A tearful Elina Svitolina was forced to retire with a back injury only three games into her fourth-round clash with Linda Noskova at the Australian Open.
The former world number three, who has made a very impressive return following the birth of daughter Skai last year, appeared the favourite to make the final from a wide open top half of the draw.
But her back locked up in the first game of the match and she sobbed as she called it a day trailing 3-0.
She said: “This one I think I never had that before, the shooting pain like this. I had some injuries to my back before where it just was tiredness the next day of the match, but this one was really out of nowhere. I felt like someone shot me in the back.”
Svitolina, who reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon last summer, did not want to think about what might have been, saying: “I cannot say that this was an open draw in a way.
“If you take other players, they are meant to be there. You have also in the other side of the draw very strong players who won slams and played really consistent throughout the year last year.
“So I don’t want to look this as a missed opportunity, especially right now when it was not about my tennis today.”
Having beaten Iga Swiatek in the third round, 19-year-old Noskova is now through to her first grand slam quarter-final, where she will take on another Ukrainian in Dayana Yastremska.
She saved two set points in the opening set and then came from 3-0 down in the second to beat two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (6) 6-4, powering 38 winners.
Yastremska was ranked as high as 21 in 2020 but had not won a slam match since serving a provisional doping suspension the following year and had to come through qualifying here.
The 23-year-old tested positive for the synthetic testosterone mesterolone and missed nearly six months of competition before it was decided she bore no fault or negligence and was therefore free to compete again.
Yastremska is the second Ukrainian through to the last eight after Marta Kostyuk, and Svitolina will be cheering on her countrywomen.
“Of course I’ve been following that we all have been playing really well,” she said. “At the beginning of the tournament, seven Ukrainians in the main draw, and going that far so many of us, it’s nice in the second week as well.
“It’s great for Ukrainian tennis. Of course, now I feel very old because of my health, but I’m happy that they are doing great. It’s great for Ukrainian tennis. It’s great for the upcoming generation as well, especially now these days when Ukraine is in such a tough time.”
The Kansas City Chiefs edged past the Buffalo Bills 27-24 to reach the AFC Championship.
Bills kicker Tyler Bass had an opportunity to level the scores in the final two minutes, but his 44-yard field goal attempt missed to the right.
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco grabbed the crucial score at the start of the fourth quarter, going in from four yards.
Travis Kelce had earlier caught two touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes as the lead changed hands five times.
Quarterback Josh Allen ran for two touchdowns for the Bills, as well as connecting with Khalil Shakir from 13 yards.
The Chiefs will now head to the Baltimore Ravens to play in their sixth straight AFC title game.
The Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1991 with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jared Goff threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 74 yards and a score as the Lions, who have never played in a Super Bowl, set up an NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.
Ford Field was fired up before kick-off and the atmosphere went up another notch when the first Bucs drive ended with Baker Mayfield throwing an interception into the arms of CJ Gardner-Johnson.
The two teams traded field goals before Detroit got rolling behind rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who had three straight catches of 13, two and 15 yards to get them upfield before Goff threw a nine-yard touchdown to Josh Reynolds.
Tampa Bay responded late in the half, with Mayfield hitting Mike Evans from 29 yards to get the Bucs to the two-yard line before throwing a touchdown pass to Cade Otton.
Detroit were back on top with 3:51 left in the third quarter when they went for it fourth down from a yard out, with Craig Reynolds powering through, but Tampa Bay again found a response at the end of the quarter as an off-balance Mayfield found Rachaad White with a 12-yard touchdown.
The see-saw continued as Gibbs ran in from 31 yards to put Detroit back on top and they finally broke the pattern when Tampa Bay were forced to punt and Goff hit Amon-Ra St Brown with a perfect nine-yard touchdown pass.
The Bucs were not done yet as Evans reeled in a 16-yard touchdown pass and they had the ball back inside the final two minutes, only for Mayfield to be picked off by Derrick Barnes to spark huge celebrations in Detroit.
US golfer Nick Dunlap won The American Express tournament by one shot to become the first amateur to take home PGA glory in 33 years.
The victory makes Dunlap the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson back in 1991.
The 20-year-old University of Alabama student sank a birdie putt at the par-five 16th to equal the lead of fellow US player Sam Burns at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.
Burns then stumbled on the day’s toughest hole, finding water off the tee at the par-three 17th.
