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sports Dialuna 31 Mei 2021

Osaka fined $15K for skipping French Open media; Thiem out

(AP) — Naomi Osaka was statement noted that "tough-
fined $15,000 at the French That's because Osaka vowed er sanctions" from "repeat
Open for skipping a post- in a Twitter post Wednesday, violations" could include
match news conference af- and then kept that promise default — being disqualified
ter her first-round victory Sunday, to stay away from from the tournament — and
Sunday — and threatened by the standard back-and-forth "the trigger of a major offense
all four Grand Slam tourna- with the media in Paris, the investigation that could lead
ments with stiffer penalties, sort of thing athletes in vari- to more substantial fines and
including being defaulted, if ous sports do as a matter of future Grand Slam suspen-
she continues to avoid meet- course. She framed it as a sions."
ing with the media. mental health issue, saying Osaka's agent did not imme-
that it creates self-doubt to diately reply to a request for
The fine will come out of have to answer questions af- comment from the AP on
Osaka's prize money and was ter a loss. Sunday.
announced in a joint state- The whole thing didn't mean
ment from the president of Players at Grand Slam tour- Osaka was able to entirely
the French tennis federation, naments are required to at- elude any question about
Gilles Moretton, and the tend news conferences if her problems playing on
heads of the other majors. requested to do so; refusing red clay, however. She did
Osaka returned to Roland is punishable by fines of up go ahead with the perfunc-
Garros after skipping the trip to $20,000. That, of course, tory exchange of pleasantries
last time, turning in a mis- is not a big deal to Osaka, with on-court "interviewers"
take-filled 6-4, 7-6 (4) victo- the world's highest-earning who lob softball questions
ry over 63rd-ranked Patricia female athlete thanks to en- so spectators can hear some-
Maria Tig at Court Philippe dorsement contracts worth thing from match winners.
Chatrier on Day 1 in Paris. tens of millions of dollars an-
After the 2020 French Open nually. In that chat with former play- 2019.
was pushed to a September er Fabrice Santoro, who is As for her impression of Osa- Andujar, who beat Roger Fe-
start with a limit of 1,000 "It's her own choice. I think hardly a journalist and kindly ka's on-court ability on clay, derer on clay in Geneva this
spectators per day because she's capable of making her offered to help Osaka by car- Tig offered this assessment: month, had never before
of the coronavirus outbreak, own choices and obviously rying the flowers she was "If she wins, she'll get used won a match after dropping
things were closer to normal she will do always what's best given by the tournament, the to it. She can play as good the initial two sets.
Sunday: It was a sun-kissed for her," Tig said. "I think topic of the event's surface on clay as she plays on hard
May day and more than 5,000 that's what's happening now. actually did arise. courts." Another past Grand Slam
fans were allowed in. It's her choice of doing what champion, three-time title
she feels is best for her." Osaka's Grand Slam titles Osaka showed how Sunday: winner and former No. 1
Other results perhaps were only have come on hard controlling points with her Angelique Kerber, was beaten
more newsworthy than a The Grand Slam tourna- courts. She has won the Aus- attacking game. She won 31 6-2, 6-4 by Anhelina Kalini-
straight-set win by the No. ments' statement said Osa- tralian Open twice, including of 35 points when her first na, a qualifier from Ukraine
2-ranked Osaka — that's cer- ka has been "advised" that this year, and the U.S. Open serve landed in and accu- ranked 139th and making her
tainly the case for U.S. Open "should she continue to ig- twice, including last year, but mulated 39 winners — more tournament debut.
champion and two-time nore her media obligations she never has been past the than twice as many as Tig's
French Open runner-up during the tournament, she third round at the French 18. Roland Garros thus remains
Dominic Thiem's 4-6, 5-7, would be exposing herself Open. Thiem had never lost in the the only Grand Slam title
6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss to 68th- to possible further Code of "I would say it's a work in first round in eight Roland that Kerber hasn't won: She
ranked Pablo Andujar — but Conduct infringement con- progress," Osaka said about Garros appearances and made was the champion at the Aus-
the events that unfolded af- sequences." her game on clay. "Hopefully it as far as the final twice be- tralian Open and U.S. Open
ter the Japanese superstar's the more I play, the better it fore losing to Rafael Nadal in 2016 and Wimbledon in
match were of high interest. Citing the rule book, the will get." — who else? — in 2018 and 2018.

Swiss motorcyclist Dupasquier dies following Moto3 crash

(AP) — Swiss motorcycle a statement. out of the Moto2 contest. cult to stay focused," said the
rider Jason Dupasquier "Despite the best efforts of 22-year-old Quartararo. "We
has died following a crash circuit medical staff and all Dupasquier was involved in Dupasquier was in his sec- got the win and that one was
during Moto3 qualifying those subsequently attending an accident with Ayumu Sa- ond season in MotoGP's for Jason and his family."
for the Italian Grand Prix, to the Swiss rider, the hospital saki and Jeremy Alcoba to- lightweight class and was
the Careggi Hospital in has announced that Dupas- ward the end of Saturday's in the top 10 in the overall Tributes flooded in from
Florence announced Sun- quier has sadly succumbed to session, which was immedi- standings heading into the other riders, as well as from
day. He was 19. his injuries," MotoGP said in ately red-flagged. weekend. across the world of motors-
Dupasquier appeared to fall The MotoGP grid staged a port.
and was then hit by his own one-minute silence ahead of
motorbike and that of Sasaki, Sunday's 23-lap race, which Formula One tweeted: "No
while a visibly shocked Alco- was won by world champion- words can ever describe
ba later said on television that ship leader Fabio Quartararo. the pain of such a loss. Our
he thought he had also gone thoughts are with Jason's
over the Swiss rider's legs. Following his victory, the family, friends and the entire
French rider stopped at the MotoGP community."
He was treated on the track scene of Dupasquier's acci-
for approximately 30 minutes dent before pointing to the Many F1 teams and drivers
before a helicopter landed sky. He then waved a Swiss also took to social media to
and airlifted him to a hospital flag on the podium in Dupas- express their condolences.
in Florence. quier's honour. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc,
Dupasquier's team, Prustel "It was tough because when who secured pole position
GP, did not take part in Sun- you do the one-minute si- at last weekend's Monaco
day's race, while his fellow lence, the emotion is coming Grand Prix, tweeted: "Rest in
Swiss rider Tom Luthi pulled really quick and it is diffi- peace, Jason."