Jordan Burroughs falls in wrestling worlds quarterfinals

By Nick ZaccardiOct 20, 2018, 4:15 PM EDT

Jordan Burroughs‘ bid to match John Smith‘s American record six global wrestling championships must wait another year.

Burroughs lost in the 74kg quarterfinals at the world championships in Budapest on Saturday. Russian Zaurbek Sidakov took him out 6-5, according to USA Wrestling.

Burroughs, the 2012 Olympic champion and four-time world champion, could still grab a medal Sunday (as can every American man in the four freestyle divisions in play), but he’s out of the race for gold and silver.

Burroughs was expected to face Cuban-born Italian Frank Chamizo in a semifinal showdown later Saturday had he gotten past Sidakov, a 22-year-old at his first senior worlds.

Burroughs and Chamizo split head-to-head matches earlier this year, marking Burroughs’ sixth career senior defeat. Now Burroughs has seven losses in more than 150 senior matches of a seven-plus-year senior career.

Two of those came at the Rio Olympics, the only global championship that Burroughs left without a medal.

The U.S.’ other Olympic gold medalists — Kyle Snyder and Helen Maroulis — wrestle later next week.

In other men’s freestyle weight classes Saturday, former Burroughs foil David Taylor made the 86kg final in his senior worlds debut, upsetting Iran’s Olympic and world champion Hassan Yazdani along the way. He gets top-seeded Turk Fatih Erdin in Sunday’s gold-medal match.

“One match away from being a world champion,” said Taylor, a 27-year-old who won the Hodge Trophy as the NCAA’s best wrestler in 2012 and 2014. “Something I’ve dreamt about for a really, really long time.”

In the 61kg bracket, worlds rookie Joe Colon lost in Saturday’s semifinals, putting him directly into a Sunday bronze-medal match. Colon actually lost in the final of the world team trials in June, but U.S. champion Nahshon Garrett withdrew from worlds due to injury, it was announced two weeks ago.

Like Burroughs, 2017 World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski lost Saturday but remains in the 125kg repechage bracket with a chance at bronze Sunday.

“Not a bad spot, everybody wrestling for medals [Sunday],” U.S. coach Bill Zadick said. “A little bit less than what we had anticipated, maybe, knowing the stars that we have and the star power that we had wrestling today.”

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U.S. women’s basketball team wins 3×3 world title; men take silver

By OlympicTalkJun 4, 2023, 2:03 PM EDT

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U.S. basketball teams took women’s gold and men’s silver at the FIBA 3×3 World Cup, the most prestigious tournament outside of the Olympics.

The U.S. women’s team of current NCAA standouts Cameron Brink (Stanford) and Hailey Van Lith (LSU transfer from Louisville), plus former WNBA players Cierra Burdick and Linnae Harper went 7-1 in this week’s tournament in Vienna, capped with a 16-12 win over France in Sunday’s final.

The U.S. women took gold in the event’s Olympic debut in Tokyo with WNBA standouts Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

Also Sunday, a U.S. men’s team headlined by 2011 NCAA Player of the Year Jimmer Fredette lost 21-19 to Serbia in their final. Serbia has won six of the eight world titles in men’s 3×3, plus Olympic bronze in Tokyo.

While the World Cup does not offer direct 2024 Olympic qualification, it will factor significantly into world rankings that in November will determine the first three nations to earn spots in the Olympic men’s and women’s tournaments.

If the U.S. qualifies for Paris, a committee will choose the roster(s). Active NBA players are not expected to take part.

The U.S. men did not qualify for the Tokyo Olympics despite being reigning world champions.

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Novak Djokovic breaks record he shared with Rafael Nadal at French Open

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 1:53 PM EDT

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Novak Djokovic broke a tie with rival Rafael Nadal by reaching the French Open quarterfinals for the record 17th time, never truly in trouble during a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Juan Pablo Varillas on Sunday.

Djokovic is closing on bettering Nadal in a more prestigious category: Grand Slam singles championships. Both currently sit at 22. For Djokovic, that total includes two at Roland Garros, in 2016 and 2021, and he can become the first man to own at least three trophies from each major tournament.

Nadal is a 14-time champion in Paris but is missing this time because of a hip injury; he had arthroscopic surgery Friday night.

Against the 94th-ranked Varillas, who had never won a Slam match until this event and then took three in a row in five sets, Djokovic was, not surprisingly, at his dominant best at Court Philippe Chatrier on a warm, sunny day.

The 36-year-old from Serbia finished with more than twice as many winners, 35-15, and fewer unforced errors. He went 15 for 17 on trips to the net. He put in 80% of his first serves. He converted 6 of 12 break points while dropping his serve only once.

All in all, a no-drama showing in under two hours from Djokovic, who hasn’t ceded a set yet through four matches. He’s had his less-than-amiable back-and-forths with some spectators over the past week in Paris, but when this one ended, Djokovic gestured as though to hug everyone as he heard some chants of his two-syllable nickname, “No-le!”

In his 55th career major quarterfinal — Roger Federer, who retired with 58, is the only man to reach more — and 14th in a row at Roland Garros, the No. 3-seeded Djokovic will face No. 11 Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

Khachanov, who is 1-8 against Djokovic, made it this far at a Slam for the fifth time by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1.

Also Sunday, No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz beat No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti by the same scoreline as Djokovic’s win over Varillas — 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. He will next play No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas or Sebastian Ofner.

Three unseeded women moved into quarterfinals: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up at Roland Garros, Karolina Muchova and Elina Svitolina.

Pavlyuchenkova, who missed last year’s tournament as part of a lengthy absence with a knee injury, got past a third consecutive seeded opponent, No. 28 Elise Mertens, by a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 score.

Muchova was a 6-4, 6-4 winner against Elina Avanesyan, who lost in qualifying but got into the main draw when another player withdrew. Muchova plays Pavlyuchenkova next.

Svitolina, a Ukrainian mom once ranked No. 3 in the world, took out No. 9 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-4, 7-6 (5).

The other women’s match scheduled for later: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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