Jasmine Paolini says she "gave everything" to help Italy reach a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup final, after beating Iga Swiatek's Poland in doubles.

Swiatek had pulled the semi-final level after coming from behind to beat Paolini in their singles match earlier on Monday before the world number two stepped in to play the doubles decider.

However, it was Olympic gold-winning pair Paolini and Sara Errani, who would triumph 7-5 7-5 in straight sets.

Poland had three chances to take the first set but were valiantly denied by Italy, who impressively turned things around to win.

They fought from the brink in the second too, coming back from 5-1 down to go on a six-match winning streak and book their place in Wednesday's final.

"It was tough... the intensity was insane, I was a little bit tired, but I said to myself, you still have to play the doubles, you have to give everything for Italy, for my team," said Paolini.

"When I lost the [singles] match, I was a little bit sad, but then tried to go in the locker room and think positive about the doubles."

Italy will make their seventh appearance in the showpiece match, and will play either Great Britain or Slovakia.

Test cricket will "die" without regular meetings between Australia, India and England, former Aussie bowler Stuart Clark warned.

Australia face India in five Tests between 22 November and 7 January, with the first match set to begin in Perth later this week.

India will be looking to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after triumphing 2-1 on home soil in the teams' last series in 2022-23.

But Clark, who represented Australia between 2006 and 2009, believes the upcoming series has even greater significance due to the growing popularity of short-form and franchise cricket.

Speaking exclusively to Stats Perform, the former bowler warned the traditional format needs competitive meetings between Australia, India and England to maintain fan interest. 

"If you compare to what we've just seen with this one-day series, people are still pretty interested in Australia – or at least in England and India – about Test cricket," he said.

"But there's a bigger story around Test cricket in that the international summer is only important to those three countries, whereas a lot of these other countries around the world, they're actually funded by their T20 tournaments, that's where they make their money.

"Whereas Australia, England, India it's in reverse. I think for the the greater good of the game, Australia, India and England need to really try and promote Test cricket and that's the biggest story to all of this. 

"You know the Ashes will always exist because there's such a big rivalry and they want to beat Australia. 

"But the bigger problem is what happens if India or Australia become weak and don't want to play one another? Or England become weak and don't want to play India?" 

With Australia set to host the next Ashes series in 2025-26, Clark is aware of the need for Pat Cummins' team to test themselves against top-calibre opposition. 

"If Test cricket doesn't remain the priority for those countries, then test cricket really dies. That's what no one wants to see, and the players are pretty adamant about that as well," he continued. 

"Look at South Africa, look at West Indies. This series out here against India is a really big series, as it should be. 

"Hopefully it's competitive and hopefully Australia win, but what we want it to be is competitive to try and grow that game. 

"It's such an important series. These next two summers really set the tone for the following two summers, which are usually pretty dour." 

Franz Wagner tallied 32 points and eight assists as the Orlando Magic kept rolling with Monday's 109-99 victory over the injury-plagued Phoenix Suns.

Orlando also received 20 points and nine assists off the bench from Anthony Black to extend its winning streak to six games by taking this matchup of teams currently going in opposite directions. Goga Bitadze added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting along with 10 rebounds for the Magic, who are now 6-4 since All-Star Paolo Banchero went to the sidelines with an oblique injury.

Phoenix was dealt a fourth consecutive loss while playing without three starters in Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Jusuf Nurkic. The Suns are 1-5 since Durant went down with a calf injury after starting the season 8-1.

Devin Booker, coming off a season-high 44-point effort in the Suns' loss at Minnesota on Sunday, managed just 17 in this one while missing six of seven shots from 3-point range.

Tyus Jones paced Phoenix with 18 points and eight assists, while Grayson Allen scored 17 points off the bench.

Orlando remained in control after scoring the final four points of the first quarter to take a 26-22 lead after one period. The Magic then dominated the second, shooting 60 percent for the quarter while outscoring the Suns by a 38-26 margin to head into the break owning a 64-48 advantage.

The Magic's lead got as high as 19 points in the second half, and they maintained a double-digit cushion until a Booker 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining got Phoenix within 98-91.

