Sports briefs
In tennis
McMurray native Alison Riske has drawn unseeded Dayna Yastremska of Ukraine in the opening round of the French Open that begins next week.
Riske is ranked No. 42 in the world while Yastremska is ranked No. 80.
The winner of the Riske-Yastremska match is in line to face top-seeded Iga Swiatek in the second round.
In auto racing
Romain Grosjean flirted four times with the wall Thursday while preparing for his Indianapolis 500 debut.
The Frenchman didn’t crash – his high drift with 15 minutes remaining in practice came oh-so-close to kissing the outside wall of Indianapolis Motor Speedway – but he seemed unbothered. He had the same attitude nearly eight hours earlier when he again dismissed Graham Rahal’s recent criticism and suggestion that Grosjean’s aggressive driving is not winning him many friends in the paddock.
Grosjean moved from Formula One to IndyCar at the start of the 2021 season and quickly became a key player in the paddock. He landed a job for this year with Andretti Autosport, added ovals to his schedule after skipping all but one last season and was voted in a fan survey as IndyCar’s most popular driver.
But he was put on blast by Rahal earlier this month after the two tangled at Barber, with Rahal suggesting that on IndyCar Radio that Grosjean had “overstayed his welcome.” Rahal also called Grosjean “a punk” and claimed at least 10 other drivers agreed with his assessment.
Grosjean dismissed the criticism when asked by The Associated Press for a response – “racing is rubbing, or rubbing is racing,” he told AP – and felt the same ahead of Thursday’s practice.
“He probably got 10 messages from one driver, not 10 from 10 drivers,” Grosjean said. “It’s all behind us. Let’s move on. I’ve heard he’s got that reputation, so that’s fine. I’m happy with the way I race. I’m happy with the way I go.”
Takuma Sato once again jumped to the top of the speed chart in the final hour of practice, and once again bumped Scott Dixon as fastest driver of the day.
The two-time Indy 500 winner turned a lap at 227.519 mph to close the day with Dale Coyne Racing atop the scoring pylon. Dixon, who once again spent almost the entire six-hour session as fastest driver, was bumped to second at 227.335.
David Malukas, the rookie teammate to Sato at Coyne, was third fastest as Honda swept the top three spots. JR Hildebrand was the fastest Chevrolet driver in fourth for A.J. Foyt Racing.
In college softball
Three players were injured when the chartered bus carrying the Murray State softball team was involved in a two-vehicle crash on the way to the NCAA Tournament in Alabama, police said.
Murray State athletic director Kevin Saal said during a news conference Thursday the three had injuries that weren’t life threatening after the accident Wednesday. The school noted that others aboard were safe and unharmed.
“We communicated immediately with the student-athletes’ families and loved ones just to make sure they were aware that everyone was safe,” he added. The school conducted a virtual meeting earlier Thursday with the families.
Murray State (40-16-1) won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament last week to earn their first NCAA Tournament berth. The third-seeded Racers are scheduled to face No. 2 seed Stanford today in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the double-elimination event.