Stefanos Tsitsipas completed the third comeback win from two sets down of his career on Tuesday, defeating Lorenzo Musetti 5-7 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-2 at the French Open.
Before moving to a 2-0 head-to-head record over Musetti, the fourth-seed Greek's last such victory was against Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals at the 2021 Australian Open.
Tsitsipas needed to draw on that experience and dig deep after only winning 60 per cent of points on his first serve in the first two sets on Tuesday, going on to then win 15 of 17 points in the deciding set.
Post-match, the world number four explained how he needed to isolate his focus on each point and build from there after going two sets down.
"Things don't come easy. I refuse to give up. That's simply how it works with me," Tsitsipas said. "You never really think about getting back after being two sets to love. You just play it point after point. You just wish that your efforts will pay off on a longer scale, longer run.
"Being in that situation, it's a mountain that you have to climb, and I was able to climb it and regain the momentum steadily, but consistently."
The 20-year-old Musetti was able to gain early momentum from the baseline and won the longer points, with an even share of winners as well as forced and unforced errors from Tsitsipas.
The match turned as Tsitsipas regained rhythm on his serve and with more free points coming his way, it then allowed him to apply pressure.
According to Tsitsipas, however, it was far from easy against a tough opponent who is at home on clay.
"He's fighting. He's a talented player that has a very nice one-handed backhand," he said afterwards. "He knows the game on clay. He has grown up playing these courts. He's definitely a difficult opponent to face in any circumstance, really.
"Once I really found my momentum on the serve, my routines and everything, I knew that it can be a different match.
"I felt like I was serving better than him, creating more opportunities with my serve, pressing more. It would have been kind of not fair from my perspective to have a different outcome."
Wigan Athletic hopes to lure Jamaica international Jamal Lowe back to the DW Stadium following the team’s return to the English Championship.
The 27-year-old recently secured promotion to the English Premier League with AFC Bournemouth where he scored 7 goals this season. Following the team’s return to the top flight, however, doubts have been raised surrounding the likelihood of the player getting any significant game time.
In fact, Lowe was left out of the squad for the team's crucial promotion fixture against Nottingham Forest, which may not augur well for the future.
Wigan in the meantime are preparing for life back in the second tier following their promotion from League One. Lowe was a popular figure at Wigan having made some 46 appearances between 2019 and 2020.
Wigan could do with some reinforcements to their squad as they continue to eventually plot a return to the Premier League.
Ilkay Gundogan revealed Jurgen Klopp was one of the first to congratulate him after Manchester City beat Liverpool to the Premier League title on Sunday.
Gundogan came off the bench to score twice as City came from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Aston Villa 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The win meant Klopp's Liverpool remained a point from City in the race for the Premier League, but that did not stop the 54-year-old from getting in touch.
Gundogan played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund between 2011 and 2015, before the latter left for Anfield, and the 31-year-old revealed his former boss was quick to put his own ambitions aside.
"He was one of the first," Gundogan told Sport1. "We have always treated each other with the utmost respect. He had another very good season with Liverpool and made life extremely difficult for us. He's just an outstanding guy and coach, and he's shown that over the years.
"That was absolutely unbelievable. The fact that we won the title in front of a home crowd in this way was really picture-perfect. The stadium literally exploded, we just cried out our joy and relief.
"We had to play our absolute maximum for 38 games and couldn't afford to be careless because Liverpool were lurking at every second. It was a great end to a long and nerve-wracking season."
In Sergio Aguero's absence, City's midfield has had to carry added responsibility in goal output and Gundogan has been a steady contributor in that regard, backing up last season's 13 goals with eight in the Premier League this term.
Reflecting on the win over Villa and the wider context of the game, he believes that his winning goal ranks as the most important of his career.
"Based on the ending, I would say yes - and definitely one of my most emotional ones," Gundogan said. "The goal in the 2013 Champions League final for BVB against Bayern [Munich] was also important, even if it wasn't enough in the end.
"On Sunday, a great deal of pressure was lifted because we struggled so much over the entire 90 minutes and we knew that Liverpool was breathing down our necks."
City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano says Erling Haaland could have gone anywhere, but chose to play under Pep Guardiola in Manchester.
The Norwegian forward landed in Manchester on Tuesday to finalise a £51million move from Borussia Dortmund, after completing his medical.
City essentially won the Premier League without a striker this season, with Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez the three players to break the 10-goal barrier.
