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Sports ❘ 07 CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, [email protected] Monday June 12, 2017 LATVIA’S Jelena Ostapenko, 20, beat No. 3 Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the French Open on Saturday to claim her first tour-level title. Ranked only 47th, she was just two days past her 20th birthday. “Before the match, 5-10 min- utes, I was a little bit nervous,” said Ostapenko, the first Latvian to win a major. “But then, when I went on court, I felt quite free.” Halep, a 25-year-old from Romania, was the 2014 French Open runner-up and would have moved up to No. 1 in the WTA rankings if she had won Saturday. She appeared headed for a runaway victory when up a set and 3-0 in the second, plus holding three break points for the chance to lead 4-0. But Ostapenko would not go quietly, winning that game and the next three en route to forcing a third set. “I felt a little bit nervous,” said Ostapenko, the first woman since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win the French Open after losing the final’s opening set. “But then I felt: ‘I have nothing to lose, so I’m just going to enjoy the match and do my best.’” She again summoned a vet- eran’s resolve down 3-1 in the third set, taking the match’s last five games and, fittingly, striking a pair of winners on the last two points. “Enjoy, be happy, and keep it going,” Halep told Ostapenko during the trophy ceremony, “because you’re like a kid.” Ostapenko was playing in only her eighth Grand Slam tourna- ment and never had been past IT wasn’t in front of tens of thousands at London’s famed Stamford Bridge, nor the masses inside World Cup venues of years past. But Didier Drogba’s pres- ence on the pitch before a sellout crowd of 7,062 at an American second-division facility Saturday night still created a buzz. Drogba, wearing No. 11 in red and the captain’s armband, made his playing debut for USL side Phoenix Rising FC about two months after agreeing to join the club as player and part owner. He looked sharp from the start and rewarded the crowd and those watching around the world online with the game’s opening goal in the 40th minute. Drogba headed a cross from teammate Amadou Dia into the net, the ball deflecting off the hands of Vancouver Whitecaps 2 goalkeeper Sean Melvin. The 39-year-old celebrated his first goal of the season by sprinting to a corner flag and basking in the embraces of his teammates. He later assisted on what proved to be the winner, steal- ing the ball at midfield and passing to former Chelsea team- mate Shaun Wright-Phillips for AN emotional Usain Bolt recov- ered from a moderate start to win his final 100 meters sprint on home soil, clocking 10.03 seconds at the 2nd Racers Grand Prix in Kingston on Saturday. The multiple Olympic and world gold medalist, who will retire after August’s world championships in London, con- fessed to being a nervous wreck before running his last race on Jamaican soil. “The run, it was just OK. I must say it was OK. I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous running a 100m,” Bolt said after a lap of honor before a packed stadium, including International Asso- ciation of Athletics Federations President Sebastian Coe and the top brass of Jamaican poli- tics including Prime Minister Andrew Holness. “I think that was possibly one of my worst races. My execution was poor, my start was poor as always. I think in the last bit I lost it a little. “But I didn’t expect anything spectacular... my first race since January when I ran a 150m and some relays in Australia so I just wanted to stay injury free, put on a show for the crowd and show them I’m thankful for the sup- port over the years. “Just the atmosphere and the people, the support they came out and give me tonight, it was really nerve racking. I never expected this, I knew it was going to be big, the stadium was ram packed so thank you guys for coming out and sup- porting me.” Running from lane five, Bolt took control of the race before the halfway mark and pulled away to the delight of more than 30,000 spectators. “It’s big to see everybody that turned out. It shows that what I’ve done for the sport is a big deal to them and they really appreciate it,” said the 30-year- old. “I’ll try my best even when I’ve hung up my spikes, to really continue to push track and field in any way possible.” (SD-Agencies) FORMER Manchester United man Zlatan Ibrahimovic could wind up in the MLS. Or some- where else. News that the Premier League team would not offer the 35-year-old Swede an extension on his one-year deal came Friday after- noon, per the BBC, which cited the release of the league’s retain list. The decision comes as a bit of a surprise after he led the team in scoring with 28 goals in 46 appearances. The superstar was sidelined by an injury late in the season, though. Ibrahimovic’s exit from United does not mean he’s going to hang up his boots. In fact, the rumor mill is swirling with all sorts of buzz about where he might wind up next. One of the most popular theories is that Ibrahimovic will be making his way over to the United States to play in the MLS. (SD-Agencies) Drogba scores in debut with American side Rising’s second goal in the 77th minute. Phoenix defeated the Canadian club 2-1 in a regular season league match. “Nothing different,” he said when asked about his debut compared to others. “The game is still the beautiful game and I want to enjoy it, and I was enjoy- ing today, and that’s the most important thing for me.” Phoenix has a team in every major American sports league except Major League Soccer, and every previous attempt at establishing and maintaining a professional club in the area has failed. There is a different feeling with Phoenix Rising, and having a legend like Drogba intensifies the positive vibes among fans. The player was first introduced to Phoenix soccer fans at halftime of a game April 23, promising to help in the team’s quest to become an MLS franchise. That night, it was announced that Drogba needed several weeks to get himself into play- ing shape, and five missed games later, Drogba was ready. He played the full 90 minutes of the match. “It took me five weeks to kind of get back in shape. I still need a few weeks to improve, but it’s good to start at home,” Drogba said. On Saturday, Drogba took the field to lead warmups with a throng of photographers recording his every move and fans in the single-tier seating bowl shouting his name. The club issued an estimated 30 press credentials, three times the amount for a typical match since the season opener. (SD-Agencies) Ostapenko wins French Open title the third round before. Clay isn’t even her preferred surface — she likes grass better, and won the Wimbledon junior title in 2014 — which made this two-week joy- ride even more unpredictable. Last year in Paris, Ostapenko lost in the first round. The year before that, she lost in the first round of qualifying. “Everybody knows she can play very good, but I think nobody expected her to do what she did,” said Anabel Medina Garrigues, who began coaching Ostapenko in April. Asked why Ostapenko never won a WTA Tour event until now, Medina Garrigues began answering, then interrupted her- self after 10 words and laughed. “I mean, I don’t know,” she said. “Actually, it’s something I cannot understand. It’s unbe- lievable.” The last woman to win her first tour-level title at a major was Barbara Jordan at the 1979 Australian Open. Ostapenko stepped into the considerable opening created by the absences of Serena Williams (who is pregnant) and Sharapova (denied a wild card after a drug ban). Also missing was two-time major champ Victoria Azarenka, while No. 1 Angelique Kerber lost in the first round. Ostapenko burst onto the scene with a brash brand of tennis. Accenting shots with high-pitched exhales, she likes points quick. The impatience of youth not only showed up in Ostapenko’s play but also, occasionally, in her demeanor. When she’d miss, she would slap her thigh or crack her racket on the red clay or raise a palm as if to say, “What was up with that shot?” Things went her way to the tune of 54 winners, a remark- ably high total that was 46 more than the defensive-minded Halep. Ostapenko also made 54 unforced errors, to Halep’s 10. (SD-Agencies) Zlatan Ibrahimovic United releases Ibrahimovic Bolt wins fi nal 100m race on home soil Jamaica’s Olympic champion Usain Bolt greets the crowd after arriving at the National Stadium to run his final 100 meters sprint at the 2nd Racers Grand Prix, in Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday. SD-Agencies Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko celebrates by kissing the trophy after winning the final against Romania’s Simona Halep at the French Open in Paris on Saturday. SD-Agencies Didier Drogba (R) poses with a team- mate in Phoenix, the United States, on Saturday. SD-Agencies
