Sports in brief - 2011-06-02

No Baltic players have been able to make it past the third round of the French Open singles draws, with Estonian Kaia Kanepi’s 6-4, 7-5 loss to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia signaling an end to Baltic participation in the 2011 event. Following the withdrawal of Lithuania’s Richard Berankis a week out from the event, just three players competed in the singles draw, with the other two, Latvian Anastasija Sevastova and Ernests Gulbis, coming unstuck in the opening round. Sevastova was pitted in one the most intriguing first round match-ups, where she fell to Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, whilst Gulbis flopped once more, losing to Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. In Kanepi’s prior matches to her encounter with Makarova, the tournament’s 16th seed had been in scintillating form, made all the more impressive given the injury problems that had hampered her preparation for the tournament. In the opening round against Sweden’s Sofia Arvidsson she took a little while to warm up before romping home, 7-5, 6-1. Her form in the second round against the main draw’s youngest player, Heather Watson of Great Britain, was even more impressive as she raced past the Brit 6-1, 6-3.

This season the final of the Triobet Baltic Football League will be an all-Latvian affair with Ventspils and Skonto getting past Siauliai and Liepaja Metalurgs in their respective semifinals to advance to the tournament’s deciding match, scheduled to go ahead in Ventspils on June 18. Playing in a home and away format, Ventspils had little trouble cementing their fourth finals berth, winning the away leg, 2-0, on May 3 before winning by the same margin at home on May 24. The task was even simpler for Skonto, who all but secured their second finals’ appearance on the home leg on May 4 when they easily saw off their compatriots, 5-0. This allowed them to relax on the second leg on May 25, but that did not mean an end to their winning ways with Arturs Karasausks coming off the bench to hit the winning goal in the final minute of regulation time. This is the first time Ventspils and Skonto will meet in the final. Both have won the league on one previous occasion.

 Lithuania’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas is just four wins away from earning his first ever NBA (National Basketball Association) championship ring with his team, the Miami Heat, set to go head-to-head with the Dallas Mavericks in the best-of-seven championship finals series. It would be the perfect birthday gift and perhaps swansong for Ilgauskas, who will turn 36 on June 5, the same day that game three of the series will be played. It does, however, remain to be seen just how big a part Ilgauskas will play in the final seven matches, having failed to see any game time since Miami beat the Boston Celtics in game four of their conference quarterfinals back on May 5. Coach Eric Spoelstra has since opted for speed over size, seeing “Big Z,” as he is affectionately called, supporting his team from the sidelines. Key to Miami’s success lies in the hands of their superstar trio, Dwyane Wade, Lebron James and Chris Bosh, while for Dallas, hopes of success fall predominantly on the shoulders of one player, German superstar Dirk Nowitzki. The finals can be viewed on NBA TV over the coming week.