At that time, Dunlap was on the green 35 feet from the hole.
He went on to make a routine par, while Burns came out with a double bogey.
The amateur took the lead with the par-four 18th remaining, while on the 18th green, South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout birdied to pull within one.
Dunlap pulled his tee shot into the right rough, but recovered with his approach to tap in for par and claim victory with a 72-hole record low winning score of 29 under 259.
He broke the benchmark of 28 under set by US golfer Patrick Reed in 2014.
Dunlap is the youngest amateur to win on the PGA Tour since 1910.
While he will not collect the 1.5million dollars (£1.18million) prize money, he has secured his PGA Tour card for two years.
Last year, Dunlap became the only player other than Tiger Woods to claim both titles of US Junior Amateur and US Amateur.
The Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1991 with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jared Goff threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 74 yards and a score as the Lions, who have never played in a Super Bowl, set up an NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.
Ford Field was fired up before kick-off and the atmosphere went up another notch when the first Bucs drive ended with Baker Mayfield throwing an interception into the arms of CJ Gardner-Johnson.
The two teams traded field goals before Detroit got rolling behind rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who had three straight catches of 13, two and 15 yards to get them upfield before Goff threw a nine-yard touchdown to Josh Reynolds.
Tampa Bay responded late in the half, with Mayfield hitting Mike Evans from 29 yards to get the Bucs to the two-yard line before throwing a touchdown pass to Cade Otton.
Detroit were back on top with 3:51 left in the third quarter when they went for it fourth down from a yard out, with Craig Reynolds powering through, but Tampa Bay again found a response at the end of the quarter as an off-balance Mayfield found Rachaad White with a 12-yard touchdown.
The see-saw continued as Gibbs ran in from 31 yards to put Detroit back on top and they finally broke the pattern when Tampa Bay were forced to punt and Goff hit Amon-Ra St Brown with a perfect nine-yard touchdown pass.
The Bucs were not done yet as Evans reeled in a 16-yard touchdown pass and they had the ball back inside the final two minutes, only for Mayfield to be picked off by Derrick Barnes to spark huge celebrations in Detroit.
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool for treatment on a muscle injury picked up while on international duty, the Egyptian Football Association has announced.
The influential forward was forced off during the first half of Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana in Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations group match, causing concern for club and country.
It was later revealed the 31-year-old would miss the Pharaohs’ next two fixtures, if they progressed to the knockout stages of the competition in the Ivory Coast.
However, he will now attend Egypt’s final Group B against Cape Verde on Monday, where victory will secure their place in the last 16, before flying back to Liverpool for rehabilitation.
An Egyptian FA statement, posted on Liverpool’s official website on Sunday evening, read: “After additional examinations were conducted on Mohamed Salah during the last hours, and after communication between the national team’s medical staff and his counterpart at Liverpool FC, it was decided that the player will return to England after the Cape Verde match tomorrow to complete his treatment, with the hope that he will join the national team in the semi-final of the AFCON if we qualify.”
Premier League leaders Liverpool initially struggled to create in the absence of their talisman during Sunday’s game at Bournemouth, but moved five points clear at the top thanks to a crushing 4-0 win earned by second-half doubles from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
Speaking after the victory at the Vitality Stadium, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said it “makes sense” for Salah to fly back to Merseyside from the tournament.
“That’s the plan,” the German said before the news was confirmed. “If that’s already decided 100 per cent, I don’t know. But that’s the plan.
“However long he’s out, probably everybody sees it like this, it makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.
“I spoke with him directly after, the night when it happened. Since then he’s in contact with our doctor. I think he will be back.”
Liverpool overcame a slow start on a soggy south coast afternoon to run out resounding victors against the Cherries in their first league match of the season without 14-goal forward Salah.
Nunez broke the deadlock four minutes into the second period and then completed the scoring in added time following Jota’s quick-fire brace as the Reds fully capitalised on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.
“We had the opposite of a good start,” said Klopp. “We put ourselves under pressure.
“It’s about winning the game in the end and, as long as you stay in the game, pretty much anything that happens in the game is allowed.
“Today, step by step, we found a way in the game and won it.”
Defeat for 12th-placed Bournemouth was a second in succession in the top flight following 19 points from the previous 21 available.
Cherries boss Andoni Iraola felt his side lost tactical discipline after falling behind.
