Elena Rybakina has been bundled out of the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic by Daria Kasatkina in her first game since her Wimbledon triumph last month.
Rybakina won the first set comfortably before the Russian hit back for a remarkable turnaround win, 1-6 6-2 6-0 in one hour and 40 minutes.
Seventh seed Kasatkina was the runner-up at last year's Silicon Valley Classic and found her groove to break her Rybakina six times in the second and third sets.
Rybakina sent down three of her four aces for the match in the first set, but Kasatkina adjusted to her serve and won 52.1 per cent return points for the match.
Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova fought back from a slow start to get past Katie Boulter 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, despite 16 double faults.
American Amanda Anisimova overcame compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-2 7-6 (7-5). US pair Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend were also winners.
Third seed Simona Halep and top seed Jessica Pegula were both among the winners in the first round at the Citi Open in Washington DC.
Two-time major winner Halep cruised past Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-3 7-5 in one hour and 20 minutes.
Halep, playing her first match since her Wimbledon semi-final loss to Rybakina, fired 19 winners but also 33 unforced errors.
Defending champion Pegula made light work of countrywoman Hailey Baptiste 6-2 6-2 in 73 minutes.
Pegula will face unseeded Australian Daria Saville, who won in three sets over Mirjam Bjorklund, while sixth seed Kaia Kanepi will meet China's Zhu Lin after both won on Monday.
Fifth seed Elise Mertens was a first-round casualty, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to Ludmilla Samsonova, while Croatian Donna Vekic knocked off seventh seed Mayar Sherif 6-4 6-1.
Six-time major champion Venus Williams played her first singles match in nearly a year but bowed out 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Rebecca Marino.
Former world number one Andy Murray was left frustrated after physically fading on his way to a first-round exit at the Citi Open with a 7-6 (10-8) 4-6 6-1 loss to Mikael Ymer on Tuesday.
The three-time Grand Slam winner failed to convert four set points in the first set before the Swede triumphed in two hours and 50 minutes.
The match was full of momentum swings, with the 35-year-old capitalising on Ymer's own physical issues, appearing to cramp in the second set, to level it up after winning five of the final six games of the set.
But 23-year-old Ymer regained his composure and physical state to race away with the third set for victory, rounding out 37 winners for the match, leaving Murray frustrated.
"It was disappointing obviously," Murray told reporters. "I thought there was some good tennis in the first set. After that, both of us were struggling a bit physically. The level of the tennis was not great.
"Obviously [I] had chances in the first set to close that out. I had set point at 6-5, then... three in the tie-break and didn't get it.
"I think he seemed like maybe he was cramping a little bit in the second set, but recovered absolutely fine after the break at the end of the [second] set.
"Went off to change and cool off a little bit, and he recovered well for the third, whereas I didn't really. Yeah, just frustrating."
The first-round exit comes after Murray lost in the Hall of Fame Open quarter-finals in Newport to Alexander Bublik when he cramped up in hot and humid conditions.
"Struggled a little bit the past two tournaments with that," he said. "I need to have a little look at that with my team and maybe see why that is, make a few changes."
French veteran Adrian Mannarino took care of Bradley Klahn 6-2 6-4, while Jack Draper beat Stefan Kozlov 7-5 6-2 to set up a second-round date with top seed Andrey Rublev.
World number 112 Benoit Paire also triumphed in the first round on Tuesday, getting past Peter Gojowczyk 7-5 6-4.
Kyle Edmund, Jack Draper, Borna Gojo, Dominik Koepfer, J.J Wolf and Denis Kudla also were victorious, with Alexei Popyrin progressing after a walkover against Wu Tung-lin.
Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka wants to simply get back to having fun upon her return to tennis at the Silicon Valley Classic this week.
The Japanese 24-year-old has not played since her first-round loss to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open in May and sits 41st in the world rankings.
Osaka, who missed Wimbledon due to a left Achilles issue, parted ways with coach Wim Fissette last month after two and a half years.
The injury is one of many that have plagued Osaka over the past difficult 15 months, during which she withdrew from last year's French Open citing "mental health reasons" after boycotting her mandatory post-match media conferences.
