Sports x 07CONTACT US AT: 8351-9190, WINDYSJF@HOTMAIL.COM

Tuesday September 5, 2017

MARIA SHARAPOVA could not quite keep her Grand Slam comeback from a doping suspen-sion going, losing in the fourth round of the U.S. Open to 16th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 Sunday.

“Look, three-set matches are challenging. I love being part of them. There’s an element of concentration, focus, physicality that goes into all of it. And you have to put it all together. Yeah, you just have to get through it,” Sharapova said. “There’s no doubt that not playing those matches certainly cost me today. I did feel like I was think-ing a little bit too much and not playing by instinct.”

This was the third time in her four matches that Sharapova went the distance and she faded down the stretch, while also dealing with a blister on her right hand that was treated and taped by a trainer in the fi nal set. Sharapova’s miscues kept closing exchanges, and she dropped 13 of the fi rst 14 points in that set.

The 30-year-old Russian fi n-ished with 51 unforced errors, compared to 14 for Sevastova.

“It’s been a really great ride,” Sharapova said.

“Ultimately, I can take a lot from this week,” she continued. “It’s great to get that major out of the way. It was an incredible opportunity. I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”

Sharapova’s exit leaves Venus Williams as the only past U.S. Open champion in the women’s fi eld . The 37-year-old Williams, who won the title in 2000 and 2001, got to the quarterfi nals by beating Carla Suarez Navarro

LEWIS HAMILTON moved into the lead of the Formula 1 drivers’ championship for the fi rst time this season Sunday by claiming his fourth Italian Grand Prix vic-tory, heading up a one-two fi nish for Mercedes at Monza.

On Ferrari home soil, Mer-cedes delivered its most domi-nant performance of the season to date as Hamilton and team-mate Valtteri Bottas ran P1 and P2 for all but three of the 53 laps, fi nishing over 30 seconds clear of Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel was left to settle for P3, fending off a charging Daniel Ricciardo in the closing stages to ensure Hamilton’s lead only stands at three points heading into the fl yaway races.

A slick getaway from Hamilton allowed him to retain his lead off the line as Esteban Ocon jumped ahead of Lance Stroll, while Kimi Raikkonen managed to get the jump on Bottas in the second Mercedes for fourth place.

Bottas refused to back down, quickly putting the superior straight-line speed of his Mer-cedes to re-pass Raikkonen, before easily disposing of Stroll and Ocon on consecutive laps to put the German marque one-two early on at Monza.

FRENCH club Paris St. Ger-main has been placed under investigation by UEFA to see if their recent transfer spending spree has broken the break-even rules of European soccer’s ruling body known as Financial Fair Play (FFP).

The Ligue 1 club signed French teenager Kylian Mbappe, one of Europe’s most exciting talents, on Thursday in a deal worth a reported 180 million euros (US$214 million) to highlight their astonishing fi nancial muscle.

The Qatari-owned club last month bought Brazil forward Neymar from Barcelona for 222 million euros, more than double the previous highest price paid for a player. They spent more than any other club in a single transfer window.

However, FFP rules ban clubs from spending more than their generated revenue, a policy introduced to prevent rich owners from trying to buy suc-cess and distorting the transfer market. (SD-Agencies)

LUXEMBOURG resisted bravely under sustained pressure to hold France to a 0-0 draw in a World Cup qualifi er Sunday.

Les Bleus, who had thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 Thursday, created many opportunities and hit the woodwork twice but had to be content with a draw that puts them one point clear at the top of Group A with 17 points from eight games.

Sweden is second, one point back after beating Belarus 4-0 earlier Sunday, with the Neth-erlands in third place a further three points adrift after beating Bulgaria 3-1.

France confi scated the ball from the kickoff and had their chances in the fi rst half, notably when Antoine Griezmann rattled the crossbar from a free kick fi ve minutes from the break.

Luxembourg, however, resisted bravely and changed ends with the tie still goalless.

