Sports briefs
By NewsPress Now
Sabalenka falls to Vekic
in Dubai second round
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Aryna Sabalenka lost her first match since successfully defending her Australian Open title when she was overhauled by an old foe at the Dubai Championships on Tuesday.
The No. 2-ranked Sabalenka blew a set and 2-0 lead as Donna Vekic of Croatia rallied to win 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0 in the second round.
No. 1 Iga Swiatek lost her serve three times in the first set before coming right and beating Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-4. Coco Gauff, the No. 3, accounted for Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy 6-1, 7-5. No. 4 Elena Rybakina avoided an upset when Victoria Azarenka retired in distress. Azarenka won the first set 6-4 but lost the second 6-2 in increasing pain.
Sabalenka and Vekic go back eight years on the tour, and Vekic dominated the early matchups. But Sabalenka made the Grand Slam breakthrough when she beat Vekic in the Australian quarterfinals a year ago en route to her first major title.
Vekic referenced Sabalenka winning “the big one” of their career matchups on Tuesday but her sixth win in their eight contests wasn’t too shabby either.
Sabalenka led 5-3 before settling the first set in a tiebreaker. Sabalenka, coming off a three-week layoff after her Melbourne triumph, then led 2-0 with a point for 3-0.
“I was on the beach already,” Vekic admitted, but a sliced backhand passing winner that Sabalenka let go saved the game and launched her comeback.
“I won the first set. I was up with break. I didn’t feel like I was up,” Sabalenka said. “The level of play was so bad today from me. I feel like the conditions here don’t fit me well at all.”
Staying aggressive but with improving accuracy, Vekic won the next three games, broke for 5-3 and served out to level the set score after nearly two hours.
Sabalenka, forced to her first three-set game of the year, showed more second serves and exasperation, and Vekic was merciless. A sixth double fault by Sabalenka put her 3-0 down in the third and two more double faults dropped her 5-0 behind. Moments later, Vekic won a ninth straight game and wrapped up her first win over a top-two player since 2019.
Also, Wimbledon champion and No. 7 seed Marketa Vondrousova defeated Peyton Stearns 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 for the third time in eight months.
No. 6 Zheng Qinwen, No. 8 Maria Sakkari and former champions Jelena Ostapenko and Elina Svitolina also advanced to the last 16. Svitolina has Swiatek next. Svitolina won their last meeting in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
“She’s going to be motivated to beat me this time,” Svitolina said. “But I love to play these matches.”
Darrion Williams earns Associated Press national player of the week
The sophomore transfer from Nevada had a perfect shooting night in leading the Red Raiders to a 79-50 rout of then-No. 6 Kansas last week. He was 12 for 12 from the field, including 4 for 4 from beyond the 3-point arc, and 2 for 2 from the foul line. That added up to a career-best 30 points to go with a season-high 11 rebounds. Williams followed up with 12 points and 11 boards in a loss to Iowa State, the current No. 6 team in the nation. Williams has scored in double figure in four consecutive games, helping the Red Raiders return to the AP Top 25 at No. 23 this week.
Runner-up
Blake Hinson, Pittsburgh. The senior guard had 27 points in a win over then-No. 21 Virginia, then went 9 of 13 from the 3-point arc and scored 41 points in a win over Louisville. Hinson has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, and he is second nationally in 3s per game behind only Tyler Thomas of Hofstra.
HONORABLE MENTION
Jestin Porter, Middle Tennessee; Devin Carter, Providence; Jared McCain, Duke.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Johnny Kinzinger, Illinois State. In only his third start, the freshman went 10 of 12 from the field and scored 31 points with four rebounds in an 80-67 road upset of No. 23 Indiana State. He followed with 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds in a win over Evansville. Kinzinger played all but five minutes in the two games combined.
Caitlin Clark is AP
Player of the Week in women’s basketball
The 6-foot senior guard scored a school record 49 points in the team’s win over Michigan that moved her into the top spot on the NCAA career scoring list. She only needed three shots to score the eight points she required to pass Kelsey Plum for No. 1. Clark also had 13 assists in the game.
Runner-up
Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina. The 6-7 senior post averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks to help the No. 1 Gamecocks rally to beat Tennessee and Georgia. She scored seven points in the final 3:35 of the game to seal the win over Tennessee. Cardoso, who returned from playing for Brazil in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying event, also had seven points and six rebounds in the final quarter against Georgia.
HONORABLE MENTION
Madison Booker, Texas; Liz Kitley, Virginia Tech; Lauryn Taylor, Francis Marion.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Maya Buckhanon, Fisk. Scored a program-record 60 points for any player, male or female, in a win over Southern University at New Orleans. It was most points in an NAIA women’s game since 1993 and two off the NAIA record of Claflin’s Miriam Walker in 1988. The senior power forward, who also had 19 rebounds, now ranks second in NAIA history with 24 made field goals. She also had 37 points and 12 rebounds in a win at Dillard.
Nets name former UConn coach Kevin Ollie their interim head coach
NEW YORK | Kevin Ollie, who led UConn to NCAA title a decade ago, has been named the interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.
A day after firing Jacque Vaughn, the Nets announced Tuesday they were turning the team over to Ollie, who had been hired as an assistant coach ahead of this season.
The 51-year-old Ollie, who played 13 seasons in the league, takes over a team that has a 21-33 record and is in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. The Nets dropped five of their past six games, including a 50-point loss to the Celtics in their last game before the All-Star break.
Ollie coach UConn for six seasons (2012-18). The Los Angeles native then spent two years (2021-23) as head of coaching and basketball development for Overtime Elite before joining the Nets.
Overtime Elite is a league for 16- to 20-year-olds that compensates players with money to be used as pay or scholarship money if they don’t turn pro.
Vaughn finished 71-68 with the Nets, guiding them into the playoffs on two separate stints.
—From AP reports
