Winter Olympics late night: What to watch/stream

By OlympicTalkFeb 15, 2018, 5:00 PM EST

AP Images

It’s not often that cross-country skiing is featured as must-watch TV. The sport looks absolutely grueling as athletes have to use every single muscle of their body for at least 1 mile (a spring), and up to 30 miles. Today, though, we’re shifting our attentions towards the 15km race (9.3 miles), and the man racing it: Pita Taufatofua.

Yes, the shirtless Tongan may be getting the headlines because of his Olympic entrances but it shouldn’t undermine his ability as an athlete and the sacrifices he’s made to get there. To read more about Taufatofua’s story, click here.

Elsewhere around PyeongChang, Team OAR looks to find their groove on the rink and Ashley Caldwell and Kiley McKinnon look to medal in women’s aerials.

Cross-Country

The most notable name in the men’s 15km field doesn’t stand a chance at medaling. That man is Pita Taufatofua, the world-famous shirtless Tongan who graced the Olympic stage not once, but twice. Having sacrificed everything to qualify for the Olympics, Taufatua became a trailblazer for his native Tonga. Whether he finishes 30th, 50th, or worse, his vision for Tonga’s future serves as almost a beautiful backdrop for this course as the PyeongChang mountainside.

Men’s 15km Stream Live Here 1:00a.m. EST / 10:00p.m. PST

Hockey

The Olympic Athletes from Russia entered the Olympics with a lot of hype: they were a shoo-in for gold. Their first game against Slovakia showed that they’re far from unbeatable; actually, relatively beatable. So, what’s next for this team? They take on the team that beat the U.S. Maybe the other night’s result was a wake-up for this squad or, maybe, they just didn’t fit as well as people once thought.

OAR vs. SLO Stream Live Here 2:40a.m. EST / 11:40p.m. PST

Freestyle Skiing

Lydia Lasilla is the name to look out for in this competition, as she continues her quest to become the most decorated aerial skier in Olympic history. Ashley Caldwell and Kiley McKinnon are two other contenders to look out for, and could potentially steal the gold from their Australian counterpart.

Full women’s aerials preview here

Women’s Aerial Finals Stream Live Here 6:00a.m. EST / 3:00a.m. PST

Skeleton

Katie Uhlaender finished fourth in Sochi (and will receive bronze following Eleni Nikitina was stripped of hers for doping).

Women’s Runs 1 and 2 Stream Live Here 6:20a.m. EST / 3:20a.m. PST

Curling

A big game between Sweden and Great Britain highlight tonight’s curling action (or this morning’s). It hasn’t been as smooth as the Britons would liked to have hoped, losing a tough battle against Canada and then barely edging out Japan. Sweden have looked impressive in both of their games so far.

Women’s Tournament

DEN vs. CAN Stream Live Here 12:05a.m. EST / 9:05p.m. PST

SWE vs. OAR Stream Live Here 12:05a.m. EST / 9:05p.m. PST

KOR vs. SUI Stream Live Here 12:05a.m. EST / 9:05p.m. PST

Men’s Tournament

JPN vs. SUI Stream Live Here 6:05a.m. EST / 3:05a.m. PST

DEN vs. USA Stream Live Here 6:05a.m. EST / 3:05a.m. PST

SWE vs. GBR Stream Live Here 6:05a.m. EST / 3:03a.m. PST

CAN vs. KOR Stream Live Here 6:05a.m. EST / 3:05a.m. PST

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

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 11:18 AM 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.

The other men’s fourth-round matches Sunday were No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti, and No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Sebastian Ofner.

Two unseeded women moved into quarterfinals and will play each other next: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up at Roland Garros, and Karolina Muchova.

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.

The other women’s matches scheduled for later: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, and No. 9 Daria Kasatkina vs. Elina Svitolina.

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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