Danny Drinkwater has revealed his relief at leaving Chelsea but says he is still "burning away" with the frustration of how his Stamford Bridge career panned out.

The former England international felt he was unfairly treated by the Blues, having made only 23 appearances in five years.

Drinkwater joined Chelsea in a reported £35million transfer in 2017, moving on from Leicester City 12 months after winning the Premier League title.

The midfielder was reunited with former Leicester team-mate N'Golo Kante but did not enjoy anything like the same success in London.

"I'm relieved, firstly, because it's not hard to see that it definitely wasn't ideal for me," Drinkwater told Sky Sports. "It didn't benefit the club.

"I'm angry because of how it's gone, how I was treated. I'm not bitter about it, because you can look back and say what ifs and [have hindsight], which is obviously huge. I think it was just a long time coming."

Drinkwater, who, at 32, does not plan to retire, said he "did too much too soon" to rush back from injury in his first season at Chelsea, leading to a setback.

He was then left out of the Chelsea squad the following year, which was "not expected at all".

Drinkwater acknowledged his role on the fringes initially "had its benefits, I was loving it" but "living the life lasts for about two weeks".

After a number of off-field issues, including deaths in the family and a drink-driving offence, the Manchester United academy graduate felt "lost".

He did not play another competitive game for Chelsea's first team, but a successful loan move to Reading last season – after difficult spells at Burnley and Aston Villa – allowed him to see out the final months of his five-year contract.

Drinkwater added: "If you stayed at Leicester, if you didn't get injured, if the club treated you differently, if... they're all ifs.

"It's frustrating, 100 per cent. Don't think I've not been burnt, or I'm still not burning away because of how it's gone.

"I do kick myself from it. But am I going to keep kicking myself? I can't change it."

Before the latest Cristiano Ronaldo transfer plea emerged last weekend, the conversation around Manchester United in this window focused primarily on their incoming business and the club's transfer policy.

A year ago, under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United looked to be building a young, exciting team, only to be distracted by the pull of nostalgia and Ronaldo.

The end result was United's worst ever Premier League points return, with Solskjaer lasting only until November and a number of the side's promising talents – including big-money buy Jadon Sancho – enduring difficult campaigns. All the while, Ronaldo tallied more than 20 club goals for a 16th consecutive season.

Rushed through amid rival interest from neighbours Manchester City, Ronaldo's clearly was not a considered transfer, and less than 12 months on it could not be deemed a success, despite the individual displays that have reportedly attracted the attention of Chelsea among others.

There appears to have been a great deal more thought put into United's movement this year – not that their new approach has escaped criticism.

Ten Hag's total control

There is a clear theme running through United's reported shopping list in their first transfer window under ex-Ajax coach Erik ten Hag:

Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez, Feyenoord defender Tyrell Malacia, who was of interest to Ten Hag at Ajax, former Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong, former Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen, who trained with Ajax again last season, and Ajax winger Antony.

It is only natural to wonder how many of these players would have been targeted had Solskjaer still been in charge, or Ralf Rangnick, or even, say, Mauricio Pochettino.

United, it seems, have granted Ten Hag – one of the few remaining managers in a world of head coaches – complete control.

Of course, this is nothing new at Old Trafford, where David Moyes was allowed to bring along Marouane Fellaini from Everton, Louis van Gaal to recruit Netherlands pair Daley Blind and Memphis Depay, and Jose Mourinho to reunite with Chelsea's Nemanja Matic – who has now joined him again at Roma.

In each case, the absence of a sporting director and an overarching plan was scrutinised.

Now, even with John Murtough in as football director and Darren Fletcher as technical director, United have again changed strategy entirely to suit the wants of the first-team manager – still the most important figure at the club.

This latest development has unsurprisingly been highlighted by United's detractors, but is it really such an issue in this case?

Ajax a class above United

There are worse clubs to be pinching a team's worth of players from than Ajax, renowned for developing world-class talents across several generations.

As recently as three years ago, Ten Hag's Ajax faced Eriksen's Tottenham – also featuring Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Davinson Sanchez – in the Champions League semi-finals; United last reached the final four of Europe's elite club competition in 2011.

Ajax have been operating without the benefits of United's Premier League broadcasting contracts and, in 2022, have far more modest ambitions, yet they far outperformed the Red Devils in the Champions League across Ten Hag's tenure.

