The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-29)

D2 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, MAY 29 , 2022

COLLEGES

Terrapins are ousted

from Big Ten tourney

Freshman Josh Pyne had a
two-out, two-run single in the top
of the 11th inning to spark No. 8
seed Indiana to a 6-4 victory over
top-seeded Maryland in an
elimination game at the Big Te n
baseball tournament S aturday in
Omaha.
Indiana (27-31) advanced to
play No. 2 seed Rutgers in the
semifinal nightcap late Saturday.
Maryland (41-12) suffered its
second s traight loss after an 11-
game winning streak....
In Geneva, Ohio, G allaudet
sprinter Eric Gregory won the
400 -meter dash at the NCAA
Division III national
championships, becoming the
first national champion for the
Washington school that serves
students who are deaf and hard
of hearing.
Gregory, a sophomore, won the
final in 46.19 seconds, improving
on his own school record. He
later finished third in the 200.
Gallaudet finished 17 th overall,
its best showing at an NCAA
national championship meet.

TRACK AND FIELD
Olympic gold medalist Elaine
Thompson-Herah of Jamaica
held off American Sha’Carri
Richardson in the 100 meters at
a rainy Prefontaine Classic in
Eugene, Ore.
Thompson-Herah won in the
100 and 200 and the 400 relay at
the To kyo Olympics. She
defended her Pre title in 10.79
seconds, in front of Richardson
(10.92).
Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-
Pryce won the 200 in 22.41.
American Michael Norman
won the 400 in a meet-record
43.60, and Trayvon Bromell won
the men’s 100 i n 9.93, a head of
Fred Kerley and defending
world champion Christian
Coleman.
In the Bowerman Mile, the
Pre’s signature event, Olympic
gold medalist Jakob
Ingebrigtsen of Norway won in
3 minutes 49.76 seconds.
Samuel Tanner won the 1,500
in 3:34.37, and Brazilian Alison
Dos Santos won the men’s 400
hurdles in 47.23, the leading time
in the world this season.
Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi
cruised to victory i n the 5,000 in
a meet record 12:50.05.

GOLF
In Fort Worth, Scottie
Scheffler carded a round of 2-
under-par 68 to lead the Colonial
by two strokes over Brendon
Todd and Scott Stallings.
T odd’s third-round 65 was
bogey-free, while S tallings
turned in an even-par 70....
In Benton Harbor, Mich.,
Stephen Ames shot a 4-under 71
to lead the Senior PGA
Championship by two strokes

over Bernhard Langer and Mike Weir. Paul Goydos (67) is three strokes back, one ahead of Steven Alker (69).... In Las Vegas, Eun-Hee Ji made quick work of Madelene Sagstrom in the L PGA Match- Play quarterfinals, playing only 12 holes in a 7-and-6 victory. Andrea Lee, Lilia Vu and Ayaka Furue needed extra holes to join her in the semifinals. Ji will face Lee and Vu will play Furue on Sunday morning. The championship and third-place match are Sunday afternoon.... E ngland’s Matt Wallace (70) and France’s Victor Perez (69) shared the lead at 10-under par after the third round of DP World To ur’s Dutch Open in Cromvoirt.

AUTO RACING In Concord, N.C., Josh Berry gave J R Motorsports its first win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Berry took the lead with 22 laps to go when teammate Justin Allgaier got loose and brushed the outside wall in Turn 1. Berry slowly pulled away and won by more than 18 seconds. A llgaier finished seventh after experiencing a leaky tire. Ty Gibbs finished s econd, with pole s itter Sam Mayer third.... Denny Hamlin will start on the pole f or Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 a fter turning a lap of 183.68 mph to earn his first pole of the year. Kurt Busch will start next to Hamlin o n the front row.

PRO BASKETBALL A’ja Wilson had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Dearica Hamby added 14 and 12, and the visiting Las Vegas Aces beat the defending champion Chicago Sky, 83-76, f or their sixth win in a row. Kelsey Plum had 19 points and Chelsea Gray added 18 for Las Vegas. Courtney Vandersloot had 12 points f or the S ky.

MISC. Miro Heiskanen had a goal and two assists and host Finland beat the United States, 4-3, in Ta mpere to set up its third straight world hockey championship final against Canada. Dylan Cozens scored twice in Canada’s 6-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the other semifinal.... Jai Hindley stormed into the lead of cycling’s Giro d’Italia on the fearsome Marmolada w ith a day left in the race. The mountainous stage was won by Alessandro Covi y following a long solo attack. Richard Carapaz l ed the Giro since last Saturday but c racked inside the final three kilometers of the penultimate stage. Hindley leads by 1 minute 25 seconds entering Sunday’s race-ending individual time trial in Verona. — From news services

