World number one Daniil Medvedev was levels above his third-round opponent Yibing Wu on Friday, defeating him 6-4 6-2 6-2 to set up a highly anticipated clash with Nick Kyrgios in his next match.
While Medvedev had the clear power advantage – finishing with 10 more winners and 11 more aces – he also allowed Wu to beat himself, with 18 unforced errors and three winners in the opening set.
Despite his early wastefulness, Wu still created six break point opportunities in the opening set, but could only capitalise on one. It would be his last break of the match as Medvedev tightened the screws down the stretch.
The Russian took the first four matches of the second set to take away any hope Wu had of fighting back into the contest, and in the third set Medvedev's serve really hit top gear.
He faced no break point opportunities in the final frame as he converted over 70 per cent of his points on both first serves (13-of-18) and second serves (eight-of-11), while Wu's errors returned, with 15 and just four winners.
Against Kyrgios next, Medvedev will be looking for his second win against the Australian in their fifth meeting. In their two matches this year – and their only two since 2019 – Medvedev won in four sets at the Australian Open, before Kyrgios got one back at the Canadian Open.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Medvedev – 12/5
Wu – 1/0
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Medvedev – 26/27
Wu – 16/42
BREAK POINTS WON
Medvedev – 6/12
Wu – 1/8
Nick Kyrgios was far too good J.J. Wolf in the third round of the US Open on Friday, not having his serve broken a single time in the 6-4 6-2 6-3 victory.
Kyrgios dominated the match with his serve, racking up 21 aces to Wolf's five, and of the seven break point opportunities the Australian allowed, he saved all seven.
His return game was sharp as well, creating 11 break points and converting five, and he used it to break away in the second set, rattling off five consecutive games to comfortably go up two sets to love.
The third set was more competitive as Kyrgios had a pair of double faults, and more unforced errors (17) than winners (16), but he ultimately had too much firepower for the 23-year-old American.
After coming back from a love-40 deficit, saving four break points in the game, Kyrgios put the finishing touches on the straight sets win with another break of serve to seal it.
With the win, he books his spot in the fourth round, where he will meet world number one Daniil Medvedev.
Kyrgios has won three of the four career meetings between the pair, including their most recent fixture at the Canadian Open.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Kyrgios – 21/5
Wolf – 6/1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Kyrgios – 36/32
Wolf – 20/26
BREAK POINTS WON
Kyrgios – 5/11
Wolf – 0/7
Serena Williams hinted that she will return to the court at some point in the future after going down in the third round of the US Open against Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday.
Williams, who saved five match points before eventually succumbing in the three-plus hour marathon, gave an emotional on-court interview where she thanked her family, but also highlighted that she felt like she was getting better as the tournament wore on.
When asked conclusively if this was her final US Open, she was non-committal, saying "you never know".
She took the insinuation that she is not finished playing a step further during her sit-down press conference, laying the breadcrumbs for another go around at the Australian Open.
"I don't know [what it would take to play again] – I'm not thinking about that. I always did love Australia, though," she said with a smile.
"But yeah, you know what, I've come a long way since last year at Wimbledon. Just not sure if that was my last moment or not. Making it a different moment I think is much better.
"And it takes a lot of work to get here. Clearly I'm still capable. It takes a lot more than that.
"I'm ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena. Technically in the world I'm still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I'm still walking."
When asked what she thinks her life will be like moving forward, Williams said she is excited to be able to spend more time with her daughter, and that karaoke is on the agenda.
"I'm definitely resting tomorrow, and then probably spending some time with my daughter," she said. "I'm a super hands-on mom. I've been with her almost every single day of her life, minus two days or three days.
"It's been really hard on her, my career. So it will be, you know, nice just to do that and spend some time with her, do things that I never really have done or had an opportunity to do. I have such a bright future ahead of me, I don't know.
"Also, I'm kind of at an advantage because COVID happened. I think everyone shut down for a year, and we kind of got to see what our lives would be like if we weren't playing tennis.
"Then I got injured last year, so I took off literally a year. So I got to see, again, like, what every day would be like to wake up and not have to go to the gym.
