Karim Benzema's return to full fitness has given Real Madrid a spring in their step heading into the second half of the season, according to Carlo Ancelotti.

Benzema struggled with persistent hamstring problems in the first few months of the season, which forced him to miss France's World Cup campaign in Qatar.

He has shrugged off those injury woes in recent weeks, though, scoring four goals in his past three games.

The latest came in Wednesday's Supercopa de Espana win over Valencia, which set up a mouth-watering final against arch rivals Barcelona on Sunday.

The Ballon d’Or holder is likely to lead the line against Xavi's side and Ancelotti is in no doubt the 35-year-old is fit and raring to go, declaring: "Benzema is back."

"That gives us a lot of confidence - for the next few games and for this second half of the season. He looks motivated and he's training well.

"He's a very important player for us. I think the team dealt well with his absence in the first half [of the season] and he'll help us in this second half."

Madrid enjoyed a magnificent 2022, winning the Champions League, LaLiga, Supercopa de Espana and UEFA Super Cup.

Ancelotti scoffed at suggestions his players might have become complacent after their recent success, insisting they are hungry for more trophies.

"It's not true [they are complacent]," he added. "We are talking about players who have not only won last year. They have started winning in 2013, and they will never have a full belly because they have a mental quality that is very high.

"Also, because we are in a very demanding club, and it doesn't allow you to have a full belly."

Everton's board of directors will not attend Saturday's Premier League fixture with fellow strugglers Southampton due to a "real and credible threat to their safety and security".

The Toffees are mired in a relegation battle and those running the club have come in for significant criticism from disgruntled fans.

Members of the club's hierarchy have now been advised by security professionals to not attend the visit of Southampton to Goodison Park in order to preserve their safety following "malicious and unacceptable threatening correspondence received by the club".

The club also claim there have been "increasing incidents of anti-social behaviour – including targeted physical aggression – at recent home matches".

An Everton statement, which quoted a security and safety advisor, read: "Following a thorough risk assessment, and in response to tangible threats received by the club and intelligence we have gathered, the club's board members have been told they must not attend today's fixture."

A club spokesperson added: "This is an unprecedented decision for Everton Football Club – never before has our entire board of directors been ordered not to attend a match on safety grounds.

"It is a profoundly sad day for Everton and Evertonians."

A run of one win from their last seven Premier League matches has left Everton in the bottom three heading into Saturday's game.

Sections of the Everton fanbase are planning a coach welcome before kick-off, but are also set for a 'sit-in' as part of a protest against how the club has been run.

Bruno Fernandes wanted assurances from Manchester United over the club's future before he signed his new contract.

Fernandes penned a fresh deal with the club in April of last year, keeping him at Old Trafford until at least 2026.

The midfielder has been a key man for United since arriving from Sporting CP in 2020, scoring 38 goals and registering 28 assists in 104 Premier League appearances.

But his time at the club has come during a tumultuous period, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked early last season and interim boss Ralf Rangnick coming in to take over the remainder of the campaign, before Erik ten Hag was announced as the new manager from the start of this term.

Fernandes revealed that, prior to signing his extension, he spoke to football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher after becoming disillusioned with the club's progress.

"I had a conversation last year with the club when everyone knew that Ralf was not the coach for the future," the Portugal international said. "I said I want to be a solution for the club, I want to be helpful for the club, but I also want to know where we are going.

"Is there a plan? Is there a future? This was before I signed my new contract because I said to the club, obviously money is important, no one can hide that, you always want to have the best for yourself.

"But at that time, for me I said 'I'm on good money, I don't want a new contract without knowing that we have a good future in the club'.

"I want to know where we are going. I want to know just as a club, do you think we have a future? Do you have a plan for the future? What are your thoughts on where we can go? What does the club want?

"Does the club want to achieve trophies or does the club want to build something to go to the Champions League? Because for me, that's not enough and the club demands more, the history of this club, the quality of the players we have, it demands more than just being here and fighting for fourth place.

"The club has said they have a plan, this is what they want, we agree with you that the level of the club has to be better than it has been in the past."

Ten Hag's arrival has brought new-found positivity for United's future, with the former Ajax boss overcoming a tough start to lead his team into fourth in the Premier League as they look to finish the campaign in the Champions League qualification spots.

