Ashleigh Barty beats Barbora Krejcikova to reach Cincinnati semi-finals

World number one Ashleigh Barty eased through to the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with victory over Barbora Krejcikova.

Australian Barty beat the Czech ninth seed 6-2 6-4, but had to recover from a break down in the second set.

The 25-year-old, two-time Grand Slam champion will face Angelique Kerber next after Petra Kvitova retired injured from their quarter-final.

Germany’s Kerber was leading 6-4 3-3 when she was awarded the win.

Czech world number 11 Kvitova later said she had been struggling with a “stomach issue” for several days.

Wimbledon finalist and fifth seed Karolina Pliskova will face Swiss player Jil Teichmann in the other semi-final after her last-eight opponent Paula Badosa retired from the match.

Czech Pliskova took a tight first set 7-5 but Spaniard Badosa called time after two games in the second set due a right shoulder injury.

Teichmann, who is a wildcard at the tournament, eased to a 6-3 6-2 win over compatriot Belinda Bencic.

In the men’s tournament, Russian top seed Daniil Medvedev crushed Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1 6-1 to set up a semi-final meeting with compatriot Andrey Rublev.

Fourth seed Rublev progressed after defeating Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-2 3-6 6-3.

A repeat of the French Open semi-final is in store as Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Alexander Zverev and world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas face each other once again.

German Zverev easily overcome Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-1 6-3, while Greek Tsitsipas needed three sets to defeat Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime 6-2 5-7 6-1 after dropping two match points in the second set.

Tokyo Paralympics: Sarah Storey aims to become Britain’s most successful Paralympian

In the 29 years since she made her Paralympic debut, Sarah Storey has been there, done that and got the medal collection to show for it.

With 14 Paralympic golds to her name already, the first five from swimming before her switch to cycling, she is Britain’s most successful female Paralympian – yet more history beckons.

Win her three events at the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Games – the C5 individual pursuit, C5 time trial and C4-5 road race – and she will surpass swimmer Mike Kenny’s record of 16 titles, making her the nation’s outright most successful Paralympic athlete.

Not bad for someone who, after joining her first swimming club at the tender age of 10, was told she had “started training too late to be any good at anything”.

“I think [the record] would just be something where I don’t know if I would quite believe it. I’m just focusing on each race, one at a time,” Storey, 43, told BBC Sport.

“To make eight Games is a huge honour and to be in with a chance of this target is another huge opportunity. I’m excited to see if I can try and do it.”

But it will be a very different scenario in which Storey, who made her Paralympic debut in Barcelona in 1992, will be trying to make that history.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has meant training has been very different in the 18-month lead up to the Games, but Storey remains as “confident as anyone could be” of retaining her titles from Rio.

Restrictions mean spectators are not permitted at the Tokyo Paralympics – which start on 24 August – so there will be no trip to Japan for Storey’s children, eight-year-old Louisa and three-year-old Charlie.

Louisa and Charlie, as well as their dad and Storey’s husband, Barney, are almost a constant presence at her races, in non-pandemic times at least. But Tokyo will be different, and that’s something of which Storey is all too aware.

“It’s the first Games my parents haven’t been to, so it’s not a thing to be taken lightly,” she said.

“It is a huge undertaking to do this by yourself, when you’re used to having that support around, but I’ve got big mental strength, I’m going to be calling on that every day no doubt, I’m expecting it to be tough.

“I’m prepared, the kids have been preparing me, they’ve been drawing me things and we’ve been talking about it, they know I’ll be away for 22 days. Whether they can picture what 22 days looks like, I’m not sure.

“It’s going to be hard, but it’s just the way it is and I can’t change it.”

Sifan Hassan misses out on women’s 5,000m world record at Prefontaine Classic

Double Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan missed out on the 5,000m world record at the Prefontaine Classic – her first meet since Tokyo 2020.

The 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic champion was aiming to beat the record set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey in 2020.

Hassan, of the Netherlands, won easily in 14 minutes 27.89 seconds but failed to beat Gidey’s record of 14:06.62.

“The last two laps, I knew I wasn’t going to break the record,” said Hassan, who won three medals in Tokyo.

Cheered on by a crowd of more than 5,000 in Eugene, Oregon, Senbere Teferi finished second with a time of 14:42.25 and her Ethiopian compatriot Fantu Worku came in third with 14:42.85.

Despite missing out on the world record, Ethiopia-born Hassan, 28, still recorded a season best after an intense summer of competition that included six races at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“I just want to finish strong and run hard,” she continued.

“I had a really tough two weeks at the Olympics. All the emotion with the media and the stress. I’m in shape but I’m just tired, I’m not fresh.”

As well as winning the 5,000m and 10,000m titles at Tokyo 2020, Hassan also earned a bronze medal in the 1500m event. It meant she became the first person to win Olympic medals over 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m.

Hassan, who currently holds the world record in the mile, also won gold medals in the 1500m and 10,000m at the 2019 World Championships and in June broke the 10,000m record with a time of 29:06.82 – only for Ethiopia’s Gidey to improve on that time by five seconds just two days later.