Dominic Thiem insists Novak Djokovic must be regarded as the greatest tennis player of all time, ruling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out of contention.

Despite a hamstring issue, Djokovic became the joint-most successful male player in grand slam history last week as he moved level with Nadal on 22 titles following his record-extending 10th Australian Open triumph. 

Along with retired 20-time major winner Federer, Djokovic and Nadal find themselves in the long-running debate to determine the greatest player in history.

But 2020 US Open champion Thiem, who believes the number of major wins must be the decisive factor in the conversation, is confident Djokovic will soon leave his two great rivals firmly behind.

"In my opinion, the grand slam titles should be the defining criteria when determining the best of all time, they are the four most important tournaments in tennis," the Austrian said.

"Everything else is fine, but it's not the same. The slams are what counts, so the GOAT will probably be the one with the most grand slams.

"I am not very surprised [by Djokovic's Melbourne triumph]. Djokovic still looks young – physically and mentally, because of the way he moves on the court. It's like he was 25 years old.

"We have to be honest, he is the best, so his victory was not very surprising."

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen ruthlessly punished three defensive errors as Napoli beat Spezia 3-0 to increase their lead at the Serie A summit to 16 points.

Luciano Spalletti's side may not have been at their swashbuckling best but produced a professional display at Stadio Alberto Picco on Sunday and never looked at risk of dropping points once they edged in front.

An uneventful first half brought few clear-cut chances, but Napoli took charge of the contest just a minute into the second, with Kvaratskhelia coolly converting a penalty.

Another mistake allowed Osimhen to score for the fifth league game in a row, and he netted again soon after as Spezia proved to be their own worst enemies.

Both sides looked purposeful early on, with Kevin Agudelo threatening first as he blazed over following a driving run.

Mattia Caldara then chested a Mario Rui cross just wide of his own goal at the other end, and from the subsequent corner Giovanni Di Lorenzo went agonisingly close with a glancing header.

Proceedings soon calmed significantly, but Spezia gifted Napoli the breakthrough via a penalty concession a minute after the restart.

Arkadiusz Reca blatantly handled the ball in the box and Kvaratskhelia slammed home his spot-kick.

Osimhen was then on hand to capitalise on Ethan Ampadu's sliced clearance with 68 minutes played, nodding in above Dimitris Nikolaou and Bartlomiej Dragowski.

The two goalscorers linked up five minutes later to finish Spezia off.

Caldara inexplicably coughed up possession just outside his own box, allowing Kvaratskhelia to tee Osimhen up for a tap-in.

Zhu Lin captured her first singles title on the WTA Tour with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Lesia Tsurenko in Sunday's Thailand Open final in Hua Hin.

Zhu, playing in her first Tour-level final at the age of 29, produced a polished display against the Ukrainian, who had toppled top seed Bianca Andreescu in the last four.

Tsurenko got off to a miserable start as Zhu broke in the first game, but she soon responded with a break of her own in a topsy-turvy opening set.

Six of the last seven games played in the opener resulted in breaks of serve, with Zhu coming out on top before taking charge in the second.

Zhu was in the ascendency after three successive breaks when she forced her first championship point with a big forehand winner to end an epic rally, though Tsurenko recovered to force yet another break as the momentum shifted again.

However, Zhu, who will move into the top 50 of the world rankings as a result of her successful campaign in Thailand, hit back once more before converting her third championship point with an emphatic forehand to seal her maiden title.

Paris Saint-Germain remain in contract talks with Lionel Messi, with the club's football advisor Luis Campos hopeful of reaching an agreement.

Messi's two-year deal with PSG is due to expire at the end of the season, and the 35-year-old has been linked with a move to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.

A return to Barcelona has also been mooted for Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup glory last year, winning the Golden Ball award following a series of talismanic displays in Qatar.

While reports in December suggested he had reached an agreement in principle to stay with PSG, no announcement has been made on his future beyond this campaign.

Campos has confirmed discussions are ongoing with Messi, who he hopes will renew after recording 29 goal involvements (15 goals, 14 assists) in 24 PSG appearances this season. 

"I would like to have him in this project, I cannot hide it, I would be delighted if he continues with us," Campos told Telefoot.

"But we are still discussing at the moment to achieve this goal, to continue to have Lionel Messi with us."

