Rudd gets better of Djokovic
One of global sports' and women's hockey's fiercest and longest-running rivalries — United States versus Canada — is adding yet another chapter at the world championships.
The bordering nations and women's hockey super powers will meet for gold today for the 22nd time in 23 tournaments since the championships were established in 1990.
The defending champion Americans advanced on Saturday with a 5-0 win over Finland, in an outing Laila Edwards scored a natural hat trick and Aerin Frankel stopped 15 shots to set a single-tournament record with her fourth shutout.
The Canadians followed with 4-0 win over Czechia, more widely known in English as the Czech Republic. Emily Clark and Jocelyne Larocque had a goal and assist each, and Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped nine shots for her second shutout of the tournament.
With the Americans clinching their berth first, forward Taylor Heise had no preference over who they faced.
“It doesn't matter what team, it doesn't matter what time, it doesn't matter where we play. We could be playing outside for all I care,” Heise said. “We're going to come out hard either way.”
And yet, even in a tournament where the Czechs, Finns and Germany displayed signs of beginning to close the competitive gap, the U.S.-Canada matchups tend to generate the most memorable games. And that includes a physical, fast-paced, end-to-end preliminary round matchup on Monday, which the Americans won 1-0 on Kirsten Simms' overtime goal.
Edwards joins Simms in being among the four U.S. players making their tournament debuts.
Former Kentucky swimmers sue for alleged sexual assault
Two former Kentucky swim team members have sued the school, former coach Lars Jorgensen and athletic director Mitch Barnhart, alleging sexual assaults including rape by the former coach and claiming the school “purposefully” disregarded multiple credible reports of inappropriate sexual relationships.
The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court by former swimmer and assistant coach Briggs Alexander and a woman identified only as Jane Doe said Kentucky empowered Jorgensen to “foster a toxic, sexually hostile environment within the swim program and to prey on, sexually harass, and commit horrific sexual assaults.”
The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they were sexually assaulted unless they consent to being identified, as Alexander did.
Alexander, who according to the lawsuit now identifies as male, claims that Jorgensen “spent years” grooming him and creating a sexually hostile environment, including sexually assaulting and raping him. The suit also alleges that Jorgensen groomed Jane Doe over several years after her arrival as a Kentucky freshman, made sexualized comments and asserted control over her.
The ex-coach also “repeatedly and violently” assaulted an assistant coach, identified as Jane Doe II, starting with a December 2013 Christmas party with staff at his home.
The lawsuit also alleges that former Kentucky head coach Gary Conelly, who led the program from 1991 until retiring in 2013, did not follow up on being told of previous alleged misconduct by Jorgensen at Toledo. It also alleged that Barnhart did not follow up an email about allegations or investigate them and hired Jorgensen, the suit said, and accused him of intentionally concealing the allegations.
Casper Ruud finally got the better of Novak Djokovic, beating the topranked Serb 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Saturday to set up a Monte Carlo Masters final against two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas won the earlier semifinal against a tiring Jannik Sinner 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to hand the Australian Open champion only his second defeat of the season.
Djokovic double-faulted on match point in his first career defeat in six matches against Ruud. He had never even taken a set off Djokovic before, including at last year's French Open final.
Djokovic trailed 4-1 in the deciding set but held his next serve and broke a nervous-looking Ruud's serve to love to pull back to 4-3.
At 15-15 in the eighth game, Djokovic turned and shouted an expletive toward someone in the crowd. Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani urged fans not to call out during a rally, but did not issue a verbal warning to Djokovic despite the loudly audible expletive, which was followed by an angry glare.
Ruud and the 12th-seeded Tsitsipas are chasing their first titles of the year and 11th overall.
• Emma Raducanu wrapped up Britain's berth in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals by taking the last six points of a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1) victory over Diane Parry of France on Saturday for an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-offive-match qualifying round.
Poland — led by No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek — and the United States, Japan, Australia, Slovakia, Romania and Germany also advanced to the finals, which will be held in Seville, Spain, in November. The eight nations from qualifying join defending champion Canada, 2023 runner-up Italy, host Spain and wild-card selection Czech Republic in the 12-team Finals field.
Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion who missed most of last season because of injuries, also put together a comeback from a set down in her opening singles match Friday against Caroline Garcia on an indoor clay court in Le Portel, France.
The U.S. moved on when Jessica Pegula put the hosts ahead 3-0 against Belgium by beating Hanne Vandewinkel 6-2, 6-0 on an outdoor hard court in Orlando, Florida.
The Americans have won a record 18 titles in the event that used to be known as the Fed Cup.
Angel City defeats Red Stars
An own goal in the 40th minute by Chicago Red Stars defender Maximiliane Rall gave Angel City FC a 1-0 victory in a National Women's Soccer League game. The victory was the first of the season for Angel City FC against two losses and a draw.