After Rio setbacks, Serena and Djokovic top seeds for US Open
NEW YORK: Serena Williams is the No. 1 seeded woman for the U.S. Open after barely holding on to the top spot in the rankings, and Novak Djokovic is No. 1 among the men.
Neither Williams nor Djokovic has played a match since early exits at the Rio Olympics. Williams later said she was dealing with a right shoulder problem, while Djokovic said his left wrist was sore.
Williams could have been overtaken atop the WTA rankings by No. 2 Angelique Kerber but stayed at No. 1 this week.
RAFA, ROGER TO TEAM UP
NEW YORK: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal say they plan to play doubles together when the Laver Cup debuts next year.
With a combined 31 major titles, Federer and Nadal have committed to the inaugural event, which is an attempt to create a tennis version of golf ’s Ryder Cup.
Named for Australian tennis great Rod Laver, the competition was first announced in January. A team of European players will face off against a group from the rest of the world Sept. 22-24, 2017, in Prague. Former rivals Bjorn Borg (Europe) and John McEnroe (World team) were announced Wednesday as captains. Nadal will also play in the Brisbane International next year, organisers said on Wednesday. It would be the first time the Spaniard has kicked off his season in Australia.l.
QUERREY ADVANCES
LOS ANGELES: Sam Querrey got off to a successful start at the ATP Winston-Salem tournament by reaching the third round with a 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Querrey won 86 percent of his first-serve points and saved nine of 10 break points. He next plays Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who defeated Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 6-3, 7-5. Second-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Great Britain’s Aljaz Bedene 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska breezed past Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 6-1 in the second round of the Connecticut Open.