Daniil Medvedev set up a Halle Open final meeting with Hubert Hurkacz, overcoming home favourite Oscar Otte to reach his second grass-court final in as many weeks.

The world number one was forced to save a set point in a tight opener before rallying in a tie-break and sailing through the second set in a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win. 

Despite falling to a shock defeat to Tim van Rijthoven in 's-Hertogenbosch last week, Medvedev is now 14-2 on grass since a first-round exit at Halle last year, and was delighted to make up for 2021's performance on one of his favoured surfaces. 

"I didn't play well in Halle last year, so I'm happy that this year I managed to raise my level," he said after the win.

"As I've always said, I love playing on grass, so I'm happy to show to myself that I'm capable of being in the final of one of the greatest tournaments, especially on grass, and of course I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

Standing between Medvedev and the second grass-court title of his career is Hurkacz, who required two tie-breaks to edge a thrilling contest with Nick Kyrgios, winning 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-4).

Elsewhere, last year's Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini remains on course for back-to-back titles at the Queen's Club Championships after a straight-sets win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the final four.

Berrettini overcame a rain stoppage to secure his eighth consecutive victory, securing a 6-4 6-3 win, and delighted after triumphing in challenging conditions.

"It was a really tough match. We stopped for the rain. I had a lot of chances. It was windy again and really tough to play, but I definitely think it was the best match of the week, so I am really happy and looking forward to the final," the Italian said. 

Berrettini will face world number 48 Filip Krajinovic in Sunday's final, after the Serb cruised past 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez thinks Kylian Mbappe will already be regretting staying at Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe was widely expected to move to Madrid when his PSG contract expired in June, but agreed to a three-year extension in the French capital.

Perez previously stated the Mbappe who snubbed the LaLiga and European champions is not the same character he wanted to bring to Los Blancos.

The Madrid chief, speaking during a meeting with the club's fans, again commented on Mbappe's decision as he declared the World Cup winner will be wishing he had moved to Los Blancos.

"The poor guy, Mbappe must already be sorry," Perez said when signing autographs after a fan had asked him about the France international.

Mbappe was in scintillating form in the 2021-22 campaign as he scored 28 league goals, a tally only bettered by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (35) across Europe's top five divisions.

The 23-year-old also added 17 assists, with no player in Europe's biggest leagues managing more direct goal involvements (45) – France team-mate Karim Benzema ranked second with 39.

Mbappe will hope to deliver further success for PSG in the 2022-23 season as the French giants bid for their ninth Ligue 1 title in the last 11 seasons.

Real Madrid's Rodrygo Goes claims he rejected the opportunity to join Los Blancos' eternal rivals Barcelona when leaving Santos in 2019.

Rodryo played a crucial role as Madrid won their 14th European title this season, scoring a remarkable late double in a stunning 6-5 aggregate semi-final triumph over Manchester City before coming off the bench in the 1-0 final win over Liverpool.

The 21-year-old also registered eight goal involvements (four goals, four assists) as Madrid won LaLiga, with only Karim Benzema (27), Vinicius Junior (17) and Marco Asensio (10) outscoring him among his team-mates.

But things could have been very different for the attacker, who has told the podcast Podpah of how he chose the Santiago Bernabeu over Camp Nou when leaving his home country.

Recalling Barca's bid for him three years ago, Rodrygo said his father was incredulous when he stalled on the Blaugrana's offer, telling him: "What do you expect? You are going to play with [Lionel] Messi!"

But things ultimately worked out well for the attacker, who has also broken into the Brazil squad and looks well placed to feature for his nation at the Qatar World Cup later this year.

"A normal day, I came home after a game," he recalled. "I had a Real Madrid shirt in my house and my father came into my room wearing that shirt and another Barcelona shirt.

"He told me, 'now choose'... and I chose the one for Real Madrid."

Charles Leclerc's Formula One world championship hopes have been dealt a blow after it was confirmed he will start at the back of the grid in Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix.

The title-chasing driver was already handed a 10-place grid penalty on Friday for changing his electronics control unit, following two power unit failures in the last two races that have dealt a significant blow in his push for the championship.

