Reuters Sports News Summary

08/29/2016 19:50

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

In-form Cilic eases into second round at U.S. Open

Former champion Marin Cilic, a popular pick to make a deep run in the year's final grand slam, opened his U.S. Open campaign with a solid 6-4 7-5 6-1 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil on Monday. The Croatian seventh seed, fresh off a win over world number two Andy Murray in the Cincinnati final, came from a break down in the first set and was pushed in the second before easing past the world number 108.

Vinci gives herself tough U.S. Open act to follow

As far as U.S. Open encores go they don't come much tougher than the act Roberta Vinci has to follow after pulling off one of the biggest upsets ever at a grand slam during her magical run to last year's final. Believing nothing could top last year when she stunned world number one Serena Williams in the semi-final before losing in the final to fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta, Vinci has returned to Flushing Meadows looking to go one step further.

Quarterback Siemian to start for Broncos

Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has named Trevor Siemian the starting quarterback for Week One, when the defending champions open the 2016 season with a rematch of Super Bowl 50. Siemian, who has yet to throw a regular-season pass in the NFL, will start against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8 to kick off the NFL's 2016 regular season.

Rooney will remain England captain, Allardyce says

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will stay on as England skipper under new manager Sam Allardyce. "Wayne has been an excellent captain for England and the manner in which he has fulfilled the role made it an easy decision for me to ask him to continue," Allardyce told the FA website (www.thefa.com) on Monday.

Court releases jailed IOC exec, bans him from leaving Brazil

A Rio de Janeiro court on Monday ordered the release of the jailed former top European member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Patrick Hickey, pending further investigation into charges that he took part in a ring to illegally sell tickets. After a request by lawyers for Hickey, who was also the head of the Olympic Council of Ireland, the court said the 71-year-old Irishman could leave the maximum security prison where he has been detained since his arrest on Aug. 10.

Former LA Dodgers owner McCourt to buy Marseille

Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, said on Monday he had entered exclusive negotiations to buy Olympique de Marseille and vowed to restore the club to their former glories. Billionaire businesswoman Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, the Russian-born chairwoman of Louis Dreyfus Commodities trading house, said in April she was looking for a buyer for the Ligue 1 side.

Energized Nadal completes straight-sets win in opener

Rafa Nadal was worn out from his Rio Olympics exertions after emerging from an injury absence to win doubles gold, but the Spaniard perked back up with his trip to New York for the U.S. Open. Nadal, who said his injured wrist is improving daily, beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-1 6-4 6-2 in his first-round match on Monday's opening day of the year's last grand slam.

Miracle needed to reach Open final, says Muguruza

Third-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, a grand slam winner who has taken down world number one Serena Williams, would be judged by most standards as a serious threat to grab the U.S. Open title. But the 22-year-old French Open champion downplayed her chances following a 2-6 6-0 6-3 win over Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens in the opening round on Monday, telling the courtside crowd it would take a miracle for her to reach the final.

Paralympics - Now Russia banned from 2018 Winter Games

Russia, already suspended from next month's Rio Paralympics, have also been banned for the winter edition in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018 because of a state-sponsored sports doping program. The Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) announced the latest punishment handed out by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Monday.

Love to follow Azinger's lead with captain's Cup picks

United States Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III says he will take a leaf out of 2008 skipper Paul Azinger's book before he announces his four wildcard picks for this year's competition against holders Europe. Azinger, the most recent U.S. captain to achieve success against Europe, wanted his players to have "a vested interest" in their team at Valhalla eight years ago and he relied on the input of the automatic qualifiers for his wildcard selections.

08/29/2016 19:50