Rory McIlroy is eyeing a strong finish to the PGA Tour season as he goes in search of a record fourth triumph at the FedEx Cup this week.
McIlroy, who won the title in 2019 and 2022, has won twice on the PGA Tour this season, adding to his victory on the DP World Tour at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
The 35-year-old is still without a major success, falling just short in June's U.S. Open to Bryson DeChambeau following a late collapse at Pinehurst.
McIlroy arrives at the FedEx Cup Playoffs third in the rankings behind two-time major winner this year Xander Schauffele and recent Olympic champion Scottie Scheffler.
But the Northern Irishman is confident he can end the season on a high ahead of an intense three-week stretch.
"I certainly don't want to sit up here and belittle my achievements this year and what I've done, but at the same time, I expect a certain standard from myself," McIlroy said.
"I've won a couple of times, but I've had an opportunity to win a few more times than that and haven't been able to get over the line.
"I would have liked to have added a couple more to that win column. But there's still three tournaments left in this PGA Tour season.
"Even the three years that I've won the FedExCup, I came into the Playoffs, I think in 36th and was able to win, but then '19 and '22 I was a further up and closer to the lead."
"I think when the bulk of the season has come and gone, and you've got this opportunity of three weeks to really flip the script a little bit or change the narrative and what that season means.
"I think that's a motivating factor, and part of the reason that I've probably played well in the Playoffs for the last three years."
Two-time champion Naomi Osaka and fellow former winners Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem and Bianca Andreescu were given wildcards for the upcoming US Open.
Osaka, who lost in the final round of qualifying for the Cincinnati Open, won the first of her four grand slam titles at Flushing Meadows in 2018, winning again two years later.
The former world number one returned to the tour this season after giving birth last year, but has struggled to find the form that led her to climb to the top of the rankings.
The Japanese is now ranked 90th in the WTA rankings, with her best finishes coming in Doha and 's-Hertogenbosch where she reached the quarter-finals in both.
She will be joined in the women's singles by Canada's Andreescu, who was crowned the US Open champion after her win over Serena Williams in 2019.
The 24-year-old returned to action this year after missing nine months due to a back injury and reached the French Open third round in her first event back.
Meanwhile, Thiem headlines the wildcards in the men's singles in what will be the final grand slam of his career after confirming he will retire at the end of the season.
The Austrian won the US Open in 2020 in an epic five-match thriller against Alexander Zverev, but has failed to his best form after sustaining a wrist injury three years ago.
Also returning thanks to a wildcard is Wawrinka, eight years on from when he claimed the title in New York against Novak Djokovic at Flushing Meadows.
The 39-year-old's triumph in the United States was the latest of his three career grand slams, having previously prevailed at the Australian Open and French Open.
Another new season, another new head coach at Stamford Bridge.
And Enzo Maresca could hardly have been handed a tougher assignment as he leads Chelsea in the Premier League for the first time, with champions Manchester City the visitors to SW6 on Sunday.
It has been another busy off-season for the Blues, with the Todd Boehly regime sanctioning a £161million outlay on nine signings, including Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
City, on the other hand, have been largely quiet as Guardiola continues to put his faith in the group that delivered an unprecedented fourth straight league crown last season.
As two of English football's giants prepare to go head-to-head on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, we dive into the best Opta stats to preview Sunday's clash.
What's expected?
It will come as a surprise to nobody to learn City are overwhelming favourites to defend their title in 2024-25, the Opta supercomputer giving them an 83% chance of topping the pile.
The supercomputer is also firmly on their side ahead of matchday one, with simulations of Sunday's game resulting in City being assigned a 59.6% chance of victory.
City's last trip to Stamford Bridge resulted in what was surely the game of the 2023-24 season, as Cole Palmer scored a last-gasp penalty in a 4-4 draw last November.
The chances of the points being shared again on Sunday are rated at 20.8%, with Chelsea only triumphant in 19.6% of scenarios.
The Blues are winless in their last six Premier League meetings with City, recording two draws and four defeats since Thomas Tuchel led them to a 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium in May 2021.
