Ferro is the first champion in five months as WTA Tour returns

Ferro went 10 matches unbeaten in regional exhibition events after the Tour was suspended in March, and continued to gather further momentum with five more wins in Palermo this week as major tennis returned in the Sicilian capital. Several exhibition events have taken place globally since the sport was halted in early March due to the pandemic but the women’s claycourt tournament in Palermo was the first across both the elite WTA and ATP tours in five months.

* One of the opening matches of the 2020 Brazilian league was called off just moments before kickoff on Sunday when 10 Goias players tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier in the day, one of the opening third division games also had to be cancelled after 12 Imperatriz players tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of their fixture against Treze.

* Spanish coach Domenec Torrent got off to a losing start when his new club Flamengo were beaten 1-0 by Atletico Mineiro in the Brazilian league on Sunday. Torrent, who joined the Serie A champions last month after a stint in charge of New York City FC and a decade as assistant to Pep Guardiola, saw his side lose to an unfortunate own goal by Filipe Luis on the opening weekend of the new season.

* A goal on the stroke of half-time was enough to give Gremio a 1-0 win over Fluminense in their Serie A opener on Sunday.

* American Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park on Sunday to secure his first career major title. Morikawa shot a six-under-par 64 to reach 13 under on the week, two strokes better than overnight leader Dustin Johnson (68) and English Ryder Cup veteran Paul Casey (66).

* Tiger Woods on Sunday said he would skip next week’s PGA Tour event and then “get back at it,” meaning he will likely tee off next at the Northern Trust at TPC Boston on Aug. 19.

* Two members of Atletico Madrid’s group set to travel to Portugal for the Champions League quarter-finals have tested positive for COVID-19, the La Liga club said on Sunday. Both individuals who returned positive results are self-isolating at home. The club did not reveal the identity of those who tested positive and did not confirm if a player was involved.

* World number two Simona Halep will take the final decision on her participation in the US Open after playing this week’s WTA Tour event in Prague, the Romanian said on Sunday. Women’s world number one Ashleigh Barty has opted against travelling to New York to play the hardcourt Grand Slam amid the COVID-19 pandemic, making the 28-year-old Halep the top draw at this year’s event.

* Andy Sullivan held off a spirited challenge from Spain’s Adrian Otaegui to lift his fourth European Tour title at the English Championship on Sunday. It marks the 34-year-old’s first European Tour victory since the Portugal Masters in 2015, the year of all his previous title triumphs.

* Portugal’s Antonio Felix da Costa won the all-electric Formula E series with two rounds to spare on Sunday after finishing second in the fourth of six season-ending races at Berlin’s old Tempelhof airport. The DS Techeetah driver takes over as champion from French team mate Jean-Eric Vergne, the winner of Sunday’s race. DS Techeetah also clinched the team title.

* Brazilian midfielder Willian has confirmed he will leave Chelsea after seven ‘wonderful’ years at Stamford Bridge. Spanish midfielder Pedro also announced he was leaving the club on Sunday after five years.

* Max Verstappen delivered Red Bull’s first victory at Silverstone since 2012 on Sunday (Aug 9) when he made the most of a superior strategy in sizzling conditions to beat both Mercedes and claim victory in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Verstappen won by 11.326 seconds ahead of championship leader and six-time champion Lewis Hamilton who passed Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages.

* English youngster Angel Gomes has completed a move to Lille on a five-year contract following his departure from Manchester United, the French Ligue 1 club announced on Sunday. The 19-year-old left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United squad on July 1 when his contract expired after rejecting a new deal to stay at Old Trafford.

* Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Jonny will miss the rest of their Europa League campaign after damaging his right anterior cruciate ligament, the Premier League club have confirmed. The Spanish wing back sustained the injury in the first half of their 1-0 Europa League win over Olympiakos on Thursday and will require surgery, the club said in a statement.

* Kenya’s Olympic and world 3,000 metres steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss the season-opening Diamond League meeting in Monaco on Friday, the 25-year-old has confirmed.

Source: Nhan Dan Online