Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic for the second time in five days to tee up a final clash with either Carlos Alcaraz or Rafael Nadal at the 6 Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia.

Sinner, who beat Djokovic en route to his triumph at the Shanghai Masters last week, overcame the 24-time grand slam champion again in three sets on Thursday.

The world number one picked up where he left off in Shanghai with a break in the very first game of the encounter, then another break seven games later saw him seize the opener in emphatic fashion, only dropping two points on his own serve.

Djokovic roared back in the second set, though, recovering from another early break before producing a flawless tie-break performance to level things up.

The decider was a far more even affair, Djokovic forcing two break points at 3-2 up before the momentum switched, with Sinner getting the better of the 37-year-old through three straight breaks of serve to wrap up a two-hour, 27-minute victory.

Data Debrief: Sinner maintains Djokovic streak

While Thursday's win at the inaugural exhibition event in Riyadh will not count towards the pair's official ATP Tour head-to-head record, Sinner maintained his fine recent form against Djokovic.

He has now won his last four matches against Djokovic overall, and five of his last six.

The Los Angeles Clippers are expected to begin the season without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup as the star forward continues to rehabilitate from inflammation in his right knee.

The oft-injured Leonard played in his most games last season since 2016-17 with the San Antonio Spurs as he took the court for 68 of the Clippers’ 82 games.

The six-time All-Star, though, sat out Los Angeles’ final eight regular-season contests due to inflammation in the knee and only played in Games 2 and 3 during the team’s first-round play-off loss in six games to the Dallas Mavericks.

Leonard has yet to take on-court contact during training camp and instead has been focusing on rehabbing the knee.

“He has not been a part of what we've been doing on a daily basis,” Clippers assistant coach Brian Shaw told reporters on Wednesday.

“I know the company line has been that we're going to be patient with him. He's doing everything that he can to rehab it and strengthen that knee on his own with our medical staff, and we’re just dealing with the guys that we have.”

The two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year led Los Angeles last season with 23.7 points and 1.63 steals per game and was second on the team in rebounding (6.1), blocks (0.87) and 3-point shooting percentage (41.7) while ranking third in assists (3.6).

The Clippers went 51-31 last season and won the Pacific Division for the first time since 2013-14.

With Leonard out indefinitely and Paul George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason, Los Angeles will turn to former NBA MVP and 10-time All-Star James Harden to lead the way offensively.

Max Verstappen believes McLaren's Oscar Piastri is "too good" to be asked to support Lando Norris in his bid for the Formula One drivers' championship.

Verstappen leads the way despite not winning in his last eight races, but has seen his lead cut to 52 points by Norris ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix.

As the season has progressed, McLaren's improvements have been significant, and they lead Red Bull in the constructors' standings as they aim to win their first team title since 1998.

The British-based team are sticking to their general approach of having two equal drivers, though that has changed as Norris edges closer to clinching a maiden world title. 

McLaren said they would prioritise Norris over Piastri in his attempts to end Verstappen's three-year reign as champion. 

"He's definitely not a [number two driver] and if I was him I would never accept it," Verstappen said.

"For me, it's easy to talk, of course, because I've been in F1 for 10 years and it's Oscar's second season, so it is always harder to put your foot down.

"But he's just a great F1 driver who doesn't deserve it to give up wins and positions and play second fiddle because he's asked to."

Verstappen did, however, praise McLaren for their rapid rate of development over the past 18 months, and for how Norris and Piastri have proven a formidable combination.

Asked if the pair was the best driver line-up among Red Bull's competitors, he replied: "Yes, because they are closely matched and because they are both quick.

"McLaren has really put the right people in the right place, people that were already working at the team.

"The people there aren't all new hires, apart from people like [former Red Bull designer] Rob Marshall.

"But some staff have been given new roles, and you can see how quickly that can have an impact."

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Lando Norris – McLaren

After finishing second in Austin last season, Norris will be hopeful of going one better this time around to close the gap to Verstappen in the drivers' standings. 

