TENNIS
Former professional tennis player Jelena Dokic says she nearly attempted suicide recently and has been dealing with depression and anxiety.
Dokic, who was a Wimbledon semifinalist at age 17 in 2000 and reached No. 4 in the WTA rankings, wrote in an Instagram post on Monday: “Constant feelings of sadness and pain are just not going away and my life has been shattered. I blame myself, I don’t think I am worthy of loving and I am scared.”
She said she “almost jumped off my 26th floor balcony and took my own life” in April.
“I pulled myself (off) the edge, don’t even know how I managed to do it. Getting professional help saved my life,” the 39-year-old wrote.
“This is not easy to write but I have always been open, honest and vulnerable with you all and I deeply believe in the power of sharing our stories to help us get through things and to help each other,” she continued. “I am writing this because I know I am not the only one struggling. Just know that you are not alone.”
In an autobiography released in 2017, Dokic said her father regularly beat and kicked her. He would pull her hair, spit in her face and belittle her with vile insults. Her father also was her coach.
Her post Monday concluded this way: “Don’t be ashamed of what you are feeling. It’s ok to feel this way and you can come back from it. It’s possible, just keep believing. Love you all and here is to fighting and surviving to live and see another day. I will be back stronger than ever.”
VENETO OPEN:Italian player Lucia Bronzetti won the first match in the first WTA tournament played on natural grass in Italy/
The third-seeded Bronzetti beat Justina Mikulskyte 6-1, 6-3. She will next face Harmony Tan, who defeated Fanny Stollar 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Ylena In-Albon also advanced, beating eighth-seeded Chloe Paquet 6-4, 6-2. The Swiss player will next face compatriot Susan Bandecchi, who defeated Italian wild card Matilde Paoletti in three sets.
Also, Ana Bogdan beat Linda Fruhvirtova, and Ysaline Bonaventure saw off Elina Avanesyan, both in straight sets.
The Veneto Open is taking place in Gaiba, a town of fewer than 1,000 inhabitants – making it the smallest town in the world to host a WTA tournament.
Organizers are using former soccer fields for the tournament and the host tennis club has been nicknamed “Gaibledon,” in homage to Wimbledon.
RANKINGS: None of the so-called Big Three of men’s tennis – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – was in the No. 1 or No. 2 spots in the ATP rankings, the first time that’s been the case in nearly 20 years.
Daniil Medvedev rose one place to return to No. 1, where he briefly spent time earlier this season, and Alexander Zverev moved up to a career-best No. 2.
Djokovic slid from No. 1 to No. 3, because his points for winning the French Open in 2021 dropped off his record on Monday. The ATP rankings are based on a player’s top 18 tournament results over the preceding 52 weeks (19 if he participated in the ATP Tour Finals).
There was not nearly as much shifting in the WTA rankings with Iga Swiatek remaining at No. 1. The only change in the women’s top 20 was Aryna Sabalenka’s move from No. 6 to No. 5, switching with Maria Sakkari.
RETIREMENT: Rio de Janeiro Olympics gold medalist Monica Puig announced her retirement from professional tennis at age 28 via a post on social media.
Puig became the first athlete to win gold for Puerto Rico in any sport at an Olympics with her women’s singles triumph in 2016. She also was the first woman representing her country to earn an Olympic medal of any color.
“After a tough 3 year fight with injuries and 4 surgeries, my body had enough,” Puig wrote Monday. “This decision isn’t an easy one because I would’ve loved to retire on my own terms, but sometimes life has other plans and we have to open new doors that lead to exciting possibilities.”
Puig said she will work for ESPN and will be “exploring consulting roles for young, up and coming tennis players, as well as with programs and academies.”
HALLE OPEN: Last year’s beaten finalist Andrey Rublev lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the first round at Halle, Germany.
Rublev, who won titles in Marseille, Dubai, and Belgrade this season, was bidding to go one better in Halle after losing last year’s decider to Ugo Humbert. But Basilashvili stunned the third-seeded Russian and avenged his defeat to Rublev last year.
Defending champion Humbert was made to fight hard but ultimately came through against Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 7-5.
QUEEN’S CLUB: Former champions Grigor Dimitrov and Marin Cilic advanced to the last 16 in London as three seeded players were eliminated from the Wimbledon warm-up.
Dimitrov, the 2014 champion, took out third-seeded Cameron Norrie of Britain 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4. Norrie was a finalist at Queen’s last year.
Another Briton, a wild card in Liam Broady, was beaten by Cilic, who won the tournament in 2012 and ’18 and also reached two more finals. Cilic won 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
The biggest shock saw fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States lose 6-3, 6-2 to Jack Draper, a 20-year-old British wild card ranked at No. 99.
Reilly Opelka, the eighth-seeded American, was defeated by Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-4, 6-4.
BERLIN OPEN: Karolina Pliskova started her grass-court season beating Kaia Kanepi 6-7 (5), 6-0, 6-0 in the first round when Bianca Andreescu and Daria Kasatkina also won.
The fourth-seeded Pliskova, last year’s beaten Wimbledon finalist, rallied as Kanepi faded after their hard-fought first set.
Pliskova next faces Andreescu in the second round. The Canadian player defeated Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
The sixth-seeded Kasatkina defeated Ukrainian player Anhelina Kalinina 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in 2 hours, 17 minutes. The Russian player has won 10 of her last 12 matches. She next plays compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova or Belgium’s Maryna Zanevska.
Also, Australian qualifier Daria Saville fought back to defeat Swiss player Jil Teichmann 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-2.
COLLEGES
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Guard Jahari Long is transferring from Seton Hall to Maryland, following in the footsteps of Coach Kevin Willard.
The Terrapins hired Willard following the end of last season. Long played two seasons under Willard for Seton Hall.
He played only five games last season before a right knee injury ended his season. Long had surgery in December. He’s expected to be back at full strength for 2022-23.
BASEBALL: Kody Huff went 3 for 4, including a grand slam to cap a six-run fourth inning, and No. 2 national seed Stanford advanced to its second straight College World Series with a 10-5 victory over UConn.
Stanford (47-16), which played in its fifth elimination game in nine days to win the Stanford Super Regional, plays Arkansas (43-19) on Saturday. UConn (50-16), which set a program record for wins, was looking for its first CWS appearance since 1979.
SOCCER
WORLD CUP: Australia qualified for a fifth straight World Cup after a 5-4 penalty shootout win over Peru in their intercontinental playoff.
The teams failed to score in regulation and extra time at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, and goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne, sent on as a substitute in the dying seconds of extra time, proved to be the star for Australia by saving the last penalty from Alex Valera.
“I’m not a hero,” Redmayne said. “I just played my role like everyone else did tonight. I’m not going to take credit for this. The boys ran out there for 120 minutes. It’s a team effort.”
Australia will meet defending champion France in the opening game of Group D on Nov. 22, and take on Tunisia and Denmark.
The final place at the World Cup will be filled in the same stadium on Tuesday when Costa Rica meets New Zealand.
BELGIUM: Ronny Delia left MLS champion New York City FC to become coach of Belgium’s Standard Liege, and assistant coach Nick Cushing was named the interim coach.
Cushing, a 37-year-old from England, becomes the fifth coach of the team in eight seasons. Previous coaches were Jason Kreis (2015), Patrick Vieira (2016-18), Dominic Torrent (2018-19) and Delia (2020-22).
Cushing spent 2013-20 as coach of the women’s team at Manchester City, which, like NYCFC, is owned by City Football Group. He takes over NYCFC with the team in first place in the Eastern Conference with 26 points after 13 games, one point ahead of Philadelphia.
ARSENAL: Arsenal signed 19-year-old Brazilian striker Marquinhos from Sao Paulo, describing him as “a player for the future.”
Marquinhos has represented Brazil at under-16 and under-17 levels and played for Sao Paulo’s senior team for the past year, making 33 appearances and being part of the squad that won the Compeonato Paulista in 2021.
Arsenal said Marquinhos will travel to London in the coming weeks ahead of preseason training.
REAL MADRID: Real Madrid needed a big room for Marcelo’s farewell ceremony.
It had to fit all 25 trophies he won with the club, the most ever by a Madrid player.
The left-back officially bid farewell to Madrid after 16 seasons with the Spanish club, breaking down in tears and having a hard time speaking.
The 34-year-old Marcelo ended his era with Madrid by lifting his fifth Champions League title with the club last month. He also helped Madrid win six Spanish league trophies, four Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, two Copa del Reys and five Spanish Super Cups. With Brazil, he won a Confederations Cup and two Olympic medals.
FIFA: FIFA banned Ivory Coast goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo for 18 months in a doping case involving the same substance that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Gbohouo tested positive for trimetazidine in connection with Ivory Coast’s World Cup qualifying game against Cameroon last November, which it lost 1-0.
The FIFA ruling said the player was prescribed a medication for an eye disorder last year to “improve his retinal blood flow” and it contained trimetazidine dihydrochloride.
Trimetazidine is also a heart medication that lawyers for Valieva said her grandfather was taking and that she accidentally ingested weeks before the Beijing Games in February.
Then aged 15, Valieva was allowed to compete in Beijing pending a full investigation of her positive test by the Russian antidoping agency, which is ongoing. She placed fourth at the Olympics after a mistake-filled free skate program.
MANCHESTER CITY: Erling Haaland has come home.
The Norway striker finalized his move to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund for $63 million to seal his return to England, the country of his birth.
His father, Alf-Inge, played for and briefly captained City in the Premier League from 2000-03 and Erling supported the team as a kid, often going to Maine Road – the club’s former home – with his mother to watch his father play. He has posted on social media pictures of himself wearing a City jersey as a young boy.
Haaland said his family connections were among the reasons why he is joining City despite interest from many other major clubs in Europe.
“First of all, my father, a little bit,” he said. “I was born in England. I have been a City fan my whole life. I know a lot about the club.
“In the end, (there were) two things. I feel at home here and I feel I can develop and get the best out of my game at City. I like the style (of play). I like the attacking football. I like the positive vibe we have when City play football. This is what I like a lot, so I think it’s a good fit.”
RULES: Soccer’s lawmakers decided against a trial of temporary concussion substitutes, while ratifying the option for teams to make five substitutions per game and to have 15 players on the bench.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) said at its annual general meeting in Doha, Qatar, that it had reconsidered the idea of temporary substitutions to deal with head injuries but that its focus would be on existing trials of additional permanent concussion subs.
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool has reached an agreement with Benfica for the signing of Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez for an initial fee of $79 million, the Portuguese club said, in a transfer that would further shake up Jurgen Klopp’s attacking options.
In a brief statement to the Portuguese stock market, Benfica said the transfer sum could rise to $105 million based on variables. The 22-year-old Nunez has yet to agree to terms with Liverpool, Benfica said, while the English club hasn’t commented on the transfer.
The arrival of Nunez, who scored 34 goals in 41 matches for Benfica last season including two against Liverpool in the Champions League, could spark more changes in Klopp’s frontline.
MLS: Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini has signed with Los Angeles FC after a 17-year career at Juventus.
The Major League Soccer club announced its deal for the 37-year-old Chiellini, who is committed through the 2023 season.
He will be formally introduced in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
ROAD RACING
NYC MARATHON: Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Peres Jepchirchir plans to defend her title at the New York City Marathon, telling The Associated Press she hopes to break the course record this November after finishing 8 seconds off the mark last year.
Jepchirchir won the Olympic and NYC marathons four months apart in 2021, then won this spring’s Boston Marathon. She is the first athlete – male or female – to win all three events.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
USA GAMES: A seventh member of the Haitian delegation for the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games has gone missing while visiting central Florida for the athletic competitions, authorities said.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said Louis Jacques Wilguens was last seen getting off a bus at a Walt Disney World resort a day before he was supposed to fly back to Haiti on Sunday. The 25-year-old man has not been seen since, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Six other members of the Haitian delegation also went missing last week. The sheriff’s office said no foul play was suspected and officials do not think the men are in jeopardy.
The six men, ranging in age from 18 to 32, were involved with a soccer team. They were last seen near the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, where some of the competitions are being held. Only one of the six men was identified by organizers as an athlete.
HOCKEY
ECHL: The Florida Everblades won the Kelly Cup with a 4-2 win over the Toledo Walleye on Saturday night at Estero, Florida.
Florida won the final series in five games.
Zach Solow scored two goals in Game 5, giving him four in the series.
Goalie Cam Johnson was selected MVP of the series. He had a 1.90 goals-against average and a 9.42 save percentage in the five games.
Florida’s NHL affiliate is the Nashville Predators.
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