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Andreescu edges Anisimova, Jabeur flips script on Kenin under Miami lights – WTA Tennis

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Sunday’s night session at the Miami Open saw Bianca Andreescu win a much-anticipated first professional meeting against Amanda Anisimova, and Ons Jabeur flip the script in the latest chapter of her recent rivalry with Sofia Kenin. 

Despite being peers and foes in the junior ranks, 2019 US Open champion Andreescu and 2019 French Open semifinalist Anisimova had never before played as professionals, but their first meeting proved one to remember: in a titanic two hours and 45 minutes, Canadian edged a 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-4 affair to reach the round of 16.

“My game, I know that it can be better, but I’m trying to find ways to push through on my off days, and I think I’m doing that well,” Andreescu assessed after the match.

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“I think that’s what makes a really good player, and I’m trying to be that really good player like I was in 2019. I did that today, and I just want to fight and give it my all and then the rest will come.”

Andreescu needed over an hour to seal a one-set lead in the encounter, as Anisimova saved all 10 break points she faced across four service games in the opener.

From 7-6(5), 2-0 up, Andreescu found herself headed for a final set as Anisimova played her best tennis in the closing stages of the second, even after receiving medical attention for blisters on her hand. The American twice held serve to stay in it, trailing 5-4 and 6-5, and won five of the first six points of the ensuing tiebreak.

After she also received a medical timeout when trailing 2-1, the decisive break for Andreescu came in the fifth game of the final set, and she was never challenged on serve from then on.

In all, the Canadian dropped just four points on serve in the decider, and held at love to seal the match. 

2021 Miami Highlights: Top 10 Points from Andreescu’s thrilling win over Anisimova

2021 Miami

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“I felt very good mentally before the match, and then on the court I felt really good. It’s hard playing a player that she’s super erratic. She just slaps every ball, but she slaps it very well. I don’t want to say that in a bad way. But she’s a really good player,” Andreescu said.

“It was tough. I was getting to a lot of balls I thought I couldn’t even get to. But that just shows that all the preparation that I’m putting in is really paying off.”

Andreescu will have a quick turnaround up next as she faces Garbiñe Muguruza on Monday evening for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Canadian dominated in the pair’s last meeting at a WTA 1000 event, a 6-0, 6-1 win in Indian Wells in 2019 – a tournament that Andreescu went on to win. 

“I’m going to do my best with treatment, best with food, best with sleep, all that stuff. I have been here before. I have played tough matches like this [and] had to play the next day, so I kind of know what to expect,” Andreescu said.

“I have to be on my A-game tomorrow because I know Muguruza is very tough to play.”

Earlier in the evening, Jabeur, previously 0-4 against Kenin at WTA main-draw level and 0-8 in sets, struck 40 winners and 11 aces to earn her third career win over a Top 5 player and advance to a fourth-round meeting with in-form Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo. 

The Tunisian looked as though she might lose out to Kenin for the fifth time in the past two years when she fell behind 3-1 in the final set, but rallied to win five of the last six games to close out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win in one hour and 47 minutes.

“It was an amazing match today. Honestly, I tried to play my game and play to take my revenge because I’ve been losing a lot against Sofia,” Jabeur said after the match.

“She’s such an amazing player, but I was there, I was confident, I wanted to win and really play well and play my game. I’m so proud that I won today. It’s been amazing here in Miami. I’ve been practicing hard… and I’ve just been trying to get back to the best game that I can be playing.”

Photo by Peter Staples

Jabeur and Sorribes Tormo have played five times between ITF and WTA tournaments dating back to 2013, with the Tunisian victorious four times. They last played in the first round of qualifying for the 2019 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome in 2019, where Jabeur won, 6-0, 6-2. 

“Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult match. Sorribes is playing really good lately and she’s been winning a lot of matches,” Jabeur said.

“She’s a good friend of mine on tour, and honestly, I love playing her. I love the way she playing. I have to be ready physically and mentally to win, and hopefully, the journey will continue for me.”

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Shane Pinto has a goal, three assists as the Senators roll over the Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

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Here’s what we know about the allegations against Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara

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LOS ANGELES –

Only a week has passed since the Los Angeles Dodgers abruptly fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and constant companion of their new $700 million slugger, Shohei Ohtani.

But the biggest story of baseball’s spring is still murky — and shocking — as the regular season begins in earnest Thursday.

The scandal encompasses gambling, alleged theft, extensive deceit and the breakup of an enduring partnership between the majors’ biggest star and his right-hand man. Investigations are underway by the IRS and Major League Baseball, and Ohtani publicly laid out a version of events Monday that placed the responsibility entirely on Mizuhara.

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Here are the basics as Ohtani and the Dodgers prepare for their home opener against St. Louis on Thursday:

Why was Ippei Mizuhara fired by the Dodgers?

Ohtani claims his close friend repeatedly took money from his accounts to fund his illegal sports gambling habit. Ohtani also says he was completely unaware of the “massive theft,” as his lawyers termed it, until Mizuhara confessed to him and the Dodgers last week in South Korea, where the team opened its regular season against the San Diego Padres.

Mizuhara has given more than one version of his path to this trouble, which was catalyzed by the IRS’ investigation of Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker. Mizuhara has consistently said he has a gambling addiction, and he abused his close friendship with the Dodgers superstar to feed it.

Did Shohei Ohtani ever bet on sports?