"So I don't know. I think I'm definitely probably going to be karaoke-ing tomorrow."
Touching on how she would like her career to be remembered, Williams said her unique passion and fire is at the forefront.
"I mean, there's so many things to be remembered by," she said. "Like the fight. I'm such a fighter.
"I feel like I really brought something, and bring something, to tennis. The different looks, the fist pumps, the just crazy intensity. I think that obviously the passion, I think, is a really good word.
"Just continuing through ups and downs. I could go on and on. But I just honestly am so grateful that I had this moment, and that I'm Serena."
Serena Williams was emotional during her post-match interview in the sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium after her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round, thanking her family for their decades of support.
Williams ended up going down in a match that lasted three hours and seven minutes, with a 15-minute final game where Williams saved five match points illustrating her fighting spirit down to the last moments.
If this is her final US Open – which she was hesitant to confirm – she will finish with the most main draw wins ever at the tournament with 108, and her 23 grand slam titles are also the most of all-time.
Speaking on the court after Tomljanovic gladly ceded the floor to the legend, Williams turned her attention immediately to her family as she reflected on the journey to this point.
"Thank you, Daddy. I know you're watching," she said as she began to tear up. "Thanks, Mom… I thank everyone that's here, that's been on my side so many years, decades. Oh, my gosh, literally decades.
"But it all started with my parents – they deserve everything. So I'm really grateful for them. These are happy tears, I guess. I don't know.
"And I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus, so thank you, Venus. She's the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed."
She added: "It's been a fun ride. It's been the most incredible ride and journey I've ever been on, I mean, in my life.
"I'm just so grateful to every single person that's ever said 'go, Serena' in their life. I'm just so grateful."
When asked if this would definitely be her last US Open, Williams was hesitant due to how well she performed, and left the question unanswered.
"I mean, I'm literally playing my way into this and getting better – I should have started sooner this year," she said with a laugh.
"I don't think so, but you never know. I don't know."
Serena Williams' last US Open has come to an end in the third round, going down 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 against Ajla Tomlanovic on Friday night.
It was a rough start for Williams, getting her serve broken in the first game of the match, but she got it straight back with a break-to-love by utilising her stunning power.
While her power brought her some easy points, it was also her undoing at times, with 16 unforced errors in the first set compared to 10 winners.
After securing another break to go up 5-3, serving for the opening set, Williams could not finish it off, losing the next four games in a row as Tomljanovic found a way to extend points and turn them into grinding rallies.
Not disheartened, Williams came out on fire in the second set, ripping off the first four games, but Tomljanovic again fought back. From 5-2 down, the Australian surged to level things at 5-5 before forcing a tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, Williams worked her way to a 5-4 lead, and took two consecutive mini-breaks to send the crowd into raptures and the match to a deciding set.
But where world number two Anett Kontaveit folded in Williams' last match, Tomljanovic did not, responding instantly after having her serve broken in the opening game to take the next five in a row, with a chance to serve things out at 5-1.
The crowd tried to will the living legend back into the contest, saving the first five of Tomljanovic's match points as she refused to go down easily, but she was not able to convert either of her three break point opportunities in a final game that lasted nearly 15 minutes, ultimately going down on the sixth match point.
After a collective groan in the sold-out Arthur Ashe Stadium, the crowd rose to their feet to pay their respect to the greatest women's tennis player of all time in her final outing at the US Open, as she treated the crowd to one more of her famous twirls at the grand slam she has won six times.
Data Slam: Six-time champion Serena leaves behind records that will stand the test of time
Williams finishes her US Open career with the seven more main draw wins than any other player, male or female. Her 108 wins leads Chris Evert (101), Jimmy Connors (98), Martina Navrilova (89) and Roger Federer (89).
She is also one of five players – along with Navrilova, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – to spend at least 300 weeks as the world number one, and her 23 career grand slam titles is the most of any player, leading Steffi Graf (22) and Nadal (22).
