Off the wire

Venus Williams lost in the first round of the French Open for the first time since 2001.
Venus Williams lost in the first round of the French Open for the first time since 2001.

TENNIS Venus Williams exits

Venus Williams lost in the French Open’s first round for the first time since 2001, beaten 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-4 Sunday by 40th-ranked Urszula Radwanska of Poland. The quick exit for Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, came a year after her younger sister Serena was upset in the first round at Roland Garros. Radwanska also has a sister who plays professional tennis, Agnieszka, who was the runner-up to Serena at Wimbledon last year and is seeded No. 4 at the French Open. Venus Williams now has two first-round losses in the past four Grand Slam tournaments. Her defeat at Wimbledon last June was the first time she’d left a major championship that early since she lost in the first round of the Australian Open 6½ years earlier. The only other seeded player to lose on Day 1 was No. 11 Nadia Petrova of Russia, who was defeated by Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Otherwise, results went to form, with 17-time major champion Roger Federer picking up a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over a guy making his Grand Slam debut, Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, while No. 4 David Ferrer, No. 14 Milos Raonic of Canada and No. 18 Sam Querrey of the United Sates also were among the winners. In an intriguing encounter filled with momentum swings, No. 15 Gilles Simon of France overcame a two-set deficit for the first time in his career to edge two-time major champion Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5.

FOOTBALL Golson out for fall semester

Quarterback Everett Golson has been suspended from the University of Notre Dame for the fall semester for what he called poor academic judgment and indicated he will be given the opportunity to return in January. “I take full responsibility for my poor choices and will do all that is asked of me to regain the trust of my family, friends, teammates, coaches and the entire Notre Dame community,” he wrote in a letter released by the university Sunday. Golson was officially no longer enrolled at Notre Dame as of Friday, university spokesman Dennis Brown said Saturday night. Golson had helped the Irish go 12-0 during the regular season, regain the No. 1 ranking for the first time in nearly two decades and get to the national title game against Alabama in January. He was being counted on to play an even bigger role in 2013. Golson wrote that he understands that because of his suspension his integrity could be in question. “But I want to reassure my supporters that through this experience I will return a better student athlete as well as a better individual,” he said. He also thanked the university for the opportunity it already has given him and the opportunity to retain his eligibility in January. “At this point, I understand how my integrity could be in question but I want to reassure my supporters that through this experience I will return a better student athlete as well as a better individual,” said. “Lastly, I want to thank the University of Notre Dame for the opportunity already granted and also the opportunity going forth to regain my eligibility in the winter of 2014.” Golson’s abrupt exit leaves the Irish unsettled at a position they were hoping would be a strength in 2013. The most likely replacement is Tommy Rees, the 2011 starter who played key roles in four victories last season when Golson either struggled or was injured.

BASKETBALL

Suns looking to Hornacek

The Phoenix Suns appear close to hiring Jeff Hornacek as their head coach. A person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Suns are in contract negotiations with Hornacek, although no deal has been finalized. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no public announcement had been made. The comments came after azcentralsports, which includes the Arizona Republic, reported Sunday that Hornacek reached agreement on a three-year contract. If all goes as anticipated, Hornacek would be introduced at a news conference Tuesday. Hornacek, assistant coach for the Utah Jazz, played six seasons for the Suns and was part of the trade that sent Charles Barkley to the Suns from Philadelphia. Hornacek went on to have his best pro seasons as a sharpshooting guard alongside John Stockton in the Utah back court. He replaces interim coach Lindsey Hunter, who took over the team when Alvin Gentry and the club agreed to part ways in mid-January. Hunter was strongly backed by General Manager Lance Blanks, who was fired at the end of the season and replaced by ex-Boston Celtics assistant general manager Ryan McDonough. The survivor in the revamped cast is Lon Babby, who got a two-year contract extension as president of basketball operations. The 50-year old Hornacek faces a daunting task rebuilding a once-successful franchise that compiled the worst record in the Western Conference and second-worst in franchise history at 27-55 last season. Only the franchise’s inaugural season was worse. The first chance to improve the roster will come when the Suns make the fifth pick in next month’s draft. They also have the 30th selection. Attempts will be made to improve through free agency but the team is saddled with contracts with some players who will be hard to move. Hornacek also interviewed for the Charlotte job but Phoenix had an inside track because of his past ties to the organization and because he still has a home in the area. Hornacek played 14 seasons in the NBA after being drafted late in the second by Phoenix.

SOCCER Beckham left watching

David Beckham spent his last match as a professional player watching Paris Saint-Germain beat Lorient 3-1 in the final round of the French league on Sunday, while Lyon clinched the remaining Champions League spot and Troyes was relegated. Beckham wasn’t included in PSG’s squad, however the former England captain witnessed teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic score his 30th goal of the season - the most by a player in the league since Jean-Pierre Papin reached that mark for Marseille in the 1989-90 season. Lyon finished third behind champion PSG and runner-up Marseille after Lisandro Lopez and Clement Grenier scored in a 2-0 victory over Rennes, giving the team the last spot in Europe’s elite club competition next season. Troyes lost 2-1 at Valenciennes to join Brest and Nancy in the second division.

ATHLETICS Governor to question Rutgers

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans to speak with Rutgers officials about a report that the woman hired to clean up the university’s scandal-scarred athletic program quit as Tennessee’s women’s volleyball coach 16 years ago after her players submitted a letter complaining she ruled through humiliation, fear and emotional abuse. Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak says the governor is aware of the report about Julie Hermann in the Star-Ledger of Newark, but wants to get more details before commenting. The newspaper reported Tennessee players wrote that the mentality cruelty they suffered when Hermann was coach was unbearable, adding she called them “whores, alcoholics and learning disabled.” Hermann was hired to replace the ousted Tim Pernetti, who was let go after basketball Coach Mike Rice was fired for abusive behavior.

MOTOR SPORTS

Rosberg wins in Monaco

Nico Rosberg kept his cool amid the chaos to win the crash marred Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday and give Mercedes its first victory of the season. The German driver began from pole position for the third straight GP, but he had to re-start three times after the race was held up by a safety car, a red flag and the safety car again. Rosberg finished ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth.The red flag came out with about 30 laps to go when Williams driver Pastor Maldonado was nudged into the wall by Marussia’s Max Chilton. Earlier, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa crashed and the safety car came out a second time when Frenchman Romain Grosjean smashed into Daniel Ricciardo.

Sports, Pages 20 on 05/27/2013

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