Halep beats Gauff, Pegula, advances to Toronto final
Two-time champion Simona Halep beat Coco Gauff 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) on Friday to reach the National Bank Open semifinals in Toronto.
Halep, the 30-year-old from Romania, won the event in Montreal in 2016 and 2018. In the other semifinal, seventh-seeded
Jessica Pegula, of the United States, defeated
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-3.
The 15th-seeded Halep is 4-0 against the Gauff, the 18-year-old American seeded 10th.
On Saturday, Halep advanced to the National Bank Open’s final, beating Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The 15th-seeded Halep won the tournament in Montreal in 2016 and 2018. Pegula was seeded seventh.
Elsewhere: Eighthseeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland beat fourthseeded Casper Ruud of Norway 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the National Bank Open semifinals at Montreal.
AETC.
Soccer: American forward Konrad de la Fuente has joined Greek club Olympiakos on a season-long loan from Marseille. Regular playing time in Greece could provide De la Fuente, 21, with an opportunity to earn a roster spot with the United States for the World Cup, which starts Nov. 20 . ... Lille winger Tim Weah is expected to be sidelined for at least a week after the United States international picked up a foot injury. Weah missed
Lille’s 1-1 draw with Nantes in the French league on Friday and looks likely to be out for
Anext Sunday’s home match against defending champion Paris SaintGermain as well . ... Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain’s high-powered attack put on another impressive display in a 5-2 win over Montpellier in the French league as Kylian Mbappe opened his account but missed a penalty in his return from a groin injury . ... It took less than 10 minutes of the Serie A season for the first refereeing controversy to arrive as defending champion AC Milan beat Udinese 4-2 Saturday with the help of a dubious penalty decision. Udinese had taken a surprise early lead before Milan captain Davide Calabria collided with opposing defender Brandon Soppy as both went for the ball in the penalty area. After a lengthy pause while he reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor, referee Livio Marinelli
awarded a penalty to Milan — much to the outrage of the visiting team . ... Barcelona said that Nico Gonzalez has agreed to a contract extension, but that the promising midfielder will play this season on loan at Valencia as he seeks ensured playing time . ... Robert Lewandowski endured a frustrating debut for Barcelona when Rayo Vallecano
held on for a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou in their Spanish league opener.
College football:
Notre Dame senior receiver Avery Davis will miss the season after tearing a ligament in his right knee. Notre Dame also announced Saturday sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner will start the opener against Ohio State on Sept. 3.
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