Telus Corp. reports Q2 net income up from year ago

NEW YORK (AP) — When Taylor Fritz, a 26-year-old from California, and Frances Tiafoe, a 26-year-old from Maryland, strode under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights Friday night for the first U.S. Open semifinal matching two American men in 19 years, the crowd might have been forgiven for not knowing which to support.

There was a burst of clapping right before the initial point, a curtain-raiser befitting the show about to unfold. Once the contest got going, maybe the momentum shifts made it tough to choose between a pair of close pals who’ve known each other since they were playing tournaments for kids younger than 14.

In the end, the roars were for Fritz, who surged with a six-game run against a fading Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 and reach his first Grand Slam final.

“It’s the reason why I do what I do,” Fritz told the fans, his voice cracking during a post-match interview. “It’s the reason why I work so hard.”

The No. 12-seeded Fritz’s seventh victory in eight professional meetings against No. 20 Tiafoe earned a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the championship on Sunday.

“He was overwhelming from the baseline so much … and I just tried to tell myself to stay in it and fight,” said Fritz, who was two games from losing in the fourth set. “I told myself that if I didn’t give it absolutely everything I had — to just stick with it and see if his level might drop a little bit — then I was going to regret it for a long time.”

He will be the first U.S. man to appear in a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 — and the first in New York since Roddick lost to Federer there in 2006. If he can get past Sinner, Fritz would become the first American man to win any Slam trophy since Roddick got his 21 years ago at the U.S. Open.

“It’s a dream come true. I’m in the final. So I’m going to come out and give everything I can possibly give,” Fritz said. “I can’t wait.”

From 4-all in the fourth set, he seized control. Tiafoe’s mind and legs betrayed him, as he cramped up, at least in part, because of what he said were nerves related to thinking the finish line was near and he was headed to play for the title.

“I felt like my body shut down on me,” said Tiafoe, who fell to 7-14 in five-setters. “I got ahead of myself.”

After his double-fault handed over a break to make it 4-0 in the fifth, more than three hours into the proceedings, Tiafoe chucked his racket. Fritz repaid the favor by double-faulting to end the next game, but broke right back and soon it was over. They met at the net for an embrace.

“Sometimes,” Tiafoe said, “it’s not meant to be.”

Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy exonerated in a doping case less than three weeks ago, finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jack Draper on Friday that featured simultaneous treatment of both competitors by trainers deep in the 1 1/2-hour second set.

“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”

He got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice in a game with the temperature in the high 70s and the humidity above 60%. During that break in the action, a vacuum was used to clear the ground behind the baseline and finish the cleaning job Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, tried to do himself by wiping his, um, mess with a towel.

There was none of that sort of drama away from the actual play in Tiafoe vs. Fritz.

“Ultimately,” Tiafoe said, “it was a great night, to have two Americans battling.”

The respective guest boxes seemed to reflect the players’ contrasting personalities. The excitable Tiafoe would mark a key moment by shaking a raised fist or gritting his teeth or wagging his racket or nodding while strutting to the sideline, and his entourage — including coach David Witt, who worked with Venus Williams for many years, as well as Jessica Pegula, the American in the U.S. Open women’s final Saturday against Aryna Sabalenka — stood and got noisy, point after point after point.

The group in the more mild-mannered Fritz’s corner was more selective in its celebrations.

Fritz had never been past the quarterfinals at one of his sport’s four most prestigious events until now, but this journey included wins over a trio of guys with a combined six Slam runner-up showings: Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.

Fritz started well Friday, smacking serves at up to 135 mph, before Tiafoe gathered himself and grabbed five games in a row. In the next set, Fritz was pretty much perfect, winning 24 of 25 service points and going 8 for 8 at the net. Tiafoe regrouped quickly, breaking to begin the third, which turned out to be enough for that set, because he never allowed Fritz so much as one break chance.

Tiafoe appeared to lose steam after losing one particular 31-stroke point — the longest of the match, he called it “definitely an intense rally” — midway through the fourth, then gave away that set’s last game by double-faulting twice and netting a drop shot.

“This one’s going to hurt really, really bad,” Tiafoe said.

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AP tennis:

SAO PAULO (AP) — Saquon Barkley scored three touchdowns in his debut for Philadelphia, leading the Eagles past the Green Bay Packers 34-29 on Friday night in the first NFL game in South America.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love limped off the field with assistance after getting injured with 6 seconds left. Backup Malik Willis was sacked by Zack Baun on the final play of the game, preventing him from launching a Hail Mary from the Philadelphia 47.

Barkley rushed for 109 yards and scored on an 18-yard catch and runs of 11 and 2 yards. Barkley spent six seasons with the New York Giants before Philadelphia signed him to a three-year, $37.75 million deal with $26 million guaranteed.

He became the first player to score three touchdowns in his Eagles debut since Terrell Owens in 2004.

Jalen Hurts was 20 of 34 for 278 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Eagles. A.J. Brown caught five passes for 119 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown.

Green Bay’s Jayden Reed scored on a 33-yard jet sweep and a 70-yard reception, which was the longest touchdown completion of Love’s career. Reed caught Love’s pass inside Philadelphia’s 40 and made a move at around the 30 that sent safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson sprawling.

Reed became the first player to have a touchdown catch of 30-plus yards and a touchdown run of 30-plus yards in a season opener since Hall of Famer Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns against Washington in 1963.

Reed also had an apparent 38-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive get wiped out because both teams had 12 men on the field. He finished with four catches for 138 yards.

Love went 17 of 34 for 260 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Barkley’s third touchdown put the Eagles ahead 31-26 with 4:26 left in the third quarter. Reed Blankenship set up that score with an interception that gave Philadelphia the ball at Green Bay’s 25.

