Daniil Medvedev is one match away from winning his first title of 2022 after beating Adrian Mannarino in straight sets to reach the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships final.

Defending champion Mannarino had won eight matches in a row at the ATP 250 event, which was last held in 2019, but he fell 7-5 7-5 to Medvedev in a match lasting a little under two hours.

Top seed Medvedev, whose most recent appearance in a final came at the Australian Open in January, will now face home favourite Tim van Rijthoven on Sunday.

"Adrian plays good, and some games in this match I was like: okay, I can't do anything," said Medvedev, who will reclaim top spot in the ATP rankings next week.

"I had to just continue playing my tennis. He was unbelievable sometimes, missing sometimes, so I just continued my game, and it managed to work today."

Medvedev was far from his best against flat-hitting Mannarino, with the first set featuring five breaks of serve, but the 26-year-old did enough to edge in front.

After wasting a chance to serve out the match in the 10th game of the second set, Medvedev edged a mammoth 11th game and avoided any sort of scare to advance through.

The Russian will next face a different sort of test against Van Rijthoven after the Dutch wildcard stunned second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime earlier on Saturday.

Van Rijthoven, who had not won a match at tour level until his opening-round win over Matthew Ebden, prevailed 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-5) in a thrilling semi-final.

After sharing the first two sets, Van Rijthoven wasted six break-point opportunities in the decider, but he held his nerve in the tie-break to keep his dream run going.

He is the first Dutchman to reach the final in 's-Hertogenbosch since Raemon Sluiter in 2009.

Thibaut Courtois is unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or because goalkeepers will always lose out to goalscoring outfielders, says Petr Cech. 

It was suggested Courtois could be in with a chance of winning the award following his man-of-the-match performance in Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League final victory over Liverpool, although he said it was "impossible".

He made nine saves in the match – the most by a goalkeeper in a final in the competition since at least the 2003-04 season – and prevented 2.5 goals according to Opta's expected goals on target metric. 

Courtois also led the way in goals prevented as Madrid won LaLiga, with his 4.9 putting him top of the charts. 

Cech praised the former Chelsea goalkeeper but suggested the Ballon d'Or is likely out of his reach, with Karim Benzema the favourite to take the accolade. 

"Well, he was a key player obviously for his team, because he made vital and important saves in the [Liverpool] game, and of course, without his saves, they would have lost," Cech told Stats Perform ahead of Sunday's Soccer Aid charity match.

"You always need everybody to perform in the big game, in the Champions League final, and he was the main man and obviously deservedly won the player of the match. 

"He's had an amazing campaign, literally from the start to finish, and in the Champions League, so it was not a surprise. 

"I think that there will always be an issue with goalkeepers being involved in [the Ballon d'Or], because in the past, [Gianluigi] Buffon, even [Iker] Casillas, there were some goalkeepers who probably should have been much closer to winning the award. 

"But we know that for the goalkeeper it is very particular to be compared with the players and to get anywhere near them. 

"Everybody loves to see goals and assists and great skills going forward, and this is what football is about." 

A remarkable innings from captain Dasun Shanaka won the third and final T20I for Sri Lanka against Australia in Pallekele on Saturday.

Australia had already sealed the series and looked on course for a whitewash until Shanaka (54 not out from 25 balls) started hitting boundaries at will to turn things around.

Aussie skipper Aaron Finch and David Warner got the tourists off to a strong start, hitting 43 within six overs before the former was bowled by Maheesh Theekshana for 29.

It was all looking too easy for Australia until a team hat-trick shook them in the middle of the innings, with Glenn Maxwell (16), Warner (39) and Josh Inglis (0) falling in consecutive balls.

Steve Smith (37 not out) and Marcus Stoinis (38) settled things back down, adding 48 before Stoinis was stumped by Kusal Mendis as the Aussies set a target of 177.

The hosts were in a promising position at 67-1, but once Pathum Nissanka (27) and Charith Asalanka (26) were gone, things looked bleak.

However, Shanaka all of a sudden went after every ball, and a partnership of 50 from 21 balls with Chamika Karunaratne (14 not out) set up a final over needing 19 runs for victory.

Kane Richardson bowled two wides, before two singles and three boundaries left Sri Lanka needing just one off the final ball, which arrived as Richardson sent down another wide.

Ultimate captain's innings from Shanaka

Heading into this game, many were doubting whether Shanaka should even be in the team. They are probably not questioning him now.

