SPORTS

Novak Djokovic's latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title crashed to a halt on Friday as 28th-ranked Alexei Popyrin knocked the defending champion out of the US Open third round.

Jannik Sinner won his 50th match of the year on Thursday to stay on course for a US Open semi-final duel with Carlos Alcaraz while two-time champion Naomi Osaka's colourful return to New York ended in a dispiriting second round defeat.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the third round of the US Open on Wednesday as Laslo Djere retired in the third set, but said he'll have to do better to win a fifth title on the hard courts of New York.

Iga Swiatek began her bid to capture a second US Open title with an uneven straight-sets win over lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova on Tuesday as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz take their first steps towards a potential semi-final blockbuster.

While France basks in the glow of the dazzling Paris Olympics, French football is trying to shake off a hangover from its own disastrous summer as the first Ligue 1 season of the post-Kylian Mbappe era begins this weekend.

France bid a reluctant farewell on Monday to an "enchanted" fortnight of Olympic sport as athletes headed home from Paris praising a dazzling edition of the Games that has breathed new life into the biggest show on earth.

The stands have fallen quiet and the Athletes' Village is emptying. The rented scaffolding from the temporary stands will be dismantled and re-used.

Sifan Hassan completed her mission impossible with a gruelling women's marathon win on the sun-baked streets of Paris Sunday as Tom Cruise is rumoured to give the Olympic Games a Hollywood ending.

The boxing competition at the Paris Olympics is over but the fight now starts for its inclusion at the 2028 LA Games after a damaging gender controversy placed the sport under renewed scrutiny.

LeBron James's USA faced host nation France in an eagerly awaited men's basketball gold medal contest at the Paris Olympics on Saturday while on the track Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000m after his disappointment at 1,500m.

A thrilling open-water swim in the River Seine kicked off Friday's Olympic action in Paris, which will later see Algerian gender eligibility row boxer Imane Khelif go for gold.

Botswana's Letsile Tebogo snatched a stunning Olympic gold in the men's 200m Thursday to deny Covid-hit Noah Lyles the sprint double as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone smashed the world record to win the 400m hurdles.

After all the doubts, the grumbling and the gloom, Paris has finally embraced the Olympics, with some of its famously cynical residents even returning early from holidays to take part in the fun.

One of the two boxers who have sparked a gender eligibility row won again at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday to ensure she has a shot at a gold medal.

Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred targets an Olympic sprint double on Tuesday, while Nikola Jokic's Serbia made an epic comeback to stay in the basketball tournament.

Triathletes in the Olympic mixed relay plunged into the River Seine Monday, the waterway deemed clean enough to compete, as legendary gymnast Simone Biles eyes an extraordinary fourth and fifth gold in Paris.

US sprint king Noah Lyles launched his campaign for 100m glory Saturday, recovering from a slow start to come through his heat at the Paris Olympics, where a gender row in boxing rumbled on.

Simone Biles recaptured her all-around gymnastics crown on Thursday for her sixth Olympic gold and second in Paris, as a gender eligibility row in boxing shook the Games and sparked broader debate.

Simone Biles, with two Paris Olympics gold medals and counting, has cemented her legacy as the greatest gymnast of all time -- an athlete who transcends her sport in both triumph and defeat.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif's 46-second win at the Paris Olympics on Thursday sparked a furious row about gender eligibility rules, with public figures from around the world weighing in on the controversy.

Simone Biles dazzled a star-studded crowd as she returned to the Olympic stage on Sunday while Rafael Nadal set up a showdown with career-long rival Novak Djokovic.

French bishops complained on Saturday about the "scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity" during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games which has upset some conservatives and has drawn mixed reviews.

Reigning Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati scored one goal and helped create another as World Cup holders Spain beat Japan 2-1 in their first game of the women's Olympic football tournament on Thursday, while record four-time gold medallists the United States beat Zambia 3-0.

The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and French President Emmanuel Macron rejected Tuesday a Palestinian demand that Israel be barred from the Paris Games over the war in Gaza.

As nations come together in Paris to celebrate peaceful competition, sports powerhouse Russia will be an Olympic outcast after being shunned over its Ukraine assault and will not even broadcast the Games.

Paris Olympics supremo Tony Estanguet said Sunday that the city was "ready" for the Games as he played down complaints from some residents and businesses about the impact of the event.

Donald Trump is set to hold a triumphant first campaign rally Saturday since surviving an assassination attempt, in startling contrast to President Joe Biden, who remains hunkered at home with Covid, resisting unprecedented Democratic pressure to step aside.

The chaotic scenes at the Copa America final have raised serious questions for the organizers of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in North America.

Lautaro Martinez scored an extra-time winner as Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16th Copa America title at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.