C4
TH E BULLETIN• THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015
CYCLING: TOUR DE FRANCE
Contendersstay safe oncrash-marred stage 5 By Jerome Pugmire
ers. But once again, Chris
The Associated Press
Froome and the other Tour
AMIENS, France — With crash-
es taking down riders on raindrenched roads, keeping team leaders safe was the order of the day on Wednesday's fifth stage of the Tour de France.
By the time Andre Greipel attacked in the last 100 meters to win his second stage of the Tour, and a
Ne Xt uP tecti n g h is Tinkoff-Saxo tension," Sagan said. "I want to help Tour de France teammate Alberto Con- and protect Alberto." contenders avoided them. tador, and then contested The yellow jersey group rolled "There was absolutely . the stage sprint, zooming over the line with no change to the everything out there to y y ahead o f British rider Mark leading positions. day. It rained, which made T": NBCSN Cavendish to take second German rider Tony Martin, the the roads slippery, and it place behind Greipel. winner on stage 4, still leads Froome "It was also very crazy today with by 12 seconds and Tejay Van Gardwas also windy," said Ian Stannard, Froome's Team Sky teammate. rain, wind and a lotofcrashesand eren, a promising American rider "That made for a stressful day." I'm h appy with how we finished," with strong climbing skills, by 25. "Everyone thought today was PeterSagan, a Slovak riderseek- Sagan said.Threeofhisteammates ing to win the green jersey as the were involved in crashes, but not going to be the relaxed day of the "
'
third in five days for German riders, the last of the day's seven crashes Tour's best sprinter for a fourth C o n tador. "Everybody wants to be at the Germany's Andre Greipel celebrates as he cross- had taken down 30 riders. straight year, had even more reason es the finish line to win the fifth stage of the Tour There had been a big spill in stage to feel tired. front on a day like this to protect de FranceinAmiens,France,onW ednesday. three, too, involving some 20 ridHe spent most of the day prot h e team leaders and that creates Peter Dejong /The Associated Press
NBA
TENNIS: WIMBLEDON
Continued from C1 Other players to w atch include 18-year-old New Zealander Lydia Ko, who spent time ranked first on t he
LPGA Tour this season before being overtaken by Park. Brittany Lincicome won the ANA Inspiration in April in
California, and fellow American Stacey Lewis finished second to Wie in
back to Los Angeles.
DALLAS — DeAndre Jor-
dan gave the Dallas Mavericks his word. Then he gave the Los Angeles Clippers his signature. After a Clippers contingent including Blake Griffin,
made it anything but," Van Garderen said. "Luckily, I have one of the strongest teams here."
Park
Jordan spurnsDallas, set to return to L.A. The Associated Press
tour. But the wind and the rain
"WE' RE OFFICIALLY CENTERED," the tweet read. Once and for all.
the Women's Open last year. Standout
South Korean rookie Sei Young Kim had her caddie removed from the cham-
Jordan initially agreed to a four-year deal worth more
pionship by the United States Golf As-
sociation for taking photos of internal notes on the course setup.
than $80 million to leave the
J.J. Redick, Paul Pierce and
Clippers after seven seasons and join the Mavericks, a
Doc Rivers descended on
team that offered him a more
sphere of the majors and willingly increasesher preparation for the tour's
Jordan's home in Houston on
featuredrole on offense.But
premier events.
Wednesday night for a lastditch push to keep their defensive pillar, Jordan backed out of a verbal agreement
that was last Friday, and the contract could not be signed until 12:01 a.m. Eastern time
with the Mavericks to stay with the only NBA home he' s
rules.
Park favors the pressurized atmo-
"That's the tournament that you put 100 percentof your energy and strategy and everything," Park said of the tour's five majors. "When I come to major championships, I work extra hard
today, according to NBA
That gave Jordan time ever had. to think it over, and when The Clippers announced word got back to the Clippers Jordan's deal late Wednes- that he was having second day night. It's a four-year thoughts, they pounced.
pact worth more than $87 They gathered to m e et million, a person with knowl- with Jordan and talk things edge of the agreement told over, then held the Mavericks The Associated Press. The at bay as owner Mark Cuban terms, first reported by USA tried to get one more meeting Today, include a player op- to close the deal. tion after the third season. Cuban an d Jo r dan' s
The person spoke on condi- agent, Dan Fegan of Relativtion of anonymity because ity Sports, tried repeatedly the team was not releasing to reach the big man while contract details. he was holed up in his house The Clippers also sent out with his teammates to no a tweet welcoming Jordan avail.
Alastair Grant / The Associated Press
Andy Murray returns a shot to Vasek Pospisil during their singles match at Wimbledon
in London onWednesday.
Spurs Continued from C1 Only one year removed from winning their fifth NBA title, the Spurs ar e
the clear-cut winner of the offseason. Here is how they did it:
sidering the pieces the team added, the cost of losing him appears reasonable. Looking at th e Spurs' competition in the Western Conference, it is far from a
sure thing that the rebooted dynasty can steamroll
Park said she is boosted by previous wins in major tournaments.
