Carlos Alcaraz successfully defended his Madrid Open title with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff on Sunday, moving closer to recovering his world No. 1 ranking

The 20-year-old Spaniard will be back at the top of the rankings going into the French Open if he plays at least one match at the upcoming Italian Open in Rome.

He converted on his first match point after a hard-fought battle against Struff to secure his fourth title of the year and 10th of his impressive young career. He had also successfully defended his title in Barcelona two weeks ago.

It was Alcaraz’s 29th win of the season, and 21st straight in Spain going back to a loss to Rafael Nadal in Madrid on his 18th birthday two years ago.

He joined Nadal as the only consecutive Madrid champion in tournament history, and is the youngest player to successfully defend a Masters 1000 title since Nadal at Monte Carlo and Rome in 2005-06.

“For me it is so, so special,” Alcaraz said. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget.”

Alcaraz’s other titles this year came in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells. He is the first player to win two Masters 1000 trophies this season. It is his fifth Masters 1000 title overall.

“It was a really tough match,” Alcaraz said. “Jan was playing great, really aggressive. In the second set I had a lot of chances to break his serve and I didn’t take it and it was tough for me to lose it. I told myself that I had to be positive all the time and that I would have my chances and I think I did it in the third set.”

The big-serving Struff was the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final, having earned an unexpected spot in the main draw after another player had to drop out.

The 33-year-old German, ranked 65th in the world, was trying to become just the fourth player and first in more than 20 years to win his first tour-level trophy at a Masters 1000.

Sterling earns victory via split decision

Aljamain Sterling survived a late takedown that sent a packed crowd into a frenzy and held on to his 135-pound championship with a split decision victory against Henry Cejudo in the main event of UFC 288 late Saturday night in Newark, N.J.

Sterling, 33, won his ninth straight fight and spoiled Cejudo’s comeback after a three-year retirement. Sterling’s record is 23-3.

Cejudo, the only person to win an Olympic gold medal and a UFC championship, held the bantamweight crown when he abruptly retired in May 2020 after he successfully defended the title in a fight against Dominick Cruz.

“I hate losing but it’s also been three years,” Cejudo said.

Cejudo said he was a “little confused” about his future plans and would return home and think about his fight future.

“Who knows, this may be the last time in the octagon,” he said.

Sterling won 48-47, 48-47 on two scorecards and Cejudo won 48-47 on the other.

At 21, Cejudo became the youngest American to capture an Olympic wrestling gold medal when he won the freestyle 55-kilogram division in 2008.. At 36, Cejudo may finally call it quits instead of continuing to chase another UFC championship.

Belal Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) landed enough stiff kicks to Gilbert Burns’ upper body to earn a unanimous decision victory in the 170-pound five-round fight.

• UFC veteran Tony Ferguson was arrested early Sunday morning in Hollywood for suspicion of drunken driving after he allegedly crashed into parked cars and flipped his truck, police said.

Los Angeles police arrested Ferguson at around 2 a.m. Police said Ferguson’s truck hit at least two parked vehicles and flipped over near Sunset Boulevard. No one was reported injured, a police spokesperson said.

Ferguson, a 2017 interim UFC lightweight champion, allegedly refused to take a breathalyzer test at the scene and was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, police said. He was booked into the Los Angeles County Jail, according to jail records.

Former PGA champ January dies at 93

Don January, who won the 1967 PGA Championship in a playoff and became the first winner on what is now the PGA Tour Champions, died Sunday, the PGA Tour announced. He was 93.

The tour did not list the cause of death.

January won 10 times on the PGA Tour over 20 years, none bigger than the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine Country Club in Colorado. He shot 69 to beat Don Massengale by two shots in an 18-hole playoff.

Four years after his final win, the Senior PGA Tour for players 50 and older began with four tournaments. January won the first one, the Atlantic City Senior Invitational, and made $20,000. That tournament was never held again.

January won 22 times on the Senior PGA Tour, including the 1982 Senior PGA Championship the first year it went to PGA National in Florida.

Russians at worlds, but not Ukrainians

Russians returned to international judo competition for the first time in nearly a year at the world championships as Ukraine boycotted the key Olympic qualifier in Doha, Qatar.

Competing under the name of “Individual Neutral Athletes,” the Russians had a slow start in Doha as their first competitor, Sabina Giliazova, lost her opening contest to France’s Blandine Pont. Three more Russians are due to compete today.

Seventeen judokas from Russia and two from its ally Belarus were listed as competing at the world championships despite several of them having apparent ties with the Russian military. Ukraine removed its team from the event last week in protest.

Italian wins Giro stage in first Grand Tour

Jonathan Milan sprinted to victory in a crash-affected finale of the second stage of the Giro d’Italia, while pre-race favorite Remco Evenepoel held on to the leader’s pink jersey.

It is Milan’s first Grand Tour and the 22-year-old Italian punched his fist in the air in delight as he crossed the line. The Bahrain Victorious rider edged out David Dekker and Kaden Groves in a bunch sprint at the end of the 126-mile route from Teramo to San Salvo.