TENNIS
Wawrinka advances
Stan Wawrinka kept his injury comeback on track with a hard-fought win over Karen Khachanov to reach the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Open on Wednesday. Wawrinka saved two set points in each set on his way to winning 7-6 (10), 7-6 (1) over the fourth-seeded Khachanov, who at No. 24 is ranked 64 places above Wawrinka. Wawrinka's quarterfinal opponent will be either defending champion Damir Dzumhur or Guido Pella. Second-seeded Fabio Fognini's tournament ended quickly as the Italian lost his opening match 6-3, 6-4 to Martin Klizan in 1 hour, 15 minutes. Also Wednesday, fifth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut beat qualifier Luca Vanni 7-5, 6-2 in their first-round match. Canadian Denis Shapovalov, 19, seeded seventh, won 7-6 (3), 6-2 against qualifier Adrian Menendez-Maceiras. He'll meet Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the second round for the opportunity to play Klizan in the quarterfinals. Playing his last tournament before retirement, Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny prolonged his career by at least one more match with a 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory over Mirza Basic. Youzhny, a former top-10 player with 10 tour titles to his name, goes on to meet Bautista Agut in the second round.
Nishikori moves up
Top-seeded Kei Nishikori reached the quarterfinals of the Moselle Open at Metz, France, by beating defending champion Peter Gojowczyk of Germany, 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Wednesday. Gojowczyk earned his maiden ATP title in Metz last year but couldn't save either of the two break points he faced against Nishikori, which was enough for the Japanese player to wrap up the win in 1 hour, 33 minutes. Fourth-seeded Richard Gasquet also reached the quarters by beating Constant Lestienne 6-4, 6-2 in an all-French matchup, while No. 7 Filip Krajinovic of Serbia made the second round by defeating Corentin Moutet 6-1, 6-1 in his opening match. In other first-round matches, French duo Benoit Paire and Gilles Simon also advanced, along with Marton Fucsovics of Hungary.
Ostapenko wins
Top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko beat Lara Arruabarrena 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the second round of the Korea Open at Seoul on Wednesday. Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, broke her opponent five times while notching up 32 winners to 29 unforced errors. Also, second-seeded Kiki Bertens beat Luksika Kumkhum 7-6 (7), 6-2. Sixth-seeded Hsieh Su-wei defeated Stefanie Voegele 6-2, 6-1, and Evgeniya Rodina outlasted No. 8 Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. At Guangzhou, China, fifth-seeded Yulia Putintseva defeated Sabine Lisicke 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Guangzhou Open. Also, seventh-seeded Vera Lapko overpowered Deniz Khazaniuk 6-2, 7-5.
Nadal to skip Asia
Rafael Nadal said he will not play in upcoming tournaments in Beijing and Shanghai because of an injured right knee. Nadal said he and his team decided to skip the Asia swing to recover. The top-ranked Spaniard retired in the semifinals of the U.S. Open this month because of the knee problem. He had dropped the opening two sets against Juan Martin del Potro when he retired. Nadal, 32, who has often dealt with knee pain, won the Beijing tournament last year. He lost the final in Shanghai to Roger Federer. Nadal, who has won 17 Grand Slam titles, announced his decision not to play in Asia through posts on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
BASKETBALL
Bird on 5th Cup team
Sue Bird has been selected for a record fifth U.S. women's basketball World Cup team. The veteran guard will try and help the Americans win a third consecutive FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup title and in the process her unprecedented fourth gold medal in the tournament. She'll be joined on the U.S. roster by Seattle Storm teammates Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd. The trio helped the Storm win the WNBA championship last week, sweeping the Washington Mystics. Washington star Elena Delle Donne will also be on the world cup roster. She suffered a bone bruise in her left knee during the WNBA playoffs, but was well enough to play in the world cup for the first time. World Cup veterans Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Tina Charles and Nneka Ogwumike are also on the U.S. roster. The U.S. has four other first-timers on the roster besides Delle Donne and Loyd. A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Morgan Tuck and Layshia Clarendon are all making their first appearance in the tournament. Plum and Clarendon will help provide some depth at the point guard slot.
BASEBALL
Bauer to start Friday
Trevor Bauer will start for the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Red Sox on Friday in his first appearance since breaking his right leg last month. Indians Manager Terry Francona said Bauer will pitch a "couple of innings" and then throw in the bullpen to increase his pitch count. Francona wants Bauer to make two additional starts during the regular season and be in Cleveland's rotation for the playoffs. The right-hander is expected to start Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. Bauer has been sidelined since he was struck on the lower leg by a line drive off the bat of Chicago's Jose Abreu on Aug. 11. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture of his right fibula. Bauer is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts and was named to his first All-Star team.
Bush has surgery
Texas Rangers hard-throwing reliever Matt Bush has had surgery to repair a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament that will keep him out the first half of the 2019 season. Assistant general manager Mike Daly said Bush did not have Tommy John surgery. Instead, he had a procedure to repair and reinforce the ligament in his right elbow. Bush hasn't pitched since June 13. He had a 4.70 ERA in 23 innings over 21 appearances. Bush had tried stem cell treatment and was throwing again at one point before the surgery. The surgery was done by Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister, who also repaired torn cartilage in the right knee of reliever Austin Bibens-Dirkx in another surgery performed Wednesday. Bibens-Dirkx is expected to be ready for spring training.
Wheeler shut down
The New York Mets are shutting down right-hander Zack Wheeler for the rest of the season as a precaution, ending a successful year in which he logged nearly 100 more innings than 2017. Manager Mickey Callaway said before Wednesday night's game at Philadelphia that they'd be "probably taking the best care of him" by holding him out of his final two starts. Wheeler missed two full seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015. He returned last season and was 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. This season, Wheeler went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts while throwing 182 1/3 innings. Wheeler, 28, was dominant after the All-Star break, going 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA and solidifying his hold as the No. 3 starter behind Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Callaway said Corey Oswalt will start in Wheeler's place on Saturday at Washington.
OLYMPICS
Koreas to bid for games
North and South Korea will jointly pursue a bid to host the 2032 Summer Olympics, representatives announced in a news conference Wednesday in Pyongyang, North Korea. The bid is part of a larger move toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea's Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreeing on the first steps toward denuclearization and peace. No immediate details about the Olympic bid, such as which cities would host it, were revealed. South Korea hosted the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, with athletes from the two countries forming a unified team. A successful 2032 bid would bring the Summer Games to the peninsula for the first time since Seoul hosted the 1988 competition. Brisbane, Australia, plans to bid for the 2032 Games and Germany has announced plans for a multi-city bid. Tokyo will host the 2020 Games, which move to Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028. Beijing is the site of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Sports on 09/20/2018