little more time to improve the health situation and should allow us to optimize our chances of welcoming spectators at Roland Garros,” said Gilles Moretton, the president of the French tennis federation. “Whether for the fans, the players or the atmosphere, crowd presence is essential to the tournament, the first international sporting event of the spring.”

The French Open was scheduled to start on May 23, but first-round matches will now get underway on May 30.

Last year’s tournament was pushed back to September because of the pandemic, with crowds limited to 1,000 per day.

The delay will have a knockon effect on the grass-court season, but not Wimbledon.

More tennis

Former U.S. Open champion

Sloane Stephens reached the quarterfinals of the Volvo Car Open at Charleston, S.C., her first time advancing this far in a tournament since the French Open in 2019. Stephens, the American who won her grand slam title in 2017, ousted Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3, 6-4. Stephens will play for a spot in the semifinals against Russian Veronika Kudermetova. Kudermetova, seeded 15th in the season’s first clay-court event, topped Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-0, 6-3. Also reaching the quarters is the youngest competitor here in 17-year-old American Coco Gauff, the 14th seed who defeated countrywoman Lauren Davis 6-2, 7-6 (2). World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty continued her quest for a second straight title, rallying past

Shelby Rogers (7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

Soccer

San Diego Sockers defender Cesar Cerda, who anchored the League’s best defense, was named to the 2021 All-MASL first team.

• The LA Galaxy signed French winger Kevin Cabral as their third designated player. The Galaxy announced a fiveyear contract for the 21-yearold Cabral.

• Atlanta United signed Argentine defender Alan Franco as a designated player. The team announced that Franco signed a five-year contract as part of a transfer from Club Atletico Independiente of the Argentine Primera Division.

• Arsenal conceded in injury time to draw 1-1 with Slavia Prague in the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal, while Manchester United won 2-0 in Granada.

Hockey

Josh Mahura scored two second-period goals for the Gulls, but that was all the offense San Diego (16-11-0-0) could muster in a 4-2 loss to Ontario (9-14-3-0) that snapped its seven-game winning streak on Wednesday night. The Gulls, who are in second place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, play at sixth-place Tucson tonight.

• Nolan Walker scored on a redirection with 53.2 seconds left and St. Cloud State (2010-0) held off Minnesota State 5-4 at Pittsburgh to advance to the program’s first national championship game. St. Cloud State will face Massachusetts, a 3-2 overtime winner against Minnesota-Duluth, in Saturday’s title game.

Colleges

As a reward for taking UCLA back to the Final Four,

Mick Cronin received a twoyear contract extension. The contract extension will be worth a guaranteed $4 million per year. The additional years will keep Cronin under contract through the 2026-27 season after he guided the Bruins to their deepest NCAA Tournament run since 2008.

• After a single season at USC in which he helped the Trojans to their first Elite Eight in two decades, point guard

Tahj Eaddy is turning pro. The senior guard, who transferred from Santa Clara to USC last spring, announced his intent to declare for the NBA Draft.

Also

The associate athletic director of football recruiting at LSU filed a $50 million lawsuit in which she says she endured a hostile work environment and was retaliated against for trying to report allegations of sexual harassment by coach Les Miles when he was leading the school’s football program. Sharon Lewis is accusing the university of gender discrimination, racial prejudice and not adhering to Title IX policies regarding sexual misconduct.