Naomi Osaka defeated Victoria Azarenka from Belarus 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final to win the women's singles title of the US Open on Saturday.

It was her second US Open title and third Grand Slam title after her victories at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open.

"In the end, all I focus on is what I can control on the tennis court. That's what I did in 2018 final. I feel like that's what I did this time," said the 22-year-old who defeated Serena Williams to win the 2018 title, reports Xinhua.

Azarenka, 31, stormed to win the first set 6-1 in just 26 minutes while Osaka was uncharacteristically sloppy hitting a whopping 13 unforced errors.

At the start of the second set, Azarenka broke again for a 2-0 lead, but from there Osaka fought back to break her opponent's serve twice and took a 4-3 lead. Osaka then gained the momentum and broke a third time to take the match to a deciding set.

A quarter-century had passed since a woman who lost the first set of a US Open final wound up winning: In 1994, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario did it against Steffi Graf.

"I think in the first set I was so nervous, I wasn't moving my feet. I felt like I was not playing to my best. There are too many things in my head. It would be very embarrassing to lose this in under an hour so I just have to try my best," Osaka said of the turnaround.

Osaka broke in the fourth game of the third set to take a comfortable 3-1 lead. In the next game, Azarenka blew a golden opportunity to get back into the match, wasting all three break points as Osaka recovered from 0-40 down to hold for a 4-1 lead.

After that, Osaka dominated and claimed the set 6-3.

With the runner-up finish, Azarenka said she's proud of herself.

"I haven't had such results in quite a long time, so I'm very excited for it. Today, it's a loss, but it doesn't change for me much. Of course I would have loved to win today. It is what it is," Azarenka said.

"I gave everything that I could today on the court. I felt that I progressed a lot. I've played a lot of great matches. I felt that I've tested myself physically, mentally on very difficult stages. It's been great. I want to continue to keep going the same way, enjoy myself," she added.

Also read: Kid's night: Osaka, 20, beats her idol Serena to win US Open

The Olympic flame is going on display in Tokyo, not far from the new National Stadium where it was supposed to be burning a month ago.

The flame arrived in Japan from Greece in March and has been largely hidden away in Tokyo after the Olympics were postponed until next year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The flame was unveiled on Monday at a small ceremony with Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo Olympic organising committee, and Yasuhiro Yamashita, the president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, reports AP.

It will be on display beginning Tuesday at the new Japan Olympic Museum for at least the next two months. Visitors can only enter the museum, located across the street from the new stadium, with a reservation.

The flame's unveiling comes just days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his plans to resign. He was on hand in 2013 in Buenos Aires when the IOC picked Tokyo, and he was the highlight of the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro when he appeared as Nintendo game character Super Mario.

The fate of the Tokyo Olympics remains uncertain because of the pandemic.

Read Also: Japan PM Shinzo Abe resigns for health reasons

Organisers and the International Olympic Committee say it will open on July 23 next year. But they have not revealed any details about how 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be safe in Tokyo.

Thousands of other staff, technical officials and media would also need to enter Japan to cover the event. The IOC says it wants fans at events but has not explained how this will happen, or if non-Japanese fans will be allowed.

Organisers are unlikely to start providing details until the fall, or into next year as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Olympic prospects becomes clearer.

A poll this month of almost 13,000 Japanese companies showed 53.6 percent want the games canceled or postponed again. The IOC has said if the Olympics can’t happen in 2021, they will be canceled. They cannot be postponed again.

A poll in July found that two-thirds of the public also favours another postponement or cancellation.

Tokyo organisers say they are officially spending $12.6 billion to hold the Olympics, although a national audit board says it’s twice that much. In addition, local estimates say the bill for the delay could add on several billion more. Organisers and the IOC have yet to give a detailed breakdown of the new costs.

Read Also: Tokyo Olympics postponed

The first-ever virtual marathon is scheduled to take place at the beginning of next month in Boston, Massachusetts.

Like other events, the runners will run on track but in different places. 

Rather than lining up in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and making the long trek to Boston, athletes will run this year's marathon solo because of the coronavirus pandemic, reports AP.

The real runners will do the hard work, and an interactive mobile app will help augment their not-quite-authentic experience. A weeklong TV special and the new mobile app will showcase their stories as they go the distance on their own.

Amazon and WBZ-TV are teaming up on a "Boston Marathon Live" broadcast that will be aired nightly starting September 7, through September 13.

The marathon normally is run on a Monday in April, on Massachusetts' unique Patriots Day holiday, but was postponed to mid-September because of the pandemic.

Then, at the end of May, it was cancelled altogether — the first time in its 124-year history that the storied race in its traditional format was scrapped.

Instead, registered runners are being encouraged to complete the 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) distance by themselves — wherever they are in the world — and share accounts of their preparation, motivation and execution.

Bangladeshi International Master Mohammad Fahad Rahman defeated Dutch Super Grand Master Anis Giri (Rating 2764) in the Bullet chess event of Katara International Online Chess Tournament held Monday night.

IM Fahad, playing with black pieces, beat GM Anis Gigi in the 57th move of the 8th round second qualifying phase match, organised by Qatar's Chess Association. 

After the match, IM Fahad earned 78 points from 49 games and became 82nd out of 2606 players. 

In the 3rd qualifying phase, IM Fahad beat Russian GM Anton Demchenko to bag 81 points from 54 games and finished 107th among 5,042 players.

In this Bullet Chess event, every player got one minute for each game and earned two points for a win and one point for draw.   

The sixth version of the six-nation Men’s Asian Champions Trophy Hockey'2020 rescheduled for March 11 to 19 next year in Bangladesh. 

The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) made this announcement on Thursday (Aug 21) after after getting the positive response from hosts Bangladesh.

The Champions Trophy Hockey was originally scheduled for November 17-27 in Dhaka, but the tournament was delayed as the Asian Hockey Federation postponed the continental meet in last March due to the outbreak of COVID-19. 

The sixth edition of the biennial event will take place at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka featuring two former champions India and Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and hosts Bangladesh.

It will be the first continental tournament in Asia after more than 15 months. It is also the first major international event in 2021 apart from the Pro League.

Also read: U-21 Hockey: Bangladesh clinches five-match series

Bangladesh also expressed their interest to host the Men’s Junior (Under-21) Asia Cup Hockey in January 2021.

The Men’s Junior Asia Cup was also originally scheduled for June 4-12 this year in Dhaka with the participation of 10  teams-- Pakistan, India, South Korea, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Uzbekistan and hosts Bangladesh.

The top three teams of the Men’s Junior Asia Cup Hockey will be entitled to play in the Men's Junior World Cup.