Sept. 2, 2021 Brazilian former football star Pele said on Twitter that he was undergoing routine exams in hospital and that he was “in very good health”, denying a 7 report of a more serious health issue, Reuters reported.

Djokovic takes first unsteady step toward calendar slam

Sports Desk 5-1, courtesy of doubles by Abbasi and Olad-Qobad, and a Tavakkoli strike. ead coach Mohammad Nazemasharieh released Iran is pitted against the defending champion Argentina, Iran’s 16-man squad for the FIFA World Serbia, and USA in Group F of the World Cup, which was HCup in Lithuania, starting September 12. postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. , Sepehr Mohammadi, Baqer Moham- The 12-time Asian champion will kick off its campaign madi, , Mohammadreza Sang-Sefidi, against Serbia on September 14 at the Avia Solutions Hossein Tayyebi, Farhad Tavakkoli, Alireza Rafieipour, Group Arena in the capital city of Vilnius. Mohammad Shajari, Moslem Olad-Qobad, Ali-Asghar Nazemasharieh’s men will then take on USA on Septem- Hassanzadeh, Mohammad-Taha Nematian, Mehdi Javid, ber 17, before squaring off against Argentina in the final Seyyed Ahmad Abbasi, Ahmad Esmaeilpour, and Farhad group fixture three days later. Fakhim will represent the country at the event, ISNA re- Top two of the six groups plus four of the best third- ported. placed teams will progress to the round of 16. The Asian powerhouse on Tuesday claimed a second Iran made history in 2016 by becoming the first Asian consecutive friendly victory over Belarus – after an 8-2 side to reach the last-four of the World Cup, beating Portu- win on the preceding night – beating the European host gal in the shootout for the third spot in Colombia.

GEOFF BURKE/USA TODAY SPORTS Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand against Holger Rune of Denmark on day two of the 2021 US Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY, US, on September 1, 2021.

Novak Djokovic took a first unsteady The match got underway amid a some- Djokovic, who turned up the pressure in step toward completing the calendar-year what flat atmosphere inside Arthur Ashe the third with an early break to regain con- Grand Slam on Tuesday as the Serb la- Stadium but the crowd were chanting the trol as Rune began to suffer cramp. boured into the second round of the US little-known Dane’s name after he stunned As Rune grimaced with every step, Open with a 6-1 6-7(5) 6-2 6-1 win over Djokovic to win the second set. Djokovic showed his ruthless side, moving dashing Danish teenager Holger Rune. Aside from that, it was a controlled ef- the youngster from line-to-line and taking On paper, the contest was a total mis- fort from the 34-year-old Djokovic, far dif- the set 6-2. match – an 18-year-old qualifier making ferent from the Serb’s last match on Arthur Rune was determined to battle his way his Grand Slam debut against a player Ashe Stadium court which ended with him to the end but a Djokovic victory was now chasing a 21st major title, Reuters reported. being disqualified after swatting a ball in certain and the Serb wrapped up the match While the outcome was exactly what frustration that struck a line judge. by taking the fourth set 6-1. was expected, the effort needed by “It was a crazy experience, playing Djokovic to see off the fearless Dane, who ‘Crazy experience’ against Novak on Arthur Ashe is probably battled to the end despite suffering cramp, one of the dream come true,” said Rune. was not. The stone-faced world number one was “To be able to win one set as well was “I started great. Played a really, really all business from the start, breaking his op- great.”The Dane said his fitness struggles good first set,” said Djokovic. “After that, I ponent at the first opportunity and rolling made winning “impossible”. don’t know, I was 4-3 serving in the second through the set in just 26 minutes. “I had high belief in myself throughout set, everything was working well, but then Playing his first event since a disap- the whole match,” he added. I just lost the first serve. pointing Tokyo Olympics there were signs “Unfortunately my fitness let me down. “I had until tonight tons of experience of rust and a lack of intensity, particularly “I started cramping already in the begin- playing on this court, for him it was the first in a sloppy second set when Rune broke ning of the third set. one. him twice and forced the set to tie-break “I knew if I had to win, I really had to “Still you get nerves. You still are feel- that he easily won. fight for every point but with my body at ing a little bit rusty at the beginning.” But there was never any panic from this point, it was impossible.” .com

Barca let Griezmann rejoin Atletico, replace him with Sevilla’s De Jong

Barcelona signed Netherlands striker sory clause to make the transfer per- Barca. Griezmann was the third transfer from Sevilla on a manent. Last summer, Atletico signed deadline day sale from Barcelona. season-long loan after France’s An- The 30-year-old returns to Atletico striker Luis Suarez from Barcelona Right-back Emerson Royal joined toine Griezmann left the Nou Camp two years after he joined Barca for and he helped Diego Simeone’s side Tottenham for £25.8m and teenage to rejoin Atletico Madrid on a similar £107m. win . Ilaix Moriba moved to deal. The France striker scored 133 Griezmann became the 11th RB Leipzig for £13.7m. Barca will pay 31-year-old De goals in 257 games for Atletico, player to leave financially-struggling De Jong, who scored 19 goals in Jong’s salary this season and have winning the Europa League, UEFA Barcelona this summer, including 93 games for Sevilla after moving an option to make his stay perma- Super Cup and Spanish Super Cup Lionel Messi. to La Liga from PSV Eindhoven in nent next summer, BBC Sport re- during his time in the Spanish capital. Barcelona had to let their all-time the summer of 2019, is the fourth ported. But the 30-year-old scored just top goalscorer leave to fit within La forward to join Barca this summer Atletico take on Griezmann’s sal- 35 goals in 102 games and managed Liga’s wage structure, and Messi after compatriot , ary this term, but there is a compul- to win only the Copa del Rey with joined Paris St-Germain. Sergio Aguero and Yusuf Demir. BBC Luuk De Jong (L) and

Tokyo Paralympics Day 8 in pictures

KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS LISI NIESNER/REUTERS LISI NIESNER/REUTERS Asier García (L) of Spain celebrates after a 71-68 victory over Germany in the men’s wheelchair Jetze Plat of the Netherlands celebrates after winning the men’s H4 road Men’s road race H3 Russian gold medalist Ruslan Kuznetsov, Swiss silver medalist Heinz Frei (L) and basketball quarterfinals at the Tokyo Paralympics on September 1, 2021. race gold at the Tokyo Paralympics on September 1, 2021. Austrian bronze winner Walter Ablinger pose for a photo at the Tokyo Paralympics on September 1, 2021.