Soriano believes Haaland will ultimately adapt and thrive at City and despite how Guardiola's side has counteracted the need for a centre forward like him this season, he is still required.
"Haaland has chosen us because we explained a project to him," Soriano told RAC 1. "What we pay him could be paid by PSG, [Manchester] United, Bayern [Munich] or Real Madrid. We put the focus on football.
"Haaland will need a period of adjustment and we will have to be patient, but he will succeed. Our focus is on football, playing well and winning, rather than star players, and we were missing a centre forward.
"We had someone spectacular like [Sergio] Aguero. We lost him because of his age, and we have been looking for a replacement for more than a year and Haaland is one."
Soriano also refuted suggestions City are state-owned like Paris Saint-Germain and pointed to their shareholder structure, with Chinese and American consortiums owning a 24 per cent stake.
Meanwhile, the ex-Barcelona vice president used examples within the Premier League like Manchester United and Chelsea to suggest City's dominance is not simply financially driven.
"We are not a state club, we are a club owned by three shareholders looking for profitability," he said.
"The French market is different because the gap between PSG and the rest of the French clubs is huge. City and PSG are not the same.
"City has less income than United or Chelsea, for example. The debate about state clubs is ridiculous, because United has spent much more than us."
Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from this week's Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas with a lingering wrist injury.
The 28-year-old has slipped down to number 22 in the world rankings after an injury-plagued first half to the year.
He has not played since missing the cut at the Masters in mid-April and undergoing surgery on his wrist a few days later.
A return to action at last week's US PGA Championship looked likely, only for him to pull out of the second major of 2022 after taking part in a practice round on the eve of the tournament.
DeChambeau's comeback has now been delayed further as he still does not feel ready to compete to the best of his abilities.
"I'm definitely close but don't have the endurance for four full days yet. Getting there. Taking a bit of time to make sure it's fully healed," he wrote in a text to Golfweek.
DeChambeau previously missed around two months earlier in the season through hip and wrist injuries and has missed the cut in three of his past four starts this year.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has pipped Manchester City's Pep Guardiola to the League Managers Association's (LMA) Manager of the Year award.
Klopp masterminded a superb second half to the Premier League season, yet it was not enough to overhaul City, who claimed the title on a dramatic final day of the campaign on Sunday.
The Reds went the entire season unbeaten at home, doing so for a joint-record fifth time in the Premier League.
Liverpool have also excelled in cup competitions under Klopp this term, having won the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
They will complete a cup treble on Saturday if they overcome Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris.
Reflecting on the dramatic final day, which saw City score three goals in the space of five minutes to beat Aston Villa 3-2, Klopp said: "It was a bit nervy, it wasn't the best outcome for us, but we are already over it.
"And when you win a prize like this you are either a genius or you have the best coaching staff in the world. I am here with four of my coaching staff, and they know how much I appreciate them."
It is the second time Klopp has claimed the award, which is combined with the Premier League Manager of the Year award, after the German was recognised in 2020 for leading Liverpool to the title.
Eddie Howe, Patrick Vieira and Thomas Frank, of Newcastle United, Crystal Palace and Brentford respectively, were also up for the award.
Former world number one Simona Halep says she will put "as much pressure as possible" on herself as she seeks French Open glory.
The 2018 Roland Garros champion came through her first-round clash against 18-year-old lucky loser Nastasja Schunk 6-4 1-6 6-1 on Tuesday.
Number 19 seed Halep, who is now coached by Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou, has played 42 main-draw matches at the French Open – more than any other player in this year's competition.
Asked if that experience brings with it more pressure, Halep told a media conference: "Well, hopefully I put as much pressure as possible on myself because I love pressure. It's good to have it and it keeps you focused.
"Everyone is playing well, so it's a big challenge every match. We are at Grand Slam, so it's always tough. But I'm here to face these challenges, and I'm here to give my best.
"So, I will focus on myself. I will try to do what I have to do, and that's it. Then we will see.
"I will think about the next round only, and then if I will win it, I will think about the next one.
"I don't want to look further than that. It's important to just stay focused and to play the next match."
Halep will face Zheng Qinwen in the second round after the Chinese player overcame Maryna Zanevska 6-3 6-1 on Monday.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have paid tribute to the "charismatic" Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after the 37-year-old brought his 18-year professional career to a close.
Tsonga, who reached a career-high ranking of world number five in 2012, confirmed in April that he would retire at the culmination of his French Open campaign.