Leclerc's task in Montreal will now be one of damage limitation and Ferrari have elected to give him an entirely new power unit – a new internal combustion engine, turbo, MGU-H and MGU-K.

Drivers are only allowed to use three of each component over the course of a season but Leclerc will now use his fourth in Canada, while the ECU change leads to his third unit of the campaign when only two are allowed.

Leclerc's bad luck has led to an 80-point swing in the drivers' standings in favour of Red Bull's defending champion Max Verstappen, with his team-mate Sergio Perez also climbing above the Ferrari driver last weekend.

Two engine failures in back-to-back races have both come when Leclerc was leading the race, while he also lost the lead in Monaco after a team error in the pit lane saw him slip to fourth.

Leclerc had won two of the opening three races of the season to hold a 46-point lead over Verstappen, who had to retire in both of the events where the Monaco driver was victorious.

Rafal Majka won stage four of the Tour of Slovenia, but had to come out on top in a game of Rock Paper Scissors against Tadej Pogacar to do so.

It was not quite a case of the fastest rider over the line in stage four of the race on Saturday, with the victory instead settled by a jokey game between the two UAE Team Emirates riders.

Majka, who has helped Pogacar take the lead in the general classification standings, plucked for paper. His team-mate went for rock.

It resulted in a second stage win of the race for the Pole, who is three seconds behind Pogacar in the GC heading into Sunday's final stage.

The pair celebrated as they cruised over the line, with Majka leading the way.

"He [Pogacar] said, 'ok you go for the stage'," Majka laughed. "We did a small bit, but he still tells me: you can win today. I'm still really happy, and this is good before the Tour de France."

Pogacar is in line to compete at the Tour de France, which starts on July 1 in Copenhagen. The Slovenian is aiming for a third successive title.

UAE Team Emirates have dominated the Tour of Slovenia, with Majka's two stage wins added to by Pogacar claiming victory on Friday.

Francesco Bagnaia set a scorching pace to earn pole position for the German Grand Prix, but championship leader Fabio Quartararo served notice he is "ready to fight" for the win.

After setting Sachsenring lap records earlier in the day, a time of one minute and 19.931 seconds by Ducati's Bagnaia clinched first place on the grid for Sunday's race.

Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) was next quickest, with Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) completing the front row.

Bagnaia has won twice in his last four races but failed to finish on the other two occasions. The Italian rider has chalked up an unfortunate three abandonments this season in nine MotoGP outings, one more failure to finish than he suffered in last year's 18-race campaign.

"Today the qualifying wasn't easy. It was very hot and the wind was disturbing us a bit," Bagnaia said. "I'm very happy about this pole position."

Frenchman Quartararo has finished on the podium in four of his last five races, with the 23-year-old taking the win last time out at the Catalan Grand Prix and going 22 points clear of nearest rival Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) in the process.

Espargaro blundered in that race by celebrating a podium a lap too early, having miscounted, and dropped from second place to fifth as a consequence.

This time Espargaro will start fourth on the grid, no doubt counting the laps more carefully.

Quartararo senses threats from his rivals but is up for the challenge.

"They look so competitive. Aprilia and Ducati are looking fast, but I feel ready to fight with them," Quartararo said. "I think we are able to make great pace, not only in one lap, so I'm super happy to qualify in the front row today."

Quartararo experienced the rare mishap of seeing his visor break during free practice early on Saturday, and he swallowed up the responsibility.

"I'm always the first rider to do something strange," he said. "I think I didn't close it well, and when I turned around the visor came up, and then with the speed it came off, but I think it was my mistake."

Alex Rins pulled out of the race early on Saturday after feeling discomfort from the fractured left wrist injury he suffered in Barcelona, while Marc Marquez remains absent.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marquez has won the last eight editions of the German Grand Prix.

PROVISIONAL GRID

1. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) – 1:19.931
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) + 0.076
3. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) + 0.099
4. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) + 0.189
5. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini) + 0.197
6. Jack Miller (Ducati) + 0.219
7. Luca Marini (Mooney VR46) + 0.237
8. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) + 0.288
9. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) + 0.537
10. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) + 0.631

Brad Friedel believes the opportunity to play under Antonio Conte is a "big pull" for Tottenham in the transfer market.

Spurs have wasted no time in strengthening their squad after qualifying for the Champions League, signing Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma.

Richarlison and Djed Spence are among the other players the London club have been linked with.

Former Spurs goalkeeper says the prospect of working with Conte will be a big draw.

"What I would like to see and which it's really nice to see happening is that Antonio Conte is given the pieces to his puzzle," he told Sky Sports.

"I would assume when the players are meeting him that it's a big pull that they're gonna be playing for him.

"It's happening fairly early, that's not how it normally happens at Tottenham.

"A lot of players are going to want to go to the clubs that they know they are gonna have Champions League football each and every year."

Introducing our third summer signing...  pic.twitter.com/GMEjKo1MH9

Bissouma featured 26 times for Brighton and Hove Albion last season and ranked fourth in their team in successful passes (1,059) as well as duels won (145). He was also second in completed tackles (49).

The Mali international had been linked with a number of top clubs and Friedel thinks he is a perfect fit for Conte's Tottenham.

"He very much fits Antonio Conte's style of play," the ex-United States international added.

"He seems that type of high-energy player that you could sit back and close players down like Conte wants, he can break quickly on the counter-attack, he has vision and a range of passing."

There had been speculation that Conte could leave Tottenham, with talk of a move to Paris Saint-Germain, but Friedel downplayed those fears.

"It seems like the board is really backing him," Friedel continued. "He wanted the players in that he wants to work with, that will fit in his style of play."

Leicester Tigers' match-winner Freddie Burns expressed his disbelief after achieving a life-long ambition by lifting the Premiership title on Saturday.

Hanro Liebenberg and Jasper Wiese scored the only tries of the final at Twickenham, but Owen Farrell kept Saracens in the game with three penalties, while Elliot Daly added another with his boot.

The last of Farrell's penalties came with four minutes remaining to level at 12-12, but late drama settled the contest in Leicester's favour as Burns stepped up with a last-minute drop goal to snatch the Tigers' first Premiership title in nine years.

The 32-year-old was only on the pitch due to a first-half injury to George Ford, who was forced off with a reoccurrence of an ankle issue in his final Leicester game before he joins Sale Sharks.

That injury will be of concern to England coach Eddie Jones ahead of his side's tour of Australia next month, but at least for Leicester, Ford's injury was not in vain.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5Live after the victory, an emotional Burns reflected on a victory that he dedicated to his family.

"I can't tell you much, I'm in disbelief right now," he said. "The fight this team has showed all year. That's my job to kick it but we were up against it and we pulled ourselves up from the depths again.

"I'm in shock. I'm over the moon. It's everything. I said when I was five years old that I had two ambitions and that was to play for my country and to win the Premiership and with a year in Japan I thought it has gone.

"It just means the world. It chokes me up just thinking about it. Not many people know but your family ride the ups and downs with you. It means as much to them as it does to me."

Saracens captain Farrell credited the Tigers for punishing his side's mistakes.

"It was a game of not making too many mistakes. They were not playing anything in their half and I think it frustrated us," he told BT Sport.

"They’ve played well all season and carried that into today. They stuck to the gameplan and when we made mistakes they punished us.

"There weren't too many cracks in that game, when mistakes were made they punished us."

Romelu Lukaku has always felt he was still an Inter player despite his exit last year to join Chelsea, Gigi Di Biagio believes.

The Belgium international left the Serie A side to return to the Premier League to join Thomas Tuchel's side but has endured difficulties in west London, expressing his frustrations during a mid-season interview.

Lukaku is expected to be on the move once ahead of the 2022-23 season, with Inter pushing to re-sign the striker from Chelsea – with reports indicating discussions regarding a loan deal are underway.

According to Di Biagio, Lukaku never quite left the San Siro spiritually and it was clear he regretted his exit as he remained an Inter player "in his heart".

"It's really quite romantic that we all got the feeling from the first day that Lukaku wanted to return to Inter straight away," the former midfielder told Sky Sport Italia.

"You could tell from the way he spoke, the look on his face, he still felt in his heart that he was still an Inter player. Then there was that interview he gave too."

Lukaku scored 15 goals in 44 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, half of the tally he netted in the 2020-21 season to help propel Inter to the Serie A title.

