Former French Open champion Iga Swiatek has been knocked out of Wimbledon after losing an entertaining fourth-round battle with Ons Jabeur.
Jabeur had never been past the second round at Wimbledon before the 2021 tournament but will now face second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
The Tunisian stormed back from behind on Court 2 to defeat seventh seed Swiatek 5-7 6-1 6-1 on Monday.
Jabeur sealed her victory with a ninth ace of the match and let out a passionate roar.
She was fantastic at key moments, converting all seven of the break-point opportunities she created and firing 30 winners to 23 unforced errors.
Swiatek, by contrast, racked up 15 break-point chances but could only take three of them. The Pole only had a first-serve percentage of 46 and struggled to find her rhythm.
Jabeur, seeded 21st, also impressively saw off Garbine Muguruza in a comeback victory in the previous round.
She has now matched her best grand slam result, achieved when she reached the last eight at the Australian Open last year.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, survived a scare but ultimately prevailed in three tough sets against Elena Rybakina.
A 6-3 4-6 6-3 win in just under two hours gave Sabalenka her first-ever appearance at a slam quarter-final.
The chief executive of the Belgian Football Association says Roberto Martinez will stay on as coach despite Belgium's Euro 2020 "failure".
A 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Italy in Munich on Friday ended the Red Devils' hopes of being crowned champions of Europe.
Belgium once again started the competition with the expectation of mounting a strong challenge to win a first major tournament as the top-ranked team in the world.
They fell short once again under Martinez, but CEO Peter Bossaert says the Spaniard has the full backing of the Belgian FA and he does not expect the 47-year-old to walk away.
Asked if Martinez will remain at the helm, he told HLN: "Yes. He has a contract until the end of the World Cup [in Qatar next year].
"We are already together on Monday for the international matches in September and the Nations League final. I'm not afraid he'll leave. Normally he stays.”
Bossaert can understand criticism of Belgium after their exit at the hands of the Azzurri.
"The result is disappointing, so you can call it a failure," he said. "I fully understand that. We didn't realise what we were working for.
"That's the cruel side of top football. If you lose in the KO phase, you don't have a chance to make amends."
Bossaert does not feel Euro 2020 represented the last chance for a so-called 'golden generation' to win a major tournament.
He added: "I am more positive about that [their chances of glory at a big competition]. This European Championship was a missed opportunity, but the Nations League final will follow in October and the World Cup will start in 16 months.
"Many of our top players are still quite young. [Kevin] De Bruyne and Eden Hazard are 30, [Romelu] Lukaku 28, [Yannick] Carrasco 27, [Youri] Tielemans 24, and I can name many more.
"They can last a long time. This generation still has opportunities. Certainly in the first two challenges, the Nations League and the World Cup, we can be ambitious.
"Then there is the European Championship in Germany. The World Cup in 2026 in the US, Mexico and Canada is still too far away. But if we regularly supplement this core with new talents, I look to the future with confidence."
Arsene Wenger has backed plans for the World Cup to be staged every two years, insisting "it is what the fans want".
The competition is held every four years and is due to be hosted by Qatar at the end of 2022.
However, world football governing body FIFA is carrying out a feasibility study into making the World Cup a biennial event.
That would appease broadcasters but has been opposed by leagues and clubs due to fears over player burnout.
But Wenger, who is now head of global football development at FIFA, has argued a revamp of the international football calendar will help players' wellbeing.
"I always had the feeling that the many shorter breaks were rather unfavourable for the players," he told German outlet Kicker.
"Those were always moments of uncertainty. How are the players feeling mentally afterwards? Do you come back hurt?"
Wenger cited the example of Robert Lewandowski, who sustained a knee injury while on Poland duty in March and missed six games for Bayern Munich, including both legs of their Champions League quarter-final with Paris Saint-Germain.
"That ruined Bayern's entire Champions League season," Wenger said.
"The national teams can meet in October, play seven qualifying games for a month and then play the finals of a tournament in June.
"We want to reduce the number of games – that's very important because we can see the condition of the players."
Speaking in March, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was open to any new ideas for the post-2024 football calendar, including the possibility of reducing the number of international breaks.
Wenger added: "More knockout matches, fewer qualifying games. That's what the fans want.
"Think of it this way: 2026 the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada; 2027 a European Championship and the other continental tournaments; 2028 another World Cup; and so on.
"We guarantee a period of rest after every tournament."
Kylian Mbappe has been urged to consider leaving Paris Saint-Germain by Nicolas Anelka if he wants to have the same global impact as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The 22-year-old has spent the past four seasons in the French capital but is out of contract in 2022 and has been strongly linked with Real Madrid, while Liverpool are also rumoured to be interested.
Former Monaco forward Mbappe raised further questions over his future when revealing last month he is unsure whether the Parc des Princes is the best place for him.
Those comments were made on the back of a disappointing 2020-21 campaign for PSG in which they failed to defend their Ligue 1 title and exited the Champions League in the semi-finals, though they did win the Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions.
On an individual level, Mbappe was as prolific as ever with 42 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions last time out, averaging one every 86 minutes for the French giants.
In Europe's top five leagues, only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (48) scored more goals in all competitions than Mbappe in 2020-21.
But former France international Anelka, who started his career with PSG before joining Arsenal in 1997, believes it is time for his compatriot to seek a new challenge elsewhere if he is to fulfil his career ambitions.
Writing a letter to Mbappe on The Athletic, Anelka said: "You have done so well since coming through at Monaco and taking it to a new level at Paris Saint-Germain.
"You play at a team that has evolved into a big club capable of winning the Champions League. It seems you will stay for another year, then there is a big choice to make.
"It is a bit more complicated for you than it was for me. You have at least two choices – stay in Paris or move to Real Madrid. Both of them can win the Champions League these days. When I was at PSG, that wasn't the case.
"That choice depends on what you want to achieve in football. If you want the biggest accolades, you will have to move from PSG at some point.
"Whatever you do in Paris will be good, but somebody will always say, 'Well, you did great for PSG but it was only in France. The best leagues are in England and Spain, so you didn't compete with the best players in the best league.
"You will have to decide. If you want to win the Ballon d'Or, which is what you should be looking at to echo Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, you will have to compete with the best.
"You can't say you compete with the best all the time when you are at PSG. The French league is not easy, don't get me wrong, but I think the toughest league is in England.
"So, if you want to be one of the best, then do what you do in Paris but with Chelsea or United or Arsenal or Manchester City or Liverpool. Or go to Spain to Madrid or Barcelona. Or maybe Italy. Then we can speak about a more global impact."
Mbappe endured an underwhelming Euro 2020 campaign in which he failed to find the net in France's four matches before their shock last-16 exit at the hands of Switzerland, a game in which he missed the decisive penalty in the shoot-out.
He failed to score in the tournament despite taking 14 shots. At the point of France's tournament exit, only Cristiano Ronaldo (five goals from 15 shots) and Alvaro Morata (two goals from 15 shots) had taken more goal attempts.
It is the first time France failed to make it to at least the quarter-finals of a major competition since 2010 but Anelka, who won the European Championship with Les Blues in 2000, does not think the blame should lie with the attacking players.
"Football is a magnificent sport that remains unpredictable," he said. "Even if France had the best team on paper with a team capable of winning again, something was missing in the collective.
"They had difficulties in defence. This France team was able to score goals at any time but was also able to concede at any time so that's what stopped them from going further in this tournament.
"The World Cup in Qatar is next year so there will be matches for France to try to make the tactical and collective repairs to compete, to win again.
"France won the World Cup three years ago but the page has turned. This European Championship is another page that has to turn. Some new players might be integrated and this is a new chapter.
"Many teams want to be world champions but there are not many examples of a country winning the World Cup twice in a row. It is easy to say, not easy to do."
Tom Curry, Josh Navidi and Adam Beard will make their British and Irish Lions debuts against the Sharks on Wednesday.
The Lions will be captained by Iain Henderson for the first time, as Conor Murray has been named among the replacements for the midweek game at Ellis Park.
England flanker Curry and Wales duo Navidi and Beard will refresh the pack along with Sam Simmonds, who is set to make his first international start for over three years.
Josh Adams will play no part after the wing scored four tries against the tourists' South African namesakes the Lions on Saturday, playing a starring role in a 56-14 rout.
Lions head coach Warren Gatland said: "Wednesday night is another chance for us to have a look at a few more combinations.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how the back row goes; it's an exciting mixture and one that we hope will offer something a bit different.
"We expect another physical test against a side who are known for their power play and ambition.
"My congratulations to Tom, Josh and Adam ahead of their first starts in a Lions jersey."
Lions team to face the Sharks:
Liam Williams, Anthony Watson, Elliot Daly, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Mako Vunipola, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Zander Fagerson, Iain Henderson, Adam Beard, Josh Navidi, Tom Curry, Sam Simmonds.
Replacements: Ken Owens, Rory Sutherland, Tadhg Furlong, Tadhg Beirne, Jack Conan, Conor Murray, Stuart Hogg, Chris Harris.
Sergio Busquets expects this to be his last European Championship with Spain, but the midfielder has not decided when to end his international career.
Busquets lifted the World Cup in 2010 and played his part in La Roja's Euro 2012 triumph nine years ago.
The Barcelona player has another major trophy in his sights, with Spain taking on Italy in the semi-final of Euro 2020 at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
Spain captain Busquets has thought about his future with the national team at the age of 32 but says beating the Azzurri is the only thing on his mind for now.
He told AS: "You have to think about when to finish your cycle. What I have in mind is that this will be the last European Championship and then it depends.
"You have to go step by step, I am no longer 20 years old. I feel very good, I am very comfortable in the group.
"The coach always says that age does not matter, that as long as you are well he will have those who are better and those who make merit, later it will be seen.
"At the moment I'm thinking about the semi-final with Italy, which is the important thing, then there's the Nations League in October and we'll see.
"A year can be very long, I am very excited, but I am also responsible and I want the best for myself and for everyone."
Busquets says Spain are lucky to have Luis Enrique in charge of the national team.
"It is very difficult to reach the semi-finals," he added. "Football has evolved a lot and it is difficult to win any game because all the teams are very hard working, they have a very high level of scouting, of staff, individually the players are given a bonus in all aspects, mental, physical, nutritional.
"But I knew that Luis Enrique's work at this stage was very good. It is very difficult to see a top coach in a national team because normally such coaches are with a team during the day.
"We are lucky and privileged to have Luis Enrique here. He is developing his idea, with his work group, with players that he believes in, with a very great ambition and that is reflected on the field."
Former Australia international Israel Folau has switched codes again to join Japanese Top League side NTT Communications.
Folau was released from the remainder of his contract with Catalans Dragons in June so he could remain in Australia due to a personal family situation.
The 32-year-old joined the Super League club last year and had signed a new deal to continue in France for the 2021 season.
Folau was registered to play for the Southport Tigers in the Rugby League Gold Coast competition last week following his release by Catalans.
Catalans chairman Bernard Guasch said: "Israel has been great with us in 2020 both on and off the field and we wanted to facilitate the negotiations to reach an agreement.
"He told us his desire to play alongside his two brothers [for the Tigers] and we didn't want to prevent him. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career."
Folau is on the move again, however, after NTT Communications confirmed his return to rugby union on Monday.
He will play under Rob Penney, who has been appointed as director of rugby after being sacked by the Waratahs in March.
Rugby Australia terminated Folau's contract in 2019 for a "high-level breach" after he posted hell awaits "drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters" on Instagram.
The Tokyo Olympics will scale new heights, ride the crest of a wave, and hit it out of the park.
You can guarantee the Games will achieve that triple-whammy, because sport climbing, surfing and baseball are all part of Japan's big show.
The Games of the 32nd Olympiad have been hit hard by the pandemic, but the diversity of 'new' sports on offer means a feast of entertainment is beckoning, designed to attract younger audiences.
Skateboarding an Olympic sport? After snowboarding proved a raging success at the Winter Games, it was a banker that kickflips and Caballerials would be coming to the summer programme.
And soon enough we will all have a tight grip on the technicalities of lead climbing, speed climbing and bouldering.
The Olympics are getting a radical facelift, and you'll want to take a close look.
Sport climbing
Given the Olympic motto is 'faster, higher, stronger', perhaps it is a wonder that climbing has not been a part of the Games before now.
Yet this version of the sport is a relatively modern phenomenon, having first become established in the 1980s.
Climbing walls are as prevalent in many parts of the world as ice rinks or bowling alleys, becoming a fashionable leisure activity but a competitive sport for some.
Complicated routes to dizzying heights, seeking the highest controlled hold possible, are the hallmark of lead climbing, while speed climbing is an attack on the senses for competitor and viewer alike, with elite men having been known to hurtle up a 15-metre wall in barely five seconds.
Bouldering is a test of problem-solving expertise as well as skill, a true examination of the climber's wit and athleticism.
At Tokyo's Aomi Urban Sports Park, the climbing competition for men and women will cover all three disciplines, with combined scores deciding the medals.
Surfing
Sailing, canoeing and kayaking have been mainstays of the Olympic Games, and now surfing joins as a high-octane addition to the roster of sports.
The daredevil nature of surfing means it should prove one of the outstanding spectacles, assuming Mother Nature brings the Pacific coast waves Games organisers are looking for.
Each of the 20 men and 20 women competing will be allowed to ride up to 25 waves in 30 minutes, with their two highest scopes from the five judges being counted, so choosing the right moment for a high-tariff manoeuvre is all important.
Surf stars will be assessed on their "commitment and degree of difficulty, innovative and progressive manoeuvres, combinations of major manoeuvres, variety of manoeuvres, and speed, power and flow", the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.
American John John Florence is a man to watch out for, with the 28-year-old two-time former world champion having built up his skills riding the waves of his native Hawaii. He suffered a worrying knee injury in Perth, Australia in May, but has recovered in time for the Games.
Skateboarding
Once largely portrayed as the preserve of weed-smoking punk kids, and certainly still patronised by the disaffected youth, skateboarding now comes with a highly professional element too.
Washington Square Park, Venice Beach and the undercroft of London's Southbank Centre have been epicentres of the growing subculture, but now the focus turns to Tokyo, where separate street and park disciplines will test the elite boarders.
Competitors will be assessed on the difficulty level, the originality and the execution of their displays at the Ariake Urban Sports Park.
This will be skateboarding's coming-out party as a major competitive sport, with the eyes of millions across the world setting their eyes on the stars who put themselves in more danger of injury than most Olympians.
Japan's Yuto Horigome and Aori Nishimura won gold in the men's and women's Street World Championship in Rome just a matter of weeks ago, ramping up the interest at home.
British 12-year-old Sky Brown, poised to become her country's youngest summer Olympian, will also be one to watch after recovering from a horror skateboarding accident last year that saw her suffer skull fractures. They are a tough set in this sport, with surely nobody braver than Brown.
Karate
Of course karate needed to be in any 21st century Olympics hosted by Japan, and it may be a surprise to many that this marks its debut at the Games.
The sport has Japanese roots and there seem sure to be home gold medals, while global exposure to karate is perhaps at an all-time high thanks to the popularity of Karate Kid spin-off Cobra Kai, the Netflix series.
Spain are a mighty force too, with Damian Quintero and Sandra Sanchez prime contenders for gold in the kata discipline, both being ranked number one in the world.
In the combat element, known as kumite, the jargon may take some getting used to for newcomers. One point, known as a Yuko, is awarded for a punch to key areas of an opponent, including the head, back or torso, while a Waza-ari is worth two points and will be given for a kick to the body.
An Ippon, for three points, is achieved by landing a high kick to the head or a punch to a grounded opponent.
Karate will take place at Tokyo's famous Nippon Budokan, which as well as being a famous martial arts venue also famously played host to The Beatles for a series of shows in 1966.
Rock acts including Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick recorded legendary live albums at the Budokan, which was built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and has also staged Muhammad Ali fights, one a standard boxing match in 1972 and the other a bizarre hybrid clash in 1976 with wrestler Antonio Inoki.
Baseball and softball
Baseball was an Olympic medal-awarding sport from 1992 to 2008 and softball had that status from 1996 to 2008, so you would be forgiven for not feeling any huge rush of enthusiasm about its return to the Games.
Unlike in basketball, the United States do not bring their baseball A-listers to the Games, relying on a group largely formed of minor-leaguers and free agents, and South Korea were the last Olympic champions.
This year the competition will feature the Dominican Republic, Israel, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and the United States, while the women's softball event will be contested by Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico and the USA.
Japan's baseball stars are reportedly each in line for bonuses worth 10 million yen (£65,000) if they carry off the gold medal.
They won an exhibition event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, beating the United States in the final, and have since claimed a silver and two bronze medals.
Jake Gordon will return from a knee injury scare to start for the Wallabies against France in the first Test in Brisbane on Wednesday.
The Waratahs captain is set to line up alongside Noah Lolesio in the halves with Nic White and James O'Connor ruled out due to injury.
Few would have predicted Gordon would don the Australia number nine jersey so soon after he left late in a defeat to the Highlanders last month with what was initially feared to be an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Yet he was able to make a quick recovery after scans revealed only minor damage to his medial collateral ligament, opening the door for his first Wallabies start since his debut against Italy back in 2018.
Up front, Lolesio's Brumbies team-mates James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa are the starting props and Brandon Paenga-Amosa was named at hooker by head coach Dave Rennie.
Matt Philip and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto are in the second row, with Rob Valetini to make his first start for the Wallabies at blindside flanker, captain Michael Hooper in the number seven shirt and Harry Wilson at number eight.
Veteran Matt Toomua is at number 12 alongside Hunter Paisami.
