Iga Swiatek continued her outstanding form as she cruised into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-3 6-2 win over Jessica Pegula, joining an elite list of young players to have reached the final four in the year's first two grand slams.
In racking up her 33rd consecutive win, the world number one ensured she followed up her semi-final appearance at this year's Australian Open with another deep run at Roland Garros.
On the day after her 21st birthday, 2020 French Open champion Swiatek joined a select group of players in managing that feat, with only six women making back-to-back semi-finals at the tournaments at a younger age than the Pole since the turn of the century.
They are Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic, Eugenie Bouchard and Maria Sharapova.
Having become just the fourth woman this century to win five consecutive tournaments on the WTA Tour coming into Roland Garros, Swiatek will go into her semi-final clash against Daria Kasatkina confident of taking another step towards a second grand slam title.
The French government has said it is "sad and sorry" for the disruption faced by Liverpool fans at last week's Champions League final in Paris, though interior minister Gerald Darmanin has refused to back down on claims the use of fake tickets caused the chaos.
The Champions League final was twice delayed as Liverpool fans struggled to enter the Stade de France, while social media footage showed Reds supporters being targeted with tear gas and pepper spray by local police.
On Monday, UEFA announced an independent investigation into the events after both Liverpool and the UK government - via culture secretary Nadine Dorries - called for a probe into the organisation of the match.
The French government has faced severe criticism since the contest, with Liverpool chairman Tom Werner calling for sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera to apologise for her "irresponsible, unprofessional, and wholly disrespectful" claim that the club was responsible for the events after letting their fans "out in the wild".
Speaking after the events had been discussed during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, government spokesperson Olivia Gregoire said Emmanuel Macron and his colleagues apologised to fans who were unable to gain entry to the match, but denied the events amounted to a "tragedy".
"Could things have been done better? Could it have been better managed? Yes," she said. "Was there a tragedy or injuries? No. Can we improve things in sight of the next sports competitions? Certainly.
"What was shared this morning is that we must keep a little composure, even if things are to be improved. We must not forget those who, before the government, had a bad evening, that is to say the supporters, the families, the 2,700 spectators with tickets who could not see the match.
"As a priority, the President of the Republic and the whole of the government were sad and sorry for these people, who were displaced and were simply deprived of a match."
Darmanin, meanwhile, has maintained the prevalence of counterfeit tickets, originally cited by UEFA as the reason for the congestion outside the stadium, was a crucial factor.
Speaking at a French senate hearing to discuss the controversial events, Darmanin claimed between 30,000 and 40,000 people either without tickets or using counterfeit tickets had been present outside the Saint-Dennis venue.
"Regarding the tickets, the Liverpool club asked that the tickets - the entirety - be in paper, whereas for all the other meetings of the competition, this was not the case," said Darmanin.
"It does not mean that all the fans had fake tickets, there were also spectators without tickets.
"People with counterfeit tickets passed the first screening and caused technical errors on the stadium turnstiles. Thus, people entered the stadium without control and took the place of people who had real tickets but who could not enter.
"Regarding the 30,000 to 40,000 counterfeit tickets, we never said so. We have always communicated about 30,000 to 40,000 people [either] without tickets or with counterfeit tickets. If some call us liars, we have sources.
"We arrived at a figure of between 109,000 and 119,000 people around the Stade de France, so much more than the real capacity of the enclosure."
Darmanin also contended that similar problems had been experienced at the 2019 Champions League final in Madrid, when Liverpool beat fellow Premier League side Tottenham, suggesting the presence of Liverpool in such contests presented a unique challenge for organisers.
"Liverpool is not a club like any other," he added. "[In] Madrid, in 2019, there were exactly the same problems, [the] same difficulties of counterfeit tickets and people outside the stadium.
"Our mistake was undoubtedly not to see that tens of thousands of people without tickets would go directly to the Stade de France."
Darmanin did, however, apologise "very sincerely" for the "disproportionate" use of tear gas by police, though he also rejected criticisms of the forces' general conduct at the match.
"It is obvious that for all football fans, the negative image of this match is an injury. Could we have avoided and anticipated more? No doubt," he added. "But I regret the criticisms suffered by the forces of order, which I represent and command."
Iga Swiatek says it was "disappointing and surprising" to hear Amelie Mauresmo state that watching women play at the French Open is less appealing than seeing their male counterparts.
Mauresmo, the tournament director at Roland Garros, was asked on Wednesday why only one match out of 10 during the night sessions in Paris had been contested by women.
