Ons Jabeur became the latest big-name casualty at the Australian Open when she suffered a second-round defeat to Marketa Vondrousova.

Jabeur has been hampered by knee and back injuries at the start of the season and the second seed suffered more pain on Rod Laver Arena, where the excellent Vondrousova sealed a 6-1 5-7 6-1 win in the early hours of Friday morning in Melbourne.

Vondrousova has been troubled by multiple wrist injuries since she was a runner-up at the French Open in 2019, but appears to have put those issues behind her.

The Czech left-hander dominated the first and final sets after Jabeur showed her fighting spirit in the second to force a decider at Melbourne Park.

A runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open last year, tenacious Tunisian Jabeur appeared to be in some pain and struggling for breath during a match in which she made 50 unforced errors.

The world number two struck 27 winners to her opponent's 17, but followed the likes of Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud and Emma Raducanu in making early exits when she overcooked a forehand.

Vondrousova, ranked 78th after an injury-hit 2022 season in which missed three of the four grand slams, will face compatriot Linda Fruhvirtova in round three.

The New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs are the among the five teams set to host matches in London and Germany as part of the NFL's 2023 International Games.

The Buffalo Bills, the Tennessee Titans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars complete the quintet heading to Europe as designated home teams during the 2023 season.

London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will welcome the Bills and the Titans, while the Jaguars return to their home away from home at Wembley Stadium as part of their multi-year commitment to playing in the UK.

The 2023 season will mark a landmark 10th appearance for Jacksonville in London, while the Bills (2015) and Titans (2018) will make their second appearance in the city.

Two games will also take place in Germany, with the Chiefs and the Patriots set to feature, though venues are yet to be confirmed.

The NFL previously announced that Munich, which hosted the clash between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks in 2022, and Frankfurt will stage games in Germany over the next four years.

Details on the dates, opponents and kick-off times will be announced later in the year when the full schedule for the 2023 NFL season is announced.

Aryna Sabalenka was stuck in the biggest crisis of her tennis career 12 months ago, but the Belarusian big-hitter has found light at the end of a dark tunnel.

In a second-round win over Wang Xinyu at the 2022 Australian Open, Sabalenka served 19 double faults, and it was remarkable that she still pulled off the victory.

But it was no blip. In four matches, stretching from the 2021 WTA Finals to two tournaments in Adelaide at the beginning of the 2022 season, Sabalenka served a total of 74 double faults.

She considered it a success in round three at the Australian Open when she served 10 double faults against Marketa Vondrousova, such was the extent of her problem.

"I think it's more mental," Sabalenka said at the time, "because I put a lot of pressure on myself about my serve, and the last matches I was trying to control everything on my serve; my legs, my arm, the ball toss. And it was overthinking."

A year on, and Sabalenka is looking a different player, one that perhaps might finally be ready to win a singles grand slam.

That breakthrough might come this fortnight, with Sabalenka in scintillating form on Thursday as she beat Shelby Rogers 6-3 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena.

And here's the thing: she served three aces and not one double fault.

The yips have been cured.

"I worked a lot on my serve," said the 24-year-old after the Rogers match. "Like, really a lot. You can't even imagine how much I worked. I'm just super happy right now that everything is working.

"Oh, my God, I did almost everything to try to fix my serve. The whole year we were trying different things mentally, mental stuff, technique, technical, trying to breathe differently.

"I tried a lot. I watched a lot of different videos, from when I had no problems, when I had problems, trying to understand what is different."

Sabalenka had three double faults in her first-round win over Tereza Martincova, but three is fine, normal even. Zero in round two is something special.

The fifth seed will tackle Belgium's Elise Mertens on Saturday for a place in the last 16, knowing she managed to make it through to round four last year with a malfunctioning game.

The sky is the limit for Sabalenka if the serve is reliable. A three-time slam semi-finalist, her all-round numbers against Rogers were good, with 32 winners against 18 unforced errors a healthy ratio.

