Belinda Bencic stood firm to reach the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Open while fellow favourites Anett Kontaveit and Jelena Ostapenko headed home.

Bencic clinched her second last-eight spot of the year with a 6-4 7-5 win over Marta Kostyuk, though the world number nine was pushed hard by the Ukrainian, who remains without a top-10 win in her career after failing to see through the second set from 5-3 up.

The second seed will next face Shelby Rogers, who advanced courtesy of a walkover following Kontaveit's retirement through injury after falling 4-1 behind in the pair's decisive third set. 

Kontaveit was not the only seed to fall, with Ostapenko slipping to a surprise 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 loss against China's Zheng Qinwen.

Fourth seed Veronika Kudermetova fared better, however, racing to a 6-1 7-5 win against Elise Mertens to keep her campaign alive. 

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari cruised to a straight-sets success against Varvara Gracheva, while Anastasia Potapova battled to a 7-5 3-6 6-3 victory against Jule Niemeier.

Third seed Irina-Camelia Begu was the highest-ranked player to exit in the last 16 in Austria, suffering a 6-2 6-1 defeat against Danish 20-year-old Clara Tauson.

Patrick Mahomes will look to etch his name into the history books again on Sunday with victory in Super Bowl LVII, and he received inspiration ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs' clash with the Philadelphia Eagles from LeBron James' record-breaking exploits.

James scored 38 points for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, that tally seeing him move to 38,390 in his regular-season career and surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's long-standing record of 38,387.

LeBron's history-making feat was a hot topic as the Chiefs spoke to the media on Wednesday, with Mahomes effusive in his praise for the man many consider the greatest basketball player of all time.

"Yeah, I mean, first off, I talk to him every once in a while and try to gain as much advice as possible," Mahomes said at a press conference. 

"But I think you gain inspiration because, I think, you heard him talking about it last night. It wasn't something that he was chasing.

"It wasn't something that he even thought was possible. He just continued to work every single year, every single day. And he got there and he's still at it, playing at a high level. And so, like I said, it's legendary stuff.

"I mean, there's some records that no one thinks will ever be broken. And to see a guy that puts in the work every single day and gets to that milestone who's not even a scorer first, he's one of the greatest scorers of all time and has the most points of all time. But he's not even a scorer.

"He just continues to work and work and try to win championships, and he's able to reach goals that I don't think anyone ever thought were going to be broken."

Erik ten Hag backed Jadon Sancho to shine for the rest of the season after his first goal since September saw Manchester United salvage a 2-2 draw against Leeds United.

Sancho played his first game since October 22 when he came on from the bench against Nottingham Forest earlier this month, having missed an extended period due to what Ten Hag described as "circumstances with fitness and mood".

The England international was introduced as a second-half substitute with United 2-0 down on Wednesday, as Wilfried Gnonto's early strike was followed up by an own goal from Raphael Varane.

However, Marcus Rashford halved the arrears with his 20th goal of the season before Sancho's effort squirmed through the clutches of Illan Meslier, denying managerless Leeds a first league win at Old Trafford since 1981.

Ten Hag hopes Sancho's display is a sign of things to come, saying of his introduction: "I wanted a different dynamic. In that moment we weren't in the game. 

"Luckily it succeeded because we scored two goals. We're very happy. 

"He's all the way back. We know he's a magnificent player. I think he can consistently have a big impact, but he has to work hard. 

"It will motivate him to get more. I really enjoyed it, especially for him. It will strengthen him."

While Ten Hag was pleased with United's improvement over the course of the match, their slow start left him with a sour taste, given Gnonto found the net just 55 seconds after kick-off.

"It's mixed feelings. Of course in the end we were happy to win a point – but we dropped two points," he added.

"It's a very bad start, unacceptable, especially in a derby you have to be ready to battle and take responsibility. We didn't do that.

"I have to complement the team and their resilience to fight back. We made two great team goals."

United will soon have the chance to go one better against their old rivals, as they head to Elland Road on Sunday for the second instalment in a rare Premier League double-header.

After witnessing Leeds produce an energetic display on Wednesday, Ten Hag called on his team to win more duels next time out.

"We knew before how they would play with attitude and style. We didn't know what system they would play but you have to be ready and read the game," Ten Hag said.