Federer,Murraysetfor semis By Howard Fendrtch The Associated Press
LONDON — Roger Federer and Andy Murray ran into each other Wednesday
morning in the champions' locker room at the All England Club, then walked together over to the practice area to pre-
pare — on adjacent courts — for their respective quarterfinals later in the day. "We weren't chatting about anything.
presence at center, but con-
It was just, 'Hey, how you doing'?' Nothing interesting," Murray recounted. "We get on well. But obviously, on Fridaydifferent story." Yes, they will meet up again Friday, only the setting will be far different and
things might be a tad less cordial, because the two past Wimbledon titlists face each other at Centre Court in the
semifinals. The No. 2-seeded Federer is closing in
on his record eighth trophy at the grasscourt tournament; No. 3 Murray's 2013 championship was the first for a British man at Wimbledon in 77 years.
Another past champion, No. 1 Novak Djokovic, also barely was tested, eliminating No. 9 Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4,
6-4, 6-4 to improve to 13-0 against the 2014 U.S. Open winner.
Djokovic, who w o n W i mbledon in 2011 and 2014, plays No. 21 Richard Gasquet of France next. Gasquet
emerged from the most compelling quarterfinal — featuring two beautiful one-handed backhands — with a 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 win over No. 4 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland. "It was great to watch them go back-
hand-to-backhand today," said Djokovic, who is 11-1 against Gasquet. "Some great points, great exchanges."
m a x i-
mum salary extension that keeps the 2014-15 defensive player of the year in the fold for the next five seasons. The team then doled out $45 million over four years to retain
State Warriors will r eturn
every core player — while saving a great deal of money by unloading David Lee to the Boston Celtics — and
the Memphis Grizzlies got stronger by b r inging in Wright. The Houston Rock-
earned them the No. 2 seed in the conference playoffs landed perhaps the top free lastseason. agent on the m arket, LaThe Dallas Mavericks apMarcus Aldridge, who is peared to have gotten conalready among thegame's siderably better with the adbest power forwards and ditions of DeAndre Jordan, Two days after Duncan's announcement, the Spurs
now will get to study with Duncan, an all-time great at
the position, while playing beside him. The good fortune did not
Wesley Matthews and Jer-
a chance the Jordan acquisistop there, as San Antonio tion could fall through. The was able to entice David Los Angeles Clippers have West to take an enormous reportedly asked for a meetpay cut and sign for the vet- ing with the defensive staleran minimum, and Gino- wart to try to persuade him bili confirmed that he, too, to renege on his oral agreewould return for another run
ment with Dallas and return
in black and silver.
to Los Angeles. With the loss of Aldridge,
The NBA's moratorium on official transactions expires
today. While the financial details of how the team can fit all
these players under the cap have yet to be made public, it appears the only players the Spurs have lost are Tiago Splitter, Cory Joseph, Aron Baynes and Marco Belinelli. There has been speculation that Patty Mills, who is under contract through 2016-
Matthews and Robin Lopez
to free agency and a fourth starter, Nicolas Batum, in a trade with Charlotte, the Portland Trail Blazers have
taken a considerable step back. And t h e C l ippers would also be in trouble if
Jordan leaves, but if they stumble, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Phoenix Suns
and the Oklahoma City Thunder seem ready to vault
17, would have to be moved up the standings. as well, but so far no move With months to go before has beenmade, so the team the season resumes, the probably has a plan to make Spurs, a team that looked it work. like it may be forced to face The biggest loss to the some harsh realities, has inteam is likely Belinelli, who stead bolstered its present was one of the Spurs' best at while working hard to encreating floor space based sure its future. And the rest on his ability to shoot from of the league'steams are 3-point range. Splitter of- once again left shaking their fered value as a defensive heads in disbelief.
liam Flynn that has plenty of elevation
changes, sloping greens and troublesome rough. Park believes the more challenging the layout, the better she can play. "I am good at the tough golf courses," she said. "I am good under the pressure. I just try to keep talking to myself that way and try to give myself the confidence coming into the major
championships." Park showed early in her career that she can adapt to changing conditions. At 19 years, 11 months, 17 days, she was the youngest Women's Open winner at Interlachen in 2008 and won
Continued from Cf But it cannot be ignored that the Unit-
Unusual for an 8-year-old." These are not pushy parents. They are here to guide and root. You sense no
and increasing her career win total to 15 events.
desire to ride their child to fame and for-
weeks ago when she missed a cut for the first time this year at the NW Arkansas
if it were a Pac-Man game.
ets missed out on Aldridge but retained the core that
19th season.
Fritz
add Jeremy Lin, but there is
he would come back for his
In addition to embracing the pressure of championship week, Park has taken time to get the feel of Lancaster Country Club, a traditional 1920 design by Wil-
season working, capturing the Women's PGA Championship last month
emy Evans, and the expectation that they would soon
Matt Barnes and Brandan
I can do well in another good one," she satd.
