World Sports News in Brief

Delighted Djokovic wins third Madrid Open as Tsitsipas runs out of steam

Delighted world number one Novak Djokovic said he was back to his best after winning a third Madrid Open title on Sunday, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas pose with their trophies after Novak Djokovic wins the final - ATP 1000 - Madrid Open - The Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain - May 12, 2019. (Photo: Reuters)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas pose with their trophies after Novak Djokovic wins the final - ATP 1000 - Madrid Open - The Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain - May 12, 2019. (Photo: Reuters)

Djokovic’s victory was also a record-equaling 33rd Masters 1000 title for the Serbian, drawing him level with great rival Rafa Nadal at the top of the all-time list.

* AS Roma kept their Champions League hopes alive on Sunday when late goals from Alessandro Florenzi and Edin Dzeko gave them a 2-0 home win over Serie A champions Juventus. The win left Roma sixth on 62 points, behind AC Milan on their head-to-head record, with two games left. Needing a top four finish to qualify for the Champions League, they are three points behind third-placed Atalanta and one adrift of Inter Milan, who have a game in hand.

* Atletico Madrid ensured they finished runners-up in La Liga and above Real Madrid for a second year in a row after drawing 1-1 with Sevilla on Sunday in captain Diego Godin's final home game for the club. Atletico have 75 points, seven ahead of their more illustrious neighbours Real, who sunk to an 11th defeat of the campaign by losing 3-1 at Real Sociedad.

* Spanish champions Barcelona beat top-four chasing Getafe 2-0 in front of a subdued and near half-empty Nou Camp on Sunday in their first Liga game since a humbling defeat by Liverpool sent them crashing out of the Champions League semi-finals. Valencia leapfrogged Getafe into fourth due to their superior head-to-head record after beating Alaves 3-1 and will snatch the final Champions League spot if they win at Real Valladolid in their final game of the season next week.

* Napoli fullback Mario Rui struck two minutes from time to give his side a dramatic, rain-soaked 2-1 win at SPAL on Sunday. Napoli have 76 points from 36 games, 13 behind champions Juventus, while SPAL are a comfortable eleventh with 42.

* Manchester United ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home defeat by relegated Cardiff City after Nathaniel Mendez-Laing struck in each half to give the Bluebirds a fine farewell from the top flight on Sunday. With nothing but pride at stake on a sunny afternoon at Old Trafford, United produced another dreadful performance which stretched their poor run to just one win from their last seven Premier League games. United finished sixth, 32 points behind champions Manchester City.

* Sweden's Marcus Kinhult fired a two-under-par 70 in the final round on Sunday to clinch the British Masters trophy by a single stroke for his first European Tour title. The Swede birdied the final two holes at the Hillside Golf Club in Southport to end on 16 under. Holder Eddie Pepperell, four-time European tour winner Matt Wallace and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre were a stroke behind in joint second.

* Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a second-half brace to help the London club finish their Premier League campaign with a 3-1 victory at Burnley on Sunday that left them fifth in the table.

* Tottenham Hotspur toasted their extraordinary feat of reaching the Champions League final for the first time by booking their place in next season's competition, clinching fourth spot in the Premier League with a 2-2 draw at home to Everton on Sunday. Spurs missed out on finishing in the top-three, with Chelsea taking third place instead following their goalless draw at Leicester City, which took them on to 72 points compared to Tottenham's 71.

* Dusan Tadic scored twice as Ajax Amsterdam all but claimed the Dutch league title with a 4-1 victory over Utrecht on Sunday as championship rivals PSV Eindhoven slipped to a surprise 1-0 loss at AZ Alkmaar. Ajax will go into the final round of fixtures on Wednesday with a three-point lead over PSV and 14 goals to the good on goal-difference as they travel to second-bottom De Graafschap.

* Paulo Andre Camilo de Oliveira powered Brazil to victory in the men's 4x100m event at the IAAF World Relays in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday as they finished ahead of a strong United States quartet and world champions Britain. Brazil clocked 38.05 seconds, 0.02 seconds ahead of US in what was the smallest ever margin of victory in the competition.

* Juventus has unveiled new home kit for the 2019-20 season on Sunday, removing the iconic black-and-white stripes which have been synonymous with the club. The new shirt is now half white and half black, divided by a bright pink line in the middle.

* Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named the Player of the Season for 2018-19, according to Premier League. So far in this season, Van Dijk has missed only 35 minutes of Liverpool's 37 matches, scoring four goals and two assists.

* Olympique Lyonnais took a big step towards a top-three finish in Ligue 1 and a berth in next season's Champions League qualifying rounds after a fine performance gave them a 3-0 win at Olympique Marseille who finished with 10 men on Sunday. Maxwel Cornet scored twice and Moussa Dembele added another to leave Lyon in third spot on 66 points with two games remaining, four ahead of fourth-placed St Etienne who suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Montpellier on Friday.

Reuters, Xinhua