Sports
The Ardmoreite, Wednesday, June 2, 2010
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13A
▼ French Open
Soderling shocks Federer in 4 PARIS (AP) — His French Open reign suddenly over, his record streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals done, too, Roger Federer paused briefly as he trudged off court at dusk, acknowledging the fans’ applause with a polite smile and a quick wave. He’s certainly not used to bidding adieu so soon. Bothered by the pouring rain and his big-hitting foe, the top-seeded Federer wasted a lead and plenty of openings Tuesday, succumbing to No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. If Soderling’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he stunned four-time champion Rafael Nadal in the French Open’s fourth round last year, before losing to Federer in the final. For the first time in six years, the men’s semifinals at a major tennis tournament will not involve 16-
time Grand Slam champion Federer. “They all come to an end at some stage. You hope they don’t happen, but they do. It was a great run,” Federer said, before injecting a little humor by adding with a wry smile: “Now I’ve got the quarterfinal streak going, I guess.” Look at it this way: Federer had won 117 matches in a row — 117! — in the first five rounds at majors, dating to a loss to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round at the French Open on May 29, 2004 (Federer advanced twice when opponents withdrew). “I mean, I respect everyone, but I’m always — how do you say? — I’m honest enough to myself that I know I can win them all,” said Federer, who would cede his No. 1 ranking if Nadal wins the title. Among the many reasons why Tuesday’s result was so
unexpected is that Federer was 12-0 against Soderling, having won 28 of the 30 sets they’d played. So who, exactly, would have thought Soderling could win three sets in a single day? “Even though I lost so many times, I always have a chance to win,” said the 25year-old Soderling, who’d never been past the third round at a Grand Slam tournament until last year’s French Open. “I always believe that I can win. This is a big win, but it’s not the final. Still have at least one more match to play, and I don’t want to celebrate too much.” That next match will be in Friday’s semifinals against No. 15 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic. Still, Soderling has every right to relish what he’s already accomplished: He is the first man to beat the French Open defending cham-
pion in consecutive years since another Swede, Mats Wilander, did it in 1984-85. It will be Soderling vs. Berdych, who advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal by beating No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. In Wednesday’s men’s quarterfinals, Nadal meets No. 19 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, and No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia faces No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria. In Tuesday’s women’s quarterfinals, No. 17 Francesca Schiavone gave Italy its first female semifinalist at the French Open since 1954 by knocking off No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3, 6-2. Schiavone now plays No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who defeated No. 19 Nadia Petrova 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in an all-Russian quarterfinal.
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Robin Soderling goes up to return the ball to Roger Federer during a quarterfinal match at the French Open in Paris on Tuesday.
▼ Stanley Cup
▼ MLB
Reds edge Cardinals for NL Central lead ST. LOUIS — Scott Rolen homered twice and the Cincinnati Reds overcame a rough outing by Johnny Cueto, recovering for a 9-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night. Jonny Gomes’ RBI single and Drew Stubbs’ go-ahead sacrifice fly off Blake Hawksworth put the Reds ahead to stay in the seventh inning after Brendan Ryan’s tworun double put the Cardinals ahead 8-7 the inning before. Joey Votto homered and had four hits, showing no rust from a six-game absence due to a sore neck, and helped the Reds rally after blowing a four-run lead to reclaim first place in the NL Central. The Cardinals won the opener of a three-game series Monday to tie for the lead.
Pirates 3, Cubs 2 PITTSBURGH — Neil Walker hit his first major league home run to put the Pirates ahead in the eighth and Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs for the seventh time this season. Walker, who grew up in Pittsburgh’s suburbs and was the Pirates’ firstround draft choice in 2004, hit a 0-1 pitch from Ted Lilly (1-5) into the seats in the deepest part of the ballpark in left-center with Andrew McCutchen on
in the NL East with a victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night. The Braves moved to 1½ games ahead of two-time reigning NL champion Philadelphia with their 17th win in the last 21 games, including seven in a row. They haven’t been in first this late in the season since 2005, the last of their record 14 straight division titles.