The back three features Marika Koroibete and the Brumbies pairing of Tom Wright and Tom Banks.
"The whole squad has been training really hard over the past three weeks to prepare for what’s going to be an exciting, tough series against the French," Rennie said.
"We’ve always selected a side based on earning the right to wear the jersey and this team is no different.
"The whole group is excited to be back playing Test rugby in front of our families and supporters and we’re looking to start the year with a positive result at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.”
Australia have won their past 11 at home against France dating back to a 1990 loss in Brisbane.
Australia: Tom Banks Tom Wright, Hunter Paisami, Matt Toomua, Marika Koroibete, Noah Lolesio, Jake Gordon; James Slipper, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Allan Alaalatoa, Matt Philip, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Rob Valenti, Michael Hooper, Harry Wilson.
Replacements: Lachlan Lonergan, Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Darcy Swain, Isi Naisarani, Tate McDermott, Len Ikitau, Andrew Kellaway.
The New York Yankees salvaged the final game of their abbreviated Subway Series against the New York Mets, holding on to split the doubleheader with a 4-2 victory after dropping the opening game 10-5 on Sunday.
Languishing in fourth place in the American League (AL) East, the Yankees appeared in serious danger of being swept after closer Aroldis Chapman imploded again in the first MLB game.
Holding a 5-4 lead entering the decisive seventh inning, Chapman served up a game-tying home run to Pete Alonso to open the frame, then put the next two Mets batters on base before manager Aaron Boone pulled the plug, hoping to avoid a repeat of the stunning meltdown his All-Star reliever had earlier in the week against the Los Angeles Angels.
His move did not help, as Jose Peraza, Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor produced run-scoring hits to blow the game open against Lucas Luetge.
The Yankees' bullpen came through in the nightcap, though, as Chad Green came on to hold what was then a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning and did not allow the Mets to reach base the rest of the way.
Green finished the game in style with an "immaculate inning" – three strikeouts on the minimum nine pitches – in the seventh.
According to Stats Perform, Green is the first pitcher in the modern era to pitch at least three perfect innings, strike out at least six batters and have an immaculate inning all in the same game.
Fried caps Braves' shock comeback against Marlins
Down 7-3 to the Miami Marlins in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Atlanta Braves scored four times to tie the game, then got a walk-off single from pitcher Max Fried in the 10th to prevail 8-7.
Austin Meadows had three doubles, Wander Franco hit his second MLB home run, and the Tampa Bay Rays' pitching staff shut down the dangerous Toronto Blue Jays line-up in a 5-1 victory, the team's first road win since June 14 after 10 straight defeats.
The Pittsburgh Pirates scored two runs for the fifth consecutive game but came out on top this time, winning 2-0 in a brilliant pitching effort by Tyler Anderson to snap the Milwaukee Brewers' 11-game winning streak.
Slumping Cubs drop ninth in a row
The Chicago Cubs fell 3-2 to the Cincinnati Reds for the second consecutive day, giving them nine losses in a row and dropping them back to .500 at 42-42 for the first time since they were 21-21 on May 19.
A 10th-inning fielding error by Cleveland pitcher Emmanuel Clase allowed the eventual winning run to score as the Indians dropped their sixth in a row, 4-3 to the Houston Astros.
Another Ohtani bomb
Shohei Ohtani did it again, extending his MLB lead with his 31st home run of the season, a 459-foot blast that gave the Angels a 3-0 lead on the way to a 6-5 walk-off win against the Baltimore Orioles.
Sunday's results
New York Mets 10-5 New York Yankees
New York Yankees 4-2 New York Mets
San Diego Padres 11-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-1 Washington Nationals
Pittsburgh Pirates 2-0 Milwaukee Brewers
Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Detroit Tigers 6-5 Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds 3-2 Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros 4-3 Cleveland Indians
Atlanta Braves 8-7 Miami Marlins
Minnesota Twins 6-2 Kansas City Royals
Colorado Rockies 3-2 St Louis Cardinals
Boston Red Sox 1-0 Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels 6-5 Baltimore Orioles
Seattle Mariners 4-1 Texas Rangers
San Francisco Giants 5-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Dodgers at Marlins
The most appealing pitching matchup of the day will take place in Miami, where newly minted All-Star Trevor Rogers (7-5, 2.14 ERA) and the Marlins host a prominent All-Star snub in Walker Buehler (8-1, 2.35 ERA) and the Dodgers.
Brazil head coach Tite and the Selecao are eyeing the Copa America final as they prepare to face Peru in a rematch of the 2019 decider.
