U.S. women back in Fed Cup final
Defending champion United States will play in a second consecutive Fed Cup final after defeating France, 3-2, yesterday in Aix-en-Provence, France.
Madison Keys secured the decisive point for the visiting team by beating Pauline Parmentier 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the second reverse singles. Keys’ victory gave the U.S. an unassailable 3-1 lead over France in the World Group semifinals.
The Czech Republic will host the U.S. in the Nov. 10-11 final after defeating Germany 4-1 in Stuttgart.
The French later salvaged some pride in front of their home crowd as Amandine Hesse and Kristina Mladenovic beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands and CoCo Vandeweghe 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
The 13th-ranked Keys, a late replacement for Vandeweghe, came back from a 4-1 deficit in the first set and made the decisive break in the ninth game of the second set with two consecutive winners.
Earlier, Sloane Stephens had given a 2-1 lead to the U.S. with a 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of Mladenovic . . . .
Rafael Nadal won a record 31st Masters title after beating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-2 in the Monte Carlo Masters final in Monaco. Nadal also became the first man in the Open era to win the same title 11 times and moved one ahead of rival Novak Djokovic for career Masters titles.
Man City keeps on rolling
Manchester City is chasing more records now the Premier League title has been wrapped up. A 5-0 win over Swansea got the champions closer to a few of them.
David Silva scored one goal and set up another for Raheem Sterling in the first half, before further strikes by Kevin De Bruyne — a thunderous 25-meter effort — Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus sealed an easy win for City amid a party atmosphere at Etihad Stadium.
After the final whistle, thousands of City fans came onto the field to mob the players and sing songs, continuing the celebrations a week after the team clinched a third league title in seven years with a record-equaling five matches to spare. It was good-natured but will still likely result in a charge by the Football Association.
Having already won a record 18 straight games this season, City is within reach of more milestones to underline one of the most stunning seasons in English soccer . . . .
Second-place Atletico Madrid was held 0-0 at home by Real Betis in the Spanish league in a second straight setback before Diego Simeone’s team faces Arsenal in the Europa League semifinals. Atletico, which lost 3-0 at Real Sociedad midweek, visits Arsenal in the first leg on Thursday. Barcelona remains the overwhelming favorite to win La Liga, leading Atletico by 11 points. Third-place Real Madrid is another four points behind Atletico . . . .
Kalidou Koulibaly’s late winner helped Napoli win 1-0 at Juventus and reignite the Serie A title race . ...
Argentina midfielder Lucas Biglia faces a race to be fit for the World Cup after suffering a “severe” back injury while playing for AC Milan . . . .
CONCACAF has canceled the rest of its 2018 Women’s Under-17 Championship following violence in Managua, Nicaragua, where the tournament began Thursday.
IndyCar delayed in ’Bama
The Indy Grand Prix of Alabama has been postponed a day because of heavy rain in Birmingham, Ala. IndyCar officials called the race after a second lengthy rain delay. It will be completed this morning with a restart on Lap 23 . ...
Luxembourg champion Bob Jungels posted the biggest win of his career with a solo victory in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in Ans, Belgium, cycling’s oldest classic, as his Quick-Step team continued to dominate the season . . . .
Eliud Kipchoge won a third London Marathon and Vivian Cheruiyot took the women’s event . . . .
Salah-Eddine Bounasr won the Vienna City Marathon after world record holder Dennis Kimetto quit before the 25-kilometer mark. Nancy Kiprop won the women’s race for the second straight year.