That result was swiftly followed by another victory in the 2021 Champions League final, but City have since gone unbeaten through nine meetings with Chelsea in all competitions (seven wins, two draws), the joint-longest run without defeat against the Blues in their history (also nine between 1936 and 1949).
This will be the first time Chelsea have opened a top-flight campaign against the reigning champions since 1971-72, when they were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal at Highbury.
City, meanwhile, have made a habit of starting quickly in recent years, winning their opening match in 12 of the last 13 Premier League seasons, the only exception being a 1-0 loss at Tottenham in August 2021.
Maresca thrown in at the deep end
Maresca is set to become the fourth Chelsea boss to face the defending champions in his first Premier League game at the helm, with none of the previous three starting with a win.
Claudio Ranieri oversaw a 3-3 draw with Manchester United in September 2000, Avram Grant's tenure started with a 2-0 defeat to the Red Devils in September 2007, and Rafael Benitez's Blues held City to a goalless draw on his November 2012 bow.
Despite leading Leicester City to the Championship title with an impressive haul of 97 points last season, Maresca – who previously served as manager of City's Elite Development Squad in 2020-21 – was a somewhat left-field appointment by Boehly. Banking some early credit – something Mauricio Pochettino failed to do – could prove crucial.
As a coach straight out of the Guardiola school, Maresca is expected to instil a heavy pressing, possession-based style in West London. The question is how quickly his Chelsea players will take to it.
Pochettino's Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 Premier League games last season (nine wins, five draws), including winning their last five in a row, yet their players have found themselves on another tactical crash-course in pre-season, which included a 4-2 defeat to City in Columbus, Ohio.
Many members of Chelsea's bloated first-team squad should be suited to Maresca's demands, though. The Blues averaged 12.2 pressed sequences per game in the Premier League last season, compared to Leicester's 11.3 in the Championship under Maresca, also forcing 9.0 high turnovers per 90 minutes to the Foxes' 7.9.
Sunday's game may not offer a perfect representation of what is to come under the Italian, though, with City likely to dictate proceedings.
If Maresca is willing to tweak his approach, there could be joy to be had on the counter-attack, and new £51.4million winger Neto could relish coming up against City's high line.
The former Wolves man travelled 14.53 metres per carry in the Premier League last season, ranking third in the division behind Chiedozie Ogbene (15.13) and Anthony Elanga (14.54).
Only 12 players, meanwhile, managed more assist-ending carries than Neto's three, despite the jet-heeled winger being limited to just 1,518 Premier League minutes by injury. City will have to be on their toes if he makes his debut.
Will City be without Rodri?
City ended last season by winning nine straight league matches by two goals or more, the longest such run in their Premier League history, with their final three victories all coming against London clubs (4-0 versus Fulham, 2-0 against Tottenham, 3-1 versus West Ham).
While Phil Foden claimed the Premier League's Player of the Season prize after a series of talismanic performances in the run-in, Guardiola's side surely could not have done it without Rodri.
Rodri has taken his all-round game to a new level, scoring eight Premier League goals and adding nine assists last season – both career-high figures – before going on to claim Player of the Tournament honours as Spain won Euro 2024.
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, City have only lost six of the 102 matches they have played with Rodri in their starting lineup, suffering the same number of defeats in just 18 games without the Spaniard during this span.
In the Premier League last term, they boasted a record of 27 wins, seven draws and no defeats when Rodri appeared, but lost three of four games (one win) when he was absent.
City's ability to cope without the 28-year-old could be put to the test on Sunday, however. He did not return to training until Wednesday following his Euro 2024 heroics, making it unlikely – though not impossible – that he will play a full part at Stamford Bridge.
Guardiola's champions did show defensive frailties at times last season, conceding the joint-most goals from fast breaks in the Premier League (seven, alongside Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion) despite giving up the seventh-fewest fast breaks in total (26).
If Rodri misses out or sees his participation limited on Sunday, City's competitors will be interested to get a look at their midfield depth.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Cole Palmer
Palmer showed his old club what they were missing last season with his last-gasp penalty at Stamford Bridge, one of 33 Premier League goal involvements (22 goals, 11 assists) he recorded in 2023-24 – more than any other player.
Sixteen of his goals came in home games, the joint-most a Chelsea player has ever netted at Stamford Bridge in a single campaign, alongside Didier Drogba in 2006-07 and Frank Lampard in 2009-10.
With Palmer also making a sizeable impact for England at Euro 2024, including coming off the bench to net in their final defeat to Spain, another productive campaign is expected of him.
Manchester City – Erling Haaland
Palmer's fine debut season did not result in a Golden Boot win, though, with Haaland retaining the prize with 27 Premier League goals in 2023-24.
Haaland has 63 goals in 66 Premier League matches since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, and if his previous opening-day performances are anything to go by, Chelsea should be fearful.
The Norwegian has started both of his Premier League seasons with a matchday-one brace, scoring twice versus West Ham in 2022-23 and Burnley in 2023-24.
He could become the first player in Premier League history to achieve that feat in three different seasons, let alone three in a row.
Baltimore Ravens have confirmed that tight end Mark Andrews avoided injury after being involved in a car accident on Wednesday.
Andrews, who is heading into his seventh season in the NFL, was driving to the Ravens' team facility for training camp when the incident occurred.
The 28-year-old was evaluated by the team's medical staff and did not “sustain any apparent injuries,” the team added.
After practice on Wednesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh provided an update on Andrews while reiterating the importance of wearing seatbelts.
“Mark (Andrews) wore seatbelts,” Harbaugh said. “That was an accident that happened and it was pretty significant, I believe.
"He came out of it with nothing. Nothing at all, not a scrape.”
“I appreciate everyone’s thoughts and well wishes,” Andrews said in a statement.
“This is a great reminder about the importance of wearing seatbelts and remaining alert while driving a car.”
Andrews was already scheduled for a rest day on Wednesday and is expected back at practice in the coming days, according to the Ravens.
The three-time Pro Bowler finished last season with 544 yards and six touchdowns in the 10 games he featured in.
The Ravens are scheduled to host the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday in the team’s second pre-season game.
Daniil Medvedev suffered consecutive opening game losses as he was dumped out of the Cincinnati Open by Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.
Medvedev, who was beaten by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Montreal last week, endured another early exit, losing 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in just under two hours against the Czech.
“It’s amazing to be back, to be honest. To get a win against such a talented player as Daniil surely is, is just such a bonus for me," Lehecka said on being back in his first tournament in three months after injury.
Lehecka squandered four game points in the opener, with Medvedev also missing an opportunity for an early break, but the Czech was able to hold his opening serve.
The pair traded blows for the remainder, but the world number five struggled in the tiebreak, losing three games in a row to hand Lehecka the advantage.
And the decisive moment came in the seventh game of the second, as Lehecka broke Medvedev's serve, edging closer to a memorable triumph.
The Czech missed four match points in the final two games, but was not to be denied a fifth time, ending the encounter with a fierce serve to set up a meeting with Frances Tiafoe in the next round.
Data Debrief: Lehecka continues winning return in Cincinnati
Since 1990, Lehecka is now the fourth player ranked outside the ATP's top 30 to claim top five wins at three ATP Masters 1000 events in a season after Gaston Gaudio (2001), Hicham Arazi (2001) and Tommy Paul (2022).
Excluding the ATP Tour Finals, Medvedev has been defeated in three consecutive ATP matches on hard court for the first time since October in 2017.
Iga Swiatek survived in her return to hard courts at the Cincinnati Open, outlasting Varvara Gracheva in three sets to advance to the third round.
Swiatek, who was playing in her first match since her bronze medal at the Olympics, was taken to a third-set decider, but emerged as a 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 victor in Ohio.
“For sure, the transition is probably the hardest, from the slowest surface to the fastest surface,” Swiatek said.
“But that’s why I’m still happy with my performance, and looking forward to another match to kind of still do the grinding and implement what I was working on, but not really focusing on the results.”
