British number two Dan Evans qualified for the main draw of the Rogers Cup in Montreal with a 6-3 6-3 victory against Spain's Marcel Granollers.

The 29-year-old world number 51 beat the world number 103 in their only previous match in Sydney two years ago.

He wrapped up another win in an hour and 21 minutes to ensure three British players in the main draw.

Kyle Edmund faces Washington finalist Nick Kyrgios while Cameron Norrie will take on Hungary's Marton Fucsovics.

Top seeds Hamammy and Asal win World Junior crown in Kuala Lumpur
By KNG ZHENG GUAN, HOWARD HARDING and ALEX WAN – Squash Mad International Correspondents

The 2019 CIMB Foundation WSF World Junior Squash Championships is in the hands of Egypt and there is none more deserving than Hania El Hammamy who nails her maiden crown while Mostafa Asal goes two up after a superb showing in the boys’ final.

Top seed Hania had suffered the agony of playing the bridesmaid role in 2017 and 2018, both times losing to compatriot Rowan Elaraby in the final.

Now competing in her fifth and final world juniors and in her third straight final, it was clear the world No. 15 was desperate to end her junior career on a high.

Hania however had to be at her best, especially in the early stages to see off a challenge by second seeded compatriot Jana Shiha 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil on Sunday.

The first game was a tight affair as Jana looked like she could derail Hania’s title bid with some early aggression to sneak in a lead.

But despite trailing for most of the first game, Hania found her composure under as she converted the big points to take the first game 11-9.

From there on the Cairo native never looked back and Jana, who was looking a little more weary after a gruelling five-setter semi-final a day earlier, committed too many errors during the course of the play.

In the end, a loose ball and a stroke sealed the win for Hania who looked simply relieved to have gotten the monkey off her back.

“It was heart breaking playing Jana because she’s a very good friend and it’s just so hard to play a close friend when you want to win the title so bad,” said Hania.

“I had to put our friendship aside when I was on court and I’m glad that I managed to get through it to be finally called world junior champion.

“This win is really important for me because I’ve been watching all my favourite players on the PSA Tour and they’ve all won the title at some point.

“I was angry that I didn’t win this before and for the past three years I’ve really hoping to win it. There was a lot of pressure on me too and I was also nervous to start because I didn’t want to lose in my last world juniors,” added Hania.

Said Jana, “My body was a bit sore from yesterday, having played a five-setter semi-final and I probably wasn’t in the best shape.

“But I think I played good overall until the third game where I gave out too many unforced errors.

“But I’m happy for Hania. It’s her last world juniors and I’m glad she made it while I still have one more year and hopefully I can win it next year.

“Of course playing in this final helped me. The mood and the tension is completely different and now with Hania done with juniors, I believe I’ll be more prepared to win it next year.”

In the boys’ final, top seed Mostafa put up a showman’s performance as he put down compatriot Moustafa Elsirty 12-10, 11-3 11-6 for his second straight world junior title.

The first game was a physical affair with both players contesting hard to get into space and Mostafa was even given a conduct stroke for shoving Moustafa into the side wall.

That however, snapped the Cairo native back into the game and despite being 10-7 down, he managed to save all three points before going on to take the game 12-10.

No thanks to the fact that the referee was not able to keep things under control, the physicality continued for the entire match.

However, after the first game, it was a one-sided affair as Mostafa simply exerted his influence while Moustafa looked a spent force.

The world No. 29 would eventually wrap up the win after 41 minutes to be the fourth Egyptian since Ramy Ashour, and the Shorbagy brothers – Mohamed and Marwan, in winning two world junior crowns.

“It’s an amazing feeling to win for the second time although I’m happy to return this trophy after a week,” grinned Mostafa.

“It was a tough game because I was 10-7 down in the first and there was a lot of pressure on me.

“I think it always difficult coming into the junior competition being so high ranked on the PSA Tour. The pace is always different and that was something I had to adapt to this week.

“But I’m thankful that I was mentally tough today especially in the first game because taking that game was so important for me.”

Meanwhile runner-up Moustafa who is still eligible for next year’s world juniors, believes he needs to work on his mental strength in order to take the title next year.

“I am thankful for a second place finish after finishing third last year. It shows progress in my squash and hopefully I’ll come back and win it next year,” said Moustafa.

Meanwhile this marks another successful year for Egypt as they sweep both titles for the third straight year.

The competition now proceeds with the girls’ team competition which starts on Monday. Egypt are favourites for the title as top seeds, with hosts Malaysia in second, while Hong Kong, after enjoying a successful individuals campaign, have been elevated to third seeds ahead of England and USA.

Finals.

[1] Hania El Hammamy (Egy) 3-0 [2] Jana Shiha (Egy) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (35m)

[1] Mostafa Asal (Egy) 3-0 [3/4] Moustafa Elsirty (Egy) 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 (41m) 

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Pictures courtesy of #WSFWorldJuniors2019

INDIANAPOLIS – Lyn St. James, who was injured in a crash during Saturday’s Vintage Race of Champions Charity Pro-Am at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was discharged from an area hospital Sunday morning.

