World Sports News in Brief

Alcaraz sets up Queen's final against De Minaur

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz continued to thrive on London grasscourts in the build-up to Wimbledon when he beat unseeded American Sebastian Korda 6-3 6-4 on Saturday to reach the Queen's Club final.
Tennis - ATP 500 - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, UK - June 24, 2023 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz shanks hands with Sebastian Korda of the U.S. after winning their semi-final match. (Photo: Reuters)
Tennis - ATP 500 - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, UK - June 24, 2023 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz shanks hands with Sebastian Korda of the U.S. after winning their semi-final match. (Photo: Reuters)

In his first ATP Tour final on grass, Alcaraz will face Australian Alex de Minaur who earlier beat Danish second seed Holger Rune 6-3 7-6(2).

* Kazakh Alexander Bublik broke Alexander Zverev once in each set to power past the German 6-3 7-5 on Saturday and reach the Halle Open final. On Sunday, he will face world number seven Andrey Rublev, who eased past Spain Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4.

* Australian Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Mallorca Open because of injury, his second withdrawal in succession after also pulling out of this week's event in Halle.

* Croatia's Donna Vekic had to play twice on Saturday but did not drop a set as she cruised into the German Open final with a 6-4 7-6(8) victory over world number eight Maria Sakkari of Greece. She will face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in Sunday's final after the Czech eased past Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-4 in what was her second match of the day as well.

* Bayern Munich have signed Portugal left back Raphael Guerreiro on a free transfer from rivals Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga champions said on Friday (Jun 23). Guerreiro, whose contract with Dortmund expires on Jun 30, has signed a three-year deal with Bayern. The 29-year-old will reunite with Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who brought him to Dortmund from French side Lorient in 2016.

* The Asian Boxing Confederation said it aims to withdraw from the embattled International Boxing Association (IBA) after the global governing body was stripped of its Olympic recognition for failing to meet a set of reforms. The Asian group's board of directors met in Bangkok on Thursday and Friday after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expelled the IBA over a failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.

* Marco Bezzecchi smashed the Assen lap record on Saturday to claim pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix ahead of championship leader Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati and VR46 Racing team mate Luca Marini. With a time of 1:31.472, Bezzecchi also became the 13th different polesitter at Assen in 13 visits to the Cathedral of Speed as Ducati bikes continued their dominance this season with a front row lockout.

* Zharnel Hughes produced the performance of his dreams to break Linford Christie's 30-year-old British record in the 100 metres on Saturday, winning at the NYC Grand Prix in 9.83 seconds. The 27-year-old exploded off the blocks and held off Jamaican Ackeem Blake by a tenth of a second to break former Olympic champion Christie's national record, set in August of 1993, by four hundredths of a second.

* Chelsea have completed the signing of Jamaica international striker Dujuan Richards, the Premier League club said on Saturday. The 17-year-old, currently at the Kingston-based Phoenix All Stars Academy, was named in Jamaica's squad for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and they play their opening Group A match against the United States on Saturday.

CNA/Reuters