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Sabalenka, Djokovic move into US Open quarters

Sabalenka, Djokovic move into US Open quarters

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus dominated Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6-1, 6-4 to advance into the women's singles quarterfinals, while 38-year-old Novak Djokovic sailed past Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in the men's singles fourth round at the US Open on Sunday, reported Xinhua. Defending champion Sabalenka, 27, won 84 percent on first serve against Spaniard Bucsa who showed resilience in the second set but still lost the match in 73 minutes. Three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka will confront Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, after the 2023 Wimbledon champion overcame ninth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. With a straight-set victory over 35-year-old Struff, Serbia's Djokovic has reached at least the quarterfinal stage of all four Grand Slams this year. "Most of my career, I was running, I was sliding, I was grinding on the court, so I don't think that is going to change. But at times, when I have to be more aggressive and step in, I try to do that. That was the case tonight, so of course I'm pleased with the performance," Djokovic said after the match. The veteran reached the semifinals at this year's Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. In other men's singles matches, second seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated France's Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4, while home favorite Taylor Fritz beat Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Women's doubles 12th seed Zhang Shuai of China and Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova claimed a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over British pair Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal.

Rayo hold Barcelona in La Liga

Rayo hold Barcelona in La Liga

Rayo Vallecano drew 1-1 against FC Barcelona in the Vallecas Stadium on Sunday, halting the latter's perfect start to the La Liga season, reported Xinhua. The draw maintained the good feeling for Rayo fans after the club qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, and if it hadn't been for a stunning display from Barca goalkeeper Joan Garcia, Rayo would have taken all three points. Garcia made several excellent saves to keep the score level as Rayo pushed for a winner in the last half hour, after Fran Perez had cancelled out Lamine Yamal's first-half penalty with a volley from corner. Barca had taken the lead from the spot after the referee penalized Pep Chavarria for a challenge on Yamal at a moment when the VAR connection from the ground wasn't working. The home players protested the decision strongly, but with no VAR review, the decision stood. The result leaves Barca two points behind Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at home to Mallorca on Saturday, with two goals in two minutes from Arda Guler and Vinicius Jr cancelling out Vedat Muriqi's early opener for the visitors. Real Madrid has three wins from three games, the same as Athletic Bilbao, who won 2-1 away to Real Betis on Sunday. Athletic took the lead in the 60th minute when Marc Bartra deflected Yuri Berchiche's cross into his own net, and Aitor Paredes headed in Athletic's second with five minutes left to play. Cedric Bakambu pulled Betis into the game deep into injury time, but the home side had no time for an equalizer. Borja Iglesias scored a 94th-minute equalizer to save a point for Celta Vigo and deny Villarreal a 100 percent start to the campaign. Villarreal had looked to be on the way to three points after Nicolas Pepe opened the scoring in the 53rd minute. Carlos Romero scored the only goal in the 52nd minute as Espanyol won 1-0 at home to Osasuna.