Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday, Sept. 1

Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday (times GMT): TENNIS U.S. Open, New York (to Sept. 11) Murray, Serena try to secure passage to third round NEW YORK - Second seed Andy Murray, two-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka, women's top seed Serena Williams and Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska are among the top players in action looking to punch their tickets into the third round during Day Four action at Flushing Meadows. (TENNIS-OPEN/ (PIX, TV), expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, by Steve Keating, Larry Fine and Simon Cambers, 400 words) SOCCER 2018 World Cup qualifying, Asia South Korea host China as 2018 World Cup qualifying restarts SEOUL - South Korea kick off the third round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup with a home tie against China in Seoul. The South Koreans, who went through the previous round with a 100 percent record without conceding a goal, are seeking to appear at a ninth consecutive World Cup finals. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-KOR-CHN/ (PIX), expect by 1400 GMT/10 AM ET, by Peter Rutherford, 400 words) Socceroos eye winning start against Iraq Asian Cup champions Australia look to get off to a flying start in the third round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup when they host Iraq in Perth on Thursday. With Japan and Saudi Arabia also in their group, the Socceroos cannot afford an early slip up. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-AUS-IRQ/, expect by 1400 GMT/10 AM ET, 400 words) Japan face tricky opener against UAE at home Japan will look to overcome shoddy preparation and kick off their third round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup at home with a win against the United Arab Emirates, who beat the Blue Samurais in last year's Asian Cup quarter-finals in a penalty shootout. The Emiratis have come with ample preparation, holding camps in China and Spain, while the hosts started their camp for the match only on Sunday. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-JPN-ARE/, expect by 1400 GMT/10 AM ET, 400 words) We will have all the latest news the day after the closure of the European transfer window (SOCCER-COUNTRY-HOME TEAM/, expect throughout) MOTOR RACING Italian Formula One Grand Prix Vettel and Raikkonen ready for Ferrari's home race MONZA, Italy - Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen face the media ahead of the team's home race, the final European round of the season. (MOTOR-F1-ITALY/ (PIX), expect from 1300 GMT/9 AM ET, by Alan Baldwin) We will also have stories from around the paddock. CYCLING Tour of Spain (to Sept. 11) Froome moves into contention in Spain MADRID - Chris Froome continues his quest to add the Tour of Spain to his Tour de France title as he sits less than a minute behind overall leader Nairo Quintana with the 12th stage a 193.2 km ride from Los Corrales de Buelna to Bilbao. (CYCLING-SPAIN/, expect by 1700 GMT/1 PM ET, 300 words) SPORT TEN Sports deal to help Sony expand footprint, says CEO MUMBAI - The $385 million acquisiton of TEN Sports will help Sony Pictures Networks expand its footprint in the Middle East and Africa while strengthening its position as a premier sports broadcaster, chief executive N.P. Singh told Reuters. (SPORT-MEDIA/SONY (INTERVIEW), expect by 1000 GMT/6 AM ET, by Sudipto Ganguly, 450 words) (Asia Desk Editor: Greg Stutchbury)