Sports News Roundup: Rahm and Hatton to launch Europe's Ryder Cup bid; Adrian Mannarino wins Astana opener and more

Djokovic's hopes of winning all four Grand Slam titles in the calendar year were dashed at Wimbledon, where he was beaten in five sets by the 20-year-old Alcaraz with the result being hailed as the changing of the guard in men's tennis. Golf-Rahm and Hatton to launch Europe's Ryder Cup bid Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will lead off Europe's bid to reclaim the Ryder Cup when they take on world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in Friday's opening foursomes match, after the captains unveiled their morning combinations.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Djokovic says future looks bright after emergence of Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic has won three out of the four Grand Slams in 2023 and has no plans of slowing down at 36, but the world number one believes the future of tennis is in good hands with young gun Carlos Alcaraz leading the way. Djokovic's hopes of winning all four Grand Slam titles in the calendar year were dashed at Wimbledon, where he was beaten in five sets by the 20-year-old Alcaraz with the result being hailed as the changing of the guard in men's tennis.

Golf-Rahm and Hatton to launch Europe's Ryder Cup bid

Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will lead off Europe's bid to reclaim the Ryder Cup when they take on world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns in Friday's opening foursomes match, after the captains unveiled their morning combinations. After that match gets things underway at 05.35 GMT Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg face Max Homa and Brian Harman in a match containing three rookies, followed by Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka against Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa.

ATP roundup: Adrian Mannarino wins Astana opener

Sixth-seeded Adrian Mannarino recorded a 7-6 (4), 6-2 win over fellow Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in a first-round match at the Astana Open on Thursday in Kazakhstan. Eighth-seeded Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland was not as fortunate. Marcus Giron outlasted the 38-year-old Wawrinka for a 6-7 (6), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) win in 2 hours, 51 minutes.

Games-Korean gamers on cusp of gold, and avoiding military service

Gaming superstar 'Faker' is one of a large number of male South Korean athletes at the Hangzhou Asian Games who, if they win gold, will enjoy the added bonus of being able to skip what is normally mandatory military service. All able-bodied South Korean men aged between 18 and 28 must serve in the military for around 1.5 to 2 years as part of the country’s efforts to guard against North Korea.

Baseball-Fan and support alligator Wally denied entry into Phillies game

A Philadelphia Phillies fan and his emotional support alligator Wally were denied entry into a Major League Baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. The fan, identified by the Philadelphia Inquirer as Joie Henney, arrived at Citizens Bank Park walking Wally on a leash, claiming the nearly five-foot alligator as his service animal.

Gymnastics-All eyes on Biles at worlds as American returns after two-year hiatus

The World Artistic Gymnastics Championships return to Antwerp, the city that hosted the first edition 120 years ago, and it is a familiar hunting ground for Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the competition's history. The American won the first of her five world all-around titles in 2013 at the age of 16 in Antwerp and has since become a household name after winning a record 25 worlds medals -- which includes a jaw-dropping 19 golds.

Golf-Aberg leads cast of rookies hoping to write Ryder Cup script

Trawl through the annals of the Ryder Cup and there are tales aplenty of rookies rising to the occasion with match-winning contributions but Sweden's Ludvig Aberg is already making waves before striking a ball in anger. The 23-year-old is one of eight rookies featuring in the 44th edition of the biennial match -- four apiece for Europe and the United States -- but by far the most hyped.

Soccer-Barcelona under investigation for suspected bribery in refereeing case

Spanish soccer club Barcelona are under investigation for suspected "active bribery" as part of a probe into suspected corruption spanning two decades at the refereeing committee, according to a court document seen by Reuters on Thursday. Police also searched the offices of the Spanish refereeing committee (CTA) inside the football federation (RFEF) headquarters in Madrid on Thursday, the Barcelona court said, as part of the ongoing inquiry into "possible systemic corruption" within the CTA.

Doping-CAS adjourns Valieva case, hearing to resume in November

The hearing of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's doping case has been adjourned until November after a panel of arbitrators asked for further documentation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Thursday. Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021, but the result was only made known on Feb. 8, 2022 a day after she helped her team win gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Golf-European Ryder Cup juniors end U.S. dominance in emphatic style

Europe ended the United States' six-match winning streak in the junior Ryder Cup with a 20.5 to 9.5 thrashing on Thursday in what home fans hope will be a taste of what's to come in the main event over the weekend. In the first edition of the mixed under-18 event to be held since 2018, Europe led 12-6 after a remarkable 6-0 clean sweep in Wednesday's fourballs at the Golf Nazionale in Rome.

(With inputs from agencies.)