Lillard returns, hits winning shot as Bucks end Rockets' winning streak

Damian Lillard capped his return to the Milwaukee Bucks' lineup by making a go-ahead layup with 3.9 seconds left that lifted his team to a 111-110 win over the Houston Rockets.

Having missed Milwaukee's previous three games while in concussion protocol, Lillard went just 6 of 18 from the field while compiling 18 points and 10 assists in 36 minutes. The eight-time All-Star hit the biggest shot of the night, however, by driving past a Houston defender and eluding another to convert the layup that put the Bucks ahead.

The Rockets then failed to get a shot off before time expired as their five-game winning streak came to an end.

Milwaukee, meanwhile, has now won three of four following a surprising 2-8 start to the season. The Bucks received 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting along with 10 rebounds from Brook Lopez in this victory, while Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Rockets got 26 points from Fred VanVleet and 21 from Jalen Green but struggled from the perimeter, shooting just 28.1 per cent from 3-point range.

Houston shot just 26.9 per cent overall in the second quarter and was outscored by a 30-17 margin for the period as the Bucks built a 57-45 half-time lead.

Milwaukee's advantage was 14 points deep into the third quarter before the Rockets began closing the gap. Houston finished the period on a 9-2 run to pull within 83-80 entering the fourth following a three-point play from Alperen Sengun.

The Rockets' surge continued into the fourth quarter, as Sengun's tip-in with 1:58 left put the Bucks at a 100-94 deficit. Milwaukee scored the game's final seven points, however, with AJ Green's clutch 3-pointer with 1:17 remaining cutting the lead to 100-99 and setting up Lillard's game-winner.

Clippers hold on to halt Warriors' run

Norman Powell scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers survived a late comeback attempt by the Golden State Warriors to hand the current Pacific Division leaders a 102-99 loss.

Powell went 5 of 6 from 3-point range on a night the Clippers shot 47.1 per cent from beyond the arc en route to their fifth straight win at the brand-new Intuit Dome. Los Angeles had lost its first four games at the state-of-the-art arena.

James Harden dished out 16 assists to go along with 12 points to help the Clippers end Golden State's three-game winning streak and deal the Warriors just their third defeat in 13 games this season. Ivica Zubac contributed 17 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Stephen Curry finished with 26 points for Golden State and Andrew Wiggins had 22, and the duo nearly led the Warriors back after Powell's 3-pointer with 2:30 left staked the Clippers to a 102-92 lead.

Wiggins answered with a three-pointer of his own with 1:44 to go, and Curry followed with a layup to cut the margin to five points entering the final minute. After Harden misfired on a 3-point try, Wiggins scored off a Draymond Green feed with 35 seconds remaining to pull the Warriors within 102-99.

Powell then was stripped of the ball on the following possession, but both Curry and Gary Payton II missed 3-point shots in the closing seconds as the Warriors' rally fell short.

Powell had 11 points and Harden scored 10 in the first half to lead the Clippers to a 56-45 advantage at half-time. Los Angeles was up 61-49 early in the third quarter before the Warriors reversed momentum, as they outscored the Clippers by a 23-11 count over the next eight minutes to tie the game at 72-72 late in the period.

Joe Mixon's 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns helped get the Houston Texans back on track with Monday's 34-10 win over the floundering Dallas Cowboys.

Houston (7-4) snapped a two-game losing streak behind Mixon's powerful running and a defence that sacked Cowboys' fill-in quarterback Cooper Rush five times and forced two turnovers, including a fumble Derek Barnett returned 28 yards for a touchdown that gave the Texans a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

Dallas (3-7) has now lost five straight, its longest skid since dropping seven in a row in 2015, and fell to 0-5 at home. The Cowboys have been outscored by 118 points (187-69) at AT&T Stadium, the third-largest negative differential through five home games in a season in NFL history.

Rush did throw a 64-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin in his second straight start subbing for an injured Dak Prescott, and finished with a career-high 354 passing yards with one interception while completing 32 of 55 attempts.

C.J. Stroud threw for 257 yards with an interception for Houston, which extended its lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts to two games in the AFC South.