Norris has scored 912 points in his F1 career, all of them with McLaren. If he scores at least two more in the United States, he will become the driver with the most points in the history of the team, surpassing Lewis Hamilton's 913.

The Briton has scored 460 points in the last 30 races in which he has won points in the competition (15.3 average), eight points more than in the previous 66 (452 - 6.8 average).

McLaren will also be looking to extend their lead at the top of the constructors' championship, too. 

They have had one or both of their drivers on the podium in each of the last 14 Formula 1 races. This is their second best-ever run in the competition (surpassing two streaks of 13), behind only the 19 between Australia 2007 and Malaysia 2008.

McLaren now have 18 podium finishes in 2024, their best record in a season since 2011 (also 18). In fact, in only four years have they achieved more (20 in 1998, 22 in 2000, 24 in 2007 and 25 in 1988). 

Max Verstappen – Red Bull 

Verstappen will contest his 204th race in F1 this weekend.

Twelve of the last 13 winners in Austin have started from the front row of the grid, seven from pole position and five from second, though Verstappen is the only exception, having won from sixth place last year. 

However, the three-time world champion has now gone seven races without a pole position and eight without a triumph - his worst respective streaks since the penultimate round in 2020, when he went 17 qualifying rounds without a win and 11 consecutive races without a victory.

If either Verstappen or Sergio Perez scores points this weekend, Red Bull will have put at least one of their two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in F1 history (Mercedes' 62 on two occasions; between Brazil 2012 and Russia 2016, and between France 2021 and Saudi Arabia 2024).

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Drivers

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 331
2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 279
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 245
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 237
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 190

Constructors

1. McLaren – 516
2. Red Bull – 475
3. Ferrari – 441
4. Mercedes – 329
5. Aston Martin – 86

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will not be pressured into making a decision on his long-term future at the Etihad Stadium.

The 53-year-old's contract expires at the end of the 2024-25 season and he is, as yet, undecided on what he wants to do when that time comes.

City take on Wolves this weekend, and sit second in the Premier League after going unbeaten through their first seven games. They are just one point behind league leaders Liverpool.

"When it's going to happen, it's going to happen," Guardiola told BBC Sport, when asked if any decision on his future from the end of the season onwards had been made.

Guardiola had been heavily linked with the previously vacant England position, before it was announced this week that Thomas Tuchel will take over in January.

But even after that announcement, there have been rumours that Guardiola could follow the lead of director of football and close friend Txiki Begiristain, who has confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season.

"One of the reasons I extended my contract two times is because Txiki is here," Guardiola said of Begiristain.

"We work together incredibly well. When we win, we try to analyse why. When we lose we try to analyse why. We don’t judge the other one. We both work for the best for this club.

"That’s why it’s a joy to work here with people like Txiki."

Sunday's hosts Wolves, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from their 5-3 defeat at Brentford in their last match before the international break.

That was a result that left the club bottom of the Premier League with just one point after seven matches.

After the match, head coach Gary O'Neil spoke about it being the "worst game I've been involved with as a coach".

"It’s the furthest I’ve seen the group from what we wanted to look like," he told BBC Match of the Day.

"The responsibility is on me. Of course, the players are going to make decisions, but I need to give them something that makes them make better decisions.

"I’ll do the best I can with the group I have. The club do what they can do off the pitch. My responsibility is to find results. This league can be tough. There are no hiding places."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves – Matheus Cunha

Cunha is Wolves' top scorer, having netted three league goals so far this term. He ranks 16th in the Premier League for xG overperformance, with his three goals coming from just 1.06 xG.

The 25-year-old has also taken the ninth-most shots (21) of any player in the Premier League this term, while two of his three goals have come against teams currently in the top five of the table (Aston Villa and Chelsea).

Manchester City – Erling Haaland

Haaland is the quickest player of all time to reach 10 Premier League goals, having done so in just five matches. He is also the biggest xG overperformer in the Premier League in 2024-25, with his 10 goals coming from 6.5 xG.