"Definitely you have to win your battles. That is for everyone to take the responsibility. If you win those individual battles, you will win this game."

Carlo Ancelotti saluted the performance of Vinicius Junior in Wednesday's Club World Cup win over Al Ahly as the Real Madrid forward managed to ignore the recent furore around him.

Vinicius has been become a regular target for racist abuse from fans this season, with footage on social media appearing to show discriminatory remarks being directed at him during Madrid's 1-0 defeat to Real Mallorca on Sunday.

LaLiga launched an investigation into that incident the following day, though it was by no means the first example of Vinicius being abused this term.

The 22-year-old was subjected to racist chanting in both of Madrid's matches with city rivals Atletico Madrid, while LaLiga filed hate crime charges to Spanish courts after similar incidents in December's game with Real Valladolid.

Ancelotti subsequently insisted such treatment is indicative of a wider problem in Spanish football.

Vinicius went on to play a starring role as Madrid beat Al Ahly 4-1 in Rabat to reach the Club World Cup final, and Ancelotti was asked if being away from Spain helped him feel more at ease on the pitch.

"He likes to play football to the best of his abilities wherever he is, always," Ancelotti said of the 22-year-old, who put Madrid ahead with one of his four attempts and also created three chances.

"Today, he's always tried. He played a complete game, he was always dangerous and he scored a fantastic goal.

"He's been the Vinicius that you've seen in many games. He has shown again what he is, and that is a great player."

Luka Modric had a penalty saved in the latter stages on Wednesday when Madrid were 2-1 up.

Ultimately his failure mattered little as Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas scored in stoppage time to complete a resounding victory, and Ancelotti is not going to overthink the Croatian's miss.

"I have to choose better shooters," Ancelotti joked.

"Sometimes they fail. Luka usually does well, and you have to choose the best. I have made it quite clear: Karim [Benzema], Modric and, when the others aren't there, [Marco] Asensio [are the main takers].

"It's difficult to train on penalties. The environmental factors cannot be replicated in training."

Arribas' late strike was the 21-year-old's first senior goal for Madrid, and his impact off the bench was notable due to his status as an academy player.

Homegrown youngsters have struggled to earn minutes for Los Blancos this term, particularly in LaLiga, with Eduardo Camavinga the only player aged under 21 to make a top-flight appearance for them in the 2022-23 campaign.

Ancelotti stressed the young players are not forgotten about, however.

"The youth academy is a very important aspect, no one forgets the players from the youth academy," he said. "But we must bear in mind that it's not easy to give them minutes because the level of the first-team is very, very high.

"We are evaluating [the young players], they are progressing. The academy coaches are doing a great job, and [the young players] will soon be in the first team.

"But this squad has won the Champions League – it's a very good squad."

Madrid will face Al-Hilal in the Club World Cup final on Saturday.

Ruslan Malinovskiy's stunner settled an enthralling Classique in Marseille's favour as they beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 to reach the Coupe de France quarter-finals.

Malinovskiy's fantastic winner was just reward for a scintillating Marseille display at Stade Velodrome on Wednesday.

Igor Tudor's team had 12 shots in the first half and took the lead through Alexis Sanchez's 31st-minute penalty, which was cancelled out by Sergio Ramos' header.

Ramos thought he had sent the tie to penalties when he headed home in stoppage time, but the offside flag came to Marseille's salvation.

A frantic opening set the tone. Pau Lopez denied Nuno Mendes before Gianluigi Donnarumma tipped over from Cengiz Under, saved Malinovskiy's stinging effort and watched Sead Kolasinac's strike arrow just wide.

PSG's luck ran out when Ramos tumbled into Under just inside the area – Sanchez coolly sending Donnarumma the wrong way from the spot and becoming the first Marseille player to net in a home Classique since Florian Thauvin in 2017.

Neymar struck the right-hand post with a superb low shot, though the woodwork then came to PSG's rescue when Under clipped the crossbar after Donnarumma unconvincingly thwarted Jonathan Clauss.

Marseille were made to pay for their profligacy on the cusp of half-time, Ramos nodding in from Neymar's corner.

