Injury concerns for Nadal after loss

SHORTS

CT_IC_1041333503_1041365056_015-0107_APphoto_BRENTLEY-RETIRO.JPG

ARCHIVO - Michael Brantley, de los Astros de Houston, celebra después de conectar un jonrón de dos carreras durante la cuarta entrada de un juego de béisbol en contra de los Azulejos de Toronto el domingo 24 de abril de 2022 en Houston. El cinco veces All-Star y campeón de la Serie Mundial anunció su retiro el viernes 5 de enero de 2024, después de 15 temporadas en Grandes Ligas (Foto AP/David J. Phillip, archivo)

CT_IC_1041333503_1041365063_015-0107_AFP-Getty_TENNIS-AUS-ATP-WTA-BRISBANE(2)#26.JPG

Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates victory after his men’s singles match against Jason Kubler of Australia at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in Brisbane on January 4, 2024. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) / --IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE-- (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

CT_IC_1041333503_1041365070_015-0107_AFP-Getty_FILES-SAFRICA-CRIME-PAROLE-PISTORIUS#5.JPG

(FILES) South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius leaves the Pretoria High Court, on June 14, 2016 on the second day of his pre sentencing hearing set to send him back to jail for murdering his girlfriend three years ago. South Africa’s ex-Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius ‘is now at home’ having been released from prison on parole on January 5, 2024, authorities said, almost 11 years after he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. (Photo by KAREL PRINSLOO / AFP) (Photo by KAREL PRINSLOO/AFP via Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

PREVIOUS IMAGE

Image

NEXT IMAGE

Injury concerns for Nadal after loss

Rafael Nadal has concerns over his surgically repaired left hip just three matches into his comeback from a year-long injury layoff, and just over a week before the Australian Open. The 22-time major winner needed a medical timeout in the third set of his Brisbane International quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday after failing to convert three match points in the second. He miscued an overhead backhand on his first match point in the 10th game of the second set, about two hours into the contest. He then missed consecutive forehands from 6-4 in the tiebreaker before No. 55-ranked Thompson rallied to win 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3. With the Australian Open starting Jan. 14, Nadal’s rehabilitation and surgery that sidelined him for all of 2023 after the last Australian Open will be tested. “I hope to have the chance to be practicing next week and to play in Melbourne,” he said. “Honestly, I am not 100% sure of anything now.” Nadal said it felt more like a muscle issue than the tendon problem that caused him so much trouble last year, and he was hopeful it was just fatigue.

OF Brantley retires after 15 seasons

Five-time All-Star and World Series champion Michael Brantley announced his retirement Friday after 15 MLB seasons. The outfielder already has his next job lined up, too: coaching Little League. “I have young kids, and now it’s time to be a dad, first and foremost,” Brantley told MLB.com. “It’s time for me to be home 24/7, watch my kids grow up and not miss important milestones.” Brantley leaves with a .298 career batting average during 10 years in Cleveland and five more in Houston. He hit 129 home runs with 720 RBIs and 125 stolen bases in 1,445 regular-season games. He hit .283 over 62 postseason games, including .327 in two World Series with the Astros. The 36-year-old Brantley was a free agent this winter. He was limited to 15 regular-season games in 2023, returning to play for the final month after a lengthy recovery from a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery. Before his return in late August, he had not played in the majors since June 26, 2022. In 2008, Brantley was sent from Milwaukee to Cleveland to complete the trade that sent left-hander CC Sabathia to the Brewers.

Pistorius freed after nearly 9 years

Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee who became a global star competing at his sport’s highest level while running on carbon-fiber blades, was released from prison on Friday after serving nearly nine years for killing his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius, 37, quietly left the Atteridgeville Correctional Center in Pretoria and was processed at a parole office before being released to his family, Department of Corrections spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said. Nxumalo, who referred to Pistorius’ release as an “operation” designed to avoid a media scramble, declined to give details. “I can only tell you he was released this morning,” Nxumalo said. Pistorius served nearly nine years of his murder sentence of 13 years and five months for the fatal shooting of Steenkamp at his home on Valentine’s Day 2013. He became eligible for early release having served at least half his sentence, and was approved for parole in November. Pistorius will live under strict parole conditions, including a ban on speaking to the media, until his sentence expires in December 2029. —AP