NBA: Clippers 125 - Bulls 106; Nuggets 97 - Thunder 95; Lakers 115 - Grizzlies 105; Spurs 125 - Hawks 114; Pistons 108 - Celtics 102

SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2021

Empty stadium better than one filled with silent fans, says world champion Lyles I've competed in a stadium where the audience was silent and it was extremely weird, I think I would rather have nobody there.

Sport |10Noah Lyles

Sport

Al Sadd crush Al Ahli to consolidate top spotQSL: Xavi's side clinches 3-0 win as Al Sailiya and Al Khor claim full points

THE PENINSULA — DOHA

Al Sadd inched closer to title after thrashing Al Ahli 3-0 as the QNB Stars League (QSL) resumed yesterday with three Round 16 matches.

Al Sailiya and Al Khor also bagged victories yesterday after winning their respective matches.

At the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Baghdad Bounedjah (23rd minute) and Khoukhi Boualem (26th minute) gave Al Sadd a two-goal lead at halftime, while substitute Tarek Salman scored the third (88’) to conclude the scoring. The result means that the Wolves maintain their lead at the top of the QSL table with 44 points, 16 points ahead of second-placed Al Duhail, who will play their Round 16 match today.

Al Sadd had a quiet start to the game and did not pose any real danger in the Al Ahli box for the first quarter of an hour.

Gradually, Xavi’s side stepped up and Baghdad

Bounedjah succeeded in scoring the first goal in the 23rd minute, pouncing on the ball after Nam Tae-hee’s shot had been deflected, and converting past Al Ahli goalkeeper Yazan Naim.

Three minutes later, Khoukhi Boualem headed in the Wolves’ second goal following Santi Cazorla’s perfect delivery from a free-kick.

Al Sadd went into the tunnel with a 2-0 lead and returned with a desire to score more. However, Al Ahli stood firm and prevented that from happening.

Xavi made his first change

in the 60th minute, replacing Yousuf Abdurisag with Ali Asad, who almost had an immediate impact, setting up Rodrigo Tabata with a through ball but the latter’s shot was kept out for a corner.

Further substitutions were made as the second half pro-gressed, with Tarek Salman and Salem Al Hajri coming on in place of Pedro Miguel and Jung Woo-young in the 72nd minute.

As a result of the change, Musaab Khidir moved to the right-back position and he went on to deliver a great cross into the box in the 76th minute, but

Ali Asad’s header went just wide.

Finally, in the 88th minute, Al Sadd managed to score their third goal and it came from the substitute Tarek Salman.

After a corner sent in by Cazorla, Salem Al Hajri headed the ball towards the far post and Tarek was at the right place to poke the ball past Yazan Naim.

Also yesterday, Al Khor defeated 10-man Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 at Qatar SC Stadium, yesterday.

Khalid Radwan (9th minute) and Lasogga Pierre Michelle (55th minute) scored goals in Al

Khor’s third win of this QSL season. Nasser Ibrahim Al-Nasr (79th minute) pulled one back for Al Kharaitiyat.

After the victory in bottom-of-the-table clash, Al Khor moved to 13 points on 11th position while Al Kharaitiyat remained last with 6 points.

Al Kharaitiyat had defeated The Knights with the same margin.

Al Kharaitiyat’s Tiberkanine Rachid received a red card for a dangerous foul against Radwan, five minutes before halftime.

Referee Salman Falahi, who earlier showed a yellow cared to the Moroccan changed his decision and sent Al Kharaitiyat forward out after consulting with VAR.

Earlier at the same venue, Al Sailiya beat Al Gharafa 1-0 with Mohammed Mudather scoring the only goal of the match in the 70th minute.

Al Sailiya moved on to 22 points with their sixth victory. Al Gharafa failed to add to their tally of 27 points as they suf-fered their fifth defeat.

Al Sadd's players celebrate after Baghdad Bounedjah (right) scored team's opening goal yesterday.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS Al Sadd beat Al Ahli 3-0

Al Khor beat Al Kharaitiyat 2-1 Al Sailiya beat Al Gharafa 1-0

TODAY'S FIXTURES 4:45pm: Umm Salal vs Qatar SC

at Al Duhail Stadium 7:15pm: Al Duhail vs Al Rayyan

at Al Duhail Stadium 7:15pm: Al Arabi vs Al Wakrah

at Al Arabi Stadium Action during the match between Al Gharafa and Al Sailiya.

