Category: 6. Sports

TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: ARYNA SABALENKA V REBEKA MASAROVA

Sabalenka finally won the U.S. Open last year, after two semi-final exits then loss in the 2023 final. But defending the crown has proven tough for most, with the women’s singles tournament producing 10 champions in the last 11 years.

The world number one’s quest for a fourth Grand Slam win has also been plagued by disappointment as she lost in the finals of the Australian Open and the French Open this year, before bowing out from the semis in Wimbledon.

“I think it’s a lot of pressure, definitely. Just because this place is so big, and it feels bigger than the other slams in some ways,” said the 27-year-old, aiming to become the first player to defend the title in a decade.

Sabalenka will look for a quick win over Rebeka Masarova on Sunday, but may be in for a fight as her Swiss opponent forced a tiebreaker in the second set before going down in their first meeting in June.

The Belarusian said she was aware of the odds against her.

“I would love to finish the season with a Grand Slam and world number one. But if this goal is not to be, I’ll still think this season has been really amazing,” she said.

TOP MEN’S MATCH: DANIIL MEDVEDEV V BENJAMIN BONZI

The U.S. Open has been the Grand Slam of choice for Medvedev, with the three-time finalist winning his only major in New York in 2021.

But the 29-year-old Russian has struggled this year, losing in the first round at the French Open and Wimbledon after a second-round exit from the Australian Open.

The 13th seed faces a tough test in the very first round at Flushing Meadows this year, against Benjamin Bonzi, the same opponent who knocked him out at Wimbledon.

Medvedev has failed to beat the Frenchman in both their meetings, having retired during their first match at Roland Garros in 2017.

“I was surprised by his level,” Medvedev said after his loss to Bonzi in June. “Whatever I did on the court, it was not bothering him too much. Everything he did was tough for me to play.”

Bonzi, ranked 51st, has never gone beyond the third round in a Grand Slam, but picked up wins over some notable opponents in the last year, including Casper Ruud and Lorenzo Musetti.

PEGULA SEEKS GRAND SLAM GLORY AT HOME

Last year’s finalist Jessica Pegula is hoping to win her first major in the state where she was born and believes the New York crowd can help her.

The 31-year-old, who faces Egypt’s Mayar Sherif in the first round, said the spectators at the U.S. Open can have an effect unlike any other Grand Slam.

“I think of the crowd kind of taking people and carrying them through in whatever way you kind of embrace them,” Pegula said on Friday.

“It’s just very electric, rowdy, fun, a little bit chaotic. But I feel like it’s just New York kind of in a nutshell.”

Pegula has been a crowd favourite at the U.S. Open since her Grand Slam main draw debut at Flushing Meadows in 2015.

“I think you know that if you can play well and find ways to win, you can go deep here and anything can happen,” she added.

U.S. OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SUNDAY

ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM

6-Ben Shelton v Ignacio Buse

1-Aryna Sabalenka v Rebeka Masarova

7-Novak Djokovic v Learner Tien

4-Jessica Pegula v Mayar Sherif

LOUIS ARMSTRONG STADIUM

Emma Raducanu v Ena Shibahara

Emilio Nava v 4-Taylor Fritz

Destanee Aiava v 7-Jasmine Paolini

13-Daniil Medvedev v Benjamin Bonzi

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Barcelona came from two goals down to beat Levante 3-2 and make it successive wins to start their season.

Levante frustrated the champions in the first period and went into the break with a two-goal lead thanks to Iván Romero’s strike and José Luis Morales’ penalty at the end of the half.

Barça struck twice in three minutes through Pedri and Ferran Torres and they had to wait until the 90th minute for the winner when Lamine Yamal’s cross was headed into his own goal by Unai Elgezabal.

Marcus Rashford made his full debut for Barcelona following his loan move from Manchester United but was substituted at half-time.

Levante had already seen a José Morales goal disallowed — he was a long way offside — before they took a shock 15th-minute lead.

Jeremy Toljan collected a deep cross out on the right and turned the ball back inside to Romero, who beat his marker before slotting home.

Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Torres should have equalised for Barcelona when the ball fell to him in the box, but he crashed his shot against the crossbar.

Moments later Barça were almost caught out at a free-kick, but Adrián de la Fuente headed a decent chance wide. Raphinha planted a header the wrong side of a post as the visitors pressed at the end of the first half.

But in stoppage time, VAR spotted a handball in the Barça area against Alejandro Balde as he blocked a goal-bound effort from Morales. The 38-year-old stepped up to tuck away the spot-kick and double Levante’s lead at the end of a half in which Barça had 85% possession.

Rashford and Pedri had linked up well at times, but the England forward did not have the impact he would have wanted.

He and Marc Casadó were replaced at half-time by Dani Olmo and Gavi, and within four minutes Pedri had halved the deficit with a 25-yarder into the top corner.

Three minutes later, Torres calmly placed a volley into the net from Raphinha’s cross to haul Barça level.

Hansi Flick sent on Robert Lewandowski and the Poland international felt he should have won a penalty after running into De la Fuente, but nothing was given.

Torres headed straight at Campos and Raphinha fired wide as Barça poured forward in search of a winner.

It came in the first minute of stoppage time when Yamal swung in a dangerous cross which clipped the head of Levante defender Elgezabal for a heartbreaking own goal.

Information from PA was used in this report.

David Malukas thought he had it. He could taste it, smell it, nearly touch it.

But in a blink, that first NTT P1 Award in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES eluded him along with the top starting position for Sunday’s Snap-on Milwaukee Mile 250, swiped by four-time series champion Alex Palou, a driver who has squashed the hopes of so many drivers this season.

The scoreboard showed Palou’s two-lap qualifying average at 162.971 mph compared to Malukas’ 162.256.

Thus, Malukas (photo, above) was relegated to the second grid position – tying a career best – and resigned to the fact his time atop qualifying must wait for another day.

“Those were two beautiful laps,” he said. “I crossed that line, and I wasn’t even looking at the time — I knew it was fast.

“Sometimes you just know it’s going to be good, and I crossed (the timing line), and I was like, ‘That was really beautiful.’ I really think that’s going to be the one (to win the pole).

“I just had to wait until the end, and I saw (Palou) come out of (Turn) 4, and I was like, ‘Oh, no.’”

Sure, Malukas was disappointed, but he didn’t sulk.

“It’s still good,” he said. “We have a good race car. We’ll see what we can do.”

This effort continued Malukas’ strong qualifying efforts of the past two seasons. He will start on the front row of a series race for the fourth time in the past 21 events, including Race 1 last year at the Milwaukee Mile.

Malukas scored two second-place qualifying efforts last year while driving for Meyer Shank Racing – at World Wide Technology Raceway and in Milwaukee – and added a third earlier this year for A.J. Foyt Enterprises on the street circuit in Detroit.

Malukas has been particularly fast in recent qualifying sessions. He has earned a top-six starting position for four of the past five races. Adding last month’s second race at Iowa Speedway, the driver of the No. 4 Clarience Technologies Chevrolet has qualified in the top 10 in five of the past six races. He is 10th in the standings.

Chicago native Malukas appreciated qualifying this well here.

“This almost feels like a home track,” he said of the 1.015-mile oval. “(We had) a lot of people coming up from Chicago and even the Milwaukee area. I grew up around this area, going to Road America, watching races with my dad. So, it feels like a good crowd (for me).”

Malukas didn’t finish as well as he qualified last year at Milwaukee, leaving with results of 15th and 22nd for Meyer Shank Racing. The latter was the result of a mechanical issue with the No. 66 car.

In preparation for this race, Malukas leaned on information generated last year by A.J. Foyt Enterprises teammate Santino Ferrucci, who finished fourth in both races.

“We have a lot of good data from Ferrucci last year, so I’ve been studying a lot of his video, trying to figure out how he was making passes, even on me, as well as doing some crazy dive bombs,” he said. “So, we have a lot of data.

“I think it’s just going to be studying and trying to be studying and trying to get the maximum that we need.”

All this has Malukas primed for another run at what could be his first race win in this series. He has twice finished second – in 2022 at World Wide Technology Raceway and in this year’s Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.

“It’s going to be a tire (wear) race, and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “From a viewing standpoint, when you put new tires on the car and you’re going out and doing some undercuts, it’s going to be fun.

“It’s going to be a fantastic race, and honestly, it’s one of those races that you don’t know where we’re going to be at until we get a yellow or until the race finishes, and we’re just going to go out there and try to be as fast as we can and try to pass as many people as we can.”

The Foyt team had a bit of extra work on Malukas’ car to replace a broken halfshaft after the final practice. Malukas’ car lurched toward the wall exiting a corner late in the session, and the team diagnosed the broken part as the culprit.

Malukas isn’t likely to be the only driver optimistic about his chance to score his first series race win.

Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Conor Daly (No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet) and Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen (No. 21 ECR Splenda Stevia Chevrolet) qualified ninth and 10th, respectively, and they each will move up a position when Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, the No. 5 qualifier in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda), is moved back nine positions for using an engine exceeding the season allotment for a full-time competitor. Dixon will take the green flag (2 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX One, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network) in the 14th position.

Like Malukas, Daly has had some of his best races on oval tracks, and he similarly has been strong on the shorter ones. Daly finished third in last year’s first Milwaukee race. His only series pole came in a 2020 race at Iowa Speedway.

