Emma Raducanu crashed out at Eastbourne in straight sets against Daria Kasatkina as her attention quickly turns to Wimbledon next week. 

The former US Open champion was outclassed by her opponent, with the Russian cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph to progress to the semi-finals of the competition. 

Having started brightly, Raducanu would drop an early break point in the fourth game, allowing Kasatkina to race into a commanding lead before seeing out the first set. 

The Brit would again start slow as Kasatkina found another early break, and despite Raducanu's best efforts, was unable to mount a comeback. 

Kasatkina would end the match with a strong serve, with Radacanu sending the ball long to confirm the win for the Russian, who will play Jasmine Paolini in the next round.

Data Debrief: Raducanu second-best at Eastbourne

Radacanu was outclassed by the world number 14 throughout but can take confidence from her two impressive wins over Jessica Pegula and Sloane Stephens. 

For Kasatkina, she reached her second consecutive semi-final at Eastbourne, impressing on centre court as she won 68% of her first serve points against Raducanu. 

Emma Raducanu crashed out at Eastbourne in straight sets against Daria Kasatkina as her attention quickly turns to Wimbledon next week. 

The former US Open champion was outclassed by her opponent, with the Russian cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph to progress to the semi-finals of the competition. 

Having started brightly, Raducanu would drop an early break point in the fourth game, allowing Kasatkina to race into a commanding lead before seeing out the first set. 

The Brit would again start slow as Kasatkina found another early break, and despite Raducanu's best efforts, was unable to mount a comeback. 

Kasatkina would end the match with a strong serve, with Radacanu sending the ball long to confirm the win for the Russian, who will play Jasmine Paolini in the next round.

Data Debrief: Raducanu second-best at Eastbourne

Radacanu was outclassed by the world number 14 throughout but can take confidence from her two impressive wins over Jessica Pegula and Sloane Stephens. 

For Kasatkina, she reached her second consecutive semi-final at Eastbourne, impressing on centre court as she won 68% of her first serve points against Raducanu. 

Emma Raducanu crashed out at Eastbourne in straight sets against Daria Kasatkina as her attention quickly turns to Wimbledon next week. 

The former US Open champion was outclassed by her opponent, with the Russian cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 triumph to progress to the semi-finals of the competition. 

Having started brightly, Raducanu would drop an early break point in the fourth game, allowing Kasatkina to race into a commanding lead before seeing out the first set. 

The Brit would again start slow as Kasatkina found another early break, and despite Raducanu's best efforts, was unable to mount a comeback. 

Kasatkina would end the match with a strong serve, with Radacanu sending the ball long to confirm the win for the Russian, who will play Jasmine Paolini in the next round.

Data Debrief: Raducanu second-best at Eastbourne

Radacanu was outclassed by the world number 14 throughout but can take confidence from her two impressive wins over Jessica Pegula and Sloane Stephens. 

For Kasatkina, she reached her second consecutive semi-final at Eastbourne, impressing on centre court as she won 68% of her first serve points against Raducanu. 

Alpine have announced that Pierre Gasly has signed a new multi-year contract, keeping him with the team until at least the 2026.

Gasly, who joined Alpine at the start of 2023, will have a new team-mate next year after it was announced that Esteban Ocon would be leaving at the end of the season. 

The Frenchman is currently 15th in the driver's championship with five points, with Alpine enduring a difficult start to the campaign and sit seventh in the constructors. 

However, their poor start did not deter Gasly putting pen to paper on a new deal, and he is looking forward to helping the team improve moving forwards. 

"I feel very much at home at this great team. I enjoy being a real part of both the Formula 1 project and the wider Alpine Cars vision," said Gasly.

"I've been officially here for over 18 months and it has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team. While on-track it's been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere.

"I am happy with the changes made, the hard work, and the direction the team is taking. There is a lot of potential in this team's personnel and resources.

"I'm excited for what is to come in the future and right now I'm focusing on the everyday details that we are putting in to improve our performances."

Switzerland midfielder Remo Freuler has insisted his team-mates are not afraid of Italy ahead of their Euro 2024 last-16 meeting in Berlin. 

Murat Yakin's side, who finished second in Group A behind hosts Germany, face the Azzurri on Saturday with the hopes of ending their 11-game winless run against their opponents. 

Freuler, who was on loan at Bologna from Nottingham Forest last season and was previously with Atalanta, says this will be no ordinary game for him.

"Of course, it's not a match like any other for me. In Italy I built my career, also finding an ideal country to spend my life with my family," he said.

"On Saturday, however, there won't be all this love. It's a round of 16 and there will be no room for feelings."

Freuler knows the next part of the tournament is where the Swiss will really be judged but insists they have nothing to fear from the reigning champions. 

"Doing well in the first part of the tournament is important. The matches that make the difference, those capable of changing the dimension of a national team, however, are others," Freuler said.