She also announced a hiatus following her third-round US Open exit last year but appears in a better place now, with her father, Leonard Francois, stepping in as her coach.
"I just would like to have fun and I know I say that very often, basically every tournament for the last year now, but to genuinely have fun," Osaka told reporters.
"I was telling my dad literally this morning when we were practicing in the rain, years ago we would have to fight to practice on public courts. It was just me and my sister and my dad alone.
"Now I've gotten to the point where people pay to watch me play, and for that I am very grateful. I would have never imagined that as a child.
"Just having fun and being grateful in the moment and trying to engage with everyone to the best of my abilities."
Osaka moved to clarify there was nothing sinister behind her split with Fissette, having won the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open titles alongside him.
"It was really good times with Wim and he's a really amazing coach," Osaka said.
"We didn't part on bad terms. I just felt I needed different energy, and at the same time, he's a very ambitious guy. I was getting injured and I'm sure he would have wanted to go to Wimbledon.
"It was two different mindsets, I would say. But he's a really cool guy still. So confirming that there were no bad things happening."
Osaka is due to face Qinwen Zheng in the first round at the Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday.
The San Diego Padres have made a key addition after trading in All-Star closer Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers ahead of Tuesday's MLB Trade Deadline.
The addition of 28-year-old left-hander Hader is a major boost for the Padres, who have struggled in late-inning situations this season.
Hader is the 2022 league leader in saves, with 29 from 31 save opportunities this season, although he has career-worst 4.24 ERA which dipped to 12 during July.
The deal sees left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers, left-handed pitching prospect Robert Gasser, right-hander Dinelson Lamet and outfielder Esteury Ruiz sent to the Brewers.
"Josh Hader is one of the best closers in the league," Padres general manager A.J. Preller said.
"He's been there, done that, pitched in big spots, big playoff games. He's got elite stuff."
Hader, who has been with the Brewers since 2017, joins the Padres who have a 57-46 record to sit second in the National League West this season.
"Thank you for the support throughout my career," Hader wrote on Instagram. "Y'all have been great to me. The people, the energy, the love! There will always be a special place in my heart for MKE."
In other moves, the New York Yankees added right-handed starting pitcher Frankie Montas and closer Lou Trivino from the Oakland Athletics, along with reliever Scott Effross from the Chicago Cubs.
The Yankees, who have a 69-34 record, had previously brought in All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals.
The Houston Astros acquired first baseman Trey Mancini from the Baltimore Orioles along with catcher Christian Vazquez from the Boston Red Sox.
According to reports, outfielder Tommy Pham is set to join the Red Sox from the Cincinnati Reds.
The Atlanta Braves have announced they have re-signed All-Star third baseman Austin Riley on a 10-year, $212 million contract.
Riley, who appeared in his first All-Star Game last month, is hitting .301 with 29 home runs and 68 RBIs this season. He is leading the league with 61 extra-base hits.
The 25-year-old's deal runs through the 2032 season, with the option for 2033 for $20 million.
Riley is among the top contenders for this season's National League MVP, along with St Louis Cardinals star Paul Goldschmidt.
The third baseman's 26 extra-base hits in July broke Hank Aaron's previous franchise record from 1961 by one.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is set to miss a minimum of five days of his side's training camp after testing positive to COVID-19.
Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury confirmed the news on Monday, revealing Murray's symptoms were "minor".
The Arizona quarterback, who had missed practice on Saturday due to a sore wrist, is the only Cardinals player to test positive currently.
The news comes in light of a busy few weeks for Murray, who agreed terms on a bumper five-year extension with the Cardinals last month. The deal made Murray the NFL's second-highest paid player in terms of average annual salary.
Murray stayed in the spotlight after an "independent study" clause was inserted into the contract, mandating four hours of study each game week, which was later removed.
Murray, a former standout baseball player at Oklahoma as well who was taken ninth overall in the 2018 MLB draft, led the Cardinals to their first playoff appearance in six years with an 11-6 finish to the 2021 season.
The 24-year-old began last season as an MVP candidate as Arizona got off to a 7-0 start, with Murray producing a 116.8 passer rating with a 73.5 per cent completion rate and 17 touchdown passes during that stretch.
However, his play dropped off over the season's second half, as Arizona went 2-5 over his next seven starts, and he struggled with a no-touchdown, two-interception performance in the Cardinals' 34-11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the opening round of the playoffs.
Tom Brady remembered Bill Russell as a sporting figure with "a great presence" as he recalled striking up a rapport with the Boston Celtics great, who died on Sunday.
NFL superstar Brady told a news conference about his sorrow at hearing of Russell's death at the age of 88.
He had come to know the basketball hero when living in the Boston area, while spending 20 seasons as quarterback with the New England Patriots.
Russell was drafted by the Celtics in 1956 and went on to win 11 NBA titles. He was a five-time NBA MVP and is one of only four players to have been named to all four NBA anniversary teams (25th, 35th, 50th and 75th).
He became the first black head coach of any North American professional sports team, leading the Celtics to back-to-back NBA championships in 1968 and 1969 when he served as a player-coach.
Russell also made a significant impact away from the basketball court, championing the civil rights movement, and Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.
Brady said: "I knew him pretty well. I had a lot of time up there in Boston and got to know him and he was a very impactful figure.
"Going back to my early days with the Patriots, in my second year at training camp he came and spoke to the team.
"A really imposing figure, he had a great presence around him and obviously what he overcame in his career was pretty unbelievable. It was a sad day."
Chicago Bulls hero Michael Jordan on Sunday described Russell as a "pioneer" and a "legend", while Obama also paid tribute to "a giant".
The Celtics said Russell's "DNA is woven through every element" of the organisation.
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are "heartbroken" about the knee injury that looks set to keep Ryan Jensen out of the entire 2022 season.
Jensen, Tampa Bay's starting center since 2018, was carted off after suffering a left knee injury during Thursday's training camp practice.
It appears unlikely Jensen will feature this year, although the door has not been slammed shut on that possibility quite yet.
Speaking on Monday, Brady urged second-year pro Robert Hainsey to show he can be a capable deputy.
"He's worked really hard," said Brady, when Hainsey was mentioned. "Obviously everyone's heartbroken with what happened to Ryan, so that will take a little time, but 'Hains' has got to step into the job and do a great job.
"He's worked hard last year, really gained the trust of a lot of people, and he's got to go earn it. Like all of us, it's not how hard you worked in the off-season, it's how good a football player are you, and that's to be determined for all of us."
Jensen has not missed a game since signing with Tampa Bay in 2018 following a four-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens, and he was named to his first career Pro Bowl last season.
The 31-year-old re-signed with the Bucs in March on a three-year, $39million contract that includes $23m in guarantees.
The Buccaneers currently do not have any other players with starting experience at center. Hainsey, a 2021 third-round pick, saw just 31 offensive snaps as a rookie, featuring in nine games last season without making a start.
Superstar quarterback Brady, who backtracked on retirement plans, will not let injuries affect the objective as the Bucs look to get back to the Super Bowl, having triumphed in the 2020 season.
"I don't think there's any excuses," said 44-year-old Brady. "You either get the job done or you don't. There's only one team that's really happy at the end of the year and that's the team that wins. So you've got to come out the next year and put yourself into position.
"We're going to just do the best we can do. There's a lot of time. Nobody knows what the team's going to look like. You think you have a center and then he gets injured, so the team's different in one day."
Obed McCoy and Brandon King played starring roles as the West Indies secured a five-wicket victory over India in the second of five T20 Internationals at Warner Park in St. Kitts on Monday.
After winning the toss and electing to field first, the hosts had a brilliant outing with the ball to restrict the Indians to 138 all out, their lowest first innings total in T20Is in the West Indies.
Hardik Pandya (31), Ravindra Jadeja (27) and Rishabh Pant (24) were the main contributors for the tourists as Obed McCoy ripped through the Indian line-up to finish with figures of 6-17 from four overs, the best by a West Indian in T20 internationals.
Jason Holder provided most support to McCoy with 2-23 from 3.4 overs.
In the Caribbean side’s turn at the crease, opener Brandon King made a crucial 68 to orchestrate a somewhat tricky yet successful chase in the end.
