Tyson Fury has offered his thoughts on the “shocking” outcome of Moses Itauma getting stopped in nine rounds by veteran Filip Hrgovic.

The pair collided at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday, with Itauma looking set to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson dethroned Trevor Berbick in 1986.

He had, after all, built a considerable lead after scoring a second-round knockdown and dominating practically all of their exchanges.

The 21-year-old was clearly becoming increasingly fatigued, though, and after attempting to get his man out of there in round eight, he was seemingly running on empty.

Taking advantage of this, Hrgovic found a sudden surge of energy and delivered a sustained onslaught, eventually urging referee Howard Foster to draw a halt in round nine.

As a result, the Croatian became his country’s first-ever world heavyweight champion by claiming the IBF title, which was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in June.

With it coming as a major upset, however, Fury has highlighted the drama of heavyweight boxing by reminding us of Anthony Joshua’s surprising two-round battle with Kristian Prenga.

Speaking with ESNEWS, ‘The Gypsy King’ reflected on how Prenga was able to score two knockdowns, only to get stopped in the second round of their July encounter.

“It’s heavyweight boxing; anything can happen. Just because a guy got put down by a bum [Prenga] doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen to any one of us. Of course it can – it’s boxing.

“Take a look at the next future world champion tonight – he got beat. Moses Itauma – he got stopped in nine rounds. It can happen to anyone … It was shocking.”

While Joshua’s experience with Prenga proved vastly different to that of Itauma’s with Hrgovic, both fights nonetheless reflect the uncertainty of boxing.

Well, that was a wild day for news.

The Minnesota Vikings are now down to 53 players. The focus can shift toward that Week 1 Packers game. Who is going to be in the Vikings’ starting lineup? Glad you asked. Consider what things could plausibly look like rolling into the NFC North battle on Sunday, September 13th.

Oh, and for the record, neither of Kevin O’Connell nor Nolan Teasley asked for my opinion. They know how to reach me if they’re interested in my advice.

Projecting the Vikings’ Starting Lineup

The Vikings’ Offense

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— READ MORE: A Final Vikings 53-Man Roster Projection —

Part of what makes the Vikings compelling is the promise to be more multiple than in the past.

TE2 Josh Oliver is going to demand playing time (rightfully so; he’s awesome). So is rookie FB Max Bredeson (rightfully so; he’s awesome). Seeing Oliver, Bredeson, and Jennings all blocking on a Mason run is going to be a good football moment. Could Chaz Chambliss somehow get worked into the mix?

Coach O’Connell would be wise to figure out how to run the ball.

The Vikings’ Defense

Similar to the offense, the Vikings’ defense is going to be multiple.

Expect rookie DT Domonique Orange and LB Jake Golday to earn significant workloads. Likewise, S Jacob Thomas is on an upward trajectory, but we’ll see what that means as a rookie. After all, he’s an undrafted talent who has already done much to overcome the odds.

Questions: who gets to start alongside Metellus? What does 2026 look like for Caleb Banks?

The Vikings’ Special Teams

Nothing to see here, folks.

Where there’s some mystery is at returner. Myles Price will be the PR1. Does Tai Felton get leaned on as the PR2 if there’s an injury?

As for kickoff return, the candidates consist of Price, Felton, Demond Claiborne, Dillon Bell, and maybe some others. A job to watch.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Lakshya Sen will look to bounce back from the disappointment of his early exit at the World Championships but a tough opener awaits him when he spearheads the Indian challenge at the USD 1,250,000 China Masters Super 750, beginning in Shenzhen on Tuesday. Sen, who became the first Indian male shuttler to reach an Olympic semifinal in Paris two years ago before finishing fourth, will face France’s newly-crowned world champion Alex Lanier in his opening match. The Indian has enjoyed some notable results this season, including a runner-up finish at the All England Championships, and will be keen to regain consistency against a strong field after a shock second-round loss to world number 92 Garret Tan at the Worlds.

Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, meanwhile, faces Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu-jen after reaching the US Open Super 300 final in June, where he finished runner-up.