DIGEST

TELEVISION AND RADIO
MLB
1:30 p.m. Colorado at Washington » MASN2, WJFK (106.7 FM)
1:30 p.m. Baltimore at Boston » MASN, WIYY (97.9 FM)
1:30 p.m. New York Yankees at Tampa Bay » MLB Network
4:30 p.m. Houston at Seattle » MLB Network (joined in progress)
7 p.m. Philadelphia at New York Mets » ESPN2

NBA PLAYOFFS
8:30 p.m. Eastern Conference finals, Game 7: Boston at Miami » ESPN

WNBA
Noon Phoenix at Atlanta » WUSA (Ch. 9), WJZ (Ch. 13)

AUTO RACING
9 a.m. Formula One: Monaco Grand Prix » ESPN
12:30 p.m. IndyCar Series: Indianapolis 500 » WRC (Ch. 4), WBAL (Ch. 11)
6 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series: Coca-Cola 600 » WTTG (Ch. 5), WBFF (Ch. 45)

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
2 p.m. USFL: Pittsburgh at Birmingham » WTTG (Ch. 5), WBFF (Ch. 45)

GOLF
7:30 a.m. DP World Tour: Dutch Open, final round » Golf Channel
1 p.m. PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge, final round » Golf Channel
2 p.m. PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge, final round » WUSA (Ch. 9),
WJZ (Ch. 13)
3 p.m. S enior PGA Championship, final round » Golf Channel
4 p.m. Senior PGA Championship, final round » WRC (Ch. 4), WBAL (Ch. 11)
6:30 p.m. LPGA Tour: Match Play, final day » Golf Channel

HOCKEY
8:20 a.m. IIHF World Championship, third-place game: United States
vs. Czech Republic » NHL Network
1:20 p.m. IIHF World Championship, final: Canada at Finland » NHL Network

RUGBY
2:30 p.m. Major League Rugby: Rugby New York at Old Glory DC »
NBC Sports Washington
6:30 p.m. Major League Rugby: NOLA Gold at New England » Fox Sports 1

SOCCER

1 p.m. French Ligue 1 relegation playoff, second leg: Auxerre at Saint-Étienne »
beIN Sports
9:30 p.m. MLS: Charlotte at Seattle » Fox Sports 1

TENNIS

5 a.m. French Open, round of 16 » Tennis Channel

NCAA WOMEN’S LACROSSE TOURNAMENT, FINAL
Noon Boston College vs. North Carolina » ESPN

COLLEGE BASEBALL — CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Noon ACC, final: North Carolina vs. North Carolina State » ESPN2
Noon American, final: East Carolina vs. Houston » ESPNews
Noon Big East, final: Connecticut vs. Xavier » Fox Sports 2
2 p.m. Conference USA, final: UTSA vs. Louisiana Tech » CBS Sports Network
3 p.m. SEC, final: Florida vs. Tennessee/Kentucky » ESPN2
4 p.m. Big Ten, final: Teams TBD » Big Ten Network
6 p.m. Big 12, final: Texas vs. Oklahoma » ESPNU
10 p.m. Pac-12, final: Stanford vs. UCLA/Oregon State » ESPN2

NCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT, SUPER REGIONALS
2 p.m. Game 3: Florida at Virginia Tech » ESPN
TBD Game 3: Northwestern at Arizona State (if necessary) » TBD

BY GLYNN A. HILL

If the recent rise in ratings and the return of packed crowds are any indication, motorsports are experiencing a moment. As o ne of America’s marquee races ap- proaches, and as Formula One has reasserted its American ambitions, the IndyCar Series is try- ing to redefine its place in that growing auto racing landscape. Te levision viewership for the North American open-wheel cir- cuit is up 36 percent over last year; the sport has attracted more than 25 new sponsors since Roger Penske’s entertainment group bought the series in 2019; and Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 is expected to be one of the most well-attended in 20 years. That popularity bump mirrors a broader surge of interest in motorsports during the pandemic, when various types of racing have drawn greater interest on the track — and even on city streets. “We are really pleased and excited about the momentum we’ve seen, even coming through and out of the pandemic,” SJ Luedtke, IndyCar’s vice president of marketing, said in a phone interview. IndyCar, which features races staged from To ronto to St. Peters- burg, Fla., sees North America as its primary domain. But as the series welcomes full capacity crowds back to the Brickyard, its intercontinental counterpart has expanded its stateside ambitions. Formula One has captured new, young and American audi- ences, partly through the popular Netflix series “Drive to Survive,”

which offered a closer look at the personalities within the sport and spawned golf and tennis spinoffs. F1 ran the inaugural Miami Grand Prix on May 8, about a month after announcing its third American race, the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which is set to debut next year. The other event, the U.S. Grand Prix, will take place in Austin in October. F1 has one American team, Haas F1, and no American drivers, but both numbers could in- crease if it welcomes Michael Andretti, the former Formula One and IndyCar driver — and owner of IndyCar team Andretti Autosport — who is pushing for an additional team. Some drivers believe those ad- vances threaten American auto racing, stiffening competition for fans and nascent drivers who may