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 49/51
Tomljanovic – 32/30
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Williams – 11/7
Tomljanovic – 3/9
BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 5/13
Tomljanovic – 8/13
In a game with NBA talent on both sides, Giannis Antetokounmpo willed Greece to a 89-85 win against Croatia in Friday's Eurobasket action.
Antetokounmpo was the game's equal top-scorer with 27 points, shooting nine-of-24 from the field and nine-of-11 from the free throw line while adding 11 rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
He was supported well by teammate Tyler Dorsey, who was incredibly efficient for his 27 points, finishing nine-of-17 from the field, including going five-of-nine from beyond the arc, and he added five rebounds and two steals.
For Croatia, Utah Jazz wing Bojan Bogdanovic eight-of-15 from the field to score 19 points with seven rebounds, Los Angeles Clippers centre Ivica Zubac had 11 points and five rebounds with two blocks, and former top-five NBA Draft pick Mario Hezonja chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
Also on Friday, reigning back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic put up 22 points, six rebounds and four assists to help Serbia comfortably handle the Netherlands 100-76.
He dominated the outing along with Euroleague star Vasilje Micic, who posted 22 points and 12 assists.
In a terrific contest, recent Washington Wizards lottery pick Deni Avdija led his team to a 89-87 win over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lauri Markkanen's Finland.
Avdija had 23 points and 15 rebounds, while Markkanen top-scored with 33 points and 12 rebounds, aided by a 14-of-15 performance at the free throw line.
Barbados 400m World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams was admittedly disappointed with her performance at the Brussels Diamond League on Friday.
Williams finished runner-up well behind the Dominica Republic’s Fiordaliza Cofil in a time of 50.15. Cofil took the top spot with a personal best 49.80. Having dipped below the 50-second mark for the last two races, the result was a little surprising for the sprinter who believes she lost some power down the final stretch.
“I feel a little bit disappointed it wasn´t what I´m capable of. I was not able to speed up in the final stretch. It was good to run here it was hotter than I expected. Right now, I will review the race and see where I can improve. On to the next race,” Williams said after the race.
Belgium’s Cynthia Bolingo was third in a national record 50.19. Jamaica’s Candice McLeod was further back in fifth place after clocking 50.76. With 32 points from 6 races, however, Williams still leads the 400m standing for this season's Diamond League.
Big new signings hit the ground running in the first round of LIV Golf Boston, but after 18 holes at The International Golf Club it is Matthew Wolff and Talor Gooch tied for the lead at seven under.
While Gooch got to his 63 in a traditional fashion, posting eight birdies and one bogey, Wolff had far more ups and downs, making up for his three bogeys with six birdies, an eagle and a hole-in-one – the first ace in LIV Golf history.
One stroke behind the leaders are new arrivals Cameron Smith and Joaquin Neimann, after both played in last week's PGA Tour Championship.
Smith had five birdies and two eagles, showing off his firepower, but a double-bogey on the par-four 14th hole cost him a chance at the first-round lead.
After his round, Smith called it "great fun" and said "it was nice to see a familiar face" about his pairing with Dustin Johnson.
The rest of the field is at least two further strokes back, with Kevin Na, Bernd Wiesberger, Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey and Anirban Lahiri occupying the tie for fifth at four under.
The logjam at three under includes Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez, who along with Gooch and Patrick Reed (one under) have their Four Aces GC sitting second in the team standings. They trail only Hy Flyers GC, consisting of Wolff, Wiesberger, Cameron Tringale (one over) and Phil Mickelson (four over, 45th out of 48).
Bryson DeChambeau and Carlos Ortiz are at one under, and the Koepka brothers – Brooks and Chase – shot even-par 70s.
Coco Gauff admitted it would be a "lifelong dream" to face Serena Williams at the US Open, in what is likely to be the latter's final tournament of a glittering career.
Gauff reached the second week at Flushing Meadows in the women's singles for the first time after cruising to a 6-2-6-3 win over Madison Keys on Friday.
The number 12 seed saw off her fellow American in composed fashion to book her place in the last 16, exceeding her previous best result at the US Open in 2019.
