Bertens eases past Garcia into Madrid final, Kvitova beats Pliskova
MADRID (Reuters) – Kiki Bertens continued her sparkling week with an emphatic 6-2 6-2 victory over Caroline Garcia on Friday to reach the Madrid Open final, where she will meet Petra Kvitova who came through an all-Czech semi with Karolina Pliskova 7-6…
Report: Hawks zeroing in on Pierce as coach
Philadelphia 76ers assistant Lloyd Pierce interviewed with the Atlanta Hawks for a third time on Friday and is expected to be offered their vacant head coaching job, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Fowler falls foul of palm tree to make early exit from Players
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – Rickie Fowler found himself up a tree and out of the Players Championship after his second round on Friday.
Serena Williams commits to San Jose tourney
Serena Williams has not announced whether she will play in the French Open beginning later this month, but did commit Friday to the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, Calif. beginning July 30.
Report: Mesa brothers leaving Cuba to pursue MLB careers
Outfielders Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. are leaving Cuba in hopes of joining Major League Baseball.
Reports: Carolina Panthers sale close, hedge fund billionaire to be named winning bidder
Billionaire hedge fund manager and Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner David Tepper is the leading candidate to be the Carolina Panthers’ next owner, multiple outlets reported Friday.
Red Bull and Force India disagree over aero changes
BARCELONA (Reuters) – Red Bull boss Christian Horner accused Formula One on Friday of shooting itself in the foot over aerodynamic changes for 2019 which he said would cost teams like his millions in extra expense.
Nadal’s record run on clay ended by Thiem in Madrid quarters
MADRID (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal suffered a shock 7-5 6-3 defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Friday, a result that means the Spaniard will lose the world number one ranking.
Russia bars German anti-doping journalist from World Cup
BERLIN (Reuters) – Russia has refused World Cup accreditation to a journalist specializing in investigations into illegal doping whom German public television had asked to include on its team covering the upcoming soccer tournament, the broadcaster sai…
Karate-European federation to probe Serbian ban of Kosovo athletes
BERLIN (Reuters) – The European Karate Federation (EKF) on Friday launched an investigation into Serbian authorities’ refusal of entry to Kosovo athletes bound for the European championships in Novi Sad this week.




