■ GOLF
Cink takes lead in Florida
Stewart Cink claimed the clubhouse lead after three rounds of the rain-disrupted PGA Tour PODS Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, on Saturday. Cink notched three straight birdies before closing with a bogey to finish with a two-under 69 for a three-round total of five-under 208. Half a dozen golfers were still on the course when play in the tournament was halted by darkness. Among them, second-round leader Brandt Snedeker and Billy Mayfair were at three-under, while Australian Geoff Ogilvy completed a 69 for three-under 210.
■ BADMINTON
Lin reaches final again
China's world champion Lin Dan reached the All-England men's singles final for a fifth year in a row with a comfortable 21-14, 21-14 victory over compatriot Bao Chunlai on Saturday. In the other semi-final, China's Chen Jin, the No.4 seed, scored an upset 21-18, 21-18 win over Malaysia's former world No.1 Lee Chong Wei. In the women's competition Denmark's unseeded Tine Rasmussen won through to the final to face the No 3 seed from China, Lu Lan. Rasmussen, the world No.9, had previously never got beyond the second round in eight previous appearances at an All-England. Lu reached her first final in Birmingham with a straightforward 21-13, 21-14 victory over the Chinese-born German player, Xu Huaiwen.
■ SOCCER
Brawl leaves 80 wounded
A stadium brawl left about 80 people wounded in the Colombian city of Cali late on Saturday, 18 of them with stab wounds, emergency officials said. Clashes broke during the match between America de Cali and Deportivo de Cali spread onto the field and around the Pascual Guerrero stadium. Police fired tear gas as the brawlers lit firecrackers and tried to tear down fencing separating the stands from the field. Eighteen people were stabbed during the melee, said Manuel Infante, spokesman for Cali's Emergency Prevention Committee. They were treated at the stadium and taken to a local hospital. Another 60 suffered bruises and other minor injuries. A young pregnant woman and three police officers were among the wounded, the Red Cross said.
■ TENNIS
Qualifier reaches final
South African qualifier Kevin Anderson defeated American wildcard Robby Ginepri 7-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Las Vegas Open. Anderson will face unseeded American Sam Querrey, who beat fourth-seeded Argentine Guillermo Canas 7-5, 6-2. The 21-year-old Anderson, ranked 175th in the world and bidding to become the first South African to win an ATP final since Wesley Moodie won in Tokyo in October 2005, took the opening set 7-4 on a tiebreak. He was broken only once as he clinched victory in one hour and 28 minutes. The 2.01m Anderson, who won his first ATP match in Monday's opening round, has reached the final without losing a set. "Each match I've felt I could compete and I've played my own game," Anderson told reporters. "I'm not trying to do anything special." Querrey, ranked 66th and looking for his first ATP title, converted five of nine break points to upset the 20th-ranked Canas in one-hour, 39 minutes.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday fought through a second-set slump to post a roller-coaster 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set, but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third set as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. “It was just a roller coaster,” said the second
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
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