Astros 8 Nationals 7
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The Cardinals’ Felipe Lopez, left, is tagged out at home by Reds catcher Ramon Hernandez during the first inning Tuesday in St. Louis. and one out. The Pirates improved to 7-1 against the Cubs this season — they’re 15-30 against everyone else — and have won nine of their past 10 against Chicago overall. Joel Hanrahan (2-1) pitched a perfect top of the eighth and Octavio Dotel worked the ninth for his 12th save in 14 opportunities.
as Florida became the latest team to rough up Trevor Hoffman, sending the Marlins over the Brewers. Hoffman, baseball’s career saves leader, took over with the score 3-all. Chris Coghlan led off with a double and scored on Cantu’s hit, and Ronny Paulino added a two-run single.
Marlins 6 Brewers 4
ATLANTA — Troy Glaus stayed hot with a three-run homer, Tim Hudson pitched six strong innings around a rain delay, and the streaking Atlanta Braves extended with lead
MIAMI — Jorge Cantu hit a goahead double in the seventh inning
Braves 7, Phillies 3
HOUSTON — Lance Berkman singled in two runs with two out in the ninth against NL saves leader Matt Capps as the Houston Astros answered Washington’s late rally with one of their own in a victory Tuesday night. The Nationals grabbed a 7-6 lead with a two-run rally against Houston closer Matt Lidstrom on RBI singles from Roger Bernadina and Ian Desmond. But Pedro Feliz reached on Ryan Zimmerman’s fielding error to start Houston’s ninth. He was sacrificed to second by Kevin Cash and pinch hitter Cory Sullivan’s double off the wall in left field put runners on second and third. Capps (0-2) intentionally walked Michael Bourn to load the bases, but after getting a second out, Berkman drove the ball to left to win it. He finished with five RBIs. — The Associated Press
Tejada’s error costly as Yankees beat Orioles NEW YORK — Miguel Tejada’s two-out, two-run throwing error allowed Javier Vazquez to win a stellar matchup with Brian Matusz, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 31 Tuesday night. Tejada, playing his first season at third base, fielded Alex Rodriguez’s sharp grounder off reliever David Hernandez in the seventh inning, but his throw to first bounced in the dirt and Ty Wigginton couldn’t stretch far enough to scoop it. Vazquez (4-5) allowed a solo homer to Corey Patterson in the sixth, one of four hits he allowed. He struck out seven in seven innings. Matusz (2-6) gave up six hits and three runs — one earned. Curtis Granderson hit a solo homer in the fifth inning.
Baltimore lost its sixth in a row.
Indians 3, Tigers 2 DETROIT — Russell Branyan and Shin-Soo Choo hit homers, lifting the Indians to a win over the Tigers. Jake Westbrook (3-3) gave up a run on five hits and a walk over 7 2-3 innings. Chris Perez stranded two runners in the eighth by getting Magglio Ordonez to pop up. Kerry Wood gave up an unearned run on Alex Avila’s RBI single after Branyan’s two-out error, letting the Tigers pull within a run before earning his third save in four chances.
Royals 6, Angels 3 KANSAS CITY, Mo. — David DeJesus hit a two-run triple, Jose Guillen homered and reliever Robinson Tejeda escaped a jam in the sixth inning, lifting the Royals to a win over the Angels. Brian Bannister (5-3) worked into the sixth inning for his fourth straight win and the bullpen pitched 3 2-3
scoreless innings to end Kansas City’s three-game losing streak. Tejeda got the two biggest outs, stopping the Angels with runners on second and third.
Rays 7 Blue Jays 6 TORONTO — Sean Rodriguez hit a go-ahead, three-run double in a wild ninth inning that featured two ejections and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat Toronto. The Blue Jays led 5-3 to begin the inning, but Carl Crawford drew a oneout walk and stole second. He was nearly picked off second, but ended up at third after Gregg’s throwing error sent the ball into center field. Evan Longoria walked to put runners on the corners for Carlos Pena, who struck out looking after he was denied a timeout call by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez. Rays manager Joe Maddon came out to argue and was ejected by Hernandez. Gregg (0-2) loaded the bases by walking pinch-hitter John Jaso, then
walked in a run before Rodriguez’s bases-clearing double.
