In this April 15, 2019, file photo, the elite men break from the start of the 123rd Boston Marathon in Hopkinton, Mass.. Stew Milne/Associated Press
ROAD RACING
The Boston Marathon will return to a full field of 30,000 for next year’s race – and all runners will need to be fully vaccinated.
The Boston Athletic Association says proof of vaccination with a World Health Organization-certified vaccine will be required to pick up bib numbers before the race on April 18, 2022.
The 125th Boston Marathon scheduled for April 2020 was postponed and then canceled, and the 2021 race was postponed until October – the first fall race in the event’s history. Those in the reduced field of about 16,000 were required to show proof of vaccination or pass a COVID-19 test to take part.
B.A.A. President Tom Grilk said 93% of the athletes in this year’s race were vaccinated.
“As we look to return to the traditional Patriots’ Day date for the first time since 2019 and allow for as many athletes to participate as safely as possible, we know that a fully vaccinated field is the appropriate requirement to implement,” he said. “We had a 93% vaccination rate among our 125th Boston Marathon participants and want to do our part to continue to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as we continue our return to racing.”
Registration for the upcoming Boston Marathon begins on Monday.
TENNIS
PARIS MASTERS: Defending champion Daniil Medvedev stayed in contention for the year-end No. 1 ranking by defeating Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 7-5, 6-4 in the second round at Paris.
Novak Djokovic, who is also playing in Paris, has a lead of 800 points over Medvedev in the rankings and could clinch the year-end No. 1 this week depending on their respective results.
Earlier, an injured Stefanos Tsitsipas retired from his second-round match while trailing 4-2 against Australian opponent Alexei Popyrin.
Americans Taylor Fritz, Marcos Giron and Sebastian Korda caused a few upsets in the second round. Fritz beat fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-5, 7-6 (2), qualifier Giron edged 11th-seeded Diego Schwartzman 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), and Korda cruised past St. Petersburg Open champion Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-4.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Pablo Carreno Busta both dropped out of contention for the ATP Finals by losing in the second round, but seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz and 10th-seeded Cameron Norrie stayed in the race with victories.
The ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime lost to Dominik Koepfer 6-3, 7-5, and the 12th-seeded Carreno Busta was beaten by French qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5.
Hurkacz beat American qualifier Tommy Paul 7-5, 7-6 (4) and Norrie defeated Toronto runner-up Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-4. Hurkacz overtook Jannik Sinner in the Race to Turin, virtually taking the last spot for the ATP Finals.
Also, the fourth-seeded Zverev downed Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 7-6 (5). The Olympic champion needed a medical timeout at 3-2 in the opening set to treat a neck strain.
The 16th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov rallied past 2018 Paris Masters champion Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, Carlos Alcaraz ousted Sinner 7-6 (1), 7-5, James Duckworth beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and the 15th-seeded Gael Monfils of France overcame Adrian Mannarino 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 to next play Djokovic.
OBIT: Jane Brown Grimes, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame for contributions to the sport as an executive who held roles at the U.S. Tennis Association, the precursor to the WTA Tour and the Hall itself, has died at age 80.
The Hall announced Brown Grimes’ death based on information from her daughter, Serena Larson. The Hall said Brown Grimes passed away at her home in New York City on Tuesday.
BILLIE JEAN KING CUP: The United States won both singles matches against Spain to reach the semifinals at Prague.
The Americans faced a must-win situation after losing to Slovakia 2-1 in Group C on Tuesday, and Sloane Stephens and Danielle Collins both earned straight-set victories to render the final doubles meaningless.
The U.S., the most successful team in the competition formerly known as the Fed Cup with 18 titles, will face Russia in the semis. The Russians eliminated defending champion France earlier in the day.
Stephens beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-4, 6-4, earning her seventh break of the match in the final game and converting her first match point with a backhand winner.
Collins secured the second point by easing past Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0 in just under one hour to seal the victory and eliminate Spain.
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