The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
QUICK HITS
Lennon’s late goal not enough in Five Stripes’ first loss to Lions.
Djokovic takes men’s title; Osaka withdraws from final vs. Azarenka
Novak Djokovic tied Rafael Nadal’s record by winning his 35th title at a Masters 1000 tournament, overcoming a sluggish start to beat Milos Raonic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Open final Saturday and remain unbeaten this season. Getting tuned up ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts Monday, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic improved to 23-0 in 2020 and 11-0 head-tohead against Raonic, the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up.
Earlier Saturday, Victoria Azarenka won her first tour title since 2016 when Naomi Osaka pulled out of the women’s final because of a left hamstring injury. “I just hope I’m giving myself ... the opportunity and the chance to have enough time” to recover ahead of the U.S. Open, Osaka said.
The Western & Southern Open normally is held in Ohio but was moved to Flushing Meadows this year because of the coronavirus pandemic as part of a two-tournament “controlled environment.” Djokovic, who owns 17 Grand Slam titles, played Raonic in Louis Armstrong Stadium — the No. 2 court for the U.S. Open — with the roof closed because of rain.
Falcons defensive end Steven Means goes on reserve/COVID-19 list
Defensive end Steven Means was placed on the reserve/ COVID-19 list Saturday, the eighth Falcon placed on the list. Six others returned to the roster, and one was released.
NFL teams are not permitted to comment on a player’s medical status other than referring to roster status. Teams may not disclose whether the player is in quarantine, is positive for COVID-19, or merely was exposed to someone who tested positive.
Means, who was slated to be part of the rotation at defensive end, is back after missing last season because of injury.
S. Carolina, Missouri to skip practice, take part in protest instead
South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said his team will forgo football activities Monday and participate in a campus demonstration against racial injustice after the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Muschamp said team leaders approached him about the effort after Blake, who is Black, was shot seven times in the back, leaving him paralyzed.
■ Missouri also canceled a practice to protest the Blake shooting. “We refuse to ignore racism and police brutality,” a team statement said.
Dixon beats Sato at Gateway in reverse finish of Indy 500
Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato repeated their 20-lap shootout from the Indianapolis 500 a week ago, with Dixon reversing the finishing order by winning at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis. Sato held off Dixon a week ago for his second Indy 500 victory in four years.
At Gateway, Dixon cycled to the front when Sato made his stop with 25 laps remaining. Dixon had 20 laps to navigate lapped traffic while holding off Sato by 0.1404 seconds.
Dixon moved within two victories of Mario Andretti on IndyCar’s victory list. Andretti is second with 52; A.J. Foyt is the leader at 67. Dixon holds a 117-point lead in the IndyCar championship standings as he chases a fifth title.
If more evidence is needed that 2020 is an odd year, Orlando defeated Atlanta United 3-1 on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time, in their ninth meeting in MLS games.
And Orlando didn’t get lucky in improving to 1-6-2 against the Five Stripes (3-4). Orlando’s first two goals, one by Junior Urso and the second by Chris Mueller, were well-executed while also helped by mistakes by numerous Atlanta United players. The Five Stripes’ goal came from Brooks Lennon in the 83rd minute after a nice pass from Jurgen Damm. Nani cemented the win with a goal in the 86th minute after Pity Martinez was easily knocked off the ball by Urso.
“Losing to a team that you haven’t lost to before in franchise history is tough,” Lennon said. “Guys are really disappointed in the locker room right now.”
Stephen Glass, who on Friday
said he didn’t want to be the first Atlanta United manager to lose to the Lions, lost his first game in his second in charge after replacing Frank de Boer.
“Orlando looked like in the first half that they were making it more personal,” he said. “They came out fighting. First half in general cost us the victory tonight.”
This was supposed to be a litmus test for Atlanta United. None of its three wins this season came against what would be considered a quality team: two against expansion side Nashville and one against Cincinnati. But as was the case in its three shutout losses in Orlando to the New York Red Bulls, Cincinnati
and Columbus, the Five Stripes looked a halfstep slow on offense in the first half and undisciplined on defense.
Atlanta United knew it was going to be difficult. Unlike Orlando, which hosted and defeated Nashville on Wednesday, Atlanta United flew to Miami, didn’t play because it was part of the social justice protests, and flew back within 24 hours.
But Atlanta United was at home and it could be argued they had fresher legs. Still, the team came out flat for most of the first 45 minutes. It failed to move the ball quickly, something that Glass said was a point of emphasis, and it lacked intensity, according to Glass, Lennon and centerback Anton Walkes.
Orlando struck first, and it came on a corner. Urso ran past a flat-footed Eric Remedi and met the free kick near the center of the penalty box and hammered a header down between Brad Guzan’s legs and into the goal in the 13th minute.
Urso came inches away from adding a second in the 18th minute when his curling shot sailed just wide. Urso had time because no one came out to mark him when the ball switched from Orlando’s right to its left.
“We didn’t cope with their shape in the midfield (in the first half ),” Glass said. “Didn’t cope with the way they pressed and the way they used the ball.”
Orlando increased its lead to 2-0 in the 36th minute. The play started with an Atlanta United goal kick, which meant both of its fullbacks were high up the pitch. After Orlando won the first ball, an aerial duel between Martinez and a Lions defender, Mueller won the second and passed to Daryl Dike. He fed Benji Michel, who was streaking into the penalty box down the right well in front of George Bello, who was stationed high up the field. Michel ran onto the ball and passed it back across to the open Mueller, who had continued his run and was not marked by either Remedi or Mo Adams, for the easy tap-in.
“Individual mistakes multiple times within that passage of play,” Walkes said. “We invited them to attack our goal. It was too easy. We have to look at that and make sure it doesn’t happen again on Wednesday.”
Glass used two of his five subs at halftime, bringing on Jeff Larentowicz for Adams and Jake Mulraney for Manuel Castro. Mulraney came in on the left, pushing Martinez into the middle. Glass used two more subs in the 60th minute, putting in Erick Torres for Adam Jahn and Barco for Matheus Rossetto. At the time, Atlanta United had six shots, two on target.
Glass used his final sub in the 79th minute, handing Damm his debut. He quickly showed his quality, beating his defender to earn an assist on Lennon’s late goal. It was
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SATURDAY, AUG. 29 Cash 3 Midday: Cash 3 Evening: Cash 3 Night:
1-0-4 (Friday) 0-7-7 5-6-8
Cash 4 Midday: Cash 4 Evening: Cash 4 Night:
6-8-6-5 0-3-1-2 1-2-3-1 (Friday) his first for Atlanta United.
“Second half, looked like they were fighting for the jersey,” Glass said. “A lot better in the second half than the first.”
Atlanta United had a penalty claim late in the game denied after a video review. On the play, Lennon was kicked in the back of his head and took studs to the neck when he turned as an Orlando City defender kicked away the ball.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt (it’s a penalty),” Glass said.
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