Reuters Sports News Summary

Djokovic beaten as tour's Montenegro leg is scrapped World number one Novak Djokovic lost one of his two opening singles matches on Saturday at the charity tournament he organised, and his day got worse when news broke that one of the event's four legs has been scrapped due to coronavirus concerns.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Report: Irving asks NBA players to sit as protest of racism

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving reportedly opposes the NBA restart plan, and he lobbied fellow players on Friday to sit out the scheduled resumption of play as a protest against racism, multiple media outlets reported. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Irving told more than 80 NBA players on a conference call, "I don't support going into Orlando. I'm not with the systematic racism and the (expletive). Something smells a little fishy. ... I'm willing to give up everything I have (for social reform)." Google, NFL latest to call for Juneteenth commemorations

Google and the National Football League have joined a growing list of U.S. private sector organizations choosing to commemorate June 19th, the date marking the emancipation of the last remaining slaves at the end of the U.S. Civil War. Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, has instructed employees to cancel unnecessary meetings on "Juneteenth," according to a staff memo seen by Reuters. Meanwhile, the NFL has decided to recognize the date as a league holiday and will close the league office. Schauffele leads by one atop loaded Colonial leaderboard

Xander Schauffele offset a late bogey with a closing birdie to sit alone atop a tightly bunched, star-studded leaderboard after the third round of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas on Saturday. Schauffele, who began the day two shots back of overnight leader Harold Varner III, mixed six birdies with two bogeys to card a four-under-par 66 that left him at 13-under par for the week at a spectator-free Colonial Country Club. Shutdown brings tennis coaches' struggles to the fore

Financial aid has slowly trickled in for tennis players in the lower echelons of the sport during the COVID-19 shutdown but the vast majority of men and women who coach them for a living have been left to fend for themselves. Some, like Simona Halep's coach Darren Cahill, continue to be paid for their work but the Australian acknowledges he is one of the lucky ones and that more help needs to be extended for those who are such a key part of a player's success. Djokovic beaten as tour's Montenegro leg is scrapped

World number one Novak Djokovic lost one of his two opening singles matches on Saturday at the charity tournament he organised, and his day got worse when news broke that one of the event's four legs has been scrapped due to coronavirus concerns. Shortly after beating fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki in his opening match, Djokovic said he was disappointed that the Adria Tour's third leg in Montenegro, scheduled for June 27-28, had been called off. On this day: Born June 14, 1969: Steffi Graf, German tennis player

The pursuit of perfection in tennis has proved beyond all but one player in the modern era, Germany's Steffi Graf. During her 17-year career Graf collected 22 Grand Slam singles titles and spent a record 377 weeks as world number one. Grizzlies' Morant asks judge to remove Confederate statue

Memphis Grizzlies rookie guard Ja Morant is asking a Kentucky judge to remove a Confederate statue near his alma mater in downtown Murray (Ky.). Morant, 20, spent two years at Murray State before being selected by the Grizzlies with the second overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. Golf: McIlroy makes some noise at Colonial

Rory McIlroy's seven-under-par 63 in the second round at Colonial on Friday suggests he has adjusted to golf without the galleries, though the world No. 1 says the silence that meets his birdie putts took some getting used to. The PGA Tour returned to action for the first time in three months amid the COVID-19 pandemic at the spectator-free Charles Schwab Challenge on Thursday. Montenegro leg of Djokovic's tennis tour cancelled

World number one Novak Djokovic's winning start to his charity tournament on Saturday was spoiled by news that the event's third leg, scheduled to take place in Montenegro, has been cancelled due to coronavirus concerns. The four-leg tour started at Djokovic's tennis complex in Serbia's capital earlier on Saturday, with the 33-year old from Belgrade winning his opening singles match against compatriot Viktor Troicki. Report: WNBA proposal includes full salaries for '20

An updated proposal from WNBA owners for the 2020 season includes full salaries for a 22-game regular season, ESPN reported Friday. The first WNBA proposal went to players on June 4 and offered players 60 percent of their full salaries.