Sports briefs
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Zhang rallies late to beat Sagstrom in Founders Cup
CLIFTON, N.J. | Rose Zhang won the Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday to end Nelly Korda’s record-tying LPGA Tour winning streak, rallying to beat Madelene Sagstrom by two strokes.
Zhang birdied four of the final five holes to overcome a three-shot deficit in a thrilling final-round duel with Sagstrom after the two broke away from the field Saturday.
Zhang shot a 6-under 66, birdieing Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 18 at Upper Montclair Country Club. Sagstrom bogeyed the 16th in a 69.
Korda, who struggled the final two days after playing magnificently in winning the five straight events she entered, had a second straight 73 and tied for seventh at 7 under.
After her final putt, Zhang bent over and put her hands to her mouth, before walking to hug caddie Oliver Brett. The two-time NCAA champion at Stanford who won last year at nearby Liberty National in her pro debut, finished at 24 under 264 total — the best score in the three years the event has been held here.
It was a heart-breaking end for Sagstrom, the 31-year-old Swede who started the day with a one-shot lead and was looking for her first victory since 2020 and second overall on tour.
She led by three after 13, but Zhang curled in a birdie putt at 15 and made an 8-footer on the next to draw within one. They were tied after after 16, with Sagstrom missing a 10-foot par putt after a bad chip from the back fringe.
After Sagstrom saved par at the par-3 17th with a fast, downhill 25-footer, Zhang took the lead with a short birdie putt.
Rookie Gabriela Ruffels of Australia was third at 9 under, her best finish. She shot 71.
Djokovic follows Nadal to early exit at Italian Open
ROME | Novak Djokovic’s performance was so poor on Sunday that even the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted it was “concerning.”
Djokovic put on one of his worst displays at one of his favorite tournaments as he was upset by 29th-seeded Alejandro Tabilo in the third round of the Italian Open.
It was Djokovic’s first match since accidentally getting knocked on the head by a water bottle while signing autographs after his opening win on Friday.
“I managed to sleep okay. I had headaches. The next day or yesterday was pretty fine, so I thought it’s okay. Maybe it is okay. Maybe it’s not,” Djokovic said.
“I mean, the way I felt on the court today was just completely like a different player entered into my shoes. Just no rhythm, no tempo, no balance whatsoever on any shot. It’s a bit concerning.”
Djokovic started off with a double-fault and it didn’t get much better for the six-time Rome champion.
The top-ranked Djokovic lost his first two service games and went on to lose the match 6-2, 6-3 in just 68 minutes, handing Tabilo the victory when he double-faulted – his fifth of the match – amid boos at the Foro Italico.
“I’m trying to soak it all in and wake up right now,” Tabilo said after the biggest win of his career. “I was just trying to keep my nerves in and keep swinging. Towards the end my arms were getting tired but I was trying not to think about it.
“It’s crazy, I just can’t believe what’s happened. I can’t believe it right now. I don’t think anyone can believe it.”
The third-round loss marked Djokovic’s worst performance at the Italian Open. He had lost only once before to an opponent outside the top 10 in Rome, where he had never gone out before the quarterfinals.
Djokovic followed Rafael Nadal to an early exit after the record 10-time Rome champion lost his third-round match to Hubert Hurkacz 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday.
While Djokovic had said he was “fine” after the water bottle incident, it was an unusually off-key performance from the Serb as he tries to step up his game on clay before attempting to defend his title at the French Open, which starts on May 26.
“I was going for kind of easy training yesterday. I didn’t feel anything, but I also didn’t feel the same,” Djokovic said.
“Today under high stress, it was quite bad — not in terms of pain, but in terms of this balance. Just no coordination. Completely different player from two nights ago … I don’t know. I have to do medical checkups and see what’s going on.”
Djokovic had 12 unforced errors to Tabilo’s four and produced 14 winners to his opponent’s 22. It was also a rare occasion when he had zero break point chances.