gravitate toward a sexier, more global sport. Others, such as 2016 Indy 500 winner Alexander Rossi, say F1’s expansion is at l east cause for concern. “It definitely raises the impor- tance of us continuing to evolve, continue to find ways to make the product better, and finding ways to differentiate ourselves from other championships,” Rossi told Autoweek in March. “A l ot of good things are happening. But I think it’s important for us to certainly speed up that timeline and the positive things in order to make sure that not only do we not necessarily lose out to Formula One on market share, but we continue to build our own. Indy- Car has been on an upward trajec- tory for at least the last five or six years, and we need to continue that even with more competition

coming on board.” Others within the sport view Formula One’s incursions in a more positive light. “I think it’s a massive positive just for the sport,” NBC broad- caster Leigh Diffey said of Formu- la One’s success. “I like the fact that it has been able to attract not necessarily motorsports fans to the sport. We don’t need to really dig into F1 or IndyCar or NASCAR. It’s just the sport holistically people are inter- ested in. We’re seeing that.... I don’t know why, but if it is attrib- utable to Formula One, let’s ride off it, let’s enjoy it. Right now the sport of motorsport is enjoying a really positive time.” Luedtke used a racing refer- ence to describe the opportunity that she said IndyCar sees in capitalizing on F1’s growth. “I applaud what they’re doing to move their brand and grow their portion of the sport. It’s beneficial for us, and we welcome the added interest in open-wheel racing, especially here in the States,” she said. “ ‘Let’s take it and run with it’ is how we’ve talked about it as a team, right? So, getting into someone’s slip- stream.” Luedtke said IndyCar’s p riority is distinguishing and defining itself. IndyCar is pushing its “Defy Everything” campaign to pro- mote its drivers. It’s using You- Tube and TikTok to showcase their high jinks and workouts. And she said it has “three to five irons in the fire,” which reported- ly may materialize into a docuse- ries in the spirit of “Drive to Survive.”

IndyCar gains fans — while keeping an eye on F1

DARRON CUMMINGS/ASSOCIATED PRESS IndyCar’s Scott Dixon p oses at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where a big crowd is expected for S unday’s Indianapolis 500.

BY LIZ CLARKE

paris — With the score knotted in the fifth set of a French Open slugfest, 19-year-old Carlos Alcar- az was on a dead run, sprinting from one corner of the court to the other, chasing overhead slams blasted by a veteran opponent. Each thunderstruck ball that Alcaraz managed to fire back felt like a mini-miracle in what seemed to be a hopeless attempt to keep the point alive — one overhead, another and another — until Albert Ramos-Vinolas plowed a backhand into the net, handing the youngster the pivotal service break. Alcaraz thrust both arms to the sky as the crowd on Court Simo- nne-Mathieu erupted in cheers. Looking on from his box, coach Juan Carlos Ferrero never changed his expression. He sim- ply put an index finger to each temple as if to say, “Keep your head in the game.” Even without looking, his charge did precisely that, serving out that 4-hour-34-minute match to advance to the third round. For all of Alcaraz’s grit and power, what best explains how he has sped up the timetable of his heralded arrival as the sport’s next superstar is his uncommonly level head. For that, Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion and a former world No. 1, deserves considerable credit. Nicknamed “El Mosquito” during his 15-year career for his slight stature, speed and persistence, the 160 -pound Ferrero was known for outsize courage on the court and uncommon humility off it. These are the qualities he has sought to instill in Alcaraz, who started training at his tennis academy in Spain at 15. “He made the player that I am right now,” A lcaraz said of Ferrero after turning Friday’s widely an- ticipated third-round match against American Sebastian Kor- da into a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 romp. “[He gave me] the intensity I have to [have] during the two, three hours to be able to play in the Grand Slams or in these matches against the best players in the world — [to] keep focusing in every tournament, in every prac- tice that I have.” Since the 2022 season began, Alcaraz raced up the rankings to a career-high No. 6, calling to mind the teenage heroics of Rafael Na- dal, his childhood idol and a fel- low Spaniard, nearly two decades ago. In February, he earned his first 500 -level tournament win on the men’s pro tour, the Rio Open. In April, he won his first Masters 1000 -level title — one rung down from the Grand Slams — at the Miami Open and received a con- gratulatory call from King Felipe VI of Spain. Three weeks later, he vaulted into the top 10 after winning the Barcelona Open, which included an upset of then-fifth-ranked Ste- fanos Tsitsipas. Then came his Madrid Open tour de force, in