The Texans never trailed after Mixon ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive, and the veteran running back added a 1-yard scoring plunge late in the first quarter to give Houston a 14-0 lead.

Turpin got Dallas on the board by taking a short pass from Rush and breaking free from the Houston defence nine seconds into the second quarter, but the Cowboys were shut out in the second half after pulling to within 17-10 on Brandon Aubrey's 53-yard field goal with just under six minutes left before half-time.

Burnett's strip sack of Rush and return of the resulting fumble helped put the game away with 12:31 left, and Mixon tacked on his final touchdown of the night with 3:16 remaining to cap a 35-yard drive that began after the Texans stopped the Cowboys on downs.

Jonathan David admits it is his dream to play for Barcelona as he prepares to enter the final six months of his Lille contract.

The Canada international is into his fifth season with the Ligue 1 side but is due to become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.

Lille have attempted to persuade David with a new deal, though he looks set to depart Stade Pierre-Mauroy in 2025 – potentially as early as January if a club is prepared to pay a transfer fee.

However, while the 24-year-old is seemingly open to a move to Barcelona, he suggested he would prefer to wait until the end of the campaign before taking the next step in his career.

"Going to a club midseason is never easy," he told The Athletic. "It's not like the beginning of a season where you have a pre-season, you get to know your team-mates, you have time to gel. 

"In January, things are very hectic. It's about right now. It's tougher."

"[Barcelona] was always the team I grew up supporting. When you grow up supporting a team, it's your dream to play for them.

"Some people might say, 'Oh, he's staying at Lille, this is a downgrade, he's not getting better'. But for me, there's always opportunities to get better."

David has scored 13 goals in 19 games for Lille in all competitions this season, including goals against heavyweight sides Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus in the Champions League.

Including penalties, eight of those goals have been scored via his stronger right boot, four with his left and one with his head – an area the forward accepts he can still improve.

"Aerially, I can get better," he said. "Getting that header on target and scoring. 

"I can get in good positions and win headers but the finishing touch, I'm still missing. With my back to goal, I can also get better."

David is averaging a goal every 112 minutes across all competitions this season, which compares to one every 139 minutes last season and 131 in 2022-23.

However, he still has some way to go to match the 18 goals scored in 27 league games for former club Gent in 2019-20.

"Things are good right now because I'm scoring goals," David said. 

"But is this the best I've played in my life? Probably not. For me, it was my second year in Belgium. That was the season of my life."

Steve Clarke says Scotland "never lost belief" as they secured a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Poland to give themselves a lifeline in the Nations League.

Scotland needed a win to avoid automatic relegation and finished third in Group A1. They now face a relegation play-off to defend their place in the top tier of the competition.

Scotland made a lightning-quick start in Warsaw as John McGinn, who was rewarded with a place in the starting line-up after scoring the winner against Croatia, cushioned in his 20th goal for the national team after just three minutes.

Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay both hit the woodwork as they attempted to double their lead before the break, while Craig Gordon produced some fine saves to protect their advantage.

Kamil Piatowski's stunning strike pulled Poland level just before the hour-mark, but Andy Robertson, on his 80th appearance, proved the difference, rising high to send a towering header past Lukasz Skorupski in the 93rd minute.

Robertson is the first player to score a 90th-minute winner for Scotland since McTominay against Israel in a World Cup qualifier in October 2021.

It is the first time since March-September 2023 (a run of five) that Scotland have won back-to-back internationals, and Clarke was delighted to finish the Nations League group stage on a high.

"A good way to end this Nations League campaign. You always believe. It was a very open game, a lot of chances," Clarke said.

"We always felt one more chance would come, maybe not from the source it actually came from, but it was a fantastic cross from John Souttar, who was outstanding defensively, and a great header from the captain.

"We started with three defeats, three narrow defeats, with good performances. The players didn't lose belief. I didn't lose belief in the players, and they end up taking seven points from the last three games, which gets us into the play-off.

"The more you play at this level, the better you get. The players never lost belief.

"There's been a lot of good moments over my five-and-a-half years, and this is just another step on the journey."

