Murray advances in Citi Open
Showing signs of returning to his old form, right down to the return winner on the last point, Andy Murray moved into the third round at the Citi Open in Washington by beating No. 4 seed Kyle Edmund 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4 on Wednesday for only his third victory since having hip surgery.
Murray is a three-time major champion and former No. 1 who was sidelined for 11 months because of his right hip. He missed the second half of 2017, had an operation in January, then returned to the tour briefly in June. One of his three matches that month was a loss on a grass court to Edmund, the Australian Open semifinalist who has supplanted Murray as Britain’s highest-ranked man.
There is still work to be done by Murray, of course. He is ranked 832nd, has played only five matches in the last 12 months, and needed three sets for each of his victories in Washington’s hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open.
After a wayward second set against Edmund, Murray collected himself in the third, all the while barking at himself after miscues, as he is wont to do. He got the measure of Edmund’s serves late, earning two break points at 4-3. Another arrived at 5-4, thanks to a defensive lob that drew a long overhead from Edmund, followed by a double-fault. That brought match point, and Murray pounded a cross-court winner of an 83-mph second serve, then let out a loud yell.
Earlier Wednesday, reigning U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens continued her tendency for all-or-nothing showings at tournaments, losing 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the second round to 91st-ranked Andrea Petkovic.
Stephens was seeded No. 2 at a tournament she won in 2015 for her first WTA title. Now she’ll want to get her game going in the right direction before she begins the defense of her first Grand Slam title on Aug. 2.
A person familiar with the negotiations says free-agent guard David Nwaba has agreed to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nwaba averaged 7.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 23.5 minutes in 70 games — 21 starts — for the Chicago Bulls last season.
Advocacy groups are calling for the U.S. Department of Education to investigate how Ohio State responded to a late doctor’s alleged sexual misconduct against male athletes and other students over two decades.
In a letter, the National Women’s Law Center argues Ohio State failed to address Richard Strauss’ behavior and violated federal Title IX law. The letter notes allegations of recurrent sexual misconduct by doctors at Michigan State and USC led to reviews by the department’s Office for Civil Rights.
Shane Doan, who played all 21 of his NHL seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, will have his jersey retired on Feb. 24.
Josef Martinez thrilled another record crowd in Atlanta by scoring in the Major League Soccer All-Star game, but Italian powerhouse Juventus prevailed on penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 tie.
Juventus scored on all five of its penalties before 72,317, winning when Mattia De Sciglio drilled one past Columbus goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
The MLS team scored on its first three penalties, but Bradley Wright-Phillips of New York Red Bulls left the door open in the fourth round when he slammed his shot off the post.
Italy will launch a three-city bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Turin and Cortina.