“We started doing things that we haven’t done before, going too fast, not so disciplined tactically and obviously we played worse in the second half,” said the Spaniard.
“They were really clinical today. The first goal is difficult to defend, the other goals we could do more, we could defend better, react more quickly to the second balls.”
Artem Dovbyk scored a seven-minute first-half hat-trick to inspire Girona to a thumping 5-1 win over Sevilla in LaLiga which took them back to the top of the table.
Girona moved a point clear of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, with the capital club beating Almeria 3-2 earlier on Sunday.
Sevilla scored first, but Dovbyk responded with three goals inside the opening 20 minutes before Viktor Tsygankov and Cristhian Stuani sealed a dominant win.
Isaac Romero, who scored twice on his first Sevilla start last week, netted the opener after 10 minutes.
But Ukrainian striker Dovbyk equalised in the 13th minute as he got on the end of Savio’s cross to nod in.
The game two players were involved in Girona’s second two minutes later, Savio slipping in Portu, who cut the ball back for the well-positioned Dovbyk to tap home from close-range.
And Dovbyk completed his treble in the 19th minute.
The striker drove inside from the right, cutting on to his left foot before producing a wonderful driven shot into the bottom right corner.
It took the summer signing’s tally in his debut LaLiga season to 14 goals.
After the break the hosts added a fourth courtesy of Tsygankov in the 56th minute.
Savio ran down the left and his driven pass found Tsygankov in the centre, with the winger finishing first time past Marko Dmitrovic.
Stuani scored in the 89th minute to round off the emphatic win.
Jude Bellingham inspired Real Madrid with a goal and an assist as they came from two goals down to earn a last-gasp 3-2 win over rock-bottom Almeria in LaLiga.
The visitors hit the front inside a minute through Largie Ramazani and doubled their lead at the end of the first half when Edgar Gonzalez slammed a shot into the top corner from outside the area.
Bellingham kick-started Madrid’s comeback from the penalty spot in the 57th minute and they were on level terms 10 minutes later when Vinicius Junior nudged home from inside the area.
The game looked to be heading for a draw, but Madrid snatched the points nine minutes into stoppage time when Bellingham nodded across for Dani Carvajal, who poked home at the back post.
Osasuna made it back-to-back wins with a 3-2 victory over Getafe.
David Garcia edged the hosts in front inside 10 minutes with a close-range finish and they doubled their lead just after the half-hour mark through Iker Munoz.
Getafe fought back to level terms with two goals in four second-half minutes, Borja Mayoral bringing the visitors back into the contest and Nemanja Maksimovic making it 2-2, but Jesus Areso’s intended cross from near the corner flag ended up in the back of the net via a post to give Osasuna all three points.
In Germany, Bayern Munich slipped to a shock 1-0 home defeat to Werder Bremen to lose further ground to Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen.
The visitors, who had Justin Njinmah’s strike ruled out in the 25th minute after a VAR check, were not to be denied when Mitchell Weiser cut in from the left and fired into the roof of the net to give them a deserved lead.
Goalkeeper Michael Zetterer denied Leroy Sane and Mathys Tel late on to earn Werder a first league win over Munich since 2008.
Augsburg came from a goal down to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 at Borussia Park.
Jordan Pefok bundled home from close range to give the hosts a lead, but Augsburg hit back in the second half.
Phillip Tietz brought Augsburg level with a neat header two minutes into the half and the winner came four minutes later as Arne Engels found the bottom corner from inside the box to help Augsburg move above their opponents in the table.
In Serie A, Szymon Zurkowski scored a hat-trick to help Empoli move within two points of safety with a 3-0 win over Monza.
Zurkowski put the hosts in front in superb fashion with a spectacular volley and doubled their lead with a header seven minutes before the break before he rounded off his treble with a right-footed tap-in after the break.
Frosinone came from behind to end a run of five straight defeats with a 3-1 win over Cagliari.
Sulemana bagged his first Serie A goal to give Cagliari a half-time lead, but Frosinone scored three times after the break.
Luca Mazzitelli’s pinpoint header brought them level before Matias Soule found the top corner from a free-kick and Kaio Jorge added a third in stoppage time.
Bottom side Salernitana slipped to their 13th league defeat of the season as they lost 2-1 to Genoa.