The draw for the Nations League play-offs will take place on Friday, with the ties to be played in March.

Iga Swiatek kept Poland's hopes of reaching the Billie Jean King Cup Final alive, coming from behind to beat Jasmine Paolini in their singles match.

The world number two fought back to claim a thrilling 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory in two hours and 36 minutes to level the semi-final tie after Lucia Bronzetti beat Magda Linette in straight sets in the opening match of the round.

Swiatek and Paolini met earlier this year in the final of the French Open, where the Pole brushed the Italian aside in straight sets to clinch a third consecutive crown at Roland Garros, but she faced a much tougher test on Monday.

Both players were unbeaten in Malaga coming into this match, and it looked like Paolini could cause an upset after claiming her first-ever set against Swiatek.

However, Swiatek dug deep to get the win and force the tie to go to doubles, which she will once again play, with Magdalena Frech unable to participate.

Croatia joined Portugal in the quarter-finals of the Nations League after the sides played out a 1-1 draw in Split on Monday.

Josko Gvardiol equalised in the 65th minute after Joao Felix had put Portugal – already assured of top spot – ahead in the first half at Stadion Poljud.

That goal ensured Croatia finished a point better off than Scotland in Group A1 after they earned a late 2-1 victory over Poland in Warsaw.

In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix stepped up by taking Vitinha's pass in his stride and calmly firing past Dominik Livakovic in the 33rd minute – the goal allowed to stand after a VAR check for offside.

Andrej Kramaric blasted an effort back off the crossbar and Gvardiol had a goal disallowed for offside either side of the interval as Croatia pressed for a leveller.

Gvardiol found the net again soon after, though, and this time it was allowed to stand as he got on the end of Kristijan Jakic's delivery at the back post.

Livakovic and Jose Sa produced fine saves to deny Nuno Mendes and Ante Budimir, who also hit the outside of the post, but neither side could find a winning goal.

Data Debrief: Gvardiol scores again against blunt visitors

Roberto Martinez opted to release Ronaldo, Silva, Pedro Neto and the suspended Fernandes back to their clubs before this game and Portugal lacked a cutting edge in front of goal.

Joao Felix took his chance very well, scoring his one goal from an expected goals (xG) value of 0.58 across the 90 minutes, but the visitors were unable to find the net from any of their other 11 attempts.

Croatia's attackers were also frustrated by a mixture of the frame of the goal and Sa, but in-form defender Gvardiol was the hero as he netted for the fourth time this season already for club and country.

Bryan Zaragoza snatched a late win for Spain, who had twice been pegged back, as they beat Switzerland 3-2 in the Nations League on Monday.

Spain started the game strongly, with Alex Grimaldo forcing a good save from Yvon Mvogo before Alvaro Morata wasted a golden chance after racing in behind the Swiss defence.

They got their reward just after the half-hour mark – Morata was bundled over in the box, and though Pedri saw the resulting spot-kick saved, Yeremy Pino fired in the rebound of Nico Williams' blocked follow-up shot.

Joel Monteiro's half-time introduction changed the game, and after fizzing an early chance wide, he scored a stunning solo goal, weaving inside from the right before finishing from a tight angle in the 63rd minute.

Bryan Gil restored Spain's lead five minutes later, jinking away from two defenders with some clever footwork and beating Mvogo with a pacy shot, before Zeqiri levelled the scoreline for a second time with a sweeping penalty.

However, Zaragoza would have the final say in the 93rd minute after Vincent Sierro, who had won Switzerland's penalty at the other end, brought him down, and the substitute emphatically fired in the winner.

Spain finish top of Group A4, going unbeaten across their six games, while Switzerland are relegated to League B after failing to win any of their matches. 

Data Debrief: Spain extend unbeaten run

The result on Monday would not have affected Spain's hold on top spot in the group, but Luis de la Fuente's side showed their mettle as they kept fighting to the end. 

Excluding friendlies, La Roja have played 13 matches in 2024 in all competitions and have not lost a single one (W12 D1), setting the record for their most competitive matches without defeat in a single year, as well as their most wins.