United are also the only English club left to be fighting on four fronts, with the Red Devils still bidding for silverware in the FA Cup, EFL Cup and the Europa League alongside their Premier League exploits.

Fernandes has not won a trophy since joining United, but he remains hopeful he can break that duck this season, explaining: "I came to the club and my aim is winning trophies, because I know how big this club is and I know how big we can still be and achieve good things and big things.

"We don't have to win all the trophies, but we have to fight for the trophies and as a club and the quality of players, we have the quality to do that and we've been showing that, so I just want to know if this is the future.

"Now probably you can see a team that has a way to play that convinces the fans, convinces the players, it is the right one and one that can win games. You go to every game and the feeling you have now is that we are not afraid to play against anyone."

Reggae Warriors forward Michael Lawrence has signed with English Championship club Bradford Bulls for the 2023 season.

This move ends his 16-year spell with the Huddersfield Giants where he made 324 appearances.

The 32-year-old Lawrence, who made his debut for Jamaica in 2019, has represented the Reggae Warriors five times was a member of their squad at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.

He previously represented the England Knights, a feeder team for the English Rugby team, twice from 2012-2013.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is adamant the franchise is not ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers.

Having ended the season 8-9, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2018, Rodgers will take time to decide whether to return in 2023 – or whether he will remain in Green Bay.

That leaves the Packers with uncertainty ahead of the new season, but they will not rush Rodgers on his decision, while Gutekunst feels he could look the veteran quarterback in the eye and tell him if they planned to move on.

That is not the case this time around, however, with the Packers keen to retain Rodgers for another season.

"You've got to be honest with him, you know what I mean? I think he deserves that if we get to that point. We're not at that point," he told reporters.

"We made a really big commitment to him last offseason, so I think as we did that it wasn't certainly for just this year.

"He's going to take his time, and the communication will be pretty constant as we move forward."

When Rodgers left November's loss at the Philadelphia Eagles due to a rib injury, Jordan Love came in to lead a pair of scoring drives late on, but Gutekunst made it clear who his preferred option to lead the offense was.

Asked whether it was Rodgers or Love who gives the Packers a better chance next season, he replied: "Well, I mean, you're talking about a four-time MVP, right?

"We are very excited about Jordan and where he's at, there's no doubt about that. But Jordan's never played a 16-, 17-game season and gone through all that stuff. So, it's no different than when we moved from Brett [Favre] to Aaron, right?

"That's a hard thing to say, but at the same time, where Aaron's at, the level he's at, there's not many teams he wouldn't give the best chance to win."

Jamaica's William Knibbs made the cut at the 8th Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) (golf) on Friday at the Grand Reserve Golf Course in Puerto Rico.  The island's other representative, Justin Burrowes missed the cut.

Knibbs' first round one over par 73 at the end of the first day, had him poised to make the cut if he could maintain that score or do better. At that point he was tied for 47th place along with several other golfers. He posted a solid two over par 74 during Friday's second round for a two-day total of three over par 147 and tied for 49th place with five others, and importantly made the cut.

"I just made the cut which is amazing. That was my goal coming into this event.  Its my third LAAC and I had never made a cut so that was my big goal heading into this week, just to make the cut. Now that I have made the cut I won't settle on that. I am gonna try to play as well as I can moving forward but it feels great accomplishing a major milestone. It was kinda nerve wracking for the whole day seeing my name hovering on the leaderboard in or just out by one and eventually it got kinda discouraging towards end because my name was the first name after the projected cut, so yea I am looking to tomorrow and Sunday" said Knibbs.

The cut line was set at three over par or the top 50 golfers at the end of the second round.  The golfers who made the cut will compete for another two rounds to determine the overall winner.

Burrowes who is competing in the LAAC for the fourth time posted five over par 77 for the first round and placed 84th. He posted another five over par 77 on the second day for a two-day total of 10 over par 154 meant that he missed the cut line for the first time.