The Eredivisie side won 53.1 per cent of their 32 Champions League matches under their now former coach, with United winning just 38.5 per cent of their own 26 games over the same period. Ajax also scored more goals in the competition (2.0 per game versus 1.5) and conceded fewer (1.1 versus 1.3).

These Ajax players have set a far higher standard than that seen from recent United teams, so why would the club deny Ten Hag the opportunity to attempt to recreate that success at Old Trafford?

And whether by relying heavily on ex-Ajax men or otherwise, United's squad needed to undergo serious surgery to fit with Ten Hag's ideals – the ideals that attracted the 20-time English champions to him in the first place.

No room for Ronaldo?

If Ten Hag can effectively communicate his methods to players old and new, expect United to look very different this season – both with and without the ball.

Only Bayern Munich and Liverpool averaged a greater share of possession than Ajax (61.6 per cent) in the Champions League last season, with United (53.8) back in 10th in this regard.

Martinez (80.3 passes per 90) and Timber (74.7) were Ajax's most prolific passers, helping Ten Hag's men to build from the back. While United's passing leaders were also centre-backs – Raphael Varane (57.9), Victor Lindelof (54.7) and Harry Maguire (51.7) – they trailed a long way behind.

Crucially, Timber (93.3 per cent) and Martinez (91.9) were also the top performing Ajax or United players in terms of passing accuracy. Red Devils captain Maguire's far inferior 87.5 per cent accuracy perhaps shows why Ten Hag has been so keen to recruit one of his former ball-playing defenders.

But Ajax do not dominate just because of how careful they are in possession; they are also hugely proactive off the ball.

Ajax employed the most aggressive press in terms of opposition passes allowed per defensive action (PPDA) in three of Ten Hag's four Champions League campaigns, ranking second behind Bayern Munich in 2020-21.

Indeed, Ten Hag's last season was Ajax's most effective in this regard. They allowed just 7.4 PPDA – Bayern (8.8) were next, with United (12.1) 15th – and started their possessions 48.7 metres upfield on average, 2.0m more advanced than second-placed Chelsea (United were 12th – 43.0m).

Ten Hag clearly feels he needs more energy in midfield (De Jong) and attack (Antony), which makes reports United still want to keep Ronaldo a little odd. He averaged 16.8 pressures per 90 across the 2021-22 Premier League season, by far the fewest of any United attacker – Edinson Cavani, for example, averaged 35.8.

Letting Ronaldo leave might mean acknowledging an almighty error, but it would also represent a huge show of faith in a coach for whose system the five-time Ballon d'Or winner evidently appears unsuited.

And such trust in Ten Hag would certainly seem to fall in line with the rest of United's activity in this window.

The Chicago Blackhawks’ rebuild officially began hours before the start of Thursday’s NHL draft and continued right into the opening moments of the first round. 

Chicago’s teardown began in the afternoon with Alex DeBrincat being traded to the Ottawa Senators for the seventh and 39th pick in this year’s draft, and a third-round selection in 2024. 

The Blackhawks didn’t stop there, however, as Kirby Dach was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens for the 13th and 66th overall picks. 

In a statement, the Blackhawks' first-time general manager Kyle Davidson said in a statement that he feels it is the right way to go about building a contender.

"It was an incredibly difficult decision to trade a player of Alex’s caliber," he said. "We feel as if this move sets the Blackhawks up for future success by giving us additional flexibility and future talent.

"Securing this early of a first-round pick for tonight and an additional second-round selection tomorrow allows us to fortify our prospect base with high-end players who we expect to be difference-makers in the coming years." 

DeBrincat was an All-Star for the first time this past season, as he led the team with an equal career-high 41 goals to go with a career-best 37 assists. In five seasons with the Blackhawks, the 24-year-old winger racked up 160 goals and 147 assists in 368 games, but Chicago was in danger of losing the young playmaker, as he’s due to fetch a big payday once his current contract expires after the 2022-23 season. 

Dach just finished up his third season with the Blackhawks, registering career highs of nine goals and 17 assists. The 21-year-old centre has 19 goals and 40 assists in 152 career games, but has not yet reached the production Chicago envisioned after selecting him with the third overall pick of the 2019 draft. 

The Blackhawks, who haven’t made the playoffs in four of the past five seasons and have won just one playoff series since capturing the 2015 Stanley Cup, also made a deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 25th pick by helping the Leafs free up cap space by taking on goaltender Petr Mrazek’s salary. 

