Jamie Greubel Poser, husband get matching golds in Park City

Associated PressNov 18, 2017, 6:11 AM EST

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Jamie Greubel Poser got the bounce-back race she wanted, and husband Christian Poser got another gold medal for the family collection.

Greubel Poser teamed with Lauren Gibbs to win a World Cup bobsled race for the U.S. on Friday night at the Utah Olympic Park, her sixth victory on the circuit and the 18th medal in her last 22 starts.

Later, German Nico Walther — with Poser as one of his pushers — won the first four-man race of the season.

Greubel Poser finished her two runs on the 2002 Olympic track in 1 minute, 40.72 seconds.

Kaillie Humphries and Melissa Lotholz of Canada were second in 1:40.82, while Elana Meyers Taylor and Lolo Jones of the U.S. rode the strength of two strong starts to finish third in 1:40.99.

RESULTS: Men | Women

Including the Sochi Olympics, it was the 13th time that Greubel Poser, Humphries and Meyers Taylor — the world’s top three drivers — swept the podium spots in an international race.

Walther was with Poser, Kevin Kuske and Eric Franke for the four-man win, hanging on to finish in 1:36.80.

It was barely good enough to hold off a huge rally from Canada’s Justin Kripps and his team of Lascelles Brown, Ben Coakwell and Neville Wright. Kripps’ sled was second in 1:36.83, nearly stealing the win after being only 10th in the first heat.

Canada also got bronze in the four-man, with Chris Spring driving along with pushers Jesse Lumsden, Alex Kopacz and Oluseyi Smith and finishing in 1:36.86.

The top U.S. finisher in four-man was Codie Bascue, who was seventh.

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The winning race of @JamieGreubel and @lagibbs84 here in Park City!! #BMWWorldCup #sliding2PC18 pic.twitter.com/B4HeYu7T7i

— IBSF (@IBSFsliding) November 18, 2017

Novak Djokovic breaks record he shared with Rafael Nadal at French Open

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 1:53 PM EDT

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Novak Djokovic broke a tie with rival Rafael Nadal by reaching the French Open quarterfinals for the record 17th time, never truly in trouble during a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Juan Pablo Varillas on Sunday.

Djokovic is closing on bettering Nadal in a more prestigious category: Grand Slam singles championships. Both currently sit at 22. For Djokovic, that total includes two at Roland Garros, in 2016 and 2021, and he can become the first man to own at least three trophies from each major tournament.

Nadal is a 14-time champion in Paris but is missing this time because of a hip injury; he had arthroscopic surgery Friday night.

Against the 94th-ranked Varillas, who had never won a Slam match until this event and then took three in a row in five sets, Djokovic was, not surprisingly, at his dominant best at Court Philippe Chatrier on a warm, sunny day.

The 36-year-old from Serbia finished with more than twice as many winners, 35-15, and fewer unforced errors. He went 15 for 17 on trips to the net. He put in 80% of his first serves. He converted 6 of 12 break points while dropping his serve only once.

All in all, a no-drama showing in under two hours from Djokovic, who hasn’t ceded a set yet through four matches. He’s had his less-than-amiable back-and-forths with some spectators over the past week in Paris, but when this one ended, Djokovic gestured as though to hug everyone as he heard some chants of his two-syllable nickname, “No-le!”

In his 55th career major quarterfinal — Roger Federer, who retired with 58, is the only man to reach more — and 14th in a row at Roland Garros, the No. 3-seeded Djokovic will face No. 11 Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

Khachanov, who is 1-8 against Djokovic, made it this far at a Slam for the fifth time by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1.

Also Sunday, No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz beat No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti by the same scoreline as Djokovic’s win over Varillas — 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. He will next play No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas or Sebastian Ofner.

Three unseeded women moved into quarterfinals: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up at Roland Garros, Karolina Muchova and Elina Svitolina.

Pavlyuchenkova, who missed last year’s tournament as part of a lengthy absence with a knee injury, got past a third consecutive seeded opponent, No. 28 Elise Mertens, by a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 score.

Muchova was a 6-4, 6-4 winner against Elina Avanesyan, who lost in qualifying but got into the main draw when another player withdrew. Muchova plays Pavlyuchenkova next.

Svitolina, a Ukrainian mom once ranked No. 3 in the world, took out No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (5).

The other women’s match scheduled for later: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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French Open doubles team disqualified after tennis ball hits ball girl

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 9:57 AM EDT

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French Open doubles player Miyu Kato and her partner were forced to forfeit a match when Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball after a point on Sunday.

In the second set on Court 14 at Roland Garros, Kato took a swing with her racket and the ball flew toward the ball kid, who was not looking in the player’s direction while heading off the court.

At first, chair umpire Alexandre Juge only issued a warning to Kato. But after tournament referee Remy Azemar and Grand Slam supervisor Wayne McEwen went to Court 14 to look into what happened, Kato and her partner, Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia, were disqualified.

That made Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain the winners of the match.

“It’s just a bad situation for everyone,” Bouzkova said. “But it’s kind of something that, I guess, is taken by the rules, as it is, even though it’s very unfortunate for them. … At the end of the day, it was the referee’s decision.”

Bouzkova said she did not see the ball hit the ball girl, but “she was crying for like 15 minutes.”

She said one of the officials said the ball “has to do some kind of harm to the person affected” and that “at first, (Juge) didn’t see that.”

Bouzkova said she and Sorribes Tormo told Juge “to look into it more and ask our opponents what they think happened.”

During Coco Gauff’s 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 singles victory over Mirra Andreeva on Saturday, Andreev swatted a ball into the Court Suzanne Lenglen stands after dropping a point in the first set. Andreev was given a warning by the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct but no further penalty.

“I heard about that. Didn’t see it,” Bouzkova said. “I guess it just depends on the circumstances and the given situation as it happens. … It is difficult, for sure.

In the quarterfinals, Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo will face Ellen Perez of Australia and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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a tough scene in Paris. Doubles partners Kato/Sutjiadi just got defaulted as Kato hit a ball girl accidentally at 6-7(1), 3-1.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/A7BIshh1CX

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 4, 2023

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