Serena wins in 1stmatch since becoming amother
Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam match as a mother — and first match at a major in 16 months— when she knocked off 70th- ranked Kristyna Pliskova 7- 6 ( 4), 6- 4 at the French Open on Tuesday.
The 36- year- old hadn’t competed at a Grand Slam tournament since the Australian Open in January 2017, when she earned her 23rd major championship while pregnant, breaking a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the professional era. The absence caused her to fall to No. 451 in the rankings and she was unseeded at the French.
“I’m definitely here to compete and do the best that I can do, obviously. I’m not putting any pressure on myself as I normally do,” Williams said.
Williams made a fashion statement by wearing a black bodysuit with a red belt.
Marshall signs with Seahawks
The Seahawks reportedly signed receiver
Brandon Marshall to a one- year deal worth a maximum of $ 2 million with incentives.
Marshall had 279 catches for 3,524 yards and 31 touchdowns in 45 games for the Bears from 2012- 14, before spending two years with the Jets and last year with the Giants.
Marshall is the only player in history to have six 100- catch seasons, but he never has played in a playoff game.
◆ The sixth franchise in the Alliance of American Football league that debuts next February will be located in San Diego and coached by Mike Martz. Other Alliance coaches are Steve Spurrier in Orlando, Mike Singletary in Memphis, Brad Childress in Atlanta, Dennis Erickson in Salt Lake City, and Rick Neuheisel in Phoenix.
Nicklaus believes inWoods
Jack Nicklaus, host of the Memorial that starts Thursday in Dublin, Ohio, said that TigerWoods needs to learn how to win again. “He has got to get through the barrier of not having done it for a while,” Nicklaus said. “When you haven’t won, that always happens and that’s human nature. But when you got a guy that’s as good as he is and as competitive as he is, he’ll break through that barrier.”
Woods has missed just one cut in eight starts in 2018 after playing just four times in 2016- 17 while dealing with back surgeries and subsequent painkiller issues. He has risen from No. 656 to No. 83 in the world rankings.
“I’m very happy for him,” Nicklaus said. “With all the meds that he had for pain, that can happen to anybody. To have the thing that happened to him and come back from that and get his game and his life back in shape, and quickly, he did a nice job.”
Game 7 a ratings winner
Game 7 of the Western Conference finals drew a peak audience of 18 million viewers, making it the second- most watched NBA game in cable TV history, behind only the 2016 West finals Game 7 between the Warriors and Thunder.
◆ The Sixers gave coach Brett Brown a three- year contract extension that runs through the 2021- 22 season.
◆ Major League Soccer added Cincinnati in its latest round of expansion. The team will begin play next year at the University of Cincinnati’s football stadium while a 21,000- seat soccer stadium is built.
◆ College basketball players who announced their intention to return to school: Isaiah Moss, Iowa; Nick Ward, Michigan
State; Admiral Schofield, Tennessee; Kris Wilkes, UCLA; and Bryce Brown, Jared Harper and AustinWiley, Auburn. Players who announced they will remain in the NBA Draft: Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova; and Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest.