Sports News Roundup: With no fans at US Open, Serena cheers herself to victory; Nuggets edge Jazz in Game 7 on late basket by Jokic and more

The six-time champion did not need the help of a fan-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium to provide a lift during her 7-5 6-4 win over the 96th ranked Kristie Ahn. Nuggets edge Jazz in Game 7 on late basket by Jokic The Denver Nuggets survived a frantic finish to complete a rally from a 3-1 postseason deficit Tuesday night, getting a go-ahead hoop from Nikola Jokic with 27.8 seconds remaining for an 80-78 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 7 of their Western Conference first-round series in the NBA bubble near Orlando.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

With no fans at US Open, Serena cheers herself to victory

With no fans to cheer her on, Serena Williams was left to push herself to a record-breaking straight-sets victory in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday. The six-time champion did not need the help of a fan-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium to provide a lift during her 7-5 6-4 win over the 96th ranked Kristie Ahn.

Nuggets edge Jazz in Game 7 on late basket by Jokic

The Denver Nuggets survived a frantic finish to complete a rally from a 3-1 postseason deficit Tuesday night, getting a go-ahead hoop from Nikola Jokic with 27.8 seconds remaining for an 80-78 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 7 of their Western Conference first-round series in the NBA bubble near Orlando. The 4-3 win vaults the third-seeded Nuggets, who had never previously rallied to win a series from down 3-1, into a second-round matchup with the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, beginning Thursday night.

Highlights: U.S. Open day two

Highlights of the second day at the U.S. Open on Tuesday. The Grand Slam is being held in New York without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Times ET; GMT-4) 1241 MUGURUZA FIGHTS BACK TO WIN IN STRAIGHT SETS NFL: Social injustice and COVID-19 in spotlight as kickoff nears

With the start of the National Football League season just nine days away commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday, outlined a long list of initiatives that will be rolled out to put the spotlight on social and racial injustice. The NFL, which earlier said it would commit $250 million over 10 years to support social justice causes, said it was continuing discussions with all 32 teams about opening up their stadiums as polling centers for November's election, while endzones will be stenciled with the phrases, "End Racism" and "It Takes All of Us".

Tokyo 2020 organisers want 'Super Mario' Abe to remain involved

Tokyo 2020 Olympic organisers hope Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will remain involved in preparations for the re-arranged Games next year, despite his announced resignation on Friday. Abe had been all but synonymous with Tokyo 2020, heavily involved in the winning bid in 2013 and dressing up as video game character Mario during the closing ceremony of the Rio Games three years later.

Raonic concerned about French Open crowds amid COVID-19 surge

The prospect of playing the French Open in a month's time with thousands of fans in attendance is a worry for Milos Raonic amid a recent surge in COVID-19 infections in France. The former world number three advanced to the U.S. Open second round at a locked-down Flushing Meadows on Tuesday with a clinical 6-3 6-2 6-3 win over Leonardo Mayer.

MLB roundup: Dickerson leads Giants' 23-3 onslaught vs. Rockies

Alex Dickerson had three home runs among his five hits and added six RBIs, and Brandon Crawford and Donovan Solano also drove in six runs each to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 23-5 win over the Colorado Rockies in Denver on Tuesday night. Dickerson tied Willie Mays' modern-day franchise record for total bases in a game with 16, as he added two doubles to his homer haul.

Flyers stave off elimination with OT goal against Islanders

Scott Laughton scored 12:20 into overtime Tuesday night as the Philadelphia Flyers staved off elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals by edging the New York Islanders 4-3 in Game 5 at Toronto. Laughton redirected a slap shot by Ivan Provorov to cap a frantic final 20 or so minutes of hockey in which the Islanders scored twice late in the third to force overtime before both teams traded prime chances in the overtime.

Muchova sends Venus to first opening-round loss at US Open

Karolina Muchova took advantage of an error-prone Venus Williams to advance 6-3 7-5 into the second round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday and hand the two-time champion her first opening-round loss at the tournament. Muchova broke Williams to start the match and deployed a wide variety of shotmaking including a pinpoint serve, a slice backhand and some well-timed trips to the net to frustrate the former world number one.

Cubs blow big lead, beat Pirates in 11 innings

Ian Happ's RBI single in the 11th inning Tuesday gave the visiting Chicago Cubs an 8-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Nico Hoerner opened at second in the 11th and came home on Happ's base hit to center off reliever Kyle Crick (0-1) to help the Cubs atone for blowing a 6-1 lead.