French Open 2025: Novak Djokovic advances to fourth round, defeating Filip Misolic in straight sets

French Open 2025: Novak Djokovic advances to fourth round, defeating Filip Misolic in straight sets

Novak Djokovic faced little challenge in his third-round match at the French Open, defeating Filip Misolic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The victory, Djokovic's 99th at Roland-Garros, took two hours and eight minutes to complete. The No. 6 seed was lethal and precise, winning 80% of his first serve points with five aces as he advanced to the tournament's fourth round for the 16th consecutive time. Misolic didn't help his own cause by committing 22 unforced errors in the match. "I'm just hoping to carry on. Every time I step onto this court, I'm playing for history,"Djokovic said after the match. "It's incredible, this sport that has given me everything in my life. I want to give back the love I experience when I'm playing." The only obstacle which Djokovic seemed to encounter at Court Philippe-Chatrier was irritation with crowd noise toward the end of the match. At various points, he wanted to serve until the audience quieted down. Perhaps spectators were trying to help Misolic rally. Despite losing in straight sets, he did battle Djokovic and never gave in. The three-time French Open champion simply outplayed him. But it was more likely that fans were becoming restless aboutParis Saint-Germain's pending winover Inter Milan to win the Champions League title as fireworks could be heard outside Roland-Garros. Djokovic may also have been annoyed becausehe hoped to watchthe Champions League final, but being scheduled for the night session prevented that. The spectators were asked by the chair umpire to not cause any interruption in play. However, they may have wanted the match to end so they could see the end of the soccer final and join in the celebration. Following the match, Djokovic said that waiting all day to play the night session brought back memories of playing Lorenzo Musetti in last year's third-round match thatlasted until 3 a.m.local time. "I was hoping this one wouldn't finish at 3 a.m.,"he said. Djokovic will face Cameron Norrie in the next round ahead of a likely quarterfinals matchup with No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev.

bySlavek Pynzarek

in

May 31, 2025

French Open 2025: Novak Djokovic advances to fourth round, defeating Filip Misolic in straight sets

French Open 2025: Novak Djokovic advances to fourth round, defeating Filip Misolic in straight sets Novak Djokovic faced little challenge in...

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Police have to hold back PSG fans as they try to rush the field after Champions League win

Police have to hold back PSG fans as they try to rush the field after Champions League win

MUNICH (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain fans had to be held back by a line of police when trying to rush the field after theChampions League finalon Saturday. What looked like thousands of supporters tried to get onto the field at Allianz Arena after PSG's 5-0 win against Inter Milan saw it lift the trophy for the first time. Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation. They did eventually manage to force them back into the stands, and PSG players had already headed back to the locker room, appearing to cut short celebrations in front of their supporters. Players eventually made their way back to the field with the trophy after order was restored. PSG fans dominated the occasion, drowning out Inter supporters, many of whom had left long before the final whistle after seeing their team blown away by the French champion. Désiré Doué scored twice in the game and set up another goal for Achraf Hakimi. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and substitute Senny Mayulu also scored as PSG recorded the biggest winning margin in a final in the competition's 69-year history. ___ James Robson is athttps://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson ___ AP soccer:https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

bySlavek Pynzarek

in

May 31, 2025

Police have to hold back PSG fans as they try to rush the field after Champions League win

Police have to hold back PSG fans as they try to rush the field after Champions League win MUNICH (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain fans had to be ...

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Another Indy 500 race not likely until Kyle Larson's NASCAR career ends

Another Indy 500 race not likely until Kyle Larson's NASCAR career ends

LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) —Kyle Larsonhasn't spent much time thinking about his latest failed attempt at becoming only the second driver to run all 1,100 miles of the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. Racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway again may just have to wait until Larson's NASCAR career ends. "That's not me shutting down the 500 again," Larson said. "Someday, maybe when I'm done with Cup racing, I would definitely love to do the 500 again, and devote all of my time to it. It's such an awesome event, like it is the greatest event in the world. So I don't want to miss out on that too much." Larson said Saturday the attempt just doesn't make sense logistically with any small delay, weather or crash throwing offthe entire schedule. He's been dealing with a bit of a "Double" hangover since last weekend's attempt. He also made a quick trip to Mexico to check out the altitude and area for NASCAR's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on June 15. He slept much of Friday after getting sick. Larson made his first try at one of the toughest challenges in motorsports in 2024 when four hours of rain delays atthe Indianapolis 500wrecked his plans at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, then made him late to Charlotte with the NASCAR race calledbefore he ever took a lap. Last week, Larson crashed on Lap 91 of the Indianapolis 500, flew to Charlotte and then had his NASCAR race end on Lap 246 when caught up in a wreckending his bidto join Tony Stewart who finished sixth in the 2001 Indy 500 before flying to Charlotte where he finished third in the Cup Series race. John Andretti was the first driver to try the double in 1994, and Robby Gordon and Kurt Busch also have given it a shot. Asked what changes could help make competing in both races and finishing the Double possible, Larson said moving the start time up for the Indy 500 wouldn't work. That race already starts at 9:45 a.m. on the West Coast with people there unlikely to wake up earlier. Larson said the Coca-Cola 600 can't start much later. Even with not many cautions, that race still ends after 11 p.m. Eastern. "I don't know how those guys did in the past, like that must have been perfect, weather and cautions and all that," Larson said. ___ AP auto racing:https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

bySlavek Pynzarek

in

May 31, 2025

Another Indy 500 race not likely until Kyle Larson's NASCAR career ends

Another Indy 500 race not likely until Kyle Larson's NASCAR career ends LEBANON, Tenn. (AP) —Kyle Larsonhasn't spent much time think...