He said "disappointing last couple of days. Its unfortunate to miss the cut, unfortunate not to play well but its part of the game. One thing for sure about this week is that it exposed my weaknesses, the weak areas of my game. More than anything else I am just excited to get back to work. I think today was certainly more positive overall. I felt like I managed myself better even though the score didn't quite reflect it.  There were some small wins out there."

Louis Carrera of Mexico topped the leaderboard at the end of the second round after posting 10 under par 134 with scores of five under par 67 on each of the first two days. The first day leader, Mateo Fuenmayor of Colombia ended the second round tied for 25th place with five others after posting five over par 77, with a two-day total of one under par 143 (66, 77).

Defending champion Aaron Jarvis of the Cayman Islands is currently tied in the 14th position with 9 others with a score of two under par 142. He shot par 72 and two under par 70 on the first and second day respectively.

The Dallas Cowboys headed into Week 18 still in contention for the number one seed in the NFC, but a desperate display from quarterback Dak Prescott saw them instead end the regular season on a bum note.

Although wins for the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers elsewhere meant the Cowboys would have finished as the fifth seed regardless, any optimism and momentum built up over the second half of the season was sapped by a stunning loss to the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders, already eliminated from the playoff race, crushed the Cowboys 26-6, helped by the worst performance of Prescott's career.

His completion percentage of 37.8 (14 of 37) was a career low, as was a yards-per-attempt average of 3.46. Only twice had the QB previously dipped below his Week 18 passer rating of 45.8.

"There's a lot we can learn from and get better and use this tape," said Prescott afterwards, and past experience at least suggests that is likely.

On the previous four occasions Prescott has completed under half of his passes in a game, he has guided Dallas to a win in his next outing. Across those four subsequent games, Prescott has completed 80.7 per cent of his passes for six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Cowboys have won by 22.3 points on average.

A repeat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round would represent a significant turnaround from the start of this season, however.

Prior to the Commanders game, Week 1 against the Buccaneers – a 19-3 loss – saw the most recent example of Prescott's pass completion dipping alarmingly, completing 14 of 29 attempts for 48.3 per cent.

On that occasion, a thumb injury ruled him out of the end of the game and then a chunk of the season before he was able to respond on his return.

The Cowboys went 8-2 over Prescott's next 10 starts, with both defeats coming in overtime. Dallas scored 351 points across that period, the highest-scoring 10-game span in team history.

Between Weeks 7 and 17, Prescott's 71.0 per cent pass completion led all QBs with 100 or more attempts. As only Patrick Mahomes (23) topped his 22 TD passes, the two-time Pro Bowler led the way for TD percentage (6.7).

But the Cowboys remained reluctant to rely too heavily on Prescott, running passing plays only 53.5 per cent of the time over this stretch – the sixth-lowest rate in the NFL.

This reluctance was understandable, too, given the clear warning signs ahead of that Washington game. Even without the ball regularly in his hands, Prescott threatened to derail his team.

His 13 interceptions were also a league high over those 11 weeks, meaning a pick six against the Commanders saw him end the year tied for the lead for picks (15) and pick sixes (three). Prescott played only 12 games to co-leader Davis Mills' 15.

Now, heading into the playoffs, Prescott is on a run of seven straight games with at least one interception. It is the longest such streak of 2022, while only five players have endured worse runs since he entered the league in 2016.

Prescott's careless aggression was already prompting murmurs from Jerry Jones before a Week 18 in which he averaged 10.9 air yards per attempt, up on his season mark of 8.2 air yards per attempt to that point.

He at least retains Jones' support heading into the playoffs, but the Cowboys owner will now want to see some return on a contract that pays Prescott $40million a year – in line with the deal signed by last season's Super Bowl-winning QB Matthew Stafford.

To this point, Prescott's playoff experience is made up of only four games and a single win.

In that regard, he stands at odds with his opponent this week. Tom Brady may have been unconvincing this year, too, with his 25 pickable passes third in the NFL, but he is the master when it comes to the playoffs.

Brady's 13,049 postseason passing yards dwarf not only Prescott's total (1,048) but that of every other playoff QB combined. The 13 other projected starters have a total of 9,184 playoff career passing yards.

The Buccaneers have looked likely to be accommodating postseason opponents for much of this year; they limped to the NFC South title at 8-9 and rank 17th by Stats Perform's efficiency versus expected model, with the 12-5 Cowboys seventh in EVE. There should be a clear favourite in this matchup.

