Javier Fernandez trails after Rostelecom Cup short program

By Nick ZaccardiNov 20, 2015, 9:48 AM EST

World champion Javier Fernandez was bettered in the Rostelecom Cup short program and heads into Saturday’s free skate in second place.

Fernandez, who became the first Spanish World champion last season, landed all of his jumps in the short program in Moscow on Friday but, uncharacteristically, performed no quadruple jumps.

Russian Adian Pitkeev, 17 and the 2014 World junior silver medalist, landed a quadruple toe loop and totaled 87.54 points, while Fernandez tallied 86.99. American Ross Miner placed third.

Full results are here.

“I was very nervous before the short program,” Pitkeev said, according to the International Skating Union. “I used to come here as a spectator only and now I’m skating here myself and I wanted to do well. I am obviously very surprised to be in first place.”

Fernandez, who won Cup of China two weeks ago, will clinch a berth in December’s Grand Prix Final in Barcelona if he finishes in the top three after Saturday’s free skate. He could still make the six-skater Grand Prix Final if he finishes lower than third.

The men expected to be Fernandez’s top challengers in Moscow — U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon and Canadian champion Nam Nguyen — are sixth and seventh, both counting falls in their short programs.

Icenetwork.com will stream for subscribers live coverage of men’s, women’s, pairs and ice dance free skates Saturday. NBC and NBC Sports Live Extra will have coverage Sunday from 12-1:30 p.m. ET.

Women’s short program — Friday, 12:30 p.m. ET (start order here)
Men’s free skate — Saturday, 7:35 a.m. ET
Women’s free skate — Saturday, 11:35 a.m. ET

MORE FIGURE SKATING: Olympic pairs champions pull out of Grand Prix series

Follow @nzaccardi

Results of the men's short at Rostelecom Cup. pic.twitter.com/oc23eK9CND

— IFS Magazine (@ifsmagazine) November 20, 2015

Coco Gauff into French Open quarterfinals, where Iga Swiatek may await

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 11:52 AM EDT

Getty

Coco Gauff swept into the French Open quarterfinals, where she could play Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year’s final.

Gauff, the sixth seed, beat 100th-ranked Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 in the fourth round. She next plays Swiatek or 66th-ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, who meet later Monday.

Gauff earned a 37th consecutive win over a player ranked outside the top 50, dating to February 2022. She hasn’t faced a player in the world top 60 in four matches at Roland Garros, but the degree of difficulty is likely to ratchet up in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Swiatek won all 12 sets she’s played against Gauff, who at 19 is the only teenager in the top 49 in the world.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Also Monday, No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia dispatched 36th-ranked American Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-1, breaking all eight of Pera’s service games.

Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, has now reached the quarterfinals of all four majors.

Jabeur next faces 14th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia, who won 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who played on a protected ranking of 68. Haddad Maia became the second Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open Era (since 1968) after Maria Bueno, who won seven majors from 1959-1966.

Pera, a 28 year-old born in Croatia, was the oldest U.S. singles player to make the fourth round of a major for the first time since Jill Craybas at 2005 Wimbledon. Her defeat left Gauff as the lone American singles player remaining out of the 35 entered in the main draws.

The last American to win a major singles title was Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought matches the longest in history (since 1877) for American men and women combined.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

U.S. earns first three-peat in Para hockey world championship history

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 8:49 AM EDT

International Paralympic Committee

The U.S. trounced rival Canada 6-1 to become the first nation to three-peat in world Para hockey championship history.

Tournament MVP Declan Farmer scored twice, and Josh Misiewicz, David Eustace, Jack Wallace and Kevin McKee added goals. Jen Lee made eight saves in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on Sunday.

Farmer, who had nine goals in five games for the tournament, also scored twice in Paralympic final wins over Canada in 2018 and 2022 and the last world championship final against Canada in 2021. Farmer, 25, already owns the career national team record of more than 250 points.

The U.S. beat Canada in a third consecutive world final dating to 2019, but this was the most lopsided gold-medal game in championship history. The U.S. also won the last four Paralympic titles dating to 2010.

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

More: Olympics

More: Olympics