Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs. MLB roundup: Cardinals ride Flaherty into first place

Jack Flaherty struck out nine in six shutout innings and the host St. Louis Cardinals beat the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on Friday night. Marcell Ozuna homered and drove in three runs, Yadier Molina went 3-for-5, and three other St. Louis batters had two hits each. The Cardinals moved a half-game ahead of the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central. Chair umpire Ramos has lasting impact on U.S. Open

Until last year's U.S. Open, few tennis fans could identify a tournament official by name. That changed during the 2018 women's final when chair umpire Carlos Ramos shot to prominence after a seismic clash with Serena Williams. A year on from the tense decider won 6-2 6-4 by Naomi Osaka, opinion remains deeply divided over how Ramos handled the match and the heated exchanges with Williams, one of the game's greatest players. Nadal fit and ready for hardcourt challenge at U.S. Open

Rafa Nadal was forced out of the U.S. Open last year in the semi-finals with a knee injury but the in-form Spaniard on Friday declared himself fit and ready for the punishing hardcourts at Flushing Meadows. Nadal's hopes of defending his 2017 U.S. Open title last year were crushed when his chronic knee issues forced him to retire while trailing Juan Martin del Potro 7-6(3) 6-2 after a number of long and grueling matches. Basketball: Australia snap United States' winning streak

Australia ended the United States' 78-game winning streak in basketball competitions and exhibitions, claiming a shock 98-94 win in a World Cup warmup in Melbourne on Saturday. In front of a record crowd at Docklands stadium, the 'Boomers' inflicted the Americans' first loss in 13 years, while claiming Australia's first ever win over the Americans after 26 attempts dating back to 1964. Koepka one ahead of Thomas, McIlroy in Atlanta

Brooks Koepka missed an eight-foot eagle putt at the final hole but did enough for a one-stroke halfway lead over Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy at the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Thursday. The tap-in birdie to end the second round lifted Koepka to a second successive three-under 67 as East Lake, particularly its gnarly rough, bared its teeth. U.S. Open makes changes after Serena-Ramos incident

A year after Serena Williams infamously clashed with an umpire during her U.S. Open final loss over being assessed multiple violations that confused some viewers, tournament organizers have unveiled changes to make such rulings clearer to fans. The United States Tennis Association (USTA), which runs the U.S. Open, said on Friday that this year for the first time at the Grand Slam it will post code violations on the scoreboard as they occur. Vondrousova out of U.S. Open with wrist injury

French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova has withdrawn from the U.S. Open with a left wrist injury, tournament organisers said on Friday. The 20-year-old Czech did not compete in any U.S. Open tune-up events and has not been in action since falling in the first round at Wimbledon. Family vacation has Federer ready for U.S. Open charge

Roger Federer needed a couple of days to get over his heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss but a family caravan vacation around the Swiss countryside proved the perfect tonic. Federer, who will chase a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title at the Aug. 26-Sept. 8 U.S. Open in New York, struggled with the five-set defeat to Novak Djokovic for a short time, but could not dwell on the missed opportunity. Russia's Kuznetsov gets four-year IIHF ban after cocaine test

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) said on Friday it had suspended Russian national team player Evgeny Kuznetsov for four years for testing positive for cocaine. Kuznetsov, who plays for the Washington Capitals in North America's National Hockey League (NHL), said he accepted his suspension. With no dominant force, U.S. Open women's trophy up for grabs

As many as 10 women competing at this year's U.S. Open have a realistic shot at raising the trophy including all-time great Serena Williams and big-hitting teenager Bianca Andreescu. That is the view of former world number one Chris Evert who said on Friday that without a dominant force it is the depth of the women's game that should be celebrated.