Sports News Roundup: Brewers, Astros in playoffs with losing records; Haskins to remain Washington's QB and more

Serena digs deep to find way past Ahn into second round Sixth seed Serena Williams battled sluggish conditions to defeat fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-6(2) 6-0 to begin her French Open campaign on Monday. Highlights: French Open day two Highlights of the second day at the French Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, on Monday (all times GMT): 1505 SERENA STORMS PAST AHN

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

MLB roundup: Brewers, Astros in playoffs with losing records

Harrison Bader powered the playoff-bound St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-2 win Sunday over visiting Milwaukee, but the Brewers were still the big winners as they grabbed the last spot in the National League postseason. Bader hit a triple, blasted a solo homer and scored twice as the fifth-seeded Cardinals will head on the road to face the fourth-seeded San Diego Padres in a National League wild-card series.

Haskins to remain Washington's QB, for now

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins hasn't lost the support of coach Ron Rivera -- yet. The Washington Football Team lost to the Cleveland Browns 34-20 on Sunday, and Haskins completed just 21 of 37 passes for 224 yards. His two touchdown passes were overshadowed by three interceptions and a 58.8 QB rating.

Mercedes knew Hamilton was in trouble before Russian GP start

Mercedes knew Lewis Hamilton was going to be in trouble with Formula One stewards when they saw where he was practising his starts for the Russian Grand Prix, according to engineering director Andrew Shovlin. The six-times world champion, on pole position at Sochi on Sunday, was handed two five second penalties and ended up third in a race won by team mate Valtteri Bottas.

Paraguayan club president gets lifetime ban for match manipulation

The president of Paraguayan club Olimpia, one of the most successful in South America, has been banned for life from football after being found guilty of match manipulation, global soccer body FIFA said on Monday. FIFA said that Marco Trovato, who has held the position since 2014, also failed to collaborate during disciplinary proceedings.

Former Super Bowl champion Montana thwarts kidnapping attempt on grandchild

Four-time Super Bowl champion Joe Montana and his wife thwarted a kidnapping attempt over the weekend when a woman entered their house in Malibu, California and grabbed their grandchild, local police said. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Montana flagged down a patrol on Saturday to report that the stranger fled the house without his grandchild when she was confronted.

Heat take down Celtics, move on to NBA Finals

Bam Adebayo had a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds, Tyler Herro came alive with 11 points in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat booked their trip to the NBA Finals with a 125-113 Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night near Orlando. Jimmy Butler added 22 points, Herro had 19 and Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 15 as the Heat advanced to the Finals for the first time since 2014. Duncan Robinson also scored 15 and Goran Dragic 13.

Serena digs deep to find way past Ahn into second round

Sixth seed Serena Williams battled sluggish conditions to defeat fellow American Kristie Ahn 7-6(2) 6-0 to begin her French Open campaign on Monday. Playing an opponent she beat in straight sets at the same stage at the U.S. Open less than a month ago, Williams found herself struggling to win points on Court Philippe-Chatrier where the roof was opened just before the match.

2019 runner-up Vondrousova out in first round in Paris

Last year's runner-up Marketa Vondrousova failed to last a round at the French Open when she was thrashed in little more than an hour by Poland's Iga Swiatek on Monday. The left-handed Czech seeded 15, went down 6-1 6-2 as teenager Swiatek dominated throughout with her all-court game.

No U.S. hangover for Thiem as he dispatches Cilic

The first match after a major career breakthrough is always a potential banana skin but Dominic Thiem avoided any French Open slip-up with an impressive defeat of Marin Cilic on Monday. It was perhaps closer than the 6-4 6-3 6-3 scoreline suggested but Austrian third seed Thiem sent out a clear message that having won the U.S. Open he is hungry for more.

Highlights: French Open day two

Highlights of the second day at the French Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, on Monday (all times GMT): 1505 SERENA STORMS PAST AHN