Back after battling Covid-19, Dimitrov wins

NEW YORK: Two months after barely being able to walk while ill with Covid-19, Grigor Dimitrov played a professional tennis match at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday and won, beating Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-4. Among the women, the top two seeds in Karolina Pliskova and Sofia Kenin crashed out of the US Open tuneup. Czech Pliskova committed nine double faults in a 7-5, 6-4 second round defeat to Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova. Kenin also struggled, losing 6-1, 7-6(7) to France’s Alize Cornet.

BOPANNA-SHAPOVALOV GO DOWN IN OPENER

NEW YORK: Back in action after five months, Rohan Bopanna and Canadian partner Denis Shapovalov lost in the opening round of the Western and Southern Open men’s doubles to Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos here.

Bopanna and Shapovalov lost 4-6, 6-7(1) to 2019 US Open finalists in the first round match.

JOHNSON RECLAIMS NO 1 RANKING IN GOLF BOSTON:DUSTIN Johnson said he is targeting a lengthy stay at the top of the world rankings after reclaiming the No 1 spot with a 11-shot victory at the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.

The 36-year-old American became the fifth player to be ranked No 1 this year after he leapfrogged Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas and Rory Mcilroy.

TOKYO FLAME TO GO ON DISPLAY NEXT MONTH TOKYO:THE Olympic flame will go on display at a Tokyo museum in September, organisers said on Monday, after the pandemic forced them to scrap the torch relay and put the Games on hold.

The flame, which arrived in Japan for the nationwide relay in March, will be available for public viewing from September 1 to November 1, officials said.

BOLT TAKES COVID

TEST, IN SELF ISOLATION KINGSTON: Sprint star Usain Bolt on Monday said he is awaiting results of a Covid-19 test he took during the weekend and has gone into self-quarantine as a precautionary measure.

Bolt posted a short video on his Twitter page, addressing speculation that he has tested positive for the virus after birthday celebrations on August 21.