Digest

BASEBALL

Viral-video Yanks fan meets his hero Judge

The young Yankees fan who became a viral sensation this week shed more tears of joy on Wednesday when he met his hero, New York slugger Aaron Judge.

It came hours after cameras captured Derek Rodriguez, 9, tearfully hugging Toronto Blue Jays fan Mike Lanzillotta after Lanzillotta snagged Judge's sixth-inning home-run ball and handed it to Derek.

Rodriguez, his family and Lanzillotta were invited onto the field and into the Yankees dugout before Wednesday's series finale against the Blue Jays.

Derek teared up again when Judge stopped by for a quick chat, signed the home-run ball and handed over a pair of his batting gloves.

"That's a moment that's been seen around the world now," Judge said of the emotional exchange. "It just speaks volumes to the Blue Jays fans they have here. It's a cool little connection they've got."

BASKETBALL

Payton 'out for month' after brutal Brooks foul

Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II will reportedly miss a month with his fractured left elbow, an injury he sustained following a flagrant foul 2 by Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinal series.

Payton underwent an MRI exam on Wednesday that also showed slight ligament damage, per reports.

It is possible Payton could return for the NBA Finals if the Warriors should advance that far.

Brooks wound up and slugged Payton across the head on a layup attempt, incurring the ejection with 9:08 left in the first quarter on Tuesday. Payton landed awkwardly on the play and sustained the fractured left elbow.

"I don't know if it was intentional, but it was dirty," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. "There is a code. This code that players follow where you never put a guy's season (or) career in jeopardy by taking somebody out in midair and clubbing him across the head, ultimately fracturing Gary's elbow....He broke the code. Dillon Brooks broke the code."

TENNIS

French Open prize fund increase announced

Total French Open prize money will be about 7 percent higher this year than it was for the last pre-pandemic edition in 2019－with an increase of 35 percent for players who lose in the first round of singles－but the singles champions will each receive slightly less than they did three years ago.

The French Tennis Federation announced Wednesday that it will hand out a total of 43.6 million euros (about $46 million) in 2022.

The clay-court Grand Slam tournament begins on May 22, with Novak Djokovic and Barbora Krejcikova as the reigning champions.

The winners of the two singles trophies this year will each earn 2.2 million euros (about $2.3 million), down from 2.3 million euros (about $2.4 million) apiece in 2019.

Compared to last year, when the coronavirus pandemic led to limits on attendance at Roland Garros, there is an increase from the 34.4 million euros (about $36.5 million) in total prizes and 1.4 million euros (just under $1.5 million) for the singles champions.

Nadal 'really excited' about comeback win

Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal enjoyed a winning return after a six-week injury break, opening his Madrid campaign with a 6-1,7-6(4) success over Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday.

The Spanish star had been sidelined with a rib injury since his Indian Wells final defeat in March but showed little sign of rust as he skipped into the third round.

Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was "non-existent "due to his rib problem limiting his ability to train and was delighted with how well he played against one of the most in-form players of the season.

"Today I was able to play one hour, 55 minutes against an opponent that was playing really well in these last months, so a really good victory, a lot of value to it," said the 35-year-old Spaniard.

"It helps me a lot to reach my final goal, which is to recover my previous health and previous fitness. I'm very excited about it."

The 22-year-old Kecmanovic entered the match carrying the second-highest tally of wins on tour this season－his 23 victories placing him just one behind Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz.

DOPING

Indian Olympian tests positive for steroid

Indian discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur, who placed sixth at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, has tested positive for an anabolic steroid, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Wednesday.

The AIU said Kaur has been provisionally suspended while the doping case is investigated.

Kaur tested positive for stanozolol－the steroid most famously used by sprinter Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympics－in a case the AIU dated to March 29.

The 26-year-old athlete placed sixth in Tokyo last August, less than two meters out of the medals in a competition won by Valarie Allman of the United States.

Kaur had set an India women's record of 66.59 meters competing in her home country several weeks before the Olympics.

Her Olympic result likely will not be affected by the doping case.

Agencies