The former world number one replied: "In this era that we are in right now, I don't feel - and as a woman and former player, I don't feel bad or unfair saying that right now you have more attraction. Can you say that? Appeal? That's the general, for the men's matches."
Mauresmo added: "This is what we wanted to showcase to spectators who had only one-match tickets, because some of them do. It was more difficult to have, of course, a match, a night-session match with only female tennis players."
Alize Cornet's victory over Jelena Ostapenko in the second round was the only evening match involving women to take place in the first year where night sessions have been on the schedule at the French Open.
While Swiatek says she is not bothered what time of day she plays, the world number one was not impressed with Mauresmo's comments.
It's 33 straight wins for No.1 @iga_swiatek -- catch all the best moments from her 6-3, 6-2 win today with Highlights by @emirates#RolandGarros | #EmiratesFlyBetterMoments pic.twitter.com/NuIw0xcOfe
After reaching the semi-finals at the expense of Jessica Pegula, the top seed said: "It is a little bit disappointing, and surprising because she was also in the WTA.
"From my point of view, for every player it's more convenient to play at a normal hour, but for sure I want to entertain and I also want to show my best tennis in every match.
"So, for me, I'm always focused the same way when I'm going out. It doesn't matter if it's day session or night sessions. But, yeah, it is a little bit disappointing.
"But it's always their decision and we kind of have to accept that. But I want my tennis to be entertainment as well, I always said that, and in my toughest moments I always remember that I also play for people.
"I think it's kind of [the] personal opinion of every person if they like men's tennis or women's tennis more, or if they like them equally, but I think women's tennis has a lot of advantages.
"And some may say that it's unpredictable and girls are not consistent. But, on the other hand, it may also be something that is really appealing, and it may really attract more people. So it depends on personal views of some people."
Son Heung-min can count himself unlucky after the Tottenham star missed out on a nomination for the PFA Player of the Year.
Spurs forward Son scored 23 Premier League goals in the 2021-22 season, sharing the competition's Golden Boot award with Mohamed Salah.
The Liverpool talisman is included on the list of six nominees, alongside team-mates Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane.
Son's strike partner Harry Kane does make the cut, while Kevin de Bruyne is the sole representative of champions Manchester City.
His team-mates Bernardo Silva and Rodri may also consider themselves hard done by, having both enjoyed wonderful campaigns.
Cristiano Ronaldo could not take Manchester United into the Champions League on his return to the club, but his 18 league goals have seen him receive a nomination.
The PFA also confirmed the list of nominees for the Young Player of the Year award, with City attacker Phil Foden joined by Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka and his club-mate Emile Smith Rowe.
That trio will go up against Chelsea pair Conor Gallagher, who shined on loan at Crystal Palace this season, and Reece James, as well as Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey, for the award.
Real Madrid have expressed their "sincere gratitude and affection" to departing duo Gareth Bale and Isco.
Bale confirmed on Wednesday that, as expected, he was leaving the LaLiga champions and Champions League winners, with his contract with Los Blancos coming to an end.
Isco also revealed earlier this week that he was departing the club on a free transfer.
Both players signed for Madrid in 2013 - Bale joining from Tottenham while Isco arrived from Malaga.
The pair have helped Madrid win 19 trophies in their nine years in the Spanish capital, although Bale did spend the 2020-21 season on loan at Spurs.
They can count five Champions League titles, three league crowns, one Copa del Rey and four FIFA Club World Cup triumphs among their honours.
Bale also scored crucial goals to help seal some of those successes, including a match-winning double in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool.
"Real Madrid would like to express its sincere gratitude and affection to Gareth Bale, a player who will forever be part of the club's legacy," a statement on the club's website read, with the same applying for Isco.
Everton forward Richarlison has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) after throwing a smoke bomb during the Toffees' Premier League win over Chelsea last month.
While celebrating after scoring the game's only goal early in the second half, the Brazilian picked up an object which had been thrown onto the playing surface before hurling it back towards an empty part of the ground, albeit close to the stands.
Footage from Sky Sports showed the smoke bomb striking the side of the stands at Goodison Park before falling back to the ground.
A statement released by the FA on Wednesday confirmed the Brazilian's charge, noting he had until June 8 to provide a response.
Shortly after the charge was announced, Richarlison posted an image of himself holding up the smoke bomb to his official social media accounts.
Richarlison played a crucial role as Everton maintained their Premier League status despite enduring an underwhelming campaign under both Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard, ending the season with more league goals (10) and assists (five) than any other Toffees player.