That duly came in the first round on Tuesday as he bowed out to world number eight Casper Ruud 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 7-6 (7-0).
He retires having won, according to Opta, 464 Tour-level matches since September 2004.
Tsonga is one of just three players, along with Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, to have beaten Nadal, Federer and Djokovic while they were ranked world number one.
He is also one of three players, alongside Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych, who have defeated Nadal, Federer and Djokovic at grand slams.
A video tribute was played on court after his defeat to Ruud, which featured messages from the sport's most iconic players.
Federer said: "I wanted to congratulate you on an amazing career and it was a pleasure to share the court with and play against you, even to lose against you!
"We had some great battles. Enjoy the moment in Paris with all your friends and family, in front of all your adoring spectators."
Djokovic added: "Jo is one of the most charismatic tennis players ever to play the game. I was very happy to share the court with him many times.
"We get along well and he's a really nice guy. He brought a lot of positive attention and popularity to our sport not just because of his dynamic game style, but also his charisma and his personality, so it's a big loss for professional men's tennis to have him retire.
"I wish him all the best, and he definitely should be happy about his career and his achievements. He's made his mark and his legacy in our sport."
Nadal said: "He is very charismatic. I've known him since we were kids; he is a good guy and I think he brings a lot of positive things to our sport so I'm sad to see him going but we are getting old so it's going to happen for everyone."
Speaking at a media conference after his defeat, Tsonga said he would now spend some time relaxing before focusing on the development of his tennis academy.
He said he will miss the adrenaline of playing on court, as well as how he was able to express himself completely when competing.
"It's adrenaline, to step onto a big court like this one," he said. "It's adrenaline you can feel when you have 15,000 people shouting out your name, supporting you on the court.
"This is what I'm going to miss – the contact with the crowd. And with those who have been supporting me for all these years.
"You know, in real life, it's sometimes difficult to be intense. You don't want to shock, you don't want to be too rude, you don't want to hurt somebody.
"You always try to act to be nice, to be sociable. But, you know, on the court, you can express your fever. You can express everything about you, and it's sometimes freeing."
Andrey Rublev is unsure what the best course of action is ahead of Wimbledon, but hopes tennis can "work together" to ensure the grand slam goes ahead, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic targeting history.
Wimbledon was last week stripped of its ranking points by the WTA and ATP over the decision from The All England Club to ban Belarusian and Russian players – including Rublev – from competing.
That decision was made in the midst of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
With ranking points now not on offer, several high-profile players, including former WTA number one Naomi Osaka, have suggested they may skip the tournament.
Rublev might have no choice not to compete at Wimbledon, unless The All England Club scraps the ban altogether, but he says it is of utmost importance that tennis comes together to find a solution.
And Rublev believes the very elite players – such as Nadal and Djokovic – will compete anyway, regardless of ranking points or prize money, as he suggested tennis owes the duo, along with fellow great Roger Federer.
He told a news conference: "I don't know, because I haven't talked with any player about it, especially top ones. I guess the top players, especially Rafa, Novak, they are not playing now for points or for money.
"They are playing to be the first in history who achieve this amount of slams. So they are playing for a different thing. That's why it's very important to work together, to keep this amazing glory that we are having now, because of these players.
"If we are not going to work together, we just destroy it. What Roger, what Rafa, what Novak is doing, they did all these years.
"They are other players from another generation, and we have to respect this, and that's why somehow we need finally to defend each other. Players need to defend the tournaments. Tournaments need to defend the players.
"Like this, tennis will grow, grow, grow a lot, because now all the success of tennis is only because of these three players, because of Roger, Rafa and Novak."
Rublev came through his first-round match at Roland Garros on Tuesday, defeating Kwon Soon-woo 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 6-4.
However, the seventh seed lashed out after losing the first set, recklessly hitting a ball out onto the court as he approached his chair, before slamming a water bottle into the court in frustration.
"I was quite tight, and I had a lot of emotions and I tried to really control them," Rublev said.
"I tried to understand the situation. Be positive. I was able to be quiet and just be positive basically until the end of the first set. Then, yes, I lost my mind for a moment, and of course I regret what I did.
"It's unacceptable to hit the ball the way I hit it. It's more, I don't know, better even, if I just hit the racquet on the seat, because the ball can affect – I mean, it's not about me – it can affect someone. That's when the problem comes.
