Alcaraz wins Cincinnati Open after Sinner withdraws

▲ The Italian (left) had to retire in the first set due to illness. Photo @CincyTenis

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, p. a11

Cincinnati. Carlos Alcaraz claimed the Cincinnati Open title in just over 20 minutes after world number one Jannik Sinner was forced to retire due to illness during the first game.

Sinner, facing Alcaraz in a final for the fourth time this year and the first time since her Wimbledon triumph, fell behind 5-0 in the first set with nine unforced errors. She was seen with an ice pack on her head during a break and retired after just 22 minutes of play.

"It's not the way I want to win matches and trophies," Alcaraz said at the awards ceremony. "I'm sorry and I understand that you may not be feeling well."

The Italian, who turned 24 on Saturday, was riding a 12-match winning streak and had won 26 straight matches on hard courts.

Sinner was attempting to become the first player to win back-to-back Cincinnati Open men's titles since Roger Federer in 2014 and 2015.

“I'm so sorry for disappointing you,” Sinner said, addressing the crowd in his speech. “Since yesterday (Sunday), I haven't felt well. I thought I might get better overnight, but I got worse. I tried to play a little bit of a game, but I couldn't.”

"Sometimes things are like that and you have to accept them," he added. Alcaraz, ranked second in the world, held a 9-5 lead in the head-to-head duel with the Italian. He also claimed his eighth career Masters 1000 title and a total of 22 on tour.

Sinner won in four sets at Wimbledon, while the 22-year-old Spaniard triumphed in a thrilling five-set match at the French Open and in straight sets at the Rome Masters in May.

"You're a true champion, and I'm sure you'll come back stronger from this situation because you always do, and that's what champions like you achieve," Alcaraz said.

It was only the third time that the two best players in men's tennis met in the Cincinnati Open final.

The last time was with the duel between number two Novak Djokovic and world number one Alcaraz in 2022, as well as number one Federer and number two Djokovic in 2012.

The Cincinnati Open is a warm-up tournament leading up to the U.S. Open, which begins Sunday in New York. In the past two years, both the men's and women's Cincinnati Open champions have won the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

In the women's draw, Iga Swiatek took the title by defeating Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4.

Alberto Aceves

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, p. a12

Toward the end of NFL Super Bowl 59, Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi starred in a commercial in which he played with an American football and alluded to the start of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season with a slogan in giant letters: “When football ends, football begins.”

The sport, which has begun to gain popularity and millions of followers in the United States, where fans and authorities insist on calling it soccer, has placed MLS among the most followed organizations among a younger generation, even above the NHL and Major League Baseball, says former U.S. national team player Marcelo Balboa.

“We're never going to surpass the NFL; it's impossible. But there are other leagues in the country, like the NBA and MLB, that are worried about new people watching soccer games. Baseball itself changed its rules to require games to last only two hours because soccer is putting a lot of pressure on the sport with its growth. If I had to rank the most popular sports right now, I'd put American football first, then the NBA, and MLS third. Many people aren't very attached to hockey, even though it has a significant fan base,” he notes.

According to a 2024 report by the Pew Research Center, American football is the most popular sport in the United States (53 percent), ahead of baseball (27 percent) and basketball (8 percent). Soccer, a term curiously coined in England and rejected by football fans in the rest of the world, comes in fourth (3 percent), slightly ahead of motorsports (2 percent) and hockey (1 percent). The rest of those surveyed prefer other sports such as golf, boxing, rodeo, and ice skating.

Balboa, a World Cup player and considered one of the best defenders in the world by FIFA in 1994, believes the American league planted a seed in the 1970s with the New York Cosmos of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Neeskens, and Carlos Alberto, which is now bearing fruit across different demographics in the country. "The most important thing for us is to continue growing every year, and that's what we're doing. Slowly, steadily, with stadiums that are filling up every weekend," he says of a tournament that celebrates its 32nd anniversary (December 17, 1993) and whose primary objective is to catch up with Liga MX and then consider competing in Europe.

▲ Inter Miami, with Lionel Messi, is repeating what the New York Cosmos did in the 1970s by signing soccer stars. Photo by AFP

In full growth

“We can't compare MLS to the Bundesliga, Serie A, or La Liga, but it's a growing league. The first thing is to get closer to MLS, as we've been doing, while other organizations in our country are concerned about the growth of stadiums, facilities, and teams that hire superstars like Lionel Messi and want to do the same thing we do. MLS has been in existence for just over 30 years; we need to give it time to work and for fans to realize that American clubs are no longer the rivals they once were, but quite the opposite.”

In addition to the 2024 Copa América, the Club World Cup, and the 2026 Copa América, which it co-hosts with Mexico and Canada, the United States is hosting tournaments such as the Leagues Cup that Liga MX and MLS have held since 2019. This year's tournament, featuring changes to the competition format and qualifying round, will determine the four semifinalists on Wednesday in playoff matches featuring teams from both countries: Inter Miami-Tigres, Toluca-Orlando City, Seattle Sounders-Puebla, and LA Galaxy-Pachuca.

