RONALDO REACHES MILESTONE DAYS AFTER SON’S DEATH

Cristiano Ronaldo raised his left arm and pointed toward the sky following his goal for Manchester United Saturday that gave the Portugal star his 100th in Premier League competition.

The subdued celebration unfolded five days after he and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, announced one of their newborn twins had died. Ronaldo didn’t play in Tuesday’s game while the couple was grieving the loss.

The goal trimmed Arsenal’s lead to 2-1, but Manchester wound up losing 3-1.

Ronaldo became the fourth player in Premier League history to score 100 goals for Manchester United.

Other United players to have scored 100 goals for the club are Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney.

Andrey Rublev defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-0 on his home turf Sunday, winning the Serbia Open in Belgrade.

It was the third tour title of the season and 11th career for Rublev. The 24-year-old Russian won in Marseille and Dubai in February.

Rublev, the World No. 8, staved off eight of nine break point chances but broke Djokovic’s serve in six of 12 opportunities.

Free agent outfielder Michael Conforto will miss the 2022 season after undergoing right shoulder surgery. Conforto, 29, had surgery for an injury that occurred during a workout in January.

The New York Mets selected Conforto out of Oregon State with the 10th overall selection in the 2014 MLB Draft. In the abbreviated 2020 season, Conforto hit a career high .322 but slumped in 2021, hitting .232 with 14 homers and 55 RBIS.

Tyson Fury made quick work of overmatched Dillian Whyte on Saturday, landing a violent right upper cut in the sixth round for a technical knockout to retain his World Boxing Council and lineal heavyweight championships in front of 94,000 at a raucous Wembley Stadium in London.

Fury out-landed Whyte, 76-29, according to Compubox statistics, and connected on 31 per cent of his 243 punches thrown compared to 17 per cent for his opponent.

Fury won his third straight fight via knockout and improved to 8-0-1 in lineal heavyweight championship fights in his first bout since beating Deontay Wilder in October.

Fury was guaranteed a reported $29.5 million for Saturday’s fight, with an additional $4 million-plus winner’s bonus. Whyte, meantime, was assured $7.5 million.

Carlos Alcaraz worked overtime to defeat fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta (6-3, 6-2) in Sunday’s final at the Barcelona Open tennis tournament. Rain on Saturday pushed the semifinal matches to Sunday morning.

The 18-year-old Alcaraz continued his remarkable run, winning for the third time following victories in Miami and Rio de Janeiro. He’s reached a career high No. 11 in the world rankings.

Alcaraz won 88 per cent of his first serve opportunities compared to 56 per cent for Carreno Busta.

The Detroit Red Wings signed defenceman Simon Edvinsson to a three-year, entry level contract on Sunday. Edvinsson was selected sixth overall by the Red Wings in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Edvinsson, 19, recorded 19 points (two goals, 17 assists) and a plus-13 rating in 44 games this season for Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

The 6-foot-4 Swede was named a finalist for the SHL’S Rookie of the Year Award.