"This is unprofessional from my side, and hopefully I will never do it again."
Chelsea's proposed takeover has taken a huge step towards completion after the Premier League confirmed the sale was approved on Tuesday.
The Blues agreed to terms for the sale of the club to an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss for £4.25billion earlier in May.
The takeover, which promises investment of £1.75billion into the club, briefly appeared to be in doubt due to suggestions Roman Abramovich was unhappy with the sale structure.
Abramovich denied that to be the case, and the deal appears to be nearing a resolution, though the sale still needs to be approved by the UK government.
The proceeds of the sale are expected to be donated to the victims of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A Premier League statement released on Tuesday read: "The Premier League Board has today approved the proposed takeover of Chelsea Football Club by the Todd Boehly/Clearlake consortium.
"The purchase remains subject to the government issuing the required sale licence and the satisfactory completion of the final stages of the transaction.
"The Board has applied the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test (OADT) to all prospective directors, and undertaken the necessary due diligence.
"The members of the Consortium purchasing the club are affiliates of the Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss and Mark Walter.
"Chelsea FC will now work with the relevant governments to secure the necessary licences to complete the takeover."
A sensational innings of 68 from David Miller took Gujarat Titans to the IPL final after they beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in Tuesday's qualifier.
This was just the second meeting between the Titans and the Royals in the Indian Premier League, with Gujarat also winning by 37 runs last month.
Jos Buttler had blasted 89 to help the Royals set a target of 189 in Kolkata, but despite an early setback, the Titans built their reply well before fireworks from Miller finished it off.
Yashasvi Jaiswal fell for just three early in the Royals' innings, but Buttler and captain Sanju Samson put on a partnership of 68 to recover, with Samson hitting 47 off just 26 balls.
Buttler was unusually cautious until putting his foot down later in the innings, particularly once Devdutt Padikkal (28) had departed, with the England international hitting two late sixes to add to his 12 fours, before being run out in the final over.
The Titans lost Wriddhiman Saha for a second ball duck off the bowling of Trent Boult (1-38), but their batting was steady from there, with Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade both adding 35 each, before Hardik Pandya and Miller came to the crease.
Pandya played a captain's innings of 40 from 27 balls, but it was Miller who claimed the highlights, especially near the end of the chase as the nerves ratcheted up.
Needing 16 off the last over, Miller only took three balls to do the job as he smashed three sixes to send the Titans to the final in style.
The Royals have now played 10 games at Eden Gardens in the IPL, losing eight. Only at their home stadium in Jaipur (15) and at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai (nine) have they lost more.
They will now have to play the winner of Wednesday's eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore to make it to the final.
Killer Miller
Although they had plenty of wickets in hand, it did look at one stage like Gujarat had given themselves a bit too much to do, until Miller stepped up.
The South African took just 38 balls to knock 68 in Kolkata, with three fours and five sixes.
Khan puts Royals in a spin
It was hardly a great day in the field for the Titans, except for Rashid Khan, who had an economy of 3.75 (15 runs), with none of the other three bowlers who bowled four overs having less than 10.75 (43 runs).
The Afghanistan spinner did not take any wickets, but if it was not for his stinginess with the ball in hand, the total would likely have been too much for even Miller's ability.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga brought his 18-year professional career to a close on Tuesday, after his first-round loss to Casper Ruud at the French Open.
Tsonga, who reached a high ranking of world number five, confirmed in April that he would retire at the culmination of his French Open campaign.
For the 37-year-old, that was short-lived, as he bowed out to world number eight Ruud.
Tsonga gave it his all, taking the lead and forcing a tie-break in three of the four sets, but Ruud had too much and prevailed 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 7-6 (7-0).
That confirmed the end of Tsonga's long career. He bows out having won, according to Opta, 464 Tour-level matches since September 2004.
Tsonga is one of just three players, along with Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, to have beaten Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic while they were ranked world number one.
He is also one of three players (also Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych) who have defeated Nadal, Federer and Djokovic at grand slams.
Tsonga also became the first player since Guillermo Canas in 2002 to defeat four straight top-10 players at a Masters 1000 tournament when he triumphed in Toronto in 2014.
"It's tough for me and all the players that you're stopping. You've been an inspiration to me and so many of the other players, so thank you for the memories," Ruud told Tsonga after the match.
"[I have] so many good memories watching Jo on TV. He's such a great guy [and] nice person on and off the court. He's a good example of what a player should be."
