‘Lucky loser’ ousts top seed Pliskova in desert
Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova was upset by Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 7-5 Monday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
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 23rdranked Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4.
Kenyans pull off sweep in Boston Marathon
Kenya’s Benson Kipruto won the pandemic-delayed Boston Marathon as the race returned from a 30-month absence with a smaller, socially distanced feel and moved from the spring for the first time in its 125-year history.
Although organizers put runners through COVID-19 protocols and asked spectators to keep their distance, large crowds lined the 26.2mile course from Hopkinton to Boston as an early drizzle cleared and temperatures rose to the low 60s for a beautiful fall day.
They watched Kipruto run away from the lead pack as it turned onto Beacon Street with about three miles to go and break the tape in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 51 seconds.
Diana Kipyogei won the women’s race to complete the eighth Kenyan sweep since 2000.
Kipruto, who finished 10th in Boston in 2019, waited out an early breakaway by American CJ Albertson, who led by as many as two minutes at the halfway point. Kipruto took the lead at Cleveland Circle and finished 46 seconds ahead of 2016 winner Lemi Berhanu; Albertson, who turned 28 on Monday, was 10th, 1:53 back.
Kipyogei ran ahead for much of the race and finished in 2:24:45, 23 seconds ahead of 2017 winner Edna Kiplagat.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland won the men’s wheelchair race earlier despite making a wrong turn in the final mile, finishing the slightly detoured route just seven seconds off his course record in 1:08:11.
FINA reveals its plans to reform itself
Acknowledging its poor or non-existent relations with athletes, world swimming body FINA detailed plans to reform itself, aiming to win back trust and better promote the sport.
Priorities include creating an independent integrity unit modeled on track and field’s to end the system of in-house handling of doping cases.
“Athletes, in particular, have had little faith in the integrity of the FINA antidoping, adjudication and ethical system,” wrote a panel of advisors appointed by the governing body to draft ideas.
In swimming’s highestprofile recent doping case, a FINA tribunal decision that cleared Chinese star Sun Yang to compete at the 2019 world championships provoked protests from some of his opponents.
Sun was then banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for eight years — then at a retrial for four years — after the World Anti-Doping Agency challenged the FINA ruling.
If FINA member federations approve the idea in December, the proposed Aquatics Integrity Unit should start work next June. It would investigate cases and prosecute them at the CAS anti-doping tribunal.
Germany first nation to qualify for World Cup
Germany became the first country to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after booking its place with an error-strewn 4-0 triumph in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Germany stretched its advantage in Europe Group J to an unassailable eight points with two rounds of games remaining. Hansi Flick has overseen five wins since he took over from Joachim Löw after the summer’s European Championship.
A 26th-minute goal was enough for Romania to defeat Armenia 1-0 in Bucharest.
Iceland defeated Liechtenstein 4-0 in the other group game.
Romania moved to second in the group on 13 points, one ahead of North Macedonia and Armenia on 12. Iceland has eight points and Liechtenstein one from a draw with Armenia in September.
In Group G, Memphis Depay scored twice, had two assists and missed a penalty as the Netherlands overpowered Gibraltar 6-0 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to remain atop the group.
Second-place Norway, playing without injured striker Erling Haaland, beat Montenegro 2-0 to remain two points adrift of the Dutch.
Burak Yılmaz scored the winner from the penalty spot deep in secondhalf stoppage time as Turkey beat Latvia 2-1 in Riga, Latvia.
In Group H, Croatia midfielder Luka Modric scored from a free kick to salvage a 2-2 draw with visiting Slovakia. The result enabled Russia to move to the top of the group.
Dropping points means 2018 World Cup runner-up Croatia is likely to need a win over Russia next month to qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup in Qatar. Neither team can finish lower than second, ensuring them of at least a spot in the playoffs.
Croatia and Russia have been neck-and-neck at the top of Group H for much of the qualifying campaign, but the Russians have moved ahead by two points with two games to go after a 2-1 win over old rival Slovenia, thanks to an overhead goal from center back Georgy Dzhikiya.
Malta scored in the 98th minute to earn a point in a 2-2 draw with Cyprus.