During the 29-year-old's previous two-year spell with Inter, no Nerazzurri player scored more goals (64), provided more assists (17) or created as many chances (133) in all competitions.

Di Biagio believes Lukaku can achieve similar success if the striker returns to Inter.

"Lukaku can still make the difference in Serie A, for his motivation, his desire to wear the jersey, he wants to give something more," he added.

"He felt like he was the king at Inter, whereas something at Chelsea just wasn't working."

Inter are expected to significantly rejuvenate their attacking ranks as they seek to knock San Siro rivals Milan off top-spot next season, with Paulo Dybala also reportedly arriving on a free transfer from Juventus.

The Colorado Avalanche were betting favourites headed into the Stanley Cup Final against the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, and a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 only strengthened their position.

Even at home, the Avs are not counting on Wednesday's win carrying over to Saturday's Game 2.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar indicated as much in the build-up to the clash at Ball Arena.

"I would say in this situation, I don't believe a lot in [momentum]," Bednar said. "Like, it's Stanley Cup Finals. We know we're going to see Tampa's best game. They'll be better than they were in Game 1."

The Avalanche got off to a hot start on Wednesday, holding leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but the Lightning weathered the storm and rallied to force overtime - a point not lost on Bednar.

"There are a lot of areas, for me, that we can be a lot better than we were in Game 1," the sixth-year coach said. "We approach it the same way we did in Game 1.

"I expect our guys to be energised and ready to go. It's an extra day's rest, they'll be the same way. It'll be about the detail in our game and how hard we can compete. The last part of that is the execution."

Despite the Lightning holding the advantage in playoff pedigree and experience, Bednar was proud of his young team for responding on hockey's biggest stage.

"Honestly, I feel like our team has kind of been there all along. I never felt that the moment was going to be too big for us, coming into this thing," Bednar said.

"Right from the finish of the Edmonton series, our guys, we told them to enjoy it for a couple of days, get away, but if you talk to any of our individuals, they'll say the same thing: 'Job's not done.'

"We've got a lot of work to do. It's going to be a tough series, and I feel like we've been focused on that. I don't think anyone's patting themselves on the back for being here. It's not the type of mentality we've had from day one of training camp."

The Lightning and coach Jon Cooper, meanwhile, are not panicking after dropping Game 1 and would be content to return to Tampa Bay with the series tied headed into Monday's Game 3.

"It's about winning the series, it's not about winning Game 1," Cooper said. "Yeah, would we like to win every single game? There's no question. But we've also started out on the road for all four series, so the fact that we've won one of them is kind of a bonus on our side. But it's about winning the series."

The Lightning are in familiar territory, needing to battle back for a series win. Tampa Bay dropped Game 1 of the 2020 Stanley Cup Final before rallying to beat the Dallas Stars in six games.

This year's squad overcame Game 1 losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round and the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference final.

Ons Jabeur kept Coco Gauff waiting for a top 10 debut as the Tunisian battled past her teenage opponent to reach the Berlin Open final.

Gauff would have secured a career-high ranking on the WTA list if she had won Saturday's semi-final, but top seed Jabeur took it 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to earn a shot at Belinda Bencic in the title match.

Only world number one Iga Swiatek has won more matches on the WTA Tour than fourth-ranked Jabeur this year, who collected a 29th win as she overcame a 3-1 career head-to-head deficit against Gauff to earn the victory.

Gauff, at 18 years and 98 days, would have become the youngest American to reach a grass-court singles final on tour since Andrea Jaeger was runner-up to Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1983.

It was not to be her day though, Jabeur breaking serve for the fourth time in the match to seal victory, encouraged by a large and vocal Tunisian following.

Reflecting on the match, Jabeur said: "When you play Coco you have to have all the shots. She's a talented player; she's very tough to beat. You can see I've lost already three times against her.

"Sometimes she takes it, sometimes I take it, and it was a great match for both of us."

This is just the second WTA tournament where 27-year-old Jabeur has been a top seed.

"I've tried to act like a number one seed on and off the court, and it's a good pressure," she added. "I'm trying to handle it very well and with the support of our Tunisian people here it's great."

Olympic gold medallist Bencic had earlier claimed an impressive 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-4 win over Greek second seed Maria Sakkari in the first semi-final.

