Perry Baker’s end-to-end score highlights U.S. rugby sevens title

By Nick ZaccardiMar 5, 2018, 2:35 PM EST

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The U.S. won its second-ever World Rugby Sevens Series title — and first on home soil — in Las Vegas over the weekend.

No highlight was bigger than speedster Perry Baker‘s end-to-end score in a 19-7 semifinal win over Olympic champion Fiji on Sunday. The U.S. went on to beat Argentina 28-0 in the final for its second title after winning in London in 2015 in the near-20-year-history of the World Series.

Last season, Baker became the first U.S. player to lead the World Series in tries, after finishing second the previous campaign. He also had a leading 285 points (a try is worth five points).

The U.S. also had its best-ever overall series finish last season, fifth overall, after placing ninth in the sport’s Olympic debut in Rio. It’s in sixth place through five of 10 legs this season.

The U.S. hosts the Rugby World Cup Sevens for the first time in July in San Francisco.

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Runs 126m, past 4 Fiji defenders to score ONE incredible try. @SpeedSt11ck take a bow, you are next level. #USA7s pic.twitter.com/XcM0UH7C38

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) March 4, 2018

Perry being Perry. @SpeedSt11ck hits the gas [37 kmph] and puts @USARugby into their third semi-final in three years at the #USA7s pic.twitter.com/DStbJ057YT

— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) March 4, 2018

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 4, 2023, 4:10 PM EDT

At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, is her top remaining challenger in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round. No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who has three wins over Swiatek this year, withdrew before her third-round match due to illness.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the top hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 4, 2023, 3:10 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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