Salernitana edged in front in the second minute thanks to Agustin Martegani, but they were not ahead for long as Mateo Retegui equalised 10 minutes later and Albert Gudmundsson’s penalty secured Genoa’s comeback victory.
Leicester forward Patson Daka headed in an 88th-minute equaliser as 10-man Zambia salvaged a hard-earned point at the death to deny Tanzania a first ever Africa Cup of Nations win.
Tanzania had led from the 11th minute when Simon Msuva punished some sloppy play with a powerful strike and Zambia’s problems grew worse when Rodrick Kabwe earned a second yellow card just before half-time.
But just when it appeared Avram Grant’s side were running out of time, Daka got across his man to divert a corner inside the far post.
Tanzania were under new, temporary, management in the form of Hemed Morocco after Adel Amrouche’s meltdown following the 3-0 loss to Morocco saw him banned for eight games and subsequently sacked.
They offered the ideal response when they took the lead 11 minutes in, with Mbwaba Samatta picking off the ball in midfield and striding forward to tee up Msuva, whose shot was still rising as it found the top corner.
Zambia wasted opportunities to level, with Fashion Sakala heading wide from point-blank range on the half-hour mark, and then somewhat harshly lost Kabwe to a needless second yellow in the 44th minute.
With the extra man, Tanzania were on top for much of the second half. They might have had a second when Mohamed Hussein’s cross deflected off Frankie Musonda and bounced narrowly wide, while substitute Morice Abraham brought a good save from Zambia goalkeeper Lawrence Mulenga.
Daka had already wasted a good chance when he shot straight at Aishi Manula just after the hour, but with time running out the 25-year-old scored to avoid a costly defeat.
Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota claimed second-half doubles as Premier League leaders Liverpool moved five points clear with a crushing 4-0 victory away to Bournemouth.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds initially struggled to create at the Vitality Stadium in the absence of top scorer Mohamed Salah.
But Nunez broke the deadlock early in the second period and completed the scoring in added time following Jota’s quick-fire double.
Victory on a soggy south coast afternoon stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 14 league fixtures as they fully capitalised on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.
In-form Bournemouth were competitive for large parts of a frenetic encounter, but rarely threatened en route to only their second defeat in nine games.
A difficult outing for Andoni Iraola’s hosts could have been worse as Justin Kluivert was perhaps fortunate to escape a red card for a first-half challenge on Luis Diaz.
Liverpool were back in top-flight action for the first time since New Year’s Day, but without talisman Salah, who has sustained a hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, in the league for the first time this season.
The Reds were unable to find fluency in the opening stages as Bournemouth began brighter, albeit without testing Alisson.
Klopp’s men grew into the game and eventually enjoyed some meaningful territory.
Alexis Mac Allister fired wide from distance, before long-range efforts from Nunez and Diaz were comfortably collected by Cherries goalkeeper Neto.
Bournemouth, who had also not played a league fixture for three weeks, then breathed a sigh of relief in the 35th minute when Kluivert avoided punishment after catching Diaz with a high, studs-up tackle.
Ryan Christie eventually registered the hosts’ maiden attempt at goal in the 39th minute – a tame effort straight at Alisson – and was then unable to turn home Kluivert’s dangerous low centre just before the break.
Following a fairly forgettable first half devoid of clear chances, Liverpool capitalised on sloppy defending to edge ahead four minutes after the restart.
Ibrahima Konate’s cross-field ball was chested down by the unmarked Curtis Jones and then moved on to Jota, whose first-time pass was confidently slotted into the bottom right corner by Nunez.
Nunez, who was unfavourably compared to former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll by gloating home fans in the first half, was also involved in his side’s 70th-minute second.
The powerful Uruguay forward caused problems for Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham, allowing Reds substitute Cody Gakpo to pounce on the loose ball and slip in Jota to find the net via the base of the right post.
Jota extinguished any hope of a Cherries fightback just nine minutes later.
The Portugal forward miskicked his first effort following a pass from Premier League debutant Conor Bradley, but swiftly silenced ironic cheers by rifling into the bottom left corner.
Cherries substitute David Brooks wasted a golden chance to claim a consolation when he dinked wide in 90th minute.
And Nunez, who claimed the winner when the clubs met in the Carabao Cup fourth round at the start of November, rubbed salted into Bournemouth wounds three minutes into added time by registering his second with a fine close-range finish.
Jude Bellingham starred again as Real Madrid fought back from two goals down to beat rock-bottom Almeria 3-2 in an incident-packed clash at the Bernabeu.
Following a mixed week that saw them beat Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup before being knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Atletico Madrid, Real looked on course for a shock defeat as winless Almeria led 2-0 at half-time through Largie Ramazani and Edgar Gonzalez goals.
But Real, benefitting from three key VAR decisions going in their favour, turned things around with Bellingham starting the revival with a penalty – his 18th goal of the season – before Vinicius Junior equalised.
Real then laid siege to the Almeria goal and, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, Brahim Diaz picked out Bellingham at the far post and the 20-year-old’s header back across the area was turned home by Dani Carvajal for a dramatic winner.
Real’s last-16 cup defeat to Atletico went to extra time on Thursday and Carlo Ancelotti’s men looked as if they were still half asleep as Almeria took a shock lead inside 40 seconds on Sunday.
Nacho Fernandez’s intended pass to left-back Ferland Mendy was intercepted by Sergio Arribas and Almeria clinically took advantage, captain Lucas Robertone ending up sliding the ball through to Ramazani to fire past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
That should have been an early wake-up call for Real, but it was not heeded by the 14-time European champions.
They were sloppy in possession and lacked inspiration going forward, and the closest they came to making it 1-1 was Almeria defender Juan Chumi deflecting a cross onto the roof of his own net.
And things got worse for the title-chasing hosts in the 43rd minute when Almeria doubled their lead.
Nacho was again involved but few could have expected his poor clearance to be so emphatically punished, with Gonzalez unleashing a 25-year-old thunderbolt that flew into Kepa’s top corner.
That was a rare goal from the 26-year-old defensive midfielder and, with the score 2-0 at half-time, left Almeria dreaming of a famous win.
Ancelotti, clearly unimpressed at what he was seeing, made three changes at the break and a fired-up Real pulled a goal back inside 10 minutes.
Almeria players were furious to see a penalty awarded for handball against Kaiky, a decision made following a VAR review, but Bellingham stayed calm amongst the furore to roll his penalty down the centre of the goal.
If Almeria were upset up that incident, they were incandescent six minutes later when they had a goal to put them 3-1 up ruled out following another VAR intervention.
Real youth-team product Arribas thought he had scored against his former club after a counter-attack, but the goal was chalked off due to a flailing arm from Dion Lopy into the face of Bellingham after the England man had given away possession in midfield.
That was not the last of the VAR controversies either, with Vinicius’ 68th-minute equaliser eventually being given after another lengthy review.
Referee Francisco Hernandez Maeso had initially ruled out the goal for handball against the Brazil winger, but that was overruled following replays with ball deemed to have hit the forward’s shoulder, leaving Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano – who would end up being red carded in stoppage time – again unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Having drawn level, Real set about searching for a winner and Bellingham saw his curled effort ruled out for offside before Almeria goalkeeper Luis Maximiano superbly denied Vinicius.
Bellingham also saw a spectacular overhead kick go inches wide but, with time almost up, Real would finally get the breakthrough as Carvajal pounced on Bellingham’s knock-down.
West Ham manager David Moyes claims teams are accepting poor refereeing as the norm after his side conceded the latest ever Premier League goal in their 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.
The Hammers were on course for a win when James Ward-Prowse’s 79th-minute penalty put them 2-1 up, after Ben Brereton Diaz’s debut goal for the hosts had cancelled out Maxwell Cornet’s opener.
But in the eighth minute of time added on, referee Michael Salisbury pointed to the spot after ruling Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had fouled Oli McBurnie and a further five minutes later, with the injured Areola replaced by Lukasz Fabianski, the Blades striker coolly converted.
Moyes did not directly criticise Salisbury, other than suggesting Areola was the player fouled, but said there is now a level of apathy towards the standard of referees.
“I am certainly not going to talk about any referees, for sure I don’t want to get myself into trouble,” he said.
“You should ask the referee and see what they think, we have got to the stage where we are settling for a level of officiating where we are all shrugging our shoulders and saying, ‘OK’.
“We are shrugging our shoulders again and seeing what they do. We don’t know what they are going to do.”
On whether Areola receiving lengthy treatment and having to be taken off meant he was the one fouled, Moyes added: “Absolutely, he was fouled. I think it was a foul on the goalkeeper.”
