TENNIS
Venus gets 700th victory
Venus Williams earned the 700th victory of her career Tuesday by beating German qualifier Julia Goerges 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the Wuhan (China) Open. Defending champion Petra Kvitova also advanced, beating Daria Gavrilova of Russia 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Kvitova will next face 15th-seeded Roberta Vinci in the third round. Earlier, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova beat a top-20 player for only the third time in her career when she defeated fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Schmiedlova will next meet Kristina Mladenovic, who beat 14th-seeded Madison Keys of the United States 7-5, 1-6, 6-2. Ana Ivanovic advanced with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Madison Brengle. The ninth-seeded Ivanovic has only dropped seven games in two matches. Also, Belinda Bencic of Switzerland retired from her match against Camila Giorgi of Italy with a left leg injury. Bencic, who was coming off a loss to Agnieszka Radwanska in the Tokyo Pan Pacific final on Sunday, retired after dropping the first set 6-2. Victoria Azarenka also limped off and retired after she was broken in the second set by Johanna Konta and was trailing 6-4, 1-0 in her third round match. In the final match of the day, top-seeded Simona Halep beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-1. In other matches, sixth-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; 12th-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine beat Varvara Lepchenko of the United States 6-4, 6-2; and Coco Vandeweghe of United States beat Caroline Garcia of France 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6).
• Sixth-seeded Jeremy Chardy advanced to the second round of the Malaysian Open by beating German teen Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tuesday at Kuala Lumpur. Chardy had six aces after going a set down in his first match since making the fourth round at the U.S. Open. Also, Radu Albot of Moldova beat fifth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-2, 7-6 (5); Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan of India 6-2, 6-2; eighth-seeded Vasek Pospisil of Canada advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Yasutaka Uchiyama of Japan; and Marcos Baghdatis beat qualifier Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
• Top-seeded Annika Beck of Germany reached the second round of the Tashkent Open in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Tuesday, defeating Elizaveta Kulichkova of Russia 6-3, 6-1. Beck faced 11 break points against Kulichkova but lost serve only once, in the second set. Beck next plays Jana Cepelova of Slovakia, who defeated Uzbek qualifier Sabina Sharipova 6-2, 6-1. Three seeded players lost on the second day of the tournament, including third-seeded Polona Hercog of Slovenia, who was eliminated by Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4, 3-6, 3-6. Seventh-seeded Jelena Ostapenko lost in the first round to Bojana Jovanovski 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, while eighth-seeded Andreea Mitu of Romania lost to Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3. Fourth-seeded Johanna Larson of Sweden progressed by beating Swiss qualifier Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-3, while fifth-seeded Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic reached the second round with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Polish qualifier Paula Kania.
BASKETBALL
Surgery set for Rose
Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose will have surgery on his left eye after being elbowed in the face. The Bulls say the 2011 NBA MVP sustained a left orbital fracture on the first day of practice. He is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, and a timetable for his return will be determined after the operation. The injury is the latest in a long line for Rose and the last thing the Bulls needed with a new coach in Fred Hoiberg. Rose missed all of the 2012-13 season after tearing his left ACL during the first round of the 2012 playoffs, and played only 10 games two years ago after tearing the meniscus in his right knee. He also had a minor procedure on the right knee late last season.
• USA Basketball has suspended Brittney Griner for the start of its European training camp that begins this week. The penalty stems from Griner's domestic violence arrest in April. The 6-foot-8 Phoenix Mercury star was banned by the WNBA for the first seven games of the season, which amounts to the same percentage that she'll miss of the USA training camp. Griner is just about finished with her 26 weeks of court-ordered counseling. Once completed, all charges will be dismissed. The Americans, who have already qualified for next year's Olympics in Rio, will be playing games in Spain and the Czech Republic.
• Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert needs surgery on his right wrist and will be sidelined for at least three months. Shumpert injured his wrist last week while getting ready for training camp. He told the team about his injury on Monday and an MRI revealed a ruptured sheath in his wrist. The team said he will have the operation today and that he could need as long as 14 weeks to recover. The Cavs acquired Shumpert in a trade last season from the New York Knicks. He battled shoulder and groin injuries, but was a key contributor as Cleveland made it to the NBA Finals. The 25-year-old played started in 16 postseason games, averaging 9.1 points. One of the team's best defensive players, he averaged 7.2 points in 38 regular-season games for Cleveland.
MOTOR SPORTS
Wilson's life celebrated
Julia Wilson wants racing fans to be thrilled they got to know her husband -- not saddened by his death. A little more than a month after Justin Wilson died from a head injury suffered when he was hit by a piece of debris during an IndyCar race, some of the sport's biggest names turned out to celebrate Wilson's life. Among the attendees in Indianapolis were longtime team owner Roger Penske, four-time series champion Scott Dixon, Wilson's younger brother, Stefan, and Mark Miles, the CEO of IndyCar's parent company. Wilson's two young daughters did not come to Tuesday's ceremony, which lasted about 50 minutes. Some of those who spoke fought back tears. Others told funny stories. But everyone agreed they will miss Wilson's engaging personality and smile.
• Pocono Raceway has added a race from NASCAR's Xfinity Series to its 2016 schedule. The second-tier series will run at Pocono for the first time on June 4. It's the first time the series has held a race in Pennsylvania since 2004 at Nazareth Speedway. Pocono is traditionally the site of two NASCAR Sprint Cup weekends. The Truck Series also is back for another year and will hold a race on July 30. The two Cup dates at Pocono are June 5 and July 31. The track also has held an IndyCar Series race the last three seasons. Pocono has yet to announce if the series will return in 2016. Pocono CEO Brandon Igdalsky said Tuesday that a decision should be made within the week. "We want five big events in five months and IndyCar is in that plan," he told The Associated Press. "We just have to figure out how to make it work for everybody."
Sports on 09/30/2015