But Brady has spent his entire career delivering in big moments, whereas Prescott crumbled last week.

The Cowboys may only ask their QB not to single-handedly cost them this game, yet Prescott still must prove even that is not beyond him.

Emma Raducanu is "in a good place" ahead of the Australian Open after an ankle injury threatened her participation.

Raducanu was left in tears after retiring against Viktoria Kuzmova in their round-of-16 match at the ASB Classic.

The 20-year-old won the first set 6-0, but after losing the second set 7-5, Raducanu was unable to continue, sparking fears over her ability to play in the Australian Open in just 11 days.

But with her tournament opener against Tamara Korpatsch now just two days away, the 2021 US Open champion eased fears over her fitness, saying she "fully trusts" her ankle.

"I've been able to do preparation, albeit more limited than usual," Raducanu told reporters on Saturday. "But I'm feeling in a good place to go out there and give it my best shot.

"We were thrown a bit of a curveball but we remained optimistic. It's been a team effort to get me to this place. We've been building it up pretty gradually.

"For the ankle, I feel really good. It's going to be more introducing certain things, and the rate at which we've had to do it has been really quick.

"But I've not really played much tennis ever in my career, so I'm kind of used to it. And I'm not stressed about lack of tennis that much."

In Melbourne, Raducanu will be aiming to go beyond the second round of a grand slam for the first time since her incredible US Open heroics in 2021.

Cameron Norrie missed the chance to cap his New Zealand homecoming as he was beaten 4-6 6-4 6-4 by Richard Gasquet in the Auckland Open final on Saturday.

Norrie grew up in Auckland, and the British number one reached his first ATP Tour-level final in the city in 2019.

But despite repeating that feat and then winning the opening set of Saturday's final, Frenchman Gasquet roared back to lift his first title on the ATP Tour since 2018.

After they split the opening two sets, Norrie looked to be on the way to victory when he held a 4-1 lead in the decider.

But 36-year-old Gasquet rattled off five straight sets, including two breaks of serve, to shock the second seed and become the oldest champion in the Auckland Open's 66-year history.

"It's an amazing title for me, especially now at my age," Gasquet told a post-match news conference. "I really didn't think I would win again.

"I'm 37 this year, so when I came here last week, if you were to tell me next Saturday you will win here, I wouldn't believe it."

Norrie gets his Australian Open campaign underway against wildcard Luca van Assche on Monday, while Gasquet will play fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the first round.

At the Adelaide International 2, Kwon Son-woo defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4) to take the crown.

Bautista Agut, who knocked out defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semi-finals, hit back from losing the opening set to level the game with a strong second stanza.

The deciding set went all the way to a tie-break as both players lost two of their service games, but with Kwon 5-4 up in the pivotal tie-break, the world number 84 found two breaks of serve to complete the victory.

The win was Kwon's second ATP Tour title and first since lifting the Astana Open trophy in 2021, while he becomes the first South Korean to win multiple Tour-level titles.

All eyes will be cast towards north London on Sunday for a derby that could have significant implications in the tussle for the Premier League title and the hunt for a top-four finish.

Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League will be just two points if Manchester City beat Manchester United on Saturday, while victory for Erik ten Hag's side would put them five ahead of Spurs in the quest for Champions League football.

Having so much at stake is nothing new for clashes between Arsenal and Spurs, with a meeting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last May being decisive in the two sides' battle to clinch fourth spot, where a 3-0 win for the hosts saw the Gunners miss the chance to secure a return to Europe's elite club competition.

Arsenal then lost to Newcastle United and saw Spurs leapfrog them to secure a top-four spot on the final day of the season, but Mikel Arteta's side have responded superbly.

Gunning for glory

Arsenal's pursuit of a first league title since 2003-04 has caught many by surprise this season, as has Tottenham's inability to kick on having beaten their arch-rivals to Champions League football last term.

Since that loss to Spurs in May, Arsenal have won 15 of their 19 Premier League matches, picking up 47 points out of a possible 57, with losses coming in the aforementioned trip to Newcastle last season and at Old Trafford against United in September.

