TENNIS
Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner have flashed their No. 1 form with powerful performances that moved them into the third round of the U.S. Open. Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka couldn’t quite find the games that once had them on top of the rankings. Swiatek raced by Japanese qualifier Ena Shibahara 6-0, 6-1, finishing off the match in 65 minutes. It took the 2022 U.S. Open champion longer than that to play the second set of her first-round match, when she needed a tiebreaker that she eventually closed out in 72 minutes. Sinner downed Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in 1 hour, 39 minutes.
Carlos Alcaraz's 15-match Grand Slam unbeaten run has ended at the U.S. Open with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. Alcaraz's exit in New York on Thursday night comes after he won the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July. The 21-year-old from Spain won the U.S. Open in 2022 and was 16-2 at the hard-court tournament in his career. This was his earliest loss at any major tournament since bowing out in the second round at Wimbledon in 2021 as a teenager. Alcaraz has never lost in the first round at a Slam event. He was a big favorite against the 74th-ranked van de Zandschulp.
Karolina Muchova has eliminated two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the second round at Flushing Meadows. Osaka was a point from pushing the contest to a third set while serving for the second at 5-4 on Thursday night in Arthur Ashe Stadium. But Osaka missed forehand after forehand until she ceded that game and chucked her racket. Muchova then pulled out the victory in the ensuing tiebreaker. Muchova was the runner-up at the 2023 French Open and made it to the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year before losing to champion Coco Gauff.
MLB
Jose Iglesias drove in Tyrone Taylor with a base hit in the ninth inning, and the New York Mets rallied for a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jesse Winker hit a one-out double off Justin Martinez before Taylor entered as a pinch runner. Taylor advanced to third on a flyball to right from J.D. Martinez and Iglesias ripped a hard grounder up the middle that deflected off the glove of diving shortstop Geraldo Perdomo. The Mets took two of three in the series, cooling off the surging Diamondbacks. Arizona lost a series for just the second time in the past 17 chances.
Bowden Francis took a no-hitter into the sixth and left after allowing just one hit in seven innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 2-0. The no-hit bid ended with one out in the sixth, when Nick Sogard blooped a soft single to center. In his previous outing, Francis pitched eight no-hit innings against the Angels before allowing a solo homer to start the ninth.
Rich Hill came on in relief for the Boston Red Sox to become the only active player to appear in a major league game in each of the last 20 seasons. The left-hander replaced starter Kutter Crawford with two outs in the seventh on Thursday night and struck out Toronto center fielder Daulton Varsho with a runner on second to end the inning. The 44-year-old Hill is in his fourth stint with the Red Sox. Hill joins Tim Wakefield as the only pitchers to appear for the Red Sox at 44 or older.
Nick Castellanos hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning, Brandon Marsh hit a three-run shot in the sixth and the Philadelphia Phillies built on their NL East lead with a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night. The Phillies hold a six-game lead over the Braves for the division crown with three games left in the series. Matt Olson homered twice for the Braves. Orion Kerkering struck out two in 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for the win. Jeff Hoffman worked the ninth for his 10th save.
TJ Friedl capped Cincinnati’s three-run ninth inning with a two-run single, and the Reds beat Lawrence Butler and the Oakland Athletics 10-9. Tyler Stephenson and Will Benson homered for Cincinnati, which had lost five of six. Stephenson finished with three hits and two RBIs. Butler hit three homers for Oakland and drove in four runs. It was his second three-homer game of the season after he also went deep three times in an 18-3 win at Philadelphia on July 14.
Bobby Miller pitched five strong innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers survived an 0-for-5 outing by Shohei Ohtani to beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-3. The Dodgers took two of three in the interleague matchup between two of baseball’s best teams. Every Dodger except Ohtani had a hit as the team rapped out 14 hits while winning for the eighth time in 10 games. Ohtani flied out four times and was retired on a called third strike one night after he hit his 42nd home run and stole his 41st and 42nd bases. The Orioles got a three-run shot from Colton Cowser. The Dodgers became the first team to notch 80 wins this season.
Zach Neto homered, rookie Jack Kochanowicz pitched six shutout innings and the Los Angeles Angels ended a seven-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Detroit Tigers. Los Angeles had lost 12 of 14 and were 1-8 going into the last game of their road trip. Detroit had won six straight, but left 10 runners on base on Thursday. Kochanowicz was spectacular in his sixth major-league start, allowing five hits in six innings. He struck out four without walking a batter. Tigers starter Keider Montero allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in five innings.
Corey Seager hit his 200th career homer and Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven scoreless innings, leading the Texas Rangers to a 2-1 victory over the lowly Chicago White Sox. Eovaldi matched his season high with 10 strikeouts in his second straight win. The right-hander was working on a no-hitter before Gavin Sheets hit a leadoff single in the fifth. Kirby Yates surrendered Andrew Benintendi’s 15th homer with one out in the ninth, and then struck out Andrew Vaughn and retired Sheets on a grounder to second for his 25th save in 26 tries. The Rangers have won three straight and five of seven overall. They finished a sweep of the season series against the White Sox.
Zach Dezenzo drew a go-ahead bases-loaded walk and the Houston Astros took advantage of two Kansas City errors in a four-run eighth inning to beat the Royals 6-3. With two runners on and Astros trailing 3-2, Yainer Diaz hit a grounder to pitcher Lucas Erceg (2-5), who tried to barehand the comebacker, bobbled it and rushed a throw that got away from first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. José Altuve scored from second on the play to tie the score. After reliever John Schreiber intentionally walked Ben Gamel to load the bases and got Jeremy Peña to ground into a force out at home, Dezenzo drew a walk to force in Diaz. Mauricio Dubón followed with a run-scoring single to left field, and Peña scored on a fielding error by left fielder MJ Melendez on the play.
