Digest

SOCCER

Azzurri hero Locatelli completes Juve move

Juventus completed the signing of Italy midfielder Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo on Wednesday, just over a month after he helped the Azzurri win the European Championship.

The 23-year-old joined initially on a two-year loan and the move will then be made permanent for a fee of up to 35.5 million euros ($41.5 million), Juventus said.

Locatelli was greeted by around 100 cheering fans on his arrival at and departure from the club's clinic for his medical on Wednesday. He signed plenty of autographs and posed for photos with supporters.

He had long made clear his desire to move to Juve and the two clubs had been locked in talks over the terms of the transfer and method of the payment.

Locatelli is the youngest outfield player to have made at least 100 appearances in Serie A. He has played 144 games for AC Milan and Sassuolo, scoring eight goals and providing 11 assists.

GOLF

Record prize money for Women's British Open

The AIG Women's British Open set a new standard for prize money at the LPGA Tour majors by announcing Wednesday a record purse of $5.8 million, with plans to boost it by an additional $1 million for next year.

The winner this week at Carnousite in Scotland will receive $870,000, compared with the $675,000 that Sophia Popov won last year at Royal Troon.

"We have set a new benchmark for prize money in women's major championship golf this week and, thanks to AIG, will build on it still further next year," said Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The Royal&Ancient.

The US Women's Open still offers the biggest winner's check for the LPGA majors at $1 million, though the total prize money was $5.5 million. Based on the traditional purse distribution on the LPGA Tour, next year's Women's British Open winner would receive $1.02 million.

TENNIS

Venus receives wild card into US Open

Two-time champion Venus Williams will be back at the US Open after being given a wild card on Wednesday into the Grand Slam tournament.

The 41-year-old has won seven majors, including victories at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001. But with her current WTA ranking of No 112, she has fallen outside the top 104 who received direct entry into the women's main draw.

Williams hasn't missed the US Open since 2006, when she was sidelined by a left wrist injury. She reached her last major semifinal there in 2017.

CoCo Vandeweghe, who also reached those semifinals, was also awarded a wild card by the US Tennis Association. The former No 9-ranked American has battled injuries and is currently No 160.

American teenagers Caty McNally, Hailey Baptiste and Katie Volynets also received women's wild cards, along with 20-year-old Emma Navarro, the NCAA champion at Virginia, and Ashlyn Krueger. Krueger, 17, won the USTA Girls' 18s national championship to earn a wild-card spot.

Olympic champ Zverev finally wins in Cincy

Alexander Zverev

Olympic champion Alexander Zverev struck gold at the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday with his first victory at the US Open tuneup event in seven attempts.

The German had been in a rut at the Midwest venue since his first appearance in 2015, exiting in the first round every time.

But that all changed as Zverev celebrated success with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over South African Lloyd Harris.

"I'm happy where I'm at and I'm happy to get my first win in seven years here," he said. "It's obviously a great start to the week."

The breakthrough victory was the seventh in a row for the 24-year-old.

"When I came on court and they said Olympic gold medalist, it did give me goose bumps," Zverev said.

"It made me a little nervous at the beginning of the match, I have to say, because it is a special feeling."

GYMNASIADE

World School Games postponed until 2022

The 18th Gymnasiade (aka the World School Summer Games) has been postponed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International School Sport Federation (ISF) announced Wednesday.

The event, which had been scheduled to take place from Oct 16-23 this year in Jinjiang, Fujian province, will now be staged Nov 26-Dec 3 next year, according to a joint statement issued by the ISF, the China School Sports Federation and the 18th Gymnasiade Executive Committee.

All parties said the decision was arrived at with the safety of the young athletes and all persons involved as a top priority.

Jinjiang won the bid to host the 18th Gymnasiade, an international multisport event for teens organized by the ISF, in 2017. The event was originally scheduled for October 2020, but was postponed in August of that year due to the pandemic.

The biennial event was first held in Germany in 1974.

BASEBALL

Yanks sweep Red Sox to boost playoff hopes

Andrew Heaney pitched seven effective innings, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run single in his return from the COVID-19 list and the surging New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees tied a season high with their sixth straight win and won for the 18th time in 23 games since blowing a four-run lead at Fenway Park on July 25. They were 9 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the American League East on July 26, but completing the sweep put them one game ahead of their rival for the second wild-card spot.

Heaney (8-8) survived an early homer by Xander Bogaerts and allowed one run and two hits for his second win since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels on July 30. The left-hander struck out four and walked two in a 108-pitch outing.

Rizzo returned from missing 10 games and, in his first appearance since Aug 7, the first baseman capped New York's four-run second with a hard single off Nick Pivetta (9-6) that deflected off first baseman Bobby Dalbec's glove.

Agencies - Xinhua