The Norwegian striker has scored eight goals in total against Wolves, including four in their most recent meeting in May, at an average of one goal every 40 minutes.

MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN

City enter matchday eight as one of just two Premier League teams (alongside Arsenal) who still have an unbeaten record this season (W5 D2). In their last match before the international break, City beat Fulham 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium following back-to-back draws.

That start to the season puts City in second place, one point behind league leaders Liverpool, while Wolves are bottom of the table after taking just one point from their opening seven matches.

It is the first time since 2003-04 that Wolves have failed to win any of their opening seven league games, while they have only had three longer winless runs at the start of a league season: 1922-23 (eight), 1926-27 (10) and 1983-84 (14).

City won the last Premier League meeting between the two clubs, beating Wolves 5-1 at the Etihad in May with the aforementioned Haaland scoring four goals.

That was one of seven victories for City in their last eight Premier League meetings with Wolves, although the hosts did win 2-1 in this exact fixture last September.

Wolves have also scored in eight of their nine matches in all competitions this campaign, while City have fallen behind in four of their six Premier League games this season – as many times as in their previous 19 – and have recovered a league-high 10 points from losing positions.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves – 13.3%

Draw – 17.9%

Manchester City – 68.8%

England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said his side have belief in overhauling Pakistan's 297-run lead to claim the second Test in Multan. 

England ended the third day of the second Test at 36-2 after losing the early wickets of Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in their second innings. 

Should the tourists pull off the chase, it would be their joint third-highest in an overseas Test and the best by any visiting team in Pakistan.

Having broken a number of records in the first Test, Collingwood insists that anything is possible with this current group of players. 

"We’ll still have that belief," said Collingwood. "We know it’s going to be tough and we’ve got to be realistic, but we’ll find ways to put them under pressure."

Asked if a win in this match would be better than the first-Test victory, Collingwood said: "It would, under the circumstances and conditions we’ve been given this time.

"There’s still hope, and there’s only hope because of the amazing things these guys have done in the past."

Salman Agha, meanwhile, pledged that Pakistan will put every effort into securing a first home Test win in "God knows how many years". 

Agha top-scored for Pakistan in their second innings with 63, though he was fortunate to reach that total, having been dropped twice during the 52nd over. 

He also showered praise on Sajid Khan, who ended with figures of 7-111 in the first innings before claiming the early wicket of Duckett on Thursday.

"To be honest, I was thinking, 'It is going to be hard,'" Salman told Sky Sports.

"There was a lot of changes - and big changes. But the way the team has gelled, and the way the new guys have come in and we've welcomed them [has been great]. They come in and they are chipping in.

"Look at Sajid. He took seven wickets and scored important runs, and then you will see Noman Ali.

"He came and took wickets, and scored important runs. I think it's very good for Pakistan cricket, the way they came and gelled in and contributed. That's amazing."

Pakistan have not won a home Test match since they beat South Africa in February 2021, with four draws and seven defeats since then, losing all six Test matches this year.

Salman said that ending those streaks would be "very important" and that Pakistan are aiming to right their wrongs from recent years. 

"It's going to be massive, because we haven't won a Test match at home for… I don't know, God knows how many years now," he said.

"It's going to be a very, very big thing for us. We will make sure we will put all the effort there and make sure we win this game, because that's very important for us."

Rohit Sharma took responsibility after India posted their lowest-ever home score in the first Test versus New Zealand, saying he was "hurting" after they were skittled for 46 runs.

After Wednesday's play was called off due to heavy rain in Bengaluru, India produced a historically bad effort with the bat as Matt Henry (5-15) and Will O'Rourke (4-22) starred for the Black Caps.

Five India batters – Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin – walked for ducks as New Zealand needed just 32 overs to bowl their hosts out.

India's score was their worst-ever on home soil, having previously been all out for 75 against West Indies in 1987, and the third-lowest in their Test history overall.

Rohit opted to bat after winning the toss in what many viewed as a puzzling decision, and he admitted he had misjudged the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium surface after stumps.