She reached the title match at the WTA Finals in November, a big moment at the end of a challenging year. Now a bigger goal is in her sights.

Eddie Jones has revealed he held talks with Australia while he was England head coach and is relishing a "great rivalry" with his former team.

Jones was sacked as England boss last month and has been replaced by Steve Borthwick, who was employed as the Australian's forwards coach with the Red Rose and his assistant during his Japan tenure.

The 62-year-old Jones this week sensationally returned for a second spell as Wallabies head coach, with Dave Rennie fired eight months before the Rugby World Cup starts in France.

Jones was due to end his England reign after the World Cup and had already spoken to Rugby Australia about the possibility of returning to his homeland prior to being shown the door by the Rugby Football Union (RFU).

"I don't know of anyone who doesn't think about their future," Jones, who said the talks were with a view to taking over once his England duties had ended, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I can't see how that is being disloyal or whatever people want to portray it as being."

Australia could face England at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup and Jones would welcome a reunion.

"I think the nice thing about playing against a team you have coached previously is that you've got these relationships with players and maybe with some staff," he said.

"It creates a really good rivalry. I enjoyed coaching against Australia and coaching against Michael Cheika, and I'll enjoy coaching against Steve Borthwick and England."

Novak Djokovic described his hamstring injury as "not good at all" after the muscle caused him fresh concern during a second-round win at the Australian Open.

The nine-time Melbourne Park champion needed off-court treatment in set two of his match against French qualifier Enzo Couacaud.

He lost that set, but Djokovic was able to step it up to complete a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-0 victory over the world number 191.

Speaking afterwards, Djokovic was asked about the left hamstring and painted a bleak picture.

He told Eurosport: "It's not good at all, to be honest with you. I take it day to day. It was better last match, the feeling, than tonight.

"It's really up to God to help me, and the physio and everyone. I hope I'll be able to recover and be ready for a tough match-up next match."

Grigor Dimitrov awaits Djokovic in round three, with the Bulgarian a tricky customer, albeit one who trails 9-1 in the rivalry between the pair.

Djokovic's latest win, his 23rd match victory in succession at the Australian Open, was nothing if not eventful, with Couacaud turning his ankle early on and looking in danger of having to abandon the biggest match of his career.

Later on, Djokovic demanded the umpire take action after claiming rowdy fans were distracting him by shouting out.

"There was a lot happening in tonight's match," Djokovic said in an on-court interview.

"Enzo deserves credit for the fight. He played some great tennis, especially in the second set. I managed to respond well in the third and especially in the fourth. Let's keep it going."

Antonio Conte believes it is unfair to ask him whether Harry Kane is frustrated with Tottenham's progress.

The head coach says there are reasons to be encouraged by how Spurs are developing, and he does not consider himself the person that should face questions about England captain Kane.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's Premier League game against Manchester City, the club that had their eyes on Kane 18 months ago, Conte took issue when a reporter asked whether star striker Kane might be frustrated by a lack of investment and advances.

Tottenham sit fifth in the table, five points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United, needing a big second half of the season to stake a claim for Champions League football next term.

"When we organise the [press] conference with the club, you can ask," Conte said. "You can ask this question to the club. Keep these questions for the future and I hope for you that this does happen one day so that you can make this question to the club.

"It's not disrespectful to you, but I repeat we are always saying the same thing. Why do I always have to answer difficult questions and you try with this question or put me in difficulty with the club, with the environment?

"I hope you understand that I don't want to create problems because I always say that I like the way that we are working here, what we are doing, and stop, because in the past I think that I said a lot."

Kane is one short of matching Jimmy Greaves' goals record for Spurs, which stands at 266, and two away from reaching 200 goals in the Premier League. He is under contract until the end of next season.

Conte was also asked whether he might consider changing his formation or tactics. He has been favouring wing-backs and is not against switching to a different system, but the former Juventus boss believes the 3-4-3 shape is one that suits Tottenham the best for now.

