The Fiji Times

Tiger’s charge fizzles in second 71 at BMW

Tiger Woods was unable to keep a mid-round charge going Friday and will have to rally over the weekend at the BMW Championship in order to qualify for next week’s Tour Championship. Woods traded a pair of birdies and bogeys over his first nine holes at Medinah Country Club outside of Chicago to make the...

Relentless Djokovic beats Pouille to reach semi-finals

(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic wore down Lucas Pouille after an even first set, dispatching the Frenchman 7-6(2) 6-1 in a Cincinnati Masters quarter-final in Ohio on Friday. The match was much closer than when the pair met in the Australian Open semi-finals in January, when Djokovic conceded only four games before going on to win...

Korean Ambassador’s tae kwon do cup a success

THE Korean Ambassador’s Cup Taekwondo Championship is gaining popularity since its introduction to Fiji six years ago. With the successful competition this week by the Korean Embassy in Fiji more athletes, especially young people in Fiji and from around the region are taking up the sport. Korean ambassador to Fiji, Shinhee Cho believes tae kwon...

Federer stunned by Russian qualifier Rublev in Cincinnati

(Reuters) – Fearless Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev needed just over an hour to beat Roger Federer 6-3 6-4 in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters on Thursday, the Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion suffering his quickest defeat for 16 years. The 21-year-old Rublev, who broke the third seed in his first two service games,...

Osaka survives Hsieh to reach quarters in Cincinnati

(Reuters) – World number one Naomi Osaka survived a tough test against Hsieh Su-Wei and eked out a 7-6(3) 5-7 6-2 victory to reach her first ever quarter-final at the Cincinnati Masters on Thursday. Osaka, who lost to Hsieh at the Miami Open in March, admitted a day earlier that the Taiwanese challenger was an...

Thomas and Kokrak in BMW driver’s set as Woods stalls

(Reuters) – Justin Thomas and Jason Kokrak matched the Medinah course record with seven-under 65s to share the first round lead at the BMW Championship on Thursday while a fit-again Tiger Woods struggled to get anything going and finished the day six off the pace. A shot behind the leading pair were 49-year-old Jim Furyk,...

Schools basketball tournaments play a vital role: Puamau

BASKETBALL Fiji chief operating officer Laisiasa Puamau said the organisation of secondary schools basketball tournaments played a vital role in scouting talents for the national level. The Fiji Secondary Schools Basketball competition ends today with 49 teams battling for the winning title. Puamau said the competition had showcased raw talent from schools all over the...

Barty beats Sharapova, Halep survives scare in Cincinnati

(Reuters) – Top seeded Ash Barty overcame a slow start to defeat Maria Sharapova 6-4 6-1, while Simona Halep battled past Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6 7-5 6-4 in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday. French Open champion Barty double faulted to give Sharapova a 2-1 lead in the first set and it looked...

Woods ready to play in BMW Championship

(Reuters) – Tiger Woods says he is ready to play golf again this week after the former world number one withdrew from last week’s Northern Trust due to back pain. Woods arrived on Tuesday at Medinah, Illinois, venue for this week’s BMW Championship, and said he would play in the second event of the FedEx...

Yat Sen remains unbeaten at schools basketball meet

DEFENDING champions Yat Sen Secondary School under-19 boys have remained unbeaten going into the second day of the Fiji Secondary Schools Basketball Championship at the Yat Sen Hall in Suva. The school won in their first game yesterday against western giants Natabua High School 27-17 at the Yat Sen Secondary Schools hall. Team captain Rusiate...

Venus stuns holder Bertens in Cincinnati, Serena withdraws

(Reuters) – Former world number one Venus Williams, playing what she called “smart” tennis, beat defending champion Kiki Bertens 6-3 3-6 7-6(4) in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday before her sister Serena withdrew due to back problems. Serena, who was forced her to retire from the Rogers Cup final on Sunday...

Simbine on world mission but rues Semenya absence

LONDON (Reuters) – South African sprinter Akani Simbine will look to become the fastest man on earth at next month’s world championships but he will run with a heavy heart that his compatriot and friend Caster Semenya will not be joining him in Doha. Simbine, 25, has enjoyed a stellar year in preparation for his...

Djokovic shakes off rust, Federer rolls in Cincinnati

(Reuters) – Novak Djokovic survived a nervous start to see off Sam Querrey 7-5 6-1 at the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday as the world number one returned to competition for the first time since beating Roger Federer in last month’s epic Wimbledon final. Seven-time Cincinnati champion Federer, also playing his first match since Wimbledon, was...

