The Sports Report: Serena Williams isn’t done yet

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Helene Elliott: Every time Serena Williams wobbled, the crowd willed her its strength to steady her.

Every time she double-faulted, fans applauded to console and encourage her. With each point she won from Danka Kovinic of Montenegro on Monday, roars cascaded down from the upper reaches of jam-packed Arthur Ashe Stadium. No one wanted this emotionally charged moment, this U.S. Open first-round match, Williams’ groundbreaking career, to end.

Asked about the crowd, Williams said: “They really helped me pull through. I was really pumped. I was like, ‘I got this.’ �

Williams, who will be 41 next month and recently said she’s “evolving� away from tennis, gave the crowd what it so fervently wanted. Wearing a black skater-style dress with a glittery top, a matching glittery headband, sparkly shoes and shiny stones woven through her hair, she overcame an erratic serve and clawed out a 6-3, 6-3 victory over her 27-year-old opponent, prolonging her career by at least one match. Her nearly 5-year-old daughter Olympia, wearing an identical outfit, sat courtside to cheer her on.

Six times a winner at Flushing Meadows and 23 times a Grand Slam event singles champion, Williams came here unseeded because she’s early in her return after a year’s absence due to a hamstring injury. Ever the fighter, she fought back after Kovinic took a 3-2 lead in the first set and won the last four games on sheer grit and her impressively good movement. Her serve became more consistent in the second set, and she finished with nine aces and six double faults. She also had 23 winners and 25 unforced errors, to 18 and 25, respectively, for Kovinic.

Her victory earned her the right to stage one more fight, against No. 2 seed Anett Konteveit of Estonia, on Wednesday. That figures to be a tougher match than Williams had against 80th-ranked Kovinic, but Williams’ resilience knows no bounds. She has lost a step, but her heart is bigger than any physical shortcoming.

She came out to the court Monday to the accompaniment of a video montage of her remarkable career, narrated by Queen Latifah. She was proclaimed the queen of Queens — the New York City borough that is home to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center — but she’s also the queen of tennis queens.

Williams and her older sister Venus, who began their spectacular careers on the public courts of Compton with their father Richard as their coach, will team up in doubles this week. That will be a fitting ending for two sisters who often felt it was them against the world — until they conquered the tennis world.

DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The Dodgers pitching staff took another hit Monday.

The team placed Tony Gonsolin on the injured list with a right forearm strain, preventing the All-Star right-hander from making a scheduled start Monday night against the Miami Marlins.

Right-hander Michael Grove was recalled to start the game, a 3-2, 10-inning win by L.A.

In the wake of Monday’s announcement, Gonsolin, manager Dave Roberts and multiple other people with knowledge of the situation all echoed the same sentiments:

The pitcher’s injury isn’t believed to be serious, the team was being cautious by placing him on the IL, and he is expected to be back in the Dodgers rotation in time for the playoffs.

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ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: This was exactly the showdown between baseball titans Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge that fans poured into Angel Stadium to see Monday.

Ohtani made the first move.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with Mike Trout already on after hitting a single, Ohtani took Frankie Montas’ 1-and-2 splitter over the right-center field wall for his 29th home run of the season. The shot propelled the Angels to a 4-3 victory over the American League East-leading New York Yankees.

Then Judge, who had been intentionally walked two chances prior, showed off.

In the top of the eighth inning, with one out and no one on, Judge took Ryan Tepera’s 1-and-1 curveball into the waterfall for a solo home run. It was home run No. 50 for the slugger chasing Roger Maris’ Yankees single season home run record (61).

UCLA FOOTBALL

From Ben Bolch: Have you heard the ones about UCLA’s nonconference football schedule?

After agreeing to play Bowling Green, Alabama State and South Alabama — all at the Rose Bowl — the Bruins are on the verge of a sponsorship deal with Sprinkles cupcakes. . . .

The Bruins became the first team in college football history to receive a bye into conference play. . . .

Jokes aside, it’s hard not to laugh. Yes, this schedule is partially a function of Michigan backing out of games against UCLA in 2022 and 2023 so the Wolverines could play Hawaii and East Carolina. It’s also unequivocally the Bruins’ most creampuff-packed schedule in at least three decades.

“The game got dropped,� UCLA coach Chip Kelly said, referring to the Wolverines, when asked about a schedule filled with firsts and presumably victories. “It’s crazy how the world turns around, huh?�

RAMS

From Gary Klein: The Rams are near full strength as they prepare for their Sept. 8 opener against the Buffalo Bills.

On Monday, Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson Jr. were full participants in practice, coach Sean McVay said, the first time in nearly two weeks that the top two running backs performed team drills.