"You have to know that when you put the best players on the pitch, you don't have on the bench the possibility to change the game," Conte said. "But in my career, I played with four [in defence] and I won two championships with 4-2-4.

"And then at Juventus, I started this way. At Chelsea, I started to play with the 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, and then I changed it because the characteristic of the players was not so good to play with four at the back.

"And when I arrived last season at Tottenham, I found the solution for the characteristic of the players. In my opinion, that this is the best solution for the characteristic of the players but in the future, probably, we can try but if we lose I'll justify [it]."

Novak Djokovic avoided becoming the latest Australian Open seed to fall as he survived an injury scare to see off French qualifier Enzo Couacaud.

After Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz were all sent packing earlier on Thursday, the question was whether Djokovic would become the ultimate casualty on a day of shocks.

The nine-time champion was troubled by his left hamstring problem during the second set, which went the way of world number 191 Couacaud, but Djokovic reasserted himself to secure a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-0 victory on Rod Laver Arena.

The Serbian became increasingly incensed by shouting from the crowd during the match, pinpointing one fan as a chief culprit and telling the umpire during the fourth set: "The guy is drunk out of his mind. I'm asking you what you're you going to do about it. You heard it at least 10 times; I heard it 50 times."

Djokovic appeared to be pointing towards a group in 'Where's Wally?' fancy dress, who were reacting as though they were enjoying the moment before being spoken to by tournament officials.

It was a surprise the match reached a fourth set.

Mauritius-born Couacaud turned his ankle in the fourth game of the contest and retreated to his chair, seemingly in tears as he looked to cover his face with his towel.

The 27-year-old received medical treatment, getting the ankle strapped up, and he gamely battled on, albeit struggling initially.

It was then Djokovic who needed an injury timeout in the second set, going off court when trailing 5-4 and feeling some discomfort in the hamstring that has been troubling him during the last fortnight.

Couacaud took advantage and won the set, but from that point on it became all Djokovic, as he moved through to round three.

Data Slam: Djokovic sets up Dimitrov clash

Next for Djokovic will be a battle with the 27th seed, Grigor Dimitrov. He described the Bulgarian as a good friend and said they were "Balkan brothers". The rivalry on the court has been emphatically one-sided between Djokovic and Dimitrov, though, with nine of their past 10 meetings having gone the way of the Serbian.

Dimitrov's lone win came on clay in Madrid in 2013, while it will be a third grand slam match between the pair, with Djokovic having notched up previous victories at the French Open and Wimbledon.

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS

Djokovic– 9/6
Couacaud – 7/2

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic– 63/36
Couacaud – 36/32

BREAK POINTS WON

Djokovic– 7/21
Couacaud – 0/1

Steve Smith will prepare for the Ashes and Australia's likely participation in the World Test Championship final by playing three County Championship games for Sussex.

The prolific batter will face Worcestershire and Leicestershire before coming up against Australia team-mate Marnus Labuschagne in a Division Two match against Glamorgan in May.

Smith, ranked as the second-best Test batter in the world behind Labuschagne, is then expected to feature in the World Test Championship final at The Oval in June – with Australia having all-but qualified.

The former Australia captain will hope a short spell with Sussex ensures he is in great touch by the time the first Ashes Test starts against England at Edgbaston on June 16.

Smith told Sussex's official website: "I am excited about joining Sussex for a few games in May and hopefully making a contribution to a successful season.

"I am particularly looking forward to working with the younger players in the squad and hoping I can provide some guidance to them."

The 33-year-old has previous experience of playing county cricket for Worcestershire.

Smith made a staggering 30th Test century in his last appearance for his country against South Africa at the SCG this month.

Joey Carbery and Robbie Henshaw have been omitted from Ireland's Six Nations squad but the uncapped Jamie Osborne has been included.

Carbery has been seen as the long-term successor to fly-half Johnny Sexton, who will retire after the Rugby World Cup in France this year.

