Osaka into final after calling for racial justice
NEW YORK » After two days of little sleep and unexpected stress, Naomi Osaka was up to the moment.
The two-time Grand Slam champion returned to the court after bringing the push for racial justice to the forefront on the tennis tour, and she advanced to the finals of the Western & Southern Open on Friday with a straight-set victory. This one meant a lot more.
“Of course I feel extra pressure now that there’s more eyes watching me,” she said.
After a one-day break in the tournament prompted by her decision to speak out, Osaka reached her first Western & Southern title match by gritting out a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Elise Mertens.
The 22-year-old Osaka was hoping someone else in tennis would take the lead in speaking up for racial justice — she considers herself more of a follower — but realized she would have to make the first step.
“I feel like it’s been kind of hectic and I honestly haven’t been able to get that much sleep yesterday, so I was glad to win today,” she said.
Osaka will face resurgent Victoria Azarenka, who beat Johanna Konta
4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Western & Southern final for the first time since
2013, when she beat Serena Williams.
NHL investigating ex-Panthers GM
The NHL is investigating whether former Florida general manager Dale Tallon made racially insensitive comments during the team’s two-week stay in the playoff hub city of Toronto.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the investigation on Friday. In an email, Daly did not provide any details of the allegations, which were first reported by FloridaHockeyNow.com.
The publication cited a unidentified person in reporting Tallon used “racially charged language” during the Panthers’ time in the Eastern Conference’s playoff hub. After 10 years with the Panthers, Tallon was let go Aug. 10.
UCI relaxes virus exclusion rules at Tour de France
Cycling’s governing body has relaxed the Tour de France’s COVID-19 exclusion rules on the eve of the race’s opening stage following complaints from teams that feared their riders would be unfairly excluded from the race.
After meeting with team officials, the UCI said Friday that a team won’t be automatically sent home if two of its riders test positive for the virus within a period of seven days as was initially planned.
According to the revised protocol, it will be up to Tour de France organizers to decide whether to throw a whole team out of the race.