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Golf: Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (picture) survived Tommy Fleetwood’s spectacular late assault and pipped the Englishman in a dramatic playoff to win the Shenzhen International yesterday. Wiesberger, who started with a three-stroke lead over the field, shot a one-under par 71 to aggregate 16-under and join Fleetwood who came up with the lowest round of the week, carding seven birdies and an eagle for a spotless 63. “Tommy has had a great day today and I’m just grateful to make that one shot when I needed to,” Wiesberger said after lifting his fourth European title.
Tennis: Pam Shriver has revealed that Romania Fed Cup captain Ilie Nastase made inappropriate comments to her when she was a teenager on the WTA Tour. The 54-year-old former US Open finalist told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek programme that Nastase often asked her if she was a virgin. “Whenever I saw him at any tournament he would ask me the same question,” she said. “This man has not been respectful of women for a long, long time.”
Basketball, NBA: The Golden State Warriors are closing in on a spot in the conference semi-finals of the NBA play-offs. The Warriors, the best team in the regular campaign, beat the Portland Trail Blazers 119-113 to take a 3-0 lead in the race-to-four series. Steph Curry threw in a match-high 34 points as they outscored the Trail Blazers 65-46 in the second half. Marc Gasol beat the buzzer to hand the Memphis Grizzlies a 110-108 overtime win against the San Antonio Spurs and tie their series at 2-2.
Boxing: Martin Murray beat Gabriel Rosado on a controversial majority points decision to claim the WBA Inter-continental Middleweight Championship title in Liverpool. Murray was awarded the victory on a split decision, with one judge scoring it 119-109 in the St Helens fighter’s favour. That incensed Rosado, who berated the judges after the fight and had to be pulled away from Murray as the two men squared up.
Cycling: Alejandro Valverde lived up to expectations when he timed his final effort to perfection to claim an emotional win in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic for the fourth time yesterday. The Movistar rider jumped away from a group of top guns with some 250 metres left to catch Dan Martin and easily outsprint the Irishman. Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski took third place in the fourth of five ‘Monument’ classics as Valverde achieved the Fleche-Liege double for the third time after 2006 and 2015. “I dedicate this victory to Michele Scarponi, who was a great friend of mine,” Spaniard Valverde said. “My prize money will go to his family.”