Parity lasted just 12 minutes, though, with Malinovskiy lashing a venomous half-volley beyond Donnarumma from the edge of the box.

Valentin Rongier's wonderfully timed tackle prevented Mendes going through on goal as PSG hunted an immediate response.

Marseille were immensely fortunate Ramos strayed offside before heading in from a cross-shot that hit the bar, though they ultimately deserved their luck as 14-time Coupe de France winners PSG crashed out at the same stage as last season.

Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford rescued Manchester United in a lively 2-2 draw with Leeds United at Old Trafford, denying the managerless visitors a famous win with a second-half fightback.

United knew a win would move them level with second-placed Manchester City in the Premier League table, but Wilfried Gnonto stunned the Red Devils by firing Leeds ahead inside one minute.

Raphael Varane's own goal then gave United a mountain to climb, but in-form forward Rashford gave them hope with a fine header, setting up a grandstand finish.

Sancho – who recently returned to the fold after a period of absence – levelled things up as a second-half substitute, before United failed to force a winner in a captivating finish. 

Leeds came flying out of the traps and scored after 55 seconds as Gnonto drilled into the bottom-left corner following a give-and-go with Patrick Bamford.

The hosts then laid siege to Leeds' goal for the rest of the first half, with Alejandro Garnacho volleying wide before Maximilian Wober denied him with a goal-line clearance.

Marcel Sabitzer drew a spectacular save from Illan Meslier from 25 yards, and the Red Devils fell further behind shortly after half-time.

The outstanding Gnonto found substitute Crysencio Summerville on the underlap, and his cut-back was diverted past David de Gea by Varane.

United found a route back into the contest just after the hour as Rashford rose to head Diogo Dalot's cross home, and their pressure told once more with 20 minutes remaining.

Shaw's cut-back deflected into the path of Sancho, who saw his tame effort squirm through Meslier's grip to level things up.

Varane almost went from villain to hero with a powerful header as United continued to press, but Meslier atoned for his own earlier error with a save to preserve Leeds' point.

Real Madrid reached a record fifth Club World Cup final with a resounding 4-1 win over Al Ahly in Wednesday's semi-final in Rabat.

African champions Al Ahly had their fair share of chances, but Madrid's superior quality ensured they had enough to see them off and set up a date with Al-Hilal in Saturday's final.

Madrid broke the deadlock with Vinicius Junior's dinked finish in the 42nd minute, before Federico Valverde gave the Champions League winners a 2-0 lead just after the interval. 

Al Ahly halved the arrears through Ali Maaloul's penalty before Luka Modric saw a spot-kick of his own saved, but Rodrygo and Sergio Arribas got on the scoresheet in stoppage time to leave Madrid eyeing a record fifth world title.

After a cagey opening that gave Al Ahly encouragement, opportunities flowed at both ends. 

Mohamed Sherif and Mohamed Abdelmonem both went close for Al Ahly, before Vinicius tested Mohamed El-Shenawy from a tight angle.

Rodrygo then hit the left-hand post from a similar situation soon after, but Madrid did net just prior to half-time.

Aliou Dieng's pass gave Mahmoud Metwaly too much to do and Vinicius pounced, lifting an impudent finish over the approaching El-Shenawy.

Valverde then showed great composure to score from close range after El-Shenawy parried Rodrygo's effort less than two minutes into the second period.

Al Ahly soon had renewed hope, though, Maaloul coolly converting a spot-kick after a clumsy trip by Eduardo Camavinga on Hussein El Shahat.

Modric spurned the chance to restore Madrid's two-goal lead with a penalty of his own towards the end, but his failure mattered little.

Rodrygo's cheeky finish in stoppage time put the game beyond Al Ahly, before Sergio Arribas found the bottom-right corner to open his account for the senior side. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has promised a "change of tone" at Milan as he nears a return to action.

Ibrahimovic has not featured this season, having undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly after Milan ended an 11-year wait to win the Serie A title in May.

While Milan started respectfully in his absence, they have slipped to sixth in Serie A – 18 points adrift of leaders Napoli – after going five league games without a win.

Milan failed to record a single shot on target in a meek derby defeat to Inter last time out, and their winless run is their worst in Serie A since April 2018.