His campaign on the Tour after that has been patchy. It was interrupted by an injury-forced retirement due to injury at the Canada Open before he suffered a first-round exit at the Korea Masters.

In men’s doubles, fourth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be among India’s biggest hopes.

The former world No. 1 pair ended a two-year wait for an international title by winning the Singapore Open earlier this year. They will open against China’s Hu Ke Yuan and Lin Xiang Yi, who won the Orleans Masters title this season.

Satwik has been dealing with a recurring shoulder issue.

The duo returned to action after missing a few events only to make a third-round exit from the Worlds at home. The Indian pair will hope for a deeper run as it builds up to the Asian Games title defence in Japan.

India’s young women’s singles contingent will also be under the spotlight, with young prospects Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma and Devika Sihag carrying the national flag.

Unnati, the 18-year-old from Rohtak, faces fifth seed Han Yue of China.

She became the youngest Indian to win a BWF World Tour title when she claimed the Odisha Open Super 100 crown in 2022 as an unseeded 14-year-old.

She has since added the Abu Dhabi Masters and Odisha Masters titles to her cabinet.

Tanvi takes on Denmark’s Amalie Schulz.

The 17-year-old from Hoshiarpur climbed to the junior world No. 1 ranking last year, a run that included a silver medal in singles and a bronze in the mixed team event at the 2025 World Junior Championships — making her the first Indian to win more than one medal at a single edition of that event.

She underlined her rapid rise this year by becoming the youngest-ever winner of the Taipei Open Super 300.

Devika, meanwhile, will square off against Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova.

The 21-year-old from Haryana, currently ranked inside the world’s top 45, arrives on the back of a title-winning run at the Thailand Masters Super 300.

Among others, the men’s pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun faces eighth-seeded Japanese combination of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi, the 2021 world champions.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will take on Thai pairing of Tonkid and Tonrug Saeheng, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will face Chinese Taipei’s Wu Guan Xun and Lee Chia Hsin. PTI ATK PM ATK PM PM

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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CWG 2026 Weightlifting Gold Medallist, Mirabai Chanu Get Hero’s Welcome in Delhi

The shocks have already started at the US Open as 23-time grand slam champion and fourth seed Novak Djokovic suffered his earliest exit at a major in 20 years, losing in the first round.

The Serb broke down in tears as he fell in five sets to Mariano Navone, in a match where he physically struggled with the heat and humidity and threw up several times.

The defeat – his first time losing in the opening round of a slam since the Australian Open in 2006 – brings an abrupt end to his quest for a 25th major title.

Elsewhere on the opening day 29th seed Cameron Norrie was the first of the Brits to make a tame exit, losing in four sets to France Lucas Van Assche, but there were wins for former US Open finalist and third seed Jessica Pegula as well as men’s seventh seed Daniil Medvedev.

Follow the top players’ progress with our seed tracker here:

Men’s seeds

Women’s seeds

Cameron Norrie will have to console himself with a win at a padel tournament after his miserable summer at the grand slams ended in another first-round defeat.

Norrie, who did not make it past the opening round at the French Open or Wimbledon, was dumped out of the US Open by unheralded Frenchman Luca Van Assche.

It was a sorry Sunday for the 31-year-old, who woke up to find he had been overtaken as British number one by Arthur Fery following his run to the Winston-Salem final.

Norrie revealed beforehand that he won a padel competition among his friends while on his stag do in Ibiza last month. It turns out that was the only victory he could savour after slipping to a 6-7 (6) 6-2 6-2 6-3 defeat.

Norrie pointedly shouted ‘allez’ on his way to securing a grind of a first set on a tie-break.

Whether that wound up Van Assche is unclear but the 22-year-old made no such mistake in the second to haul himself level.

Norrie, the 29th seed, then found himself in a New York nightmare as the match quickly got away from him.

“It was really tough,” he said. “I was pretty nervous and it showed in the beginning of the first set, and I did well to steal that first set.

“But I could never really maintain a good level of energy and momentum, and I’d play well for a little bit and then drop off a couple of games here and there.

