Sports

Rafael Nadal moved up to No. 4 in the world rankings after winning the French Open for the 14th time, and his 22nd Grand Slam trophy overall. Despite needing pain-killing injections for a chronic problem in his left foot, Nadal defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals on his way to the final, where he defeated Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 on Sunday and became the oldest man to win the singles championship at Roland Garros, two days after his 36th birthday. At just 19, Nadal became the youngest winner of a Grand Slam title since Michael Chang won at Roland Garros in 1989 at 17, in 2007 he became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win three successive titles at Roland Garros and in the following Nadal repeated same feat without losing a set, becoming the third man to do so in the Open era after Ilie Nastase…

Karim Benzema is almost single-handedly keeping the Spanish giants on the path to a record-extending 14th European Cup — and a fifth for himself — and powering them to regaining the La Liga title. Back-to-back Champions League hat tricks just reinforce the enduring value of the France international’s clinical finishing to Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti sees so much more being provided by the 34-year-old forward he compares to a fine wine. This latest goal burst could end Chelsea’s title defense, barring the type of second-leg collapse by Madrid that Paris Saint-Germain endured last month at the the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Benzema now has 37 goals in 36 games in all competitions this season, including the three that turned around the last-16 meeting with PSG. Of Madrid’s last 11 goals, 10 have been scored by the mainstay of the team for the last 13 years. The first two at Stamford Bridge…

Black Stars midfielder Thomas Partey was injured in his team's 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Monday night. Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey was unable to finish the game due to an injury in an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace Following Monday night's win, Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace team extended their unbeaten run to seven games and moved into ninth place in the Premier League table. Arsenal fell behind early on when Jean-Philippe Mateta headed in Joachim Andersen's incisive free-kick. The hosts were relentless in attack, and they doubled their lead in the 23rd minute. Nuno Tavares botched the clearance of Andersen's through ball, which found Black Stars striker Jordan Ayew, who doubled his team's lead. When Bukayo Saka fell in the Palace box early in the second half, there were yells, but the referee waved them away. Emile Smith Rowe came close to scoring for Arsenal early…

Because of COVID-19, Real Madrid will most likely be without coach Carlo Ancelotti for the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals against Chelsea. Ancelotti tested positive for the coronavirus last week and did not accompany the rest of the squad to London on Tuesday. There was a possibility he could still make it for Wednesday’s match if he tests negative in time to travel. Ancelotti had already missed the team's 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo in the Spanish league on Saturday, when his son, assistant coach Davide Ancelotti, was in charge. Ancelotti, who had mild COVID-19 symptoms, is attempting to win his second Champions League with Real Madrid after helping the club win the European trophy in 2014. Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy, who returned to action on Saturday after being sidelined with injuries, practiced normally in preparation for the trip to England. Last season, Madrid was knocked out…