Moyes had just as much frustration with his own side, who were not at their best at Bramall Lane.
Cornet’s first Hammers goal at the 31st attempt put them ahead but Brereton Diaz levelled on the stroke of half-time.
Ward-Prowse’s penalty restored West Ham’s lead as the Blades’ Rhian Brewster and West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal were both sent off in added time for separate incidents before the real drama happened.
Blades boss Chris Wilder could not watch McBurnie slot the ball home but was pleased with his side’s staying power.
“I am delighted my team stayed in the game because with 10 men, and them passing it around, it could have gone from two to three,” he said.
“The attitude of the team has helped us stay in the game.
“The goalkeeper comes and makes a rash decision to come through and we get the penalty. I am delighted we got something from the game, that is my overriding emotion.
“I didn’t watch the penalty, I just saw the reaction of the crowd. It is just one of those – I do sometimes watch, not in the 103rd minute.”
Nottingham Forest have asked for an explanation from the Premier League and referees’ body PGMOL over Ivan Toney’s controversial free-kick that helped Brentford to a 3-2 win in west London on Saturday.
Toney moved the referee’s vanishing foam and shifted the ball to a more advantageous position before scoring from the set-piece, leading to complaints from Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo after the game.
The PA news agency understands that Forest have now written to both bodies demanding to know whether Toney’s actions, which the player himself insisted were legal, actually constituted foul play.
Forest want clarification on whether players are allowed to move the ball in such a manner prior to a set-piece and, if not, why VAR officials were not able to intervene.
Nuno rejected Toney’s claim after the game and added: “The law is clear – every situation that leads to a goal must be checked. It’s not even a matter of inches, it’s almost a yard.”
Toney’s goal was his first since his return from an eight-month gambling ban and helped Thomas Frank’s men leapfrog their opponents in the Premier League table.
Immanuel Quickley said patience is required as he and RJ Barrett adapt to the Toronto Raptors, after the former New York Knicks were beaten on their return to Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
Quickley and Barrett were traded to Toronto last month as the Knicks moved for forward O.G. Anunoby, with New York also receiving Precious Achiuwa and Malachi Flynn in the deal.
The duo, who helped the Knicks reach the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, returned to their former home court for the first time on Saturday, receiving standing ovations from the Knicks fans and featuring in a tribute video shown during the first media timeout.
Barrett finished with 20 points and Quickley added 12, but that was not enough to prevent the Raptors from slipping to 16-27 with a sixth loss in their last seven games.
Despite the result, both players were appreciate of the welcome they received from their former team, with Quickley saying: "It was great, just to come back.
"Obviously we didn't get the outcome we wanted, [but] just to see everybody where I started my professional career was pretty cool."
Barrett added: "It was amazing. Thank you to the fans, for sure. We got a tribute video, I didn't think we were going to get that. That was cool.
"I'm very appreciative of my time here. To come back brought up a lot of emotions, for sure. But it was fun to come back and play basketball again."
Toronto have only won four of their 12 games since the trade went through on December 30, but Quickley accepts it will take time for the duo to build relationships with their new team-mates.
"It definitely takes time," he said. "It's like meeting a new girl. You've got to take time to get to know her. You've got to take her out to eat, stuff like that.
"You aren't going to just walk up to her and say, 'let's get married.' That's not going to work. No, it'll come together.
"Rome wasn't built in a day. We have to keep working, individually and as a team we have to continue to try to take steps, and if we keep chopping wood and carrying water we'll get there."
The Raptors face the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers in back-to-back home games next week, while the 26-17 Knicks make the short trip to Brooklyn to face the Nets in their next game on Tuesday.
Age proved no barrier for First Flow, who showed he still retains plenty of his old zest with a brilliant all-the-way success at Lingfield.
Carrying top-weight of 12 stone and conceding heaps to his younger rivals, Kim Bailey’s 12-year-old was bounced out by usual pilot David Bass and never missed a beat as he landed the Download The Racing App Now Godstone Handicap Chase spoils at 15-2.
It was somewhat fitting that the veteran registered the 12th victory of his decorated career at the venue he first tasted success back in 2017, much to the delight of his handler.
“He’s unreal isn’t he, I adore this horse,” said Bailey.
