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Williams sisters win to set up clash at Indian Wells
Serena Williams and sister Venus won at the BNP Paribas Open to set up a third-round clash in the desert tournament.
Serena got by No. 29 seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the second round on Saturday in her return from a 14-month absence after giving birth to her first child. Venus preceded her younger sister on the stadium court and beat Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-3, 6-4.
The sisters will resume their longtime rivalry on Monday. Serena leads Venus 17-11 all-time and has won eight of their last nine meetings, most recently the Australian Open final last year.
“Obviously, I wish it was anybody else in the draw, literally anybody, but that’s OK,” Serena said. “Just have to go out there and see how I am and do my best.”
Roger Federer led Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 2-2 when their match was delayed by a heavy drizzle 56 minutes after it began.
Wild card Danielle Collins defeated U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys 6-3, 7-6 (1) to continue a string of upsets.
Keys hasn’t made it past the fourth round at Indian Wells in eight tries. The No. 15 seed was mistake-prone throughout the second-round match, committing five unforced errors in the tiebreaker.
Collins, ranked 116th and making her first appearance in the main draw, is just starting her second year on the WTA Tour.
She joined American upset winners Sachia Vickery, who beat No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza; 16-year-old wild card Amanda Anisimova, who beat No. 23 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova; and wild-card teenager Caroline Dolehide, a three-set winner over No. 30 Dominika Cibulkova on Friday.
In other matches Saturday, defending champion Elena Vesnina eliminated American CiCi Bellis 2-6, 6-1, 6-1; No. 4 seed Elina Svitolina beat Mona Barthel 6-4, 6-3; No. 12 Julia Goerges defeated Natalia Vikhlyantseva 6-4, 6-1; No. 27 Carla Suarez Navarro beat Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; and No. 26 Daria Gavrilova dismissed Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (3), 6-2.
Two seeded players lost: No. 18 Magdalena Rybarikova and No. 28 Anett Kontaveit.
On the men’s side, No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov was upset by Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 and No. 16 Fabio Fognini went down against Jeremy Chardy 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4.
No. 30 Pablo Cuevas beat Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (4), 6-3.
We Speak Sports
Angel Reese’s Historic Night Powers Dream Past Valkyries 97-71 for 2-1 Finals Lead
Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds to become the first player in WNBA history with a double-double in each of her first three Finals games, and the Atlanta Dream routed the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals.
Angel Reese had 21 points and 12 rebounds to become the first player in WNBA history with a double-double in each of her first three Finals games, and the Atlanta Dream routed the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the WNBA Finals.
The Atlanta Dream turned their first home game of the WNBA Finals into a statement. Behind another commanding performance from Angel Reese, Atlanta blew out the Golden State Valkyries 97-71 on Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 17,099 at State Farm Arena, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and setting a franchise record for points in a Finals game.
Watch the official Game 3 highlights:
Atlanta’s defense set the tone from the opening tip. The Dream held Golden State scoreless for the first five minutes, and the Valkyries did not make a field goal until Aminata Gueye’s hook shot with 4:38 left in the first quarter. Atlanta led 23-15 after one and 46-40 at halftime.
Golden State made its push early in the third quarter, tying the game at 49. Reese answered personally, fueling an 8-0 run and capping it with a coast-to-coast driving layup. After the Valkyries trimmed the margin to 59-55, the Dream closed the quarter by scoring 12 of the final 14 points to carry a 71-57 lead into the fourth, then outscored Golden State 26-14 the rest of the way. Atlanta has now outscored Golden State 63-35 in third quarters across the series.
Reese finished with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals. She is the first player in WNBA history to record a double-double in each of her first three Finals games, the youngest player ever with three straight double-doubles in the Finals, and she joined A’ja Wilson as the only players to post 20 points and 10 rebounds in consecutive Finals games. She also went 2-for-2 from three-point range; Atlanta is 14-0 this season when Reese makes a three.
“Time to take over. Do whatever it takes to win,” Reese said. “Everybody was just playing together. It’s fun when you win and you play with a great group. So it makes my job super easy.”
Rhyne Howard added 16 points and five steals, becoming the first player in league history with five steals in consecutive Finals games. Naz Hillmon scored 15, Isobel Borlase added 12 off the bench, and Jordin Canada finished with 10 points and eight assists. Atlanta shot 49.3 percent from the field, hit nine three-pointers and owned the paint, 44-20.
Gabby Williams led Golden State with 15 points, Tiffany Hayes scored 14, and Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalasini added 13 apiece. But the Valkyries shot just 34.8 percent and committed 17 turnovers, which Atlanta converted into 22 points. “Sometimes, promises aren’t kept,” Golden State coach Natalie Nakase said.
Game 4 is Saturday, October 24 at 1 p.m. ET at State Farm Arena, televised on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Atlanta, playing in its first Finals since 2013, is now two wins away from the first championship in franchise history.
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