Gauff was largely in control against the number 20 seed Keys to deliver near-flawless performance, chasing a second grand slam final of the year after finishing as runner-up at the French Open to Iga Swiatek.
She will face China's Zhang Shuai in the next round, but when asked if she will watch Williams' match against Ajla Tomljanovic later in the day during her on-court interview, Gauff said she would, adding: "It's been amazing watching Serena's matches so far. I don't know when I'd be due to face her but that's the goal.
"It's been a lifelong dream of mine to do that. Five years ago yesterday I was watching Venus and Serena play here. It's crazy to be on this court now.
"I tried to flex to my friends that I had courtside seats, now I'm on the court!"
Should both remain in the tournament, Gauff and Williams would face each other in the semi-finals.
Gauff also paid tribute to Keys, and to the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium, saying: "[The win] means a lot to me... I missed my alarm and was so late. I was here until 9pm last night and lost a doubles match [with Jessica Pegula].
"Kudos to my team, they got me up for it.
"I wasn't sure how the crowd was going to go. We all love Madison... I'm good friends with her off the court, but having support here meant a lot."
Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte believes it is a "pity" that Harry Kane is yet to win a trophy in his career.
The England skipper has seen many personal records achieved and could equal another on Saturday against Fulham, where a goal would see him match the 42-goal tally of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in London derbies.
Despite Kane's free-scoring form for club and country, the 29-year-old is yet to lift silverware.
For Spurs, Kane suffered defeat in the 2018-19 Champions League and lost two EFL Cup finals, while at international level he captained the England team that was beaten by Italy on penalties in the final of the European Championships at Wembley last year.
Conte expressed his disappointment for Kane in that regard, though added his side are pushing to change the narrative this season.
"The record underlines that you are doing something special and I think Harry in his career is doing something special in personal achievements," he said during Friday's press conference.
"It's a real pity that with so many goals... until now he didn't win [trophies].
"Usually when you score a lot of goals for your national team, for your club, you deserve a good win on your back.
"But we're trying to work and help him to get this target. You know very well for us that Harry is an important player and we're talking about a world-class striker, but I also see in Harry the desire to do something special.
"The win means you lift the trophy, you win Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup or Champions League, with the national team; the World Cup, European Championship. These are trophies that you have to lift and you're talking about a top player and I think he deserves this."
Tottenham's fine start to the season has built upon a strong finish to the end of the last campaign, which saw Conte's side pip north London rivals Arsenal to a top-four finish, with Spurs unbeaten in their last 11.
Andy Murray has admitted he is "surprised" to still be able to compete against top-level opponents given his injury history.
The 2012 US Open champion exited this year's competition following a third-round defeat to 13th seed Matteo Berrettini, though he did take the tie to four sets.
Having lost the first two sets, Murray fought back to win the tiebreaker in the third but his valiant attempts were ended by the Italian in the fourth, who sets up a round of 16 clash against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Despite the loss, Murray was pleased with his performance at the tournament and encouraged by his ability to still go toe-to-toe with the likes of Berrettini.
"I've got a metal hip. It's not easy playing with that. It's really difficult. I'm surprised I'm still able to compete with guys that are right up at the top of the game," he said after the match.
"Matches like this, you know, I'm really proud that I have worked myself into a position where I'm able to do that. I'm really disappointed that I didn't get over the line today.
"But I get reminded like 'this is the first time you've made the third round here since 2016'. It's been six years. It's been a difficult six years for me. It's been really hard.
"Although it's the first time I've only made the third round here, I'm really proud of that effort that I put in to get myself back into these positions. So, I'm hoping that in the future I can go further, but considering, I did all right."
Murray went on to explain how things feel differently for him on the court, identifying he cannot move in the same way Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic still can.
"A lot of the things feel the same, but obviously I'm just not quite capable of the sort of movement and physicality that I was five, six years ago. I mean, that's pretty obvious. You know, I shouldn't expect to be," he said.
"I think if you watch Rafa and Novak moving around the court now who are similar age, I think they're moving pretty similar to how they were five, six years ago, whereas for me there's obviously been a bit of a drop-off there.