Alisson at fault again as Leicester earn comeback win over LiverpoolREUTERS — LEICESTER

An error by Liverpool goal-keeper Alisson helped Leicester come from behind to earn a 3-1 win yesterday, with the champions losing three successive Premier League games for the first time since November 2014, when they were managed by Brendan Rodgers.

Liverpool were forced into another defensive reshuffle due to Fabinho being injured, with January loan signing Ozan Kabak handed his debut. The 20-year-old’s slip let Jamie Vardy in in the first half, only for the Leicester striker to hit the crossbar.

It was Trent Alexander-Arnold’s turn to hit the woodwork from a free-kick just after the interval before Mohamed Salah finally broke the deadlock in the 68th minute after being set up by a superb Roberto Firmino back-wards flick.

After VAR had overturned a penalty awarded to Leicester, James Maddison equalised from a free-kick, before Alisson, who made two glaring errors in Liverpool’s loss to Manchester City last weekend, cost his side again.

The Brazilian came racing out of his goal to meet a long ball over the top but collided with Kabak and allowed Vardy in to score in the 81st

minute. Harvey Barnes made sure of the win four minutes later to complete another mis-erable afternoon for Liv-erpool, who have now won just two of their last 10 league games.

With Manchester United not in action until today, Leicester jumped to second in the standings, while Liverpool sit fourth, 10 points off leaders City having played two games more.

“The second goal is a mis-understanding,” Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp told BT Sport. “Alisson had a super game and then at that moment he came out, I didn’t hear him shouting."

“On the pitch we were the clear dominant side. We had chances and then we concede two goals.”

The match started at a ferocious pace, and James Maddison almost caught Alisson off his line with an audacious effort from his own half early on. But the Liv-erpool keeper got back to make the save.

The injuries continued to pile up for Liverpool as James Milner had to be withdrawn, but the visitors remained a threat on counter, with Kasper Schmeichel, on his 100th con-secutive Premier League appearance, in fine form.

After Alexander-Arnold’s

perfectly flighted free-kick beat Schmeichel but not the frame of the goal, the chances continued to come, at both ends, before Salah finally made one count, scoring his 17th league goal of the season.

A frantic final 12 minutes saw Leicester storm to victory.

VAR had a long look at Maddison’s free-kick, which went through a sea of bodies into the net, before Alisson’s ill-fated rush of blood to the head that left Vardy with an open goal - his eighth career strike against Liverpool.

Barnes then made sure of the win with a fine finish.

Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy (left) scores their second goal, yesterday.

PSG beat Nice to go top as Barca clash looms

REUTERS — PARIS

Paris St Germain geared up for their Champions League trip to Barcelona with a 2-1 home win against Nice that sent them provisionally top of the Ligue 1 standings yesterday.

Italy striker Moise Kean netted the winner after Rony Lopes’s 50th-minute goal had cancelled out Julian Draxler’s opener for PSG in the first half. The French champions are on 54 points from 25 games and lead Lille, who host Brest today, on goal difference with Olympique Lyonnais in third place on 52 points.

The result left Nice in 13th place with 29 points from 24 matches.

PSG, who face Barca in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday, were without three key players with Neymar and Angel Di Maria injured while Marco Verratti

was nursing a knock he sustained in a 1-0 French Cup win at Caen on Wednesday. The Italian was replaced by Draxler, who lived up to the task as he drove the ball home from close range after Mauro Icardi’s attempt had bounced off the post into his path in the 22nd minute.

Nice, however, stepped up a gear after the break and Lopes equalised with a powerful shot under the crossbar following a rare poor clearance by Marquinhos. The visitors went close to taking the lead on the hour but Amine Gouiri’s attempt crashed against the bar.

Kean punished them in the 76th minute, heading home from point-blank range to give PSG all three points after Icardi had stretched in the air to deflect Kylian Mbappe’s cross.

PSG’s Moise Kean (left) in action with OGC Nice’s Hassane Kamara, yesterday.

11SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2021 SPORT

Rugby: Watson guides England to easy win over Italy

REUTERS - LONDON

England put last week’s Scotland defeat behind them with a six-try 41-18 Six Nations victory over Italy at Twick-enham yesterday as Anthony Watson scored two tries and Jonny May claimed a memo-rable one with an astonishing, acrobatic leap.

Jonny Hill, Jack Willis and Elliot Daly also scored but the young Italy side were far from disgraced, despite falling to a 29th successive Six Nations defeat.

England were scrappy and inaccurate in the early stages but eventually settled to their task and showing signs of the cohesive attacking coach Eddie Jones had called for after last week’s poor showing.

In response to that, Jones had opted against throwing in his youngsters, instead fielding the most experienced England XV ever to take the field, with 810 caps between them against a desperately inexpe-rienced Italian team.

It was the visitors who struck first though, with a well-crafted try after two minutes by winger Monty Ioane, nephew of former Aus-tralia wing Digby.

A pushover score by Hill and a penalty apiece had it level at 8-8 midway through the half, before England grabbed control with scores by both wingers.

First Watson stepped inside some soft defence for his first try in 11 months, then May launched a spectacular dive over a covering defender - technically an illegal move and something more often seen in American football - to take the halftime lead to 20-8 and his personal try tally to 32, clear in second place behind Rory Underwood (49) in Eng-land’s roll of honour.

Watson ran 60 metres to score his second after inter-cepting Paolo Garbisi and Willis crossed within a minute of joining the fray after a great break by replacement scrumhalf Dan Robson, who looked really lively in a rare opportunity to have 30 minutes on the pitch.

Soon after, however, Willis suffered a serious-looking knee injury, the flanker’s scream of pain echoing round an empty Twickenham, and he needed almost 10 minutes of medical attention before he was carried off on a stretcher.

England were caught cold on the restart as Tommaso Allan slipped though a big gap but they hit back immediately with a score by Daly.

With Watson delivering a great cameo as stand-in flanker and Robson pulling the strings, England were knocking at the door for the final 10 minutes but, hugely to their credit, Italy, who so often crumble in the latter stages, kept them out.

“That was back to being us,” said England captain Owen Farrell.

“Not the best performance we have ever had but in terms of the feeling energy and intent that was back to being us.

“We had some honest con-versations in the week, and got things right on the training field.

“I thought we attacked the game, our intent was brilliant, we got in behind them, not everything went our way but we stuck at it.”

Italy coach Franco Smith was upbeat despite the defeat. “It was another step up for us, a step in the right direction,” he said. “The spine of our team is a really young group but this was much better than last week. Unfortunately we made a lot of unforced errors - our game management needs attention but a lot of boxes were ticked today.”

England fight back with late wickets after Sharma hits 161AP - CHENNAI

India lost three wickets in the final session but was still in a strong position at 300-6 at stumps on the first day of the second Test against England yesterday.

Rohit Sharma (161) scored his seventh Test century and put on 162 runs with Ajinkya Rahane (67) for the fourth wicket. Both batsmen were dis-missed after tea as England fought back.

Rishabh Pant (33) and Axar Patel (5) are the batters at the crease. Rahane brought up his 23rd Test half-century off 104 balls. Sharma was motoring along at the other end, crossing

150 off 208 deliveries. Sharma was out against the run of play, caught at backward square leg as he went for an aerial sweep against Jack Leach.

Sharma faced 231 balls, hitting 18 fours and two sixes.

Rahane survived a dubious DRS call, which was later reversed.

He didn’t survive for too long afterward, bowled by the recalled Moeen Ali (2-112).

Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin (13) then added 35 runs for the sixth wicket. England captain Joe Root dismissed Ashwin late in the final session.

Pant was his usual aggressive self, hitting five fours and a six so far.

Earlier, Sharma had anchored the Indian innings in the middle session. He and Rahane made sure that India didn’t lose a wicket after being reduced to 106-3 at lunch.

He reached his century off 130 balls before tea.

India won the toss and opted to bat. Opener Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were both dismissed for ducks as England took the initial upper hand. Kohli went without scoring after Ali spun one sharply, with the Indian skipper appearing shocked at his dismissal.

India made three changes to its side. Fit-again left-arm spinner Axar Patel replaced Shahbaz Nadeem and Kuldeep Yadav came in for Washington Sundar as the hosts attempted to shore up their middle-order

batting. Jasprit Bumrah was rested and Mohammed Siraj replaced him.

