Sports News Roundup: Basketball-Liberty's Stewart sets WNBA single-season scoring record; Tennis-Djokovic turns up heat to beat Fritz and breeze into U.S. Open semi-finals and more

The 36-year-old, who is looking to match Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles, powered past American Taylor Fritz 6-1 6-4 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach a record 47th major semi-final. Soccer-Spain fire Vilda as women's team coach, name assistant as replacement Spain's women's team coach Jorge Vilda has been sacked, the football federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday, 10 days after FIFA suspended RFEF's president for kissing team player Jenni Hermoso on the mouth in celebration of Spain's World Cup victory.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Basketball-Liberty's Stewart sets WNBA single-season scoring record

New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart broke the WNBA record for most points scored in a single season on Tuesday after her 40 against Dallas Wings took her tally to 885 points from 38 games. The five-times All Star forward, who won two WNBA titles and Finals MVP awards with Seattle Storm before joining Liberty this year, moved past the 860 points set by Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi in 2006 when the regular season was 34 games.

Tennis-Djokovic turns up heat to beat Fritz and breeze into U.S. Open semi-finals

Novak Djokovic shrugged off stifling heat and Taylor Fritz to breeze into the U.S. Open semi-finals 6-1 6-4 6-4 on Tuesday and stay on course for a fourth Flushing Meadows crown that would see him match Margaret Court's record haul of 24 Grand Slams. With temperatures once again nudging towards 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), Djokovic turned in a cool, clinical effort, improving his record against American opposition at the U.S. Open to a perfect 12-0.

Games-Afghanistan to send 17 female athletes to Asian Games

Afghanistan's Olympic committee said it will send 17 female athletes to compete in three sports at the Asian Games in China later this month. Female sport in Afghanistan has been crushed since the Taliban took over from a Western-backed government in August 2021, causing many prominent women to flee the country for fear of persecution.

Basketball-United States, Serbia cruise into World Cup semi-finals

The United States and Serbia booked their tickets to the FIBA Basketball World Cup final four with rousing victories over Italy and Lithuania respectively on Tuesday. Team USA, the highest-ranked side still left in the tournament, trounced Italy 100-63 led by forward Mikal Bridges' game-high 24 points including 12 from distance.

Leicester City crash failure was 'irrecoverable' by pilot -final report

It was not possible for the pilot to recover from the tail rotor failure on the helicopter that crashed and killed Leicester City soccer club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha in 2018, Britain's aviation accident investigator reported on Wednesday. Pilot Eric Swaffer, his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz and two members of Vichai's staff, Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, were also killed in the crash shortly after takeoff outside the King Power Stadium in the central English city of Leicester following a Premier League match.

Tennis-Djokovic keen to have fun but fully focused on winning at US Open

Novak Djokovic blew off some steam following Tuesday's U.S. Open win by belting out a rendition of a Beastie Boys classic and the second seed said he was trying enjoy his time on court despite the pressure he faces to keep winning. The 36-year-old, who is looking to match Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles, powered past American Taylor Fritz 6-1 6-4 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach a record 47th major semi-final.

Soccer-Spain fire Vilda as women's team coach, name assistant as replacement

Spain's women's team coach Jorge Vilda has been sacked, the football federation (RFEF) said on Tuesday, 10 days after FIFA suspended RFEF's president for kissing team player Jenni Hermoso on the mouth in celebration of Spain's World Cup victory. Vilda was replaced by his assistant, Montse Tome, who becomes the first woman to helm the women's national team. She had been Vilda's assistant coach since 2018 and has since "established herself as a key player in the national team's growth", the RFEF said in a statement.

Tennis-Muchova marches into US Open semis with win over Cirstea

Karolina Muchova was happy with all facets of her game as she overwhelmed Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-0 6-3 on Tuesday to set up a U.S. Open semi-final against American Coco Gauff. Muchova, seeded 10th, smacked 32 winners and played outstanding defence to see off the 33-year-old Cirstea at Arthur Ashe Stadium and reach the last four at Flushing Meadows for the first time.

Tennis-Childhood friends Medvedev, Rublev set for US Open tussle

Daniil Medvedev expects his U.S. Open quarter-final with fellow Russian Andrey Rublev on Wednesday to be a real fight but said nothing will come between the childhood friends once the dust has settled. Medvedev, the 2021 Flushing Meadows champion, reached the last eight with a 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-2 victory over Australian Alex de Minaur and set up a meeting with Rublev who won 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 against Briton Jack Draper on Monday.

Tennis-Gauff routs Ostapenko to reach U.S. Open semi-finals

American sixth seed Coco Gauff bolstered her hopes of securing a maiden Grand Slam title as she enjoyed a stress-free 6-0 6-2 win over Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday to reach the U.S. Open semi-finals. Gauff, whose lead-up to the U.S. Open included hardcourt titles in Washington and Cincinnati, converted six of her seven break points and dropped serve just once during a steamy 67-minute match at Arthur Ashe Stadium where the temperature rose above 90 Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius).