Belinda Bencic breezed through to the Abu Dhabi Open final after a commanding 6-2 6-3 victory over Beatriz Haddad Maia on Saturday.

The world number nine, who is yet to drop a set this week, is into her second WTA final of 2023, having triumphed in Adelaide last month.

Haddad Maia arrived in the clash fresh from winning each of her previous six encounters with top-10 opponents, including her quarter-final victory over Wimbledon champion and Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina.

But the Brazilian had already spent almost eight hours on court in this event prior to this contest, in which Bencic dropped just five games on the way to wracking up her 11th win of the campaign – the joint-most on the WTA Tour alongside Melbourne winner Aryna Sabalenka.

She will play number eight seed Liudmila Samsonova in Sunday's final after the Russian defeated Zheng Qinwen 6-4 1-6 6-4.

After being edged out in the first set, Zheng responded to motor through the second and seemed to have the momentum going into the third, but Samsonova showed impressive resolve to see off three break points against her, before taking her first on match point.

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari is out after going down 3-6 6-3 6-4 to sixth seed Petra Martic in a match that lasted over two and a half hours.

The Croatian will play Anastasia Potapova in the final after the number eight seed claimed yet another three-set victory this week to see off Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 and secure her fifth WTA final appearance.

Christophe Galtier was enraged by Paris Saint-Germain's "catastrophic" start after the Ligue 1 leaders were hampered by injury and illness in a 3-1 defeat at Monaco.

Hamstring issues had already left PSG without Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe at the Stade Louis II, while Fabian Ruiz was surprisingly absent and Achraf Hakimi and Sergio Ramos began on the bench.

PSG were torn apart in the first half as Wissam Ben Yedder scored twice after Aleksandr Golovin's opener, capitalising on an error from 17-year-old defender El Chadaille Bitshiabu for his first.

The visitors were unable to build on Warren Zaire-Emery's response and have now suffered three defeats in their last seven league games, as many as in their previous 45.

While selection issues plagued PSG on their trip to the principality, Galtier viewed their slow start as unacceptable.

"I am furious because the start is catastrophic," he told Amazon Prime Video. "We had hope with the goal, and we concede a third on a transition. Going back to 3-1 is more complicated. 

"There is anger. There were absentees, a virus. It's a difficult time for everyone, the players and the fans. 

"We have a big meeting on Tuesday [against Bayern Munich] and we need to regain energy, confidence and available players. We've conceded a lot of goals since the restart. We have to find balance. 

"In the second half, there were zero shots and no reaction. It is insufficient. After three minutes, the plan fell through."

PSG's tally of three league defeats in 2023 is their most after seven games at the start of a calendar year since their 2011 takeover by Qatar Sports Investments, last enduring a worse start when they lost five of their first seven Ligue 1 matches in 2010.

Having exited the Coupe de France against Marseille in midweek, PSG face a huge Champions League last-16 meeting with Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and captain Marquinhos knows the importance of responding to Saturday's setback.

"After a disappointment, we know that we have to bounce back quickly," he said. "We have to talk to each other, let everyone look at each other to see what they can do better. 

"You must not let go. We lost the cup, we have the Champions League, we are first in the championship... why would we give up now? 

"We are going through a difficult moment, but we have to go hard; it's a key moment of the season."

Mikel Arteta revealed Arsenal had lodged a complaint over an Ivan Toney equaliser they felt should have been ruled out in a 1-1 Premier League draw with Brentford on Saturday.

Arsenal missed a chance to go eight points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table as they were held by the in-form Bees in a London derby at Emirates Stadium.

January signing Leandro Trossard came off the bench to opening the scoring with his first goal for the club in the second half, but Toney denied the leaders with a header after 74 minutes.

There was a long VAR check before Toney's goal was finally allowed to stand, with Ethan Pinnock appearing to be standing in offside position as a free-kick was delivered.

Striker Toney nodded in from close range after the Gunners failed to deal with the set-piece, but Arsenal manager Arteta does not believe the Bees striker's 15th goal of the season should have been given.

