AP Sports SummaryBrief at 12:47 p.m. EDT

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Taylor Fritz to return to the Wimbledon final LONDON (AP) Carlos Alcaraz has defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) to move within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon championship.

Alcaraz's victory Friday puts him into the final against either No.

1 Jannik Sinner or 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the past two finals at the All England Club.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz is 5-0 so far in Grand Slam title matches.

That includes a five-set comeback win over Sinner at the French Open a month ago.

The fifth-seeded Fritz was trying to become the first American man in the Wimbledon final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer in 2009.

BRITISH OPEN '25: A return to Royal Portrush and a chance at redemption for Rory McIlroy The British Open returns to Royal Portrush and it should be quite the homecoming for Rory McIlroy.

He'd love nothing more than to win golf's oldest championship on his home soil of Northern Ireland.

It didn't go well last time.

McIlroy hit out-of-bounds on his first shot and missed the cut.

He returns this year as the Masters champion and winner of the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy doubts anything can top that moment of finally getting a green jacket.

But it would be pretty special to win a claret jug at home.

It's third time Royal Portrush hosts The Open.

Venus Williams accepts a wild card for the DC Open.

She hasn't competed in more than a year Venus Williams has accepted a wild-card invitation to play singles at this months DC Open.

It would be the seven-time Grand Slam champions first tournament in more than a year.

Williams turned 45 in June.

She is listed as inactive on the WTA Tours website.

Williams hasnt competed in an official match since the Miami Open in 2024.

The hard-court tournament begins with qualifying next weekend.

Aaron Judge moves into to second in MLB jersey sales, behind Shohei Ohtani NEW YORK (AP) Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees moved into second in jersey sales behind Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Judge climbed from fifth to second place and was followed by the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.

Four Dodgers and three Mets were among the top 20, with Francisco Lindor fifth and Juan Soto sixth.

The Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw was 20th.

San Franciscos Rafael Devers, Bostons Jarren Duran, San Franciscos Jung Hoo Lee, the Chicago Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong and Detroits Tarik Skubal entered the top 20 for the first time.

The list is based on sales since opening day.

Amanda Anisimova or Iga Swiatek will be Wimbledon's eighth consecutive first-time women's champion LONDON (AP) Either Amanda Anisimova or Iga Swiatek will leave the All England Clubs grass courts as Wimbledons eighth consecutive first-time womens champion.

They will play in the final on Saturday.

Swiatek has won five Grand Slam titles but never been to the final at Wimbledon before.

Anisimova is making her debut in a major title match.

Swiatek is a 24-year-old from Poland who spent most of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons ranked No.

1.

Anisimova is a 23-year-old from the United States who is climbing her way to the top of the game after leaving the tour in 2023 because of burnout.

Caster Semenya's sex eligibility battle has confounded sports for 16 years and still isn't over CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) The sex eligibility case of champion runner Caster Semenya has been one of the most contentious and most complex that sports has seen.

Semenya, a two-time Olympic champion in the 800 meters, is banned from running in womens competitions because she has refused to follow rules that require her to medically reduce her natural testosterone level.

Now, a ruling Thursday by the European Court of Human Rights in Semenya's favor has reignited her long fight against the rules and has opened an avenue for them to possibly be struck down.

It would likely still take years, but the new direction for Semenya's unprecedented case has implications across sports.

LIV Golf tries again to get world ranking points LIV Golf is trying again to get world ranking points.

The Official World Golf Ranking said the Saudi-funded league of 54 players has sent in a new application to be included in the OWGR.

The first application was rejected in October 2023 because the OWGR said it could not fairly measure a league that amounts to a closed shop with other tours around the world.

LIV withdrew its application a year ago in May.

It is not clear how the league would operate differently to get the OWGR to reconsider.

World ranking points help determine the field for the four majors.

Who is Morgan Riddle? A fashion influencer at Wimbledon who attends boyfriend Taylor Fritz's matches LONDON (AP) Morgan Riddles effect on Wimbledon semifinalist Taylor Fritzs rise in the rankings has been significant.

He says so himself.

Riddle is sitting at Centre Court on Friday for Fritz's match against Carlos Alcaraz.

She is a fashion influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media sites such as TikTok and Instagram.

Shes been featured in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and the New York Times Style section.

The 27-year-old Riddle is Fritz's girlfriend and frequently is seen cheering for him at tennis tournaments.

Boxing takes over US Open tennis venue with Berlanga and Stevenson headlining NEW YORK (AP) Just as Wimbledon is winding down, action at the home of the U.S.

Open will heat up.

Boxing action, that is.

Swinging rackets will be replaced by swinging fists Saturday night when the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center hosts boxing for the first time.

Edgar Berlanga and Shakur Stevenson headline the show in separate bouts on the card, which sends both locally based fighters to a place theyd never visited before.

The fights will be in Louis Armstrong Stadium, the No.

2 venue on the grounds.

Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg draws reviews from pro debut, despite off night in win over Lakers LAS VEGAS (AP) Rookie Cooper Flagg may not have been happy with his professional debut Thursday night in the NBA Summer League, but he still drew rave reviews all around after the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 87-85.

Flagg finished with 10 points on 5-for-21 shooting, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range.

He also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and the biggest block of the night.

With 1:10 remaining and the Mavericks trailing by one, Flagg blocked Los Angeles shooting guard DJ Steward, and Nembhard capitalized at the other end with a 3-pointer to give Dallas its 87-85 lead over the Lakers..

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