The Brazil forward's charge comes just one day after boss Lampard was fined £30,000 by the FA following his own charge of improper conduct, having suggested a penalty which was not awarded to Everton in April's Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool at Anfield would been given to their opponents.
Manchester United have confirmed Jesse Lingard will leave the club after his contract expires.
Lingard's deal runs out at the end of June and the midfielder, who came through United's youth system, had long been expected to leave for pastures new.
On Wednesday, United confirmed the 29-year-old was departing, following Paul Pogba out of the exit door.
He reportedly pushed for a move away from Old Trafford in January, but United did not wish to sell the England international.
However, Lingard – who enjoyed a fruitful spell on loan at West Ham during the 2020-21 season, scoring nine league goals in 16 games as David Moyes' team qualified for the Europa League – only started two top-flight matches across the 2021-22 campaign.
He featured 22 times across all competitions, scoring twice – with the last of those goals an 89th-minute winner against the Hammers on his return to the London Stadium last September.
In total, Lingard made 232 United appearances, scoring 35 times.
West Ham wanted to sign Lingard permanently last year, while Newcastle United are also reported to hold an interest.
JOA INVESTS IN THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF JAMAICA’S TRIATHLETES
Kingston, Jamaica…The Jamaica Triathlon Association (JTA) received a welcome boost recently when they were able to acquire eight new `bicycles with the help of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).
Through a JOA grant of JMD$1 million the JTA was able to acquire the bicycles and other equipment as well as assist with the promotion of the inaugural Inter-Schools Triathlon/Aquathlon Championships to be held at the National Aquatic Centre at Independence Park in Kingston on Saturday, June 18, 2022.
The championships will include age groups from six to 21 years incorporating primary, secondary and tertiary students.
Christopher Samuda, President of the JOA, said the investment is a further signal of the Olympic association’s confidence in the goals set by the JTA’s administration.
“Our investment in the sport triathlon is three fold - the athlete, the tool of the trade, which is the bicycle, and the coach, who provides the technical competence which transitions the talent to success,” President Samuda said.
“This is JOA's cycle of development, the returns of which have been fast tracked by the experience and commitment of the new administration led by President Karl Sharpe.
“This is a solid partnership between the JOA and the Jamaica Triathlon Association, which has developed traction and the athlete is the winner and the schools the beneficiaries. One million is yet another clear signal of our confidence in the sport and the value and currency of the administration.”
JOA CEO and General-Secretary Ryan Foster believes the assistance they are providing will also help the JTA build capacity in the longer term.
“The JOA welcomes this extremely important initiative by the Jamaica Triathlon Association. The JOA shares a similar vision with the JTA regarding expanding opportunities and growing the sport in schools,” Foster said.
“We are pleased with the renewed energy displayed by President (Carl) Sharpe and his team and saw it as a right strategic fit which aligns with our vision of looking at the next generation.
“The partnership will see The JOA contributing $JMD1 million towards this competition. The sponsorship will also see the JOA providing the much-needed competition equipment, especially for those schools that do not have the resources to do so. This equipment will provide capacity to the JTA for future events."
The consensus is that the JOA support will go a long way in helping develop the sport as well as aid in the physical development of young athletes, a view expressed by the association’s president Carl Sharpe.
“They (the bicycles) will help us to unearth talent,” he said.
Sharpe explained that several aquathlon athletes interested in becoming triathletes but they lack the resources to purchase bicycles.
He also believes that because the triathlon is a cross-discipline event, athletes who engage in the sport are likely to achieve greater levels of physical development and as a result are more likely to avoid injuries.
These sentiments were echoed by JTA Director Donna Sharpe.
“These bikes are starter bikes with different measurements that fit athletes with varying heights. The bikes will be used on a loaner basis to get athletes to start riding,” she explained.
“These are some aquathletes who want to transition to triathlon but have no bikes to get started. So they will be used to assist athletes to learn to ride and or train.”
At the inaugural championships, the JTA coaches are hoping to identify talent for the national squad in preparation for the Carifta Triathlon Aquathlon Age Group Championships scheduled to be held September 24th to 25th in Bermuda.
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Daria Kasatkina aims to climb another "mountain" when she faces Iga Swiatek in her first grand slam semi-final at the French Open.
Kasatkina won an all-Russian showdown with Veronika Kudermetova on Court Philippe-Chatrier 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to break new ground at a major on Wednesday.
The 20th seed had lost her previous two grand slam quarter-finals in 2018, but she was not denied on this occasion in Paris.