Rasmussen finished third in this year’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway and finished nearly as well in the Iowa doubleheader, finishing sixth and eighth. In none of those races did he qualify as well as he did Saturday. He started 25th, 19th and 17th, respectively, before charging through the field.

In last year’s two Milwaukee races, Daly, Ferrucci and Rasmussen ranked in the top five in positions gained. Daly improved 25, Ferrucci 23 and Rasmussen 19.

Dale Coyne Racing’s Rinus VeeKay (No. 18 askROI Honda) has won a road course race in this series – in 2021 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway – but he is also chasing his first victory on an oval track. Like the aforementioned, this Milwaukee Mile race could be his place. He will start 11th.

We lost count of the number of times that FC Barcelona battled back from behind to win games last season, and in 2025/26, the same thing is happening!

They may not have deserved to be in that situation, but the Liga champions were trailing 2-0 at newly promoted Levante this Saturday, and yet they managed to turn things around in the second, firing in two quick goals almost immediately after the restart and then clinching three crucial points courtesy of an own goal right at the end of a fascinating night of football at the Ciutat de Valencia.

Two wins, six goals, and all on the road. A very fine way indeed to start what is already promising to be a very memorable season indeed for the boys in blaugrana.

Two goals down

Barça had already been issued a warning when a clearly offside José Luis Morales found the net after eight minutes, and on the quarter hour mark the home side did it again, and this time it counted.

New signing Jeremy Toljan collected a cross at the far post and laid it back for Ivan Romero to fire past Joan García.

Levante were playing fine football, but Barça were by no means under-performing. Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Balde both had fine chances before conceding, while Lamine Yamal, Pedri and others came close to scoring after, and Ferran Torres even rattled one off the crossbar. But frustratingly, the only other goal of the first half also came at the wrong end.

A Balde handball on the brink of the half-time whistle was checked by VAR and deemed serious enough to warrant a penalty.

Change of dynamic

Morales converted and a furious Hansi Flick ushered his players into the dressing room. Together, they were going to need to find a solution to this.

Whatever the German said during the break, it worked. Just five minutes into the second half and Barça were back level!

On 49 minutes, and following a set play from a corner, Pedri delivered an absolute rocket from outside the area, and the home side were still licking their wounds when their suffering doubled.

This one came from a corner too. Raphinha whipped the ball straight into the area and there was Ferran waiting to meet it and smash Barça back level.

Own goal clincher

But much as the momentum was now very much going the blaugrana way, the all important third goal took a lot longer to find.

Levante were holding on strong at the back, and although Barça were getting chances, they weren’t exactly flowing with ease. Raphinha had the best, but Pablo Campos produced a brilliant save, and with 90 minutes up it was starting to look like Barça were going to have to settle for a draw.

Settle for a draw? Barça? Unthinkable… there was still time and the belief paid off.

Lamine (who else?) initiated the move, and although Unai Elgezabal did his best to intercept his dangerous cross, all he did was deflect the ball into his own net. We had to wait until the 91st minute for it to happen, but Barça had done it!

It may have been agonising for the home side who had put up an admirable fight all the way, but it was sheer bliss for FC Barcelona fans worldwide, who can now start making plans for game three, also away from home. That’s at Rayo Vallecano next Sunday at 9.30pm CEST.

 

FC Barcelona reaches historic milestone with comeback win against Levante originally appeared on The Sporting News

FC Barcelona won their second La Liga game of the season in a dramatic 3-2 win over Levante away from home. Barcelona were trailing 2-0 at halftime, and a Pedri goal from outside the box initiated a comeback for Hansi Flick’s team.

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Barcelona were losing 2-0 at halftime as they conceded the first goal in the 15th minute, courtesy of Ivan Romero, and the second just before halftime, thanks to a penalty from JoseLuis Morales.

Pedri’s goal in the 49th minute caused great momentum for Barcelona, as three minutes later, Ferran Torres scored the equalizer. In the 91st minute, a cross from Lamine Yamal led to an own goal from Unai Elgezabal to give Barcelona the 3-2 lead.

Hansi Flick is used to coming back from two goals down, as his Barcelona team has done it three times in La Liga before. All of them came from last season in the league.

FC Barcelona’s comeback wins from 2-0 Down Under Hansi Flick 

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Why FC Barcelona’s Win over Levante is Historic

This 3-2 win over Levante is unique as the team was losing 2-0 at halftime. This is the first time Barcelona has come back from 2-0 down at halftime in the 21st century.

Opta reports that Barcelona’s record from 2-0 down at halftime in the 21st century is one draw and 12 draws. This is the seventh comeback Barcelona has under Hansi Flick.