“He’s a 12-year-old and carrying top-weight. He needed to start today and we have someone down at the start with him every time he runs – he’s been like that as long as I’ve had him.
“He goes round the farm everyday and I get a phone call after half an hour from the girl riding him saying I can’t get him to move. He’s a real character and a real superstar.
“Everyone says to me ‘when are you retiring him?, but you can’t retire him, the horse is enjoying himself. He’s 12, still got the enthusiasm and just won a race off 158.
“It’s a real treat to have a horse like him and he won his first hurdle race here. He’s been a superstar, he’s got no right to be any good he has no pedigree, but’s he’s been what he has, I love him.”
Nurse Susan has “all the tickets” for the big races in the spring after following up a recent Cheltenham success when upped to three miles for the Weatherbys Hamilton Handicap Hurdle.
The seven-year-old had to show plenty of resolve to see off the persistent presence of Venetia Williams’ Ramo, but pulled out extra to oblige backers who had sent Dan Skelton’s charge off the 6-4 favourite.
“She just dosses, she dossed in the mares race at Cheltenham over two-and-a-half and she’s dossed again today,” said Skelton.
“She’s talented and the Love Envoi form is there for all to see. She’s just a good mare. We tried her over fences and I suppose her intelligence lead her to perhaps not like them. Back over hurdles she is a more committed horse.
“Colm (Donlon, owner) likes to have all the tickets, so she’s entered in everything and if there was a charity race (at Cheltenham) I’m sure she would have an entry for that as well.
“She’s just a very good horse and we might go somewhere else en route (to Cheltenham), she’s just a good horse and we’re very happy with her.”
Meanwhile, Tripoli Flyer booked his ticket to Aintree’s Grand National Festival in the spring with an impressive display in the opening Winter Million Open National Hunt Flat Race.
A keeping-on fifth on his rules debut at Chepstow in October, Fergal O’Brien’s five-year-old was a 15-2 shot and showed plenty of speed and class to down the well-regarded Nicky Henderson-trained 8-11 favourite Kingston Pride in the hands of Paddy Brennan.
“We’ve got some lovely bumper horses, but I thought he was very good, he was very impressive,” said O’Brien.
“I thought the Henderson horse had solid point-to-point form and the horse who was second to him (The Enabler) has won a Listed race.
“We thought he would appreciate the surface and the good thing about this horse is his owner as he gave him time after his first race at Chepstow because he had a hard race.
“He was only a four-year-old then and we put him away, I think he went to Paddy’s for a bit and then to an event rider down the road who did a lot of work with him. He came back to us and we just had to put the finishing touches to him ready for today.
“Today was always a plan because we thought he would appreciate the better ground.
“The plan, please God, is to go straight to Aintree. We think he will love the flat track and Paddy said the ground, although he got through it at Chepstow, will be important to him.
“I thought he was impressive but he will have to do it on grass now. Going forward he’s a beautiful jumper, so we will look forward to him.”
Caoilin Quinn proved he is once again the man for marathon events when he guided Gary Moore’s Movethechains (15-2) to victory in the Fitzdares Surrey National Handicap Chase, while there was a shock in the Weatherbys Digital Solutions Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle as Ben Clarke’ 40-1 shot Ooh Betty landed the spoils with the assistance of the stewards.
It was Henderson’s Aston Martini that was first past the post following a ding-dong battle after the last, but the placings were reversed after an inquiry.
“She is battle-hardened and she’s not the sexy option in the race, but I think running in handicaps has served her well as she had to battle hard there and be brave,” said Clarke.
“She got bumped a couple of times coming up the home straight and Ben Jones (jockey) felt it cost him, but saying that, it is not the way we want to win a horse race – Nicky was incredibly gracious so I will drop him a bottle of wine.
“At the back of my mind, I’ve always thought if we get half-decent ground at Cheltenham, she could go there for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. We’ll sit tight and she doesn’t want a bog – she can’t run in proper, proper soft ground – so we will plot our way there.
“Endless Escape was beaten just over 10 lengths in the Cheltenham race last year and this mare would be a much speedier type, so we have half an idea what it takes – not as much as Nicky does – so we’ll see, it could be an option.”
Champion trainer Paul Nicholls got on the scoresheet in the final race on the card as 4-1 favourite Inthewaterside made every yard to claim the Winter Million Novices’ Handicap Hurdle in the hands of Harry Cobden.
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