The world number one looked set for a comfortable passage to the next round of the competition after winning the first set 6-0, serving three of her seven aces in the opener.
But her French opponent responded, matching Swiatek stride for stride in the second before prevailing in a tie-break to take the encounter the distance.
However, Swiatek would once again show her dominance, winning the final four games in a row to set up an encounter with Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Lulu Sun in straight sets.
Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses yearly triumphs
Despite a third set, Swiatek has claimed 11.2% (27/242) of total sets played by a score of 6-0 in completed WTA 1000 matches - the highest rate of any player (min. 20 sets) since the format's introduction in 2009.
The Pole now has 28 WTA-1000 match wins in 2024, surpassing her own career-high of 27 (2023). Only Serena Williams (36, 2013) has now recorded more WTA-1000 wins in a season, since the format’s introduction in 2009.
Aaron Judge became the fastest in major league history to hit 300 home runs, reaching the milestone with a three-run shot in the eighth inning in the New York Yankees’ 10-2 rout of the lowly Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
Judge hit his major league-leading 43rd home run on a 3-0 up-and-in sinker from Chad Kuhl to extend the lead to 9-2.
Chicago had intentionally walked Juan Soto to bring up Judge, who had not homered on a 3-0 pitch since 2021.
Judge hit that mark in his 955th game and 3,431st at-bat. Ralph Kiner reached 300 homers in his 1,087th game and Babe Ruth did it in his 3,831st at-bat.
Soto also went deep after hitting three home runs in a 4-1 win over the White Sox on Tuesday. He has 34 this season and six in his past four games.
Austin Wells had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs for the Yankees, who moved back atop the AL East with a one-half game lead over Baltimore.
The White Sox lost for the 26th time in 28 games and have dropped 12 consecutive series. They are on pace to finish 39-123, which would be the most losses since the 1889 Cleveland Spiders went 20-134.
Streaking Astros sweep Rays
Maurico Dubon delivered a tiebreaking single in the 10th inning and Josh Hader pitched two hitless innings as the Houston Astros won their season-high eighth straight game, 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Automatic runner Pedro Leon moved to third on Jeremy Pena’s deep fly to center and after Zach Dezenso struck out and Jake Meyers walked, Dubon’s single to center gave the Astros the lead.
Houston was hitless until Peña homered for the second straight game, leading off the fifth against Zack Littell with his 12th of the season.
Ronel Blanco limited the Rays to two hits over six scoreless innings and Hader struck out three for the win.
The Astros have outscored opponents 44-20 during the eight-game run with their pitchers posting a 2.34 ERA.
Tampa Bay has scored two or fewer runs in nine of its last 13 games.
Sizzling Diamondbacks roll over Rockies
Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam and drove in five runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to their season-high sixth straight victory, 11-4 over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.
Joc Pederson had two RBIs as the Diamondbacks finished a three-game sweep and improved to 18-3 in their last 21 games. Following a 6-1 homestand, the defending NL champions go on a nine-game trip to Tampa Bay, Miami and Boston.
Arizona has totalled 46 runs during the six-game streak while batting .329.
Suarez had three hits, driving the first pitch he saw from Riley Pint into the left-center seats for a 10-3 lead in the sixth and his fourth career slam.
Jordan Montgomery allowed three runs on five hits and three walks over six innings with a season-high eight strikeouts.
The last-place Rockies, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games, committed three errors and hit four batters. Colorado fell to an NL-worst 17-46 on the road.
Matthew Judon has a new team to negotiate a new contract with.
The New England Patriots traded Judon to the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday for a 2025 third-round draft pick, according to multiple reports.
As one of the NFL's top edge rushers, Judon had been seeking a new contract with the Patriots.
He is due to make $6.5million this season in the final year of his current deal, and the Falcons have yet to offer him a new contract, according to NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero.
Since signing that contract prior to the 2021 season, he has registered 32 sacks in 38 games for New England.