Spurs, meanwhile, have won 12 of 20 Premier League fixtures since the win against Arsenal, picking up 39 points from a possible 60 – six of which came in back-to-back victories to finish the 2021-22 season.

In attack, the two great rivals boast a similar record, with Arsenal scoring 45 goals in 19 matches and Spurs finding the net on 43 occasions, having played a game more, though five came in a 5-0 thrashing of Norwich City on the final day of last season.

Defence is where Arsenal have shown the biggest improvement, conceding 17 goals in 19 matches – just 14 of which have been this season – while Spurs have conceded 25 goals in the same period,

Those improvements for Arsenal have put them 15 points better off than they were at the same stage last season, while Spurs have exactly the same points total as they did at the halfway mark last year.

Kane leading the way as Arsenal come of age

Unsurprisingly, England captain Harry Kane has the best goalscoring record since the two sides met at the back end of last season, scoring 17 goals in 20 games – 15 of which have come this season, only Erling Haaland (21) having more.

A lack of goals from alternative sources has been an issue, however, with Son Heung-min scoring six in the Premier League since May 13, 2022, and Richarlison yet to find the net for Spurs in his 10 Premier League appearances.

Arsenal's top-scorer in the same period is Gabriel Martinelli (eight goals in 19 appearances), though Bukayo Saka is closely behind with six and Eddie Nketiah's fine run since stepping up to replace the injured Gabriel Jesus leaves him with three goals in 17 appearances, only five of which have been as a starter.

Saka (seven) and Martinelli (three) both have more assists than Kane, Richarlison and Son (two), though the England captain's tally of goals gives him the best minutes per goal/assist average of 105 minutes, with Arsenal's best being Nketiah (189 minutes).

Nketiah (17 per cent), Saka and Martinelli (both 15 per cent) have been similarly efficient in front of goal, while Kane's 21.8 per cent shot conversion rate is significantly higher than Son (11.5 per cent).

The fairly even spread of Arsenal's attacking options displays the shared responsibility that Arteta's side have in the final third, whereas Kane continues to carry his team-mates.

Kane stands as the highest-scoring player of all-time in the north London derby with 14 goals, scoring in all but one of his eight home Premier League games against the Gunners as he stands one away from matching Jimmy Greaves' all-time record for the club of 266.

Iga Swiatek starts the Australian Open as almost as strong a favourite to win the women's singles as Novak Djokovic is for the men's event.

Considering Djokovic is a nine-time champion in Melbourne, and Swiatek has never reached the final, that is some going and indicative of the Polish player's dominance on the WTA Tour over the last 11 months.

Swiatek ended last year with eight titles to her name, winning the French Open and US Open among them, and the 21-year-old has accrued more than twice as many ranking points as the next player on the WTA list, Ons Jabeur.

Her ascent to become the dominant woman in tennis has been remarkable, and Swiatek has also earned admiration for her efforts to raise funds for children in war-hit Ukraine.

But is she such an outstanding favourite for the Melbourne Park title as the odds-makers have it?

Since the US Open, she has been a champion at just one – modest by her standards – of the four tournaments she has contested, including the United Cup team event.

Here, Stats Perform looks at five others who might have a say in the destination of the year's first major.

Jessica Pegula

Swiatek was reduced to tears after a 6-2 6-2 drubbing by Pegula on January 6 at the United Cup, her first loss of the year.

She later described Pegula's performance as "the perfect match", and will hope the American cannot always rise to that level.

"It's always hard when you lose, especially when you're playing for the team and your country," Swiatek said at the time, explaining her post-match tears.

Swiatek had won all four of the matches they contested in 2022, dropping only one set, with quarter-final wins on the way to her two grand slam triumphs included in that set.

The result in Sydney, therefore, might have been just a blip, but Pegula is number three in the world for a reason, and Swiatek will surely want to avoid her over the coming fortnight.

Coco Gauff

Is now Gauff's time? There's a question that has been buzzing around the tennis circuit for at least a couple of seasons, despite the American being just 18 years old.

Time, it should be clear, is firmly on her side. She soared to fourth in the rankings in October but has slipped a little since, while remaining firmly established in the top 10.