Tite's defending champions Brazil and Peru will go head-to-head in Monday's semi-final in Rio de Janeiro.
The Selecao have now gone 12 games in all competitions without defeat, keeping a clean sheet in nine of those after defeating Chile 1-0 in the quarter-finals, while Tite is yet to lose a match in this competition while in charge.
Should Brazil reach back-to-back Copa finals, Tite will equal Mario Zagallo as the Selecao coach with the longest unbeaten run in the tournament's history (12 games).
"The two teams have a tradition of clashes in the Copa America and two years ago we met in the final, but we also met in the group stage and in the play-offs," Tite told reporters.
"But the antecedents cannot make us predict a prediction because the situations, the different moments, teams and realities, it is also a play-off game. Our goal is to reach the final and Peru's is the same."
Nine-time champions Brazil will host Peru for 20th time in competitive games (W15 D2 L2). One of those defeats was in the 1975 Copa America, the last time the Selecao lost a game at home in the competition (3-1).
Tite's men are the top-scoring team in this year's finals (11), eight of their goals coming in the second half and five in the last 15 minutes, each more than any other team in the competition.
Since his appointment in 2016, Brazil have kept 41 clean sheets in 59 games under Tite across all competitions (69.5 per cent).
"Football is a game with many variables, perhaps it is the collective sport with more variables that you cannot control," Tite said. "When a team plays defence in the first half, it tends to get more tired and in the second half leaves more space.
"In one sector of the field you may have a player who defends more than in the other, but if the playing field is good it may be that you take advantage of one sector more than another.
"So, there are many variables, the players have to maintain a pattern and understand that those variables that one cannot control are typical of football, unlike basketball, volleyball, and that effectiveness depends on performance."
Reigning NHL champions the Tampa Bay Lightning are focused on closing out their Stanley Cup Final series against the Montreal Canadiens in Monday's Game 4.
The Lightning moved to the brink of a sweep with their 6-3 win in Montreal on Friday, but have been confined to their hotel rooms for most of their stay in Canada due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Tampa Bay know they will be heading home after Monday's game regardless, either for Game 5 on Tuesday or as back-to-back Stanley Cup winners, but the Lightning have left no doubt which option they prefer.
"I think for us, we've been in this position before," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos told reporters on Sunday. "We understand the magnitude of the game and we understand that we really are, as much as it's cliché to say, we're focussed on the start of next game.
"All those other things work themselves out. You never know what's going to happen in the course of a game or a series. We're focussed on our start next game. We want to come out extremely hard. We realise, both teams understand the situation that they're in. We're excited for the challenge."
In last season's Final, the Lightning had a chance to clinch at home in Game 5 as they held a 2-1 lead in the third period but saw the Dallas Stars tie the contest, then win it in double overtime on a goal by Corey Perry, who is now with the Canadiens.
Tampa Bay would emerge victorious in Game 6 to take the Cup and would love nothing more than to do so again this year without all the drama.
"It's a learning process to go through that," said Lightning head coach Jon Cooper. "By no means does that guarantee the results of what's going to happen in [Monday's] game, but I know our mindset's different going into these closeout games. ...
"It's about winning, it's not about where you win. And that's all we care about."
Sweeps are rare in the Stanley Cup Final, as the Detroit Red Wings were the last to do it in 1998 against the Washington Capitals, but history is on Tampa Bay's side.
The only NHL team to blow a 3-0 lead in the Finals are the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who ultimately fell to the Red Wings in seven.
On the verge of a second straight Cup, the Lightning do not need to be reminded of the stakes.
"You're in the Stanley Cup Final. You're playing against a great team over there," Stamkos said. "We've said it from whether it's the first round or the Stanley Cup Final, the fourth game is always the hardest to win. And that's the mentality we've had.
"Sometimes it takes four games. Sometimes seven. We expect that this group is going to be ready to play, and we expect that their group is going to be ready to play. No games are easy at this time of the year.
"I think for us, it's easy not to look past that. We know the difficulty of the Montreal Canadiens and what they bring to the table, and for us, it's another game."
"I want people to talk about the football and say, 'there was that team that Newcastle had and we loved going to watch them play, it was exciting and they always had it go'", says Newcastle Jets head coach Arthur Papas.
There are so many similarities between Papas and Australian trailblazer Ange Postecoglou, who is now embarking on his journey as manager of Scottish giants Celtic.
Postecoglou has an unrelenting belief in his philosophy, with an emphasis on a high-octane style of attacking football. Papas is no different.
