Sei Young Kim keeps lead of LPGA event in China

SHANGHAI >> Sei Young Kim of South Korea held on to her lead with a 2-under 70 in the second round of the Buick LPGA Shanghai tournament on Friday.

Kim has a two-round total of 12-under 132 after opening with 62 — her lowest round of the season — as she looks for her first victory in 2024.

Kim was one shot ahead of Lucy Li of the United States and Mao Saigo of Japan. Li shot a 4-under 68 and Saigo carded a 7-under 65.

Two of the LPGA’s top players — Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko — are not in the field this week in China. Both are entered next week in the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

Pochettino era of U.S. men begins against Panama

AUSTIN, Texas >> A new era for United States soccer is set to begin, led by an Argentine coach expected to deliver big results at the 2026 World Cup on American soil.

Former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino makes his U.S. debut in a pair of friendlies, leading the team against Panama on Saturday night in Austin and three days later against Mexico in Guadalajara.

World Cup tickets probe of former FIFA official Valcke closed after 9 years

GENEVA >> Nine years into a World Cup black market tickets investigation, the case against former FIFA official Jérôme Valcke was finally closed.

The Swiss attorney general’s office said on Friday it has decided to end the criminal proceedings into an alleged tickets deal proposed for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Forest fined almost $1M for questioning integrity of match officials

LONDON >> An inflammatory post that got more than 46 million views on social media has proven very costly for Premier League Nottingham Forest.

Forest was fined $980,000 on Friday after being found to have questioned the integrity of match officials in an “irresponsible” post on X in April.

The post in question was published soon after Forest’s 2-0 loss to Everton last season, criticizing the officials for three overruled penalty calls in the match between two teams fighting relegation.

Djokovic to meet Fritz in Shanghai semifinals

SHANGHAI >> Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz advanced to a semifinal matchup at the Shanghai Masters on Friday.

Four-time champion Djokovic fought back from a set down to beat Czech player Jakub Mensik 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

While Djokovic reached a 77th Masters semifinal, Fritz will play his fifth Masters semifinal after a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 victory over David Goffin of Belgium.

In the other semifinal on Saturday, top-ranked Jannik Sinner will face Tomas Machac, who toppled second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Aryna Sabalenka to play Gauff in Wuhan Open

Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka served up a masterclass to beat Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-2, 6-2 and stay undefeated at the Wuhan Open.

The Belarussian advanced to her eighth semifinal of the year. against fourth-ranked Coco Gauff.

Earlier Friday, Gauff’s impressive Asian swing showed no signs of ending as she routed Poland’s Magda Linette 6-0, 6-4 for her 50th win of the season.