Thiago Silva has implored his Brazilian team-mate Neymar to join him at Chelsea if he decides to leave Paris Saint-Germain.

There has been recent speculation about Neymar's future at PSG, with the French club reportedly open to selling him should an acceptable bid come along.

Neymar's former agent Wagner Ribeiro said last week the 30-year-old wants to remain with PSG, to fulfil his dream of winning the Champions League there.

Chelsea's 37-year-old defender Thiago Silva, who has played alongside Neymar at international level and at PSG from 2017 to 2020, has urged to join him at Stamford Bridge.

"He has to go to Chelsea," Silva told Globo about Neymar who is contracted until 2025.

"If he is about to leave, then he must go there. If it happens, then the expectation is the best possible one.

"We don't even need to talk about Neymar's ability. Besides that, he is a super friend.

"I hope this happens instead of only being something on the news, but I don't know anything about it."

In recent days, Chelsea have been linked with another Brazilian, Leeds United's Raphinha, but are yet to spend in the transfer market this off-season.

Chelsea had a change of ownership completed in May with a group led by Todd Boehly replacing Roman Abramovich following a long association with the London club.

Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is bullish about his side's prospects for the 2022-23 season with the return of Kawhi Leonard.

The Clippers reached the Conference Finals for the first time in 2021, but missed the playoffs in 2022 with Leonard absent for the entire campaign due to an ACL injury.

Leonard sustained the injury in Game 4 of the 2021 Western Conference Semi-Finals against the Utah Jazz.

Paul George was also restricted to only 31 games in the 2021-22 season with a niggling elbow injury, as they finished with a 42-40 record.

The Clippers are expected to be boosted by Leonard and George both having a clean bill of health while point guard John Wall is set to join in a free-agent deal after he reached a buy-out agreement with the Houston Rockets.

"I think the sky is the limit for our team," Ballmer said. "It'll be our effort, our energy.

"Of course, you got to have a little good luck to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy, which is what we really like.

"I think if we stay healthy next year we are going to be having a chance to talk way late into the [postseason]."

Leonard, who is a two-time NBA Finals MVP (2014 and 2019), looms large as the key to the Clippers' chances.

The 31-year-old small forward averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and a career-high 5.2 assists per game in the 2020-21 regular season. He averaged a career-high 27.1 points in his first season with the Clippers in 2019-20.

"[Leonard is] not only your best player but one of the preeminent handful of top players in the world," Ballmer said.

"I am really excited about that. Kawhi's in the gym. He's working, and we got our fingers crossed everything keeps going on schedule."

The Clippers also confirmed on Tuesday that they had signed a three-year $33 million contract extension with center Ivica Zubac.

San Diego Padres' star Fernando Tatis Jr has been cleared to ramp up as he homes in on a playing return as early as next month following March wrist surgery.

The 2021 All-Star shortstop has not played at all this season, having undergone an operation to repair the fractured scaphoid bone in his left wrist on March 16.

Tatis Jr met with his surgeon on Tuesday and Padres manager Bob Melvin revealed that he has subsequently been cleared to ramp up "on the defensive end", although hitting is still to come.

"I know he's excited about the fact that he's going to be on the field with us, no restrictions as far as taking ground balls, throwing and so forth," Melvin said.

"Hitting's going to be the last thing."

It is anticipated he will return to hitting at full speed in a fortnight's time, with a playing return floated for late July or August.

"It depends on how we kind of configure it before he starts playing games," Melvin said.

"You certainly want him coming back when he feels good about how he’s swinging the bat. More days with us is probably better than less days with us."

Tatis Jr, 23, won the Silver Slugger Award in both 2020 and 2021 along with being last year's National League home run leader. He is a two-time All-MLB First Team selection (2020 and 2021).

The fall-out from Sunday's wild Los Angeles Angels-Seattle Mariners brawl has continued with Angels reliever Archie Bradley ruled out for "a couple of months" with a right elbow fracture sustained amid the chaos.

The Angels right-hander fell over the dugout railing as he attempted to join the brawl which erupted in the second inning when Andrew Wantz's pitch struck Jesse Winker, with the benches clearing in Sunday's 2-1 LA win.

The all-in brawl led to a raft of suspensions, totalling 47 games, including a 10-game ban for Angels manager Phil Nevin.

The Angels have been further hit with the news of Bradley's injury, meaning he will be shut down for at least four weeks and may miss up to two months.

"With the way he’s been throwing the ball recently and what he brings to the clubhouse, it’s a huge loss," Angels acting manager Ray Montgomery said.