A seven-time Indy 500 starter and prominent sports car racer, St. James sustained minor injuries during the crash. She was kept overnight for observation at the IU Health Methodist Hospital.

“The care was excellent,” said St. James. “I am grateful to everyone involved – from the time of the incident to my release from the hospital.

“I’m really happy to be up on my feet and feeling pretty good,” St. James continued. “I’m really thankful that all of the safety equipment that I wore and what was on the car functioned as it was designed to. I am walking away from a pretty big hit.”

St. James will be returning to Arizona on Monday.

MOGYOROD, Hungary – Lewis Hamilton’s 81st career Formula One victory may go down as one of his best ever.

Hamilton and Mercedes played pit strategy to perfection on Sunday at the Hungaroring, turning what appeared to be a certain runner-up finish into the Briton’s seventh career Hungarian Grand Prix triumph.

After running second to polesitter and race-long dominator Max Verstappen for virtually the entire race, the Mercedes team gambled on a pit stop with 22 to go, putting Hamilton on fresh medium-compound tires in an attempt to give him the speed he needed to get around the Red Bull driver for the win.

Their risk paid off handsomely, as Hamilton chased down Verstappen – who pitted only once, for hard-compound tires at lap 25 – from 20 seconds back in the final 20 laps before making the decisive pass around the outside of turn one with four to go.

From there, Hamilton cruised home to victory, while Verstappen pitted again in an attempt to steal a bonus point for the fastest race lap and ended up 17.796 seconds adrift at the finish line.

Sunday’s master class was Hamilton’s seventh victory in Hungary, tying Michael Schumacher for the most Hungarian Grand Prix wins in F-1 history, as well as his eighth win in 12 tries this year going into the month-long summer break.

However, such a run also left Hamilton exhausted in parc ferme after he climbed from his car to celebrate with his team.

“Man, I’m tired after that one, which is as it should be,” said a breathless Hamilton. “I’m very, very grateful though, for this day and for my team. They’ve never stopped believing in me and continued to push things to the limit with everything we have. They took a risk and a chance on me when we joined up, and they took a risk and a chance again today to get this victory. Winning with them never gets old.

“We had brake problems all weekend … and I was a bit worried,” he added. “I was actually doing a lot of lifting and coasting, so I wouldn’t even touch the brake (pedal), all throughout that race. I was trying to save as much as I could, because I knew it would be difficult (to pass), and it was tough to get by Max.

“I didn’t know if I could catch him, but I kept pushing and we made it happen in the end.”

While he didn’t come away with the win, Verstappen did smash the race-lap record in the final circuits at the Hungaroring, turning in a 1:17.103 to garner an extra bonus point along with his runner-up finish.

“We were just not fast enough when it mattered most,” Verstappen said. “I tried everything I could on that hard compound to stay alive, but unfortunately it was just not enough. It’s still a second-place finish, with a (point for) fastest lap, so it’s a good weekend overall for us. Congrats to Lewis though, because he was pushing me very hard and I like that.

“We didn’t get the win, but we had a good day and we’ll come back even stronger after the break.”

The Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc finished third and fourth, respectively, as the last two drivers who finished on the lead lap. McLaren’s Carlos Sainz completed the top five, one lap down.

Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly, Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen, the sister Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas, the second McLaren of Lando Norris and Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon were the rest of the points-scoring drivers in the top 10.

The finish:

Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Kimi Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas, Lando Norris, Alexander Albon, Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, George Russell, Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi, Robert Kubica, Romian Grosjean.

It is a beautiful June Saturday in Knoxville, Iowa. A couple from Oregon steps out of their car and approaches the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.

They are welcomed at the door. It is their first trip to “The Sprint Car Capital of the World.”

They are shown to the sixth floor of the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower. They step out of the door onto the observation deck and the enormity of Knoxville Raceway takes their breath away. They walk up to the railing and peer over. The tractors are tilling and water trucks are in motion around the big half-mile race track.

It’s finally race day.

The folks from Checkered Flag Concessions are making trips back and forth to the infield concession stand. As the gentle breeze blows a little bit harder 600 feet in the air, down below transporters and trailers — enclosed and open alike — are pulling on the fairgrounds. The public-address system is already belting out tunes and things are abuzz.

The couple has never seen anything like it. A first-time visit to Knoxville Raceway can be awe inspiring. It’s quickly apparent to the couple that Knoxville Raceway is the destination for thousands each Saturday night.

When fans from far and wide think about Knoxville Raceway, the Knoxville Nationals may be foremost in their minds.  The event was started by Marion Robinson in 1961, paying $1,000 to win for supermodifieds. The event was a huge success and made Knoxville Raceway a player on the national scene.

In 1954, weekly racing came to the Marion County Fairgrounds for the first time. Modified stock cars eventually found a foothold on Saturday nights. Weekly racing has been the backbone of the community ever since.

Without it, the Knoxville Nationals would never have occurred, and certainly, without the weekly contingent to support it, the Nationals would not be what it is today.