England made four changes to its side which won the first test by 277 runs.

Fast bowler James Anderson has been rested, while Jofra Archer was ruled out with an elbow injury sustained in the previous game. Pace bowlers Stuart Broad and Olly Stone came into the side.

Off-spinner Dominic Bess was dropped, despite taking 4-55 in the first innings of the first Test. Spin-bowling all-rounder Ali took over those duties along with left-armer Leach.

Wicketkeeper Ben Foakes was England’s fourth change. He replaces Jos Buttler, who has been rested for the remaining three tests and returns home.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association is allowing 50% crowd attendance at the 5 0 , 0 0 0 - c a p a c i t y M A Chidambaram Stadium for the second Test.

Long queues were seen prior to the game as fans turned up in large number to redeem paper tickets and vouchers.

The host association has put in stringent protocols for fans inside the venue, including san-itizing the ball whenever it is hit into the stands.

South Africa

beat Pakistan

by 6 wickets

in second T20

WWW.ICC.COM - LAHORE

A five-wicket haul from Dwaine Pretorius helped South Africa to victory in the second T20I in Lahore yesterday.

Pretorius’s figures of 5/17 in his four overs are the best ever by a South African in T20I cricket and also the best ever against Pakistan in the format.

And the 31-year-old’s phe-nomenal performance helped the tourists level the series at 1-1 to turn today’s third and final match into a decider.

Pretorius removed the danger man Babar Azam for 5 with just his second delivery, trapping the Pakistan captain lbw.

And the home side struggled to get going throughout their innings, with even a half-century from Mohammad Rizwan – picking up from his century in the opening match – not enough to inspire a decent total.

The star man Pretorius came back in the middle overs to remove both Iftikhar Ahmed and Rizwan just as the pair looked set to accelerate, with Pakistan only bringing up their hundred in the 17th over.

A late flurry of runs from Faheem Ashraf, with 30 off just 12 deliveries, took Pakistan up to a total of 144, but not before Pretorius had com-pleted his five-for with the dis-missals of Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Nawaz.

Pakistan are one away from bringing up their 100th win in T20 international matches, but 144/7 was never likely to be enough, even against a South African side who went into this match on the back of five straight defeats in the format.

A stunning opening spell from Shaheen Afridi did give Pakistan a glimmer of hope however, with the left-arm quick bowler removing Jan-neman Malan with just the second ball of the innings. And Afridi returned with a wicket-maiden in the third over – the 20-year-old’s first-ever maiden in T20I cricket.

But South Africa rallied well after the early departures of Malan and JJ Smuts, and a partnership of 77 between Reeza Hendricks (42) and Pite van Biljon (42) broke the back of the chase, with the Proteas well ahead of the rate when Hendricks fell to Usman Qadir in the 12th over.

And the Proteas strolled to the win with 22 balls to spare as David Miller, with 25 off 19 balls, and skipper Heinrich Klaasen, with 17 off 9, steered South Africa to 145/4 to com-plete a six-wicket win.

The teams meet again in Lahore today for the third and final match of the series.

England players celebrate an Indian wicket on day one of the second Test in Chennai yesterday. PIC@ENGLANDCRICKETIndia (1st Innings)

Rohit Sharma c Ali b Leach ...........................161

Shubman Gill lbw b Stone ................................0

Chesteshwar Pujara c Stokes b Leach .......... 21

Virat Kohli b Ali ..................................................0

Ajinkya Rahane b Ali .......................................67

Rishabh Pant not out ..................................... 33

R Ashwin c Pope b Root ................................. 13

Axar Patel not out ............................................. 5

Total: (For 6 wkts, 88 overs) .............. 300

Yet to bat: Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mo-

hammed Siraj.

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Shubman Gill, 1.3 ov),

2-85 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 20.2 ov), 3-86 (Virat

Kohli, 21.2 ov), 4-248 (Rohit Sharma, 72.6 ov),

5-249 (Ajinkya Rahane, 75.2 ov), 6-284 (Ravi-

chandran Ashwin, 82.3 ov).

Bowling: Stuart Broad 11-2-37-0, Olly Stone

15-5-42-1, Jack Leach 26-2-78-2, Ben Stokes

2-0-16-0, Moeen Ali 26-3-112-2, Joe Root 8-2-

15-1.