"That can affect you in terms of how you have to play the points. Maybe you just don't track as many balls down as before. Maybe the reach isn't just quite as much as it was.
"But in terms of the shots and everything, there is nothing that is stopping me from hitting the same shots as I did before."
A board of university presidents voted unanimously on Friday to expand the College Football Playoff to 12 teams, possibly as early as the 2024 season.
An announcement on the College Football Playoff website stated the new format will begin in the 2026 campaign.
It was added, though, that the College Football Management Committee have been tasked with "assessing the possibility of beginning the expanded playoff in either the 2024 or 2025 regular season."
The Board of Managers – comprised of university presidents representing the 10 FBS conferences, plus Notre Dame – is hoping to implement expansion as soon as possible.
When Friday's meeting was announced, CBS Sports reported that universities had grown impatient with the commissioners' hesitancy to adopt a seemingly inevitable expansion and worried about missing revenue by keeping the playoff at four teams.
Media rights for a 12-team playoff could be worth double their current value, up to $1.2billion annually, CBS Sports also reported.
Friday's vote was the culmination of a process dating back to last June when the board of managers first heard a proposal for a 12-team playoff.
The confirmation on Friday laid out the new format, which will include "six conference champions ranked highest by the selection committee (no minimum ranking requirement), plus the six highest-ranked teams not included among the six highest-ranked conference champions."
It was also revealed the "four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and each will receive a first-round bye.
"The other eight teams will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution."
President of Mississippi State and the chairman of the CFP Board of Managers, Mark Keenum, said: "This is an historic and exciting day for college football.
"More teams, more participation and more excitement are good for our fans, alumni, and student-athletes. I'm grateful to my colleagues on the board for their thoughtful approach to this issue and for their resolve to get expansion across the goal line and for the extensive work of the Management Committee that made this decision possible."
Among the crucial next steps include deciding who broadcasts the extra games.
While ESPN has television rights for the semi-final and championship games through 2026, first and second round games could be broadcast by multiple networks.
After her loss on Friday to Shericka Jackson in the 100m at the Allianz Memorial van Damme Diamond League meeting in Brussels, 2022 World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is taking a wait-and-see approach as to whether she will compete at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich in four days’ time.
Fraser-Pryce, who complained of a tight hamstring prior to withdrawing from the 100m in Lausanne two weeks ago, ran 10.74 for second after she was edged at the line by Jackson who clocked a meet-record 10.73 for victory.
Afterwards, Fraser-Pryce, who admitted at the pre-race press conference on Thursday that she was not 100 per cent, said she did not suffer an injury during the race but was being cautious regarding her participation in Diamond League final next week.
“I feel okay about today´s race. It wasn´t anything spectacular but I felt good I do not have any injury so that is the most important part,” she said.
“I am not sure about Zurich I will have to wait and listen to my body but today was really amazing. I love running in Brussels.”
Meanwhile, Jackson was obviously pleased to be the only woman to defeat her imperious compatriot.
“It takes a lot of hard work to beat Shelley-Ann. She's a tough cookie to beat,” Jackson declared.
“So you need to keep working hard if you want to win. Tonight I had a good execution of my race, so I'm happy with that.”
Ons Jabeur has now made it to the second week in all four grand slams after her win over Shelby Rogers at the US Open.
Jabeur, the fifth seed at Flushing Meadows, had previously fallen short of making the second week in the season's final grand slam, having reached the third round in three successive years between 2019 and 2021.
But the Tunisian world number five ended that wait with a 4-6 6-4 6-3 defeat of American Rogers.
Jabeur reached the final at Wimbledon this year, her first appearance in a major showpiece match, but lost to Elena Rybakina.
She has made it to the fourth round of the grand slams six times, having managed quarter-final runs at Wimbledon (2021) and the Australian Open (2020).
Another US Open fourth-round debutant awaits Jabeur in the form of Veronika Kudermetova, who despatched Dalma Galfi 6-2 6-0.
Kudermetova's victory took just 46 minutes, making it the shortest match of the tournament.
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