The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>It appears that meeting Conor McGregor on Saturday left Zdeno Chara with the urge to fight. Just a couple days after joking about a hypothetical bout with the UFC superstar, Chara, who turned 42 on Monday, dropped the gloves with New York Islanders forward Matt Martin. The two squared up right at the opening face-off of the second period. Chara used his lengthy reach to keep Martin at a distance while landing a couple of knocks of his own, and finished Martin off with a takedown. (You can watch the fight here.) Honestly, you have to give some credit to Martin for getting back on his skates after Chara landed a right hook square in his jaw. The Bruins captain continues to defy father time with continued production on Boston’s blue line. The ageless titan continues to be one of the most feared physical forces in the league, and on the flip side, sits at 199 career goals.<doc-sep>UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MARCH 19: Zdeno Chara #33 of the Boston Bruins fights with Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders during their game at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on March 19, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) At 42 years old, Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is still one of, if not the, best fighter in the NHL. Stop fighting Zdeno Chara. Just stop. He’s too big, too strong and has far too much length to be a good match up for anyone in today’s NHL. Even at 42, he’s looked untouchable in his most recent bouts with Evander Kane and, on Tuesday evening, Matt Martin. Say what you will about fighting in hockey but it’s currently part of the game and until a drastic rule change, it will remain that way. Players use it as a tactic to get their teams fired up or police questionable hits. With less of the true “enforcers” around the NHL, the league’s best fighters have fewer choices in who to fight. With Kevan Miller out injured for the Bruins, these poor guys have to fight Chara. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, Chara is a monster. His reach alone makes him nearly impossible to beat in a hockey fight. His ridiculous fitness regime and old-man dad-strength seal the deal. No one is beating him up. Martin was the most recent combatant to give the big man a go and it ended just about exactly how anyone would have predicted: Martin on the ice, and probably with a sore face. Not exactly sure what Matt Martin thought would happen here#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/CeQxG3tCBk — Boston Bruins on CLNS (@BruinsCLNS) March 20, 2019 Once Chara gets hold of the jersey, it’s finished. His overhand right reaches about a foot farther than anyone else’s and his wide stance makes him almost impossible to pull off balance. The best anyone can hope for in this situation is to punch him in the shoulder a few times and try not to bleed. That’s exactly what happened to Martin. Kane recently learned the hard way that even with a head start, Chara is a difficult scrap. Kane caught Chara from behind, pulled him down and landed a punch before Chara got up and beat the hell out of him. In the end, Kane left the ice bleeding. Why is anyone still trying him? There was a period of time during Chara’s 30s when referees immediately stopped every fight he was in before the players even had a chance to drop the mitts. This was done to properly protect the opposing players, as Chara was breaking people’s faces in fights. Chara has had three fights in 2019, which is one more than he had throughout the entire 2017-18 season. If Chara needed any more motivation to keep brawling, perhaps it came from a recent visit with Conor McGregor, who attended the Boston Bruins St. Patricks’ Day game on March 17. Can't stop laughing at McGregor wishing Boone Jenner good luck & then immediately telling Chara to "put him through the net" pic.twitter.com/lCNE69qfJ1 — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) March 17, 2019 “Put him through the net!” is right. The Bruins won that game against Columbus and are back on a win streak after last night’s 5-0 thumping of the New York Islanders, in which they only allowed 13 shots on goal. The Bruins are about as unstoppable right now as Chara would be in the UFC Octagon. To the next player who challenges the big man to a fight, here’s a tip: Don’t. The Boston Bruins see the ice again on Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET against the New Jersey Devils. The New York Islanders will look to bounce back against the Canadiens at 7:30.<doc-sep>
Matt Martin tried to inject some life into both the Islanders and the sellout crowd at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum, challenging towering Zdeno Chara to a fight to start the second period of a 5-0 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night. At the time, it was only 1-0. “We didn’t get the response but the respect Marty has in the room, you can’t put a value on that,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “It wasn’t a good period by us,” added Martin, sporting a swollen left eye after the game. “We didn’t give our fans a reason to be in the game. I was just trying to put some life into the building.” The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Chara eventually got the 6-3, 220-pound Martin to the ice after they exchanged some blows. Chara helped Martin back to his skates and appeared to give him a pat on the back. Per hockeyfights.com, it marked the third fight between the two. Plan for Dal Colle Trotz said he wants to play forward Michael Dal Colle, 22, again soon. Dal Colle was a healthy scratch for the fifth straight game, a decision Trotz said is partly based on needing penalty killers, which Dal Colle has not done regularly in his 23 NHL games this season. Subscribe to Newsday’s sports newsletter Receive stories, photos and videos about your favorite New York teams plus national sports news and events. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. “If we get healthy in some areas, I think I’ll be a little more flexible with Michael,” Trotz said. Isles files RW Leo Komarov played in his 400th NHL game and D Adam Pelech played in his 200th…D Johnny Boychuk remained a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game after missing one game with an apparent left shoulder injury. Given the lopsided loss, Boychuk’s return Thursday night at Montreal would seem likely…There was a first-period video tribute and loud ovation for Bruins’ backup goalie Jaroslav Halak, with the Islanders from 2014-15.