Murray set to return
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, sidelined since July because of a hip injury, returns to the court Tuesday to face Nick Kyrgios of Australia in the first round of the pre-Wimbledon Queen’s Club in London.
“While I will be nervous,” Murray, 31, said in his BBC Sports column, “it will be great to finally step back on the court.” The Briton has not played since losing in the 2017 Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Marin Cilic, a former Queen’s Club champion, was a 6-3, 6-4 first-round winner over Fernando Verdasco.
Former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova lost to Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the Birmingham Classic, a Wimbledon warmup in Birmingham, England. ... French Open finalist Dominic Thiem was a 7-6 (5), 6-2 winner over qualifier Mikhail Youzhny in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany.
Turkey’s official news agency said that a court has accepted an indictment charging the father of NBA player Enes Kanter with “membership in a terror group.” Anadolu Agency reported that prosecutors would seek to convict Mehmet Kanter and sentence him to a prison term of five to 10 years at trial. Enes Kanter, who plays for the New York Knicks, is a follower of a U.S.-based cleric whom the government accuses of masterminding a failed coup. He tweeted Monday: “Keep my family, innocent people in your prayers.”
FIBA is changing the way women’s basketball teams qualify for the Olympics and world cup.
The International Basketball Federation announced the new system that will give more countries a chance to qualify for both major international events.
First-round qualifiers for the Olympics will be held in November 2019. Those tournaments will be geographically based with contests in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. The Oceania region that includes Australia will now play as part of Asia for these tournaments. Sixteen teams will advance to play in four mini-tournaments around the world in February 2020, with 11 qualifying to join host Japan in the Tokyo Olympics.
Florida State announced that Mike Martin, 74, will retire next year at the end of his 40th season as the school’s baseball coach. Martin, who has guided the Seminoles since 1980, is college baseball’s alltime leader in victories with a record of 1,987-713-4. Florida State has reached the NCAA tournament and won at least 40 games in all 39 seasons he has coached.
The Minnesota Vikings will induct former coach Dennis Green into their Ring of Honor this season. The Vikings have announced a halftime ceremony with Green’s family during their Sept. 23 game against the Buffalo Bills. Green died at age 67 in 2016.
A letter signed by at least 120 victims of sexual abuse by former sports doctor Larry Nassar urged Michigan State University’s governing board to oust interim president John Engler, saying he had reinforced a “culture of abuse.”.