Judon, who turns 32 years old on Thursday, had a career-high 15 1/2 sacks in 17 games in 2022 to earn his fourth Pro Bowl selection, but was limited to just four games last season because of a biceps injury. Before his season ended in Week 4, however, he notched four sacks.
A fifth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2016, Judon has 66 1/2 sacks and 87 tackles for loss in 114 career games.
The eight-year veteran now joins an Atlanta team that went 7-10 in 2023 and is looking to contend for the NFC South crown after acquiring quarterback Kirk Cousins earlier this off-season.
Newcastle United will visit Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest in the second round of the EFL Cup.
Newcastle reached the final of this competition in 2022-23, also qualifying for the Champions League.
But Eddie Howe's men narrowly missed out on European football ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, meaning they enter the EFL Cup at this early stage.
The Magpies were handed one of the tougher possible draws, although they have won at the City Ground in each of the past two seasons. Newcastle and Forest will meet in Nottingham in the league in November.
Forest have enjoyed the sides' recent cup encounters rather more, knocking Newcastle out at this stage in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Elsewhere, Wednesday's draw, which was split into northern and southern sections, also pitted West Ham and Bournemouth against one another in a second all-Premier League tie.
Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle are to head to fellow Championship outfit Watford, while Middlesbrough host Stoke City after making the semi-finals last term and then beating Leeds United in the first round.
Rooney's former side Everton were drawn against Doncaster Rovers, the same opponents they defeated a year ago.
Ties will be played the week commencing August 26.
EFL Cup second-round draw in full:
Coventry City v Oxford United
Swansea City v Wycombe Wanderers
Wimbledon v Ipswich Town
Birmingham City v Fulham
Watford v Plymouth Argyle
West Ham v Bournemouth
Queens Park Rangers v Luton Town
Brighton and Hove Albion v Crawley Town
Crystal Palace v Norwich City
Cardiff City v Southampton
Millwall v Leyton Orient
Colchester United v Brentford
Grimsby Town v Sheffield Wednesday
Everton v Doncaster Rovers
Blackburn Rovers v Blackpool
Fleetwood Town v Rotherham United
Shrewsbury Town v Bolton Wanderers
Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United
Barrow v Derby County
Leicester City v Tranmere Rovers
Middlesbrough v Stoke City
Barnsley v Sheffield United
Harrogate Town v Preston North End
Walsall v Huddersfield Town
Wolves v Burnley
Wayne Rooney claimed his first win in charge of Plymouth Argyle with a 3-0 victory over fourth-tier Cheltenham Town in the first round of the EFL Cup.
Manchester United and England great Rooney was appointed as Plymouth boss ahead of the 2024-25 season, returning to the Championship after an unsuccessful stint at Birmingham City last season.
But the former striker's league bow saw Plymouth thrashed 4-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, with Rooney criticising his players following the first match of the campaign.
This cup meeting with Cheltenham eased the pressure on Rooney and Plymouth a little, however, even if they had to wait until past the hour mark for Ben Waine's breakthrough goal.
Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu then added to the scoring in the final 10 minutes to send Rooney's side safely into the second round.
Argyle are joined there by league foes Wednesday, who continued their strong start to the season by beating Hull City 2-1 courtesy of an early Charlie McNiell brace.
Meanwhile, in the third and final tie on Wednesday, Middlesbrough dumped out fellow Championship promotion candidates Leeds United, winning 3-0 at Elland Road.
Leeds, beaten play-off finalists last season, had been held at home by Portsmouth on the opening day of the league campaign and were frustrated again in front of their own fans, who booed the team off at full-time.
Anfernee Dijksteel's fine individual strike was followed by goals from Delano Burgzorg and Josh Coburn to ensure Boro boss Michael Carrick joins former team-mate Rooney in the draw for the next stage.
Though pleased with aspects of their performance in the first Test against South Africa, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite stressed the need for his team to step up their performance in the second Test as the two-match series hangs in the balance.