Pedri spoke after the match and revealed how the team felt after losing 2-0. The midfielder was the Man of the Match, and he was happy to start the comeback with his impressive goal.

Pedri: “They scored two goals, and the match became tough, but I value the team’s reaction… When we’re behind, we know we’re capable of turning it around.”

Barcelona came from two goals down to pull off a monumental comeback to defeat Levante 3–2 and capture three points that could prove significant come the climax of the La Liga season.

Although Barcelona had the ball to start, it was Levante who looked more dangerous and struck first. After having a goal disallowed, the hosts took the lead in the 15th minute. Levante worked around Barcelona’s high line, then, Jeremy Toljan set up Iván Romero, who entered the box and got away from Pau Cubarsí with a sweet body feint to fire a low shot into the back of the net.

Barcelona dominated possession but squandered the chances they created to equalize. None clearer than when Pedri played Ferran Torres through on goal, but Torres missed, hitting the crossbar from close distance to deny the Catalans from leveling the score.

Instead, it was Levante who doubled their lead before halftime. Alejandro Balde was called for a penalty after it was deemed he deliberately blocked a shot with his hand. José Luis Morales calmly stepped up and dispatched the penalty with the final kick of the first half.

It took Barcelona just seven minutes to level the game out of the tunnel. Pedri pulled one back for the Catalans quickly with a stunning, long-distance strike perfectly placed into the top corner. Three minutes later, Torres redeemed himself as he volleyed in Barça’s equalizer from a Raphinha corner.

Hansi Flick’s side pushed forward in numbers for the remainder of the game, forcing Levante to defend with all 11 players almost inside their penalty box. A minute into stoppage time, Barcelona completed the comeback. Lamine Yamal—who was excellent in the second half—sent in a deadly cross into the heart of the box that Unai Elgezabal dramatically headed into his own goal.

Barcelona would see out the game to take all three points. However, Flick’s side must clean up their overall performance, as a number of weaknesses were exposed in only the second game of the season.

Player ratings from the game below.

Ratings Provided by FotMob

Position / Player	Ratings (Out of 10)
GK: Joan García	7.8
RB: Eric García	7.9
CB: Ronald Araújo	7.2
CB: Pau Cubarsí	7.0
LB: Alejandro Balde	7.2
CM: Marc Casadó	6.7
CM: Pedri	8.6
RW: Lamine Yamal	8.5
AM: Raphinha	8.3
LW: Marcus Rashford	7.1
ST: Ferran Torres	8.2
SUB: Gavi (46′ for Casadó)	6.9
SUB: Dani Olmo (46′ for Rashford)	7.0
SUB: Andreas Christensen (76′ for Araújo)	6.4
SUB: Robert Lewandowski (76′ for Balde)	5.7
SUB: Jules Koundé (85′ for García)	N/A

Subs not used: Iñaki Peña (GK), Diego Kochen (GK), Dro Fernández, Antonio Fernández, Fermín López, Jofre Torrents

Player of the Match: Pedri (Barcelona)

Levante (5-4-1): Pablo Cuñat (GK); Manu Sánchez, Jorge Cabello, Unai Elgezabel, Adrián de la Fuente, Jeremy Toljan; José Luis Morales, Oriol Rey, Pablo Martínez, Roger Brugué; Iván Romero

Subs: Alejandro Primo (GK), Diego Pampín, Victor García, Iker Losada, Carlos Espí, Carlos Álvarez, Matias Moreno, Sergio Lozano, Paco Cortés, Nacho Pérez Gómez,

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Unfavourable weather conditions of gusty winds and low temperatures did not prevent the favourites from achieving some good results during the Polish Championships in Bydgoszcz on Friday and Saturday (22-23).

The most historic moments were delivered on Friday, during the second national championships window of the season as athletes work towards the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25. Three-time Olympic and four-time world champion Anita Wlodarczyk won her 12th national hammer title with a throw of 70.66m, equalling Kamila Skolimowska’s record for gold medals at the Polish Championships.

Despite competing in the Diamond League in Lausanne two days before her start in Poland, Kinga Krolik also had a strong performance in the 3000m steeplechase. She won gold in 9:24.92, breaking the Polish Championships record.

Triumphs were also achieved by the leading Polish multiple medallists: Piotr Lisek in the men’s pole vault (5.62m), Konrad Bukowiecki in the men’s shot put (20.20m), Pia Skrzyszowska in the women’s 100m hurdles (12.59) and Pawel Fajdek in the men’s hammer as he thew a season’s best of 79.07m to move to seventh on this season’s top list.

Another veteran, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic, claimed the 400m title (52.67) ahead of Aleksandra Formella (53.06) and Anastazja Kus (53.36).

Piotrek Przyborowski for World Athletics
Produced as part of the World Athletics Media Academy project

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