Given her great talent, Gauff should be resident in the top 10 for many years to come, so we can afford to wait before watching her fly. The sometimes-erratic forehand remains in need of fine-tuning, and Gauff began this year with just two career singles titles to her name after missing out on a trophy in the 2022 season.

However, she reached a first grand slam final last June, losing to Swiatek in Paris, and began 2023 by capturing a title in Auckland where, as top seed, she made light work of the field.

The victory made her the sixth American player to secure three or more WTA-level titles before turning 19 in the last 40 years, after slam winners Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams.

That is some company for Gauff, who will face Katerina Siniakova in the first rout in Melbourne, to be keeping, and her time will come. It might even come in Melbourne.

 

Ons Jabeur

After finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Swiatek at the US Open, Jabeur is targeting a third successive slam final.

The Tunisian would win most popularity contests on the Tour, but she wants one of the big trophies now, and has to be seen as a strong contender in Australia.

Her preparations took a knock with a loss to 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova at Adelaide International 1, but that will only have made Jabeur work harder in the build-up to the major.

She was gutted to have to pull out of the Australian Open with a back injury last year, and a first-round loss at the French Open followed, but Jabeur came good at the next two majors, albeit falling at the final hurdle.

Aryna Sabalenka

At this time last year, Sabalenka was in crisis, her serve a massive weakness as she struggled to deliver the ball safely.

She recovered from going a set down in three consecutive matches at the Australian Open before losing a rollicking tussle in round four with Estonian veteran and upset specialist Kaia Kanepi.

Sabalenka served a wretched 15 double faults in that match, which was sadly more or less par for her in the early stages of the 2022 season, but the Belarusian got her act together, overcome those yips, and finished the year strongly.

A semi-final run at the US Open was followed by an appearance in the WTA Finals title match, where she lost a close encounter with Caroline Garcia.

Sabalenka began this year not with the serving jitters, but with the Adelaide International 1 title, not dropping a set all week.

She has a big game and with it growing confidence. At the age of 24, she should be entering her prime years, and 2023 could be a special 12 months for the woman with the tiger tattoo.

Zheng Qinwen

The WTA's 2022 Newcomer of the Year winner, Zheng is a 20-year-old Chinese player who could soon follow in the footsteps of compatriot Li Na and begin scooping the biggest prizes in tennis.

How soon? Well, probably not quite yet, but then again very few picked out the then 54th-ranked Swiatek to win the 2020 French Open, the moment that launched her to stardom.

Zheng has rocketed to 30th in the rankings, having begun last year at 126th on the WTA list, and should be considered capable of halving her ranking over this season.

She first came to major prominence at the French Open, when she defeated Simona Halep and for a while also had Swiatek's number in their fourth-round match, winning the first set before menstrual cramps and a leg problem caused her to lose momentum.

The WTA Tour is a learning curve and slam-level success might not come immediately for Zheng, but that newcomer award came her way because she is a player shaping up to have a big say in the sport's future. Along with the likes of Gauff and Swiatek, she could still be a big factor in a decade's time.

Arsenal must show they can handle the pressure of being Premier League title "favourites", according to Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte.

Mikel Arteta's side head into Sunday's North London derby top of the table having won 14 of their 17 games.

But the Gunners dropped points in a goalless draw with Newcastle United last week, and with closest challengers Manchester City playing Manchester United on Saturday, Arsenal's lead could be cut to just two points by the time they step out onto the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

Conte is no stranger to title races, having lifted five top-flight crowns during his managerial career, including the 2016-17 Premier League while in charge of Chelsea.

He warned Arsenal that, despite their fantastic start, the real challenge starts now as they look to fend off City and claim their first league title since the 2003-04 'Invincibles' season.

"When you are at the top of the league the perception of your opponents change totally," Conte told reporters. "You are in that moment the best team in the league. For this reason, everybody wants to try to beat you.

"For sure, Arsenal has to face this situation of being favourites to win the league at this moment because they are top of the table. They have to show they are good to face this type of situation.

"In the last 10 years it was always the same, between City, Chelsea and Liverpool. Maybe Leicester [City]. Now Arsenal have a great opportunity.

