Sports News Roundup: Nadal ready for Roland Garros despite injury issues; Willson Contreras' slam sparks Cubs' rout and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 17-05-2022 22:40 IST | Created: 17-05-2022 22:31 IST
Sports News Roundup: Nadal ready for Roland Garros despite injury issues; Willson Contreras' slam sparks Cubs' rout and more
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Nadal ready for Roland Garros despite injury issues

Rafa Nadal has moved to ease concerns about his injury problems ahead of the French Open, posting a picture of himself training in full flow at his academy in Mallorca with the caption: "See you on Wednesday, Paris." The 13-time Roland Garros champion had said last week that daily training was a challenge and he would take a doctor with him to Paris after a chronic foot injury flared up during his defeat by Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open.

Golf-Nicklaus turned down offer to be face of Saudi-backed circuit-report

Golfing great Jack Nicklaus turned down an offer worth more than $100 million to be the face of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series that is hoping to challenge the PGA Tour, according to a report published on Monday. Nicklaus, who counts a record 18 major titles among his 73 PGA Tour wins, said in an article on the Fire Pit Collective website that organizers of the series asked him to spearhead the big-money circuit.

U.S. top diplomat spoke with wife of detained basketball player Brittney Griner

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken with Brittney Griner's wife, assuring her that securing the release of the American professional basketball player detained in Russia is a top priority for the Biden administration, a senior State Department official said Tuesday. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, allegedly in possession of cannabis-infused vaporizer cartridges.

MLB roundup: Willson Contreras' slam sparks Cubs' rout

Willson Contreras' grand slam highlighted an eight-run first, and Wade Miley yielded just one hit over seven strong innings, as the Chicago Cubs snapped a five-game home skid with Monday night's 9-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Chicago led 4-0 when Contreras hit the 100th home run of his career, well into the left-center field bleachers off Bryse Wilson to clear the bases and essentially secure his team's season-high third consecutive victory. Ian Happ and Yan Gomes each had three hits with an RBI for the Cubs.

Golf-McIlroy on Mickelson's PGA Championship absence: 'he should be here'

Former world number one Rory McIlroy said it is both sad and unfortunate that Phil Mickelson will not be defending his title at this this week's PGA Championship after deciding to extend his hiatus from the sport. Mickelson, who became golf's oldest major champion at last year's PGA Championship when he triumphed shortly before turning 51, stepped away from golf in February following the reaction to comments he made regarding the Saudi-backed golf league.

Nestor Cortes calls old tweets ‘unacceptable’

New York Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes spoke to reporters Monday to address the situation with his Twitter account, in which several older tweets that used racial slurs were resurfaced Sunday. The Hialeah, Fla., product said he deactivated the Twitter account in response, and when asked about the tweets, acknowledged remembering them.

Tennis-Pavlyuchenkova to skip rest of 2022 to recover from knee injury

Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has decided to skip the rest of the season to recover from an injury that has limited her playing time this year, the 2021 French Open runner-up said on Tuesday. Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 21 in the world, was out for 11 weeks earlier this year to undergo rehab for the knee injury. The pain in her knee had forced her to miss tournaments in St Petersburg, Dubai and Doha.

Rugby-Leinster dominate European Player of the Year shortlist

Leinster trio Josh van der Flier, James Lowe and Caelan Doris have made the five-man shortlist for the European Rugby Player of the Year award, governing body ECPR said on Tuesday. Back row pair Doris and Van der Flier as well as left wing Lowe played crucial roles in four-time Champions Cup winners Leinster's progress to this year's final.

Cycling-Girmay becomes first Black African to win Grand Tour stage

Eritrea's Biniam Girmay became the first Black African rider to win a Grand Tour stage after coming through a packed group with an impressive sprint to claim stage 10 of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday. The Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert rider recovered from nearly missing a left turn with just over 6 km to go and fended off Mathieu van der Poel at the end of the 196-km ride from the coastal town of Pescara to Jesi.

Golf-PGA Tour and LIV Series showdown to shape future of golf, say McIlroy

The showdown between the LIV Golf Invitational Series and the PGA Tour is going to shape the future of golf predicted Rory McIlroy, as the big-money Saudi-backed venture hijacked the PGA Championship on Tuesday. It takes something explosive to blast Tiger Woods from a major spotlight but that is what happened at Southern Hills Country Club as the world's best golfers were paraded through the interview room and asked their thoughts on the eight event tour offering an eye-popping total prize purse of $255 million.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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