Zverev repeats as Citi Open champ in tuneup for U.S. Open
Alexander Zverev became the first man in nearly a decade to win consecutive titles at the Citi Open, overpowering Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in the hard-court tournament final on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
Zverev hit six aces, topping 130 mph, and never faced a break point en route to his ninth career ATP title and third of 2018.
He is 6-foot-6, ranked No. 3 and one of only five active players with at least three Masters titles (the others are Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray). De Minaur is 5-foot-11, ranked 72nd and yet to win a tour-level title of any sort.
“Sascha Zverev is the future of pro tennis,” said tournament co-founder and chairman Donald Dell, using Zverev’s nickname. “He’s chasing Federer and Nadal for the No. 1 spot.”
He improved to 16-2 for his career at Washington’s tuneup for the U.S. Open. Juan Martin del Potro won the event twice in a row in 2008-09.
Zverev is 21, and de Minaur is 19, making for the youngest final on the ATP World Tour since 20-year-old Rafael Nadal beat 19-year-old Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells in 2007.
KUZNETSOVA WINS WOMEN’S TITLE >> Svetlana Kuznetsova won her second title at the Citi Open, and first at any WTA tournament title in two years, by erasing four match points to beat Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2.
The No. 7 seed Vekic was one point from victory four times in the second set but was not able to close it out.
Football
BRONCOS BACKUP QB BATTLE HEATS UP >> Chad Kelly outshined Paxton Lynch in the Denver Broncos’ scrimmage Sunday, and that might have earned him work with the No. 2 offense in his quest to win the backup job behind Case Keenum.
“Yeah, he looked good,” coach Vance Joseph said after watching Kelly throw two touchdown passes in a five-play span following Lynch’s erratic performance that included a sack and a near interception.
Kelly, a seventh-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2017 who sat out his rookie season with knee and wrist injuries, has looked significantly sharper than the error-prone Lynch, the 2016 first-round draft pick from Memphis who failed to
beat out another seventhrounder, Trevor Siemian, in 2016 and ‘17.
OHIO STATE INVESTIGATION >> Ohio State says an outside firm has been hired to conduct the investigation into football coach Urban Meyer’s handling of a domestic abuse complaint against a former assistant.
The university also said in a release Sunday night that it expects the investigation to be completed within two weeks. Decisions about any action resulting from it will be made by Ohio State President Michael Drake.
Meyer was put on paid leave last week amid questions about what he knew and did about accusations of abuse made against fired assistant Zach Smith by his ex-wife. Meyer released a statement Friday saying that he followed proper procedures when he found out about the 2015 abuse allegations. He also admitted lying to reporters about his knowledge of it.
Soccer
LAFC LOSES AGAIN >> Daniel Royer scored two goals to help the New York Red Bulls beat Los Angeles FC 2-1. LAFC (10-6-6) is winless in its last four games.
Swimming
PEATY’S RECORD MARK CORRECTED >> Britain’s Adam Peaty was in the unusual situation of having his best mark in the 100-meter breaststroke at the European Championships corrected to 57.10 seconds from the 57.00 time shown at Saturday’s race — but it is still a world record.
The European aquatics federation (LEN) said there was “a problem with the race timing equipment” during the first nine races of Saturday’s afternoon session, which included the 100 breaststroke final where Olympic champion Peaty improved his own previous best mark of 57.13 from the Rio de Janeiro Games.