Sports News Roundup: Van Aert wins seventh stage of the Tour de France; Anti-doping leaders call for surge in testing ahead and more

Stephens beat Olga Govortsova on Thursday to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows, where she will play compatriot and 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams. Before the start of the match, the 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime had said he would look to be aggressive against his three-time Grand Slam winning opponent.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Van Aert wins seventh stage of the Tour de France

Belgian Wout van Aert won the seventh stage of the Tour de France, a 168-km ride from Millau on Friday. Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen was second and Frenchman Bryan Coquard took third place.

Anti-doping leaders call for surge in testing ahead of Tokyo

International anti-doping leaders have called for a surge in testing ahead of the re-scheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics next year, saying the COVID-19 pandemic should not be a free pass to dope. During a two-part virtual meeting held this week, leaders also called for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent dismissal of RUSADA Director General Yuri Ganus.

MLB roundup: Alonso's homer lifts Mets past Yanks

J.D. Davis hit the game-tying homer with one out in the ninth inning, and Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer leading off the 10th as the New York Mets rallied for a 9-7 victory over the visiting New York Yankees on Thursday in a makeup game at Citi Field. With one out in the ninth, Davis hammered an 0-2, 99 mph fastball over the center field fence to forge a 7-7 tie. The blast came against Yankees left-hander Aroldis Chapman. The Mets finally won the four-hour marathon when Alonso hit an 0-1, 98 mph fastball off Albert Abreu (0-1) well over the left field fence.

Black Lives Matter forces South African sport to face past demons

The Black Lives Matter movement has forced South African sport to reflect on its post-Apartheid history and created fissures between former team mates in a country still trying to come to terms with its racist past. The BLM movement has put a spotlight on the way societies treat people of colour around the world and in South Africa the debate has centred on sport.

Accused Football Leaks mastermind tells court: 'I'm proud'

The Portuguese man behind the Football Leaks website said at the start of his trial on Friday that he was proud to be a whistleblower on European soccer clubs' big-money dealings. Rui Pinto, a 31-year-old former history student and self-taught computer mastermind, faces 90 charges - from unauthorised access to data and violation of correspondence to attempted extortion - in the case at Lisbon's Central Criminal Court.

Serena battles through second-round test at U.S. Open

Serena Williams battled her way through to a 6-2 6-4 victory over Russia's Margarita Gasparyan in the second round of the U.S. Open on Thursday, as she continued her bid for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title. A dominant Williams sailed through the first set at Arthur Ashe Stadium, closing out the first game with one of seven aces in the match before breaking her unseeded opponent's serve on the second game to take an early 2-0 lead.

Factbox: The masks of Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open

Former champion Naomi Osaka is wearing a different facemask for each of her matches at the U.S. Open this year. They each carry the name of a Black American and aim to highlight racial injustice in the United States to a wider audience:

ROUND ONE - BREONNA TAYLOR Stephens sees success of Black women inspiring new generation

Former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens believes the current cohort of young Black women at the top of the game bodes well for the future of African-American involvement in tennis. Stephens beat Olga Govortsova on Thursday to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows, where she will play compatriot and 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

Messi reluctantly staying at Barcelona after all

Lionel Messi ended speculation about his future at Barcelona by announcing on Friday that he would reluctantly stay for another season rather than tackle his career-long club in court. A week after saying he wanted to leave the Liga side, and with a contract row still raging, the 33-year-old six-time player of the year gave the news Barca fans were hoping for.

Flawless Auger-Aliassime knocks out Murray in straight sets

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime proved too strong for former champion Andy Murray, cutting short the Briton's Grand Slam comeback at the U.S. Open with a breezy 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory in the second round on Thursday. Before the start of the match, the 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime had said he would look to be aggressive against his three-time Grand Slam winning opponent.