TENNIS OFFICIALS BANNED FOR LIFE FOR MATCH MANIPULATION
london» The International Tennis Federation banned two Turkish officials for life for manipulating scores of matches and assisting fraudulent betting.
The ITF says Serkan Aslan and Mehmet Ulker had their officiating certifications permanently revoked after being found guilty of ethics violations while working on matches in the lower-tier Futures circuit.
The federation says Ulker delayed inputting scores into a device at an event in Turkey, giving third parties an advantage when placing bets.
The ITF also found that Aslan and Ulker manipulated scores by inputting fictitious deuce games into their devices while officiating matches last year.
• Defending champion Tomas Berdych defeated Czech countryman Jiri Vesely 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-2 in the Shenzhen Open quarterfinals.
• Former champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the final of the Wuhan Open by beating fourth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-1, 6-2.
76ers catch another bad break.
Ben Simmons has a broken bone in his right foot, and it’s unknown how long the No. 1 overall pick will be sidelined for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons was injured during the final training camp scrimmage. The Sixers said Simmons rolled an ankle, and X-rays and an MRI revealed a fractured fifth metatarsal bone.
Simmons’ injury is the latest blow to a franchise that has been beset in recent years by injuries to their star players. Joel Embiid, the No. 3 overall pick in 2014, has yet to play because of surgeries on his right foot. Nerlens Noel missed his rookie year in 2013 with a torn ACL. Jahlil Okafor had his rookie season cut short with seasonending knee surgery on his right knee. He sat out practices this week because he still experienced soreness in the knee.
NASCAR qualifying washed out
B dover, del.» Drizzle forced NASCAR to squash Sprint Cup Series qualifying at Dover International Speedway.
The lineup for Sunday’s Citizen Soldier 400 will be set according to points, meaning that Furniture Row Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. will start second at the Monster Mile. This will be Truex’s 20th top-10 start this season.
Brad Keselowski, who came into Dover with a one-point lead over Truex, will start on the pole. Positions 3-10 are: Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and Carl Edwards.
Fury tests positive for cocaine.
Heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, who pulled out of an Oct. 29 rematch with former champion Wladimir Klitschko last week for unspecified reasons, was notified he tested positive for cocaine.
Klitschko and Fury agreed to have drug testing for their rematch overseen by the Las Vegas-based Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
England’s Fury submitted to a random urine test on Sept. 22 in Lancaster, England, and the results came back positive for the substance benzoylecgonine, the central compound found in cocaine and the marker for a positive test for the banned substance.
Footnotes.
Mi Jung Hur eagled two of the last three holes for a 10-under 63 and a share of the second-round lead with Brooke Henderson in the Reignwood LPGA Classic. Hur chipped in from 45 feet for eagle on the par-5 16th, lipped out a birdie try on the par-3 17th, and hit a 3-wood to set up a tap-in eagle on the par-5 18th. … David Villa scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season and New York City FC beat the Houston Dynamo 2-0 to take the Eastern Conference lead — two points ahead of Toronto FC. … Led by Maya Moore’s 26 points, five players scored in double figures to lead the Lynx to a 96-86 win over the Mercury in Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals.