Digest: Rafael Nadal falters late, loses to Lucas Pouille in U.S. Open’s 4th round
Tennis: Rafael Nadal kept making a stand, kept coming back, kept showing he would not depart quietly from this U.S. Open. Facing a much younger, much-less-accomplished opponent, Nadal twice erased a set deficit. Then he staved off a trio of match points.
And then, more than 4 hours into the toughest test he’s put his left wrist through since returning from injury, Nadal faltered. He missed a short forehand, pushing it into the net. Nadal knew what he’d done and covered his eyes with both hands. One point later, the match was over.
Nadal was upset in the U.S. Open’s fourth round by 24th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) on Sunday, prolonging the 14-time Grand Slam title winner’s quarterfinal drought at major tournaments.
“There were things I could do better. Had the right attitude. I (fought) right up to the last ball,” said the No. 4-seeded Nadal, a two-time champion at Flushing Meadows. “But I need something else. I need something more that was not there today.”
He breezed through his opening three matches at the hard-court tournament, dropping only 20 games. But Pouille, a 22-year-old with flashy strokes, presented a much greater challenge in the fourth round, pushing Nadal to the limit through entertaining, tense – and intense – exchanges.
“Every point was great,” Pouille said in his on-court interview.
This was Pouille’s third career victory in a five-setter – and all have come in his past three matches.
Since losing in last year’s French Open quarterfinals, Nadal has failed to make it beyond the fourth round at a major.
Moore nets 24, leads Minnesota to win
WNBA: Maya Moore was 4 of 5 from 3-point range and scored 24 points to help the defending champion Minnesota Lynx beat the Connecticut Sun 93-79 in Minneapolis.
Sylvia Fowles added 18 points and eight boards, and Rebekkah Brunson had 13 points.
Minnesota (24-5) remained tied with Los Angeles for first place in the overall standings and will face the Sparks on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. The winner will not only take a one-game lead in the playoff race, but also secure the head-to-head tiebreaker with four games remaining.
Alex Bentley had 16 points for Connecticut (11-18).
Ogwumike, Los Angeles tops Indiana: Nneka Ogwumike had 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists to lead the host Los Angeles Sparks past the Indiana Fever 88-81.
Candace Parker added with 19 points, and Kristi Toliver 18 points for Los Angeles. Erica Wheeler scored 20 points, and Shenise Johnson added 19 for Indiana.
Delle Donne lifts Sky: Elena Delle Donne made 12 of 20 shots and scored 35 points in the Chicago Sky’s 97-73 victory over the San Antonio Stars in Rosemont, Illinois.
Delle Donne made 3 of 4 3-pointers, 8 of 9 free throws and also had six rebounds to lead Chicago to its fourth straight victory.
Monique Currie scored 20 points, hitting all 10 of her free throws, and Moriah Jefferson added 18 points for San Antonio.
Mystics edge Wings: Tayler Hill made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 2:09 and had 25 points and the Washington Mystics beat the Dallas Wings 88-83 in Arlington, Texas.
Kia Vaugh added 17 points for Washington (11-7). Skylar Diggins led Dallas (9-21) with 25 points, and Aerial Powers had 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Wings have lost 11 straight.
Cajuns fire Smith after loss to Boise State
Miscellany: Louisiana-Lafayette fired defensive coordinator Melvin Smith on Sunday, a day after a season-opening 45-10 loss to Boise State.
Ragin’ Cajuns coach Mark Hudspeth said linebackers coach Mike Lucas will be the defensive coordinator for the remainder of the season.
Hudspeth said in a statement that “we appreciate everything that Melvin has done for us since coming here, and we wish he and his family nothing but the best in the future.” Hudspeth added that “making a change is never easy, but we feel this was the necessary thing to do for the success of our program.”
Smith came to Louisiana-Lafayette last year after two seasons as Auburn’s cornerbacks coach. He also has been an assistant at Mississippi State, Alabama and Texas A&M.
Louisiana-Lafayette hosts McNeese State on Saturday.
Ex-soccer star Holiday faces tumor: Former U.S. soccer star Lauren Holiday has been diagnosed with a brain tumor while pregnant, and her husband, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, is taking indefinite leave from the NBA club to care for his wife, the Pelicans said.
“We are all praying for a healthy delivery of their first child and a successful surgery for Lauren,” Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said in a prepared statement provided Sunday by the club. “Furthermore, we ask everyone to respect the Holiday’s privacy at this time.”
Lauren Holiday, who retired from soccer last year, was among the world’s most respected players in the women’s game during a career highlighted by Olympic gold medals with the U.S. national team in 2008 and 2012, and FIFA World Cup title in 2015. The midfielder played in 133 games for the U.S. team, scoring 24 goals. She also played professionally in the NWSL, winning a championship with FC Kansas City in 2015.
Quintana extends lead after Contador stuns Froome: A surprise attack by Alberto Contador helped Nairo Quintana boost his lead over Chris Froome to more than three minutes after the 15th stage of the Spanish Vuelta in Aramon Formigal, Spain.
An audacious move by Contador’s Tinkoff team caught the peloton off guard with an attack at the start of the short 118.5-kilometer (74-mile) ride starting in Sabinanigo in the Pyrenees.
Quintana quickly joined Contador’s small breakaway that surprised Froome and isolated him from his Sky teammates, who were even further behind.
Quintana increased his 54-second advantage entering the day to 3 minutes, 37 seconds after leading the charge up the last of three ascents while Froome struggled to pursue.
Vinales dominates at Silverstone: Maverick Vinales celebrated the first victory of his Moto GP career at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, England, giving Suzuki its first success since 2007.
The 21-year-old Spaniard finished more than three seconds clear of British pole-sitter Cal Crutchlow of Honda to become the seventh different winner in the championship.
“It feels incredible, for what I’ve fought for all the time to come true,” said Vinales, who is fourth in the drivers’ standings. “The key was yesterday in the rain because they gave me a bike to be able to be on the front row. Today, we did it.”
Six-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi on a Yamaha completed the podium in the 12th race of the season at Silverstone in central England. Marc Marquez was fourth on a Honda and remains the championship leader, 50 points ahead of Rossi.