Sport news in brief
Norrie advances in Indian Wells after comeback victory
Cameron Norrie advanced into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after coming from behind to see off Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel.
The British No 1, ranked 12th in the world, battled through to defeat world No 103 Daniel 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-2 in a contest lasting just over two hours and 40 minutes. Norrie appeared destined for defeat after losing the opening set via a tiebreaker and going 4-1 down in the second.
But the 2021 Indian Wells champion rallied, taking the next four games in a row en route to claiming the set, and then broke Daniel twice early in the third as he completed the turnaround. It is a 20th victory of the season for Norrie, who won the Rio Open last month, beating world number two Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
The 27-year-old said: “I was not really happy with myself, I should have won that first set, lots of chances, and I think it carried over a little bit into the start of the second set. But I was able to really play point for point and then really come back and play some of my best tennis. I played a solid third set and I think it could have been a lot more comfortable but he fought hard.
“I’m happy to be riding the wave right now, but I still have a lot of things to work on. It was not the prettiest of matches today, but I’ll take it.” PA
Newcastle end winless run while West Ham out of drop zone
Newcastle ended their five-game winless run after a 2-1 victory at home to Wolves. The hosts took a deserved lead into the break after Alexander Isak’s fine header, though Nick Pope was fortunate not to concede a penalty and perhaps to avoid a red card following a challenge on Raul Jimenez. Wolves improved after half-time and levelled through Hee-chan Hwang, before Miguel Almiron came off the bench to curl in the winner. The win takes Eddie Howe’s side into the Premier League’s top five, two points clear of Liverpool in sixth and four adrift of fourthplaced Tottenham.
Meanwhile Said Benrahma’s penalty lifted West Ham back out of the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. The Hammers fell behind to an Ollie Watkins header but Benrahma hit back from the spot after Lucas Paqueta was fouled.
West Ham started the day in the bottom three after Bournemouth’s shock win over Liverpool. They knew a victory would lift them 14th, but they were unable to find a winner with Danny Ings drawing a blank against his old club. Nonetheless, a
draw moved them up to 17th ahead of Bournemouth on goal difference and stretched West Ham’s unbeaten streak against Villa to 10 matches, going back to 2015.
Chelsea beat Man United to reclaim WSL top spot
Sam Kerr’s strike fired Chelsea two points clear of opponents Manchester United as the Blues reclaimed top spot in the Women’s Super League with a 1-0 victory at Kingsmeadow.
The Australia international collected a brilliant lofted ball from Lauren James to open the scoring in the 23rd minute in what could prove a deciding contest in the title chase. United began the afternoon a point clear of the defending champions at the top of the WSL table, though Chelsea have a game in hand.
The result also spelled the end of a streak for the visitors, who until yesterday afternoon were the WSL’s only unbeaten side away from home. PA
Scheffler takes Players with dominant display
Scottie Scheffler will return to world No 1 after a five-shot victory at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
The American holed five birdies as he finished with a threeunder 69 to win on 17 under. England’s Tyrrell Hatton finished second on 12 under following a closing-round 65. Viktor Hovland’s 68 lifted him into joint third on 10 under with Tom Hoge.
Scheffler said: “I knew the conditions were going to get really hard to play and I did a really good job of staying patient and not trying to force things and then I got hot in the middle of the round.
“I’m just hoping to improve, get better a little bit at a time and not overthink things. I’m fortunate to see some results and some wins. I’m very thankful.”
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