The Windies were cruising at one point, finding themselves 71-2 at the fall of captain Nicholas Pooran’s wicket in the 10th over.
Things got tricky at that point thanks to some tight bowling from the Indians that saw the wickets of King, Shimron Hetmyer (6) and Rovman Powell (5) all fall within overs 13 and 19 to eventually leave the West Indies needing 17 off 10 balls with Devon Thomas and Odean Smith at the crease.
At the start of the final over, the hosts needed 10 runs for victory and things got much easier when Avesh Khan started the over with a no-ball.
Thomas then proceeded to hit the resulting free-hit for six to leave the Windies needing just two from five. He then hit a boundary off the next ball to finish 31 not out off 19 balls and complete the five-wicket victory for the hosts to tie the series 1-1.
The Cleveland Browns "respect" the decision of a former US district judge to impose a six-game suspension on quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Former Houston Texan Watson faced 24 civil lawsuits following sexual assault and misconduct allegations. He was not charged by two grand juries and has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
The NFL was seeking a suspension for a breach of the league's personal conduct policy, and retired judge Sue L Robinson ruled Watson should be sidelined for six games with no additional fine.
The league issued a statement earlier on Monday saying it would review the findings before deciding whether to appeal, while the NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) previously said on Sunday it would "stand by" the ruling once it arrived.
The Browns also issued a statement on Monday, saying: "Throughout this process, Deshaun and his representatives have abided by the newly created and agreed upon process for the NFLPA and the NFL to defer to the objective Judge Sue L Robinson to comprehensively review all information and make a fair decision.
"We respect Judge Robinson's decision, and at the same time, empathise and understand that there have been many individuals triggered throughout this process.
"We know Deshaun is remorseful that this situation has caused much heartache to many and he will continue the work needed to show who he is on and off the field, and we will continue to support him."
The NFL and the NFLPA have three days to appeal against the decision.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski also spoke to the media on Monday and echoed the sentiments of the organisation's statement, saying: "I'm going to respect Judge Robinson and her opinion right now until more information becomes available to me... It remains a process that we're certainly respectful of.
"[Watson] is working to be the best version of himself... He's said that publicly, he's said that privately, and I believe that."
Stefanski added: "I feel incredible empathy for anyone that's been impacted by the decision. It's something I don't take lightly."
The New York Yankees made a move to bolster their already strong bullpen on Monday by acquiring right-hander Scott Effross from the Chicago Cubs for minor league pitcher Hayden Wesneski.
Effross made his major league debut for the Cubs last August and had a 3.68 earned run average (ERA) over 14 2/3 innings in 2021.
He has been solid this season, posting a 2.66 ERA with 50 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 44 innings over 47 appearances.
New York entered Monday's action with the best record in the AL at 69-34, and their 2.92 bullpen ERA ranks second in the majors behind the Houston Astros (2.79).
The Yankees, though, recently lost right-hander Michael King (6-3, 2.29 ERA, 66 strikeouts in 51 innings) to a season-ending elbow injury and were looking to upgrade their relief corps ahead of Tuesday's MLB trade deadline.
Wesneski was a sixth-round selection by the Yankees in the 2019 Amateur Draft. The right-hander has gone 6-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 19 starts this season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
P.h.a.s.e 1 is the winner of the inaugural Jamaica Basketball Showcase title. They defeated Caribbean Basketball Academy (CBA) 59 - 46 in the final on Saturday at the UTECH Auditorium.
P.h.a.s.e 1 went through the preliminary round winning all four of their matches to get to the top of the table. Their scores read: 51-35 winners over Central Warriors, 42-34 winners over CBA, 49-43 winners over Lignum Vitae and 49-41 winners over Hummingbirds.
CBA on the other hand was 3 - 1 going into the final match. Their scores were: CBA 55 - Hummingbirds - 37, Lost to P.h.a.s.e 1 - 34 – 42, 39 - 36 win over Central Warriors and a triple overtime win 80 - 75 over Blue Mahoe.
Roman Parks of Lignum Vitae was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Other sectional prizes went to: Rebounds - Roman Parks (Lignum Vitae), Top Scorer - Alex Levy (Blue Mahoe), Most Steals - Maliek McCarthy (Blue Mahoe) & Anthony White (P.h.a.s.e 1), Most Free Throws - Roman Parks (Lignum Vitae) and Most Blocks - Nicholai Brown (P.h.a.s.e. 1).
