lopez upsets Berdych, Zverev stops Haas
STUTTGART: Feliciano lopez upset Tomas Berdych 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 and Mischa Zverev ended veteran Tommy Haas' participation in the Stuttgart Open quarterfinals on Friday. lopez saved all nine break points he faced against the third-seeded Berdych. Zverev defeated Haas 6-4, 6-4 for a semifinal against lopez. The 39-year-old Haas, who defeated Roger Federer in the second round on Wednesday, was playing for the last time at the grass-court tournament, and he was accompanied by his six-year-old daughter Valentina at the post-match news conference, where she sat on his lap. "She is the biggest reason why I still do it," said Haas, who plans to retire at the end of the season. "On the whole it was a nice week." Also, the fourth-seeded lucas Pouille defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 for a semifinal against French compatriot Benoit Paire, who beat Poland's Jerzy Janowicz 6-1, 7-6 (4).
Anand draws with Aronian in Norway
Stavanger: Viswanathan Anand drew with tournament leader levon Aronian of Armenia in the eighth and penultimate round of the Altibox Norway chess tournament now drawing to a close. Having done the hard work, Aronian was in no mood to spoil things as white and the Armenian remained cautious while slightly better at some point. However, Anand was accurate too and Aronian decided that probably black had enough defensive resources. Going in to the last round with the cushion of a half point lead was another factor as Aronian repeated the position. The game lasted 32 moves. The final round promises to be exciting too as Aronian will meet Wesley So while Anand has his big clash slated against Carlsen. Nakamura will be black against Caruana while Giri has black against his nemesis — Kramnik — once again.
India bag 5 medals in Asian Junior Championships
New Delhi: India on Friday bagged five medals, including a gold in the 2017 Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in Taiwan. According to information received, India's female wrestlers pocketed three medals while two came in the male greco-roman division. India's gold came in the women's 51kg freestyle category through Puja. Besides Puja, Sonu clinched a silver medal in the 44kg category while Manu claimed a bronze in the 59kg division. Satish won a silver in the 120kg greco-roman style while Manish claimed a bronze in the 50kg category.
umpires for ct final announced
london: South Africa's Marais Erasmus and Richard Kettleborough of England will be the on-field umpires for the Champions Trophy final between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, the ICC announced on Friday. Known for their calm demeanour, both officials will be standing in a high-profile match at the Oval on Sunday. Erasmus, a 53-year-old former Boland fast-medium bowler, will be standing in his 71st one-day international. Sunday's match will be the 44-year-old Kettleborough's 72nd ODI as an umpire. Australia's Rod Tucker will be the television umpire on Sunday, with Sri lanka's Kumar Dharmasena the reserve official.