— TENNIS —
Rafael Nadal began his quest for a 10th French Open title Tuesday with an easy straight-set win, and Novak Djokovic started his journey toward a career Grand Slam in similar fashion. The sixth-seeded Nadal, with his lowest-ever seed at Roland Garros, blasted unheralded Frenchman Quentin Halys, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, while the top-seeded Djokovic, still in search of that elusive first French Open crown, came through with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 triumph Jarkko Nieminen. Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open winner, lost to Nadal in the 2012 and 2014 French Open finals. One surprise on the men’s side Tuesday saw American Jack Sock knock out 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.
Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki were among the women’s first-round winners Tuesday. Williams, a two-time French champ and this year’s top seed, dropped just five games in an easy win over Andrea Hlavackova, while Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champ and this year’s fourth seed, needed three sets to beat Marina Erakovic. The fifth-seeded Wozniacki rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Karin Knapp. Sixth-seeded Genie Bouchard lost in straight sets to Kristina Mladenovic.
— NBA —
The Cleveland Cavaliers will try for a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals against the Atlanta Hawks tonight. The Cavs won the first two games in Atlanta and needed overtime to beat the Hawks at home in Game 3 on Sunday, as LeBron James notched his first triple-double of the 2015 postseason with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. James has been bothered by an ankle injury that had him hobbling on Sunday, but a win tonight would give the Cavs some much needed rest before the NBA Finals would start on June 4. Cleveland has also played the last two games without injured guard Kyrie Irving.
— NHL —
Tampa Bay can wrap up the NHL’s Eastern Conference championship and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals tonight in front of the home crowd with a victory over the New York Rangers. The Lightning grabbed a 3-2 series lead on Sunday in New York with a 2-0 triumph and need one more win to advance to the Cup Finals for the first time since winning their lone championship in the spring of 2004. The Rangers are in a familiar spot with their backs to the wall, as they previously won three straight elimination games to rally from a 3-1 series deficit in the second round against the Washington Capitals.
The St. Louis Blues and head coach Ken Hitchcock have agreed to a contract for the 2015-16 season. Hitchcock has been the Blues’ head coach since November 2011 and has guided the club to four straight postseason appearances, but his status had been in question following a first-round playoff loss to Minnesota earlier this spring. St. Louis has the NHL’s best regular-season record over the last four years with a pair of division titles, but playoff success has eluded the team. After a loss in the second round of the playoffs in the spring of 2012, the Blues have been ousted in the
first round each of the last three years.
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