Serena ready to come out to play
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Serena Williams flexed and then kissed a sinewy right bicep to show that her down time was well spent in training even without bench pressing. “This is God given, thank you very much,” the 23-time Grand Slam women’s singles champion said as she thanked her mother, Oracene. She’s about to flex her muscles on a tennis court for the first time in six months. Williams will compete in the inaugural Top Seed Open that opens today near Lexington, a recently added hard court tournament that serves as a tuneup for this month’s U.S. Open in New York. The WTA’s first event in the United States since March will be played without spectators, and the field includes Serena’s older sister Venus,a seven-time Grand Slam winner herself, two-time Australian Open champ Victoria Azarenka, 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and rising star Coco Gauff, the 16-year-old American who already has made some impressive runs at majors. Williams, ranked No. 9, is competing for the first time since playing for the United States in the Fed Cup in February, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic shut competition. Williams, 38, has a history of blood clots and pulmonary embolisms that have affected her lung capacity, and she said she’s been “super, super careful” in trying to avoid exposure to the coronavirus. She acknowledged during Saturday’s virtual news conference that she’s been “a bit of a recluse,” in addition to owning 50 face masks and taking social distancing to an extreme.
HORSE RACING
› SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Belmont Stakes champion Tiz the Law won the $1 million Travers Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, and he will head into next month’s Kentucky Derby as the probable favorite. Ridden by Manny Franco, Tiz the Law ran 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.65 without fans in the grandstand during what is usually the Spa’s biggest day of the summer. The 3-yearold colt remains undefeated this year with four straight graded stakes victories for 82-year-old trainer Barclay Tagg. Tiz the Law became the first New York-bred horse in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes on June 20 in the first leg of the rescheduled Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing series. He began his racing career at Saratoga last summer and has six wins in seven starts. The Travers victory gave Tiz the Law 100 points in qualifying for the Kentucky Derby — which was postponed from its typical first Saturday in May to Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville — and he continues atop the leaderboard with 372. Caracaro finished second at Saratoga and earned 40 points, while third-place Max Player picked up 20 and fourth-place South Bend added 10.
BASKETBALL
› LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green’s suggestion for Devin Booker’s future did not amuse the NBA. The league fined Green $50,000 on Sunday for violating its anti-tampering rule with his comments about Booker, the Phoenix Suns’ star guard. “Get my man out of Phoenix,” Green said Saturday during an appearance as an analyst for TNT. “It’s not good for him. It’s not good for his career.” Asked on air if he was tampering, Green replied, “Maybe.” The league tightened its rules before this season when it comes to matters such as tampering, salary cap circumvention and free agency timing rules — with one emphasis being the rule prohibiting player-to-player tampering. Booker, 23, has not been to the playoffs with Phoenix — a franchise that has not made the postseason in 10 years — but they have moved into contention for a bracket spot with a 5-0 record since competition resumed last month. The injury-plagued Warriors will not be in the playoffs for the first time in eight years after a five-year streak of NBA Finals appearances with three championships.
BASEBALL
› WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg’s season debut unraveled in a five-run fifth inning Sunday, when the 2019 World Series MVP allowed six consecutive batters to reach base before being lifted, and the game against the Baltimore Orioles was suspended in the top of the sixth after the grounds crew had trouble unrolling the tarp during a rain delay. Baltimore led 5-2 when play was interrupted by a shower. It will resume Friday at Baltimore, where the teams already were supposed to open a three-game series, meaning the Orioles will try to finish off what would be considered a three-game sweep at Nationals Park while at Camden Yards. The bad weather lasted only about 20 minutes, but the game was held up for a total of more than two hours before it was called after attempts were made to make the soaked infield dirt playable. Strasburg missed his first two starts of the season because of a nerve problem with his throwing (right) hand.