However, Ibrahimovic believes Milan have overcome more challenging times since he returned for a second spell at the club in 2020, and foresees a return to form.

"When I arrived three years ago, people spoke of a situation that was worse than now. In reality, it's not as bad as some people say," Ibrahimovic told the club's media channels.

"In one or two years, we did fantastic things, and we're still doing great things.

"I call situations like this moments, because it's a moment where there's been a drop and we're struggling, but we need to return to form as quickly as possible.

"It's not as if anybody's happy with our form. We're all working to change things so we can get back to how we were before the World Cup. This season is a bit different, but this isn't an excuse. 

"Is it a coincidence that this club has won 19 league titles and seven Champions Leagues? Great champions have played here. This is Milan, and Milan needs to win. Coincidences don't exist."

Ibrahimovic handed Milan a huge boost by returning to team training last week, and though it remains to be seen how soon he can return to competitive action, the 41-year-old striker is raring to go.

"I'm one of many in this team. I haven't been available for a long time and this has been disappointing because when you're a player, you always want to help both on and off the pitch," he said.

"Unfortunately, in these first six or seven months, I wasn't able to play. In good times and during difficult moments, you always want to be there because you are one of them. 

"For me, football is everything. It's where I feel at my peak, where the best of me comes out, and I transform into a different person. When I return, there will be a change in tone."

Andy Reid's assertion that Patrick Mahomes can do "everything in the game plan" despite his ankle sprain will boost confidence the Kansas City Chiefs can prevail in Super Bowl LVII, but their head coach does not want to be distracted by talk of a dynasty.

Mahomes has led the Chiefs back to the biggest stage despite suffering a high ankle sprain in the Divisional round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Reid and his star quarterback have faced persistent questions about his physical condition, which will seemingly place no limitations on Mahomes at State Farm Stadium on Sunday as the Chiefs look to reclaim the Lombardi Trophy with victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, having last won it in Super Bowl LIV at the end of the 2019 season.

"Yeah, so he's been doing really well with his ankle," Reid said at his Wednesday press conference.

"We had a fast practice a couple days ago, and he moved well. He can really do just about everything, at least everything in the game plan that we've asked him to do. I think he'll be fine today."

For his part, Mahomes insists he will not have a complete picture of what he will be able to do until he steps on the field in Glendale, Arizona.

"I don't think you'll know exactly until you get to gameday," said Mahomes. "I'm definitely in a better spot. I definitely can move around better than I was moving last week or two weeks ago.

"So just trying to continue to get the treatment and the rehab and get to as close as I can to 100 per cent and then rely on some adrenaline to let me do a little extra when I'm on the field.

"It's going to be definitely better, more mobile, be able to move around a little bit better, for sure, and then we'll see on gameday how close to 100 per cent I can be."

Sunday's clash will mark the Chiefs' third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons, with Kansas City losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV a year after their win over the San Francisco 49ers.

However, Reid is not thinking about his team's place in NFL history.

"I'm not really into all that," Reid responded when asked if the Chiefs can be labelled a dynasty.

"I'll let you guys deal with that. It's important in our world as coaches and players you try to get better every day.

"You're only as good as your last game, or your next game I should say. We're striving to focus on this thing and try not to worry about all that stuff.

"That's good when you retire, kind of go 'hey, they said we were a dynasty', but right now we don't let that get in here [pointing at head], stay away from that."

Roger Goodell expects there to be an emphasis on rule changes aimed at removing techniques that lead to concussions during the NFL offseason.

The NFL saw concussions rise 18 per cent during the regular season. In that regard, the campaign was defined by the saga of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered two confirmed concussions and one suspected concussion during the year.

Tagovailoa's concussion evaluation during the Dolphins' Week 3 win over the Buffalo Bills in September prompted a change to the league's protocol, with ataxia – impaired balance or coordination – added to the NFL's list of "no-go symptoms".

Goodell attributed that rise in part to the changed definition but indicated rule changes could be coming to "take the head out of the game".

Asked at his pre-Super Bowl press conference what more can be done to prevent concussions, he replied: "I think a lot of the things we have done. Any time we can change the protocols to make it safer for our players, we're going to do that. 

"I think that's a reason why concussions went up this year, because we had a broader description. 

