Raducanu Into Australian Open Main Draw After Davis Withdrawal 

Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)
Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)
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Raducanu Into Australian Open Main Draw After Davis Withdrawal 

Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)
Emma Raducanu of Britain hits a return during her singles match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania at the ASB Classic tennis tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP)

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu moved into the main draw of the Australian Open after American Lauren Davis pulled out of the year's first Grand Slam with a shoulder injury, organizers said on Wednesday.

Raducanu, who beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Auckland Classic on Tuesday in her return to action following wrist and ankle surgeries, has slipped to number 301 in the world and her protected ranking was not good enough for direct entry to the Melbourne Park Grand Slam.

The 21-year-old Briton was also overlooked for a wildcard and was set to take a similar path as her 2021 Flushing Meadows run when she became the first player in the Open Era to win a major after starting out in the qualifying rounds.

However, the exit of Davis, which followed withdrawals by Karolina Muchova, Petra Kvitova, Irina-Camelia Begu and Caty McNally, opened up a spot for Raducanu in the main draw of the Jan. 14-28 major.



PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
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PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra

Paris Saint-Germain retained a six-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a labored 3-0 home win over Toulouse on Friday.
The defending champion dominated the first half but it took until the 35th minute to open the scoring.
Young Portuguese midfielder João Neves spun to meet a cross from the right and struck a superb half volley from just outside the box.
Lucas Beraldo got a second with six minutes remaining when he pounced on loose ball and fired home, The Associated Press reported.
Vitinha made it 3-0 in stoppage time when he showed fine footwork inside the box to finish off a quick counterattack.
The scoreline was harsh on Toulouse, which came into the game in a more even second half.
Only Vitinha’s last-gasp tackle stopped Zakaria Aboukhlal from equalizing after 69 minutes and then Shavy Babicka blazed over from close range a minute later when he should have hit the target.
The win was a confidence boost for Luis Enrique’s side ahead of next Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at Bayern Munich.
PSG lies in 25th place in the 36-team Champions League table with one win in four matches and outside the playoff spots.
Monaco beats Brest: The win came immediately after second-placed Monaco beaten Brest 3-2 to briefly close the gap at the top to three points.
Brest, which faces Barcelona next week in the Champions League, turned in another inconsistent French league performance and not the sparkling form it has shown in Europe.
Brest has struggled in Ligue 1, where it remains 12th, but shone with three wins from four in its first ever Champions League campaign.
It was behind after just five minutes on Friday when Maghnes Akliouche scored with a superb airborne volley, and 2-0 down after 24 minutes thanks to Aleksandr Golovin.
The Russian striker seized on a poor pass just outside the Brest penalty area and his low shot was perfectly placed to sneak in off the post and give him his first goal in nine league appearances.
On-loan Brighton striker Abdallah Sima used his 1.88-meter frame to outjump the Monaco defense four minutes into the second half and cut the deficit but Akliouche restored Monaco’s two-goal cushion when he brilliantly finished a quick counterattack in stoppage time.
Ludovic Ajorque got a second for Brest in the sixth minute of added time but it was not enough in a second half most notable for the red card shown to Brest coach Éric Roy.