In fact, Spain are currently on a run of 21 competitive games without defeat in all competitions (W19 D2), their best run since June 2010-13 (29). 

Emma Hayes will be without Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States' upcoming international friendlies against England and the Netherlands.

The trio, who played starring roles for the USA at the Olympics, are not included in the 24-player squad due to what are being described as "nagging injuries".

All three players were among the top scorers at the tournament in Paris, with Swanson netting four times, including grabbing the winner in the final to claim gold, while Smith and Rodman scored three apiece.

They were also included among the nominees for the Ballon d'Or, but Hayes has opted to rest them for the final international break of the year "after a long year representing club and country".

The head coach does hand out a first senior call-up to Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who has impressed this season after stepping in to replace Mary Earps, keeping six clean sheets in the Women's Super League, and Ally Sentor.

"This is the end of a wonderful year, but we're still at the beginning of our process of building towards qualifying for the next World Cup," Hayes said.

"So, this trip will be about testing ourselves against two world-class teams with opportunities to develop our roster.

"We will continue to build relationships on and off the field, and I'm really excited to work with this group as we continue to set the stage for 2025."

The USA face England at Wembley Stadium on November 30 before travelling to the Netherlands on December 3.

USA squad in full:

Mandy Haught (Utah Royals FC), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Eva Gaetino (Paris Saint-Germain), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Lily Yohannes (Ajax), Yazmeen Ryan (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals FC), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

Emma Raducanu is already excited to get going in 2025 after reflecting positively on the past 12 months.

The 22-year-old impressed for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup victories over Germany and Canada last week.

Raducanu has struggled with regular injury issues since her remarkable 2021 US Open triumph, but she believes some perspective is needed.

"My assessment is, I think sometimes I need reminding," she told the WTA's official website of her 2024 campaign. 

"I'm top 60 in the world and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of, in a way.

"I have to pat myself on the back for that. I know I'm a dangerous player. I know no-one wants to pull my name in the draw. 

"I take pride in that, and I'm looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year."

Raducanu, ranked number 58 in the world, is returning to action in Malaga after two months out with a foot injury.

She will have a part to play when Britain take on Slovenia in Wednesday's semi-finals as she looks to extend her season further.

And a bullish Raducanu intends to work hard on the court heading into the New Year, with the Australian Open fast approaching.

"I think traditionally you'd probably have a bit of a break and take a holiday or something," Raducanu said. 

"But I feel like I have had four, five weeks off tennis, and I don't really need any more time off.

"If anything, I'm excited and just itching to get on the practice court, and of course seeing some of my performances this week, it just incentivises me to do more work.

"I'm really pleased with how I've fought and how I'm faring up against these top girls. I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot with my tennis right now."

Pedri says "everything is going well" in the talks over a contract extension with Barcelona.

The youngster has played in all 13 of Barcelona's LaLiga matches this season, helping them to sit top of the pile, with 11 wins so far.

He has already proved key in their midfield, with none of his team-mates making more interceptions than him (eight, level with Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal), while he has also scored three times.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has made no secret of his desire to sign the 21-year-old to a contract extension, and Pedri issued a promising update on the talks taking place.

"I'm very calm, my agents are handling it, I haven't had any news, everything is going well," he told Sport.

Pedri has suffered from hamstring injuries since 2021, after playing 73 matches for club and country in the 2020-21 season.

He missed a total of 25 games for Barcelona and Spain last season, including the semi-final and final of Euro 2024, having been forced off in the early stages of La Roja's quarter-final win over Germany.

However, his injury troubles look to be behind him this season, and he is hopeful he can stay settled in the Barcelona side.

"Physically, I feel good. I have consistency, which makes me enjoy football," he said. "It's a great start to the season and I hope it will continue for a long time.

"Both in the national team and in Barca, I feel comfortable. It is positional football.

"It [his injury issues] was given more airtime, perhaps because I was playing in important tournaments [for Spain] and at Barcelona, I didn't have that continuity.

"I'm working out my body. When you relapse, you look for solutions until you find the key. I have found what suits me well, and I have the continuity that I like."