The Spaniard said: "I've just looked at it back and it is offside. We will probably get an explanation later on in the week, but today we haven't got that. It’s too late – it's fine, it's a goal. It's irrelevant."

Asked if they had made their feelings clear to the Premier League, he replied: "Yes, we did at the end of the game with them, and we said our views."

Toney hit the crossbar in the first half and Brentford were good value fo a point that extended their winning run to 10 top-flight games.

Arsenal are six points clear of City, who face Aston Villa on Sunday before a mouthwatering battle between the top two next Wednesday, and Arteta praised his players despite not being at their best again following a defeat at Everton last weekend.

He added: "I think it as a really strong performance. I think it's a really tricky team to play against. It is frustrating, but this is the Premier League.

"I'm delighted with how the boys tried, how much they want it. The reaction when they drop two points, they're in a great place."

Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann demanded a much improved performance from his side in their Champions League last-16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

The Bundesliga leaders stretched their unbeaten league run to 13 games on Saturday with a 3-0 win over Bochum thanks to goals from Thomas Muller, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.

Nagelsmann was less than impressed with his side's display, though, and challenged his players to improve dramatically for the mouth-watering clash in Paris.

"We're not in the flow," he told Sky Sport.

"I think if we had played at full throttle, which is fun, and if we moved properly and brought a little enthusiasm onto the field, then I think in the first six minutes we should have led by two or three goals to nil.

"We had huge chances. But that's a bit like the three games we drew, we lacked the finishing. Overall, it wasn't a good game from either team.

"In the end, we didn't show enough life, and we don't have a super flow now.

"We have to put in an outstanding game in Paris, even if [Kylian] Mbappe might be out, because they're just a world-class team.

"If we play like that on Tuesday, it won't be enough to go through."

Muller's goal came in his 428th league outing for Bayern, which took him clear of Gerd Muller as the outfield player with the most Bundesliga appearances for the club.

Only goalkeepers Sepp Maier (473) and Oliver Kahn (429) now stand between him and the outright club record.

The 33-year-old's match ended at half-time when he was replaced by Alphonso Davies, but Nagelsmann said his withdrawal was precautionary.

"He indicated on the way in that he had a bit of a calf problem," the Bayern boss explained.

"I hope he doesn't have anything. It's nothing bad; it was more of a precautionary measure. It was just too much risk for me that he had anything there."

Scotland's winning start to the Six Nations continued as they swatted aside Wales 35-7 at Murrayfield.

Having lost to Wales in the second round in 2021 and 2022, Gregor Townsend's side had little trouble in ending that run on Saturday, despite the early loss of Stuart Hogg to a head injury.

Warren Gatland had won his previous 10 Six Nations matches against Scotland while in charge of Wales, and matters might have been different for the visitors had Rio Dyer finished a routine chance.

Scotland made their luck count, Kyle Steyn twice combining with Finn Russell, who claimed another assist as Matt Fagerson rounded off the scoring after Blair Kinghorn's superb try had sealed the bonus point.

A pair of Russell penalties put Scotland 6-0 up inside 15 minutes before George Turner bundled his way through – the game's first try awarded after a TMO check.

Turner made a costly error three minutes later, with the hooker sin-binned for a high lunge on George North, and Wales captain Ken Owens swiftly made his side's numerical advantage count, with Dan Biggar adding the extras.

Dyer looked sure to claim Wales' second try on the stroke of half-time, only to fumble with the line at his mercy.

Wales sustained the pressure after the restart, but Hogg's replacement Kinghorn relieved the stress on Scotland's line with a superb break, and the hosts soon restored their cushion – Russell brilliantly picking a gap before flicking a backhand to Steyn two yards out.

The Russell-Steyn combination was on song again before the hour, with the winger latching onto a pinpoint cross-field kick to dive over in the corner as Scotland capitalised on Liam Williams' booking.

Kinghorn capped off a sublime team move to ensure Scotland joined Ireland at the top of the standings, with Fagerson adding further gloss in the final minutes.

Son Heung-Min knows Tottenham must learn a "big lesson" from a 4-1 Premier League thrashing at Leicester City on Saturday.

Spurs beat second-placed champions Manchester City last weekend, but they were brought crashing back down to earth at the King Power Stadium.

Head coach Antonio Conte endured a painful return to the touchline after undergoing gallbladder surgery as the Foxes came from behind to strike a blow to Tottenham's bid to secure Champions League qualification.

Rodrigo Bentancur opened the scoring, but two goals in as many minutes from Nampalys Mendy and James Maddison put Leicester in front.

Kelechi Iheanacho gave Brendan Rodgers' side breathing space in first-half stoppage time and Harvey Barnes added a fourth goal on a miserable day for Spurs, who also suffered the blow of losing Bentancur to injury.

Forward Son told BBC Sport: "We started quite well and created chances. After it was 1-1 we conceded a quick second goal and then it was open. It was a difficult game then.

"Leicester were so clinical, they almost scored every chance. It's a very disappointing result.

"I think it's very sad. We knew it was going to be a really hard game. In the Premier League it's never an easy game. It showed the Premier League has a high level. I don't know what I can say, it's very disappointing."

Son did not feel Tottenham were guilty of turning up expecting to return south with three points.

Asked if complacency was a reason for their defeat, he replied: "I don’t think [it was]. We came with a good feeling after beating City. The first minute we were really on it. We should be ready and learn something.

"Today should be a big lesson for us."

Ireland boss Andy Farrell hailed the "astonishing" attitude of his players after they halted France's winning run and stretched their own streak to a record 13 consecutive home victories.

France had won 14 on the bounce before arriving in Dublin, but they went down 32-19 at the Aviva Stadium, with the hosts bagging a bonus point after tries from Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Andrew Porter and Garry Ringrose.

It was a performance that showed why many made Ireland favourites for the title from the get-go, as they followed up victory over Wales last weekend with another impressive display.

They head the world rankings and showed that standing is merited, with Farrell delighted, albeit saying he felt Ireland should perhaps have won by a heavier margin. All the same, the 13-point cushion was the most Ireland have beaten France by in the championship since a 25-6 success in March 1975.

Farrell told ITV: "It was a huge game and rightly so it was billed that way, because it was two great teams going at it, with the French unbeaten record and us going for our home record.

"It all gets thrown into the pot, but at the end of the day it's a victory in the competition we want to do well at, and we'll look at that performance and be unbelievably proud of it.

"The fight and the spirit that we had was astonishing at times, especially in that last 10 minutes.

"Garry Ringrose's try, he was dead on his feet, and then Bundee Aki coming back and dropping on loose balls and James Ryan kept getting up off the floor and taking the ball in for us. I could keep going on."

Farrell added: "The fighting spirit was great, but at the same time I thought we played some good stuff in the first half and should have come away with a few more points, and maybe again in the second half we should have come away with a few more points.

"That's not being greedy, because we got a bonus point, so we've got to be very happy with that, but at the same time we left a few things out there.

"So we're onto the next one, and it's Italy away and the same points are up for grabs."

Farrell was delighted Ireland got to 13 wins in a row at home for the first time, and doing so against a France side he rates so highly was doubly pleasing.

It was his first win over France, who had beaten Ireland in their most recent three encounters, and Farrell said: "I'm sure there'll be many battles down the line as well."

Keenan got Ireland's opening try, bursting through a hole in the French defence, but it was Lowe's score that particularly caught the eye.

He dived over in the corner, with most of his body in touch, and replays appeared to indicate it was a legitimate score after TMO checks.

It was a moment of acrobatic brilliance at high speed. Subsequent angles appeared to hint Lowe may have grazed the grass outside the playing area with a boot, but the try stood.

"He's useful out on that wing, the big lump," said Keenan. "It's brilliant for him and a great team performance."

Delighted to see off Les Bleus, Keenan added: "It was a long time coming. We've had a few tough losses and learnt from those. It was the one we were focusing on, so it's brilliant we got there."