"You see and you try and make the judgement. Sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don't, and I was on the other side of it this time around," Rohit said.

"I'm hurting a little bit because I made that call. But see, for us as a team, I think these are the challenges.

"So what if we put ourselves under pressure a little bit? We want to play well. We want to challenge ourselves. 

"This time around, it didn't come off, the challenges that were thrown at us. We didn't respond well, and we found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs. 

"As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number, but in 365 days you'll make two or three bad calls. That's okay."

Only twice has Black Caps bowler Henry bettered Thursday's figures in a Test innings, with seven-wicket hauls against South Africa in 2022 and Australia in 2024, both on home soil.

Speaking to reporters after the close of play, he said: "It was a great way to start the day but it was also about the way we could build pressure with the bat. 

"There was a lot of grass taken off and we just wanted to keep it simple and there was a lot of assistance in the morning. 

"The key is to control what you can control, to work on your game and improve. With the game affected by rain, it's important to have a dominant day like this. It's obviously tough to play in India."

England's second Test against Pakistan hangs in the balance after the tourists closed on 36-2, chasing a 297 victory target after an enthralling third day in Multan.

Ben Duckett, England's hero on the second day, was removed by Sajid Khan (1-27) for a duck, with Zak Crawley (three) following just under three overs later. 

England had resumed on 239-6, but Sajid continued his impressive spin play from the previous day, taking the wickets of Brydon Carse (four), Matthew Potts (six) and Shoaib Bashir (nine) to post figures of 7-111 for the first innings.

England wasted no time in skittling India's top order, though, with Bashir claiming the wickets of Abdullah Shafique (four), Saim Ayub (22) and Shan Masood (11) as Pakistan found themselves 77-4 after 20 overs.

However, England were frustrated by Salman Ali Agha's knock of 63, made even more painful by the fact he was dropped twice in the 52nd over, on four and six. 

But the surface in Multan, which has benefitted the spin bowlers, came into play again as Jack Leach (3-67) saw Pakistan bowled out for 221 in their second innings.

Needing 297 runs to win, which would represent England's largest-ever run chase in Asia, Duckett's favoured sweep was caught by Mohammad Rizwan, before Crawley was stumped by the Pakistan wicketkeeper.

Joe Root (12) and Ollie Pope (21) are the men tasked with continuing England's chase when they start at the crease on Friday.

Data Debrief: England stumped in Multan

Crawley's stumping in the fourth over of the second innings is the third earliest in a Test innings that an England batter has been stumped.

The earliest to get dismissed in that manner for England was Alastair Cook, who was stumped with the fifth ball of the innings off Ravichandran Ashwin in Kolkata in 2012.

His loss, and that of Duckett, could prove costly unless Root and Pope can repeat their first-Test heroics.

India produced their lowest Test score ever on home soil in the first innings of their opening match against New Zealand, scoring just 46 runs in Bangalore.

Devon Conway's 91 from 105 deliveries helped the Black Caps to a 134-run lead on Thursday after day one was washed out, with India facing an uphill task in trying to resurrect their hopes of victory. 

Tim Southee (1-8) started the collapse when he clean bowled captain Rohit Sharma for two, with Matt Henry (5-15) and Will O'Rourke (4-22) continuing the onslaught.

Virat Kohli was one of five India batters to be dismissed for a duck as they collapsed from 31-3 to 46 all out with just over 31 overs bowled. 

The tourists surpassed India's measly total with nine wickets still in hand, as New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Conway started strongly.

Kuldeep Yadav (1-57) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-28) managed to take the wickets of Conway and Will Young (33), though the damage had already been done. 

Rachin Ravindra (22) and Daryl Mitchell (14) will start at the crease on day two for New Zealand, who will be looking to press home their advantage after reaching stumps 180/3.

Data Debrief: When it rains, it pours

After seeing the opening day of play postponed due to heavy rain, India may have wished for the heavens to open once again during their remarkable collapse.

Thursday's 46 runs is the lowest-ever Test innings score India have managed on home soil, and their third-lowest Test score ever. 