"But I'm not afraid. Switzerland are not afraid of Italy."

Italy, meanwhile, continue their quest to become the second side to win back-to-back European Championships, having notched four points from their three group games. 

The Azzurri were on the cusp of being eliminated from the tournament until Mattia Zaccagni's late strike secured a 1-1 draw with Croatia on matchday three.

Head coach Luciano Spalletti is looking for a much-improved display from his side, who he described as soft following the conclusion of their Group B fixtures. 

"We deserved to go through in terms of what we produced out there. We were a bit soft at times during the game, we did not necessarily play our best football," he said.

"We were timid and need to do more. We have players who have the quality to play these games on an equal footing, but sometimes we make trivial mistakes.

"Whenever there is a challenge or a 50-50, we don’t win any. It is not a technical question, it comes down to experience, getting into these physical challenges and being willing to do the dirty work. We need to improve on that score."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Switzerland - Remo Freuler

Remo Freuler has assisted three goals in his last four European Championship appearances for Switzerland, with his latest coming in their 1-1 draw with Germany. 

The only Swiss player with more assists at the European Championships is Steven Zuber (four), and the midfielder will be keen to add to his tally in Berlin. 

Italy - Gianluigi Donnarumma

Having scored just three goals in their three group games, Italy captain Donnarumma was often the busier goalkeeper in the Azzurri's Group B fixtures. 

The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper made 11 saves for Italy in the group stages, the most by an Italian goalkeeper in that part of a major tournament since Gianluigi Buffon at Euro 2012 (also 11).

MATCH PREDICTION: ITALY WIN

This will be Switzerland and Italy’s fifth meeting at a major international tournament, with the Swiss winning both games at the 1954 World Cup (2-1 in the groups and 4-1 in a group-stage play-off).

However, Italy have won the last two, both in the group stages and both times 3-0, in the 1962 World Cup and at Euro 2020, and are unbeaten in their last 11 matches against Switzerland in all competitions (six draws, five losses).

But the contest in Berlin has the potential to go beyond the 90 minutes. Fifteen of the Azzurri's last 26 knockout matches at major international tournaments have gone to extra-time, including four of their last five. 

Switzerland may be outsiders, but they come into the encounter with confidence, having lost just one of their last 13 matches at the European Championships (four wins, eight draws) and they will be hopeful of improving their woeful record in the knockout stages of major tournaments. 

Excluding shoot-outs, they have failed to win any of their seven last-16 matches at major international tournaments (three draws, four defeats), progressing to the quarter-finals on just one occasion at Euro 2020 by beating France on penalties. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Switzerland - 31.4%

Draw - 30.3%

Italy - 38.4%

Red Bull will be on home soil at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, but Lando Norris is positive about his chances of putting more pressure on world champion Max Verstappen.

Norris has managed six podium finishes and one race victory this season, his maiden F1 win coming in Miami last month.

With 150 points, the McLaren driver now sits second in the drivers' championship standings for the first time in his career, 69 points back of Verstappen.

While Verstappen approaches this weekend – which features the third sprint race of the year – with back-to-back victories in Canada and Spain under his belt, Norris believes McLaren have every chance of pushing him close again.

"We're on a roll and we're doing well," Norris said this week. "I need to tidy up a few little bits and pieces and we'll be on top. I am confident.

"Every weekend we go into now, the car is performing extremely well and we're always there, or thereabouts, within a couple of tenths."

Five of the last six races have seen Verstappen and Norris finish in the top two positions, and the McLaren driver has 10 runner-up finishes since the team introduced transformative upgrades to their car at last year's edition of the Austrian Grand Prix.

With Red Bull heading home after seeing their huge lead over their rivals chipped away in recent weeks, Verstappen expects plenty of thrills and spills.

"It is another sprint race this weekend, which always ends up being a hectic and busy weekend for us," Verstappen said. 

"It is really important to nail the set-up of the car straight away and analyse how best we build and improve on our previous races, especially as qualifying is always close here. 

"The track lends itself to a lot of overtaking so I'm sure it will be an exciting race. 

"The team performed well here last year so hopefully, we can do the fans proud this weekend and bring it home with another win."

This weekend's sprint will be the 15th since the format's introduction, and no driver has more wins (nine), pole positions (seven), fastest laps (seven), podium finishes (13) or points (89) in the sprints than Verstappen.

The Dutchman's four wins in the main race in Spielberg are also an F1 record.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Lando Norris –  McLaren

After two years of near-total dominance, Verstappen finally has a consistent challenger in Norris, who has finished inside the top four at each of his last six races, as many as in his previous 15.

He has already led for a career-high 58 total laps throughout the 2024 season, while his next podium finish will see him match John Watson and go joint-13th in the all-time charts for British drivers, with 20.