The Eagles still led 31-26 when Jaire Alexander intercepted Hurts in the end zone early in the fourth quarter. Green Bay drove into the red zone but settled for a 26-yard field goal by rookie Brayden Narveson, who went 3 for 4 on his attempts.

Philadelphia then controlled possession until Jake Elliott kicked a 21-yard field goal with 27 seconds left.

Some Eagles players had expressed reluctance earlier this week about traveling to Brazil, which cost them the opportunity to play their season opener in front of a friendly crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. The crowd at NeoQuimica Arena instead was balanced among Packers fans, Eagles fans and spectators who just cheered any positive development.

Players from both teams were slipping on the playing surface throughout the first half. A Brazilian soccer league game was played in the stadium five days earlier.

NeoQuimica Arena’s field is often praised by soccer players as Brazil’s best, but it had never hosted an American football game. The hybrid field includes both grass and synthetic fiber.

The slippery surface may have contributed to a sloppy start.

Philadelphia committed turnovers on each of its first two series, enabling Green Bay to start back-to-back drives in the red zone, but the Packers settled for field goals both times.

Then the offenses took over. Six of the next seven possessions resulted in touchdowns.

INJURIES

Eagles LB Devin White (ankle) didn’t play. The Packers were missing RBs AJ Dillon and MarShawn Lloyd. Dillon went on injured reserve last week with a neck issue, and Lloyd was out with a hamstring injury.

UP NEXT

Packers: Host Indianapolis on Sunday, Sept. 15.

Eagles: Host Atlanta on Monday, Sept. 16.

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Megargee reported from Wisconsin.

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AP NFL:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

BOGOTA – Needing just a draw to ensure advancing at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Canada’s road to the knockout round grew more complicated after a 2-0 loss to Brazil on Friday in the teams’ final Group B game.

Brazil (3-0-0) had already booked its ticket to the knockout round — and just needed a draw to top the group. Canada’s loss to Brazil, coupled with France’s 11-0 romp over tournament debutante Fiji in Medellin, dropped the Canadians into third place behind France.

The top two teams in each of the six groups advance to the round of 16, along with the four best third-placed teams.

Canada and France (both 1-1-1) finished on four points, but the French leapfrogged the Canadians into second place on goal difference, at plus-eight compared to plus-seven.

A 95th-minute French penalty against Fiji and a Brazil goal in stoppage time proved to be the difference.

Vendito had given Brazil a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute. And when Canada pressed for a goal to move back past France in the standings in stoppage time, Brazil scored on a long-range effort by Carol, from deep within her own half, in the 99th minute with Canadian ‘keeper Noelle Henning out of position.

As group winner, Brazil will face a third-place team on Wednesday in Bogota while second-place France will meet the runner-up from Group F (North Korea, Argentina, Costa Rica or the Netherlands) on Thursday in Medellin.

With Cameroon having the same points but a worse goal difference than Canada after three games in Group A and Ghana and New Zealand at the bottom of Group E with no points after two matches, the Canadians will move on but face a more difficult road given the third-place teams that advance take on a group winner.

Canada last reached the knockout round at the tournament in 2014 when it hosted the tournament.

Both Brazil and Canada lacked clinical finishing at Estadio Nemesio Camacho, also known as “El Campin,” in the Colombian capital. Brazil outshot Canada 20-15 (7-4 in shots on target).

The young Canadians drew France 3-3 in their tournament opener before thumping Fiji 9-0 Tuesday, with both games in Medellin.

Brazil blanked France 3-0 and Fiji 9-0. The 10-time South American champion has won its last five U-20 World Cup group matches without conceding a goal and has won five successive group matches for the first time.

Canada and Brazil both squandered chances in the first half with shots flying off-target and passes missing their mark. Brazil was on target with a free kick from outside the penalty box that was calmly dealt with by Henning.

The South Americans went ahead after some fine work by Dudinha, who fended off defender Mya Archibald at the byline to keep the ball in play and then backheeled it diagonally to Vendito, whose shot went in past Henning and two defenders for her fifth goal of the tournament.

Canada came close in the 41st minute off a corner with the ball ricocheting around the penalty box before Brazilian ‘keeper Rillary grabbed it before it rolled in.

Both teams attempted 10 shots on target in the first half, with three on target for Brazil and two for Canada.

Annabelle Chukwu replaced Nyah Rose up front for Canada at halftime. The 17-year-old from Ottawa scored three goals in the Fiji rout to move atop the Canadian women’s youth scoring list with 29 goals, surpassing Christine Sinclair’s 27. Olivia Smith, who scored twice against Fiji, ranks third with 26 goals.

Canada appealed for a penalty early in the second half after Chukwu went down after tangling with Brazilian defender Carla. But Italian Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi, the first woman to referee a Serie A match, was unconvinced after watching a video replay.

Henning made fine saves to deny Dudinha in the 54th and 80th minute.

Canada coach Cindy Tye, who dug into her roster to use seven new starters against Fiji, essentially went back to the starting 11 that drew France with the only difference in goal where Henning retained her place from the Fiji outing.

The newly expanded 24-team tournament runs through Sept. 22 at four stadiums in Bogota, Cali and Medellin. Austria, Cameroon and Morocco are the other first-time entries at the tournament.

While Canada has participated in nine of the 11 U-20 World Cups held to date, Tuesday’s win over Fiji was its first at the tournament since a 1-0 victory over North Korea in group play in 2014.

The Canadian women, who missed out on the 2018 edition, exited the 2016 and 2022 tournaments after losing all three group games.

Host Canada finished runner-up to the U.S. in 2002, the first edition of the tournament when it was still an under-19 event.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.