Their worst came against Australia in Adelaide in 2020, when they were bowled out for 36, with their previous lowest total at home in Test matches coming in 1987, when they scored 75 against West Indies.

Vincent Kompany has the backing of the Bayern Munich board despite going three games without a win in all competitions, says president Herbert Hainer. 

Kompany started his Bayern tenure with six wins from his first six games, scoring 29 goals, which was a new club record for a new head coach across that period.

However, since a 5-0 thumping of Werder Bremen, Bayern have gone three games without a victory, which included a 2-0 defeat in the Champions League to Aston Villa. 

Ahead of the international break, Kompany's side drew with Eintracht Frankfurt, with Omar Marmoush netting a late leveller in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Bayern welcome Stuttgart to the Allianz Arena this Saturday, though they know failing to win could see their lead at the Bundesliga summit snatched from them. 

Despite their stuttering form of late, Kompany has the confidence of the bosses at Bayern, who are enjoying his possession-based style of football. 

"We are extremely happy with our coach," Hainer told Bavarian broadcaster BR. "Because we play extremely attractive football.

"We had not seen that in the past few years at Bayern.

"On Sunday in Frankfurt (against Eintracht) it was dominant football we had not seen for a long time."

There is reason for confidence ahead of this weekend's meeting with Stuttgart for Bayern, though.

They have won 69 of their 110 Bundesliga games against Stuttgart (D22, L19) – no other side in league history has recorded as many wins against a single opponent.

Bayern have also amassed the highest expected goals (xG) of any club in the Bundesliga this season (13.8), closely followed by this weekend's opponents (13.7). 

But there has been a soft underbelly to Kompany's free-flowing attacking side, with Bayern conceding seven goals across their first six Bundesliga games in 2024-25.

Over the last 15 top-flight campaigns, they have only let in as many at this stage during the 202-21 campaign, when they let in nine under Hansi Flick.  

While the late setback against Eintracht was a body blow for Bayern, Hainer insisted he is not worried about the path the club are currently on. 

"Yes, unfortunately, we did not win, but that will come," Hainer said.

"I have no fear because with our style of play we will win matches. We could have won against Aston Villa and against Eintracht Frankfurt."

Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve knows it takes a "special mental toughness" to deal with the pressures of the WNBA Finals.

The Lynx are 2-1 down to the New York Liberty following a 77-80 defeat at home on Wednesday.

Minnesota blew a 15-point lead in front of a franchise-record home crowd, but four-time WNBA champion Reeve says the swings in momentum are part and parcel of a Finals series.

"There's so many ups and downs and swings all around, and it takes special mental toughness and physical toughness to sort of weather those swings, and here we are," said Reeve, who has been named WNBA Coach of the Year four times.

"We're disappointed. We're home. We played well and just couldn't come up with the win."

Having sunk half (10/20) of their shots in the opening quarter, the Lynx only converted 19 of 55 for the rest of the game.

They now face the prospect of having to be the first team to overturn a 2-1 deficit heading into the last two fixtures since they won the Finals in 2017.

"I feel like they were making plays at the end of shot clocks and like the coach said, we were getting really good looks," said Napheesa Collier, who finished with a team-leading 22 points for the Lynx.

"We just weren't executing on the offensive end. It's just hard when you get that and then obviously they are a great offensive team."

Breanna Stewart led for the Liberty with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

But Sabrina Ionescu was the hero for New York, with her 3-pointer coming with just two seconds remaining. The Liberty are now just one win away from their first championship.

Ionescu said: "I had to go look at the video really quickly to see how far I was.

"Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn't. I've practiced that shot a thousand times in my head, on the court, and I feel like that’s just something that as athletes, you put yourself in that position to want to be able to make a shot."

Iga Swiatek has confirmed Wim Fissette as her new coach as she continues to prepare for next month's WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Swiatek parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski earlier this month after three successful years with the Pole, which included four grand slam titles. 

Fissette has previously coached five world number one players.

The 44-year-old had stints with Kim Clijsters, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and, most recently, Naomi Osaka.