After beginning the night without a first-round selection as a result of last year’s trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Seth Jones, Chicago ended up with three picks in the first 25. 

The Blackhawks took Canadian junior defenseman Kevin Korchinski at pick seven, U.S. development team centre Frank Nazar at 13, and Minnesota high school defensemen Sam Rinzel with the 25th selection. 

Orlando Magic fans were treated to a delightful Summer League debut from number one overall pick Paolo Banchero in a 91-77 win against the Houston Rockets and third pick Jabari Smith Jr.

Smith was the heavy favourite to be taken by the Magic with the first pick from the day they won the NBA Draft Lottery, before a draft-day shocker saw them pivot to Banchero, allowing Smith to fall to the Rockets at three.

Banchero was terrific, and was the dominant force in the contest, operating as a six-foot-10 lead ball-handler. 

He finished with 17 points on five-of-12 shooting, hitting two-of-three from long range and all five of his free throws, while also adding a team-high six assists and posting a game-high plus/minus of plus 20 in 26 minutes.

Fellow draftee Caleb Houstan, who was selected by the Magic with the 32nd pick, was the Magic's top-scorer with 20 on seven-of-12 from the field, shooting an impressive five-of-nine from three-point range, while also grabbing six rebounds.

For the Rockets, Smith's stats were less impressive, finishing with 10 points on four-of-10 shooting, although he was not put in a position to succeed.

While Banchero is an on-ball operator, meaning he can initiate his own offense off the dribble, Smith was used as an off-ball threat, relying on the Rockets guards to find him in favourable positions, which they did not.

Smith's tremendous size at six-foot-10, combined with his picture-perfect jump shot form and his defensive upside to guard at least three positions mean there is no reason for panic in Houston after a slow start to his first Summer League.

Second-year guard Josh Christopher top-scored for the Rockets with 22 points on seven-of-18 shooting, 17th overall pick from this year's draft Tari Eason showed what he can do with 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Houston's third first-rounder (29th overall) TyTy Washington flashed glimpses of a skillset that could lead him to becoming the floor general his team is lacking, coming off the bench for seven points, four rebounds and three assists.

The New York Yankees' bullpen were terrific down the stretch to deliver a 6-5 win in the first game of their series against heated rivals the Boston Red Sox.

Played at Boston's Fenway Park, the Yankees threatened to blow the Red Sox away in the third inning when Josh Donaldson crushed a 429-foot grand slam to sntach a 4-0 lead. Aaron Hicks then followed it up with his own solo home run from the very next pitch.

But the Red Sox showed fight in the bottom of the third inning, with Rafael Devers connecting on his fifth career home run against Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, and his 18th blast of the season, with a two-run, 434-foot shot to center-field.

The Yankees were able to add one more insurance run in the fifth inning through a Jose Trevino double, but the Red Sox answered straight back in the bottom of the frame once again.

After a double to Franchy Cordero and a walk to Kevin Plawecki, Devers came through again, this time with a 425-foot homer to straight center-field to score three runs, making it six career homers off Cole and 19 for the season.

The rest of the game featured spectacular pitching out of both bullpens, with the Yankees trio of Wandy Peralta, Michael King and Clay Holmes combining to allow no hits and one walk from the final three frames, while Red Sox arms Matt Strahm, John Schreiber, Ryan Brasier and Austin Davis combined to allow one hit and no walks in the last four innings.

Cole was credited with the win, despite it not being his best performance, finishing with six complete innings for five earned runs, with all five runs coming off the bat of Devers.

The Yankees also got the job done without the help of AL MVP favourite Aaron Judge, who missed with a lower-back complaint, as well as Anthony Rizzo, who is fifth in the league in home runs (22), eight behind Judge's league-lead (30).

Ohtani and Trout struggle as Rutchsman goes deep

Superstar Los Angeles Angels duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout finished a combined zero-for-seven from the plate as their side went down 4-1 on the road against the Baltimore Orioles.

The loss is the Angels' fifth from their past six games as another potential AL MVP season from Ohtani appears likely to end without a playoff berth unless things turn around drastically, now fourth in their division and 17 games behind the Houston Astros.

Baltimore was buoyed by top prospect Adley Rutchsman hitting his first career home run at Camden Yards – which the Orioles fans will be hoping was the first of many.

Rookie Strider shines in Braves loss

Atlanta Braves rookie starting pitcher Spencer Strider continues to make his case for NL Rookie of the Year after striking out a career-high 12 batters in his side's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the St Louis Cardinals.