Thousands have moved to the region over the years, bringing new companies, race teams, business, residents and revenue to the community of 7,000. For the majority, it is weekly racing that draws them.  Certainly, the Nationals brings a boost to the local economy, but weekly racing from mid-April to the end of August is what sustains it.

The Saturday night weekly scene is something to behold. More than 200 employees assemble to carry out their duties. Race officials, safety personnel, concession workers, the track-prep crew, push-truck drivers, customer service, security, ticket takers, office personnel, the clean-up crew and many more have one thing in mind — running a smooth and entertaining event.

Driver Brian Brown hails from Grain Valley, Mo., and is proud of his Missouri roots, but Knoxville is home for him. His Casey’s General Stores/FVP No. 21 transporter brings flash and style with it and is the first to pull into the infield on this night.

The two-time 410 track champion grew up here on Saturday nights watching his uncle, Danny Lasoski, rack up win after win.  It was a family affair that saw Brown run from the stands to be a part of the victory lane photo.

Racing for a living, Brown has solidly put himself in the top 10 in the 410 class nationwide. He has built his own team from the ground up through hard work and sponsorships he takes very seriously. He beat the World of Outlaws at Knoxville in June, and he’s beaten them other places as well. But there is nowhere he’d rather be on a Saturday night.

The pressure that comes from being the nephew of Knoxville Raceway’s top feature winner is real, but not nearly the pressure Brown puts on himself.

The years have taught him to relax a little and take it one week at a time. It has paid off. Still, when he rolls in, everyone knows he’s among those to beat every Saturday night. Through late June, Brown had won four features here this season.

To continue reading, advance to the next page.

MOGYOROD, Hungary – While Lewis Hamilton won Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, there was another driver with a famous Formula One last name who wound up stealing the headlines.

Mick Schumacher, the son of all-time F-1 champion and wins leader Michael Schumacher, scored his maiden race win during a Grand Prix weekend with a victory in the Formula 2 sprint race at the Hungaroring.

The 20-year-old, who started from the pole by virtue of an eighth-place finish in the F-2 feature race on Saturday, held off Japan’s Nobuharu Matsushita all the way through the 28-lap distance.

The younger Schumacher made a set of medium-compound Pirelli tires last to the checkered flag, securing the first win for a Schumacher family member on an F-1 event weekend since Michael’s last victory in 2006 at the Chinese Grand Prix.

“I was always trying to keep [Matsushita] a bit behind, especially in the last sector, where mostly going into turn one is the easiest and most probable overtaking opportunity,” Schumacher noted. “I tried to have a good exit out of the last corner every time which worked pretty well. He got pretty close when he had the DRS, but in general I was trying to take care of my tires, especially when those two [Matsushita and Sette Camara] were fighting.

“I tried to push to get away so that I’d stay out of DRS (range), but then also tried to look after the tires so that if Nobuharu came back … then I still had some tire [life] left.”

A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Schumacher drives for the leading Prema Racing team in the feeder series to F-1.

He tested a Ferrari F-1 car in April, but has struggled during his first F-2 season and sits 11th in points after his first victory. Schumacher’s previous best was fourth in Austria.

While widely expected to move up to F-1 in the future, the son of the sport’s greatest driver isn’t worried about when or how soon such a move might happen.

“Only time can tell,” Schumacher told the BBC. “Having the first victory in F-2 is a great thing. I need to work a lot on myself. Whether I go to F-1 next year … or in two years or maybe three, I don’t know.

“I will do my best and try to learn as much as possible, so that when I do (make) the step, I will be ready and able to feel comfortable.”

Nicholas Latifi won Saturday’s F-2 feature race.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – James McFadden’s win in the 29th Annual MyPlace Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank has him leading the Beaver Drill & Tool Jesse Hockett Mr. Sprint Car standings.

Sunday night, the Southern Iowa Sprint Week action shifts to 410 racing during Knoxville Raceway’s Bell Helmets Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank.

While McFadden leads the way in the rankings, his nearest pursuer is breathing down his neck, as Brian Brown sits only two points adrift of the top spot.

Aaron Reutzel and Wayne Johnson are tied for third, with Joey Saldana completing the top five.

Beaver Drill & Tool Company of Kansas City is in their second year as title sponsor of the Beaver Drill & Tool Jesse Hockett Mr. Sprint Car Award.

The Vielhauer family, well-known in the sprint car racing community, are the owners of Beaver Drill & Tool Co.

Current 2019 Jesse Hockett “Mr. Sprint Car” Standings

1. James McFadden, Victoria, Aust., 100 points; 2. Brian Brown, Missouri, 98 points; 3. Aaron Reutzel, Texas, 96; Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma, 96 points; 5. Joey Saldana, Indiana, 94 points; 6. Cory Eliason, California, 91 points; Davey Heskin, Minnesota, 91 points; 8. Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, Canada, 89 points; 9. Austin McCarl, Iowa, 86 points; Dusty Zomer, South Dakota, 86 points.