SPORTS digest

49ers interview ex-Raiders coach

SAN JOSE, Calif

As Tom Cable left the Oakland Raiders locker room after a raucous win at Kansas City to close the 2010 season, his coaching tenure hung in the balance. An 8-8 record seemed like a breakthrough, and Cable said: “Hopefully I get another chance.”

He didn’t get it from the Raiders, and after six seasons as the Seattle Seahawks offensive line coach, it’s the San Francisco 49ers who gave him an interview Sunday for their head-coach opening.

Two weeks since firing Chip Kelly as coach and Trent Baalke as general manager, the 49ers search continues, and it well could linger three more weeks until after the Super Bowl.

Their other potential coaches are offensive coordinators for conference finalists: Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots and Kyle Shanahan of the Atlanta Falcons, the latter of whom eliminated the Seahawks on Saturday.

Cable went 17-27 as Raiders coach, starting with a 12-game interim stint as Lane Kiffin’s replacement in 2008. His Raiders tenure was tainted by allegations of assault, from an assistant coach, as well as Cable’s first wife and ex-girlfriend.

So far, CEO Jed York and chief strategy officer Paraag Marathe have interviewed seven potential GMs: the Green Bay Packers’ Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst, the Minnesota Vikings’ George Paton, the Indianapolis Colts’ Jimmy Raye III, the Carolina Panthers’ Brandon Beane, ESPN’s Louis Riddick and the Arizona Cardinals’ Terry McDonough.

Rogers upsets Halep at Aussie Open

MELBOURNE, Australia

Shelby Rogers caused the first upset of the Australian Openy, beating fourth-seeded Simona Halep 6-3, 6-1 in today’s opening match on the center court.

Playing just her second match in the main draw at the season’s first Grand Slam tournament, the No. 52-ranked Rogers broke the 2014 French Open finalist’s serve four times on Rod Laver Arena. It was the second year in a row that Halep lost in the first round at Melbourne Park, and the fourth time overall.

Rogers made a surprising run to the French Open quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Garbine Muguruza last year, when she was ranked No. 108, but only advanced to the second round at one other tournament in 2016. Her only previous win against a top 10 player was in 2014, when she beat then No. 8-ranked Eugenie Bouchard in Montreal.

Seventh-seeded Muguruza saved a set point in the first set and needed a medical timeout before advancing with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Marina Erakovic.

Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig raced through her opening match, beating Patricia Tig 6-0, 6-1. Duan Yingying was among the early winners with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Rebecca Sramkova.

McIlroy to have tests on his injured back

JOHANNESBURG

One tournament into the new year, Rory McIlroy is going for tests on his back to make sure he is fit enough to play Abu Dhabi without further damage.

McIlroy felt pain in his back before the second round of the South African Open, and it lingered throughout the final round, where he closed with a 67 and lost in a playoff to Graeme Storm.

McIlroy was flying to Dubai on Sunday and said he would have an MRI “just to see what’s up with this joint in my back.”

“It’s OK,” McIlroy said on the European Tour’s website. “It was manageable this week. I’m taped up and I’ve got a few pills in me and I’m fine. But first and foremost, that’s the most important thing, to get fit and healthy again. And hopefully, I’ll be all right to play next week.”

The runner-up finish looks to be enough for McIlroy to have a chance to return to No. 1 in the world if he were to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which in recent years has been the strongest field of the year among regular European Tour events. Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Rickie Fowler are among those playing.

McIlroy has not been atop the world rankings since September 2015.

Wire report