Sharapova win sets up Barty battle in Cincinnati

(Reuters) – Maria Sharapova overpowered Alison Riske 6-3 7-6(4) at the Cincinnati Masters on Monday to set up a tantalising second-round battle with world number two Ash Barty, who defeated the Russian at this year’s Australian Open. Sharapova struggled at times with her accuracy but unleashed some massive serves and played stout defence at key...

Murray won’t play U.S. Open singles after loss on return

(Reuters) – Andy Murray announced on Monday he would not play singles at the U.S. Open after losing in his long-awaited return from hip surgery at the Cincinnati Masters. The Scot lost 6-4 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the...

Pepperell apologizes for calling DeChambeau a ‘twit’

PGA European Tour player Eddie Pepperell apologized Monday to Bryson DeChambeau for calling him “a twit” while criticizing his slow play at The Northern Trust tournament. “Seems my comment regarding Bryson’s slow play has garnered plenty of attention and I just want to sincerely apologize to Bryson for being personal and referring to him as...

Yat Sen retains secondary schools badminton titles

DEFENDING champions Yat Sen Secondary School has retained their title in both the girls and boys team event at the Fiji Secondary Schools Badminton Competition held over two days at the Yat Sen Secondary School hall in Suva. In the girls division Yat Sen Secondary School Team A won first place, Natabua High Schools Team...

Students pit skills

THE Fiji Secondary Schools Badminton Championship is used as a training platform for athletes who will be taking part in the Youth Games next year. The Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympics will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland from January 10-19. Fiji Badminton Association official Ahmed Ali said the competition was a buildup from their local competition....

PGA Tour review slow play policy in wake of controversy

(Reuters) – The PGA Tour is considering expanding its pace-of-play policy in the wake of vocal criticism by players and fans of recent slow play. Current policy only addresses pairings and threesomes with all the players in a group having to complete a hole within a set time to stay “in position” and avoid a...

Nadal crushes Medvedev to retain Montreal title

(Reuters) – Top seed Rafa Nadal overwhelmed Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-0 to win his fifth Rogers Cup on Sunday in Montreal — the first time he has retained a title outside of clay. The 33-year-old Spanish world number two dominated the eighth-seeded Medvedev in their first-ever meeting. The Russian had not dropped a set...

Fatigued Nadal withdraws from Cincinnati Open

(Reuters) – World number two Rafa Nadal has withdrawn from this week’s Cincinnati Open due to fatigue, the tournament’s organisers said on Sunday. The Spaniard, Cincinnati champion in 2013, beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to claim his fifth Rogers Cup in Montreal earlier in the day. Cincinnati organisers also said Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu, who was...

Australia spearhead Cummins wants to play all five Ashes tests

LONDON (Reuters) – Australia paceman Pat Cummins wants to play all five matches in the Ashes series and is looking forward to rejoining the fray in his first test at Lord’s on Wednesday. The 26-year-old took four for 32 in England’s second innings at Edgbaston as Australia romped to a 251-run victory in the first...

Gymnastics: Biles soars to sixth title at national championships

(Reuters) – American Simone Biles reasserted her position as the world’s unrivalled number one gymnast with an amazing winning performance at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday. Biles became the first woman in nearly 70 years to capture six U.S. senior women’s all-around gymnastics titles – matching Clara Schroth Lomady, who...

Pan Am Games – Canadians set two records, U.S. wins four golds in athletics

LIMA (Reuters) – Canadians Marco Arop and Genevieve Lalonde shattered Pan Am Games records and the United States won four gold medals as the track and field competition at the 17-day sporting gathering neared a close on Saturday. Sudan-born Arop charged home in one minute, 44.25 seconds to win the 800 metres ahead of Puerto...

Serena rallies past Bouzkova into Toronto final

TORONTO (Reuters) – Serena Williams rallied to avoid a stunning upset and secure a 1-6 6-3 6-3 semi-final win over Czech qualifier Marie Bouzkova at the Rogers Cup on Saturday, setting up a title showdown with local teenager Bianca Andreescu. Williams was in a battle from the outset against the 21-year-old Czech, who showed no...

Fencer faces disciplinary action for political protest – USOPC

LIMA (Reuters) – United States gold medal winning fencer Race Imboden will face possible sanctions for taking a knee during the medal ceremony at the Pan Am Games, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said on Saturday. Part of the United States gold medal winning squad in the team foil event, Imboden dropped...

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Osaka retires at Cincinnati with knee injury