PSG came close to recruiting another left-footed attacker as the January transfer window drew to a close, only for a proposed loan move for Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech to fall through.

The Parisians were reportedly foiled by Chelsea's failure to submit the correct paperwork before the transfer deadline, leaving Campos in no doubt as to the Blues' responsibility for the failed move.

"We had the player with us, we had done everything," he said. "But like in all transfers, we need the three parts, player and both clubs, to work well. 

"In this case, it worked very well for PSG, it worked well with Ziyech and unfortunately it didn't work out for the last part."

The NBA has handed out bans to Austin Rivers, Mo Bamba and Jalen Suggs for their roles in an on-court brawl during the Orlando Magic's 127-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.

Rivers and Bamba became involved in an altercation late in the third quarter, with both men throwing punches before Magic guard Suggs pulled Rivers to the ground.

All three players were ejected in the aftermath of the incident, with Timberwolves duo Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince joining them after getting too involved in the melee. 

Bamba will face the most severe punishment after the league said he continued to "engage with Rivers in a hostile manner" outside the locker rooms following the brawl.

The Orlando center will serve a four-game suspension without pay, while Rivers has been given a similar three-game ban.

Bamba's team-mate Suggs will miss one game for escalating the confrontation by grabbing Rivers around the neck, the league said, with that ban to be served when the Magic face the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.

McDaniels, meanwhile, has been fined $20,000 for his actions, which included running into the melee to push Bamba from behind. 

Graham Potter has warned Chelsea's new signings about the derision they will face from opposing fans after Fulham's supporters described Enzo Fernandez as "a waste of money".

Chelsea had three of their January signings in the starting XI as they slumped to a goalless draw at home to west London rivals Fulham on Friday, leaving the Blues 10 points adrift of the Premier League's top four.

Chelsea spent a reported £294.8million in the January transfer window alone, making Fernandez the Premier League's record signing on deadline day having already acquired Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, Andrey Santos, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.

Though Fernandez was largely impressive on his debut, the World Cup winner was taunted by Fulham's travelling fans, who directed chants of "what a waste of money" towards him.

Potter knows Chelsea's recent arrivals must get used to that type of treatment, saying: "It's not just Enzo, it's the whole team.

"It's normal because we have spent the money we've spent and you guys aren't going to let that go under the radar, so all of football will be singing that song.

"We need to improve as a team. If you look back 18 months, Chelsea were not scoring and they thought they would spend £100m on a centre-forward and that would fix all the problems, and it didn't. 

"You have to act better as a team. That's our challenge. That's what we need to do."

Chelsea's spending has attracted criticism from rival managers, with Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp joking he would not speak about the Blues' business without a lawyer present. 

Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, implied there would be more of a backlash if the champions embarked on a spending spree similar to Chelsea's.

Asked about those comments, Potter said: "Everybody's entitled to their opinion. It's a free world, it's free speech, which is good. 

"[Guardiola and Klopp] are entitled to their opinion. I don't worry too much about that. They've got their right to speak."

With Chelsea winning one of their six Premier League games since the turn of the year, Potter is under pressure to get his squad to gel quickly, but the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss does not know how long it will take.

"I don't think anyone could give you a timescale," he added. "If I could get a month for every time I was asked that question, I would be here for five years."

Jacque Vaughn believes the Brooklyn Nets proved what they want to be by fighting back to defeat the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

Cam Thomas scored 44 points from the bench as the Nets overturned a 23-point deficit at Barclays Center.

The Nets were without star players Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving, the latter missing with a calf issue having this week requested a trade.

Irving was not in attendance, with Vaughn saying "we were all in agreement on him not being here", as the Nets coach hailed his team's mental fortitude.

"We stacked the deck, I think, at mentally challenging them tonight," he told reporters. 

"We didn't get off to the start that we wanted to, but we responded. We talked about it at half-time that it was more than the physical piece of this game that we were missing, it was the mental piece of this game.

"Definitely a shift in our mentality. And we got rewarded for it.

"It's proof, it's evidence of who we want to be as a team. We talked about what day of the week, what state we're in, how many guys are available.

"It just doesn't matter. You have the ability and the choice to lock in and play and the group that we had did that."

