NEW YORK — Serena Williams survived a third-round scare at the US Open to topple 2017 champion Sloane Stephens 2-6 6-2 6-2 and keep alive her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title.

NEW YORK — Second seed Dominic Thiem staved off a spirited fightback from Marin Cilic to beat the former champion 6-2 6-2 3-6 6-3 on Saturday and reach the fourth round of the US Open.

There are no ifs or buts. The Bucks are in trouble. After having lost yet again to go down zero to three in their second-round series against the Heat, they face the inevitability of elimination from the 2020 Playoffs. It isn’t simply that they require the right mix of skill, focus,  determination, and no small measure of luck to be the first in National Basketball Association annals to come back from such a deficit. It’s that they don’t seem to be in the right mindset to do so; they’re already backpedaling even as today’s match has yet to commence. Starting and ending with acknowledged leader Giannis Antetokounmpo, they appear overwhelmed by the moment. Under intense scrutiny from all and sundry to deliver exactly as expected, they instead feel compelled to justify the very strategies that enabled them to rule the roost in the first place.

JAMES HARDEN capped a miserable shooting performance with a timely defensive play, and the Houston Rockets held on for a 104-102 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of this Western Conference first-round playoff series in AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando on Wednesday.

WHILE recognizing that Filipino athletes have their work cut out for them in next year’s Olympic Games, still Philippine chief of mission Mariano Araneta believes the country has a good chance of doing well in the quadrennial sporting meet as it will be represented by athletes that have it in them to make things happen.

TOP Filipino basketball prospect Kai Sotto has begun his National Basketball Association (NBA) G League push as his team of elite prospects, collectively known as “Ignite,” got its training going this week.

NEW YORK — Former champion Naomi Osaka made quick work of second-round opponent Camila Giorgi (6-1, 6-2) at the US Open on Wednesday, in a lopsided matchup at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in which she showed no sign of slowing down.

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic is finding it tough to deal with issues related to his breakaway players body in the middle of the US Open, but the world number one says he is moving forward with it as more professionals join the cause daily.

BARCELONA — It will be difficult for Lionel Messi to remain at Barcelona after he made public his desire to leave the Spanish club, his father and agent Jorge Messi said on Wednesday as he arrived in the city to negotiate his son’s future.

DELAYED by the coronavirus pandemic, Season 2 of The Nationals finally kicks off this weekend.

A season’s worth of disappointment was etched on Donovan Mitchell’s face as he met members of the media, in the aftermath of Game Seven of the Jazz’s opening-round playoff series. To argue that he was deflated would be an understatement; he entered the 2019-20 campaign determined to do all he could to better their immediate-past, one-and-done postseason showing. And, for a while there, he seemed ready to live up to his own outsized expectations; he sported a more complete playmaking arsenal en route to an All-Star berth, his upward trajectory stalled only by circumstances off the court. Unfortunately, it still proved wanting in the face of the Nuggets’ superior talent base.

THE DENVER NUGGETS survived a frantic finish to complete a rally from a 3-1 postseason deficit Tuesday night, getting a go-ahead hoop from Nikola Jokic with 27.8 seconds remaining for an 80-78 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 7 of their Western Conference first-round series in the NBA bubble near Orlando.