Sports News Roundup: Defending U.S. Open champion Djokovic retires injured; Japan's veteran maulers happy to die in their boots

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Defending U.S. Open champion Djokovic retires injured

Novak Djokovic's U.S. Open title defense came to a halt on Sunday when the Serb retired from his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka due to a shoulder injury. Wawrinka was leading 6-4 7-5 2-1 when Djokovic decided he could not continue.

Athletics: Van Niekerk rules out World Championship defense

World record holder Wayde van Niekerk said he would not defend his 400-meters title at this month's World Championships in Doha as he has yet to recover from a knee injury. The Olympic champion suffered the injury while playing a charity touch rugby game in October 2017 and has not raced internationally since.

Japan's veteran maulers happy to die in their boots

Japan may have been seen as a leftfield choice to host the Rugby World Cup but if you want a sense of the country's long love affair with the game, you could do worse than to get along to Tokyo's Fuwaku club. The dozens of players running, passing, mauling, scrummaging and crashing into one another in the shadow of the Aquatics Center being built for the 2020 Olympics are unremarkable in all but one thing -- their age.

Astros promote three players, including OF Tucker

Outfielder and consensus top-15 prospect Kyle Tucker lead a group of three players promoted to the Houston Astros on Monday. Tucker, 22, appeared in 28 games last season with Houston but spent the entire 2019 season in the minors. He struggled in his first stint last year, hitting .141 with no home runs and 13 strikeouts in 64 at-bats.

Federer crushes Goffin to reach last eight

Roger Federer destroyed David Goffin 6-2 6-2 6-0 on Sunday to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals and keep his bid for a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title alive. The Swiss third seed fired 35 winners and 10 aces to see off the outclassed Belgian in a speedy 80 minutes on a sunny day at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Serena advances in New York despite ankle injury

Serena Williams needed a medical time out in the second set of her 6-3 6-4 win over Petra Martic on Sunday to get treatment on her right ankle but recovered to advance to the U.S. Open quarter-finals. Williams fell to the court at 2-2 in the second set after charging to the net to hit a volley that sailed long.

Reports: Colts sign veteran Hoyer as backup QB

The Indianapolis Colts signed former New England Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer to back up Jacoby Brissett, according to reports on Monday. ESPN"s Adam Schefter said Hoyer agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract with $9 million in guarantees.

Spain sink Puerto Rico as Scola shines for Argentina

Spain celebrated their second successive win at the basketball World Cup in China after a commanding performance from their Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol gave them a 73-63 win over plucky Puerto Rico on Monday. Serbia, the tournament favorites alongside holders United States, also made it two out of two with a 126-67 demolition of the Philippines while 39-year-old forward Luis Scola rolled back the years in Argentina's 94-81 defeat of Nigeria.

MLB roundup: Astros' Verlander no-hits Jays

Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander threw a no-hitter Sunday in a 2-0 win over the host Toronto Blue Jays, becoming one of just six major league pitchers with three or more no-hitters. After walking Cavan Biggio with one out in the first inning, Verlander (17-5) retired 26 in a row, with rookie Bo Bichette grounding out to third baseman Abraham Toro to end the game. The Astros ace struck out 14 and walked one.

Iran judoka pressured not to fight Israeli, refuses to return home

An Iranian judoka is refusing to return home over fears for his safety after he ignored orders from his national federation to pull out of fights to avoid a potential final meeting with an Israeli, the International Judo Federation said on Monday. The IJF said Saeid Mollaei was pressured by Iranian authorities to drop out of his quarter-final and semi-finals at the world judo championships in Tokyo last week to avoid fighting Israel's Sagi Muki in the final.

Also Read: US Open: Novak Djokovic trounces Juan Londero in second round