Author: Reuters

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Doubts grow over Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open defence after latest withdrawal

  • World No 2 pulls out of ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati

  • Spaniard has been sidelined since April with ongoing wrist injury

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to an ⁠ongoing wrist injury, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his ⁠US Open title ⁠defence this ​month.

The seven-times Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open second round in April ⁠but had been set to return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which he won last ⁠year.

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Cam Smith wants LIV Golf to live on but ‘100%’ would return to PGA Tour

  • Former world No 2 would like golf to ‘go back to old times’ if LIV folds

  • ‘I’d hate to see it go away,’ Australian says of rebel tour

Cameron Smith wants LIV Golf to survive but if it doesn’t, he would “100%” return to the PGA Tour.

“I mean, if it was the only option, I think that’s where everyone would want to ⁠be for sure, 100%,” the Australian former world No 2 said ahead of this week’s LIV Golf New York event. “It would go back to old times.”

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Breakout star Alexandra Eala continues rise with first WTA title at DC Open

  • Filipino sensation beats Jessica Pegula 4-6 6-4 6-0

  • Fritz beats Jodar in men’s final for first title of season

Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level singles title and Taylor Fritz ⁠claimed his first trophy of the season after both rain-delayed DC Open finals were completed on Monday.

Eala stunned top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6 6-4 ⁠6-0 after the weather-hit ⁠women’s final resumed ​with the 21-year-old trailing by a set but leading 2-1 in the second, while third-seeded Fritz beat Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 7-6 (2) 6-4 ⁠in a tight men’s decider.

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Serena and Venus Williams set to play doubles in Cincinnati as US Open nears

  • Pair last played doubles at the 2022 US Open

  • Serena returned to action at Wimbledon before injury

  • US Open begins 31 August in New York

Serena Williams and Venus Williams are ⁠set to make their Cincinnati Open doubles debut this ⁠month after being ⁠awarded ​a wild card on Monday, marking their return ⁠to doubles action for the first time since 2022.

The Williams sisters ⁠have won 14 major doubles ​titles, including six ‌at Wimbledon, ‌plus three Olympic gold medals.

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Robert Lewandowski strikes twice for Chicago Fire in MLS win over Charlotte

  • Poland striker scores double on his home MLS debut

  • Messi returns as Inter Miami draw 2-2 with Columbus

Robert Lewandowski scored two goals on his home debut as the Chicago Fire eked out a 2-1 victory over Charlotte FC on ⁠Saturday. The win is Chicago’s first in Major League Soccer since the end of the international break.

Lewandowski, signed in late June as a free agent, produced a vintage performance to help the Fire (9-6-2, 29 points) close an ever-narrowing gap with the Eastern Conference’s top three clubs. Charlotte (7-7-4, 25pts) has now lost four of its last five road matches.

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Will Jordan grabs try-scoring record as All Blacks hammer Italy in Nations Championship

  • Fullback scores hat-trick as New Zealand win 47-17 in Wellington

  • New coach Dave ‌Rennie has ‌back-to-back wins in his first matches

Will Jordan grabbed a hat-trick of tries including a ⁠record 50th for New Zealand as the All Blacks thrashed Italy ⁠47-17 in the ⁠Nations ​Championship Test.

Jordan touched down once in the first half ⁠and twice in three minutes after half-time at Wellington Regional Stadium to eclipse ⁠Doug Howlett’s record against the outclassed Italians.

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Jock Campbell returns to Wallabies side to face Ireland after 1,316-day exile

  • Fullback has been in good form ahead of Nations Championship

  • James Slipper out of retirement as replacement loosehead prop

Jock Campbell will start at fullback in his first Test since late ⁠2022 when Australia take on Ireland in their first Nations Championship Test on Saturday.

Campbell ⁠played the last ⁠of his ​four Tests in Australia’s first ever loss to Italy in Florence in 2022, but had an ⁠impressive season in Super Rugby.

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Robert Lewandowski makes MLS move to Chicago Fire on deal till 2028

  • Former Barcelona striker joins for two and a half seasons

  • 37-year-old’s 697 goals is third best total for current players

The Chicago Fire on Monday officially announced their acquisition of Robert Lewandowski ⁠through to the 2027-28 season. Poland’s record goalscorer will occupy a designated player slot pending the approval of his visa ⁠as well ⁠as the ​completion of an international transfer certificate.

The club described Lewandowski, 37, as “a global soccer icon” in social media posts. He was a free agent after spending the ⁠last four seasons with Barcelona, scoring 83 goals with 19 assists in 134 league matches (114 starts) while ⁠contributing to three La Liga titles.

