World Sports News in Brief

Djokovic breaks down in tears after hosting Belgrade exhibition

An emotional Novak Djokovic could not hold back the tears while hosting a charity event at his tennis complex by the Danube River on Sunday.

Tennis - Adria Tour - Belgrade, Serbia - June 14, 2020 Austria's Dominic Thiem and runner-up Serbia's Filip Krajinovic pose with their trophies after the final match along with Serbia's Dusan Lajovic, Viktor Troicki, Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitov, Germany's Alexander Zverev, Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Nikola Milojevic. (Photo: Reuters)
Tennis - Adria Tour - Belgrade, Serbia - June 14, 2020 Austria's Dominic Thiem and runner-up Serbia's Filip Krajinovic pose with their trophies after the final match along with Serbia's Dusan Lajovic, Viktor Troicki, Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitov, Germany's Alexander Zverev, Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Nikola Milojevic. (Photo: Reuters)

Although the world number one missed out on Sunday’s Adria Tour final, in which Dominic Thiem beat Serbian Filip Krajinovic 4-3 2-4 4-2, the event brought back a flood of memories for the 17-time Grand Slam champion who staged the exhibition while international tennis remains suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Rory McIlroy came into the PGA Tour's first tournament back from a three-month COVID-19 break as the favourite to win but after a number of miscues in the final round on Sunday the Northern Irishman was not even the highest-placed Rory in the field. World number one McIlroy began the day three shots off the lead but struggled over the front nine en route to a four-over-par 74 at Colonial Country Club that left him at six under for the week and in a share of 32nd place.

* Daniel Berger emerged from a tightly-bunched leaderboard to win the PGA Tour's first tournament back after a three-month COVID-19 break with a playoff victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas on Sunday. Berger, who needed a birdie on the final hole of his regulation round to make the playoff, sealed the win on the first extra hole with a rock-solid par moments before fellow American Collin Morikawa watched his putt from in close cruelly lip out.

* Williams driver George Russell took his fourth successive virtual Formula One victory on Sunday in the last race before the real season starts in Austria next month. The 22-year-old started on pole position and beat Red Bull's Alex Albon into second place in the virtual Canadian Grand Prix. Mexican Esteban Gutierrez was third for Mercedes.

* Chelsea midfielders Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Billy Gilmour scored twice each in a 7-1 friendly win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday as Frank Lampard's side stepped up their preparations for the Premier League restart. Chelsea are scheduled to face Aston Villa away next Sunday in their first game back.

* Bayer Leverkusen came from a goal down to snatch a 1-1 draw at Schalke 04 on Sunday as they held on to fourth place in the Bundesliga with three games left and stayed on track for a Champions League spot. The draw lifted them to 57 points, one ahead of fifth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach while injury-plagued Schalke, missing 10 players, set a club record by failing to win for the 13th consecutive league game.

* Rebellion Williams Esports won the first virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday, the day the real race was scheduled to finish before being postponed to September due to the coronavirus pandemic. The number one Oreca was shared by Haas Formula One reserve Louis Deletraz along with Mercedes GT driver Raffaele Marciello and Polish esports racers Nikodem Wisniewski and Kuba Brzezinski.

* Paris St Germain's record goalscorer Edinson Cavani and captain Thiago Silva will leave the club after the conclusion of the Champions League campaign, the Ligue 1 side's sporting director has said. Both players' contracts are due to expire in June and Leonardo told Le Journal du Dimanche that they would not be handed extensions.

* Champions League hopefuls Real Sociedad were held to a 1-1 home draw by Osasuna on Sunday in their first game since La Liga resumed after a three-month hiatus amid the COVID-19 crisis. Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal cancelled out Adrian Lopez's first-half penalty for the visitors to leave them fourth on 47 points from 28 games, one point ahead of fifth-placed Getafe who are chasing the last qualifying spot for next season's Champions League.

* Real Madrid beat Eibar 3-1 on Sunday in their first competitive match at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium following La Liga's three-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win kept Real on La Liga leaders Barcelona's heels with 59 points after 28 games. They are two points behind Barca after the Catalans beat Real Mallorca 4-0 on Saturday.

* Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday on their return to action after La Liga's three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, missing out on the chance to capitalise on slip-ups by their rivals for Champions League places. Atletico are sixth on 46 points, level with fifth-placed Getafe, who lost at Granada on Friday, and fourth-placed Real Sociedad, who host Osasuna later on Sunday. Athletic are 10th on 38.

Reuters