Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. Australia soccer players union demands World Cup prize-money parity

Australia's soccer players union have launched a campaign calling for prize-money parity at the women's and men's World Cups, and offered support for the country's footballers to take legal action against global governing body FIFA. The winning team at the women's World Cup in France, which starts on Friday, will receive $4 million in prize-money from the tournament's total pool of $30 million. Stephens keen to end Konta run in French Open quarters

Sloane Stephens is hopeful that the Roland Garros clay will prove to be the "neutraliser" when she faces Johanna Konta in the French Open quarter-finals on Tuesday seeking a first win over the Briton. American Stephens, the runner-up in Paris last year, is looking to add a second Grand Slam trophy to her collection following her triumph at the 2017 U.S. Open but faces a potentially tough test against a resurgent opponent. Halep and Djokovic storm into French quarter-finals

Defending champion Simona Halep continued to tighten her grip on the French Open as she demolished Polish teenager Iga Swiatek to reach the quarter-finals on Monday. The Romanian, who claimed her first Grand Slam title on the Parisian clay a year ago, has taken a while to hit her stride this time and was taken to three sets in the first two rounds. MLB roundup: Machado, Padres slam Phils

Manny Machado hit the ninth grand slam of his career Monday night to cap a seven-run sixth inning as the San Diego Padres earned an 8-2 victory while handing the visiting Philadelphia Phillies a fifth consecutive defeat. Padres starter Eric Lauer (5-4) allowed one run on two hits and three walks with three strikeouts over six innings. He was replaced by pinch hitter Josh Naylor, who provided a two-run single three batters ahead of Machado's slam. MLB notebook: Orioles tab C Rutschman with No. 1 pick

Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman was the No. 1 overall selection by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2019 MLB Draft on Monday night. The switch-hitting Rutschman batted .411 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs in 57 games for the Beavers this season as a junior. Rutschman is the first catcher to be selected at the top of the draft since the Minnesota Twins tabbed Joe Mauer in 2001. He was rated the No. 1 prospect in the draft by MLB Pipeline and by ESPN's Keith Law. NHL: Blues down Bruins 4-2 to even Stanley Cup Finals

Ryan O'Reilly scored twice including the game winner as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins 4-2 in Game Four on Monday to level the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series. After an embarrassing 7-2 blowout in Game Three, the Blues responded with their first ever home victory in a Finals, where they have appeared three times before but never won the trophy. Expect the unexpected, clay Queen Evert says as French field shrinks

As unusual names pepper the French Open women's singles draw in week two, former champion Chris Evert says expect the unexpected. With both top seeds - Naomi Osaka and Karolina Pliskova - already bounced, the American says a lack of fear among the quarter-finalists means nothing can be predicted with any certainty. U.S. billionaire Commisso close to buying ACF Fiorentina: source

U.S. billionaire Rocco Commisso is close to agreeing the purchase of Italian Serie A soccer club ACF Fiorentina from the Della Valle family for around 160 million euros ($180 million), a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. The Della Valle family owns luxury goods group Tod's and, since 2002, the Florence-based club who last season narrowly escaped relegation. Konta breezes into Roland Garros last four

Jo Konta cantered into the semi-finals of the French Open on Tuesday, blitzing American Sloane Stephens 6-1 6-4 to become the first British woman into the last four in Paris since 1983. Swinging freely, the 28-year-old pummeled groundstrokes past her opponent to secure the victory in a little over an hour. Road to 2022 World Cup begins in Mongolia

The long road to the 2022 World Cup finals begins in the footballing backwaters of Mongolia on Thursday as the first games that count towards qualification for Qatar are hosted in Asia. Mongolia, who have only ever won a single World Cup qualifying match, host Brunei Darussalam in the first of six first round qualifiers across Asia, which also serve as early round eliminators for the next Asian Cup in 2023.