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‘Strikeout’: Cricket World Cup winner Plunkett makes instant impact in baseball

  • Veteran of 2019 champions in first game for Oakland Ballers

  • ‘The hitter ​didn’t know what ‌was coming’

The former England cricketer Liam Plunkett swapped his cricket colours for a ⁠baseball glove, playing his first game for the Oakland Ballers and ⁠even claiming a ⁠strikeout.

The 41-year-old was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning side – his final international appearance – taking three ⁠wickets in the tied final against New Zealand as England emerged victorious by the narrowest of ⁠margins on boundary count. He moved to the United ​States, where his wife ‌is from, and has played Major League Cricket for the San Francisco Unicorns.

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Austrian Grand Prix is declared F1 heat-hazard race amid European heatwave

  • Teams must fit a driver cooling system for race

  • First time heat hazard has been declared this season

Formula One’s governing body has declared a heat ⁠hazard for the Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg’s Red ⁠Bull Ring ⁠this ​weekend, the first time this season that the designation has ⁠been used.

The race director, Rui Marques, said the official weather service ⁠forecasts temperatures in excess of 31C during the race. Declaring a heat ‌hazard requires teams to fit a ‌driver cooling system, such as a liquid-cooled vest, though drivers are not obliged to use them and can take a ballast penalty instead.

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Tiger Woods returns to introduce golf’s two-tier PGA Tour shake-up from 2028

  • New elite series to include promotion and relegation

  • 23-24 events spread across February to August

The PGA Tour has announced sweeping changes to its competitive structure, approving a two-tier system with promotion and relegation to take effect in 2028.

The elite-tier PGA Tour Championship Series will run from February to August and ​feature 23-24 events with $20m (£15m) purses, while the $4m (£3m) events on the Challenger Series will provide a path for players to earn their way to the top level.

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Frances Tiafoe beats Taylor Fritz in all-American Halle final for biggest title of career

  • 28-year-old is first US player to win at Halle since 1993

  • Tiafoe will climb to No 19 as Wimbledon nears

Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 to win the ⁠Halle Open on Sunday, sealing the biggest title of his career and becoming the first American since 1993 to lift the ATP ⁠500 grass-court trophy.

Tiafoe ⁠set the ​tone early, breaking serve in the opening set and remaining composed on his own delivery to keep Fritz from settling. He carried ⁠that momentum into the second set, again striking early and dictating from the baseline to wrap up the win and snap a seven-match losing streak ⁠against Fritz since his first victory in 2016.

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England face more selection upheaval for second Test after Robinson ruled out

  • Stokes and Atkinson absent following nightclub furore

  • Ollie Robinson misses Oval Test due to soreness in knee

Seamer Ollie Robinson, whose performance guided England to victory in the first test against New ⁠Zealand, will ⁠miss ​the second match due to a sore right knee, the England and Wales Cricket Board, confirmed on Monday.

Playing his first test in more than two years, Robinson ⁠took seven wickets including five in the ​first innings to be named player of the match as ‌England won ‌by 115 runs on a difficult wicket at ‌Lord’s.

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Vingegaard on verge of Giro d’Italia glory after powering to penultimate stage

  • Overall leader leaves nothing to chance on final climb

  • Dane will claim first Giro by reaching Rome finish

Jonas Vingegaard all but won the Giro d’Italia on Saturday and his attention will soon turn to the Tour de France as he attempts to become the ninth man to complete the Giro-Tour double.

The Dane wrapped up the first part in style, soloing to victory atop Piancavallo at the end of the 20th and penultimate stage to extend his overall lead to more than five minutes from Felix Gall. Jai Hindley remained in third, 6min 25sec behind Vingegaard.

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Kuss climbs to Giro d’Italia stage 19 win as Vingegaard maintains overall lead

  • Kuss completes grand tour stage win trilogy

  • Vingegaard stays 4min 3sec clear of Gall in the GC

Teammates Sepp Kuss and Jonas Vingegaard dominated the high mountains for Visma-Lease a Bike on Friday as the former claimed a historic solo victory on stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia, and the latter firmly defended his overall lead.

By winning the brutal mountain stage atop Piani di Pezzè in the Dolomites, Kuss became the 116th rider to complete the Grand Tour stage victory trilogy, with the American adding an Italian success to wins at the Tour de France in 2021 and the Vuelta a España in 2019 and 2023.

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