Thomas' points haul was a career-best tally for the 21-year-old, who has played 35 times this season but is yet to make a start.

Edmond Sumner added 29 points but used his post-match press conference to laud his team-mate's match-winning efforts.

"I'm watching him score after score. Cam's a guy that once he gets that type of rhythm, you've just got to let him go," Sumner said.

"He can run off 10, 15, 20 straight. In the fourth quarter, he really picked it up and got it. Get it going, Cam. Go to work my guy. I love it."

Saturday's game marked an 11th start of the season for Sumner, who can empathise with Thomas when it comes to a lack of opportunities.

Sumner added: "People don't see what we really go through every day.

"It's hard not playing games when you're busting your butt every day – it's hard. For you to always stay mentally happy, it's tough.

"I know how hard he works, how talented he is. We stay ready every day, we compete against each other almost every day, so that was huge.

"I love that everybody on this team was happy for him and then we let him go to work."

Josh Hazlewood's rotten luck with injuries has continued after he was ruled out of the opening Test between India and Australia.

Hazlewood, who has played only four Tests in the last two years, will not feature in Nagpur on Thursday due to an Achilles issue, with Scott Boland in line to play instead.

A side injury suffered against West Indies in November saw Hazlewood miss not only the second Test of that series, but also the first two matches against South Africa in December.

He returned for the final Test of that series, taking 5-57 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but will now have to recover from another niggle.

Hazlewood joins fellow paceman Mitchell Starc in missing the first Test of the four-match India series, while all-rounder Cameron Green is also a doubt, meaning an overseas bow for Boland is likely.

Boland has taken 28 wickets across his six Test appearances.

Discussing the injury, Hazlewood said: "It's still lingering from the [Sydney] Test match [against South Africa].

"We obviously bowled after a lot of rain and the jump-offs were quite soft, where we were taking off from and they ended up replacing them as well.

"It sort of worked to a degree, but just that extra load jumping off a soft ground to bowl and again first Test match your body is not used to that sort of workload as well.

"So we thought we'd give it a few days here straight off the bat and try and get over the hump and have a bowl from Tuesday and hope it goes well."

Boland has the full backing of his team-mate, however.

"Scotty has bowled plenty at the MCG when it was a flat wicket, it probably wasn't swinging or reverse swinging so he knows how to work hard for a long period of time," Hazlewood said.

"You've got Lance Morris who has worked hard on reverse swing for the last month and then a nice lead in here with a few sessions.

"The guys are excited first of all to play in the subcontinent, they both haven't yet, but they're very well qualified to do so."

Stephen Curry's knee injury suffered during Saturday's win over the Dallas Mavericks is a "concern" for Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

The reigning NBA champions had enough to close out the game, beating the Mavs 119-113 at Chase Center.

But Curry – who recorded 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds – was forced off in the third quarter.

Defending a drive, Curry was involved in a collision that instantly caused him obvious discomfort and prevented him from continuing.

The Warriors confirmed X-ray results came back negative, but more examinations are required to understand the full nature of the injury.

"Any time a guy's going to get an MRI there's a concern level, for sure," Kerr said. "So we'll just have to wait and see the results.

"This has happened many, many times over the years. So, fingers crossed he's OK."

Curry hurt the same knee only two days before against the Denver Nuggets, though Kerr was unsure if the two injuries had any form of relation.

If Curry does require a spell on the sidelines, Kerr and the Warriors can at least study their game from his last prolonged absence earlier this season when a shoulder injury forced him to miss 11 games.

"If he's out, then we move forward and we do have some games to look at, some game film to look at," Kerr added. "We'll be ready, regardless."

Curry's exit coincided with a significant drop-off for the Warriors, who went from 20 points up to having just a five-point lead with a little over 90 seconds left.

It is not the first time the Warriors have been unconvincing when trying to close a game out, with Draymond Green suggesting the players need to take more responsibility.

"When we get down the stretch, we stop doing the things that work," he said. "When the game is going down the stretch, it's hard for Steve [Kerr] to get a call in every time.

"You're under pressure, it's intense, you're in the game, you're not really focused on what's coming from the sidelines. We've got to do a better job closing down the stretch."

This victory took the Warriors to 27-26 for the season, leaving them seventh in the Western Conference.

