Page 22 - ARUBA TODAY

A22
Tuesday 6 February 2018
France advances to Davis Group QFs, Spain to host Germany

By The Associated Press hopefully this is just the be- Belgium, the 2017 finalist,
Defending champion ginning for us,” the fifth- clinched its place after Da-
France advanced to the ranked Zverev said. vid Goffin, now 23-3 in cup
quarterfinals of the Da- No. 14-ranked Kyrgios singles, won the first reverse
vis Cup after beating the looked frustrated from the singles against Marton Fuc-
Netherlands 3-1 Sunday for start of the match on hard sovics, who was playing his
its eighth win in nine match- courts at Brisbane’s Pat third match in three days.
es at home. Rafter Arena, and required Goffin won in four sets, 7-5,
Adrian Mannarino won the a second-set medical time- 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
first reverse singles in Albert- out to receive treatment Croatia hosts Kazakhstan in
ville, France, after 4 hours, on his right arm. the remaining quarterfinal.
20 minutes of an ardu- Kyrgios was clearly restrict- Kazakhstan won 4-1 at
ous contest against Robin ed ahead of the second- home against Switzerland,
Haase which featured 34 set tiebreaker, earning a which was without Roger
break-point chances. point penalty to trail 4-0 af- Federer.
Mannarino won 4-6, 7-6 ter slamming his racket into Marc-Andrea Huesler got
(5), 7-5, 6-7 (2), 7-5 and the ground following an- Switzerland’s only point
punched the air as the other unforced error — he with a 6-3, 6-1 win against
French team celebrated German team celebrate after compatriot Alexander Zverev, made 34 in the match. Roman Khassanov on Sun-
wildly and poured water second from left, won over Nick Kyrgios of Australia at the Davis “My biggest weapon day before Dmitry Popko
over Mannarino’s head. Cup World Group first round in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Feb. (serve) was not really there beat Adrian Bodmer 7-6
The last first-round singles 4, 2018. and that affects the rest of (5), 1-6, 10-6.
wasn’t played as France Associated Press my game,” he said. The Swiss, since winning the
clinched its World Group quarterfinals in the past six said. “This is the Davis Cup, The United States had al- title in 2014, have lost in the
quarterfinal spot against years. it’s not easy to play like a ready secured its quarterfi- first round each year since.
host Italy in April. Spain beat Britain 3-1 and normal tournament, but I nal place on Saturday with Croatia prevailed 3-1 over
Fabio Fognini powered Ita- hosts Germany in the quar- think I did a great job.” an insurmountable 3-0 lead Canada as Borna Coric de-
ly to a 3-1 victory over Ja- terfinals. The hosts had to do without over Serbia in Nis. It ended feated Denis Shapovalov
pan, beating Yuichi Sugita Albert Ramos-Vinolas de- Rafael Nadal while Britain 3-1 after Serbia’s Pedja Krst- 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 7-5 in feated Cameron Norrie 7-6 was without Andy Murray. in beat Steve Johnson 6-1, The quarterfinals take
the first reverse singles. (4), 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 Sunday Alexander Zverev powered 7-5 in the only match on place April 6-8.
At 40-15 in the final game, to put Spain through. Germany through to the Sunday. Australia, Britain, Canada,
Sugita saved the first match “It was a long match, a quarterfinals with a 3-1 win The Americans will have a Hungary, Japan, the Neth-
point before hitting long on great match, we both over Australia, beating Nick home quarterfinal against erlands, Serbia and Switzer-
the second. fought a lot. To finish like this Kyrgios 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Belgium, which beat Hun- land are in the World Group
Italy advanced to its fifth is amazing,” Ramos-Vinolas “It’s an amazing feeling, gary 3-2. playoffs in September.q

Bruised, not beaten, White back for another shot at gold

By EDDIE PELLS tissue. ter that and doing basic from Sochi, he watched group, “Bad Things” — and
AP National Writer “I’m still waiting for what’s tricks, to winning that Snow- the thoroughly entertaining got more serious about his
The picture on Shaun to be learned from it,” mass event with a 100.” documentary of his jour- physical fitness, cutting out
White’s phone is not for White says. The perfect score at Snow- ney, “Russia Calling,” but alcohol and hiring a trainer
public consumption. His To outsiders, though, it’s mass secured White’s fourth didn’t quite recognize the and physical therapist.
upper lip is a torn up mash easy. The picture and the trip to the Olympics. movie’s protagonist. He parted ways with coach
of blood and gristle and video of the accident that If 2006 was his raucous, “I was like, ‘Wow, this looks Bud Keene, a main player
bone. he recently released on mop-topped coming-out so intense. I’ve never been in the 2014 documentary
He took the selfie shortly social media serve as jar- party and 2010 was where so agro before,’” White with whom White teamed
after bashing his face into ring reminders about the he set down the marker said. “I got back and said, to prepare for the previous
a halfpipe while training in hurdles the world’s most as the greatest of all time, ‘If I were to do it again, three Olympics, and con-
New Zealand last October. famous snowboarder has then 2014 might best be what would I do different- nected with Thomas, who
It was an accident that been willing to climb to described as the Olym- ly?’” As it turns out, a whole serves the role of buddy
forced him to be whisked return to the top, which pics where hubris got the bunch. and compatriot as much
off the mountain in a heli- would mean winning an best of him. Clearly hear- He cut down on high-profile as coach. He also brought
copter and into a hospital Olympic gold medal later ing the message the IOC sponsorship deals, the likes into his circle Toby Miller, a
for surgery to reconstruct this month in South Korea. sent when it added slope- of which he used to collab- promising 17-year-old up-
the area from the bottom “The fact he overcame style to the snowboarding orate on with Target, and and-comer who has inject-
of his nose to the top of his that and even made the program, White decided has become much more ed his own brand of youth-
lip. team, and made it in the he’d put that event back focused on his own brand. ful spirit to a sport that is,
Though White called it more fashion he did, is one of the in his repertoire and try for His website mentions a ultimately, geared toward
of a nuisance than any- best sports stories I’ve ever two gold medals. He spent grand total of seven corpo- the young.
thing career-threatening seen, heard about and, the entire season injured, rate partners, one of which “He definitely has a mindset
— “I had a moment where luckily, been a part of,” says rushing back and forth be- is Air & Style, the music-and- that’s different from anyone
I was like, ‘Really? This is so JJ Thomas, the Olympic tween the halfpipe and snowboarding festivals he I’ve ever met,” Miller says.
uncalled for,” he said — bronze medalist who now slopestyle courses and, uli- owns — and has put much “He sets his mind on some-
the rehab was awkward serves as White’s coach/ mately, was unable to ac- of his own, personal energy thing and doesn’t stop at
and painful. He needed 62 riding buddy. “It’s been complish any of his goals. into — in Beijing, Sydney anything, until it happens.
stitches. A therapist had to pretty impressive watching He dropped out of slope- and Los Angeles. I don’t know many people
spend hours reaching in- him overcome the mental style and finished fourth on He put his once-burgeon- who could pull through af-
side his lip and massaging hurdles, from just coming the halfpipe. ing music career on hold — ter that kind of accident
the area to break up scar back to snowboarding af- When he returned home he was the guitarist in the and do that.”q