Incredibly, the first nine outs Strider recorded were all strikeouts, and he would make it through six complete innings, allowing no runs from two hits and two walks in 100 pitches. It was the first time in Braves history that a pitcher has recorded each of his first nine outs via strikeout.

The scores were tied at 1-1 after nine innings, and after each side brought home a run in the 10th, the Cardinals were able to score another in the 11th off a Dylan Carlson infield-single, with Packy Naughton collecting the save.

Carlson finished three-for-three at the plate after being brought in as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.

The Montreal Canadiens selected Juraj Slafkovsky with the first overall pick of the 2022 NHL draft on Thursday. 

The 18-year-old left wing became the first Slovakian to ever be picked first overall in the draft. 

Slafkovsky excelled for Slovakia at the 2022 Winter Olympics, leading the tournament with seven goals in seven games to earn MVP honours while helping the country capture the bronze medal. 

Speaking to ESPN after being presented with his Canadiens jersey, Slafkosvky was lost for words.

"It’s unbelievable, I still can’t believe that this actually happened," he said.

"When I heard from Slovakia, I was like 'what is happening'. It's just a special moment in my life."

When asked how he thought his family and friends would have reacted to the news, being 2am local time in Slovakia, Slafkosvky said "I think people are going crazy, they have to be... I think they are all awake."

With the second pick, the New Jersey Devils selected another Slovakian in defenseman Simon Nemec. 

"This is a special night for Slovak hockey," Slafkovsky said. 

Adam Svensson shot a blistering 10-under 62 in the first round of the Barbasol Championship to lead the field by two strokes.

Canada's Svensson is taking advantage of the fact that most of the sport's biggest names are spending this week at the Scottish Open, posting seven birdies, two eagles and bogey in his round. On the four par-fives, he collected two birdies and two eagles.

Speaking to The Golf Channel after his round, he said he felt in good touch coming into the event.

"I was on the range today and I was feeling really good," he said. "I've been putting well, putting a lot of work in that. 

"It just kind of all came together today. I made two nice eagles. The one on eight was exceptional – made a 30-footer – but was just trying to stay in there because it was just so hot. 

"I was losing energy, I was trying to hydrate and stuff like that. I was just really relaxed and just tried to get through the day essentially."

Being a co-sanctioned event from both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, there was a strong international contingent near the top of the leaderboard.

Tied for second place at eight under are Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia and France's Robin Roussel, with the latter managing to go bogey-free.

There is an eight-man logjam tied for fourth at seven under, including Germany's Matti Schmid, Colombia's Camilo Villegas and England's David Skinns.

Another pair of Englishmen – Tom Lewis and Andrew Wilson – were a further shot back at six under, along with Australia's Cameron Percy, South Africa's Justin Walters and Germany's Yannick Paul.

Japan's Satoshi Kodaira, Chile's Hugo Leon and Sweden's Niklas Lemke are at five under, while Spain's Alejandro Canizares and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul shot four-under 68s – one stroke better than Thursday's average score.

After a top-10 finish at last week's John Deere Classic, Canada's Michael Gligic will be content with his opening 69, while John Huh shot a 70 as he looks for his third top-15 finish from his past five starts.

Zhou Guanyu acknowledged he is lucky to be alive following his horrific crash at Silverstone last weekend.

The British Grand Prix was red-flagged on the opening lap following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou's terrifying shunt at turn one.

After George Russell's Mercedes careered into Zhou following contact with Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri, the Chinese driver's car flipped over and subsequently shot across the gravel, over the barrier and into the catch fence protecting spectators.

There was a worrying wait at Silverstone before it was confirmed the 23-year-old was not seriously hurt.

And Zhou, who is the first Chinese driver to compete in Formula One, reflected on the incident ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, for which he received an all-clear to compete on Thursday.

"I had a massive hit and flipped over, going at a very constant speed but quite fast into the gravel and I realise that I'm not getting stopped," he remembered.

"So, I tried to release myself from the steering wheel and into a very locked position, making sure I'm solid inside myself waiting for the final impact. That's what causes injury and is the big issue.

"Once I stopped, I didn't know where I was because I was upside down. Then there was some leaking, but I didn't know from where. I wasn't sure if it was my body or if it was the car!

