Sports News Roundup: Van der Poel wins Tour of Flanders as Alaphilippe crashes out; Djere beats Cecchinato in Sardinia and more

Rublev downs Coric to win St Petersburg Open for fourth title in 2020 Russian third seed Andrey Rublev won his fourth ATP Tour title of the year when he beat Croatia's Borna Coric 7-6(5) 6-4 to lift the St Petersburg Open trophy on Sunday.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 18-10-2020 23:02 IST | Created: 18-10-2020 22:28 IST
Sports News Roundup: Van der Poel wins Tour of Flanders as Alaphilippe crashes out; Djere beats Cecchinato in Sardinia and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Cycling: Van der Poel wins Tour of Flanders as Alaphilippe crashes out

Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel beat his powerful Belgian rival Wout Van Aert in a photo-finish sprint to win the Tour of Flanders 'Monument' classic on Sunday, as world champion Julian Alaphilippe crashed out of the race. Van der Poel, whose father Adri won the one-day race in 1986, launched the two-man sprint and managed to just hold off Van Aert after 241 kilometres.

Djere beats Cecchinato in Sardinia to clinch second ATP title

Serbia's Laslo Djere beat Italy's Marco Cecchinato 7-6(3) 7-5 on Sunday to win his second career ATP title at the Sardinia Open, the final claycourt tournament of the year. Djere capitalised on Cecchinato's poor second serve to convert four break points in the match while the Italian also made a slew of errors in the tiebreak to hand his opponent the advantage.

Rublev sets up final clash with Coric at St Petersburg Open

Russian home favourite Andrey Rublev rallied from a set down to beat Canadian Denis Shapovalov 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the semi-final of the St Petersburg Open on Saturday to set up a title clash with Borna Coric. Rublev saved five of six break points to advance and took advantage in the final set when Shapovalov needed treatment on his shoulder.

Rublev downs Coric to win St Petersburg Open for fourth title in 2020

Russian third seed Andrey Rublev won his fourth ATP Tour title of the year when he beat Croatia's Borna Coric 7-6(5) 6-4 to lift the St Petersburg Open trophy on Sunday. Having also won tournaments in Doha, Adelaide and Hamburg this year, Rublev is now tied with Novak Djokovic for most titles in 2020 and the 22-year-old is also three wins shy of the world number one's 37 victories.

Henley sails to three-stroke lead in Las Vegas

American Russell Henley carded a flawless, five-under-par 67 to seize a three-stroke lead on Saturday at the CJ Cup, where an elite field stands between him and his first PGA Tour title in three-and-a-half years. Henley, who sank a 22-foot putt on 10 for one of his five birdies of the day, told reporters he had struggled with his confidence in recent years but appeared calm and completely in control at Shadow Creek Golf Course after pouring work into retooling his short game.

Cycling: Geoghegan Hart claims stage 15 as Almeida clings on to race lead

Tao Geoghegan Hart claimed a fifth stage win for Ineos-Grenadiers in this year's Giro d'Italia when he won the 15th stage on Sunday, a 185-km mountain trek, as Joao Almeida's overall lead was whittled down to just 15 seconds. Briton Geoghegan Hart was the freshest man at the end of the final ascent, a punishing 14.5-km effort at an average gradient of 7.8%, to beat Dutchman Wilco Kelderman by two seconds.

Egyptian grandfather becomes world's oldest soccer pro

Egyptian grandfather Ezzeldin Bahader has been recognised as the world's oldest professional soccer player after completing a second full match just short of his 75th birthday. Bahader was awarded the title by Guinness World Records on Saturday evening after missing a penalty kick as his team, 6th October, lost 3-2 to El Ayat Sports club in the Egyptian third division.

Zverev dominates Auger-Aliassime to win indoor title in Cologne

Top seed Alexander Zverev bagged his first ATP crown of the year after beating Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 to lift the bett1HULKS Indoor title in Cologne on Sunday. The German, who lost the U.S. Open final last month and exited the French Open in the fourth round, needed only an hour and 20 minutes to get the better of the 20-year-old Canadian thanks to a dominant service game.

Fans allowed to attend more than half of Week 6 games

For the first time this season more than half of this weekend's NFL games will welcome fans, the league said on Saturday as it oversees its 2020 campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine of the 14 Week 6 National Football League games will permit fans, while 18 of the 32 teams across the league have been approved to welcome ticket holders, a spokesman said.

No Supporters' Shield in 2020, league says

Major League Soccer's (MLS) Supporters' Shield will not be awarded this year, the league said on Saturday, due to the changes to the standard competitive environment forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. MLS was among the numerous North American leagues to suspend its season in March due to the outbreak, kicking off a quarantined and fanless tournament in Orlando, Florida, in July before resuming its regular season in August.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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