Red Sox 9 Athletics 4 BOSTON — Victor Martinez had five hits, including a career-high four doubles — one of them to break a sixth-inning tie after Oakland walked the bases loaded — and the Red Sox rallied from a four-run deficit to beat the Athletics. John Lackey (6-3) spotted the A’s a 4-0 lead before Adrian Beltre hit a three-run homer in the fifth. In the sixth, Bill Hall reached on a leadoff walk and then Darnell McDonald and Marco Scutaro both tried to sacrifice bunt but wound up walking as well. Hall scored to tie it on Dustin Pedroia’s double-play grounder, then Martinez’s line drive one-hopped into the stands to make it 5-4. The Red Sox added a run in the seventh and three in the eighth. Tyson Ross (1-4) took the loss. — The Associated Press
▼ NFL
Roethlisberger back with Steelers PITTSBURGH — A slimmed-down Ben Roethlisberger whistled practice passes to his receivers for the first time in five weeks, and a teammate didn’t need to watch video tape to know what he’d just seen. “He’s been working hard at home,” defensive end Brett Keisel said. “He wants to be great this year. So, hopefully, he will.” Even if considerable repair work needs to be done, on the field and off it. The two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback didn’t talk to reporters after practicing Tuesday for the first time since drawing a sixgame suspension April 21 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. The penalty resulted from a Georgia college student’s
allegation that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her in a nightclub, and though he does not face criminal charges in the case, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the quarterback’s drinking and carousing failed to meet the league’s expectations for player behavior. Roethlisberger took part in voluntary practices April 19 and 20, but was barred from working out again until he underwent a league-ordered behavioral evaluation and was cleared by Goodell to resume team activities. The commissioner still hasn’t decided if Roethlisberger’s suspension will be reduced to four games. The consensus among Roethlisberger’s teammates: Good to have him back, now let’s move on — even if they
realize that can’t possibly happen for months.
Eagles’ Jackson tears Achilles’ PHILADELPHIA — Eagles defensive back Marlin Jackson has ruptured his right Achilles’ tendon an indoor practice. Jackson, who was competing for a starting spot at free safety, was hurt on Tuesday. An MRI exam revealed the extent of the injury, the team said. A 2005 first-round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts, Jackson signed a two-year deal with Philadelphia in March. He is coming off a pair of season-ending knee injuries. Jackson missed the second half of 2008 with a torn ACL in his right knee and returned in 2009 before tearing the ACL in his left knee in a November practice. — The Associated Press
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Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throws at practice Tuesday.
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Blackhawks right wing Dustin Byfuglien checks Philadelphia Flyers center Ian Laperriere into the boards in the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Monday in Chicago.
Flyers’ hopes on the ropes PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Philadelphia Flyers’ Stanley Cup championship hopes are in big trouble. Concern has again enveloped the growing legion of hockey fans who have embraced the orange and black during this most unexpected roller-coaster ride through the NHL playoffs. While the City of Brotherly Love — with its fatalistic attitude toward its sports teams — is worried as the Flyers return following a pair of road losses to the Chicago Blackhawks, there seems to be no reason to panic. After all, this team has been down and nearly all the way out several times along the way and still managed to survive and advance. And Games 3 and 4 will be played Wednesday and Friday in Philadelphia, where the Flyers are 7-1 in these playoffs. That’s one of the only stats currently in the Flyers’ favor. “We’re glad that we’re back home now,” forward Simon Gagne said Tuesday. “Sure, we’re not really happy the way things went in Chicago. We’re down 2-0. “We’ve been there before. We’ve been down 2-0, even 3-0. So it’s not like it’s a new situation for us.” Like a Tony Gwynn or Don Mattingly, who always seemed comfortable at the plate with two strikes against them, the Flyers appear to thrive on the do-or-die pressure. By now they are quite used to it. The Flyers, at least outwardly, show no signs of fear even though only two of 33 teams to lose the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals on the road have rallied to capture the championship. Chicago is also 7-1 away from home in the playoffs. “The Blackhawks did what they were supposed to do and they defended home ice,” defenseman Chris Pronger said. “Now it’s up to us to do the same thing. “Although many of you folk might not give us much of a chance, we’re not too worried about what you guys think. We’re worried about what we think in the locker room. We think we can win.” The Blackhawks came out on the short end after grabbing a 2-0 lead at home in 1971 against Montreal. Last year, Pittsburgh recovered from 2-0 and 3-2 holes to claim the Cup in a rematch with Detroit. Game 3 might just be where the Flyers find their legs and their mojo. Philadelphia can be bolstered by the fact it lost a pair of one-goal decisions that could have gone either way in Chicago — 6-5 and 2-1 — and didn’t play poorly. “We did a great job against Boston, just focusing on the one-game-at-a-time mentality and not look forward at the big picture,” captain Mike Richards said. “Not too many people have done it, but not too many people have come back from 0-3, either. “We’re obviously a confident group. It’s a situation that’s familiar with us.”