Kasatkina will do battle with Swiatek for a place in the Roland Garros final on Thursday after the world number one beat Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
Top seed Swiatek has beaten Kasatkina twice in hard-court events this year and the Pole is on an astonishing 33-match winning run.
Yet Kasatkina has not dropped a set at the French Open and the 25-year-old is relishing the challenge of playing the biggest match of her career.
She said: "We played a few times this year. Okay, I lost those matches, but it was a different story. It was a hard court, beginning of the year, I was not in the same shape as I am now.
"I cannot compare what we are going to have tomorrow and what we had in February, March when we were playing. It's going to be completely different match. I want to win a lot, she wants to win as well, and it's going to be a good match.
"You never know what's going to happen in the semi-final of a grand slam, so it's going to be fun and that's it."
Kasatkina will savour her best performance at a major, but is hungry for more.
"I have no time to relax, I'm playing already tomorrow. So a little bit of time to enjoy it, because still it's special for me, a first semi-final," she added.
"But I know that tomorrow is another mountain in front of me which I have to climb and that's it. Maybe it's even better that I don't have much time to think about how good it is to be in the semi-finals, so I have another battle."
As she prepares to face the all-conquering tournament favourite, Kasatkina does not believe she has ever been in better shape.
She said: "Mentally and physically I feel the best I ever was, which is good, because it means that I'm improving. But I don't feel safe, because when you're in the comfort zone it means there's something wrong.
"I think it's better to feel something behind you, so you don't relax much. I think I'm always ready, you have to be always be ready.
"It doesn't have to be like, 'Oh, I'm so bad, and what do I have to do now?' But if you are ready and you know how to get out of this, this is also what I learn."
Spain will be without Thiago Alcantara for their upcoming Nations League games.
The midfielder was an injury concern for Liverpool ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday, but he was declared fit to start and played 77 minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Real Madrid before being replaced by Roberto Firmino.
However, the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona midfielder will be unable to play for his national team in this month's matches against Portugal, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.
That is due to what a muscular injury to the back of his right leg.
Thiago will remain with the Spain camp until after Thursday's clash with Portugal in Seville.
Spain coach Luis Enrique will not be calling up a replacement for Thiago, who last started for his country in June 2021. He later made four appearances at the delayed Euro 2020 finals, all from the bench.
Manchester City and Liverpool will reignite their rivalry in the Community Shield, which will take place on July 30.
The new Premier League season is scheduled to start the following weekend, and champions City will take on FA Cup winners Liverpool in the campaign's traditional curtain-raiser.
Liverpool finished second in the top flight, one point off City, who came from behind on the final day against Aston Villa to secure their fourth league title in the space of five seasons in dramatic fashion.
Jurgen Klopp's team had harboured hopes of an unprecedented quadruple but ultimately had to settle for winning the two domestic cup competitions, having lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in last week's Champions League final.
While the Community Shield is typically held at Wembley Stadium, it is taking place at Leicester City's King Power Stadium on this occasion.
Wembley is hosting the final of the women's Euro 2022 tournament on the same weekend.
City lost last year's Community Shield 1-0 to 2020-21 FA Cup winners Leicester, going down to a late penalty from their former player Kelechi Iheanacho.
Liverpool featured in the 2020 Community Shield, albeit that was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They lost to Arsenal on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Indeed, the last time the league champions won the trophy was in 2019 when City defeated Liverpool 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out, once again after the match had finished 1-1.
The Boston Celtics have made sure to do it the hard way en route to the NBA Finals.
Sometimes this can suggest a team's name is on the trophy; look at Real Madrid's remarkable run in European football's Champions League before winning their record-extending 14th title.
The Celtics, an organisation with similar prestige, will hope they can now follow suit.
After all, this is a team who reached the turn of the year with a 17-19 record under a rookie coach, then recovered to take the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Having worked so hard to secure home court in the second round of the playoffs, the Celtics lost to a Milwaukee Bucks outfit missing Khris Middleton in Game 5, falling 3-2 behind in the series and requiring another fightback.
Then the Celtics again failed to make the most of the Boston crowd in the Eastern Conference Finals, allowing the Miami Heat to return home for a Game 7.
Still, the Celtics made it through, and now they must take on the Golden State Warriors, back in contention and looking to extend the sort of dynasty Madrid would be proud of.
The Warriors are going to their sixth Finals in eight seasons; Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have played in each of them.
On the other hand, the Celtics are in their first Finals since 2010 – Curry's rookie season. Not a single member of the Boston roster has reached this stage before.
And yet, against the Warriors of all teams, the Celtics should have little to fear.