Toss: India.

SCOREBOARD

Day one of the second Test in Chennai

Qatar Cup staged by Qatar Volleyball Association

West Indies 41-3 in second Test, lead Bangladesh by 154 runsAP - DHAKA

Bangladesh’s spinners shared the early wickets to stop West Indies taking complete control of the second and final Test yesterday.

West Indies reached 41-3 in its second innings at stumps on day three for a lead of 154 runs.

Nkrumah Bonner (8) and nightwatchman Jomel Warrican (2) are at the crease.

Offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall earlier helped West Indies take a 113-run first innings lead, claiming 5-74 as Bangladesh was bowled out for 296 in reply to West Indies’ 409. It was Cornwall’s second five-for in test cricket.

“The wicket gave me some bounce, some of the ball spun. I just had to work with that,” Cornwall said.

“I think we are slightly in the driver’s seat... We have to be in a reasonable position at

lunch so that we can set a rea-s o n a b l e t a r g e t f o r Bangladesh.”

Fast bowlers Shannon Gabriel (3-70) and Alzarri Joseph (2-60) also made an

impact. Liton Das was the top-scorer for Bangladesh with 71 while Mehidy Hasan, fresh from his first century in the first test, hit 57. Mushfiqur Rahim con-tributed 54. Liton and Mehidy

shared a 126-run stand for the seventh wicket to reduce the first-innings deficit.

Cornwall strengthened West Indies’ position by dis-missing both of the overnight batsmen, Mushfiqur and Mohammad Mithun, after Bangladesh resumed play on 105-4.

Cornwall had Mithun caught by captain Kraigg Brathwaite on 15.

Mushfiqur brought up his 22nd Test 50, pushing Corn-wall’s delivery toward mid-on for a single. But he was dis-missed by Cornwall soon after while trying to play a reverse sweep shot.

West Indies appeared set for a big lead but Liton and Mehidy resisted.

Liton brought up his seventh Test 50 with a fierce cut past point for a boundary, and has reached 1,000 Test runs in 22 matches.

West Indies (1st Innings): 409

Bangladesh (1st Innings; Overnight 105-4) Tamim Iqbal c Moseley b Joseph .................... 44

Soumya Sarkar c Mayers b Gabriel ...................0

Najmul Hossain c Bonner b Gabriel .................4

Mominul Haque c Da Silva b Cornwall ........... 21

Mushfiqur Rahim c Mayers b Cornwall ......... 54

M Mithun c Brathwaite b Cornwall.................. 15

Liton Das c Blackwood b Cornwall ................. 71

M Hasan Miraz c Brathwaite b Gabriel ..........57

Nayeem Hasan c Blackwood b Cornwall ........ 0

Taijul Islam not out ........................................... 13

Abu Jayed c Bonner b Joseph ........................... 1

Extras:(b5, nb10, w1) ......................................16

Total: (All Out, 96.5 overs) ............... 296

Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Soumya Sarkar, 0.6 ov), 2-11

(Najmul Hossain Shanto, 2.2 ov), 3-69 (Mominul

Haque, 14.6 ov), 4-71 (Tamim Iqbal, 15.5 ov), 5-142

(Mohammad Mithun, 45.1 ov), 6-155 (Mushfiqur Ra-

him, 49.2 ov), 7-281 (Liton Das, 91.2 ov), 8-281

(Nayeem Hasan, 91.5 ov), 9-283 (Mehidy Hasan Mi-

raz, 92.4 ov), 10-296 (Abu Jayed, 96.5 ov).

Bowling: Shannon Gabriel 21-3-70-3 (nb7), Rah-

keem Cornwall 32-8-74-5, Alzarri Joseph 17.5-3-60-

2 (w1), Kyle Mayers 8-2-15-0,Jomel Warrican 13-2-

48-0 (nb3),

Nkrumah Bonner 3-0-17-0, Kraigg Brathwaite 2-0-

7-0.

