Digest

GOLF

McIlroy hopes swing coach can halt slide

In a slump that has seen his ranking dip from No 1 to No 11 in the world, Rory McIlroy is reportedly changing swing coaches.

After working with Michael Bannon for most of his career, Northern Irishman McIlroy has been winless for 17 months and apparently is hoping he can correct what's hindered him in time for the Masters, the season's first major that begins in two weeks.

McIlroy, according to multiple reports, has hired veteran swing coach Pete Cowen.

The 31-year-old McIlroy is no stranger to Cowen, who has advised him at tournaments when Bannon was absent. McIlroy has not announced an official change, but he was working with Cowen at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass recently, according to reports.

Cowen, who also coaches Brooks Koepka, Henrik Stenson, Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter, told reporters that he "was just giving Rory my opinion" when they were seen together at Sawgrass, where McIlroy missed the cut.

Cowen has guided players to 10 majors and more than 275 PGA Tour wins in the past 25 years. He noted to reporters that he has known McIlroy since he was a consultant coach to the Ireland amateur youth team.

TENNIS

Del Potro targets Tokyo with fourth knee op

Juan Martin del Potro said Monday he will undergo a fourth operation on his right knee in a bid to be fit for the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

The 32-year-old Argentine, a winner of 22 ATP titles including the 2009 US Open, has not played since June 2019 after fracturing his kneecap at the Queen's Club Championships in London. Del Potro, who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics and silver four years later in Rio, said in a statement on social media that he would undergo surgery in Chicago on Tuesday.

"I've been consulting Dr. Jorge Chahla and the news is that tomorrow I'll undergo another surgery on my knee," del Potro wrote.

"We've tried conservative therapy but the pain is still there. (Dr Chahla) knows I want to play tennis again and be able to play the Olympics, so we agreed that surgery should be done as soon as possible. I hope I can overcome this painful situation. I won't stop trying."

SOCCER

Emotional Ibrahimovic reunites with Sweden

An unusually reserved and humble Zlatan Ibrahimovic had to hold back the tears on Monday as he arrived in Sweden ahead of his return this week to his country's national squad after nearly five years away.

Veteran striker Ibrahimovic showed a more sensitive side to his usually brash public persona when he was asked about what his two teenage sons, Maximilian and Vincent, thought of his international comeback.

"It's not a good question you're asking. I had Vincent here, who actually cried when I left him. But it's OK, it's OK," he said with tears in his eyes.

The often boastful 39-year-old acknowledged he was much more "patient both on and off the field "than when he announced the end of his Sweden career after Euro 2016. "Right now you're thinking: 'He's much too nice and much too humble'," Ibrahimovic joked.

BASKETBALL

Lakers legend Baylor passes away, aged 86

Los Angeles Lakers legend Elgin Baylor, widely regarded as one of the greatest players never to win a championship after playing and losing in eight NBA Finals, died on Monday, the franchise announced. He was 86.

The 11-time Hall of Famer, a dominant force for the Lakers during 14 seasons in the league between 1958 and 1971, passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife Elaine and daughter Krystal, the Lakers said.

"Elgin was the love of my life and my best friend," Elaine Baylor said in a statement released by the team.

"And like everyone else, I was in awe of his immense courage, dignity and the time he gave to all fans. At this time we ask that I and our family be allowed to mourn his passing in privacy."

Baylor was chosen with the top pick in the 1958 draft when the Lakers were based in Minneapolis.

Xinhua - Agencies