CWEB

After easing through the first two rounds, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula overcame her first bout of adversity with aplomb, rallying for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat of No. 31 seed Canadian Leylah Fernandez to advance into the Round of 16 at the U.S. Open Friday in New York. Pegula, the runner-up in the 2024 U.S. Open, found herself in a 3-0 hole to begin her match against 2021 runner-up Fernandez.

The Colorado Rapids are surging while the Columbus Crew are stumbling as the teams get set to meet in Ohio on Saturday. Both have renewed hope about the remainder of the season after the closing of the transfer window Wednesday. The Rapids (10-11-1, 31 points) will have to wait to see dividends on their moves.

It will be a contrast in styles when offensively challenged D.C. United take on the high-octane attack of host FC Cincinnati on Saturday. While D.C. United (5-7-10, 25 points) has scored the second-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference with 28, Cincinnati (8-7-7, 31 points) has tallied the second most in the league with 49. But somehow, the teams are separated by just six points in the standings.

Even as they prepare to introduce their third manager of the season, Inter Miami can rest assured that they’ll always be a title threat as long as Lionel Messi still is suiting up. After Messi’s first four-goal MLS performance pulled Miami out of a rut, the club concludes a three-match homestand Saturday against Atlanta United. Inter Miami (12-4-6, 42 points) are comfortably in second place in the Eastern Conference despite a bit of turmoil.

The Colorado Rapids acquired winger Morgan Whittaker from England’s Middlesbrough FC on Friday for a club-record inbound transfer fee worth a reported $10.7 million. The 25-year-old Englishman is under contract through the 2029-30 MLS season with an option for 2030-31, and he will occupy designated player and international roster slots. He tallied 14 goals and seven assists last season to help Middlesbrough reach the EFL Championship’s playoff final.

Charlie Woods put himself in contention at the Junior Players Championship on Friday, firing a 1-under-par 71 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The 17-year-old recorded five birdies and four bogeys on the par-72 Stadium Course in his lowest competitive round at the venue where his father, Tiger Woods, twice won the Players Championship. Charlie Woods was tied for eighth when he finished shortly before 2 p.m. ET, minutes before weather halted play.

Second-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz continued to show little rust from his four-month layoff due to a wrist injury, sweeping China’s Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the Round of 16 at the U.S. Open on Friday in New York. This victory extended Alcaraz’s Grand Slam winning streak to 17 matches as he continues his pursuit of becoming the first man to win back-to-back U.S. Opens since Roger Federer won five straight from 2004-08.

Winners of four straight games and sitting atop the league standings, Nashville SC have built the most impressive resume of any Major League Soccer team. They are 10 points clear of their closest competition in the Eastern Conference and nine points ahead of Western Conference-leading Vancouver. Yet heading into the club’s road match against New York City FC on Friday, head coach B.J. Callaghan believes his team only has begun to ascend.

Retiring Gael Monfils bid adieu to Grand Slam competition on Thursday night, then announced his plan to transition from tennis to more of a desk job in the coming months. After being eliminated in the second round of the U.S. Open in straight sets by American Learner Tien, the Frenchman said he is headed for a career in finance. “I already signed to work in wealth management in a Swiss company,” Monfils, 40, said in his press conference after the match.

The Chase for the title will start on Sunday in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel races, the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in its typical slot on Labor Day weekend at Darlington, S.C. The 10-race playoffs appropriately begin on the egg-shaped layout known as “The Track Too Tough to Tame.” Also known as “The Lady in Black,” Darlington’s monikers serve as warning signs of danger for every driver who flips the starter switch at the 1.366-mile venue, not just for those 16 seeking to raise...