Fissette has coached Osaka in two matches against Swiatek, with the Japanese losing in the 2022 Miami final and in the second round at Roland-Garros earlier this year. 

"I'm happy to announce that Wim Fissette is joining our team," Swiatek posted on social media.

"As you know, I'm preparing for the WTA Finals but my perspective is, as always, long-term, not short-term.

"I said many times that my career is a marathon for me, not a sprint and I'm working, operating and making decisions with this approach.

"I want to say that I'm very excited and looking forward to working with Wim. He seems to have a great attitude, vision and huge experience at a very top level of tennis.

"It's always crucial to try and get to know each other better but we're off to a good start and I can't wait to compete soon."

Swiatek has not competed since her quarter-final loss to Jessica Pegula at the US Open, pulling out of the China Open, where she was defending champion, due to "personal reasons". 

She now faces a battle to remain at the summit of the WTA rankings, having seen Aryna Sabalenka close the gap following her successes at the US and Wuhan Open. 

Liam Lawson revealed he has been set a target of beating Yuki Tsunoda to be in contention for a Red Bull seat in 2025 ahead of his return to the track this weekend. 

Lawson will partner up with Tsunoda for RB at the United States Grand Prix in Austin after replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of the season. 

The New Zealander returns to the grid for the first time in a year after deputising for Ricciardo for five races last season, scoring points at the Singapore Grand Prix on just his third start.

Lawson has the chance to impress again this time around, with a potential view of joining Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year. 

It is no secret that Sergio Perez is under pressure. Since the beginning of 2023, the six-time race winner has scored almost 500 fewer points than Verstappen.

The Mexican has also failed to reach the podium in his last 13 races, with his best finish coming at the Miami Grand Prix where he finished fourth. 

And Lawson has said that beating Tsunoda is the target Red Bull have set, with the 22-year-old aiming to give Christian Horner a headache ahead of next season. 

“[The target set by Red Bull of needing to beat Tsunoda is] pretty much what I expected, they don’t want to see me going in there and seeing me outperformed for the rest of the year – but it’s always been like that,” Lawson said.

“With Yuki, we’ve been compared since we were 17 or 18 years old.

"He’s had a really good start to the season, and he’s been performing better this year than any other year but also the team has changed up a lot this year and is heading in a really great direction so it’s exciting to be part of that as well.”

“The conversations have always been in the direction of becoming a Red Bull driver in the future and that’s what I’ve said to them – that’s what I want to become, that’s why I joined the team and want to stay with them and join them in F1. 

“That’s my goal and their goal, I think, is to have drivers to replace current drivers in the future at some point.

"That’s the goal. When that could happen, I have no absolutely idea. But I know it’ll be based on how I perform in the car.”

Tsunoda currently sits 12th in the drivers' championship, claiming 22 points so far this season, with his last top 10 finish coming in Hungary back in July. 

Lawson will only have one practice to get up to speed this weekend in Austin, which is one of three sprint weekends in the final six races of the season. 

Though he has had time to prepare for this moment, saying he knew during the Singapore Grand Prix he would be replacing eight-time race winner Ricciardo this weekend. 

Lawson explained the difficulty of that particular race, but said a conversation with the Australian has stuck with him ahead of his return to the track.

“Luckily, he’s a great guy,” Lawson said. “He knew it was nothing to do with me. And that’s probably the thing with Daniel for the whole time we’ve been in this situation.

“Even for the last 12 months, it’s never felt like we were in direct competition as much as we all are in the sport in some way.

“With Daniel, it never really felt like that, he was always open to giving advice when I was driving. He was good to me throughout the year, in any way he could be.

“So, it never felt like we were in direct competition for a seat. We were also at very different point in our career, so that’s something that probably helped that.

“I went and saw him and said obviously sorry about this whole situation as it’s not nice, and sorry you had to go through it.

"But he said there’s obviously nothing against me, and he said ‘you get one shot at F1, make sure you take it’ – and he said ‘good luck’.”