That entertaining football delivered Yokohama F.Marinos their first J1 League crown in 15 years in 2019. Papas was Postecoglou's assistant during two highly successful seasons in Japan.
After almost 10 years and priceless journeys across India, Saudi Arabia and Japan, Papas is back in Australia and in the Hunter Valley, this time as coach of Jets.
Papas – who spent less than a year as an assistant with the Jets in 2011-12 – is Down Under to be closer to family, having been appointed head coach of J3 League outfit Kagoshima United in December.
The 41-year-old is now tasked with restoring the glory days to McDonald Jones Stadium, where the 2008 A-League champions have fallen on tough times.
Newcastle have missed the finals for the past three seasons, finishing seventh in 2019, eighth in 2020 and 11th in the 12-team competition last season.
"We're all aiming for success," Papas told Stats Perform. "I'm not in this just to get into the finals. That's not enough, the bar isn't low. There's no ceiling with what I want to achieve with this club. There shouldn't be. Anyone who puts a ceiling on it straight away has basically cancelled any ambition of where you could go.
"But, the main thing is I want people to talk about the football and say 'there was that team that Newcastle had and we loved going to watch them play, it was exciting and always had it go and okay, didn't get it right every time', but they could resonate with our football and they don't forget that. If we're able to achieve that, we would have done something special. Normally, if you have achieved that, you also would've got pretty close to being quite successful in terms of results."
Papas added: "You can be in a club where you're playing exciting football, but there's nothing better than having that in front of 10-15,000 people. The difference is in this league, you can also have teams that could do that but not attract that support. For me, the big reason is the supporters of the club because I know when this place gets it right, it's one of the most difficult places to come in the A-League, the strongest support and genuinely get behind the team.
"They've had some lean years but that's why the challenge is so great. You don’t want to be doing it in front of an empty stadium. It's going to generate momentum for us. It's going to take a bit of time because the football I like to play doesn't happen overnight, but it's going to happen because I'm so clear in how I work and the vision I have for how to build teams and play a certain brand of football. Then the idea is we're all connected and doing it together, including the whole region."
Since reaching the 2018 A-League Grand Final, the Jets have a 30 per cent winning percentage in the competition – Central Coast Mariners (25 per cent) are the only team with a lower win rate than Newcastle across the last three seasons.
The Jets have had an expected goals (xG) per game value of 1.6, the sixth-most of any team in the last three seasons; however they have scored 33 goals fewer than their xG suggests they should have – by far the largest negative difference of any team in the competition in that time.
"It's a really interesting job in terms of A-League context," Papas said. "Maybe every five or six years there's a good year and then it really falls away. There's so many reasons for that I'm sure. There's been constant talk about the ownership model, which hasn't created the stability that the club and region deserve.
"It's the kind of thing that I normally do, put myself in really difficult situations and relish those challenges. I believe we can do something special there."
Newcastle have won only 19 points from losing positions in the last three seasons of the A-League – the joint-fewest of any team among those to have participated in all three campaigns (Macarthur FC - 10pts).
The Mariners (92) and Jets (96) are the only teams to have participated in each of the last three A-League seasons but scored fewer than 100 goals across them.
Former boss Carl Robinson (60 per cent) – now in charge of Western Sydney Wanderers – is the only man to have won at least one third of his games as manager of the Jets across the last three A-League seasons.
But Papas has already set out to rebuild the Jets, luring Cameron Devlin, eight-time Australia international Matthew Jurman, Dane Ingham and Mohamed Al-Taay to the club, while boosting his staff with the arrivals of Arthur Diles, Huss Skenderovic and Riccardo Marchioli.
"It always has to be aligned to the vision I have for how we want to play and behave," Papas said. "No disrespect to anything been happening there, it's more about when you come in, you need as many people on the bus as possible to move in the same direction. I don't really compromise any part of how I see football being played, to be successful and winning teams. It's more identifying characters and kind of characteristics to play that type of football.
"The main thing is we need certain physical and technical profiles and certain characters. I know it sounds a bit cliché but after you speak to different people, I'm confident we've done some good business so far."
"The main part for me is we have a certain culture within the staff and competency to deliver a world-class program, that is really the goal," he continued. "To deliver an environment and program that players come and all they think about is today I'm going to get better and how am I going to get better and our staff are driving that daily. I feel, amongst improving players, I have a greater job than that and it's about how do we align the staff and improve those areas to make sure players come in and know they're coming into a special environment. We will create that because I have experiences now, I've seen it first-hand at the best levels in Asia under one of the best managers in the world and that's added layers to my coaching I'm sure. I'm constantly trying to grow and improve, which I've done from day one."