Akers and Henderson were sidelined because of what McVay described as “soft-tissue� injuries.

Henderson had run at full speed for trainers before Saturday’s preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to McVay, and Akers also has improved.

“Expect all hands on deck� against the Bills, McVay said.

SOCCER

A look at Mexico’s away kit for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

(Adidas)

From Kevin Baxter: Mexico on Monday unveiled its away kit for this fall’s World Cup in Qatar, one topped by a red-and-white jersey full of imagery that reflects both the country’s pre-Hispanic memory and current-day cultural touchstones.

According to Adidas, the kit’s manufacturer, images on the shirt include the malinalli, a grass that ascends to the cosmos but connects to the netherworld through its roots; a conch shell, which is linked to Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, the Mesoamerican god of the dawn that represents the first breath of life and the last exhalation; the spiral, which reflects words that flourish through truth, song and poetry; the staff or speaking stick Quetzalcóatl carries; and new fires, which symbolizes the cosmic cycles.

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1887 — Seven U.S. men’s national tennis championships and Richard Sears captures his seventh title. Sears beats Henry Slocum, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 at the Newport Casino in Newport, R.I. Sears retires with an 18-match unbeaten streak over the 1881-1887 championships.

1905 — Ty Cobb makes his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers doubling off Jack Chesbro in a Tigers 5-3 win over the NY Highlanders.

1926 — Guy McKinney, driven by Nat Ray, wins the first Hambletonian Stakes.

1927 — Helen Wills wins her fourth U.S. women’s tennis singles title, defeating 16-year-old Betty Nuthall of Britain, 6-1, 6-4.

1937 — Joe Louis wins a 15-round unanimous decision over Tommy Farr at Yankee Stadium in the first defense of his heavyweight title.

1961 — Harlan Dean, driven by Jimmy Arthur, wins the Hambletonian Stakes and sets a record for combined time in the two heats at 3:57 2-5.

1979 — Kathy Horvath, five days past her 14th birthday, loses a first round match to Diane Fromholtz, 7-6, 6-2, to become the youngest person to play a match at the U.S. Open. Later in the day, John McEnroe defeats Ilie Nastase, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, in a match that features Nastase being defaulted by chair umpire Frank Hammond. An 18-minute free-for-all ensues in which fans become uncontrollable and Nastase is reinstated by tournament referee Mike Blanchard. Blanchard replaces Hammond in the chair for the remainder of the match.

1981 — Bill Shoemaker becomes the first jockey to win a $1 million race when he rode John Henry to a nose victory over The Bart in the inaugural Arlington Million at Arlington Park.

1986 — Dawn Patrol and Falcon Bret record the fastest dead heat at Roosevelt Raceway at 1:58.1.

1987 — Ben Johnson of Canada sets the world record in the 100 meters bettering Calvin Smith’s 4-year-old mark of 9.93 by 0.10 seconds in the World Track and Field Championships in Rome. Johnson later lost the record because of steroid use.

1991 — Mike Powell smashes Bob Beamon’s world long jump record with a leap of 29 feet, 4½ inches, two inches beyond the record, in the World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo. The leap also ends Carl Lewis’ 10-year, 65-meet winning streak.

2001 — Ashley Martin becomes the first woman to play in a Division I football game, kicking three extra points without a miss to help I-AA Jacksonville State hand Cumberland its 18th straight loss, 71-10.

2005 — Andy Roddick has a shocking first-round exit from the U.S. Open against Gilles Muller, a player making his debut in the tournament. Roddick, the champion two years earlier and the No. 4 seed this year, falls 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1) on his 23rd birthday to the first man from Luxembourg to compete in the Open.

2006 — Curt Schilling becomes the 14th pitcher in major league history to reach 3,000 strikeouts when he fans Oakland’s Nick Swisher in the first inning of the Red Sox’s 7-2 loss to Oakland.

2007 — Tyson Gay completes a sprint double at the world championships when he wins the 200 meters in 19.76 seconds. Gay’s time breaks the meet record of 19.79 set 12 years ago by American Michael Johnson in Goteborg, Sweden. Gay, who beat world record holder Asafa Powell in the 100, joins Maurice Greene (1999) and Justin Gatlin (2005) as the only male athletes to have won sprint doubles at the championships.

2015 — Scott Dixon captures a fourth IndyCar championship by winning the season finale to snatch away the title from Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya led the points from the season-opening race right until the final lap. But he finishes the race in sixth, which allows Dixon to tie him in the standings. Dixon is awarded the title based on wins (3-2).

Compiled by the Associated Press

And finally

Mike Powell sets the world record in the long jump. Watch and listen here.