Dominic Thiem, Serena Williams, John Isner: Current Sports News round-up

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Inspired Thiem makes first U.S. Open quarter-final

Ninth seed Dominic Thiem stepped up his bid for a first Grand Slam title on Sunday, toppling last year's runner-up Kevin Anderson 7-5 6-2 7-6(2) to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals for the first time. Thiem, this year's French Open runner-up, neutralized the 6-foot-8 Anderson's blistering serve by standing far beyond the baseline and he chased down everything the South African could throw at him.

Williams squares off against Kanepi on U.S. Open day seven

Serena Williams returns to the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday to take on unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the last 16 of the U.S. Open, while men's top seed Rafa Nadal and defending women's champion Sloane Stephens are also in action. Williams has never dropped a set in four previous meetings with Kanepi, the last of which was at the 2014 U.S. Open, but the Estonian is high on confidence after eliminating top seed Simona Halep in the first round.

Serena survives scare from Kanepi to reach U.S. Open quarters

Serena Williams survived a scare from giant-killer Kaia Kanepi to claim a rollercoaster 6-0 4-6 6-3 win on Sunday and move into the U.S. Open quarter-finals, a step closer to a record-equaling 24th career Grand Slam title. Following a shock upset of world number one Simona Halep in the first round, the 44th-ranked Kanepi had looked a potential trouble spot for the six-time U.S. Open champion.

Isner goes the distance, rolls onto U.S. Open quarter-finals

John Isner ground out yet another three-hour-plus match at the U.S. Open on Sunday, nailing critical break points to beat Canadian Milos Raonic a 3-6 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-2 and advance to the quarter-finals of his home Grand Slam for the second time. The American fired 56 winners and 20 aces to down the former world number three in front of a rowdy and elated crowd of his compatriots inside the newly-built Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Bears welcome Mack, prep him for Packers

Khalil Mack will practice for the first time in 2018 on Monday, and the Chicago Bears are hopeful their new linebacker is ready for primetime. The Bears plan on playing Mack in some capacity at Lambeau Field next Sunday night in the regular season opener against the Green Bay Packers.

Pliskova downs Barty to reach U.S. Open quarters

Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova fended off eight break points as she overcame Australia's Ashleigh Barty 6-4 6-4 to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals on Sunday. While the Czech converted both of her break point opportunities, 18th seed Barty was left frustrated time and again as she failed to capitalize on her chances.

Nadal sees off Basilashvili to reach U.S. Open quarters

Top seed Rafael Nadal set up an intriguing U.S. Open quarter-final showdown with Dominic Thiem after snuffing out a comeback attempt by Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili with a 6-3 6-3 6-7(6) 6-4 win on Sunday. The world number one looked like he would cruise to an easy win after pocketing the first two sets but the Georgian stepped up his game to take the third.

NextGen fall flat at U.S. Open

The so-called 'Next Gen' of men's tennis discovered at the U.S. Open that they are a long way off from toppling Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic off their lofty perch, with the much-hyped 20-somethings sent packing in the first week. On Saturday, the young guns showed no signs of breaking the stranglehold of the three men who collectively own 50 Grand Slam titles and also split the season's first three majors.

Vegas' Schmidt suspended, denies PED use

The NHL has suspended defenseman Nate Schmidt of the Vegas Golden Knights for the first 20 games of the season for violating the NHL's performance-enhancing drug policy, the league announced Sunday. Schmidt, who emerged as the team's top defenseman in 2017-18, strongly denied that he knowingly took a PED. The team backed him up in a statement of its own.

Tsitsipas wants to bring ATP event back to Greece

Stefanos Tsitsipas is hoping to use his rising fame and popularity to bring an ATP tournament back to Greece. Athens staged an ATP event between 1986 and 1994 and a WTA competition between 1986 and 1990 but over the past two decades, Greeks have had to make do with watching tennis on television or traveling abroad to see their top players.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)