Paris Saint-Germain's poor start to 2023 continued as Wissam Ben Yedder scored twice in Monaco's 3-1 win over the Ligue 1 leaders, who sorely missed the injured Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. 

Hamstring issues kept Messi and Mbappe out at the Stade Louis II, and with the likes of Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi benched, Christophe Galtier's below-strength team were all at sea.

Aleksandr Golovin struck early for Monaco and Ben Yedder doubled up before half-time, punishing an error from 17-year-old El Chadaille Bitshiabu for his first goal.

Sixteen-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery briefly put PSG back in contention before Ben Yedder's second, but PSG's defensive shortcomings ensured they suffered their third league defeat since the turn of the year.

PSG fell behind just four minutes into a calamitous display, Golovin poking home after Youssouf Fofana's powerful run teed up Ben Yedder for a blocked attempt.

Monaco continued to test a nervous PSG backline and punished a mistake from Bitshiabu after 18 minutes, with Ben Yedder drilling beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma after the defender carelessly lost possession.

PSG halved the arrears when Juan Bernat's cut-back found Zaire-Emery for a simple tap-in, but the outstanding Ben Yedder restored Monaco's two-goal lead with a composed one-on-one finish as half-time approached.

Ben Yedder almost brought up his treble with a powerful header after 61 minutes, only for Donnarumma to deny him with a firm one-handed stop.

Donnarumma was then alert to prevent half-time substitute Ramos putting through his own net as PSG escaped further humiliation, but they will need a major improvement ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich. 

Gabriel Barbosa and Pedro both scored twice as Flamengo beat Al Ahly 4-2 in a pulsating Club World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday.

Flamengo went ahead in the 11th minute when Barbosa rolled in from the penalty spot after Ali Maaloul had brought down Guillermo Varela.

But Al Ahly levelled seven minutes before the interval at Stade Ibn-Batouta in Tangier when Ahmed Abdelkader headed home Maaloul's corner.

Maaloul's eventful game took another twist in the 58th minute when his tepid spot-kick was kept out by Santos after Mohamed Sherif had been fouled by Thiago Maia in the area.

However, Al Ahly did not have to wait long to take the lead as Abdelkader cut in from the left and curled in a fine finish with his right foot just two minutes later.

Flamengo were handed a lifeline soon after when Khaled Abdelfattah received a straight red card for a foul on Ayrton Lucas just outside the area, with the initial penalty award overturned after a pitchside review.

The Brazilian side took full advantage of their numerical superiority, levelling through Pedro's hooked finish in the 77th minute before taking the lead courtesy of Barbosa's second penalty after Mohamed Hany handled in the area.

Pedro then put the seal on the victory in stoppage time, rolling past Mohamed El-Shenawy after some poor defending by Al Ahly. 

Tottenham missed the chance to climb into the Premier League’s top four as Leicester City humbled Antonio Conte's team 4-1 at the King Power Stadium.

Head coach Conte was back in the Spurs dugout having missed last week’s 1-0 win over Manchester City after undergoing gallbladder removal surgery.

But the Italian’s presence failed to inspire the visitors. Despite Rodrigo Bentancur's early strike putting Tottenham ahead, Nampalys Mendy equalised with his first Leicester goal, while James Maddison and Kelechi Iheanacho put the hosts 3-1 to the good at half-time.

Harvey Barnes completed a thumping victory, firing home with nine minutes remaining to move Brendan Rodgers' side six points clear of the relegation zone.

Tottenham broke through in the 14th minute when Ivan Perisic’s corner ricocheted kindly for Bentancur, who slotted into an open net from four yards. But Leicester turned the contest on its head with two goals in three minutes.

Mendy opened his account in emphatic fashion with a thumping 20-yard drive into the roof of the net after Spurs only half-cleared a corner.

The midfielder's strong challenge on the halfway line then released Iheanacho, who unselfishly laid the ball off for Maddison to slide home.