Defender Djibril Sidibe came close to putting France ahead with a header on 63 minutes that Luxembourg goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert did well to save and midfi elder Paul Pogba hit the crossbar with a header on 73 minutes.

The home side survived a fright fi ve minutes later when a swift counter-attack from the visitors ended with midfi elder Gelson Rodrigues entering the box to hit the post with an angled shot.

France visits Bulgaria on Oct. 7 while Sweden will host Luxem-bourg and Belarus will entertain the Netherlands.

Meanwhile, Romelu Lukaku’s header in the 74th minute secured a spot in the 2018 World Cup for Belgium, which beat Greece 2-1 Sunday night.

The win was Belgium’s seventh in eight qualifi cation matches.

Both teams had plenty of chances in the early going but it took until the 70th minute to break the scoreless tie, as Jan Vertonghen unleashed a light-ning strike from way outside the box. (SD-Agencies)

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton celebrates winning the race with the trophy on the podium in Monza, Italy, on Sunday. SD-Agencies

France’s Djibril Sidibe (top) heads at goal against Luxembourg during their match in Toulouse, France, on Sunday.

SD-Agencies

France held by Luxembourg

Sharapova knocked out of US Open

6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Next for Williams will be a showdown against No. 13 Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner, who eliminated reigning Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (3), 6-3 Sunday night.

This is the most signifi cant victory for Kvitova since she returned to action after needing surgery on her racket-holding hand for cuts from a knife-wield-ing intruder at her home in the Czech Republic in December.

“I came here without any expectations,” Kvitova said.

Sharapova hadn’t played in a major tournament since the Australian Open in January 2016, when she tested positive for the newly banned drug mel-

donium. She served a 15-month ban for that, returning to the tour this April with a ranking too low to get into Grand Slam events.

The French Open denied her a wild-card invitation, then she planned to try to qualify for Wimbledon before pulling out because of an injured left leg.

But she was able to enter the U.S. Open thanks to a wild card from the U.S. Tennis Association, which then proceeded to put its 2006 champion in Arthur Ashe Stadium every time she played over the past week, drawing strong support from spectators — and criticism from another former No. 1-ranked woman, Caroline Wozniacki.

On Day 1 of the tournament,

Sharapova won a three-set thriller under the lights against No. 2 seed Simona Halep.

“Just competing, you know, being in that competitive envi-ronment — that’s what I missed,” Sharapova said. “You can’t repli-cate that anywhere, especially at a Grand Slam. So ... Monday night was a special night for me. I will always remember it.”

Sevastova made Sharapova run a lot by pulling her forward with drop shots or tight angles, then would often deposit follow-up strokes into open spaces. On one point won by Sharapova in the second set, she twice tracked down lobs that she got back over the net by hitting the ball left-handed. (SD-Agencies)

Anastasija Sevastova (R) of Latvia and Maria Sharapova of Russia in action during their U.S. Open match in New York on Sunday. SD-Agencies

UEFA opens investigation into PSG

Hamilton dominates Italian GP for 4th Monza win

With his championship lead looking precarious, Vettel struggled to make up ground in the opening laps, eventually slip-ping ahead of Raikkonen before also jumping Stroll. Ocon put up more of a fi ght, but was power-less to keep the faster Ferrari back, with Vettel completing the move on Lap 8.

Further back, Max Verstap-pen’s rollercoaster season took another twist when he suffered damage following a clash with Felipe Massa at Turn 1, having made up fi ve places on the fi rst

lap to run inside the points. The Red Bull driver was forced to pit for repairs, causing him to drop to the very back of the fi eld, almost going a lap down.

Ocon and Stroll may have been unable to hold the leading trio back, but they were able to keep Raikkonen in the second Ferrari at bay, the Finn struggling to get close enough to pass. Ferrari opted to try and get the undercut by bringing Raikkonen in on Lap 16, acting to give the team some information on his tires that may help Vettel. (SD-Agencies)