Freddy Peralta pitched six scoreless innings, William Contreras capped a five-run fifth inning with a two-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers hung on to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-3. Peralta allowed only one hit and two walks through five innings. The Giants threatened in the sixth before Peralta struck out Heliot Ramos and let out a scream as he walked from the mound. Peralta finished with eight strikeouts. San Francisco lefty Kyle Harrison allowed a one-out single in the first inning and then retired 11 of the next 12 batters before the Brewers broke through in the fifth.
Masyn Winn hit a solo homer while Sonny Gray threw six strong innings in leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-1 victory over the San Diego Padres to earn a split in the four-game series. Winn, a rookie, scored the game-winning run Wednesday after he hit a two-out single to start the ninth inning rally. In the four games against San Diego, Winn produced nine hits in 17 at-bats. Iván Herrera and Victor Scott II each added two hits for St. Louis. Gray, who had lost his three previous starts, checked the Padres to three hits and a run with no walks.
Derek Hill had three hits and his second career two-homer game, Ali Sanchez had three hits and stole home, and the Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 12-8 to earn a split of the four-game series. Kyle Stowers had three hits and four RBIs, Otto Lopez had three hits including two doubles, and Connor Norby had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. The Marlins had a season-high 18 hits. Hill, who homered Wednesday, has four homers and 15 RBIs in 22 games since being acquired by the Marlins off waivers from San Francisco on Aug. 3.
The Yankees were off last night and will kick off their homestand with the first of three against Saint Louis at 7:05 tonight.
NFL
Patriots coach Jerod Mayo has selected Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback for New England’s season opener at Cincinnati. Brissett gets the nod over rookie first-round draft pick Drake Maye, who he shared snaps with throughout training camp and the preseason. Brissett, who heading into his ninth NFL season, signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Patriots in March. It reunited him with the team that drafted him in in the third round in 2016. While Mayo acknowledged earlier this week that he felt Maye had outplayed Brissett this preseason, he said other factors shifted the pendulum toward Brissett, most notably his overall experience.
Brandon Aiyuk’s long contract dispute with San Francisco came to an end Thursday when he agreed on a four-year contract to stay with the 49ers. A person familiar with the deal says the sides came to the agreement after Aiyuk missed his second straight practice despite being cleared by team doctors to participate. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced. NFL Network first reported the agreement that will pay Aiyuk $120 million over four years with $76 million in guarantees.
An NFL spokesperson says Tom Brady’s pending bid to become a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders has triggered restrictions on his access to teams as part of his role as a Fox Sports broadcaster. Brady is not permitted to attend in-person or online broadcast production meetings and may not have access to team facilities, players or coaches. Fox staff is not subject to these limitations. He also must abide by the league constitution and bylaws that prohibit public criticism of officials and other clubs. Brady is allowed to broadcast Raiders games.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs chasing history will be the hottest topic throughout the NFL season. Kansas City’s three-peat quest is only one of many interesting storylines. Aaron Rodgers is back in New York after his first season with the Jets lasted only four plays. The 40-year-old four-time NFL MVP is returning from a torn Achilles tendon and aiming to help the Jets end the league’s longest active playoff drought. No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams takes over for the Bears, looking to end Chicago’s lengthy search for a franchise quarterback. Eighteen weeks and 272 games to determine the teams that’ll play in January to figure out which two face off in February for the Vince Lombardi trophy.
TOP-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(24)NC State 38 W. Carolina 21
(11)Missouri 51 Murray St. 0
(22)Kansas 48 Lindenwood (Mo.) 3
(12)Utah 49 S. Utah 0
NBA
Stephen Curry has signed a one-year extension with the Golden State Warriors for the 2026-27 season, one in which the NBA’s all-time 3-point leader and Olympic gold medalist will earn nearly $63 million. The team announced the signing. ESPN first reported the agreement was in place, and Curry’s agent, Jeff Austin of Octagon, later confirmed it to The Associated Press. Curry is now guaranteed about $178 million for the next three seasons; about $55.8 million for this season, about $59.6 million for 2025-26 and now about $62.6 million — the most the Warriors could offer by league rule — for 2026-27.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns — three to Travis Hunter — and Colorado began Year 2 under Deion Sanders by holding off FCS power North Dakota State 31-26 on Thursday night. A 10 1/2-point favorite, the Buffaloes couldn’t shake a pesky Bison team that scored with 2:19 remaining to make things interesting. Shedeur Sanders looked as if he sealed the season-opening victory when he scrambled around and heaved a ball downfield on third-and-8 that drew a pass interference call. But North Dakota State got the ball back with 31 seconds remaining. Cam Miller launched a pass from his own 47 as time expired that was caught by Tyler Terhark 4 yards short of the end zone.
OLYMPICS
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee is giving its Paralympians an advantage long held by its Olympians: a training facility of their own. For the first time, the U.S. High Performance Facility is staying open through the Paralympic games at a multisport facility in the Paris suburbs. Athletes say that having a space they can call their own makes training much easier, and that having the support facilities and staff they use back in the States allows them to focus on their competition. The facility will return to local ownership with $29 million in renovations by USOPC.
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