Shanaka hit five fours and four sixes as he almost single-handedly turned the game around, including a vital 14 from three balls in the final over. 

Hazlewood goes from hero to villain

Josh Hazlewood had been particularly stingy with his bowling, with figures of 2-3 after three overs.

However, his final over went for 22, with Shanaka hitting him for two fours and two sixes to inflate the experienced bowler's final numbers to 2-25 from four overs.

Patrick Reed has joined the LIV Golf Invitational Series and become the latest high-profile name to turn their back on the PGA Tour. 

It was confirmed on Saturday that the 2018 Masters champion had signed up for the Saudi Arabia-backed circuit, which was this week joined by Bryson DeChambeau and had Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson contesting its inaugural event this weekend. 

Reed is set to make his first appearance when the series travels to Portland for the second of its eight events later this month. 

LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman said: "The growing roster of LIV Golf players gets even stronger today with a player of Patrick Reed's calibre. 

"He has a proven track record as one of the most consistent competitors in pro golf and adds yet another big presence at our tournaments. 

"He's a major champion who has had a significant impact playing international team competitions, and he'll bring another impressive dynamic to our team-based format at LIV Golf." 

Reed has slipped to 36th in the world rankings having only made his first top-10 finish of 2022 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in May. 

He will now be ineligible for any tournaments on the PGA Tour after it was this week confirmed all players competing at any LIV Golf events would be indefinitely suspended. 

However, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson are among another group of players reportedly set to make the switch to LIV Golf, which now boasts a field that includes nine major champions. 

Andy Murray reached his first tour-level final on grass since 2016 with a straight-sets victory over Nick Kyrgios at the Stuttgart Open on Saturday.

The three-time major winner stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round – his first win over a top-five opponent in six years – and followed that up with another fine victory.

Murray, who last contested a final on grass when winning Wimbledon for a second time, prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 against Kyrgios.

He moves up to 47th in the live ATP rankings – the first time he has been in the top 50 since May 2018 – and will face Matteo Berrettini in what will be his 70th career final.

Aiming to keep alive his hopes of a ninth career title on grass, Murray saved both break points faced in the first set and showed good resolve to edge Kyrgios in the tie-break.

The second set was not as tightly contested, with the 35-year-old showing few signs of fatigue as he twice broke Kyrgios' serve to reach Sunday's final in Germany.

Berrettini had earlier defeated Oscar Otte 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5) to reach his first tour-level final of an injury-hit season.

The world number 10 fired 18 aces en route to overcoming home favourite Otte in a time of one hour and 48 minutes.

"I am really happy," Berrettini said in his on-court interview. "Arriving at the tournament, that was the goal [to reach the final].

"From thinking about it and actually making it is a big difference. I am happy I am here and have another chance to play another final after months without playing.

"This means this is my level and I have proved once again I am comfortable at this level and on this surface. I really like it here at Stuttgart."

Charles Leclerc stormed to pole position for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, surprising himself by getting the better of the Red Bulls.

Leclerc produced a sensational final lap in Baku to become the first Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher in 2001 to record six pole positions in the first eight races of a season. 

He was almost three tenths of a second faster than Sergio Perez, who pipped team-mate Max Verstappen to a place on the front row. 

"It feels good. Obviously all poles feel good, but this one I did not expect because in Q1 and Q2 I really struggled to see that we could be faster," said Leclerc. 

"In the last lap everything came together and I managed to do good, so I'm extremely happy. 

"I'm really excited for [the race]. Tyre management is a big thing here. In Barcelona and Monaco we were managing it well but overall our race pace has gone a step up since we brought in the upgrades." 

Championship leader Verstappen was disappointed to miss out on a place on the front row but is confident Red Bull will be able to challenge for the win on Sunday. 

"I think the start was good, then it went away from me a little bit with tiny mistakes," said Verstappen. 

"It's not ideal but in general I was just struggling to find balance over one lap. It's not what I want but being second and third the team has a good opportunity. 

"We'll find out tomorrow, but we maybe seem to lack a bit of pace over one lap but in the long run we should be quite good." 

Perez, who experienced an issue in the garage in Q3, said: "On the first run of Q3 is when you go all out. I hit the wall a couple of times – luckily we managed to survive, which is the key here. 

"We had a problem with the engine at the end, we couldn't turn it on. We lost a few tenths, but I think Charles has done a very good job. 

"It's a very long race ahead, so we just have to make sure we are there. You can make a mistake at any point and that's it." 

Lewis Hamilton could only qualify seventh and was facing an investigation for driving unnecessarily slowly in Q2.

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:41.359
2. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.282s
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.347s
4. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.455s
5. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.353s
6. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.486s
7. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +1.565s
8. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.697s
9. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.732s
10. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1.814s

Tyson Fury has refuted reports he is in talks to fight the winner of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

Fury has persistently claimed his April win over Dillian Whyte, which saw him retain the WBC heavyweight title with a sixth-round technical knockout, would be his last.

However, he would have the opportunity to become the undisputed heavyweight champion were he to fight the victor of Usyk and Joshua's reunion. Usyk beat Joshua by unanimous decision last September to win the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.

Joshua has reportedly signed the contract to fight Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August.

Reports have suggested Fury is in discussions to meet the winner, but he was quick to deny such claims on social media.

Responding to a tweet referencing that speculation, Fury posted: "This is all news to me! Biggest load of rubbish ever!"

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has heard plenty of criticism from NFL pundits and fans about his arm strength and his deep throws.

One person not questioning his arm is new team-mate Tyreek Hill.

Speaking on his new podcast, 'It Needed To Be Said', Hill was asked by co-host Julius Collins who has the stronger arm, Tagovailoa or Hill's former quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes.

"Obviously, I'm going to go with 15 as the strongest arm, but as far as accuracy-wise, I'm going with Tua all day," Hill said.

Acquired in a trade with the Chiefs in March, Hill defended his new quarterback, saying he has plenty of arm strength and is adept at running an offense.

"I've had a chance to see Tua throw the ball, to myself, but he's that dude, bro," Hill said.

"What a lot of people don't know – I'm not just sitting just saying this because he's my quarterback now, I'm not trying to get more targets right now – what I'm trying to say is Tua is that deal, bro.

"Bro, he has a heck of an arm. He's accurate. He can throw the deep ball, and he actually goes through his reads, where people are on Twitter saying, 'Oh, he doesn't go through his reads'. Man, this dude is that dude."

Tagovailoa has come under fire for having nominal success on deep balls despite this being considered the golden age of passing with all the rules that give offenses an edge in the wide-open NFL.

Among the 30 quarterbacks with at least 300 attempts last season, only the New York Giants' Daniel Jones had fewer pass plays of 25-plus yards than Tagovailoa's 16, with 15.

Tagovailoa attempted just 11 passes of more than 20 yards in 2021, completing three of them for 112 yards with an interception. Meanwhile, Mahomes went 27 for 63 (42.9 per cent) for 1,098 yards with seven TD passes and two picks on throws of at least 20 yards.

However, Tagovailoa did throw more catchable balls on all throws last season, ranking fifth in well-thrown percentage at 81.0 per cent, while Mahomes ranked 12th at 79.5 per cent.

Hill threw more shade in Mahomes' direction, saying he did not need the 2018 NFL MVP to excel, pointing to a game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, when Matt Moore started for an injured Mahomes and the three-time All-Pro wide receiver finished with six catches for 140 yards.

"I just want people to understand I went for 150 with Matt Moore as my quarterback," Hill said. "I love you, Matt Moore.

"Versus the Minnesota Vikings. If you don't remember that game, 150 and one touchdown with Matt Moore as my quarterback. And Tua T is 10 Matt Moores. I love Matt Moore, but Tua T is 10 Matt Moores."

It is not surprising for a player to throw so much support behind a new team-mate the way Hill is embracing Tagovailoa, but it is still quite startling to see Hill give so much love to Moore while spurning Mahomes.

This will be Mahomes' first season without the six-time Pro Bowler Hill, so time will tell how the Kansas City offense operates without the dynamic playmaker.

Bulgaria midfielder Todor Nedelev has undergone surgery for a brain injury sustained in a serious road accident involving his national team in Georgia.

The Bulgaria team were travelling to their hotel in two separate coaches when the accident happened in Tbilisi ahead of Sunday's Nations League match with Georgia.

Nedelev, who plays club football for Botev Plovdiv and has previously represented Bundesliga side Mainz, was transported to a local hospital and underwent extensive tests.