Richard Carapaz's overall lead at the Giro d'Italia was cut to just three seconds as Jai Hindley finished third in a gruelling stage 16 won by Jan Hirt.
The Giro returned in some style on Tuesday following Monday's rest day, with a 202km route from Salo to Aprica that included three category one climbs and over 5,000 metres of climbing in total.
Hirt came out in front, sealing the first grand tour stage win of his career.
The Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert rider was part of the breakaway and subsequently pushed up the final climb on the Valico di Santa Cristina before managing a difficult descent.
He finished seven seconds clear of Thymen Arensman, with Hindley sprinting ahead of Carapaz to put pressure on the rider wearing the maglia rosa and claim the four-second bonus for finishing third.
"I've had a few problems during the stage. My chain dropped, I cramped, but I never gave up," Hirt said.
"I'm glad I managed to go solo. I always said that my biggest achievement would be to win a stage at the Giro d'Italia and I could stop after that, but I won't stop now."
Carapaz said: "It's been a hard stage and at the end I'm happy. I thought I was going to win the sprint for third place.
"I eventually didn't, but it's still a good day for me. I've lost a few seconds on Hindley, but I gained more on [Joao] Almeida."
Alejandro Valverde, on his final Giro appearance, got himself up the GC standings, though not enough to be a true contender in the final week. He sits 11th overall.
Mythical Mortirolo
An initially big breakaway group split on the Mortirolo Pass, one of the most notorious climbs in professional cycling.
Hirt was one of the riders to drop off, but he recovered brilliantly and joined a seven-strong group that wound its way to the final climb.
"Every time I hear Mortirolo I want to anticipate. I wanted to go in the breakaway today," Hirt said.
"There were difficult moments when the group split, so then we had to come back on the Mortirolo, then in the end on the last climb I had a problem with my bike, it was not shifting properly and the chain was jumping.
"Then I had cramps on the downhill, so I had all these problems, but I just wanted to fight all the way to the finish."
STAGE RESULT
1. Jan Hirt (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 5:40:45
2. Thymen Arensman (Team DSM) +0:07
3. Jai Hindley (BORA-Hansgrohe) +1:24
4. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) +1:24
5. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +1:24
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) 68:49:06
2. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:03
3. Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +0:44
Points Classification
1. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 238
2. Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 121
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) 117
King of the Mountains
1. Koen Bouwman (Jumbo-Visma) 167
2. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) 99
3. Diego Rosa (EOLO-Kometa) 92
Karim Benzema insists he does not feel "betrayed" by Kylian Mbappe's decision to stay with Paris Saint-Germain instead of joining him at Real Madrid.
After well over a year of intense speculation, Mbappe finally confirmed on Saturday that he had signed a new three-year contract at PSG.
It was a decision few saw coming given Madrid's apparent confidence the France international was going to join them on a free transfer at the end of June.
Mbappe's decision infuriated LaLiga chief Javier Tebas, while others associated more closely with Madrid were said to have been stunned.
An Instagram post by Benzema later the same day attracted particular attention, as he uploaded a photo of late rapper Tupac Shakur that was deemed to be veiled reference to betrayal.
According to Madrid-based newspaper Marca, which is generally regarded to have strong ties to Los Blancos, Benzema had been key in trying to persuade international team-mate Mbappe to join the club, hence why he might have felt betrayed.
But Benzema is adamant such stories are nonsense.
Speaking to Movistar Plus on Tuesday, Benzema said: "I'm going to tell you that we're going to play a Champions League final on Saturday. This is not the time to talk about those little things. I'd rather not talk.
"I'm not angry, I'm just telling you that I'm focused on the Champions League final, which is more important than listening to other things."
Asked if he felt "betrayed", Benzema continued: "Why? Everyone has to be focused on their things.
"Mbappe and other players have no reason to call me. Everyone decides their future. I'm calm here, preparing for Saturday's game. Each person does what he wants.
"There is no history of betrayal, or anything… Every month and a half I [post] photos of Tupac, who is my favourite.
"It's not a photo with a message; if I have a message I will see the person. Madrid is the best club in the world, but it was not a message."
Benzema did acknowledge, however, that the news was unexpected.
"I was surprised, like everyone else," he said. "He is a Paris player and we have a game on Saturday."
Both players are expected to be on international duty with France next month when Les Bleus begin their Nations League title defence.
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