That’s the biggest question to be answered in Major League Baseball’s investigation, and the two-time AL MVP emphatically says he has never gambled on sports or asked anybody to bet on sports for him.

Further, Ohtani said Monday he has never knowingly paid a bookie to cover somebody else’s bets. Mizuhara also said Ohtani does not bet, and Bowyer’s attorney said the same.

Mizuhara told ESPN on March 19 that Ohtani paid his gambling debts at the interpreter’s request, saying the bets were on international soccer, the NBA, the NFL and college football. If that were true, Ohtani could face trouble even if he didn’t make the bets himself — but ESPN said Mizuhara dramatically changed his story the following day, claiming Ohtani had no knowledge of the gambling debts and had not transferred any money to bookmakers.

MLB rules prohibit players and team employees from wagering — even legally — on baseball. They also ban betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers.

What’s next for Ohtani?

Ohtani has played in every Dodgers game since the story broke, and he is expected to be their designated hitter in most regular-season games this season while baseball’s investigation continues.

Ohtani says his legal team has alerted authorities to the theft by Mizuhara, although his team has repeatedly declined to say which authorities have been told, according to ESPN.

Ohtani’s new interpreter is Will Ireton, a longtime Dodgers employee and fluent Japanese speaker who has filled several jobs with the team in everything from game preparation and analytics to recruiting free-agent pitches. But Ireton won’t be Ohtani’s constant companion, and manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday he’s optimistic that Ohtani will become closer to his teammates without the “buffer” provided for years by Mizuhara.

What don’t we know?

MLB’s investigation of Ohtani’s role in the events could last weeks or months, and it’s unlikely to be publicized until it’s complete. No one outside of Ohtani’s inner circle knows what it will find or how serious any repercussions could be, and nobody outside the circle is making informed speculation about the process.

One major question looms: How did Mizuhara have enough access to Ohtani’s bank accounts to get the alleged millions without Ohtani knowing? Is the slugger overly trusting, or is he wildly negligent in managing his vast fortune, which includes years of lavish endorsement deals in addition to his baseball salaries? Why didn’t the team around him, including his agent, do more to prevent the possibility of the theft he claims?

Finally, where is Mizuhara? Anybody who knows isn’t saying. He was fired in South Korea and apparently didn’t travel home with the Dodgers. Japanese media have visited his home in Southern California to look for him. Although he was born in Japan, Mizuhara’s life is in the U.S. — but his life will never be the same.

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NHL analyst gets absolutely roasted for ‘insanely rich’ take on Zach Hyman

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They say everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when you’re a member of the media and you share a truly awful take, you’re going to get called out for it.

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That’s what happened when NHL analyst/podcast host Andrew Berkshire decided to post a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) mainly attributing Zach Hyman’s success to the fact that he grew up “insanely rich.”

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The post came on the heels of the Oilers winger reaching the 50-goal milestone for the season and was rightly ripped apart by several notable colleagues, former players and fans in general.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 5.4 million times as of Wednesday morning, begins by stating that he has been in the sports media industry professionally since 2012 and that the industry “has to do a better job of telling truthful stories,” before discounting Hyman’s accomplishment.

“The story that’s being sold right now … is that, you know, if you work hard, if you stick to it, you can get there too, 31-year-old guy finally hits the 50-goal mark, harder worker, all that,” Berkshire said.

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“Yeah, great, except you’re missing the part of the story where Zach Hyman grew up insanely rich.”

Berkshire, who works as an analyst and host with the Steve Dangle Podcast Network, then details how Hyman’s parents bought a league to “guarantee him playing time,” and that he did “exclusive training that only a rich person … could afford.”

“This is a person that has had every single possible advantage to get where they are today,” Berkshire continued, before also bringing up the fact that Hyman has been fortunate enough to play on teams and lines with Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid most of his career.

While Berkshire does state that Hyman is a hard worker and brings grit when he plays, he also discounts it almost immediately.

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“Working hard, everybody works hard. You think every NHLer didn’t get there by working hard?” he asks. “Let’s not build this stupid narrative of ‘work hard, you’ll succeed.’ It’s just not true.

“There are people who’ve worked as hard as Zach Hyman their entire lives and never got a sniff of the American Hockey League, let alone the NHL because they didn’t have the advantages he had.”

Former Leafs defenceman turned NHL analyst Carlo Colaiacovo thought the whole take was ridiculous, posting the following: “Let me tell you something Andrew. You can’t buy your way to the NHL. You definitely can’t buy your way to having the career Hyman has had which includes scoring 50. Pretty ridiculous thing to say.”

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Retired NHLer Bobby Ryan was one of the first to weigh in, calling the opinion “purely false.”

“As someone who has maybe lived on both ends of the ‘financial edge’ I can say this is just purely false. Who cares, he accomplished a feat not many do and to downplay the way it’s reported is just wrong. You show up, do the work, good things happen,” Ryan posted on X.

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Jonathan Goodman, who claims he was Hyman’s personal trainer and tasked with getting the budding pro ready for the combine, had a glowing review of his former pupil’s work ethic.

“Yes, he had advantages. His family was wealthy and father obsessed with his success,” he said. “But the dude worked hard. Harder than anybody I’ve ever seen.”

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But, perhaps another former NHLer, Jason Strudwick said it best, replying to the video by asking: “Did Hyman not sign an autograph for you one time?”

 

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