LeBron James said it was a "duh" question when asked if Kyrie Irving is a player the Los Angeles Lakers should move for before the trade deadline.

Irving has requested a trade away from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the deadline next week.

The eight-time All-Star did not feature for the Nets on Saturday due to a calf issue, though his absence was not felt too keenly in a comeback win over the Washington Wizards.

James scored 27 points to edge closer to breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time record, yet it was not enough to help the Lakers avoid a 126-131 reverse to the New Orleans Pelicans.

While the Lakers sit a lowly 13th in the Western Conference, with a 25-29 record for the season, they might still harbour hopes of a championship push should they get on a run and make the playoffs.

In January, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said "there's no resource we'll hold onto" if an opportunity to win a championship was there, and a possible trade for Irving might just fall into that category.

For James, it is a no-brainer, though he emphasised it is not his call.

"That's a Rob question," James said when asked about the possibility of reuniting with Irving, whom he reached three NBA Finals with while at the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

"You've got to see [Pelinka] when you all get back to L.A. I don't speak for our front office.

"My mindset is whatever line-up or whatever group that we have is to make sure we prepare ourselves the best way we can to go out and win. 

"Obviously, that's a – what's the word you use – 'Duh' question when you talk about a player that like that."

One player who could be used as a makeweight in a potential trade is Russell Westbrook.

The 2017 NBA MVP had 15 points, four assists and four rebounds from the bench on Saturday, though was not called upon by Darvin Ham in the final quarter.

There is plenty of speculation over his future, but asked if he was feeling extra pressure, Westbrook replied: "I do not.

"That's not up to me. I've known this was a business since I was 18, 19-years old, since I got into it.

"My dad taught me that at that age, getting to this league is a business, and people make whatever decision they make, that's up to them.

"I've been all in since day one. I'm very supportive of my team-mates. I compete every night. I'll make sure I'm ready and professional, like I always have been and always will be."

James echoed the sentiment, adding: "It shouldn't be an issue. The trade deadline happens every single year.

"You go out and focus, no matter what happens. You're still a professional."

As for making history, James could break the points record on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"I just want to win, you know. You play the game the right way and see what happens," he said.

"I'm tired as hell, [but] I'll be ready to go on Tuesday."

Kyrie Irving's trade request to the Brooklyn Nets caught his teammates off guard, according to Nic Claxton.

Having failed to agree a fresh long-term deal with the franchise, and in the final year of his four-year agreement, Irving has demanded a trade.

Suitors are growing, with ESPN reporting the Los Angeles Clippers have joined the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns in the hunt for his services.

Brooklyn are mulling over their options as they seek to remain competitive ahead of the imminent return of Kevin Durant, ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

Irving's request led to plenty of surprise among fans, a feeling that was shared by center Claxton.

"I was taking a nap. I looked in one of my group chats and I saw it," he said on Saturday. "I was like, 'Wow'. It just caught me off guard. But it is what it is.

"We're just like everybody else, we were caught off guard, but I can't judge a grown man for his decisions.

"At the end of the day, he's doing what's best for him. I stand by him, and I stand with my teammates here in this locker room."

Irving did not play in Saturday's game against the Washington Wizards due to right calf soreness, where the Nets moved to 31-20 after a 125-123 victory.

Matthew Tkachuk enjoyed home comforts in the NHL All-Star Game, named MVP as the Atlantic Division beat the Central Division 7-5 on Saturday.

The Florida Panthers winger had seven points on the day, including five in the semi-final win over the Metropolitan Division, as he starred in front of the Panthers fans in Florida.

It was Tkachuk's second All-Star victory, having helped the Pacific Division win the 2020 All-Star title in his hometown of St. Louis.

Victory in Florida was a special occasion for Tkachuk, who hopes his teammates on the day enjoyed similar feelings.

"It's been an honour to play in front of them this whole year, and it's great that the other players in the league can see what a great place this is to play," he said, "I'm as happy as can be here."

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was another who shone, hitting a hat trick in the final, and he certainly had the same enjoyable experience.

"It was so much fun. I'm proud of how we won it. What a great group of guys. It was just a great weekend."

Victory for the Atlantic was their first after six previous ties in the divisional format, having fallen in the final in 2020.