Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Bale not in favour of biennial World Cup; Tennis-Crowd pleaser Fernandez rides wave of support to U.S. Open semis and more

Harnessing the energy generated by New York's raucous fans, Fernandez has knocked out a string of big names, including former champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber. Tennis-Fearless Fernandez holds nerve to reach U.S. Open semi-finals Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez continued her U.S. Open dream run on Tuesday by storming into her first Grand Slam semi-final with a battling 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) win over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina.


Reuters | Updated: 08-09-2021 10:47 IST | Created: 08-09-2021 10:30 IST
Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Bale not in favour of biennial World Cup; Tennis-Crowd pleaser Fernandez rides wave of support to U.S. Open semis and more
Representative image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Bale not in favour of biennial World Cup

Wales captain Gareth Bale said he is not in favour of a FIFA proposal to hold the World Cup every two years. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be the 32-year-old's last opportunity to play in the tournament but the winger said making the competition a biennial event would diminish its appeal.

Tennis-Crowd pleaser Fernandez rides wave of support to U.S. Open semis

After the COVID-19 pandemic left the stands empty last year, the U.S. Open has welcomed tennis-starved fans back to Flushing Meadows and Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez has ridden a wave of support all the way to the semi-finals. Harnessing the energy generated by New York's raucous fans, Fernandez has knocked out a string of big names, including former champions Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber.

Tennis-Fearless Fernandez holds nerve to reach U.S. Open semi-finals

Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez continued her U.S. Open dream run on Tuesday by storming into her first Grand Slam semi-final with a battling 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) win over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina. It was yet another upset win for Fernandez but hardly a shock considering she had already knocked out four-time major champion Naomi Osaka in the third round and three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber in the fourth.

Tennis-Sabalenka makes quick work of Krejcikova en route to US Open semis

World number two Aryna Sabalenka bulldozed her way past Barbora Krejcikova 6-1 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the U.S. Open semi-final for the first time. Sabalenka had three double faults in the first game at Arthur Ashe Stadium but still managed to hold serve, then came back in the second game to break a listless Krejcikova, who had just five winners in the first set and struggled badly with her serve.

Former NFL running back Portis pleads guilty to healthcare fraud

Clinton Portis was among three former National Football League players who have pleaded guilty for their roles in a nationwide scheme to defraud a healthcare program for retired NFL players, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. Portis, a former running back who was drafted by Denver in 2002 and spent the bulk of his career with Washington, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6.

NFL-Quarterbacks old and new battle for glory as season kicks off

Veteran quarterbacks including Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will look to maintain their dominance amid an influx of new talent in the sport's most crucial position when the NFL season kicks off this week. A record eight QBs were taken in the first three rounds of this year's draft but it is the sport's biggest names who are best positioned for further success.

Tennis-Medvedev reaches third straight U.S. Open semi-final

World number two Daniil Medvedev dropped his first set at this year's U.S. Open but eventually overcame Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-0 4-6 7-5 to reach his third straight semi-final at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday. Van de Zandschulp had enjoyed a remarkable run, taking down 11th seed Diego Schwartzman to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final, where he fired off 20 forehand winners and was the first player here to take Medvedev past the two-hour mark.

Golf - Spaniard Rahm named PGA of America's player of the year

U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm added further accolades to a stellar campaign on Tuesday as the Spaniard was named the PGA of America Player of the Year and also collected the Vardon Trophy for lowest adjusted scoring average. For world number one Rahm, who finished runner-up to Justin Thomas for the PGA of America honours last year, it marked the first time in his career that he clinched the points-based award that factors in tournament wins, official money and scoring average.

Tennis-Alcaraz retires to send Auger-Aliassime into US Open semi-finals

Felix Auger-Aliassime moved into the U.S. Open semi-finals on Tuesday when Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz retired due to an abductor injury while trailing 6-3 3-1. The 18-year-old Spaniard showed no signs of distress as Auger-Aliassime took the opening set but after the Canadian broke to open the second Alcaraz slumped.

Soccer-Griezmann double fires France to victory over Finland

Antoine Griezmann played chief tormentor as France sprung back into life to end a five-game winless streak by beating visitors Finland 2-0 in a World Cup Group D qualifier on Tuesday. Griezmann struck in each half after his partnership with Karim Benzema bore fruit in satisfying fashion to put the world champions on 12 points from six matches at the top of the group.

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

Give Feedback