There is no place for the Munster number 10 in Andy Farrell's 37-man Six Nations squad, though, as Ross Byrne and Jack Crowley were given the nod as back-ups to captain Sexton.

Centre Henshaw has endured an injury-hit season and is currently sidelined with a wrist problem, so he was overlooked by head coach Farrell.

Fellow centre Osborne, 21, is the only uncapped player in the squad as the top-ranked team in the world target a first Six Nations title in five years.

Ireland start the tournament with a trip to the Principality Stadium for Warren Gatland's first game since returning for a second spell as Wales head coach on February 4.

Farrell said: "The Six Nations is a huge competition for us and another opportunity for us to grow as a group. 2022 was a busy year as we got to work with a larger group of players as we continued to build our squad depth and competition for places.

"While there are a few players carrying knocks and others that have missed out on selection for the start of the tournament, they will have the opportunity to push their case playing for their provinces in the URC over the coming weeks as no doubt we will need to call upon the wider group as the tournament progresses."

Ireland squad:

Forwards: Ryan Baird, Finlay Bealham, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Gavin Coombes, Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Ronan Kelleher, Dave Kilcoyne, Joe McCarthy, Peter O'Mahony, Tom O'Toole, Andrew Porter, Cian Prendergast, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan, Josh van der Flier.

Backs: Bundee Aki, Ross Byrne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Keith Earls, Jamison Gibson Park, Mack Hansen, Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, James Lowe, Stuart McCloskey, Conor Murray, Jimmy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Garry Ringrose, Johnny Sexton (captain), Jacob Stockdale.

Casper Ruud followed Rafael Nadal out of the Australian Open and admitted his decision to play through much of December rather than have an off-season may have been a mistake.

The Norwegian second seed, who reached finals at the French Open and US Open last year, had been hoping for another deep run this fortnight, only to run into an in-form Jenson Brooksby.

After a 6-3 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 defeat in three hours and 55 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, Ruud was asked about his decision to head to Latin America for a lucrative exhibition jaunt with Nadal at the end of the 2022 campaign.

He planned to take a break in February instead, but can now begin that early after going out in round two in Melbourne.

The same goes for top seed Nadal, who was already heading for defeat to Mackenzie MacDonald on Wednesday before an injury compounded his misery.

Ruud's initial reaction to being questioned about his busy December was to be defensive, saying: "It's very easy to sit here now and say that was bad for maybe both Rafa and I due to the fact that we lost early here.

"At the same time, I see no reason why we couldn't have a good Australian Open or made better results down here. I think it's coincidental sometimes."

He spoke of the talent among fellow tour players making every player vulnerable, and the "small margins" between victory and defeat.

Asked whether he had any break at all, Ruud outlined how he left for the Latin America trip on November 21 and returned in early December, before heading off on a week's holiday to the Maldives. He then stopped for a training block in Abu Dhabi on the way home and played two matches at the Mubadala exhibition event.

At the end of this season, Ruud might insist on a longer break and a focused training block.

"It was maybe not enough to be able to perform well here this year," Ruud said. "So it will be considered by me and my team what we will do in December this year, and if this was the right way to prepare for Australian Open or not.

"Maybe it looks like it was not the right way, but there are many factors that come into play. I have done what I felt was the right preparation but wasn't able to perform and win as many matches as I hoped here this year."

Newcastle United have extended Loris Karius' contract until the end of the season.

The former Liverpool goalkeeper joined on a short-term contract in September following an injury to back-up Karl Darlow.

Martin Dubravka's return from a brief loan at Manchester United might have suggested Karius would depart again upon the conclusion of his initial deal.

But Newcastle announced on Thursday that the German – who is yet to make a competitive appearance – will be kept around until June.

The news comes after speculation began linking Darlow with several Championship clubs.

Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev were sent packing from the Australian Open as wildcard Alexei Popyrin and lucky loser Michael Mmoh sprang major shocks.

