No happy birthday for Auger-Aliassime
Sixth-seeded Karen Khachanov beat local sensation and teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (7), 7-5, 6-3 yesterday in the Rogers Cup at windy and raucous IGA Stadium in Montreal.
Celebrating his 19th birthday, Auger-Aliassime was undone by 12 double faults and a series of mistakes. After the match, the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to Auger-Aliassime, while a video featuring fellow pros also passing on their greetings played on the big screens.
Khachanov set up a quarterfinal match against thirdseeded Alexander Zverev ,a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (5) winner over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Top-seeded and defending champion Rafael Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Guido Pella 6-3, 6-4.
Second-seeded Dominic Thiem beat Marin Cilic 7-6 (7), 6-4. Coming off a victory on clay in Austria for his third title of the year, Thiem will face eighth-seeded Daniil Medvedev a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Cristian Garin.
In women’s Rogers Cup play in Toronto, thirdranked Karolina Pliskova
advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Anett Kontaveit
6-3, 7-5.
Pliskova, who can reclaim the top spot in the rankings this week, will next face Bianca Andreescu, who beat fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-4.
Serena Williams beat Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded Simona Halep, making her first start since beating Williams for the Wimbledon title, beat
Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-1.
Wright sentencing
A Tennessee man charged with killing former NBA player Lorenzen Wright was sentenced to 16 years in prison on a separate gun charge.
Judge Lee Coffee sentenced Billy Turner during a hearing in Memphis.
Turner pleaded guilty in June to possessing a weapon as a convicted felon. Prosecutors say Turner had two guns when he was charged in December 2017 with Wright’s killing.
The retired NBA player’s body was found riddled with bullet wounds in a swampy field in Memphis in July 2010.
Turner and Wright’s exwife were charged with firstdegree murder. Sherra Wright pleaded guilty to facilitation of murder and was given a 30-year prison sentence last month.
Mexico keeps F1
Formula One extended the Mexican Grand Prix through 2022, keeping a race that draws some of the season’s biggest crowds on the calendar. The Mexican Grand Prix is in the final year of its original five-year contract and there were doubts about its future as the federal government wanted to stop its financial aid for the race.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Scheinbaum said the new deal will not use government money and the race will be supported with private funds.
Cleaves on trial
Former Michigan State University basketball star Mateen Cleaves is standing trial on sexual assault charges in his Michigan hometown of Flint.
Opening statements began in Genesee County Circuit Court in Flint, where Cleaves is charged with criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct and unlawful imprisonment. He’s accused of assaulting a 24-year-old woman after a charity golf event and a visit to a Flint-area bar in 2015.
Brazilian prosecutors recommended that the investigation of soccer star Neymar on a rape allegation be closed, saying there is a lack of evidence.
Brazilian model Najila Trindade went to Sao Paulo police to accuse Neymar of raping her at a Paris hotel in May. No complaint was filed with French police.