Page 16 - aruba-today-20220506

A16 sports
Friday 6 May 2022
Nadal saves 4 match points to advance; Murray withdraws

By TALES AZZONI Djokovic automatically ad-
AP Sports Writer vanced to the quarterfinals
MADRID (AP) — Rafael — his second of the year
Nadal saved four match after losing the Serbia final
points before outlasting last month. He had lost in
David Goffin in three sets his first match in Monte Car-
to reach the Madrid Open lo in his first tournament on
quarterfinals on Thursday. clay this season.
Nadal needed more than Djokovic’s opponent will be
three hours to win 6-3, 5-7, 12th-seeded Hubert Hur-
7-6 (9) in only his second kacz, who defeated quali-
match after an injury layoff. fier Dusan Lajovic 7-5, 6-3.
Nadal’s 1,050th career vic- Djokovic is also trying to
tory came after Andy Mur- regain his best form after
ray withdrew from his match not being allowed to play
against Novak Djokovic be- in the Australian Open be-
cause of a stomach illness. cause he was not vacci-
The fourth-ranked Nadal nated against the corona-
had beaten the 32nd- virus. This is only his fourth
ranked Miomir Kecmanovic tournament of the season.
in straight sets in his open- Andrey Rublev, who beat
ing match at the clay-court Djokovic in the Serbia final,
tournament, his first after advanced to the quarterfi-
missing six weeks because Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball against David Goffin of Belgium during their match at the nals after a hard-fought 7-6
of a rib stress fracture. Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, May 5, 2022. Associated Press (7), 7-5 win over Daniel Ev-
“I knew before I arrived ans in nearly 2 1/2 hours.
that this was going to be a ple of perfectly executed birthday Thursday. Goffin’s third round. Rublev will next face fourth-
complicated week,” Nadal drop shots to stay in the best appearance in Madrid It would have been the first seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas,
said. “Whatever happens match. had been a quarterfinal time Murray and Djokovic who comfortably defeated
now, to win two matches “It was an incredible end appearance in 2017, when played against each oth- Gregor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4.
here is fantastic news for to the match, but it should he also lost to Nadal. The er since the Serb won the Defending champion Al-
me.” Nadal was up 5-3 have never gotten to that former No. 7 hadn’t played Doha final in 2017. exander Zverev advanced
in the second set before point. I had it under control in Madrid since 2019. He The 78th-ranked Mur- after qualifier Lorenzo Mu-
being broken twice and at 5-3,” Nadal said. “But we won his first title of the sea- ray had won his first two setti retired with a left thigh
squandering a couple of know that things are not son in Morocco last month. matches in Madrid, defeat- injury while losing 6-3, 1-0.
match points to allow Gof- perfect for me right now, Nadal is the most successful ing Dominic Thiem and De- In the women’s semifinals,
fin to even the match. He I have to accept that. I player at the Madrid Open nis Shapovalov. The former eighth-seeded Ons Jabeur
also struggled in the third fought until the end, it’s with five titles. No. 1 hadn’t won consecu- comfortably defeated
and faced four match what I can expect from my- Murray, a two-time cham- tive matches since Janu- qualifier Ekaterina Alexan-
points in the tiebreaker. self now.” The third-seeded pion, announced he had ary and hadn’t played in drova 6-2, 6-3 in just over
The first was saved with an Nadal will next face either to withdraw not long be- a clay-court tournament in an hour to advance to the
ace, and Goffin hit the net Cameron Norrie or Spanish fore he was scheduled to nearly two years after un- final. The Tunisian is the first
on the second. On the next sensation Carlos Alcaraz, take the court against the dergoing hip surgery. Arab player to reach a
two, Nadal needed a cou- who is celebrating his 19th top-ranked Djokovic in the With Murray’s withdrawal, WTA 1000 final.q

Report: Mickelson had $40 million in

gambling losses

cerpt on his “Firepit Col- Jamal Khashoggi, by say- direct access to the docu-
lective” site Thursday. His ing it was worth getting in- ments.
unauthorized biography on volved with the Saudis if it Mickelson’s annual income
Mickelson is to be released meant gaining leverage to in 2012 — the time of the
May 17 during the PGA get what he wanted from Dean Foods stock deal that
Championship. Mickelson is the PGA Tour. netted Mickelson nearly $1
the defending champion. Mickelson was a relief de- million in one week — was
He has not said if he will be fendant in 2016 in the in- estimated at about $48 mil-
playing. sider trading case that sent lion.
Mickelson has been out of noted gambler Billy Walters Shipnuck also said money
public view since the final to prison. was largely behind his split
Phil Mickelson hits his tee shot on the fifth hole of the South Course round of the Saudi Inter- Walters since has been re- with longtime caddie Jim
at Torrey Pines during the first round of the Farmers Insurance national on Feb. 6. A short leased and has said he is “Bones” Mackay in 2017.
Open golf tournament Jan. 26, 2022, in San Diego. time later, Shipnuck posted writing a book. He wrote that Mackay left
Associated Press explosive comments from In the most recent excerpt Mickelson after the Memo-
Mickelson on his involve- on the $40 million in gam- rial that year over a series
By DOUG FERGUSON totaled more than $40 mil- ment in Greg Norman’s bling losses, Shipnuck wrote of “simmering grievances,”
AP Golf Writer lion from 2010 to 2014, ac- Saudi-backed golf venture. that government auditors including hundreds of thou-
Federal auditors investigat- cording to an excerpt from Mickelson dismissed Saudi investigated Mickelson’s sands of dollars in back
ing Phil Mickelson’s role in Alan Shipnuck’s forthcom- Arabia’s human rights re- finances over four years pay. Shipnuck wrote more
an insider trading scheme ing biography. cord, including the killing of from 2010 to 2014. The au- details on that would be in
found his gambling losses Shipnuck posted the ex- Washington Post reporter thor cited a source with the book.q