Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Zarco takes pole for MotoGP's Qatar opener in record time
Frenchman Johann Zarco took the first pole position of the MotoGP season for the non-works Tech3 Yamaha team on Saturday with a record lap around Qatar's floodlit Losail circuit. The twice-Moto2 champion's best time of one minute 53.680 seconds was 0.247 faster than the previous lap record set by Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo in 2008 at the desert track outside Doha.
Federer survives scare, to face Del Potro in Indian Wells final
World number one Roger Federer survived a scare from unseeded Borna Coric to beat him 5-7 6-4 6-4 in the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday and set up a final showdown with Juan Martin del Potro who cruised to a 6-2 6-3 win over Milos Raonic. The victory kept Federer's hopes of winning a record sixth Indian Wells title alive but first he will have to get past the big-hitting Argentine, who got the better of the Swiss in the U.S. Open quarter-finals in September.
Warriors Durant to miss two weeks with rib fracture
Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant will miss at least two weeks of the NBA season after an MRI on Friday revealed a fractured rib in the latest injury setback for the shorthanded defending champions. The team said the reigning NBA Finals MVP "will be re-evaluated in two weeks," making it unclear exactly how long the squad will be without the sharpshooting small forward, who leads the team in scoring.
Stenson grabs one-shot lead at Bay Hill, Woods five back
Henrik Stenson held a one-stroke lead over Bryson DeChambeau with big names Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler pushing into contention and Tiger Woods five shots back after the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Saturday. Swede Stenson, despite three bogeys, stayed atop the leaderboard at 12-under 204 after shooting a one-under 71 at Bay Hill on a gorgeous Florida afternoon.
VAR will be used at Russia World Cup, says FIFA
Video assistant referees (VARs) will be used at the World Cup for the first time in this year's finals in Russia, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Friday, and teams will be allowed a fourth substitute in matches that go to extra-time. The use of the VAR system was approved earlier this month by the rule-making body IFAB, despite controversy in some of the competitions in which it has been trialled over the time taken to make decisions and lack of information for spectators.
Tennis: Osaka stuns Halep as rising stars reach Indian Wells final
Japan's Naomi Osaka made short work of a subdued world number one Simona Halep on Friday, the unseeded 20-year-old racing to a 6-3 6-0 semi-final victory to set up a surprise BNP Paribas Open final against Daria Kasatkina. The Russian, also 20, continued her sparkling run of form earlier in the evening when she outlasted American veteran Venus Williams in a three-set slugfest lasting almost three hours.
Vergne stretches Formula E lead with victory in Uruguay
French driver Jean-Eric Vergne won Uruguay's Formula E round in Punta del Este from pole position on Saturday to stretch his overall lead in the all-electric series to 30 points. The victory in the coastal resort was the Techeetah driver's second of the season and he now has 109 points with closest rival Felix Rosenqvist, the Swede who races for India's Mahindra, second on 79 after six of 12 races.
Morocco plans to spend $15.8 billion if it gets 2026 soccer World Cup
Morocco has proposed using 14 stadiums and budgeting to spend 15.8 billion dollars on infrastructure if it wins the right to host the World Cup soccer finals in 2026, the country's bid committee announced at a news conference on Saturday. But Morocco will not build any new stadiums for the tournament, preferring to renovate and modify existing venues and add temporary capacity to others, said candidature chairman Moulay Hafid Elalamy, who is also a government minister.
Shi beats Lin to win All England badminton final
Seventh seed Shi Yuqi beat compatriot Lin Dan to win an all-Chinese final of the All England Open badminton championships in Birmingham on Sunday. Shi, last year's runner-up, won the opening game 21-19 against the six-time champion.
Jamaica's Blake sees Commonwealth Games as step to build on Bolt's legacy
Next month's Commonwealth Games will be Yohan Blake's chance to build on Usain Bolt's "legacy" and step out of the track great's shadow, the former 100 meters world champion said on Sunday. Bolt retired last year with eight Olympic and 11 world championship gold medals to his name, leaving his former training partner Blake to carry the flame for Jamaica.