Papas is relying heavily on data to shape his team and turn the Jets into title contenders, adding: "It's part of the story for me and how we work. We utilised it extremely well in Japan. It depends on resources also. I'm not big on using data for data.
"I've developed a model over time that is specific to giving us ideas on what makes our game tick or not. We can use some of that to quantify what's happening but at the end of the day, it's not going to give you a total picture. It just gives you a framework. It's an evidence-based research in essence. It's very difficult for managers to do this because we get caught up in the emotions of that result on Saturday and that result evidently defines us but doesn't always show a true reflection of what's really happening.
"We've won games at times where I thought we weren't really where we needed to be and our data didn't actually stack up in terms of what we define as a game where we were strong across all areas. Other games, you lose and can't work out how you lost because you have a certain about of ball possession, expected goals … what do you do with these situations as well? I have certain data which I consistently refer to, whether it's physical or technical, that gives me a clear reflection of if we're on track or not."
Papas, who brings vast experience to the Jets and the A-League, returns to Australia at a time when calls for a national second division grow louder.
Beyond the A-League, Australian football currently relies on clubs in eight separate National Premier Leagues (NPL) as part of a mainly semi-professional second tier.
The Association of Australian Football Clubs (AAFC) has already detailed their plans for a national second division amid hopes it could be introduced by the end of 2022.
As nations across Asia continue to invest and improve, Papas – who has coached India's Under-23 team, Pailan Arrows, Dempo and worked as an assistant for Saudi side Ettifaq FC and NorthEast United – said: "In terms of resources, I don't think we're competing at all.
"I've had some interesting stuff come to me over this period of coming back to Australia. I was working in J3 for example and people weren't sure if that was even full-time or not. I was a bit surprised by the naivety of that question because I had 11 full-time staff around me. The office has 30-plus people working around the clock. The resources available you can't even imagine and that goes all the way down to their academy systems. The important thing is you need to know what's happening out there. Between Saudi Arabia, Japan and the Indian Super League, they're all ranked in the top-eight leagues in Asia right now and I've been through all of them.
"I've got to see so many parts of why Asia is progressing and I think we're still progressing at our own speed. The difference is the speed of it, are we progressing at the same speed at some of the other countries? Are we able to resource our leagues and academies at the same level? We have huge difficulties in establishing a second division as an example. In Japan, they have over 50 full-time professional clubs, so the opportunities are so much more available for young players. The problem is here, when you're not at a professional level, the drop is too big and it doesn't compare. Over time, it just makes the gap wider and wider. That is why it's important to think about creating a second division because it will create opportunities. Not only opportunities for players but for staff, administrators, coaches. Our ecosystem keeps growing and growing, and that's when you're finding people are climbing up the chain.
"Unfortunately there's just not enough opportunities and that's what prompted a lot of my choices in terms of my career. It's no disrespect to the NPLs etc, but it's so far away from what happens and professional level. The longer you stay at that level, the harder it is to think you can just jump to the next level."
Luka Doncic posted a triple-double to lead Slovenia to their first Olympics berth in men's basketball as European nations claimed the final four spots in the Tokyo 2020 field.
Dallas Mavericks star Doncic had 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds as Slovenia defeated hosts Lithuania 96-85 in Kaunas on Sunday.
In other qualifying tournament finals, Italy stunned Serbia 102-95, Germany defeated Brazil 75-64 and the Czech Republic downed Greece 97-72.
With those countries headed to Tokyo later this month, the field is now set.
Group A will consist of defending champions the United States, France, Iran and the Czech Republic, with Australia, Nigeria, Germany and Italy in Group B.
In Group C, hosts Japan will contend with Argentina, Spain and Slovenia.
Doncic and Slovenia face a difficult group, as Spain won the bronze medal at Rio 2016 after a close loss to the USA in the semi-finals, but the 22-year-old was ecstatic after qualifying.
"I don't care about the MVP," Doncic said. "We won here. We're going to the Olympics, the first time in our country.
"It's amazing. I think every kid dreams about being in the Olympics. I did too. So, here we are. We fought really, really hard, and I think we deserve to be here."
Italy's defeat of short-handed Serbia, who were missing NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, was the biggest upset of the final qualifying round.
Serbia were beaten finalists against Team USA in the Rio 2016 gold medal game, while Italy are in the Olympics for the first time since taking silver in Athens in 2004.
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