He was broken four times in the match, including in the final game, and Djokovic could only shake his head when another unforced error handed Tabilo match point.
Djokovic is still without a title this year — the first time he’s reached May without a trophy since 2018, when he was returning from a right elbow injury.
Tabilo next faces 16th-seeded Karen Khachanov, who beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4.
In the women’s tournament, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka eased through to the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Dayana Yastremska.
American Sofia Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and also reached the final at Roland Garros the same year, was upset by Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Bedard scores two again as Canada downs Denmark
PRAGUE | Connor Bedard scored twice again and added an assist as Canada eased past Denmark 5-1 Sunday for its second straight victory at the ice hockey world championship.
Dylan Cozens, Dawson Mercer and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for Canada, whose goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 19 shots in the Group A game in Prague.
Center John Tavares recorded an assist as he joined the team for the first time after the Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup.
Bedard also scored two in Canada’s 4-2 win over Britain on Saturday in their tournament’s opening game.
The 18-year-old Bedard opened the scoring 2:24 into Sunday’s game with a shot from the blue line that went through traffic in front of the goal.
Cozens doubled the advantage in the opening period by wristing the shot into the roof of the net on a power play.
Bedar added his second early in the final period with a one-timer from close range.
Mercer added the fourth for Canada into an empty net as Denmark pulled goaltender Frederik Dichow with two minutes left and Dubois completed the win on a power play.
Christian Wejse had reduced the lead to 2-1 on a rebound in the middle period.
Last year’s bronze medalist Latvia prevailed 3-2 over France in overtime in Group B in Ostrava. In the same group, star defenseman Erik Karlsson led Sweden with two goals and an assist to cruise past newcomer Poland 5-1.
In Group A, Nico Hischier completed a hat trick with 51 seconds left and added an assist to help Switzerland edge Austria 6-5.
Sweden and Switzerland have won two games from two.
Earlier, Finland shut out newcomer Great Britain 8-0 for its first victory.
Oliver Kapanen scored a hat trick and Mikael Granlund had four assists for the Finns who recovered from a 1-0 shootout loss to the host Czech Republic in the opening game.
Finland goaltender Emil Larmi made 14 saves for the shutout in Prague.
For the British, it was a second straight loss after a 4-2 defeat to Canada in its first game.
Slovakia also registered its first win, a 6-2 victory over Kazakhstan in Group B.
Wonder goal for Ella Toone as Manchester United wins Women’s FA Cup
LONDON | Manchester United won its first major trophy by routing Tottenham 4-0 in the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Ella Toone’s stunning long-range strike in first-half stoppage time set up victory for Marc Skinner’s team.
United cruised to victory after the break through two goals from Lucia Garcia and another from Rachel Williams.
United quickly made up for defeat to Chelsea in last year’s final by lifting the trophy 12 months on.
Toone’s wonder goal broke Tottenham’s resistance when she curled the ball into the top corner from around 20 yards (meters) in the third minute of time added on in the first half.
Williams doubled United’s lead with a powerful header nine minutes after the break.
United effectively sealed victory three minutes later, this time through Garcia, who was named player of the match.
Seizing on a weak clearance from Spurs goalkeeper Becky Spencer, Garcia pounced to score from close range.
She added her second and United’s fourth in the 74th minute by lifting a shot into the top corner from inside the box.
It is the first time since Birmingham’s victory in 2012 that the cup hasn’t been won by one of Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City.
Victory eases the pressure on Skinner, who guided the club to second place in the Women’s Super League last season but has endured a difficult campaign this time round with United set to finish fifth.
Skinner’s contract is set to expire this summer. Asked if he expected to carry on next season, the 41-year-old Skinner said: “I hope so … but we’ve created history and I have got to live in that moment.
“I believe in myself fully and I am still only a baby in terms of my career. I have lots and lots to achieve in this game.”
—From AP reports