Iheanacho made it 3-1 in first-half stoppage time when he neatly bent a 20-yard shot into the far corner.

Spurs looked to respond after the break when Bentancur, who later limped off injured, tested Danny Ward from distance.

However, Leicester put the result beyond doubt nine minutes from time. Having been denied by VAR in the 70th minute, this time Barnes received the ball from Maddison before calmly threading past Fraser Forster into the bottom-right corner from 20 yards.

Ivan Toney's 15th goal of the season salvaged a 1-1 draw for Brentford to prevent Arsenal from going eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Leandro Trossard's first goal for the Gunners put them in front in the second half at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, but the prolific Toney levelled with a header after 74 minutes of the London derby.

Toney also struck the crossbar in the first half before he was an awarded the equaliser following a VAR check as the impressive Bees deservedly extended their unbeaten run to 10 top-flight games.

Arsenal are now six points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who they play on Wednesday, but that is three games without a win for the leaders in all competitions.

Rico Henry wasted a glorious early chance to put Brentford in front when he failed to hit the target from close range after Toney picked him out.

The dangerous Toney was proving to be a real handful and the striker rattled the crossbar with a right-footed strike after combining superbly with Bryan Mbeumo.

Arsenal were struggling to break a well organised Brentford side down and Gabriel Martinelli fired a volley over the crossbar from inside the box when an opportunity came the Brazil winger's way late in the first half.

David Raya denied Buyako Saka at his near post and Martin Odegaard shot straight at the Bees goalkeeper in a bright start to the second half.

Brentford continued to pose a threat and Toney side-footed just wide when he was presented with another good opportunity to open the scoring.

It was Trossard who got the breakthrough four minutes after replacing Martinelli, stealing in to turn in Saka's fizzed cross from inside the six-yard box to raise the roof.

Arsenal's joy was short-lived, though, as Toney nodded into an empty net after Christian Norgaard set him up, the Gunners paying the price for being unable to deal with a set-piece as the goal was allowed to stand following a check for offside.

 

Ireland halted France's 14-match winning run with a thrilling 32-19 victory in Dublin as Andy Farrell's remarkable team made a big Six Nations statement.

It had been France's longest ever streak of victories, but last season's Grand Slam champions were outscored four tries to one at the Aviva Stadium, with Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Andrew Porter and Garry Ringrose going over for the hosts.

In a battle between the top two in the world rankings, Ireland showed why they are number one.

Despite conceding an early penalty, the men in green had threatened the try line before cleverly tearing a hole in the French defence to allow Keenan to dash through to score.

Captain Johnny Sexton added the extras, but Thomas Ramos booted his second penalty of the afternoon to trim Ireland's early lead.

France added an exquisite try to power ahead, with Damian Penaud collecting the ball inside his own 22, charging through midfield and feeding Anthony Jelonch, before accepting a return pass and sprinting through to score.

Ireland hit back, Lowe delivering what looked to be an astonishing finish in the left corner.

The diving Lowe dotted down with one hand on the ball and most of his body out of play. A TMO check ruled he was off the ground, with Penaud's attempt to bundle the wing into touch failing to prevent the try. Further replays cast doubt on whether it should have been awarded.

Sexton failed to convert, then France's Uini Atonio was sin-binned after an ugly and high barge into Rob Herring, who departed for a head injury assessment.

Ireland capitalised on their extra man, Porter marking his 50th cap by crashing in from close range, and Sexton gave Ireland a 19-13 lead. Ramos struck a long-range penalty to reduce the deficit, but three more from Sexton made it 22-16 at the break.

Ross Byrne, on for the injured Sexton, slotted a penalty in the 60th minute to extend Ireland's lead, but Ramos hit back with a drop goal.

The game was Ireland's when Ringrose bustled in down the left to score and secure the bonus point. Their championship and Grand Slam prospects are looking up, with two wins from two, while France must dust themselves off and recover from this jolting setback.

Thomas Muller marked a record-breaking appearance for Bayern Munich with the opener in the champions' 3-0 win over Bochum on Saturday.