"Ultimately you want to try to take that head out of the game. You want the rules to make sure you're avoiding the techniques that are contributing to those kind of injuries."

The NFL's competition committee will discuss potential rule changes during the annual league meeting in Arizona in March, and Goodell anticipates that changes to techniques will probably "head the list" of proposed rule alterations from teams.

Goodell rejected the idea, though, that the expansion to an 18-week, 17-game regular season has had an influence on the rise in concussions.

"Total injures were down six per cent this year," said Goodell when asked if the league may need to re-evaluate the extension to the season. 

"On Week 18, the injury rate is absolutely no different than any other week, so I'm not sure I accept your premise that we need to re-evaluate. 

"It's hard to draw conclusions from one year."

Alexander Bublik failed to bring an end to his woeful 2023 form on his return to the Open Sud de France.

Bublik's only career title to date came in Montpellier last year, but he will not defend his crown after losing in three sets to Gregoire Barrere in the first round on Wednesday.

That remarkable 6-4 6-7 (12-14) 7-6 (7-3) reverse represented Bublik's seventh loss in seven singles matches so far this season.

The 25-year-old, who has fallen to 50th in the rankings, has lost nine in a row going back to last year.

Bublik worked hard to stay in Wednesday's match in the second set, fending off three match points in the tie-break, but he could not show the same resilience in the decider as Barrere prevailed.

With the champion out, those hoping to take the title this week found life a little easier elsewhere.

Both Jannik Sinner and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina benefited from walkovers, albeit the Spaniard first had to dig in to level his match against Ugo Humbert, who had taken the opener 6-1.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has stepped back from overseeing the day-to-day running of Formula One.

Ben Sulayem's stint as FIA president, a role to which he was elected in December 2021, has seen him come into conflict with F1 and its teams on several occasions. 

The 61-year-old was criticised after the FIA delayed an agreement to increase the number of sprint races from three to six for the 2023 season, as well as for the governing body's push to ban drivers from wearing jewellery during races.

In January, Ben Sulayem became embroiled in a row with F1 owners Liberty Media over the competition's commercial rights, while historic sexist comments made by the FIA president were also reported last month.

In a widely reported letter to the 10 F1 teams, Ben Sulayem said he will now focus purely on "strategic matters", with director of single-seater racing Nikolas Tombazis placed in charge of "day-to-day" operations.

An FIA statement said the move from Ben Sulayem – who made regular podium appearances last season – was a planned one.

"The president's manifesto clearly set out this plan before he was elected – it pledged 'the appointment of an FIA CEO to provide an integrated and aligned operation', as well as to 'introduce a revised governance framework' under 'a leadership team focused on transparency, democracy, and growth'," the statement read.

"The FIA president has a wide remit that covers the breadth of global motorsport and mobility, and now that the structural reorganisation in Formula One is complete, this is a natural next step."

World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez faces competition from Thibaut Courtois and Yassine Bounou to land The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper Award.

Five goalkeepers were originally nominated for the award, which recognises the most outstanding goalkeeping performance in men's football during the period between August 8, 2021 and December 18, 2022, when Martinez helped Argentina win the World Cup for a third time.

Brazil's Premier League duo Alisson and Ederson missed out on the final shortlist following a vote held among the coaches and captains of international teams, as well as journalists and fans.

Martinez's immense contribution to Argentina's World Cup final win against France put him among the frontrunners for the prize, which will be handed out at a FIFA award ceremony in Paris later this month.

The 30-year-old made a crucial save to deny Randal Kolo Muani an extra-time winner in an epic 3-3 draw, before keeping Kingsley Coman's spot-kick out as Argentina won a penalty shoot-out.

Bounou also impressed in Qatar, helping Morocco become the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals and matching Martinez's tournament-high tally of three clean sheets.

Courtois, meanwhile, made his biggest impact in the club game, helping Real Madrid win a Champions League and LaLiga double last term.

The Belgium international made 59 saves and kept five clean sheets during Los Blancos' successful Champions League run, recording an impressive save percentage of 80.56 per cent across his 13 appearances as they captured their 14th European crown.

Courtois made nine saves in the final as Madrid saw off Liverpool 1-0 in Paris.