The Bulgarian Football Union (BFS) confirmed on Saturday that the 29-year-old suffered "a craniocerebral trauma" and required surgery, which was successful.

The BFS added that all other players and members of staff involved in the accident are in good health.

Real Madrid enjoyed a brilliant season, winning LaLiga comfortably before also being crown champions of Europe by beating Liverpool in Paris.

That 1-0 win at the Stade de France capped a remarkable run in the Champions League, with Los Blancos having instigated great escapes against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City.

It's difficult to recall any team enduring a tougher run to Champions League success, and yet Carlo Ancelotti – who was seen as a steady if slightly underwhelming appointment – managed to mastermind arguably his greatest triumph as a coach.

There's no sign of Madrid standing still, either. While the Spanish giants may have missed out on Kylian Mbappe, the fact they were in the hunt for him is evidence enough they are in a strong financial situation, perhaps unsurprising given their generally modest – by Santiago Bernabeu standards – outlay in the transfer market over the past couple of years.

Antonio Rudiger was signed up for next season nice and early, Aurelien Tchouameni's reported €100million signing was confirmed on Saturday, and the departures of Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Isco will give Madrid plenty of room for manoeuvre when it comes to wages.

Either way, there's nothing to suggest the LaLiga champions aren't going to be stronger in the 2022-23 campaign, meaning the chasing pack – namely Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla – have work to do, given how far behind they finished this term. 

Out with the old, in with the Nou

After a rocky start to 2021-22 that ultimately led to Ronald Koeman's dismissal, Xavi got Barca back on track and eventually secured second place, which was impressive given the top four looked beyond them for a while.

Nevertheless, their form did tail off a little in the final five or six weeks of the season, losing four of the final nine matches across all competitions.

Barca's season in general vindicated the decision to ditch Koeman for the inexperienced but well-regarded Xavi. It also proved the potential in the Blaugrana squad, as well as a degree of mental weakness at the business end.

Of course, it would be much easier for the club to build on the positives of this season were they not in a financial quagmire equivalent to over €1billion in debt.

As such, reports suggest Barca will largely be relying on free transfers, two of which are said to have been concluded already. Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have apparently agreed to join, while Cesar Azpilicueta may follow the latter from Chelsea.

But the big question mark hangs over Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich talisman has made no secret of his desire to leave the Bundesliga, and Camp Nou is where he sees himself next – but Die Roten are playing hardball, and who can blame them?

A whole raft of players are expected to depart Barca, however, with Ousmane Dembele seemingly destined for Chelsea and the likes of Clement Lenglet, Antoine Griezmann, Samuel Umtiti, Oscar Mingueza, Riqui Puig, Martin Braithwaite and Sergi Roberto all expected to leave permanently. On top of that, Adama Traore and Luuk de Jong are highly unlikely to have their loans renewed, while Frenkie de Jong appears the most likely to deposit some serious money in the coffers, given Manchester United's interest.

But such upheaval will be difficult to contend with. Even if Lewandowski signs, it'll take something spectacular for Barca to be champions this time next year.

Finally Joao Felix's time to shine?

Diego Simeone's side were dethroned with little more than a whimper. Their title defence looked over before it ever really got started.

It was a disappointing season given many felt Atletico's squad was strengthened significantly last year. Griezmann, Matheus Cunha and Rodrigo de Paul provided extra spark, creativity and goal threat, though arguably none of them quite reached expectations, even if the Brazi forward did prove a dependable option off the bench.

The departure of Luis Suarez means a new striker is likely to arrive, and early indications are Alvaro Morata may be returning – granted, that may not be enough to get Atletico fans excited.

Either way, fans and neutrals alike will once again be hoping Simeone can finally find a way to get the best out of his more creative players.

Joao Felix is still yet to shine on a consistent basis, with 2021-22 a tricky campaign in which injuries, illness and suspension contributed to him making only 24 league appearances; just 13 of those were as a starter.

His 12 goal involvements came at roughly one every 100 minutes, which is a decent return, but there is clearly an element of Simeone not completely trusting him yet, otherwise he'd surely have started more frequently.

The exit of Suarez might allow for Joao Felix to take on a little more responsibility in attack, and who's to say that won't be the making of him?

No one doubts the talent's there; he just needs to show he can be Atletico's talisman on a regular basis. If he can, Atletico may again be the most likely to stop Los Blancos.