"I think they are doing very well. Now they have to show they can stay there until the end of the season because I'm sure Manchester City doesn't agree and will feel the real possibility to win [the title] again.

"I think it is a battle between Arsenal and Manchester City."

Despite the huge animosity between the capital-city rivals, Spurs boss Conte still has respect for how Arsenal have turned things around after a tumultuous period in the late stages of and following Arsene Wenger's tenure.

Conte pointed out Arteta's focus on youth, as well as their recruitment in the transfer market, as reasons for the Gunners' success, saying: "They are working for many years in a project.

"They are doing very well. They sent away a lot of players, and bring in many players and they spend money to do it.

"It's normal when you work with the same young players and after four years they develop and become stronger.

"You have two paths you can follow.

"If you want to accelerate the process it is important to bring experienced players, winners, who know how to win, but you have another way, which is you need to have time and patience to develop young players."

Belinda Bencic eased to a 6-0 6-2 final victory over Daria Kasatkina to claim the Adelaide International 2 crown on Saturday.

Both Bencic and Kasatkina did not have to play a semi-final after their respective opponents, Veronika Kudermetova and Paula Badosa, both pulled out with injuries.

Bencic romped to victory in the final though, dropping just two games against her Russian opponent to lift her first title in Australia.

The match lasted just 67 minutes, as the 2021 runner-up converted five of her seven break point opportunities while not facing a single break point herself.

Bencic rattled off eight games in a row to start the final, and though Kasatkina did save some face with a couple of holds late on, the world number 13 finished the job to win in straight sets ahead of the start of the Australian Open next week.

"I'm happy I could show my work here on the court," Bencic told reporters at a post-match news conference. "I thought I played some great matches from the start of the tournament and also against different kind of opponents so I really could test myself out there in every way and just go confidently into the Australian Open."

At the Hobart International, Lauren Davis ended a six-year title drought with a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 triumph over Elisabetta Cocciaretto in an all-unseeded final.

In the opening set, every game went to serve until the tie-break, when Davis found three crucial breaks to take the advantage heading into the second stanza.

But the second set was not the same tight affair as Cocciaretto, playing in her first Tour-level singles final, collapsed to a 5-0 deficit to leave her staring down the barrel of defeat.

Davis, who herself was playing in a first Tour-level final since winning the trophy in Auckland in 2017, overcame losing the next two games to take the title having not lost a set at the tournament.

Davis was delighted after the match, saying: "I have a lot of emotions going through my body right now. I'm just really happy, really excited. I really had to play my best in order to win today."

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay released an open letter on Friday highlighting his disappointment in their tumultuous season.

The Colts finished with the fourth-worst record in the NFL at 4-12-1 despite entering the year with "the highest hopes for a division title and a deep playoff run", according to Irsay.

It was the fourth season in a row the Colts came into Week 1 with a new starting quarterback, and when faced with a shaky 3-5-1 start and uncertainty at the position, Irsay made the decision to fire head coach Frank Reich.

That was the first time since taking control of the team in 1997 that Irsay had fired his head coach mid-season, and his next move raised even more eyebrows as he decided to bring in long-time friend and legendary former Colts offensive lineman Jeff Saturday as Reich's replacement.

Saturday had never been a head coach at any level prior to his appointment, and after winning his first contest in charge, Indianapolis closed the season on a seven-game losing streak.

In his letter, Irsay said: "I share your frustration. I can't stand losing, and I hate letting down our fans, and we had too much of both last year.

"But please know this – no one is more unsatisfied than I am. No one has higher expectations than I do. And no one wants to win for our fans and our community more than the people in our organization wearing the Horseshoe every day.

"So as I've always said, the responsibility for making us better ultimately falls on me, and our offseason work has already begun. That includes our search for our next head coach, preparing for an important draft in April and continuing to bolster the talented core of players already on our roster.

"No one can ever guarantee wins or losses. But as long as I'm owner, I can guarantee that winning championships will always be my goal, and I'll be doing everything I can to help get us there. That's what you deserve, and that's what we'll be working hard to deliver."

The Colts own the fourth pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and pundits have speculated about whether they will take the gamble of trading up to number one or two to ensure they land one of college football's top quarterbacks.

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