This is a battle of defense versus offense – Boston allowed a league-low 104.5 points per game in the regular season, while Golden State have scored a season-high 114.5 points per game in the playoffs – and it is a battle the Celtics have won numerous times in recent seasons.
In the 10 years since the Steph-Klay-Draymond Warriors came together, the Celtics are 10-10 against Golden State. Boston are the only team with a winning record (9-7) against Steve Kerr's Warriors, and they are a hugely impressive 7-3 in this matchup since drafting Jayson Tatum in 2017.
Before splitting this season's two-game series, the Celtics had won five in a row against the Warriors.
The key to this success has been defense. The Celtics have held both the Steph-Klay-Draymond Warriors (103.3 points per game) and Kerr's Warriors (104.4) to fewer points than any other defense. The same is true of Boston in Tatum's five years in the league, during which they have outscored Golden State 110.7-103.1 on average.
In Curry and Thompson, the Warriors boast two of the best shooters of all time, yet the Celtics have repeatedly forced them to take bad shots.
In the past five years, the Warriors have attempted just 83.2 field goals per game against the Celtics – only mustering fewer against the Detroit Pistons (80.8) – yet they have had a lofty 36.5 three-point attempts on average in these games. That means 43.9 per cent of Golden State's field goal attempts against the Celtics since 2017 have come from beyond the arc, attempting a higher percentage of their shots from deep against the Brooklyn Nets alone (44.1).
Given the talent in this Warriors team, shooting from range is not generally an issue, yet they have made just 31.8 per cent of those threes – again only performing worse against the Nets (31.4 per cent).
This has contributed to the Warriors making a meagre 43.1 per cent of their field goals against the Celtics, comfortably their worst rate against any team over this period.
Still, with the title on the line, the Warriors will undoubtedly back themselves to overcome this hurdle.
Curry (52.6 per cent), Thompson (50.0) and Jordan Poole (50.0) are all counted among the 10 players to attempt 10 or more contested shots (with the closest defender within two feet) and make at least half in this postseason.
Curry and Poole are two of only five players to make such a shot from three-point range, although that Golden State trio are a combined two-for-eight from beyond the arc in these circumstances – a record that does not look quite so bad next to Heat wing Max Strus' miserable one-for-seven shooting on contested threes. Four of those low-percentage shots came in the Celtics series alone.
The Warriors have not yet faced an elite defense in this playoff run, with the four best teams on that end of the floor operating in the East.
It figures that the best offense should emerge from the West, where teams averaged 109.2 points per game in the postseason, while the standout defense came out of the East, with playoff teams averaging 103.9 points.
The Finals will surely, therefore, be decided by what sort of series this becomes.
Tatum may be out to prove himself as one of the best players in the world, but the Celtics' success in keeping Curry, Thompson and Poole quiet is likely to be far more pivotal to their hopes.
As long ago as December, when his team were toiling, Celtics coach Ime Udoka explained: "The identity is to rely on defense, be a great defensive team and give ourselves a chance every night as far as that."
They have done that just about ever since – and now it is time to prove their winning identity can be a title-winning identity.
Iga Swiatek is enjoying a birthday week to remember – or perhaps one to forget.
The world number one turned 21 on Tuesday, between the 32nd and 33rd matches of a remarkable winning streak.
Having won five consecutive tournaments heading into the French Open, there was plenty for Swiatek to celebrate even before her big day.
So perhaps she can be forgiven for losing track of her age in the moments after her latest win against Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.
Having carried out her on-court media duties, Swiatek wrote a message on one of the Roland Garros cameras with the hashtag "#22".
"No, wait," the 21-year-old said just as she prepared to step away, covering her face with embarrassment. "I forgot how old I am!"
A failed attempt to wipe off the incorrect number resulted in Swiatek instead crossing out her message and scribbling "#21" next to it – far more untidy than any display she has turned in at Roland Garros.
The Madden 23 cover will feature the late NFL legend that gave his name to the video game following his death last year.
John Madden passed away in December at the age of 85.
He enjoyed a Hall of Fame NFL coaching career with the Oakland Raiders and later became a legend in the realm of broadcasting.
However, for many, he is most synonymous with the Madden video game, to which he lent his name and voice from 1988 onwards. He also had significant input in the creative process.
Madden last featured on the cover in 2000.
For his return to the cover, EA Sports have used the same image that adorned the original 'John Madden Football' game, with a beaming Madden grasping a football in his right hand.
Also adorning the cover is a message that simply reads "thanks, coach", in a touching tribute to a man who left an indelible mark on the sport he loved.
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