Sharapova wins Olympic debut

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) ― Olympic tennis became deafening Sunday. Under Wimbledon’s roof, the sound of pelting rain nearly drowned out Maria Sharapova’s piercing shrieks.

The event moved indoors for the first time since the 1912 Games, and Sharapova made her Olympic debut amid a din, beating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-2, 6-0.

“You hear a little bit of it, but it’s not a big distraction,” Sharapova said. “When you see the schedule and you see your name on Centre Court, you know that your match is going to get done. Knowing what the weather forecast was going to be like today, I was pretty happy.”

Play on other courts was curtailed because of rain, with 32 matches postponed before they started and four suspended in progress.

Only 12 matches were completed. One took place on Court 1, where 2008 bronze medalist Novak Djokovic endured two long delays en route to a win over Fabio Fognini of Italy, 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-2.

Spain ousted in soccer

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) ― Spain was eliminated from the men’s Olympic soccer tournament Sunday after another 1-0 loss.

Honduras forward Jerry Bengtson scored the lone goal in the seventh minute, knocking a header past Spain goalkeeper David de Gea.

It was an intense match packed with heated aggression. Spain players picked up seven yellow cards and Honduras six.

“The team was tense from the beginning because they knew that they had to score to qualify for the next round,” Spain’s coach Luis Milla said. “And the early goal made it harder.”

Spain’s U23 team has been under enormous pressure to follow in the footsteps of the senior side, which has won the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship.

France takes relay

LONDON (AP) ― This was one sweet victory for France.

Yannick Agnel rallied the French to the gold medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, pulling ahead of American star Ryan Lochte on the final lap.

France clocked 3 minutes, 9.93 seconds, and the Americans settled for silver in 3:10.38. Russia took bronze in 3:11.41. Pre-race favorite Australia was fourth.

It was revenge for the French, who lost a close race to the Americans in Beijing four years ago.

U.S. star Michael Phelps still won the 17th Olympic medal of his career ― and first silver ― to go along with 14 golds and two bronzes. He’s one away from tying the mark for most career medals held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.

Dana Vollmer had a triumphant return to the Olympics, setting a world record while winning gold in the 100 butterfly.