NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovic’s US Open title defense just got a little tougher on Wednesday as a recent shoulder issue flared up and nearly knocked the Serbian out of a second-round match that tested his resolve.

The careers of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are so intertwined that hearing news of one without the other being mentioned has become the exception rather than the rule. Their age disparity doesn’t matter. Neither is the fact that they played on different teams longer than together. Because they framed their greatest success alongside each other, perspectives of the remainder of their body of work become springboards for comparison. Heck, even they themselves can’t help but view their collective accomplishment with What Ifs and Could Have Beens.

FOR THE SECOND straight time the Philippine men’s national basketball team is playing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. It is something it views with much significance and with pride even as it buckles down to work to prove it belongs on the world stage.

NEW YORK -- Naomi Osaka was given a testing workout by Anna Blinkova as she began the defense of her US Open title on Tuesday but the world number one’s power and shot making ultimately proved too much as she prevailed 6-4 6-7(5) 6-2.

NEW YORK -- Teen sensation Cori “Coco” Gauff lived up to the hype surrounding her US Open debut on Tuesday, battling back to beat Anastasia Potapova 3-6 6-2 6-4 in a back-and-forth thriller.

NEW YORK -- The bottom half of the US Open men’s draw, where three-times champion Rafael Nadal resides, was blown wide open on Tuesday after four of the top-10 seeds crashed out at the first hurdle of the year’s final Grand Slam.

THE national rugby teams of the Philippines have been doing a good steady job in carving a mark for the country in the sport internationally and they continue to be inspired doing so with support from various groups which believe in them, including Tempur, the maker of high-quality bed mattresses and pillows.

THE 2019 AFF Women’s Championship campaign of the Philippine national football team ended on Tuesday with the Filipinas settling for a fourth-place finish.

Together with the start of the Russian SuperFinals their Federation also announced that the Russian Ministry of Education has now decided to make chess a compulsory subject throughout Russia. In April this year, chess lessons were introduced in 18,000 Russian schools, almost half of all general education schools in Russia. Starting Sept. 1, all Russian first graders will study chess for at least 33 hours per year. Chess replaces the third period of physical education class.

Longtime hoops observers have made a big deal out of the United States last week losing for the first time in international competition since 2006, and rightly so. It experienced its maiden setback against Australia, in the process breaking a 78-match win streak covering six tournaments and all exhibitions in between. Moreover, the development underscored the fragile state of USA Basketball heading into the World Cup this weekend; over the last year, all but four of the 35 players USA Basketball included in the national team pool saw fit to drop out of consideration for one reason or another, leaving the final roster devoid of star power.

THE 2019 edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup begins this weekend in China and it will see enhanced coverage across various platforms, the world governing body of the sport said.

NEW YORK -- Serena Williams trounced old foe Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-1 in their blockbuster first-round clash at the US Open on Monday to get her quest for a record-tying 24^th Grand Slam title off to a flying start.