Tennis: A fist-pumping Lleyton Hewitt (picture, right) turned back the clock as he wore down an injured Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-0 7-6 1-0 to extend his US Open grand slam goodbye. Playing on a small outside court in the shadow of the massive Arthur Ashe Stadium that provided the stage 14 years earlier for the brash Australian’s win over Pete Sampras in the US Open final, Hewitt typically appeared up for a fight. “Obviously everyone has to call ‘time’ at some stage,” offered a philosophical Hewitt. “I’m very comfortable with how it’s all panning out at the moment.”
Cycling: Bradley Wiggins will ride in the Aviva Tour of Britain, which begins in Wales on Sunday. The 2012 Tour de France champion returns to the race he won in 2013, despite his focus switching from the road to the track as the Rio Olympics approach. The 35-year-old is bidding for a fifth Olympic gold next summer and a British record eighth medal in all. Wiggins, who was third in the race in 2014, will lead his eponymous team in their first appearance in the race, which begins in Beaumaris and finishes in central London on September 13.
Commonwealth Games: The South African city of Durban was selected as the host for the 2022 Commonwealth Games at the Federation’s general assembly in New Zealand yesterday. The coastal city was the only bidder for the multi-sports event after the Canadian city of Edmonton withdrew from contention in February, citing falling oil prices. Organisers said the Games would be held from July 18-30, opening on the birth date of the late South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela. The Commonwealth Games are held every four years and feature athletes from over 50 countries, mostly former British colonies.
Basket, NBA: Three top international teams from Turkey, Israel and Brazil will visit the United States for a combined six pre-season games against six NBA teams this October, the league said. The games open with six-times Turkish League champions Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul taking on Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 5 before meeting former NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder on October 9. Israeli club Maccabi Haifa will face NBA teams in the United States for the fifth time in six years and Paschoalotto/Bauru, who compete in Brazil’s premier basketball league, will play New York Knicks on October 7 at Madison Square Garden and Washington Wizards four days later.
Olympics: Los Angeles was officially selected as the American candidate city that will bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics after Boston pulled out of the race in July, the US Olympic Committee said yesterday. Los Angeles, which has hosted the Summer Games twice before, in 1932 and 1984, will be among the front-runners and joins a race that includes heavy favourite Paris, Rome, Budapest and Hamburg. The final obstacle facing LA’s candidacy was cleared on Tuesday when the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to pursue a bid for the 2024 Games, giving Los Angeles the chance to become the only city besides London to host the Olympics three times.