Sinner to play singles, doubles for Italy

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will compete in both singles and doubles at the Paris Olympics, the Italian tennis federation said Friday. This will be the first Summer Games for the 22-year-old Sinner, who reached the top spot in the men’s rankings this week following his run to the semifinals of the French Open, where he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner won the Australian Open in January, his first Grand Slam title. Sinner is the first player from Italy to reach No. 1 since computerized rankings began in 1973. He is 33-3 in 2024 with three titles. Two of his three defeats came against Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old from Spain with whom Sinner is developing quite a rivalry. Sinner will team up with Lorenzo Musetti, a clay court specialist who will be able to use this opportunity to relaunch himself and gain further confidence, in doubles for Italy, the federation said. Jasmine Paolini, who lost the women’s French Open final last weekend, will also play for Italy. The Olympic tennis events start on July 27, after Wimbledon is held during the first two weeks of the month.

US cricket team moves to 2nd round

The United States cricket team made more history by reaching the second round in its Twenty20 World Cup debut after its last group game against Ireland was washed out on Friday. Rain meant the match at Broward County Stadium was abandoned without a ball bowled, advancing the Americans to the Super Eight stage and automatically qualifying them for the 2026 Twenty20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. The U.S. qualified for this T20 World Cup only as a co-host with the West Indies, but it has used home advantage to make a stunning first impression in its first major cricket tournament. While the Americans progressed alongside unbeaten India from Group A, former champion Pakistan and winless Ireland were eliminated from Super Eight contention. Pakistan won the title in 2009 and reached two more finals, including at the last T20 World Cup in 2022. Pakistan has failed to get out of the group stage for the first time. Ireland was expected to be a threat, too. The Irish also reached the second round on debut in 2009 and repeated in 2022. The competition point from the washout was enough for the U.S. to advance after beating Canada in Texas and stunning Pakistan on Long Island in the first week.

US sets the final Copa América squad

Midfielder Timmy Tillman was cut from the United States roster for the Copa America on Friday, getting the team down to the 26-player limit for the tournament. Tillman was in the U.S. training camp for the past two weeks but the 25-year-old didn’t play in a pair of warmup games, a 5-1 loss to Colombia last weekend and a 1-1 draw against Brazil on Wednesday. He will return to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles FC. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter kept forward Josh Sargent, pictured, who didn’t play in the two games as he recovers from an ankle injury. The U.S., among six invited guests to South America’s championship, opens against Bolivia on June 23 at Arlington, Texas, plays Panama four days later at Atlanta and closes the group stage against Uruguay on July 1 at Kansas City, Missouri. Players will report to the Dallas area on Sunday to resume training. It is the second-youngest squad the United States has sent in five editions of the Copa América, behind only the 2007 roster (24 years, 280 days). Eighteen of the 26 players were on the 2022 World Cup roster, with nine players age 23 and younger. —AP