Williams holds off Stephens in straight sets
Tennis: Sloane Stephens stayed right with Serena Williams for eight intense, entertaining games at the U.S. Open in New York.
Until, that is, the score was 4-all in the first set Sunday. That’s when the top-ranked Williams took over, beating the 15th-seeded Stephens 6-4, 6-1 to return to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows where she will play No. 18 Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, who defeated No. 8 Angelique Kerber of Germany 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
In other fourth-round women’s matches, No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska lost 6-4, 6-4 to No. 24 Ekaterina Makarova, and Li Na beat Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-0.
In men’s third-round action, Tim Smyczek, a wild-card recipient ranked 109th and the last American man standing, was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 by Marcel Granollers of Spain. Granollers will face No. 1 Novak Djokovic, a 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 winner over 95th-ranked Joao Sousa of Portugal.
Andy Murray beat 47th-ranked Florian Mayer 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-2 and will face 65th-ranked Denis Istomin, who eliminated No. 20 Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 3-6, 6-1;
Garcia reclaims lead at Deutsche Bank
Golf: Sergio Garcia regained control on the back nine of the rain-softened TPC Boston in Norton, Mass., making five birdies for a 6-under 65 that gave him a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson in the third round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
PGA champion Jason Dufner had a share of the lead until cooling off on the back nine. He had a 66 and was tied for fifth at 15-under 198 with Robert Castro (68).
• Mediate wins inaugural Shaw Charity Classic: Rocco Mediate closed with a 7-under 64 to run away with a seven-stroke victory at the Champions Tour’s Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta.
Tom Byrum had a 64 to finish second. Duffy Waldorf (65) and former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett (67) tied for third at 14 under.
• Immelman earns PGA Tour card with win: Trevor Immelman rallied with a birdie on the final hole to win the Hotel Fitness Championship at Sycamore Hills in Fort Wayne, Ind., to lock up a PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Finals opener.
Immelman had a 20-under 268 while Spokane native Alex Prugh shot a final-round 69 for a 10-under 278.
• Bourdy takes Wales Open title: Gregory Bourdy birdied his last three holes to end a four-year winless drought with a two-shot victory at the Wales Open in Newport, Wales.
• Pettersen captures Safeway Classic title: Suzann Pettersen took advantage of playing partner Yani Tseng’s final-round collapse and closed with a 5-under 67 to win the Safeway Classic at Columbia Edgewater in Portland.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., finished tied for 54th with a 4-under 284.
No. 9 Louisville routs Ohio in opener
College football: Teddy Bridgewater threw for 355 yards and five touchdowns and former Auburn star Michael Dyer had a 46-yard touchdown run as No. 9 Louisville defeated Ohio 49-7 in Louisville, Ky.
The Cardinals outgained the Bobcats 615-273.
• Georgia loses Mitchell to knee injury: Georgia receiver Malcolm Mitchell will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while celebrating a touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday’s 38-35 loss to Clemson in Atlanta.
Bills get Manuel back on practice field
NFL: Buffalo Bills quarterback EJ Manuel returned to practice after missing two weeks because of a left knee injury which required what the team referred to as a “minor procedure” on Aug. 18.
If the first-round pick is unable to go in the season opener against New England on Sunday, undrafted free-agent Jeff Tuel out of Washington State will get the start.
• Gronkowski back in full pads: Tight end Rob Gronkowski took part in his first full-pads practice with New England since undergoing back surgery in June.
• New England also released running back/kick returner Leon Washington.
Moreno snags Vuelta lead with stage win
Cycling: Daniel Moreno took a one-second overall lead and the leader’s red jersey from Nicolas Roche and at the Spanish Vuelta after winning his second stage in six days with an impressive uphill push to separate from the pack.
Moreno finished the ninth stage, a 104-mile mountainous ride from Antequera, Spain, to Valdepenas de Jaen, with a provisional time of 4 hours, 18 minutes, 57 seconds.
Norway wins men’s double skulls
Miscellany: Nils Jakob Hoff and Kjetil Borch of Norway won the men’s double sculls on the final day of the rowing world championships in Chungju, South Korea.
Donata Vistartaite and Milda Valciukaite of Lithuania won the women’s double sculls event while Denmark won the men’s lightweight double four and the United States defended its title in the women’s eight.