Bugd GM, Christian Coleman, Rafa Nadal: Sports round-up

Not since 2011 has Nadal lost to a Russian but his string of 16 victories stretching back to 2011 looked ready to end along with his U.S. Open title defense when big-hitting Khachanov came out with guns blazing.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Bucs GM: Winston not guaranteed starting job

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting quarterback job could be veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick's to lose. With Jameis Winston suspended the first three games of the season for violating the league's personal conduct policy, general manager Jason Licht wouldn't commit to Winston starting in Week 4.

Athletics: Coleman sets season's best to win Diamond League sprint

American Christian Coleman proved he is this year's king of the sprinters when he set a season's best 9.79 seconds in the 100 meters on Friday to take the Diamond League title in Brussels. Following his world record and World Indoor championship victory at 60m earlier in 2018, Coleman flew out of the blocks on Friday and kept up the momentum to clock a personal best time.

Stephens fends off Azarenka to continue bid for second U.S. Open prize

U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens kept alive her bid for back-to-back titles in New York on Friday, defeating former world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-3 6-4 in a gritty match to set up a fourth-round showdown with Elise Mertens. The third-seeded American was the sharper of the pair at the outset, firing nine winners and fending off Azarenka's lone break-point opportunity to take the first set in a little over half an hour.

NASCAR notebook: Larson not letting off the gas now

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Don't expect Kyle Larson's mindset to change just because he's locked into a spot in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. After winning the pole for the Aug. 18 night race at Bristol, Larson finished second in the race to guarantee his place in the final 16. But his attitude remains the same for the final two regular-season races.

Golf: Kirk, Bradley, and Hossler share early lead with Woods five back

Chris Kirk's quick start earned him a share of the clubhouse lead with Keegan Bradley and Beau Hossler as Tiger Woods endured an up-and-down opening round in windy conditions at the Dell Technologies Championship on Friday. Kirk, 2014 winner of the tournament, birdied four of his first seven holes to shoot four-under 67 at TPC Boston in the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs. He had six birdies and two bogeys for the day.

Nadal survives Russian threat to advance at U.S. Open

Rafa Nadal has feasted on Russian opposition in the past but Karen Khachanov nearly served up a major U.S. Open upset on Friday, forcing the world number one to rally for a breathless 5-7 7-5 7-6(7) 7-6(3) third round win. Not since 2011 has Nadal lost to a Russian but his string of 16 victories stretching back to 2011 looked ready to end along with his U.S. Open title defense when big-hitting Khachanov came out with guns blazing.

Cavs' Smith faces a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge

Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith turned himself into police Friday morning in relation to an accusation of throwing a fan's cell phone into a construction site near a New York City restaurant in July. Joined by his lawyer, Alex Spiro, Smith walked into the New York Police Department's 10th Precinct to discuss what happened outside The Park restaurant on 10th Avenue, according to the New York Post.

Tennis: Thiem battles back to defeat Fritz in a third round

Ninth seed Dominic Thiem fought back to defeat American Taylor Fritz 3-6 6-3 7-6(5) 6-4 and reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Friday. The Austrian fired down 18 aces and broke Fritz five times to set up a meeting on Sunday with last year's losing finalist Kevin Anderson.

Tennis: Svitolina downs Wang to reach New York fourth round

Seventh seed Elina Svitolina easily dispatched China's Wang Qiang 6-4 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the second year running on Friday. The Ukrainian won 70 percent of her first serve points and converted all five of her break point opportunities to see off world number 52 Wang, who committed 27 unforced errors and three double faults on a cloudy day at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

No heat rule ahead of hotly-anticipated Williams sisters matchup

U.S. Open tennis fans were gearing up for the most anticipated match of the tournament so far on Friday with Serena and Venus Williams set to meet for the 30th time and extend a sibling rivalry that has endured for two decades. The pair will face each other for the sixth time at their home Grand Slam but will be spared the searing heat that has marked the opening days of the tournament when they step onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

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