There is no doubt Park has a special
ed States was once home to the likes of tune, as is often the case. Certainly, forPete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Couri- tune is not an issue. er, Michael Chang, Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Instead, this Wimbledon junior tourConnors and Stan Smith. Oh yes, also nament may bring a family crisis: that McEnroe guy. Should Taylor turn pro now, or next Now, men's tennis in the U.S. appears summer, after a year at USC? "If he wins the Wimbledon juniors, to be a legacy lost. Sorry if you have heard this before — about John Isner, it's going to be tough holding him back," DonaldYoung, Sam Querrey and others says Guy, who wants his son to spend a — but there is hope on the horizon. year at USC, work out daily in the TroHis name is Taylor Fritz. He is 17 jans' facilities to get bigger and stronger, years old. He comes from Rancho San- and play a college season before heading ta Fe, California, and is the top-ranked into the scary world of pro tennis next junior player in the world. He is seeded summer. "The average age of men players No. 1 here and has been gobbling up the competition in the Wimbledon juniors as breaking into the top 100," says Guy, "is
Green, and Duncan confirmed last Thursday that
"Having good results helps, that gives me a lot of confidence going into other major championships thinking that I' ve done good on major championships so
her second Open in 2013 at Sebonack.
Popovich's strategy in- t he competition. The d e volved first coming to terms fending champion Golden w ith Leonard on a
and I try to look at the course a little bit better."
Fritz stands 6 feet 4 and weighs 184
27." Kathy seems to be open to more dis-
cussion. Moms have tougher times saying no to sons. high 120s consistently and his father and Currently, Taylor is quite clear on his coach, Guy Fritz, says that his top range intentions. Having made a verbal com-
pounds. He looks about 2 inches taller and 20 pounds lighter. He serves in the at the moment is "around 138."
He attacks fearlessly and has a two-handed backhand that should be outlawed. He hits it with the confidence
mitment to USC's tennis coach, Peter
Smith, eight or nine months ago, he now dismisses college plans. He is asked, USC or UCLA?
"SC, but that's not gonna happen," he the rest of us have when we put our key in the ignition. We assume an engine says, as he walks briskly from a 6-3, 6-2 vroom, he assumes a winner. first-round victory in a match he said No rags-toriches tale here.No rags, was "disappointing" in describing his level of play. His mother is Kathy May, a highly acHe attended Torrey Pines High. Now complished player, once ranked No. 10, he takes private, online courses. He has with three Grand Slam quarterfinals on already won a main-draw pro match, herresume. She comes from the family beating No. 66 Pablo Carreno Busta of that started the May Company depart- Spain at Nottingham two weeks ago. He ment stores. lost the French Open junior final in three Guy Fritz is a former tour player him- sets, and now he is excelling on Wimself, who teaches the game to elite play- bledon's outside courts, within a stone' s ers, including CoCo Vandeweghe, on a throw of the legendary and ivy-covered court in his Rancho Santa Fe backyard. Centre Court. Despite all the tennis pedigree, both Half a dozen agents hover around parents say they are taken aback by how his every match. His body seems on the good Taylor is, and how fast he has be- verge of growing into his strokes. The come so. parental stability is there, even if he "When he was 12 and playing in tour- might be running when they want him naments, I knew he was good, really to jog. At best, he is a couple of years special," Guy says, "but not so good that away from the big courts and late aphe'd be No. 1 in the world juniors." pearances in the big tournaments. Kathy says, "I remember when he was But the promise seems unmistakable, 8, how focused he was. He knew the and we will know for sure when McEnscore, always had his head in the game. roe tells us.
period.
But her campaign hit a bump two Championship. That rough patch seemingly strengthened her resolve heading into championship week. "I putted really bad two weeks ago, and that definitely gave me somewhat
like a wake-up call. Because I haven' t really had a bad tournament or a really bad week," she said. Park first saw the course five weeks ago during a spell of dry weather. Now, the players are seeing a different, more challenging layout after almost eight inches of rain fell on the course in June. The rains mean softer greens and
fairways, she said. "I feel like I'm playing two different golf courses," Park said. "Back then it was running hard and fast, so it was a little bit different. The greens are very slopey here, so when it gets hard and fast it gets really tough." The consensus among most players in the field is that the old-fashioned,
tree-line layout in the heart of Amish Country will pose a stiff challenge, whether because of recent rain or the tricky greens that will likely become tougher to navigate if conditions dry out.
Wie enjoyedher year as U.S.Women's Open champ but enters this cham-
pionship coming off injury, illness, and a less-than-stellar season. Regardless, she is ready to put the good feelings from last year a Pinehurst away and try to defend her crown. "It's definitely a different beast this
week," Wie said. "It's going to be a really great mix of holes." Lewis, who has eight top-10 finishes this year and 12 career wins, believes the Lancaster Country Club layout favors her game. "The rough is long. It's wet. It's sticky. I think off the tee and especially into some of the greens, you' ve got to be able to hit shots, hit some fades, hit some
draws," Lewis said. "I think it's going to favor more of a left-to-right shot overall,
so I think that sets up for my game really well."