West Indies (2nd Innings) K Brathwaite c Liton Das b Nayeem Hasan ....6

John Campbell b Taijul Islam ........................... 18

Shayne Moseley c Mohd Mithun b M Hasan .... 7

Nkrumah Bonner not out ...................................8

Jomel Warrican not out ......................................2

Total: (For 3 wkts, 21 overs) ............... 41 Yet to bat: Kyle Mayers, Jermaine Blackwood, Joshua

Da Silva, Rahkeem Cornwall, Alzarri Joseph, Shan-

non Gabriel.

Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Kraigg Brathwaite, 3.3 ov),

2-20 (Shayne Moseley, 8.3 ov), 3-39 (John Campbell,

16.4 ov).

Bowling: Taijul Islam 7-2-13-1,Nayeem Hasan 10-3-

14-1, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 4-0-14-1.

Toss: West Indies.

SCOREBOARD

Players in action during a Qatar Cup clash between Al Ahli and Al Arabi in Doha yesterday. Al Ahli won the match 3-2 (27-29, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23, 15-11). RIGHT: Qatar Cup action between Police and Qatar SC in Doha yesterday. Police won the match 3-1 (26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22)

Mercedes say they are dealing with some F1 engine issuesREUTERS - LONDON

Formula One champions Mercedes have said they were dealing with some engine issues ahead of the new season but expected everything to be fixed by the first race.

The comment, in a team interview with engine head Hywel Thomas, drew some wry comments on social media from those who recalled the sport’s dominant manufacturer saying something similar last year.

Mercedes won 13 of 17 races in 2020 -- Lewis Ham-ilton triumphant 11 times on his way to his seventh title - and have won the last seven constructors’ and drivers’ championships, a Formula One record.

“We have got some issues with the power units; we know we have issues but we have plenty of plans in place to fix all of those issues,” said Thomas. “I’m sure it will all be ready for the first race.”

The season starts in Bahrain on March 28.Mercedes are supplying engines to four of the 10

teams this year, including their own, after McLaren switched from Renault power. Their other clients are Williams and Aston Martin (formerly Racing Point).

Thomas said this year was the first winter where Mercedes had limits on the amount of time they could test engines on the dyno.

“Also it’s the first winter where we have prepared for only one single upgrade for the whole season,” he added. “So we have to get all of our performance into the first Power Unit that goes to the first race.”

10SUNDAY 14 FEBRUARY 2021SportNadal and Medvedev advance as Barty downs Alexandrova at OpenAP — MELBOURNE

Daniil Medvedev finally worked out how to a win a five-setter. All by himself.

T h e f o u r t h - s e e d e d Medvedev was 0-6 in Grand Slam matches that went to five sets, and his Australian Open third-round match against No. 28-seeded Filip Krajinovic looked like it was going all the way.

After some angry outbursts from an increasingly animated and chatty Medvedev directed at his box in an otherwise empty Rod Laver Arena - fans have been banned as a COVID-19 precaution - his coach, Gilles Cervara, got up and left.

“He said just before leaving that he’s sure I’m going to win the match. He’s going to leave me alone to be more calm,” Medvedev explained in his on-court TV interview after yester-day’s 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0 win. “It was a good thing to do. Luckily I won.”

Some pundits, including John McEnroe, are tipping the 25-year-old Russian to make his major breakthrough in Aus-tralia. Medvedev, on a 17-match winning streak that includes titles at the 2020 season-ending

ATP Finals, said while that’s nice to hear, he’s got a long way to go.

He’ll have to face unseeded American Mackenzie McDonald in the next round. After that could be a quarter-final against No. 7 Andrey Rublev, who helped him win the ATP Cup title for Russia last week. No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal, a

20-time major winner, is also in his half of the draw.

Nadal extended his winning streak against fellow left-handers to 16 with a 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 victory over No. 69-ranked Cameron Norrie, reaching the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 14th time in 16 trips.

He is chasing a men’s record 21st major title but entered the tournament with back stiffness and without any competitive matches in 2021.

“Today is better, yeah,” Nadal said of his back soreness.

“First day I feel an improvement, and that’s the most important thing for me today.”

He hasn’t dropped a set in three matches that, he said, “I hope will help me for what’s coming.”

In his immediate future is No. 16 Fabio Fognini, who had a straight-set win over Aus-tralia’s last hope in the men’s draw, 21st-seeded Alex de Minaur.

Medvedev had been bothered by a problem with his upper left leg and had a medical timeout for treatment late in the fourth set.

