Update on the latest sports
APFRENCH OPEN
Sakkari stops 2020 champ Swiatek’s French Open streak in QFs
PARIS (AP) — Maria Sakkari has ended defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek’s 11-match winning streak at Roland Garros in the quarterfinals.
Sakkari reached her first Grand Slam semifinal by beating Swiatek 6-4, 6-4. Sakkari next will face unseeded Barbora Krejcikova on Thursday.
Krejcikova got to her first major singles semifinal by stopping the run of 17-year-old Coco Gauff 7-6 (6), 6-3. Gauff was the youngest French Open women’s quarterfinalist in 15 years. She made 41 unforced errors that included seven double-faults.
All four women left are first-time major semifinalists so there will be a new Grand Slam champion in Paris. Thursday’s other pairing has No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova facing unseeded Tamara Zidansek.
NBA PLAYOFFS
Boosted by big crowds, Suns try to win again vs Nuggets
PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Suns fans are enjoying the franchise’s return to the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
As COVID-19 restrictions have eased, more and more fans are packing into the arena each night. On Monday, there was a sellout crowd of 16,319 that watched the Suns rally past the Denver Nuggets 122-105 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Suns have won three of four home playoff games so far in the postseason. Game 2 is on Wednesday in Phoenix.
NHL PLAYOFFS
Varlamov’s strong play has Islanders on brink of semifinals
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) — The Islanders have a chance to close out another series in front of their home fans tonight, when the host the Bruins for Game 6 of their series, up three games to two.
After a strong regular season, Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov found himself on the bench while rookie Ilya Sorokin was shining in the first round of the playoffs. But when Sorokin lost the series opener against Boston, New York coach Barry Trotz turned back to Varlamov and the veteran goalie has been stellar since.
Trotz credits Varlamov with being “low maintenance” and having a great mindset to bounce back from a bad game.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Cole vs Donaldson gets sticky; Big mound matchup in Chicago
UNDATED (AP) — New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has found himself in a sticky situation. Days after Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson off-handedly alleged that Cole had been using foreign substances to sharpen his stuff, the pair will go head to head with Cole on the mound for New York at Minnesota tonight.
The pitches Cole threw in his previous outing didn’t rotate as much as usual, and Donaldson casually wondered aloud last week whether Cole had suddenly stopped using substances that could spike his spin rates, fearing an MLB crackdown.
Cole said the spin issues were due to mechanical flaws.
Elsewhere around the league tonight:
— Burly, bearded right-handers Lance Lynn and Alek Manoah are set to square off as the White Sox host the Blue Jays. Lynn — listed at 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds — has allowed one run or fewer in five of his past six starts for Chicago. During that span, he allowed three earned runs, all via solo homer. Manoah makes his third big league start for Toronto. After blanking the Yankees over six innings in his debut, the 6-foot-6, 260-pound righty gave up four runs to the Marlins in a 6-5 win last week.
— Skipped over in his last turn, Zach Eflin returns to Philadelphia’s rotation to face the visiting Braves. Eflin has lost his last four outings and last pitched on May 30. Phillies manager Joe Girardi seemed to be giving Eflin some extra rest when he held him out for a turn.
— Matt Harvey gets another shot at his old team when Baltimore hosts the New York Mets in the finale of a two-game interleague series at Camden Yards. The former Mets star was 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA when he took the mound May 12 at Citi Field and received three standing ovations. Pitching against New York for the first time, he gave up eight hits and a season-high seven runs in 4 1/3 innings, the second of five straight losses for the right-hander. Taijuan Walker starts for the Mets.
Other interleague games have San Francisco at Texas and Arizona at Oakland in matinees, while the Washington Nationals are in Tampa Bay again to play the Rays, and St. Louis hosts Cleveland.
American League matchups have the Astros visiting the Red Sox, the Mariners in Detroit to play the Tigers and the L.A. Angeles hosting the Kansas City Royals.
In the National League, the San Diego Padres host the Chicago Cubs this afternoon, while the Dodgers are in Pittsburgh, Colorado is at Miami and the Brewers are in Cincinnati to play the Reds.
