7/07 Sports Brief

Djokovic outlasts Auger-Aliassime after more than 5 hours to reach Wimbledon semifinals at age 39

LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic was pushed to five sets by Felix Auger-Aliassime before the seven-time Wimbledon champion prevailed 7-6 (10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) after more than five hours to set up a semifinal against defending champion Jannik Sinner. Sinner beat Djokovic in straight sets in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals. Djokovic outlasted the Italian over five sets in the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open. The 39-year-old Djokovic continues to break records as he chases an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title. He’s reached a record-setting eighth consecutive Wimbledon semifinal which moves him one ahead of Roger Federer for most consecutive runs to the last four in men’s singles semifinal appearances at the grass-court championship.

Royals’ Tyler Tolbert ties MLB record with hits in 12 straight plate appearances

NEW YORK (AP) — Tyler Tolbert of the Kansas City Royals has tied a major league record with hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances. He reached the mark with an infield single against the New York Mets for his fifth hit Tuesday night. Tolbert matched the record set by Chicago’s Johnny Kling in 1902 and equaled by Walt Dropo of the Detroit Tigers in 1952. With a chance to break the record, Tolbert was finally retired in the ninth on a fly ball to right against A.J. Minter to finish 5 for 6. The second-year player homered in the second inning and singled in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh.

Pirates’ Ryan O’Hearn sets club record with 10 RBIs during 3-homer night vs. Braves

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Ryan O’Hearn set a franchise record by driving in 10 runs on three homers against Atlanta. O’Hearn hit a grand slam in the first inning, a three-run shot in the third, and another three-run homer in the sixth. His 10 RBIs broke the franchise record of nine RBIs set by Johnny Rizzo in 1939. O’Hearn’s 10 RBIs are the most by any player in the majors this year. An All-Star last season, O’Hearn also became the 16th player in Pittsburgh’s 145-year history to hit three homers in a game.

Same old story: US men’s soccer team has been stagnant for quarter century

SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. men’s national soccer team remains stagnant despite growth in American soccer. Christian Pulisic and teammates have not advanced beyond the round of 16 at the World Cup, similar to past teams. The U.S. lost to Belgium 4-1 on Monday in the round of 16. Billions have been invested to boost the team, but it remains far from elite. Coach Mauricio Pochettino plans to discuss his future with the U.S. Soccer Federation. Goalkeeping has become a weak spot, and qualifying for future World Cups should be less challenging with 48-team tournaments. Folarin Balogun and Malik Tillman have shown promise.

Kremlin hails ‘important step’ as IOC eases Olympic restrictions on Russia

The Kremlin has welcomed as an “important step” the International Olympic Committee’s decision to remove many of its restrictions on Russia, a big step closer to letting it field a full team when Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Games. The IOC provisionally lifted a suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and advised Olympic sports bodies they no longer need to be vetting its athletes for permission to compete as neutrals. The IOC’s guidance to reintegrate Russians in international events is not binding for the governing bodies of individual sports.

Shohei Ohtani hits his 300th career homer, becoming first Japanese-born MLB player to reach mark

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has hit his 300th career homer, a leadoff shot against Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen. It made Ohtani the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach the milestone. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar blasted a 409-foot line drive to center on a 2-0 pitch for his 20th homer of the season in the first inning. It was Ohtani’s 31st career leadoff homer and seventh this season. He also homered in the Dodgers’ 8-7 victory in 11 innings on Monday night to highlight a 3-for-4 performance.

Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Kneeland had early stage CTE at time of death

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland had a brain abnormality linked to repeated head trauma when he killed himself after a high-speed chase with police in November 2025. The findings of a postmortem analysis of Kneeland’s brain tissue were released Tuesday by his family through the Concussion and CTE Foundation. Researchers at the Boston University CTE Center determined Kneeland was in stage one of four of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Kneeland was 24. He had played at Western Michigan University, before he was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Israeli strike kills World Cup screening organizer in Gaza just before kickoff

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Health authorities in Gaza say an Israeli strike killed an organizer of public screenings of World Cup matches in the enclave. The Israeli strike happened just before kickoff in the Egypt-Argentina match. The organizer, Mohamed al-Wahidi, worked with the Egyptian Committee in Gaza. The Israeli military says al-Wahidi was not a target of the strike, which also killed two young brothers and a taxi driver. It says the strike was aiming for a Hamas militant. The blast late Tuesday turned what was supposed to be a moment of celebration into a reminder of Gaza’s war-torn reality.