"So, I just tried to switch the engine off. I knew if the fire started it would be difficult to get out. I don't know how I survived. But looking back, obviously the halo saved me there.

"It did not hurt, but it was very cold on my left-hand side, so I didn't know if it was blood or if I had no feeling on my left-hand side."

Zhou also paid tribute to Russell.

He did not know at the time, but the Mercedes driver stopped his car before running over to check on his counterpart, sacrificing his part in the rest of the race as a result.

"One man made conversation with me, making sure I was OK," Zhou continued.

"Looking at the pictures, seeing George jump out of the car, calling the marshals, it was very respectful and sportsmanlike. Very nice to see people like him trying to make sure everyone is safe."

The Las Vegas have named Sandra Douglass Morgan as the team’s president, making her the first Black woman to hold that title in the NFL.  

The Raiders held a press conference Thursday, announcing the franchise’s third president in the last year. 

Morgan, who was an attorney for 20 years, had served most recently as the chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board from 2019-21.  

Marc Badain resigned last July after a three-decade tenure with the organization, and Dan Ventrelle was named his successor.  

Ventrelle was fired in May and later alleged that he was dismissed for sharing reports from fellow team employees of inappropriate conduct by owner Mark Davis.  

"It’s no secret that this organization has faced some recent challenges," Morgan said at her inaugural press conference. "But I want to be clear – I am not here to sweep anything under the rug or avoid problems or concerns that need to be addressed.

"The fact is that I accepted this role because I believe in the promise of the Raiders, I believe in the future of the Raiders and I believe in this organization’s tenants of integrity, community and – most of all – commitment to excellence." 

Morgan declined to address specifics regarding the franchise’s recent off-field turmoil.  

"There’s been no secret that there’s been reports about turnover. My number-one goal is to meet with each and every employee… and making sure our Raider family is strong. Our house will be strong. We’ll be in order to ensure that we can continue to benefit and provide world-class entertainment to this community." 

Morgan specifically mentioned looking forward to working with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, who are both new to the organization this season, as well.  

"There’s been a lot of changes in the last six months, but I know that Mark has made those intentionally, and I’m really just looking forward to the future." 

Jos Buttler's first game as permanent England captain ended in a resounding 50-run defeat to India at the Ageas Bowl in Thursday's opening Twenty20 International.

Hardik Pandya starred with 51 runs as India set their opponents a target of 199 for victory, but England – who lost Buttler for a first-ball duck – did not come close.

As well as registering a maiden fifth in the format, Hardik also took three wickets in seven balls and finished on 4-33 as India made a strong start to the three-match series.

India should have set England a bigger total to chase down, with Rohit Sharma (24 off 14) making their intentions clear from the off after winning the toss and electing to bat.

Ishan Kishan (eight) struggled to get going, but Deepak Hooda (33) and Suryakumar Yadav (39) piled on the runs for an India side missing some key players.

Hardik's quick-fire 45-run partnership with Axar Patel (17) put the tourists in a strong position, though Hardik's dismissal and the loss of Dinesh Karthik (11) saw them stall a little.

Chris Jordan was the pick of England's attack with 2-23, while Moeen Ali (2-26) also chipped in, with Axar Patel the last to fall for 17.

England's response never really got going following the early loss of Buttler to Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first over, despite the best efforts of top scorer Moeen (36 off 20).

Hardik accounted for Dawid Malan (31), Liam Livingstone (duck), Sam Curran (four) and Jason Roy (four), leaving England with too much to do in a flat start to another new era.

Buttler's England falter

England (146.3) and India (145.9) entered this contest with the best batting strike rates of all Test-playing countries in T20Is since the beginning of 2020.

The hosts could not find any momentum when left on 33-4 after 6.1 overs, though, and were bowled out in the final over for 148.

Kumar closing in on Bumrah

Hardik was mightily impressive for India, but credit must also go to Kumar for taking Buttler early on with an in-swinger to get the ball rolling for the tourists.

With that, the 32-year-old is now one away from overtaking Jasprit Bumrah (67) as his country's second all-time leading wicket-taker.

Charles Leclerc has dismissed suggestions of tensions within the Ferrari camp after enduring a frustrating outing as team-mate Carlos Sainz won the British Grand Prix last week.

But the 24-year-old maintains his team could have made better decisions after he fell out of contention to finish fourth at Silverstone.

Leclerc sits third in the drivers' championship standings going into Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, trailing Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez after several underwhelming results.

