RUBLEV STUNS 11-TIME MONACO CHAMP NADAL
produced an audacious display of attacking tennis to hand record 11-time champion Rafael Nadal a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 defeat on clay in the Monte Carlo Masters quarterfinals on Friday at Monaco.
The sixth-seeded Russian might have won even more convincingly, with Nadal saving break points at 3-1 down in the second set.
Nadal clawed his way back to win that set and seemed to have settled down, but Rublev broke him immediately at the start of the decider in which the 34-yearold Nadal looked very tired.
“When you face a great player like him and you don’t play well, you should lose,” Nadal said. “He played great, he played aggressive. Well done to him.”
Rublev clinched his first win against third-seeded Nadal on his first match point with a typically powerful winner on a forehand — a weapon Nadal struggled to contain all match.
Having beaten the 20-time Grand Slam champion on one of his clay strongholds, Rublev’s next opponent is unseeded Casper Ruud.
The 22-year-old Ruud, who has just one career title compared to 86 for Nadal, also beat a former champion by knocking out 2019 winner Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-4, 6-3.
Earlier, unseeded Dan Evans beat 11th-seeded David Goffin 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the first Masters semifinal of his career, a day after upsetting the top-ranked Djokovic.
Soccer
The Sockers scored three unanswered goals in the first seven minutes as San Diego beat the host Ontario Fury 7-3 in Game 1 of the MASL Finals. Six different players scored and goalkeepers Boris Pardo and William Vanzela combined for 15 saves for the Sockers, who can capture their first league championship in eight years on Sunday with a victory at Ontario in Game 2.
• LAFC and goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer mutually parted ways on the eve of the team’s season opener. The 35-year-old Dutch goalkeeper spent one season with LAFC after joining the club from Feyenoord. Vermeer made only eight MLS starts for LAFC while sharing time in net with Pablo Sisniega.
• Memo Rodriguez scored the opening goal of the Major League Soccer season and Maximiliano Urruti added a goal in the second half as the Houston Dynamo beat visiting San Jose 2-1.
• Joao Paulo scored a goal of the season candidate early in the second half, Raul Ruidiaz added two goals three minutes apart, and the Seattle Sounders welcomed fans back to its home stadium with a 4-0 win over Minnesota United.
• David Beckham’s Inter Miami was found by Major League Soccer to have violated league budget rules with its signing of French midfielder Blaise Matuidi, and the team bought out the contract of Argentine midfielder Matias Pellegrini to get back in compliance. MLS said that final results of the investigation, including sanctions, will be announced “in the near future.”
• Harry Kane scored twice, including a second-half equalizer, before limping off with an ankle injury in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw at Everton in the Premier League.
Mixed martial arts
Vadim Nemkov scored a unanimous decision over San Diego’s Phil Davis in the main event of Bellator 257 in Uncasville, Conn. Nemkov advanced to the semifinals of the Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix with a 48-47 decision on each of the judges’ scorecards.
NFL
Chargers players released a statement that indicated many of them will not participate during voluntary in-person offseason workouts, a stance players from several teams have taken as the league and the players association have been unable to agree on COVID-19 protocols.
• Days after adding free agent end Jadeveon Clowney to their defensive line, the Browns terminated veteran tackle Sheldon Richardson’s contract after two seasons.
College basketball
USC center Evan Mobley declared for the NBA Draft, closing the final chapter of a single storybook season in which the 7-footer helped propel a program revival, swept the Pac-12 awards and led the Trojans to the Elite Eight.
• Nearly two weeks after completing an unexpected run to the Final Four, UCLA secured two recruiting triumphs when it received commitments from Rutgers transfer center Myles Johnson and Los Angeles Windward High point guard Dylan Andrews.
Also
The San Diego State men’s golf team is ranked 24th in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll, which was released by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). The poll is voted on by 25 head coaches across the country.
• The lawyer for Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald said that witnesses and surveillance video refute a man’s claim the player assaulted him at a Pittsburgh nightclub last weekend. Attorney Casey White told WPXITV that the video indicates Donald did not assault anyone but was trying to save the victim, De’Vincent