Sports News Roundup: Nishikori battles past Evans in five sets; Rublev stunts Tsitsipas to lift Hamburg title and more

Motor racing: Bottas wins as penalties put Hamilton record bid on hold Valtteri Bottas won the Russian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday after team mate and Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton picked up time penalties for infringements before the race had even started.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis: Nishikori battles past Evans in five sets

Japan's Kei Nishikori surrendered two sets 6-1 but still managed to battle past Britain's Dan Evans on Sunday and into the second round of the French Open. The 30-year-old, playing only his fifth match of the season after recovery from elbow surgery sidelined him early in the year and then a positive COVID-19 test ruled him out of the U.S. Open, won 1-6 6-1 7-6(3) 1-6 6-4.

Tennis: Rublev stuns Tsitsipas to lift Hamburg title

Andrey Rublev will arrive at the French Open having secured his third ATP title of the season after the Russian youngster defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 7-5 in the Hamburg European Open final on Sunday. As the year's last Grand Slam began in Paris, Rublev and Tsitsipas were almost 900 kilometres away in northern Germany, battling for the ATP 500 crown at Am Rothenbaum.

Tennis: It's nasty out there, but I like it, says Isner

Big-serving American John Isner said it was "bit nasty out there" after coming through his opening round at the French Open on Sunday but had few complaints about the conditions. The 35-year-old Texas resident does not usually play in chill winds and drizzle on a damp claycourt, but the 21st seed still impressed in a 6-4 6-1 6-3 defeat of French wildcard Elliot Benchetrit in one hour 42 minutes.

MLB roundup: Cubs clinch 3rd division title in 5 seasons

Jose Abreu drilled a go-ahead, bases-clearing double in the fourth inning and James McCann and Yoan Moncada homered to lift the host Chicago White Sox past the Chicago Cubs 9-5 on Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak. Despite suffering their sixth loss in seven games, the Cubs clinched the National League Central when the St. Louis Cardinals lost earlier in the night. It's the Cubs' third division title in the past five seasons and first since 2017.

I'm done, for 2020, says beaten Venus

American veteran Venus Williams said she will not play again this year after losing 6-4 6-4 in the first round of the French Open to Slovakia's Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Sunday. The 40-year-old, playing in her 87th Grand Slam, fought hard but ultimately could find no way past her younger opponent as she suffered a third straight first-round loss at Roland Garros.

Formula One moves to rule out repeat of Hamilton's Breonna Taylor T-shirt

Formula One's governing body set out new pre- and post-race rules for driver attire on Sunday in a move that bars world champion, Lewis Hamilton, from wearing campaigning T-shirts on the podium. The Briton wore a black T-shirt at the Tuscan Grand Prix two weeks ago with the words "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" on the front and a photograph of the slain Black medical worker on the back with "Say her name".

Quartararo wins Catalunya MotoGP to reclaim championship lead

Petronas Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo won his third race of the season at the Catalunya Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday to reclaim the lead in the MotoGP world championship standings. Frenchman Quartararo won his first race since his back-to-back triumphs at Jerez in July, finishing ahead of Suzuki duo Joan Mir and Alex Rins.

Motor racing: Bottas wins as penalties put Hamilton record bid on hold

Valtteri Bottas won the Russian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday after team mate and Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton picked up time penalties for infringements before the race had even started. Hamilton, who had started on pole position in Sochi hoping for a 91st victory to equal Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's all-time record, finished third behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

French Open gets off to chilly and damp start

Gone are the queues of spectators and gone is the sun as the French Open kicked off in underwhelming fashion on Sunday with persistent drizzle and a chill wind sweeping the almost-empty Roland Garros grounds. Play started at 1100 local time (0900 GMT) on court Philippe Chatrier under the new retractable roof for the first time and immediately served up a surprise as Belgian 11th seed David Goffin was crushed by Italian teenager Jannik Sinner in front of a few dozen spectators.

Cycling: Alaphilippe executes perfect plan to become road race world champion

Julian Alaphilippe timed his late attack perfectly to claim the world championship road race title on Sunday, giving France its first rainbow jersey since 1997. Alaphilippe's brutal acceleration on the last climb of the 258.2km race left his rivals in his wake and the Frenchman eased to the line with Belgian Wout van Aert having to settle for silver. Swiss Marc Hirschi took bronze.

(With inputs from agencies.)