The Ferrari driver has struggled since winning two of the first three races of the 2022 campaign, failing to secure a podium finish in any of his last five outings after doing so in four of his first five this season.

Leclerc had led at Silverstone before Ferrari chose not to pit him for fresh tyres during a late safety car period, allowing Sainz to clinch the first victory of his Formula One career.

Italian press reports claimed some of Leclerc's engineers subsequently refused to take part in a group photo to celebrate Sainz's win, but the Monegasque driver has told Sky Sports F1 there are no divisions within the team.

"It is a shame to see all of this type of things," Leclerc said in Austria.

"It is definitely not what is happening inside the team. We are a very united team, we've always been, and it's not these difficult races that will make it change.

"Were we disappointed after last weekend? I think we were because we were one-two, and we finished one-four, so part of the team were disappointed. But this was definitely not the reason whatsoever for not everybody being on the picture.

"Everyone was very happy for Carlos, and this is the feeling that there is inside the team.

"One of the strong points we have as team-mates and as drivers [is] a team spirit that we have in Ferrari and these things are always under control."

But Leclerc was still not entirely happy with the team's strategy last time out, adding: "There are things we could have done better.

"But we know where we did the mistakes and I hope we can grow from that.

"Me personally, there's nothing I could have done differently in a way. As a team, we have changed a few things already, just in the way of communication throughout the race, to be ready in that particular moment.

"Once a safety car is out, you need to take a decision there, and if you are not ready for that, it's tricky."

Ferrari have slipped to a distant second in the constructors' standings after Red Bull recorded three one-twos in the last seven races, Verstappen claiming six victories in that time.

Nick Kyrgios has taken to social media to wish Rafael Nadal a speedy recovery after the Spaniard withdrew from the pair's Wimbledon semi-final through injury.

Nadal appeared to be struggling throughout his epic five-set quarter-final win over Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, and it was later confirmed the 22-time grand slam champion had suffered a seven-millimetre abdominal tear.

The two-time Wimbledon champion then announced his withdrawal from the competition at a news conference on Thursday, saying he doubted his ability to win two matches while enduring the pain.

Nadal's exit means Kyrgios will become Australia's first male Wimbledon finalist since Mark Philippoussis in 2003, and is the first player to receive a semi-final walkover in the competition in the Open Era.

The enigmatic 27-year-old has since taken to Instagram to wish the Spaniard well, writing: "Different players, different personalities.

"I hope your recovery goes well and we all hope to see you healthy soon. 'Till next time…"

The Australian has enjoyed a heated rivalry with Nadal since beating him in their first head-to-head meeting at Wimbledon in 2014, with the pair engaging in a couple of high-profile spats.

Kyrgios will now face either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie in Sunday's final, as he bids to become the first Australian man to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt defeated David Nalbandian in 2002.

He has embarked on a box-office run in SW19, coming through five-set thrillers against Paul Jubb and Brandon Nakashima, as well as winning a fiery third-round contest against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Some 6,944 days will have passed since an Australian man played in a Wimbledon final by the time Kyrgios takes to Centre Court on Sunday, though he will look to fare better than Philippoussis did in 2003's straight-sets loss to Roger Federer.

World number 40 Kyrgios is also the lowest-ranked – and the first unseeded – Wimbledon finalist since Philippoussis (number 48), as well as the lowest-ranked grand slam finalist since Marcos Baghdatis (number 54) at the 2006 Australian Open.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and veteran defenseman Kris Letang have agreed to a six-year, $36.6 million contract extension, the team announced on Thursday.  

The deal runs through to the 2027-28 season, during which Letang will turn 41 years old.  

"Kris epitomises what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin," general manager Ron Hextall said in a statement. "The role he plays on our team is irreplaceable.

"He is a leader in our locker room, and has made countless contributions to the organisation over the last 15-plus years, which includes three Stanley Cup Championships.  

"We are thrilled to make him a Penguin for life."

Letang has only played for Pittsburgh in his NHL career after being drafted by the Penguins in the third round in 2005.  

He has hoisted the Stanley Cup three times – in 2009, 2016 and 2017 – and set career highs last season with 58 assists and 68 points, helping Pittsburgh to a 46-25-11 record. 

Letang has played 941 games in a Penguins sweater, passing Mario Lemieux for third in franchise history last season.

Only team-mates Sidney Crosby (1,108) and Evgeni Malkin (981) have played more games for the Penguins.