Verstappen has not been on pole for any of the last three races, with Norris unable to capitalise when starting at the front of the grid in Barcelona last week. He will be desperate to go one better here.

Sergio Perez – Red Bull

While Verstappen's latest battle with Norris will capture the headlines, Red Bull's home race is also a big one for the Dutchman's team-mate Perez, who is enduring a difficult year.

Perez has finished outside the top five at each of his last four races (two eighth-place places and two retirements). He could find himself outside the top five on five straight outings for the first time since 2021, when he had a miserable five-race run between races in Austria and the Netherlands.

The Mexican, who got a two-year contract extension from the team earlier this month after much speculation regarding his future, needs to be far more consistent, starting here.

With Ferrari 60 points behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship standings and eating away at that advantage, Christian Horner will be desperate to see Verstappen get some support. 

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 219 points
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 150 
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 148
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 116
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 111

Constructors

1. Red Bull – 330
2. Ferrari – 270
3. McLaren – 237
4. Mercedes – 151
5. Aston Martin – 58

Dusan Lajovic has praised Novak Djokovic's resilience as he continues his preparations for Wimbledon next week. 

Djokovic, who has won the tournament seven times, underwent knee surgery earlier this month having withdrawn from the French Open. 

As a result, the Serbian was forced to relinquish his number one spot in the world rankings to Jannik Sinner. 

However, the Serbian was pictured training at Wimbledon 18 days after his successful operation, but remains unsure over his participation in the competition. 

Lajovic, who beat Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Srpska Open last year, says his compatriot will make the right decision on his fitness.

"It just shows his grit," Lajovic said. "He's always been such a fighter, even if he gives himself a one per cent chance to compete, he's going to do everything to maximise that,"

"He's going to wait until probably the last minute to see if he's ready and if his body can support the stress of playing in a grand slam.

"So, in the end, he normally makes good decisions about his body, and about his tennis as well. If he thinks he can make it, then he probably can make it."

Aiden Markram praised South Africa's bowlers following their nine-wicket victory over Afghanistan to book their place in the T20 World Cup final. 

The Proteas were forced to bowl first, having lost the toss, but reduced their opponents to 28-6 in 6.3 overs as Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada starred.

Afghanistan were bowled out for 56 after just 11.5 overs, and despite the early loss of Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks and Markram steered South Africa into their maiden men's world cup final. 

"(We were) fortunate to have lost the toss, I guess. We also would have batted, so we got a bit of luck with regards to that," Markram said at the presentation ceremony. "But the bowlers still had to get it in the right areas.

"They got enough balls in the right areas and made life really tough for the Afghanistan batters. So, credit to them.

"They've been incredible throughout this whole competition for us. They've kept things really simple and sort of assessed conditions and adapted their plans accordingly. And they've been incredible for us so far."

It proved to be third time lucky for South Africa, having lost both of their previous semi-final appearances at the tournament. 

"Chuffed to have got it over the line. A lot of our games have been really close," Markram said on his side's narrow wins during this year's tournament. 

"And I know there (have been) a lot of people back at home in the early hours of the morning, waking up, and we (have been) giving them a lot of grey hairs.

"So, hopefully, this evening was a little bit more comforting for them."

Dorival Junior will get things right despite Brazil's underwhelming start to the Copa America, believes left-back Guilherme Arana, as the Selecao prepare to face Paraguay.

Brazil were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Costa Rica in their opening Group D match on Monday, losing ground on Colombia, who started with a win over Paraguay.

While Dorival praised aspects of his team's performance in that match, he acknowledged more will be needed in the final third if the Selecao are to challenge for a 10th South American crown. 

Atletico Mineiro full-back Arana, who played the full 90 minutes last time out, praised Dorival's approach as he opened up on the coach's reaction to the result. 

"As soon as we entered the dressing room, he praised our pressing after we lost the ball, it was very good, we didn't concede anything defensively," Arana said.

"He encouraged us, gave us morale. I think that's the thought not only of him but of all the players.

"The result of the debut was bad, but we still have two games to go. In other words, two great opportunities. That's the thinking. 

"Of course it's a new job, Dorival arrived recently, the players are new too, but we're focused together with him.

"Dorival knows what he's doing, he's an excellent coach and he's going to help us a lot."

Paraguay were beaten 2-1 by Colombia in their opener, leaving them likely needing to cause an upset to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Head coach Daniel Garnero believes there were plenty of positives to take from that match, saying: "We have a clear idea of our gameplan and the feeling is that we competed at all times.

"I think it was an even game, we did not manage to bring home the points but we tried to match our opponents. 

"With Argentina [and Colombia], these were the two teams that arrived at the Copa with great superiority. 

"There were many positive elements and when we take stock of this match we'll see this."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Paraguay – Julio Enciso 

Enciso attempted 11 dribbles against Colombia in Paraguay's Copa America opener, the joint-most of any player in the opening round of fixtures at the tournament (tied with Richard Ríos of Colombia). 