Parks lamented that although his team came close to getting into the final “I was happy to be able to play in a tournament.” That is the sentiment of the players.
The majority of each team were players 23 and under; while they had two older players drafted per team.
The Showcase honored six stalwarts who have contributed to the all-round development of the game. The six honorees were - Mrs Elaine Barker, Simone Edwards, Roger Marshall, Howard McCatty, Gordon Porter and Dr Howard Harvey.
This was the first competition since March 2020 and JaBA president, Paulton Gordon was complimentary to Sports Innovators Group (SIG), organizers of the event; while CEO of SIG, Paul Campbell, is looking forward for this event to be on the calendar.
The tournament featured 75 players, 15 team officials, 6 referees, four table officials and a list of volunteers supported by GC Foster College.
Special guests for the event came from 30 young boys and girls from the Majesty Garden community. Sponsor partners featured were Express Fitness, KFC, A Peart Advisory Services. GKMS Online (Western Union), Mailpac and Suretime Medical.
Tournament information may be found https://sportsinnovatorsgroup.com/jbs2022/
Record prize money will be up for grabs on the PGA Tour next season amid the growing threat of the breakaway LIV Golf series.
Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson are among the big names who have defected from the PGA Tour to sign hugely lucrative deals with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
The PGA Tour on Monday revealed its 2022-23 schedule, which will see prize money for the 43 tournaments they run at $428.6million.
Bonus pools will total $145m, including $75m for the FedExCup. There will be eight invitational events spread throughout the schedule.
The FedEx St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship and TOUR Championship will be the three FedExCup Playoffs events.
Just 70 players will earn a spot in the first Playoffs event in a change to the qualification criteria.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: "We've heard from our fans and the overwhelming sentiment was that they wanted more consequences for both the FedExCup Regular Season and the Playoffs, and to further strengthen events that traditionally feature top players competing head-to-head.
"We feel strongly we've accomplished all of these objectives and more, creating a cadence of compelling drama for every tournament throughout the season.
"Each week has its own identity and purpose, and we're set up for an exciting 2022-23 campaign as we transition into a calendar season in 2024 that will include a number of new and innovative competitive aspects in the fall."
Ronaldo has hailed Inter's capture of Romelu Lukaku and believes the partnership with Lautaro Martinez will be "almost perfect".
Belgian striker Lukaku returns to Inter following a disappointing season with Chelsea, where he fell down Thomas Tuchel's pecking order following an interview where he expressed his desire to rejoin the Nerazzurri.
That move materialised in the current window, with Lukaku arriving on loan, having struck 30 goals across all competitions during Inter's Serie A title-winning 2020-21 campaign.
Ronaldo believes Inter would have defended their title if Lukaku had remained at the club last season, when Milan narrowly pipped them to the crown, and rates him as a "guarantee" to shine in the upcoming campaign.
"It will be a good fight between Inter and Juve. I don't see Milan as the favourite, even if whoever wins the Scudetto can never be considered out of the race. Inter could have won last year, Juve can't afford another wrong year," Brazil great Ronaldo told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Lukaku and Lautaro can be an almost perfect pairing. A lot of feeling, a lot of goals: things that are good for a team."
"Inter lost the Scudetto by losing the derby and mishandling the only two months of difficulty of the season. It's in those moments that you need courage, to win complicated games instead of drawing them. You need to cling to someone: clinging to someone as big as Lukaku is easier."
Ronaldo, who played for Inter from 1997 to 2002, also shared his thoughts on the situation with Paulo Dybala, who was heavily linked to the Nerazzurri following the end of his contract with Juventus but eventually joined Roma.
"In football you can't always do what you want, and maybe you want a certain thing, but you set yourself limits," Ronaldo said.
Inter's rejuvenation of their attack is set to continue with the departure of Alexis Sanchez, who is widely reported to have agreed to terminate his contract at San Siro.
A move to French outfit Marseille has been mooted for the former Arsenal and Manchester United forward.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