which he achieved something no player has: beating Nadal, regard- ed as the greatest clay-court player in history, and top-ranked Djokovic back-to-back on clay. He toppled third-ranked Alexander Zverev to win the title. Alcaraz’s next goal is winning a Grand Slam title. He is halfway there, into the fourth round at Roland Garros. But he faces a tough second week, placed in the stacked half of the draw that includes Djokovic, the defending champion, and Nadal, the tournament’s 13-time champion. If he wins two more times to reach the semifinals, Alcaraz al- most certainly will face one or the other, with Djokovic and Nadal on track to meet for the 59th time in their careers in the quarterfinals. The eyes of the tennis world, no doubt, will be on that match and its implications for Djokovic’s quest to tie Nadal’s record 21 Grand Slam titles. But if Alcaraz takes a giant step in his evolution by winning his first Grand Slam here, he would relegate the Na- dal-Djokovic narrative to subtext. “I feel ready to compete against them in every single tournament, in every single surface,” Alcaraz said after beating the pair in Ma- drid. “[But] in a Grand Slam, it’s completely different... w hen you have to play the best-of-five sets.” Comparisons with Nadal are easy to draw. Like Nadal, Alcaraz was reared in a small village in Spain: El Palmar in Murcia. His father was director of a local tennis aca- demic, where Carlos learned to play. At 15, he went to train at the academy Ferrero owns, where in- struction is rooted in the values that defined his career: sacrifice, humility and respect. Like Nadal, Alcaraz remains close to his family — many of whom were in Miami this spring

and joined him on court after- ward to celebrate his first Masters 1000 victory. And in Alcaraz’s comments, there are echoes of Nadal’s approach to tennis. “To play to win... i s my essence,” he recently said. “[I] fight till the very last ball.” Still, he insists he feels no pres- sure from the comparisons. “I know that there will never be another like Rafa in history,” Al- caraz recently said. “I am Carlos.” The foundation of Alcaraz’s game, like that of Nadal’s, is his powerful forehand. There are metrics that convey every aspect of its effectiveness. Forehand winners can be tallied. The forehand’s velocity can be computed, its court-placement plotted and its spin computer- simulated. But that cannot fully convey what makes Alcaraz such a handful for opponents. A compact 6-foot-1 and 159 pounds, he is a terrific mover and can change direction on a dime. He’s strong enough to blast winners when knocked out of posi- tion. He has a full repertoire of shots — backhand slices, crisp volleys, lobs and devilish drop shots — and the creativity to use them all. And he has the courage to use the least expected stroke, even if a high-risk shot, at critical moments in a match. “Juan Carlos tells me that in the tough moments you have to play aggressive,” Alcaraz said after winning the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals. Through three rounds at the French Open, former players have fawned over Alcaraz’s range and inventiveness. Former No. 1 Mats Wilander, a three-time French Open champion, exulted on Euro- sport over his slice backhand on clay. Former British No. 1 Tim Henman delighted in a serve- and-volley change-up. Analyst Mary Carrillo marvels

at his drop-shot mastery, which cleverly follows a forehand wal- lop that knocks the opponent on his heels. “You might know it could come,” Carrillo said, “but you also have to prepare for the furnace blast that is his forehand.” But the voice Alcaraz hears in his head is the counsel of Ferrero. “I’m aggressive all the time,” he said after steamrolling Korda. “Doesn’t matter if I am losing, winning — close moment or not. I keep my style the whole match.”

Swiatek runs streak to 31 To p-ranked Iga Swiatek w on her 31st consecutive match and is into the fourth round at Roland Garros for the fourth time in four appearances with a 6 -3, 7-5 victory over Danka Kovinic. Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, has won 4 8 of the past 49 sets she has played. Her winning streak is the longest in women’s tennis since Serena Williams won 34 in a row in 2013. Also, Madison Keys became the fifth American woman to reach the fourth round b y rallying past Elena R ybakina, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). Earlier, 11th-seeded Jessica Pegula eliminated T amara Zi- dansek of Slovenia, 6-1, 7-6 (7-2), and China’s Zheng Qinwen was leading 6 -0, 3-0 w hen her opponent, France’s Alizé Cornet, stopped playing because of what she said was a torn leg muscle. Third-seeded P aula Badosa stopped p laying because of a health issue while trailing No. 29 Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 2-1. C amila Giorgi beat No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka, 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, and No. 20 Daria Kasatkina defeated Shelby Rogers, 6-3, 6-2. Winners on the men’s side included D aniil Medvedev, S tefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, J annik Sinner and Hubert Hurkacz. — Associated Press

The n ext great thing in tennis looks ready

At 19, Alcaraz is producing results to match h is enormous potential as he vaults up the rankings

THIBAULT CAMUS/ASSOCIATED PRESS “To play to win... i s my essence. [I] fight till the very last ball,” Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz said.

The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-29)

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