When he fell behind 5-2 in the fourth, Medvedev shouted, “I never saw something like this!”

He returned to better much play in the deciding set, smacking an inside-out forehand winner to a corner to close an 18-stroke exchange and break to go up 2-0.

He didn’t drop another game as he seized the momentum back from Kraji-novic, who was previously 4-1 in matches that went the full five sets.

Medvedev, the US Open finalist last year, will next play McDonald, a player he com-pared with Roger Federer in style. McDonald beat Lloyd Harris in straight sets to equal his best Grand Slam result by reaching the round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Seventh-seeded Rublev had a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win over Feli-ciano Lopez, ending the 39-year-old Spaniard’s 75th c o n s e c u t i v e m a j o r tournament.

The Russian men had one loss on Day 6, with No. 19 Karen Khachanov beaten by No. 9 Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5),

7-6 (5). Berrettini will next play fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 winner over Mikael Ymer of Sweden.

Two women with titles already this year are through to the Round of 16.

Top-ranked Ash Barty, who won the Yarra Valley Classic last week for a title in her first tour-nament back from almost 12 months on the sidelines, beat Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia 6-2, 6-4.

Barty said while it felt strange not having fans in the stadium for the first time in her career at the highest level, there were some things she didn’t mind.

Barty next faces American Shelby Rogers, who beat No. 21 Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3.

Elise Mertens, a 2018 Aus-tralian Open semifinalist who won the Gippsland Trophy tuneup tournament last week, had a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic. She’ll take a seven-match winning streak into her next match against Karolina Muchova in the fourth round.

No. 25-seeded Muchova rallied from a 5-0 second-set deficit in near silence, which only made the turnaround seem more bizarre as she beat No. 6 Karolina Pliskova 7-5, 7-5.

There were no fans in the stands due to the start of a five-day lockdown imposed by the Victoria state government in response to a COVID-19 out-break at a quarantine hotel. Up to 30,000 spectators daily - 50% of capacity - had been admitted on previous days.

No. 61-ranked Jessica Pegula had a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kristina Mladenovic and will next play No. 5-seeded Elina Svitolina, who won the last nine games to beat Yulia Putintseva 6-4,6-0.

No. 22 Jennifer Brady dropped only four games to advance to a fourth-round match against No. 28 Donna Vekic, who saved a match point and beat Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates winning his third round match against Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in action during her third round match against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Day 7 features Serena and other Grand Slam winners

LOOK AHEAD TO SUNDAY

Serena Williams con-tinues her quest for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title when she plays No. 7 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round. Williams’ last Grand Slam singles title came at the 2017 Australian Open, her seventh championship at Melbourne Park.

She’s hardly the only woman with major tro-phies at home who will be in action today. Garbiñe Muguruza, winner of the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, faces Naomi Osaka, whose three Slam titles include the 2019 Australian Open. Reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek meets two-time major champ Simona Halep.

In men’s play, eight-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic is scheduled to play Milos Raonic at night, but Djokovic injured a side muscle in his five-set win over American Taylor Fritz on Friday. US Open champion Dominic Thiem will take on Grigor Dim-itrov, while 20-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime goes up against Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev, who is making his Grand Slam singles debut.

Alexander Zverev, who lost to Thiem in last year’s US Open final, plays Dusan Lajovic, to complete the fourth-round matches in the top half of the men’s draw.

SUNDAY’S FORECAST

Mostly sunny, high of 21 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit)

SATURDAY’S WEATHER

Mostly sunny, high of 21 Celsius (68 Fahrenheit).

NBA: Utah Jazz beat Milwaukee Bucks by double digits again

REUTERS — NEW YORK

Four players for the NBA-leading Jazz scored at least 25 points in Utah’s 129-115 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Utah earned its sixth straight win and its 17th victory in 18 games.

Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles each scored 27 points to lead the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell fin-ished with 26 despite 6-of-20 shooting from the field, and Jordan Clarkson continued his stellar play off the bench with 25.

Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 29 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals, but the Bucks dropped their second game in a row. Brook Lopez added 23 points, Khris Middleton had 18, Bobby Portis 15 and D.J. Augustin 12.

Utah used a 34-21 second quarter to seize a double-digit lead that it maintained the rest of the way.