“Although I like the format, the experience of playing at the Azteca or in stadiums in Mexico would be very important for younger players; they need that exposure to improve,” says the former León and Colorado Rapids player. “Someday, an MLS team will have to go play a game in Mexico, I don't know if at 1 or 2 PM like we did in the 1990s, but a balance has to be found. Now, Liga MX teams take the tournament more seriously; the fans like that, because only we've won it.”

From the editorial staff

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, p. a12

Cruz Azul and Necaxa drew 3-3 in a match on Matchday 7 of the Liga MX Femenil. A chasing duel in which the Celestes opened the scoring, but the Centellas responded almost immediately with a series of goals and a comeback that didn't stop until the 90th minute.

In seven matches, the women's team has eight points, placing them eleventh in the standings, thanks to two wins, an equal number of draws, and three losses.

León and Querétaro also drew 2-2, a result that pushed the Esmeraldas out of the top 10 and into tenth place in the tournament. The Guanajuato team has two wins, three draws, and two losses.

Mazatlán and Puebla also offered another draw, albeit with few goals scored, after the 1-1 draw at Encanto, in the Sinaloa port. Both teams are sitting at the bottom of the table, having only won one game to this point in the championship.

Meanwhile, Lizbeth Ovalle is reportedly planning to leave Mexican soccer, after a specialized media outlet reported that the Mexican is on the verge of joining the U.S. soccer team with the Orlando Pride.

According to the report, the deal is close to $2 million, in a bidding war that also included another team from that country and Barcelona.

The player leaves Tigres with eight years in the ranks, 136 goals, and nine titles in Mexican women's soccer.

Ovalle leaves a double in July's 4-0 win over Necaxa as a memorable achievement, with a magnificent career that now seeks to take advantage of the growth of the United States league.

Before leaving, Ovalle will play in the All Star Game against the Barcelona women's team in a match that will serve as her farewell at the Volcán .

Ap

La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, p. a12

Zurich. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said two incidents of alleged racism marring German Cup matches were "unacceptable," while German police are investigating the incident.

Infantino spoke out the day after Schalke 04 left-back Christopher Antwi-Adjei said he had been subjected to racism in a match against Lokomotive Leipzig. He was booed by fans during the match after reporting the incident to the referees.

In another case, a Kaiserslautern substitute was subjected to racial abuse while warming up at RSV Eintracht, said the team's coach, who did not identify the victim.

Both incidents occurred when lower-league clubs hosted higher-ranking teams in first-round matches.

"It's unacceptable that this happened in two DFB-Pokal matches. Football has no place for racism or any form of discrimination," Infantino wrote on social media.

The president of football's governing body said that FIFA's Players' Voice Panel would be "in contact" with the German federation.

They guarantee respect

“Everyone at FIFA, the Players' Voice Panel, and the entire football community stand firmly with all those affected by these events; we are committed to ensuring that players are respected and protected, and that competition organizers and law enforcement authorities take appropriate action,” he added.

Antwi-Adjei filed a complaint about the incident at Lokomotive Leipzig, and police are investigating, Schalke reported Sunday evening. At the RSV Eintracht match, fans and security quickly identified the suspected perpetrator, and supporters of both teams chanted "Nazis out," German news agency DPA reported.

The incidents in Germany occurred two days after Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused by a spectator while playing for Liverpool. The match was briefly stopped while the referee spoke with the coaches and captains of both teams.

▲ Dominican Warming Bernabel celebrates the home run that broke his team's 10-game losing streak. AP Photo

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La Jornada Newspaper, Tuesday, August 19, 2025, p. a31

Denver. Dominican Warming Bernabel hit a game-winning single in the ninth inning, and the Colorado Rockies snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Dodgers, who fell 4-3.

Ezequiel Tovar started a comeback with a double that Teoscar Hernández, charging, couldn't handle. Bernabel followed with a Justin Wrobleski (4-5) cutter to center to bring Tovar home. The Venezuelan tied the game in the seventh with a solo home run.

The Rockies extended their winning streak to four games. With a 36-89 record, Colorado needs to win six of its final 37 games to avoid the 2024 Chicago White Sox's modern record of 121 losses.

Victor Vodnik (4-3) pitched a perfect ninth inning, including a strikeout of Dalton Rushing with Shohei Ohtani on reserve.

Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto surrendered leads twice and allowed three runs in seven innings, striking out six.

Meanwhile, Paul Skenes kept the American League's leading team relatively under control for six innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates took advantage of errors by the Toronto Blue Jays to claim a 5-2 victory.

Evan Sisk (1-1) earned his first major league win with a scoreless seventh inning.

Alec Burleson went 3-for-4, including the go-ahead single in the seventh inning. The St. Louis Cardinals ended their five-game losing streak with an 8-3 victory over the Miami Marlins.

Mexican reliever Valente Bellozo pitched a complete inning without allowing any runs and striking out two, but that didn't prevent the Florida team from losing.

Jack Flaherty, meanwhile, struck out nine in seven scoreless innings as the Detroit Tigers blanked the Houston Astros 10-0.