A Sevilla summer of upheaval

Sevilla fans are accustomed to seeing most of their squad replaced over the course of a transfer window – it's just what Monchi does.

While their rebuild may not be quite as extensive this year as in past windows, expect to see plenty of ins and outs; in fact, there's already been one key departure.

Diego Carlos has joined Aston Villa in a move that begins the dismantling of Julen Lopetegui's bedrock of a defence. In 2021-22, no team in LaLiga conceded fewer than Sevilla (30 goals), while only Manchester City (57) and Madrid (52) kept more clean sheets than Julen Lopetegui's side (51) across the top five leagues during the Brazilian's time at the club.

His centre-back partner Jules Kounde is widely expected to leave as well, with long-term admirers Chelsea once again able to flex their financial muscle now they're no longer sanctioned.

But while Sevilla boasted the best defence in LaLiga, it's easy to forget that for a while they looked to be the only team capable of challenging Madrid for the title.

In the end, they scraped fourth place, with their form between February 1 and the season's conclusion seeing them rank seventh with 24 points; Barca led the way with 38 in that period, while Madrid took 36.

Sevilla's biggest issue was scoring goals. Only Rafa Mir (10) reached double figures in LaLiga, with Lucas Ocampos (six) the one other to net more than five.

That – and centre-back – would appear to be where Monchi's focus will lie over the coming months, particularly now it seems Lopetegui will be staying.

But Monchi's got his work cut out keeping the team as competitive given the likely upheaval and small gap between themselves and bitter rivals Real Betis in fifth. 

A title challenge like that of 2020-21 would be an impressive feat, but if Sevilla can limit the break-up of their defence and sign a reliable striker, it would become more realistic.

Aryna Sabalenka will meet Ekaterina Alexandrova in The Rosmalen Grass Court Championship final, while Beatriz Haddad Maia set up a showdown with Alison Riske in the Nottingham Open showpiece.

Sabalenka, ranked sixth in the world, put paid to Shelby Rogers 7-6 (8-6) 6-0, as the favourite in the Netherlands reached her second singles final this year.

World number 30 Alexandrova had little difficulty against Veronika Kudermetova as she triumphed 6-3 6-1 to reach her first singles final of the season.

Sabalenka and Alexandrova have split four previous meetings with two wins apiece, with the latter taking the most recent clash in straight sets at the Moscow quarter-finals last year.

Seventh seed Haddad Maia stunned favourite Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals to tee up the last-four clash with Tereza Martincova in Nottingham.

The Brazilian raced out the blocks once more to progress past Martincova, with the former 6-3 4-1 up before the Czech retired with injury.

Rain stopped play in the second semi-final between Viktorija Golubic and Riske with the scores level at one set each.

Sixth seed Riske capitalised from that point onwards to edge past Golubic 6-3 4-6 6-3.

N'Golo Kante and Lucas Hernandez have dropped out of the France squad ahead of Monday's Nations League showdown with Croatia.

France head into next week's match sitting bottom of Group A1 after following up a shock 2-1 home loss against Denmark with draws away to Croatia and Austria.

The reigning Nations League champions are four points behind leaders Denmark and two adrift of Austria and Croatia with three games remaining and only one team advancing.

Les Blues will be without central midfielder Kante and versatile defender Hernandez for the visit of Croatia at the Stade de France.

Kante misses out due to a knee injury, while Hernandez has been given permission to join his partner, who is due to give birth.

Neither player played any part in Friday's 1-1 draw against Austria, with Kylian Mbappe cancelling out Andreas Weimann's first-half opener in Vienna to salvage a late point.

Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of the Portugal squad for their Nations League meeting with Switzerland on Sunday. 

Portugal captain Ronaldo, Joao Moutinho and Raphael Guerreiro did not travel with the team for the match in Geneva. 

With his team sitting top of Group A2, Fernando Santos took the chance to grant the Manchester United striker a rest. 

Asked about the absences, Santos replied: "They are not because of physical problems – it's just normal management. 

"It wouldn't make sense to have 26 travelling to Switzerland when only 23 can be in the squad. In the last game we've been doing the best management and now it has fallen to these players." 

Even without Ronaldo, midfielder Ruben Neves has no doubt that Portugal have enough quality to claim a third win of the campaign. 

"Obviously, Cristiano is the best player in the world and it's always good to play with him," said Neves. 

"But I'm sure we're all prepared to help bring home another three points."