Australian Popyrin said he was living a dream after beating the fancied Fritz in an epic second-round match lasting four hours and two minutes on John Cain Arena.

American Mmoh, whose mother has Australian citizenship, knocked out former world number two Zverev just moments later on Margaret Court Arena.

Their exits followed the shock defeat for second seed Casper Ruud earlier in the day, as Novak Djokovic's half of the draw lost a host of big names.

Wildcard Popyrin won 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 against American eighth seed Fritz, revelling in the chants of "Popy" from the crowd afterwards.

The 23-year-old was close to tears, his voice breaking, after reaching the third round of a grand slam for the fifth time.

"This win, it means so much to me," Popyrin said. "I had the toughest year last year, didn't win many matches. I've won as many matches this year as I won in the whole of last year, and it's only January.

"Pre-season I put my head down and worked as hard as I could. I don't want that feeling I had last year ever again.

"I wrote that down to myself in my head, and I'm going to keep working, I'm going to keep pushing, I'm going to keep trying to go all the way."

Addressing the crowd, Popyrin added: "I love this feeling. I want more of this feeling. I want you guys to have this feeling more. I love you guys so much, thank you."

He is coached by former top-20 star Xavier Malisse and felt the Belgian's influence against Fritz.

"I was playing four hours, and me and my coach were locked in, it was like two against one against Fritzy. We had the same thoughts all the time," Popyrin said. "This is the dream for me and I don't want to wake up at all."

Mmoh was beaten by Aleksandar Vukic in the final round of qualifying but received a call into the draw at the last minute, after a late withdrawal, allowing him to cancel a flight home.

The world number 109 will face fellow American JJ Wolf next, for a place in round four, having ousted 12th seed Zverev 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-3 6-2.

Mmoh's father, Tony, represented Nigeria and won a match at the Australian Open in 1988.

"Life is crazy," Mmoh said. "Right when you think everything is looking dim, everything is looking dark, there's light at the end of the tunnel.

"My week is proof of that. I could easily have been in the States, was ready to be in the States, had my bag packed, my flight booked, I was meant to leave yesterday morning. The fact I'm playing Margaret Court is insane.

"If you look at my box over there, there's about five to seven Aussies. I used to come every single Christmas to visit them, unfortunately my mum couldn't be here, I feel like I'm half Australian because of them and I love you guys. This is like my second home now so might as well make it a homecoming.

"It's the biggest win of my career hands down. Coming out I felt the nerves a little bit. I settled down at the end of the first, and at that point I told myself I shouldn't even be here. I told myself on match point if I get a chance just go for it, because I shouldn't even be here."

Nikola Jokic wants to be remembered as a "really good team player" after making franchise history in the Denver Nuggets' 122-118 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The two-time reigning NBA MVP contributed 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds as the Nuggets improved to 32-13 on the season to sit top of the Western Conference.

Jokic now has 3,686 career assists, surpassing the tally of Alex English who had 3,679 in Nuggets colours. Moreover, he has reached his tally in 568 games as opposed to English's 837.

English himself paid tribute to Jokic's achievement, intimating he foresees a third MVP accolade in the near future, posting on Twitter: "I knew that eventually my all-time assist record would be broken. I'm honored to see that it's 2 time, I mean 3 time MVP of the NBA do it. Congrats big fella."

Jokic was typically humble when asked what it meant to earn a piece of Nuggets history.

"When you have a lot of assists, it just shows that you're a good team player," he said.

"That's something I want to be. I want everybody to remember me as a guy who was a really good team player."

Team-mate Jamal Murray, who nailed a game-tying three-pointer with a little over two minutes remaining, then hit the bucket that put the Nuggets into a lead they did not let go of, said of Jokic: "We clapped a little bit. That's a lot of passes. That's pretty impressive."

The Nuggets are next in action against the Indiana Pacers, who are 23-23 and ninth in the Eastern Conference, on Friday.