World Sports News in Brief

Verstappen on a roll with Red Bull after French win

Formula One leader Max Verstappen passed Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton on the penultimate lap to win a tense French Grand Prix for Red Bull on Sunday (June 20) and canter 12 points clear at the top.

Formula One F1 - French Grand Prix - Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France - June 20, 2021 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the race. (Photo: Reuters)
Formula One F1 - French Grand Prix - Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France - June 20, 2021 Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates after winning the race. (Photo: Reuters)

The Dutch youngster made two pitstops to Hamilton’s one and the 23-year-old used his fresher tyres to hunt down his British rival and win by 2.904 seconds. Verstappen’s Mexican team mate Sergio Perez, winner in Azerbaijan after the Dutch driver suffered a high-speed blowout while leading, finished third after passing Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes in the closing laps.

* Tunisia's Ons Jabeur made history on Sunday when she became the first Arab woman to win a WTA title, beating Russian Daria Kasatkina in the final of the grasscourt event in Birmingham. Jabeur, a trailblazer for North African women's tennis, won 7-5 6-4 to finally claim a title after losing two previous finals.

* Alex Palou pounced on a late restart when leader Josef Newgarden suffered engine trouble to win the IndyCar Grand Prix Road America on Sunday while former Haas Formula One team mates Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean reunited on the starting grid.

* Jon Rahm became the fourth Spanish major champion when he finished with two brilliant birdies to capture the US Open on Sunday. The only serious contender to avoid a bogey over the last nine holes, Rahm shot 67 and finished at six-under-par 278, one stroke in front of South African Louis Oosthuizen, whose birdie at the final hole was not enough to force a playoff.

* Weightlifter Laurel Hubbard will become the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics after being selected by New Zealand for the women's event at the Tokyo Games. Hubbard will compete in the super-heavyweight 87-kg category, her selection made possible by updated qualifying requirements.

* France's Ugo Humbert pulled off a surprise 6-3 7-6(4) win over world number seven Andrey Rublev to claim his maiden ATP 500 title on the Halle grasscourts on Sunday. Humbert stepped up his Wimbledon preparations by producing a clinical display, winning 85per cent of his first-serve points and hitting nine aces to extend his perfect record in ATP tour finals to 3-0.

* Two goals in two second-half minutes set Melbourne City on their way to their second consecutive Australian championship final with a 2-0 win over Macarthur FC in the A-League playoff semi-final on Sunday. Young guns Marco Tilio and Stefan Colakovski set up goals for each other in the 54th and 55th minutes at Kogarah's Jubilee Oval to give City an opportunity to avenge last year's final loss with a rematch against champions Sydney FC next weekend.

* Belgium midfielder Thorgan Hazard will not travel with the team to St. Petersburg for their European Championship Group B match against Finland on Monday, the team said on Sunday. Hazard scored in Belgium's 2-1 win over Denmark on Thursday, their second victory in as many games in the tournament, but the Borussia Dortmund midfielder appeared to pick up a knee injury.

* Olympic 400m champions Wayde van Niekerk belatedly confirmed he will defend his title at the Tokyo Games, finishing inside the qualifying time in Madrid on Saturday. Beset by injury since his Rio heroics five years ago, the South African ran 44.56 at the Continental Tour event at Estadio Vallehermoso to finish 0.34 seconds inside the qualifying time, although he was runner-up to Colombia's Anthony Jose Zambrano.

* Six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez extended his unbeaten record at the German Grand Prix as he won his 11th consecutive race across all classes at the Sachsenring on Sunday. Starting at a season-best fifth on the grid, Repsol Honda rider Marquez took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back, expertly navigating wet conditions to take the chequered flag.

Reuters