The Brighton and Hove Albion player completed six of them, the second-highest figure in the first round, behind Rios' eight.

By netting his nation's consolation goal, he became the second-youngest player to score for Paraguay at a major tournament this century (20 years, 153 days), after Ernesto Cristaldo versus Chile at the 2004 Copa America (20 years, 117 days).

Brazil – Vinicius Junior

Brazil failed to make their superiority count against Costa Rica, making more passes (695) than any other team across the first matchday of the competition, but only registered three shots on target from the 19 they attempted. 

Vinicius was withdrawn for future Real Madrid team-mate Endrick 71 minutes in after failing to register a single shot, though he did create a game-high three chances.

He has been substituted in each of the Selecao's last six competitive matches, versus Costa Rica and in three World Cup qualifiers last year, as well as their last two fixtures at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

After scoring 24 goals and adding nine assists for Los Blancos last season, Vinicius will be expecting to produce a better display on Friday.

MATCH PREDICTION: BRAZIL WIN

Brazil recorded 49 entries into Costa Rica's penalty area on matchday one, their joint-highest figure in a Copa America match since such data began being recorded in 2011 (also versus Paraguay in 2019).

More penetration – and better finishing – will be required next time out.

Paraguay have not lost any of their last five matches against Brazil at the Copa America, recording one win and four draws.

This equals the second-longest unbeaten streak against Brazil in the history of the tournament, behind Argentina's eight-match run between 1923 and 1946 (seven wins, one draw), tied with Paraguay's own streak between 1963 and 1983 (two wins, three draws).

However, Paraguay have only won one of their last six games in all competitions (two draws, three defeats), so Dorvial's team go into the match as strong favourites.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Paraguay – 13.4%

Brazil – 69.6%

Draw – 17%

Aston Martin have confirmed that Lance Stroll will remain as a driver with the team for at least two more years.

The 25-year-old, who is the son of the team's owner, Lawrence Stroll, will partner Fernando Alonso, who also signed a new contract in April. 

Stroll is currently 11th in the driver's championship, having picked up 17 points from the first 10 races of the season ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend. 

"I'm super happy to have committed to staying with the team for 2025 and beyond," Stroll said. 

"It's amazing to see how far we've come in the last five years; we've grown so much as a team and there's still so much more to look forward to."

Stroll joined the team in 2019 after his father bought it and saved it from bankruptcy in August 2018.

The team rebranded as Aston Martin in 2022 and finished fifth in last year's constructors' championship, with team principal Mike Krack delighted with the news. 

"We are delighted to confirm Lance's future with Aston Martin Aramco," Krack said. "He has played a key role in building this team.

"His technical feedback, alongside his committed simulator work, has helped contribute to the continuous development of the car each season.

"The consistency and stability of both Lance and Fernando remaining with our team is a great platform to continue to realise our ambitions.

"We look forward to creating some more incredible memories and achieving further success together."

Aston Martin will switch from Mercedes to Honda engines in 2026 as part of a works deal with the Japanese manufacturer under F1's next set of technical regulations.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia revealed he had been inspired by a pre-match chat with Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring in Georgia's historic Euro 2024 victory over Portugal on Wednesday.

Major tournament debutants Georgia reached the last 16 as one of the best third-place finishers as Kvaratskhelia's second-minute strike and a Georges Mikautadze penalty handed them the biggest result in their history.

They will face Spain in the next round after becoming the first European nation to progress from the group stage at their maiden tournament since Iceland reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

Speaking after the game, Napoli winger Kvaratskhelia said overcoming his childhood idol made Wednesday's victory even more special. 

"I got Ronaldo's jersey and we've made it through to the next round," Kvaratskhelia told reporters.

"This is the best day in the lives of Georgian football fans. We've made history, no one would believe we'd make it happen.

"No one would believe we could beat Portugal but that's why we're a strong team; if there's even a one per cent chance, we've shown we can make it happen.

"Before the match there was a meeting [with Ronaldo] and he wished me success; I'd never imagined he would come and talk to me.

"He's a great player and a great person. That's why he's a great personality in and out of football; I have so much respect for him, he's one of the best players in the world.

"When he comes to talk to you before the match, that's amazing; that helped us believe we could do something today."

Timed at one minute and 32 seconds, Kvaratskhelia's goal was both Georgia's fastest in a tournament match and the earliest Portugal have ever conceded at the Euros.

While the in-demand 23-year-old was exceptional in Gelsenkirchen, Ronaldo struggled as he failed to score from three shots worth 0.21 expected goals (xG).

He has failed to score during the group stage of a major tournament for the first time in his career, with this his 11th such campaign.

He scored in group-stage matches at the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 editions of the Euros.