Pliskova upset at Indian Wells
Top seed Karolina Plisova lost to Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 7-5 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells (Riverside County).
Haddad Maia got into the main draw as a lucky loser. She lost in the final round of qualifying and got in when No. 29 seed Nadia Podoroska withdrew with a thigh injury. Haddad Maia inherited Podoroska’s firstround bye and then beat Mayir Sherif in the second round.
Ranked 115th, the Brazilian reached the round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event for the first time.
On a windy day at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Pliskova held serve to tie the second set 5-5. Haddad Maia held and then broke Pliskova in the final game to wrap up the win in just more than two hours.
No. 10 Angelique Kerber defeated 20th-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
No. 16 seed Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 champion, lost to 18th-seeded Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (5), 6-3.
On the men’s side, No. 6 Casper Ruud outlasted Lloyd Harris 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 and No. 10 Diego Schwartzman beat Daniel Evans 5-7, 6-4, 6-0. No. 16 Reilly Opelka lost to 23rd-ranked Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4. NBA: The 76ers and representation for disgruntled All-Star Ben Simmons are working toward a resolution of the guard’s holdout that could have him rejoin the team.
“Clearly, that’s what we want, or we wouldn’t be talking if that wasn’t part of it,” head coach Doc Rivers said.
Simmons missed training camp and the preseason in the wake of his offseason trade demand that had left the Sixers without their three-time All-Star — and Simmons out millions in lost salary and fines. The 25-year-old Australian has $147 million and four years left on his contract.
NHL: The expansion Seattle Kraken are expected to be without five players for the season opener at Vegas because of COVID-19 protocols, head coach Dave Hakstol said.
Forwards Jared McCann, former Shark Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Johansson, and defenseman Jamie Oleksiak were placed on the league’s COVID-19 protocol list Monday. Forward Calle Jarnkrok has been in the protocol since last week.
McCann, Oleksiak, Donskoi and Johansson were missing from Monday’s final practice before the team left for Las Vegas.
General manager Ron Francis said at the start of training camp that the full roster had been vaccinated.
⏩ The Chicago Blackhawks brought back Erik Gustafsson, agreeing to a oneyear, $800,000 contract with the free-agent defenseman. Gustafsson was released Sunday by the New York Islanders.
College football: Several key players will miss the rest of the season with injuries: Arizona quarterback Jordan McCloud (right knee, ankle), Nebraska offensive lineman Teddy Prochazka (knee) and Miami quarterback D’Eriq King (right shoulder).
⏩ The Colorado-Cal game will have a 12:30 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium on Oct. 23. Each team is 1-4 and 0-2 in Pac-12 play. The Bears face No. 9 Oregon in Eugene on Friday night. The Buffaloes host winless Arizona on Saturday.