Wozniacki to face Sabalenka in Eastbourne final
EASTBOURNE, England (AP) — Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki reached her third Eastbourne International final when she beat Angelique Kerber 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Friday.
Wozniacki will face the unseeded Aryna Sabalenka for the first time for the title, after the Belarusian defeated 2008 champion Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the first semifinal.
Wozniacki saved a match point at 5-6 in the second set against Kerber, and prevailed in 2 hours, 17 minutes.
She won the title in 2009 and was runner-up last year.
Sabalenka was through to her third career final at Eastbourne. She lost the two previous finals in Tianjin last year and Lugano in April.
She finished off the first set with her first ace but, after breaking Radwanska in the first game of the second set, she began spraying her shots and lost six games in a row.
Radwanska was serving a break up at 3-2, 40-0 in the third when Sabalenka powered back winning four straight games, saving a break point in the last.
Sabalenka has beaten three top-20 players this week, including No. 7 and defending champion Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.
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Drake calls out Rick Pitino in song on new album
By The Associated Press
Rapper Drake, a well-known Kentucky Wildcats fan, calls out former Louisville coach Rick Pitino in a song on his new record.
Drake released his latest album “Scorpion” on Friday. It contains a song titled “Sandra’s Rose,” in which Drake raps about “Louisville hush money for my young gunners, Rick Pitino, I take them to strip clubs and casinos.”
Pitino was fired by Louisville in October 2017, three weeks after the school acknowledged that its men’s basketball program was being investigated as part of a federal corruption probe.
Pitino spent 16 seasons with the Cardinals. But his tenure was tarnished by several embarrassing off-court incidents, including an escort scandal that resulted in NCAA sanctions culminating in having the Cardinals vacate 123 wins and their 2013 national championship and 2012 Final Four banners.
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Hamilton, Bottas lead Austrian GP practice in upgraded cars
SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were fastest in practice on Friday for the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix after an upgrade to the aerodynamics of their cars paid off.
With a new side pod design and an adapted rear wing, Hamilton led his team mate by 0.127 in the morning session and 0.176 in the afternoon.
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, who trails championship leader Hamilton by 14 points going into Sunday’s ninth of 21 races, had a fastest lap that was 0.236 behind Hamilton’s.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen had the fourth and fifth best times, respectively.
The changes to the aerodynamics of the chassis came a week after Mercedes finally introduced its improved engine, which helped Hamilton to a convincing win at the French GP.
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Utah State football player accused of rape at party
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah State football player has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman at a party, marking the latest in a string of similar cases at the school in recent years.
Jamaal A. Evans, 19, took an intoxicated woman into a room and assaulted her on June 17, prosecutors who filed rape and forcible sodomy charges said in court documents filed Thursday.
When the woman’s friend confronted him about what happened, he told her “when you’re in the moment and you want what you want, just got to do it sometimes,” and “he gave that girl what she wanted,” according to the documents.
Evans told police the sex was consensual, according to documents. He said he was “a little buzzed,” but the woman didn’t seem drunk until she vomited after the encounter.
His lawyer Shannon Demler did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.
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Yankees’ Tanaka throws 3 innings in simulated game
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka has thrown 48 pitches over three innings in his first simulated game since being sidelined three weeks by a strained right and left hamstring.
Tanaka faced minor leaguers Friday at the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, Florida. He struck out four during the hitless outing.
When asked how it went, Tanaka said “very good” in English.
“I was able to throw with force and use all my pitches,” Tanaka added through a translator “So, I feel good about it.”
He was 7-2 with a 4.58 ERA in 13 starts before getting hurt June 8 while running the bases in a game against the New York Mets.
Tanaka doesn’t know his next step. It’s possibly a minor league rehab game next week and rejoining the Yankees before the All-Star break in mid-July.
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All US Open courts to have video review for 1st time in 2018
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — All 17 U.S. Open courts used for singles, doubles and mixed doubles will have electronic line-calling and video review available in 2018.
The U.S. Tennis Association says Friday it’s the first time that every match at the year’s last Grand Slam tournament will have the technology.
The U.S. Open introduced electronic line-calling in 2006.
The four top courts — Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand, Court 17 — will have an instant-replay team within the arena this year. A centralized office will handle the electronic review process for other matches.
Last year, seven courts had the capability.
The U.S. Open starts on Aug. 27.
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