2 unseeded teens meat in women’s final
NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of unseeded teenagers will meet at the U.S. Open in one of the unlikeliest Grand Slam final matchups in the history of women’s tennis.
The championship will be won Saturday by either 18-year-old Emma Raducanu (ra-doo-KA’-noo) of Britain or 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez of Canada. The winner will be the youngest Grand Slam champion in 17 years, since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon at 17 in 2004.
This is the first Grand Slam final between two teenagers since the 1999 U.S. Open, when 17-year-old Serena Williams beat 18-year-old Martina Hingis.
Raducanu is ranked 150th and participating in just her second major tournament. She is the first qualifier in the sport’s professional era to reach a Grand Slam final. The Open era began in 1968.
Fernandez is ranked 73rd and had never been past the third round in her previous six appearances at majors. She has defeated four seeded players along the way, including defending champion Naomi Osaka.
A ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 is scheduled to take place in Arthur Ashe Stadium before the final, which is set to begin at 4 p.m. Eastern time.
MLB-SCHEDULE
Mets host Yankees on 20th anniversary of 9/11
NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees and Mets are set for an emotional game in Queens on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the first time the Subway Series will overlap with Sept. 11.
Both teams will wear hats representing New York’s first responders, two years after Mets slugger Pete Alonso said the league rejected his proposal for specially designed hats doing the same. Alonso instead had custom cleats made for each of his teammates — without asking MLB for permission — and later donated his shoes to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Then-Mets manager Bobby Valentine will throw out the first pitch to then-Yankees manager Joe Torre, and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza will be among the alumni in attendance. Piazza memorably hit a go-ahead homer for the Mets on Sept. 21, 2001 against the Braves in the team’s first game back at Shea Stadium.
T25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL-SCHEDULE
Iowa-ISU not just for state bragging rights
UNDATED (AP) — Ames, Iowa, is in the college football spotlight Saturday as No. 9 Iowa State hosts No 10 Iowa. The Hawkeyes and the Cyclones have played each other 67 times since 1884, but never before have they met when both teams ranked.
The winner gets a boost into the early-season College Football Playoff picture as well as the bragging rights that come with the Cy-Hawk Trophy.
The Hawkeyes of the Big Ten come in on a seven-game winning streak, during which they have won by an average of 23 points per game. The Cyclones opened the season with a lackluster victory against Northern Iowa and are hoping to break a five-game losing streak in the series.
In the only other game on the schedule matching ranked teams, No. 3 Ohio State is hosting No. 12 Oregon. The Buckeyes still have much to prove on defense, and Oregon will put stress on all three levels.
Fans feeling nostalgic will want to tune in to see No. 5 Texas play Arkansas in a renewal of rivalry that was at its hottest in the 1960s and ‘70s when the Longhorns’ Darrell Royal and Razorbacks’ Frank Broyles ruled the old Southwest Conference. This will be the teams’ first meeting since Arkansas won 31-7 in the 2014 Texas Bowl in Houston.