Today’s highlights in sports history:
In 2011, Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the French Open semifinals, ending Djokovic’s undefeated season and 43-match winning streak. Federer advanced to the final to face five-time champion Rafael Nadal, who defeated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal to reach his sixth French Open final and first in seven years.
On this date:
1932 – Lou Gehrig becomes the first major league player to hit four consecutive home runs in one game, leading the New York Yankees to a 20-13 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. Gehrig’s achievement is overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw after 30 years as manager of the New York Giants.
1944 – Bounding Home, ridden by G.L. Smith, wins the Belmont Stakes by half a length over Pensive, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
1959 — European Cup Final, Stuttgart: Real Madrid beat the Stade de Reims 2-0, Los Blancos clinch their fourth consecutive title.
1961 – Sherlac, ridden by Braulio Baeza, wins the Belmont Stakes. Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Carrie Beck finishes seventh.
1972 — French Open women’s tennis: American icon Billie Jean King defeats Australia’s Yvonne Goolagong 6-3, 6-3 to win her only singles title for France.
1980 – The New York Mets drafted Darryl Strawberry (age 18) first overall.
1984 – Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA Championship, beating Beth Daniel and Pat Bradley by 10 strokes.
1991 – Thomas Hearns defeats Virgil Hill by 12-round unanimous decision to win the World Boxing Association light heavyweight title, becoming a six-time world champion.
1992 – Chicago’s Michael Jordan scores 35 points, including a record six 3-pointers in the first half, and the Bulls beat Portland, 122-89, in the opening game of the NBA Finals. Jordan finished with 39 points and Chicago was just two points away from its largest margin of victory in the Finals.
1995 – Montreal’s Pedro Martinez pitched nine perfect innings against San Diego before allowing a leadoff double to Vip Roberts in the 10th inning to help the Expos win, 1-0.
1999 – Four days after her first LPGA Tour victory, Kelly Kuehne shot an 8-under 64 in the first round to tie the U.S. Women’s Open record and take a one-stroke lead over Julie Inkster.
2001 – Karrie Webb wins the U.S. Women’s Open in a commanding fashion for the second consecutive year. Webb shoots 1-under 69 to win by eight strokes, the largest margin of victory in a Women’s Open in 21 years.
2004 – Calgary records their 10th away playoff win, tying the NHL record, with a 3-2 overtime victory over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The New Jersey Devils also won 10 away playoff games in their championship seasons of 1995 and 2000.
2006 – Jeff Burton pulls off the biggest come-from-behind victory in Busch racing history, coming from a 36th-place starting position at the Dover 200 to win his second race of the season.
2006 – Russia’s Nikolai Valuev stops Jamaican challenger Owen Beck with a right uppercut in the third round in Hannover, Germany, to retain the WBA heavyweight title.
2012 – Tiger Woods won his 73rd PGA Tour victory by two strokes at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course, beating Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini.
2017 — UEFA Champions League Final, Cardiff: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as defending champions Real Madrid beat Juventus 4–1 to win their 12th title, losing their fifth consecutive final.
2018 – Golden State’s Stephen Curry breaks Ray Allen’s NBA Finals record by making nine three-pointers in a 122-103 Game 2 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
