A magnitude 6 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan just before midnight, near Pakistan, claimed the lives of more than 600 people and injured over 1,500 others. As rescue efforts are in progress, several villages have reportedly been completely destroyed.
At the age of 38, Novak Djokovic defeated Jan-Lennard Struff in a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 match despite having lost on his daughter’s birthday.
“Yes, she was disappointed that I was unable to attend the birthday party.” Please don’t remind me of that, Djokovic, who became the oldest man to reach all four Grand Slam quarterfinals in a single season, on Sunday.
Djokovic’s record-extending victory kept his pursuit of a record-breaking 25th major title alive, and it also led to his entry into his 64th Grand Slam quarterfinal.
However, the Serbian’s focus was on family issues when he discussed the sacrifices that were necessary at this point in his career.
“If I’m here, I’ll try to win.” At least I’m going to try to win and give her that kind of present,” Djokovic said.
For her birthday party, I’m going to send some lovely presents as well as some lovely surprises.
During the 109-minute contest at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the experience over power was unmatched.
Djokovic, a 35-year-old German, broke the German’s serve six times in the fourth round, asserting control of the fourth-round match from the opening contest. His own serve proved crucial in the face of a player who had the tournament’s second-highest ace count of 66 at the start of the contest.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion completely neutralized Struff’s biggest weapon by firing 12 aces while winning 79 percent of first-serve points.
“Serving well is undoubtedly helpful. Djokovic said, “I think I had a great serving performance tonight as well as in the final round.”
“I just saw the statistics, and I outstripped one of the guys this year who had the most aces,” I thought. That, of course, makes my life easier on the court.
In order to advance to his first US Open fourth round, Struff, who is ranked 144th overall, defeated two seeded players, Frances Tiafoe (17th), Holger Rune (11th), and Frances Tiafoe (17th), but he was unable to put any real pressure on the seventh seed.
The German made only 19 winners and committed 32 unforced errors.
This US Open men’s singles match in the fourth round or later in the professional era was the oldest due to their combined 73 years and 60 days.
Djokovic, who is currently 36-0 against Grand Slam qualifiers, had to have his right shoulder and forearm treated by a physio during the match, but he did not appear to be overly constrained by the issues.
Djokovic said he was not looking beyond Taylor Fritz, who finished second in the 2024 US Open, when he was preparing for a potential semifinal against world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
One thing I’ve learned over the past few years is to take really one match at a time, he said.
In a contentious encounter where a faulty Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system caused controversy, Barcelona lost their first points in La Liga this season as Rayo Vallecano fought back to earn a 1-1 draw at home to the champions.
After Lamine Yamal’s 40th-minute penalty had given Barca an early lead, Rayo substitute Fran Perez snuck home a 67th-minute equaliser.
Due to the malfunctioning VAR, Pep Chavarria’s challenge on Yamal, which resulted in the award of the spot kick, could not be reviewed because the system was not in use at the time.
Yamal’s thigh was actually touched by Chavarria, but the penalty award could have been overturned based on investigation.
Both teams were informed of the malfunctioning system at kickoff, but Rayo’s vigorous protests over Mateo Busquets’ decision made sure the rest of the game at Vallecas Stadium was played in a gloomy setting.
Every subsequent decision that went against their side indignant home supporters sounded angry.
At the conclusion of a week in which the Barcelona suburbs claimed a place in the Conference League group phase on their return to Europe after 24 years, the goalkeeper Joan Garcia made several outstanding stops to deny and/or deny Rayo.
In the 12th minute, Garcia made a point-blank save to stop Andrei Ratiu, and he spectacularly blocked Isi Palazon’s attempts to score a breakaway goal and Jorge de Frutos’ breakaway.
In the final minute, substitute Sergio Camello had the opportunity to win the game for Rayo, but he miscued his shot with the mercy of the goal, allowing a grateful Garcia to quickly gather.
Soon after teenager Yamal’s penalty had given Barca an early lead, Daniel Olmo was guilty of missing a simple goal. Olmo’s crossbar strike soared over the top of the crossbar from close range, causing furious coach Hansi Flick to yell out in rage.
Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are the only two clubs with a 100% record after three La Liga games, despite Real Madrid having won their opening two games. From their campaign openers, Rayo have four points.
The Seattle Sounders defeated Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami 3-0 to reach the 2025 Leagues Cup final, and Alex Roldan scored from the penalty spot late in the second half and added an assist in the first half.
A melee involving several players from both teams occurred at the final whistle, which ended the match on Sunday. Luis Suarez, a Miami striker, appeared to be one of the players in the middle of the melee, and video cameras captured him spitting at a Seattle staff member after the game.
Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX jointly hold the Leagues Cup, which results in a disciplinary panel that is uncontracted from either league or continental federation. Although MLS might also be involved, it would likely be in charge of deciding whether to discipline the incident.
Seattle, which won its second Concacaf award and ninth all-time major trophy since MLS play began in 2009, scored Osaze De Rosario’s fourth goal of the tournament.
The Sounders’ victory in the 2022 Concacaf Champions League, which ends a string of 16 consecutive Mexican champions, is their first since they defeated Mexico’s Pumas UNAM in a two-leg victory.
In the final moments of a victory, Paul Rothrock scored the third, giving Seattle a first-round bye into the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Miami lost their second League Cup title after winning the 2023 competition and their third major trophy since Messi’s arrival during the summer of the 2023 season.
If they fail to win the MLS Cup in 2025, the Herons will still be guaranteed a spot in the Concacaf next year. However, they will start in the first round.
Seattle held the lead in the opening minute and won admirably so in the 26th.
De Rosario met it with a decisive header after Jesus Ferreira played the opening ball out wide to Roldan on the right.
Suarez provided the link-up play for Miami, who wasted two excellent chances to equalize just before the break.
Suarez sent a spinning cutback pass to Messi, who arrived just above the six-yard box, but the Argentinian star fired over goalkeeper Andrew Thomas in the 50th minute.
Tadeo Allende then sent his strike wide of the right post as Thomas slammed off his line in the 60th minute, despite Suarez’s clever backheel.
Georgi Minoungou, a substitute for the Sounders, scored from the left of the field in the 82nd minute to make the cost of that. Yannick Bright was chasing back to defend when Minoungou made a cutback and was snuck into Bright’s sliding challenge.
A 69, 314-person crowd at Lumen Field, which is a Leagues Cup and club single-game attendance record, were pampered by Roldan’s coolly converted penalty that was past Oscar Ustari in the 84th minute to lift the lid on the match.
At a gathering of a security bloc that Beijing has hailed as an alternative to the Western-led international order, Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged regional leaders to oppose “Cold War mentality.”
As the world becomes “chaotic and intertwined,” Xi said in a speech to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit attendees on Monday.
Looking back, Xi said, “We have succeeded by cultivating the Shanghai spirit despite turbulent times.”
We must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit, keep our feet on the ground, forge ahead, and better carry out the roles of the organization as the world shifts and transforms.
The bloc should work toward the development of a “more just and equitable global governance system,” Xi said, calling for “equal and orderly multipolarization” of the world.
The Chinese leader stated that this year, Beijing would give member states 280 million yuan ($80 million) in aid, and a further 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in loans to a SCO banking consortium.
“We must exploit the mega-scale market to improve the facilitation of trade and investment,” Xi said.
More than 20 world leaders are present at the two-day SCO summit, which kicked off on Sunday in Tianjin, China’s northern city, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was founded in 2001, expanded to 10 permanent members and 16 dialogue and observer nations, beginning with six Eurasian nations and its founding in 2001.