Jabeur was bettered by Bencic in a hard-fought Charleston final in April, but is determined to secure a different outcome this time.

"I'm definitely going for the final revenge because we played each other at Charleston, and it was a very, very tough match," Jabeur said. "I hope she's tired from today's match."

Rain meant there was no play at the Birmingham Classic on Saturday, with the semi-finals set back to Sunday.

Beatriz Haddad Maia will face 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, while Zhang Shuai tackles Sorana Cirstea.

Edouard Mendy was affected by missing out on a Ballon d'Or nomination, although his outstanding trophy haul goes some way to making up for it.

Goalkeeper Mendy helped Senegal to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title in February, having helped Chelsea win the FIFA Club World Cup that same month.

But 2021 represented a stellar year for Mendy as he enjoyed success in his first season in England following a switch from Rennes. 

He played a key role as Chelsea clinched their second Champions League title, boasting a higher save percentage (91.18) than any goalkeeper to make more than one appearance in the competition and keeping nine clean sheets in 12 outings. 

Despite that, Mendy failed to make a 30-man shortlist for football's biggest individual prize, and lost out on the Yashin Trophy – awarded to the best goalkeeper – to Italy's Euro 2020 hero Gianluigi Donnarumma.

"There have been some incredible moments and there have been some moments that have been more difficult," Mendy told Chelsea's club media.

"After the Ballon d'Or, I think that even if you try to rise above it, unconsciously you are still affected by it. But also it was something new for me.

"You learn from every challenge and I've learned how to deal with it. These are things that I've experienced that have made me a better person, even if at the time it [did] affect me.

"I've also experienced some absolutely joyous moments with AFCON and the Champions League, the [2021 UEFA] Super Cup, winning trophies. When you win them, it becomes an addiction, when you live your life in competition you want to be in the final to win.

"I've been lucky enough to experience that at club level and with my national team who won for the first time in our history. So it's a mix of a lot of emotions but enormously positive ones that bring huge amounts of pride to my family. My reality is what every footballer dreams of."

While the Ballon d'Or has so far evaded Mendy, he hailed the influence Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel – and the club's sporting director, former goalkeeper Petr Cech – have had on his time in west London.

"We have a really good relationship with the coach, he's always been clear with me, he's always clear with all the players," he said of Tuchel.

"He's always explaining things, trying to make sure the messages are understood. He's always looking to explain his decisions so there's a lot of transparency in what he does. That's important for the team and of course for myself too.

"We can talk about everything and nothing, but when we're talking about what happens on the pitch it's always a good exchange of ideas."

Cech also made the switch from Rennes to Chelsea, and went on to become the Premier League's all-time leader for clean sheets kept as a goalkeeper (202).

"Of course, he means a lot," Mendy added of Cech. "He was a big factor in the fact I came to Chelsea. 

"You have to always make them proud, last year I had the chance to train with Petr and that year [2020-21], he hung his boots! But I had the chance to train with him and see what a great player he was.

"Talent never dies. I was lucky enough to see him evolve and get advice from him every day. What he says is very important to me, especially from a goalkeeper who won a lot at Chelsea and is a legend of goalkeeping."

Milan president Paolo Scaroni has criticised the state of Italian football, saying it must commit to change to begin competing with the top European leagues.

Speaking to newspaper Il Foglio, the chief of the reigning Serie A champions said: "You need to propose a product that you like, because football is not only sport but also entertainment."

There has not been an Italian winner of the Champions League since the 2009-10 season, when Milan's city rivals Inter overcame Bayern Munich 2-0 in the final.

Since that campaign, all trophy-winning teams in the competition have hailed from Spain, Germany or England.

"Our Serie A has become a Serie B when compared with the other major European leagues," said Scaroni.

Scaroni pointed to clubs struggling to sell out their games in stadiums that are ripe for renovation.

He said: "Our stadiums are outdated and without fans, our combined earnings are lower than those of Premier League teams individually.

"We are discussing how to sell our rights abroad, but we must be aware that the product must be improved."

Scaroni also spoke about Milan's proposed move away from San Siro to a new home, saying: "Whoever gives us the go-ahead will find us ready."