Help out
NEW YORK – Yaroslava Shvedova has ditched wedding plans to try to help Casey Dellacqua land a breakthrough grand slam women’s doubles crown. Dellacqua revealed Shvedova had planned to get married at home in Kazakhstan on Saturday, but the pair will take on world No.1s Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza in the US Open final.
Lee wins
EVIAN, France – South Korea’s Lee Mi-Hyang added a 67 to her opening 66 on Friday to take the outright halfway lead on 133, nine under par, at the Evian Championship, the final major of the season. The 22-year-old led by one from American Morgan Pressel and by two from Denmark’s Nicole Broch Larsen, winner of last week’s Helsingborg Open.
Speculation
LOS ANGELES – Jarryd Hayne has added to the speculation about whether he will play in the San Francisco 49ers’ regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings. Hayne said while he was prepared to sit out Tuesday’s game, as the 49ers coaching staff had signalled, he was also ready to be a surprise weapon if the team included him in their 46-man squad for the game.
Spot cemented
LEEDS, England – Matthew Wade has further cemented his place as Australia’s limited overs wicketkeeper of the future with a stunning cameo with the bat. Wade nearly found himself at the centre of the latest flare-up in the hostile one-day series, when a caught-behind chance off Ben Stokes was sent up to the third umpire.
Less friendlies
MADRID – Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez has called for fewer meaningless international games during the season after losing James Rodriguez and Danilo to injury while on international duty. Both players are expected to be sidelined for up to a month, missing the start of Real’s Champions League campaign.
No interest
LONDON – Steven Gerrard has revealed he snubbed interest from Tottenham to join Los Angeles Galaxy because he couldn’t stand the thought of playing against his old club. Several top teams including Tottenham expressed interest in signing him.
Nic stars in win
PERTH – Who needs a Brownlow medallist midfielder when you have Nic Naitanui? When star Eagles midfielder Matt Priddis was ruled out of Friday night’s qualifying final in Perth, some pundits thought it was a fait accompli Hawthorn would win.
Novac through
NEW YORK – World No.1 Novak Djokovic has crushed stricken defending champion Marin Cilic in straight sets to storm into his sixth US Open final at Flushing Meadows. Djokovic needed just one hour and 25 minutes on Friday to see off ninth-seeded Cilic 6-0 6-1 6-2 to progress to his fourth grand slam final in a season for the first time.