The game began with an Ingles shooting clinic. The Jazz small forward drained three consecutive 3-pointers to open the game, then hit a fourth triple after a Gobert dunk for a 14-7 lead.

Ingles finished the first half with six 3-pointers and 20 points while dishing out five assists.

Clarkson added 16 before the break as the Jazz went into the locker room ahead 69-52.

Utah was exceptional offen-sively in both quarters, shooting 54.3 percent from the field and hitting 12 of 24 3-point attempts in the half.

All-Star candidate Mike Conley missed his third game in a row for Utah due to a

strained left hamstring. Mean-while, the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday missed his third game in a row due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols for COVID-19.

Jazz forward Georges Niang left early in the fourth quarter after injuring his right ankle.

The Jazz have beaten the Bucks both times season, and both by double digits. They’ve lost only one game since their Jan. 8 victory in Milwaukee started a string of 11 straight wins.

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert shoots the ball against Boston Celtics forward Tristan Thompson (13) and centre Daniel Theis (27) during the first quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles each scored 27 points to lead the Jazz. Donovan Mitchell finished with 26 despite 6-of-20 shooting from the field, and Jordan Clarkson continued his stellar play off the bench with 25.

Empty stadium better than one filled with silent fans, says LylesREUTERS — NEW YORK

It would be better to compete in an empty stadium at the Tokyo Olympics than one where spectators would be forced to sit in silence, American 200 meters world champion Noah Lyles (pictured) said.

Lyles, who will compete indoors for the first time in three years on Saturday running the 60m and 200m at the New Balance Grand Prix in Staten Island, said he will be at the delayed Games in Tokyo this year.

However, if the COVID-19 guidelines laid out by officials remain in place then the 23-year-old believes fans should stay home.

“No chanting, no cheering - that kind of sucks,” said Lyles, when learning of the protocols during a video conference.

“It would kind of be better if there weren’t fans if that is what they are going to continue with.

“That way you could just stay home, they would be able to chant there and they could probably send videos through social

media and things like that

and be a lot

more engaged then having silent audiences.

“I’ve competed in a stadium where the audience was silent and it was extremely weird, I think I would rather have nobody there.” Tokyo Olympic officials earlier this month unveiled the first of many COVID-19 rules for the Games this summer, including the banning of singing and chanting during events and mandating participants to wear masks at “all times” except when eating, sleeping or outdoors.

The Tokyo Olympics were delayed by a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and are scheduled to begin in July.

Rated a gold medal prospect in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relays, Lyles plans to be in Tokyo unless “ridic-ulous” regulations are implemented.

“I definitely plan to go no matter what as long as they are not ridiculous,” he said.

“If it is definitely within reason like if I am advised

to get the vaccine, yes I can get vaccine, if you travel a certain way, I will definitely travel a

certain way, if I need to quarantine for two weeks I’ll do that."

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Dodgers trade reliever Adam Kolarek to A’sREUTERS — LOS ANGELES

The Los Angeles Dodgers traded left-handed reliever Adam Kolarek to the Oakland Athletics for two prospects.

The A’s also acquired minor-league outfielder Cody Thomas in exchange for infielder Sheldon Neuse and minor-league right-handed pitcher Gus Varland in the deal.

Kolarek, 32, went 3-0 with an 0.95 ERA in 20 games last season. He also appeared in four postseason games, allowing five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings for the World Series champions. In 143 career games over four seasons for the Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays, Kolarek is 11-3 with a 3.32 ERA.

Neuse, 26, is the key piece going to the Dodgers. Oak-land’s No. 5 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, Neuse could help pick up the slack at third base if Los Angeles doesn’t bring back free agent Justin Turner. Neuse appeared in 25 games for the A’s in 2019, hitting.250 with seven RBIs, but his trajectory was blocked by All-Star Matt Chapman at third base. He spent all of last season at the A’s alternate training site.

Varland, 24, was the A’s No. 28 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and in two minor league seasons he compiled a 2-2 record with a 1.54 ERA in 18 games (15 starts). He pitched at Single-A Stockton in 2019.

Thomas, 26, was ranked No. 29 on the Dodgers’ prospect list by MLB Pipeline. In four seasons in the minors he reached as high as Double-A, hitting.236 with a slugging percentage of.443 for the Tulsa Drillers in 2019.