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Shohei Ohtani throws 29 pitches in 2nd live batting practice since elbow surgery

Shohei Ohtani throws 29 pitches in 2nd live batting practice since elbow surgery

LOS ANGELES (AP) —Shohei Ohtanichecked off another step Saturday as he works toward making his pitching debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two-way superstar faced hitters for the second time since elbow surgery, throwing 29 pitches at Dodger Stadium in a 25-minute session before the defending World Series champions played the New York Yankees. Ohtani threw 22 pitches in hisfirst live batting practicelast weekend in New York. The stadium music was turned off and everyone from teammates to workers to media watched Ohtani. A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter flew noisily overhead. Freddie Freeman's 8-year-old son, Charlie, stood in the outfield holding his glove. Kiké Hernández sat cross-legged behind the mound. Ohtani threw to seven batters from Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in a simulated setting. He came out of it well, according to manager Dave Roberts. "He's just using his entire arsenal, also with today doing the up-down, he's certainly well beyond where he was in spring (training)," Roberts said. Against his first batter, Ohtani fielded a grounder to the left of the mound and made throw to first where no one was. The second hitter laced a single to right. He gave up a few more singles. Roberts looked on from third base and pitching coach Mark Prior stood behind the mound. Ohtani paused at times to talk to Prior. Roberts guessed the right-hander's velocity was "somewhere in the mid-90s." "I think he would wishes his command would have been a little bit better," Roberts said, "but really positive day for sure." Roberts said Ohtani could throw another two or possibly three innings next Saturday. The three-time MVP isn't expected to pitch in a major league game until after the All-Star break in mid-July. "You still got to get to five or six innings, so we still got a ways to go," Roberts said. Ohtani was coming offa two-homer performancein the Dodgers' 8-5 series-opening win Friday night. He leads the majors with 22 homers. "I think the thing that's most impressive is his ability to compartmentalize," Roberts said. "He's essentially doing the work of two players and still to go out there and perform on the offensive side is pretty remarkable." Ohtani is recovering from surgery in September 2023, the second major operation on his right elbow since he arrived in the majors from Japan. He hasn't pitched in a big league game since Aug. 23, 2023, for the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani is 38-19 with a 3.01 ERA and 608 strikeouts in 481 2/3 innings during five seasons as a big league pitcher. He had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Oct. 1, 2018, and returned to a major league mound on July 26, 2020, though he was limited to just two starts during the pandemic-shortened season. He didn't speak with media after his session. ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

bySlavek Pynzarek

in

May 31, 2025

Shohei Ohtani throws 29 pitches in 2nd live batting practice since elbow surgery

Shohei Ohtani throws 29 pitches in 2nd live batting practice since elbow surgery LOS ANGELES (AP) —Shohei Ohtanichecked off another step Sat...

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Ben Brown stars as the Cubs blank the Reds 2-0 for a 1-hit shutout

Ben Brown stars as the Cubs blank the Reds 2-0 for a 1-hit shutout

CHICAGO (AP) — Drew Pomeranz, Ben Brown, Brad Keller and Daniel Palencia combined on a one-hitter, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-0 on Saturday. Chicago used Pomeranz as an opener in front of Brown, and the strategy worked on a cool, blustery afternoon at Wrigley Field. Pomeranz pitched a 1-2-3 first before Brown struck out nine in six dominant innings for the NL Central leaders. The Cubs scored their two runs in the eighth. Seiya Suzuki's flyball to right off Graham Ashcraft (3-4) was misplayed by Will Benson, and it landed in fair territory for an RBI double. Dansby Swanson drove in Kyle Tucker when he beat out a grounder to shortstop Elly De La Cruz for a two-out infield single. Keller (2-0) worked the eighth and Palencia handled the ninth for his fifth save. It was Chicago's sixth shutout of the season. Cincinnati wasted a sharp performance by Nick Lodolo, who pitched six innings of five-hit ball. The 6-foot-6 Brown retired 14 of his first 15 batters before TJ Friedl singled with two out in the sixth for Cincinnati's only hit of the game. Brown had a 9.90 ERA in the first inning over his first 10 starts of the season. He was tagged for eight runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in his previous start Sunday at Cincinnati. Key moment Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong robbed Friedl with an impressive diving catch for the second out of the ninth. Key stat It was Pomeranz's first start since Aug. 7, 2019, for Milwaukee at Pittsburgh. The left-hander has pitched 13 2/3 scoreless innings in 15 appearances since he was acquired in anApril tradewith Seattle. Up next Reds right-hander Nick Martinez (3-5, 3.48 ERA) and Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (4-3, 3.86 ERA) take the mound on Sunday for the series finale. ___ AP MLB:https://apnews.com/MLB

bySlavek Pynzarek

in

May 31, 2025

Ben Brown stars as the Cubs blank the Reds 2-0 for a 1-hit shutout

Ben Brown stars as the Cubs blank the Reds 2-0 for a 1-hit shutout CHICAGO (AP) — Drew Pomeranz, Ben Brown, Brad Keller and Daniel Palencia ...

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