Reuters Sports News Summary

09/04/2016 19:52

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

McIlroy almost has first albatross at TPC Boston

Rory McIlroy came within a whisker of making the first albatross of his career but had to settle for an eagle at the par-five 18th in the third round at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts on Sunday. McIlroy judged his four-iron approach shot almost perfectly, the ball landing about six feet in front of the pin before rolling up and catching the lip of the hole.

Monfils, Tsonga in French charge to Open quarters

Tenth seed Gael Monfils motored into the U.S. Open quarter-finals with a straight-sets dismissal of Marcos Baghdatis on Sunday launching a French charge at the year's last grand slam championship. Monfils, who has enjoyed a run of success this hard court season, maintained his impressive form with a 6-3 6-2 6-3 romp that kicked off a busy day for the French men's contingent.

Cycling: Froome struggles to stay in contention after dismal stage

Chris Froome's hopes of becoming the first rider in 38 years to win the Tour de France and Tour of Spain in the same year were hit by a terrible display in stage 15 on Sunday when he finished two minutes 40 seconds adrift of winner Gianluca Brambilla. Colombian Nairo Quintana tightened his grip on the red jersey by coming second, three seconds behind Brambilla, stretching his lead over Froome in the general classification from 54 seconds to 3:37.

Young Frenchman Pouille upsets Nadal to reach quarters

Young Frenchman Lucas Pouille scored a stunning five-set upset over 14-times grand slam singles winner Rafa Nadal, winning a climactic tiebreaker 8-6 to reach the U.S. Open quarter-finals on Sunday. Displaying poise beyond his years, the 22-year-old Pouille took charge early and led two sets to one, then rebounded after sagging in the fourth set to win 6-1 2-6 6-4 3-6 7-6(6) in a four hour, seven minute struggle against the fourth seed.

German Masson earns upset victory at Manulife LPGA Classic

The unlikely figure of Caroline Masson emerged from a crowded leaderboard to clinch a one-stroke victory at the Manulife LPGA Classic in Canada on Sunday. German Masson recovered from a double-bogey at the first hole, roaring back with nine birdies to leapfrog more than a dozen players with a five-under-par 67 at the Whistle Bear course in Cambridge, Ontario.

Keys locked out of U.S. Open quarters by Wozniacki

There was no great escape this time for Madison Keys as a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki locked the eighth seeded American out of the U.S. Open quarter-finals with a tidy 6-3 6-4 win on Sunday. Wozniacki, a U.S. Open finalist in 2009 and 2014 but unseeded this year after being sidelined for two months by an ankle injury, dominated from the start and wrapped up victory in a speedy 78 minutes on a sun-splashed Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Closing eagle gives Casey three-shot lead at Deutsche Bank event

Paul Casey eagled the final hole to jump into a three-stroke lead after the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts on Sunday. The Englishman's approach shot from 235 yards at the par-five 18th landed just in front of the green and rolled up to inside a foot of the hole.

Motor racing: Rosberg wins in Italy to cut Hamilton's lead

Germany's Nico Rosberg won the Italian Grand Prix for dominant Mercedes on Sunday to cut team mate Lewis Hamilton's Formula One world championship lead to two points with seven races remaining. Triple world champion Hamilton, who had been on pole position as favorite to take his 50th career victory and third in a row at Monza, finished second after a slow start gifted Rosberg the race.

Williams sisters on collision course at U.S. Open

Serena and Venus Williams, the sisters with 29 grand slams and a stack of records between them, will try to maintain a collision course at the U.S. Open on Monday when they play their fourth-round matches. World number one and defending champion Serena, trying to break the record of 22 grand slam titles she shares with Steffi Graf, plays number 52 Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan.

Ecclestone could stay on if F1 sale proceeds

A takeover of Formula One by Liberty Media, rumored to be imminent, could be good news for the sport but Bernie Ecclestone is likely to remain at the helm for some time yet, paddock insiders said on Sunday. German magazine auto motor und sport reported at the Italian Grand Prix that the first of two tranches of payment in an $8.5 billion deal were expected to be paid on Tuesday. Liberty Media declined to comment.

09/04/2016 19:52