Muller's 428th league outing for Bayern took him clear of Gerd Muller as the outfield player with the most Bundesliga appearances for the club, with just goalkeepers Sepp Maier (473) and Oliver Kahn (429) now standing between him and the outright club record.

The 33-year-old, who was taken off at half-time after sustaining an injury, gave Bayern the lead in the 41st minute, before Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry's penalty sealed all three points in the second half. 

The result moved Bayern three points clear at the league summit, although Union Berlin can move back to within a point with victory over RB Leipzig in Saturday's late game.

Bayern went close to opening the scoring in the 15th minute when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's back-post header from Joao Cancelo's cross clipped the outside of the post.

The hosts were gifted the opener four minutes before the interval when Muller latched onto Saidy Janko's short backpass and rolled into an empty net after he had initially been thwarted by Manuel Riemann.

It should have been 2-0 before half-time, yet Leon Goretzka inexplicably headed wide from inside the six-yard box after Riemann had kept out Matthijs de Ligt's header.

Bayern did grab a second in the 64th minute when Coman, who had replaced Cancelo four minutes earlier, powered through the legs of Riemann after being played in by Jamal Musiala. 

Janko's dismal display reached a new low in the 73rd minute when he tripped Gnabry in the area, with the Germany international slotting home a third from the resulting spot-kick.
 

What does it mean? Bayern inflict more away-day misery on Bochum

Bayern were far from their best against a side they beat 7-0 earlier in the season, but a routine win extended their unbeaten run in the league to 13 games and cranked the pressure up on Union Berlin.

Bochum, meanwhile, have now lost 10 of their 11 Bundesliga away games this season. The last time they suffered this many defeats on the road at this stage of a campaign was in the 1992-93 season when they were relegated.

Gnabry excels

Gnabry was a handful throughout for Bochum's defenders and deservedly got on the scoresheet late on. The winger had more touches (104) and shots (six) than any other player on the pitch, while his tally of eight crosses was not bettered by anyone from either side.

Janko's nightmare

There cannot have been many worse individual displays in the Bundesliga this season than Janko's here. The 27-year-old gifted Muller the opener with a woeful backpass, before bringing down Gnabry to give referee Matthias Jollenbeck one of the easiest penalty decisions he will ever make.

What's next?

Bayern visit Paris Saint-Germain for the first leg of their mouth-watering Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, before a trip to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday – the same day Bochum host Freiburg. 

Luciano Spalletti will not discuss a new contract while Napoli continue their Scudetto bid, saying any talks regarding his future will only "create problems" for the Serie A leaders.

Napoli appear destined to clinch their first league title since the Diego Maradona era in this campaign, having built a huge 13-point lead over nearest rivals Inter at the top of the table. 

Only Bayern Munich (one) have lost fewer games across all competitions than Napoli (two) this season among teams in Europe's top five leagues.

Sunday's clash with Cremonese marks the start of a key period in the Partenopei's season, with the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie against Eintracht Frankfurt to come on February 21.

Spalletti's contract with Napoli expires at the end of this season, although the club reportedly have the option to trigger a 12-month extension.

Asked about his future at Saturday's pre-match press conference, Spalletti said: "My contract is a tiny detail within a great occasion.

"If we want to create problems for ourselves then let's talk about my contract, or the players'. These talks create problems.

"Let's only think about tomorrow, we eat with the present. Everyone has a desire for the future, but it comes through the present and we must succeed by focusing on the game."

Napoli have won their last eight home Serie A games and are bidding to record a ninth successive win on their own turf for the first time since September 2016.

While Napoli's sizeable advantage in the standings has supporters discussing when, rather than if, they might wrap up the title, Spalletti is uninterested in such debates. 

"If we project ourselves beyond the Cremonese game, we create problems," he added.

"I hear things about how many points are enough, how many we still need, then I'm not good at reckoning and you'll be angry with us.

"Even I wouldn't have expected these points and this gap, like everyone else."

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