“So that was super frustrating and pretty surprising. I felt like I lost to myself today.”

There was better news for Britain elsewhere as Toby Samuel, who came through qualifying having been a set down in each of those three matches, recorded his first ever grand slam main-draw win.

The 23-year-old beat the out-of-form Czech Tomas Mahac 6-2 6-3 6-2 in a little over 90 minutes.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It means everything to me. It’s what I dreamt of as a kid watching these big tournaments. Being able to win my first Grand Slam match is unbelievable.”

in the women’s draw Katie Boulter came through a tough match against American wild card Carol Young Suh Lee.

British number one Boulter, 30, looked to be cruising through at a set and a break ahead, only for some costly double-faults to let Lee back in.

However, Boulter, cheered on by new husband Alex De Minaur, gathered herself on a noisy, partisan Court Five to win 6-4 3-6 6-0.

“You know, I expected a battle in the first round,” said Boulter. “I don’t think that there’s any match out here that’s straightforward, really.

“I think I did well to get over the line in the first set, and then I think I changed a couple of things that actually made a huge difference in the third. So I was really pleased with that in the third set.”

A tricky assignment could await in round two with a potential tie against this year’s Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova.

British number four Jacob Fearnley was a break down in the first set against Spain’s Martin Landaluce when play was suspended for rain.

Match Details

Fixture: (2) Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin

Date: August 31, 2026

Tournament: US Open Tennis Championships

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor hard

Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Queens, New York City

Prize Money: $108,000,000

Live Telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Sky Sports | Canada – TSN

Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin preview

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz will face off against unseeded Roman Safiullin in the first round of the 2026 US Open on Monday.

Alcaraz enters this one having not played a singles match since April, sidelined for four months by a right wrist injury sustained in Barcelona. He tested things out in mixed doubles with Serena Williams earlier this week, reaching the quarterfinals before falling to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli, and he arrives as the No. 2 seed and defending champion, looking rusty but dangerous. It’s uncharted territory for him at a Major, having never entered a Grand Slam with this little match play behind him in his career so far.

Meanwhile, Safiullin enters off a 6-7(6), 6-4, 3-6 first-round loss to Hugo Grenier in Winston-Salem, though it followed a genuinely strong summer that included a run to the Wimbledon fourth round, upsetting Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca along the way before falling to Novak Djokovic in four sets. He’s shown he’s not afraid of the occasion against elite names, a trait that could serve him well walking into Arthur Ashe Stadium against the defending champion.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin head-to-head

Their head-to-head is level at 1-1, with Safiullin’s win coming at the 2023 Paris Masters, and Alcaraz avenging that loss the following year at the Paris Olympics.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin odds

(Odds via BetMGM)

Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin prediction

Alcaraz’s talent ceiling remains far above Safiullin’s on paper, the defending champion here whose game, when sharp, has few real weaknesses. But four months away from competitive singles is a genuine unknown, and Grand Slam matches, especially best-of-five, tend to punish any lingering timing or footwork issues in the early sets more than shorter formats would.

Safiullin’s recent numbers back up just how real his summer form has been, not just the results. His Wimbledon run included winning 83% of first-serve points against Rublev and outpointing Fonseca 105 to 81 in a clean straight-sets win, both matches built on tight, disciplined serving paired with disruptive return games. That combination, minimizing free points on serve while creating real pressure on return, is exactly the kind of profile that can trouble a player still finding his footing after a long layoff.

Their head-to-head is split evenly too, and it’s worth noting Safiullin’s win came when Alcaraz was fully fit and ranked No. 2 in the world, so this isn’t a case of him needing an off-night from the Spaniard to have a chance. Still, even a rusty Alcaraz carries more raw shot-making upside than almost anyone in the draw, and the extra two sets of a Slam format give him more room to adjust if the start is shaky.

Pick: Alcaraz to win in four sets.

Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiullin betting tips

Tip 1: The match will have at least 35 games.

Tip 2: Safiullin to win a set with a score of 6-4 or better.