After securing a hard-fought draw in the first encounter in Trinidad and Tobago, Brathwaite is confident that his side can deliver a stronger showing in the decisive contest to clinch a 1-0 series win in Guyana and, more importantly, get points on the board to move up the ICC Test Championships standings. They are currently sitting at the bottom of the standings with a solitary win.
“I think it's important to get a good first-inning total; that is one thing we discussed as a batting group, and bowling, we just have to be disciplined. I think we were decent in the first game, and we just have to aim to be better,” Brathwaite said in a pre-game press conference.
Reflecting on the series opener, which was severely affected by rain, Brathwaite expressed a mixture of relief and determination, as his team was possibly staring down defeat before Alick Athanaze’s well-played knock of 92 and bad light intervened on the final day.
Alick Athanaze produced a tidy second-inning knock in the first Test. (AFP)
A number of West Indies batsmen had starts across both innings but failed to push on. The scores in that game were South Africa 357 and 173-3 declared, while the Caribbean side mustered 233 and 201-5.
"Obviously, we can’t control the weather. I think batting-wise, the first thing is the total. I think we could have put more runs on the board. So, as I said, I think that was a big focus of ours in terms of a good first innings total. And, you know, bowling wise, obviously pitch didn't offer much, especially for the fast boys. They didn't get much spin in the first innings as well,” Brathwaite shared.
“But I think we were quite disciplined. I was happy the guys scored out pretty much two runs on over for the innings, so I was happy with that. But I just think it's important, you know, to get a good all-round game. Batting wise, obviously we got to come to the party; first innings will be very crucial on this pitch, and then bowling wise, I think dot balls are very important,” he added.
The Barbadian also stressed the importance of maintaining pressure on South Africa, especially with the Providence pitch expected to be low and slow, similar to the one they encountered at Queens Park Oval last week. Should that be the case, Brathwaite believes a more resilient and focused effort will be crucial on this occasion.
In fact, the addition of Guyanese Shamar Joseph is an indication of West Indies’ aim to exploit the conditions as best as they can.
“It’s a similar type of surface to Trinidad, to be honest, in terms of slowness. Obviously, some of the Guyanese players on the team would know it better than most of the other players. So I think the communication between the guys has been good. We all know that it's the slowest pitch, so it's just to work out how, as individual players, we want to go about scoring runs and, obviously, bowling some good spells,” Brathwaite reasoned.
He continued: “From England, we have been discussing those matches that didn’t go as planned. We have one more test match until we get a little break before the next Test series, so it's important that we finish strong and we believe it.
“Obviously, in Trinidad, I was proud of the guys and how we went about the second inning; the guys were positive, and that was good to see. They had it in that, and so we are really pushing and aiming for victory in this last match.”
Finally, Brathwaite had a few words of encouragement for Athanaze, as he believes this decisive game presents an opportunity for West Indies bastmen to demonstrate their growth and capability on the international stage.
“I would encourage him just to be himself. I think in the last game, you can see him sweeping a lot, and I know he's a very good sweeper of the ball, so it's a bit of the same. It's not for him to stop the shot, but just for him to execute better. He has the full support of all the guys, and it is just encouragement because we know he could get the job done,” the skipper ended.
Jannik Sinner began his Cincinnati Open campaign with a hard-fought 6-4 7-5 win over Alex Michelsen, bouncing back from his injury scare at the Canadian Open last week.
Sinner fell to a quarter-final defeat to Andrey Rublev in Montreal last time out, appearing to struggle with a hip issue throughout that loss after missing the Paris Olympics due to a bout of tonsillitis.
However, the Italian played down any concerns over his fitness ahead of his last-32 match in Cincinnati, where he was pushed all the way by Michelsen but held firm to advance.
Sinner had to save eight break points in one hour and 52 minutes on court, committing as many unforced errors (19) as his American opponent.
However, breaks in the very first game of the opener and the penultimate game of the second set proved decisive for the Australian Open winner, who will now face either Sebastian Baez or Jordan Thompson for a quarter-final place.
Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas bounced back from his first-round Canadian Open exit at the hands of Kei Nishikori, fighting from a set and a break down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Speaking after his win, Tsitsipas – who will face Jack Draper or Jaume Munar next – said: "I was down a break, and I managed to keep on fighting and get the break back.
"Suddenly I felt like I was starting to figure out what really worked behind his serve. He made a few double faults, and I took that chance, got myself in the lead, and I think once I started reminding myself of my best qualities as a player, these things really started working."
Data Debrief: Sinner looking to stay perfect
Sinner's victory improved his record on hard courts to 25-2 for the season, and a first quarter-final berth at Cincinnati is now within his sights.
He has reached at least the last eight at all five ATP 1000 Masters tournaments he has played this year, though his only such title came in Miami in March.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss his entire rookie season after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters prior to Wednesday's joint practice with the Cleveland Browns that McCarthy, the 10th overall pick of this year's draft, required a full repair of his meniscus that will sideline him for the duration of the 2024 campaign.
McCarthy reported soreness in his knee and was held out of practice Monday, two days after the former University of Michigan star completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Las Vegas Raiders in his preseason debut.
"As crushed as I am for our team and the excitement we had in our building - and our fanbase felt the same way, especially after seeing him perform really well the other day at U.S. Bank Stadium - I'm the most crushed for J.J.," O'Connell said. "But, as our fans either have already come to find out or will in the future, this guy is so motivated and so dialed in.
"Everyone should just be excited about the fact that we've got our young franchise quarterback, I believe, in the building."
McCarthy's surgery all but assures, barring injury, that Sam Darnold will be the Vikings' starting quarterback for Week 1 and beyond. Minnesota signed the seventh-year veteran to a one-year, $10 million contract in March after star signal-caller Kirk Cousins' decision to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.
Darnold, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft, has compiled 12,064 passing yards with 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions over 66 career games (56 starts) with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
The 27-year-old made just one start in 2023, a 21-20 loss by the 49ers to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 18 in which he completed 16 of 26 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown.
O'Connell said he expects McCarthy to be fully recovered in time for the 2025 season, when the 21-year-old will be the favourite to take over as Minnesota's starter.
"This is going to be a small bump in the road," O'Connell said. "Other quarterbacks in our league have gone through similar things early on in their journey and came back stronger and better than ever. That is not only not my expectation, I know that it's going to happen for J.J."
Bruno Fernandes has signed a new Manchester United contract and believes his "best moments" for the Premier League giants are "still to come".
Fernandes joined United from Sporting CP in January 2020 for an initial fee of around £47million (€55m) and was an instant hit at Old Trafford.
The Portugal international scored 12 goals from midfield in that first COVID-hit campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before netting 28 across all competitions in his first full season in England.
Fernandes has gone on to tally 79 goals in 234 games for United, contributing 67 assists while creating more chances in the Premier League than any other player since his signing in 2020.
Having helped United to win the EFL Cup and return to the Champions League in 2022-23, Fernandes was named captain by Erik ten Hag at the start of last season.
It proved a difficult campaign for the Red Devils but ended with Fernandes in inspired form as his side beat rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final, securing silverware and European football once again.
Now, on the eve of a new Premier League season, Fernandes has committed his future to United, agreeing a new deal that will keep him at the club until 2027 with the option of a further year.
It has been reported the new terms will bring his salary in line with United's top earners.
Fernandes' performances have more than justified that status, yet he is confident United fans will see even more from both he and the team in the coming years.
"Everybody knows the passion I have for Manchester United," Fernandes told the club's media channels.
"I understand the responsibility and significance of wearing this shirt and the levels of dedication and desire required to represent this incredible club.
"I have had so many special moments here already; hearing my name sung from the Stretford End, scoring a hat-trick against Leeds, leading the team out at Old Trafford on European nights and lifting trophies at Wembley.
"But I wouldn't have signed this contract if I didn't believe that my best moments in a United shirt are still to come.
"From my discussions with the football leadership and manager, it is clear how determined everyone is to fight for major trophies in the years ahead.
"I can see how positive the future is going to be, and I am relishing leading this team forward."
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