"In the short term, guys are going to have to step up. I think we’ve done a good job all year of picking up other guys.

"We'll miss him, for sure, but the guys down there know what they need to do."

Bradley has posted a 4.82 ERA with 15 strikeouts, seven walks and one home run allowed in 18 and two-third innings this season.

"His overall time down could be a couple of months," Angels athletic trainer Mike Frostad said.

Boca Juniors claimed an important result in their first-leg tie against Corinthians in the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores, holding on for a 0-0 draw in Sao Paulo on Tuesday.

Corinthians dominated proceedings at home but were not able to capitalise, with Roger Guedes also failing to convert from the penalty spot with the interval approaching.

It would have been a deserved lead for the Timao after a positive opening 45 minutes, but Guedes was brilliantly denied in the 43rd minute by Agustin Rossi, who guessed correctly and quickly reacted to save.

The home side's best chance in open play fell to Giuliano after a mazy dribble into the penalty area from Willian in the 46th minute, but Marcos Rojo scrambled to quell the danger.

With Exequiel Zeballos and Dario Benedetto struggling to have a tangible impact, coming back to Buenos Aires for the second leg with parity intact is a positive for Boca, after also failing to defeat Corinthians in their two Group E games.

Ortiz denies CAM smash and grab

Emelec will have to progress past Atletico Mineiro in Belo Horizonte after only managing a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg.

As expected under Antonio Mohamed, CAM primarily looked to absorb pressure, and they scored against the run of play in the 16th minute. A spectacular first touch from Hulk to bring Everson's hoof under control put Ademir through, and he calmly converted past Pedro Ortiz.

Emelec captain Sebastian Rodriguez deservedly got his side back on level terms in the 58th minute, but CAM had a penalty of their own with two minutes of regular time remaining. Ortiz stood up this time, though, denying Hulk what would have been the winner.

Athletico-PR take first leg

Two first-half goals from Athletico Paranaense allowed them to secure a 2-1 win at home to Libertad in Curitiba.

After confirming Fernandinho's signing from Manchester City, Luiz Felipe Scolari's side were characteristically solid defensively, but only after they hit the lead a second time.

Vitor Roque put the hosts ahead in only the sixth minute but the Paraguayan champions equalised through Hector Villalba in the 20th minute. Athletico PR restored the lead 12 minutes later, with Nicolas Hernandez scoring the eventual winner.

Nick Kyrgios emerged victorious from an opening-round five-setter against British wildcard Paul Jubb at Wimbledon on Tuesday but controversy again followed, with the Australian blasting the "disrespect" he feels he receives.

The 27-year-old defeated Jubb 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 and hit 67 winners but after a drama-filled three hours and five minutes, his prompting of a line judge to speak to the chair umpire and demands for some fans to be removed were punctuated by spitting towards a section of the crowd upon victory.

Earlier this month, tournament organisers in Stuttgart investigated when Kyrgios claimed he was racially abused by sections of the crowd during a match.

At his post-match news conference, Kyrgios jousted with journalists on the capacity of older line judges to make accurate calls, but primarily focused on the perceived normality of on and off-court abuse.

"A lot of disrespect was being thrown today from the crowds," he said. "I’m just starting to think that it’s normal when it’s really not.

"I didn’t say anything to the crowd until they started just every time I came down to the far end, people just going. It’s just I don’t know if it’s normal or not.

"Just pure disrespect, just anything. Someone just yelled out I was s**t in the crowd today. Is that normal? No. I just don’t understand why it’s happening over and over again.

"Have you ever gone to a supermarket and just started berating someone scanning the groceries? No. So why do they do it when I’m at Wimbledon? Why is that?"

In a testy news conference, Kyrgios was himself accused of lacking respect, but he lamented over not being able to respond to the abuse he receives on the court without some kind of punishment.

The world number 40 insisted he has no regrets on spitting towards an unruly fan after his win.

"Today, as soon as I won the match, I turned to him," Kyrgios said. "I’ve been dealing with hate and negativity for a long time, so I don’t feel like I owed that person anything.

"Like, he literally came to the match to literally just, like, not even support anyone really. It was more just to, like, stir up and disrespect. That’s fine. But if I give it back to you, then that’s just how it is.

"There’s a fence there and I physically can’t do anything or say anything because I’ll get in trouble. They’re able to say anything they want."

Harmony Tan admitted she feared the prospect of facing a 23-time grand slam winner after defeating Serena Williams at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

It took Tan three hours and 11 minutes to claim the scalp of the seven-time Wimbledon winner, eventually winning the match 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7).

The SW19 debutant twice broke back in the third set, even setting up a match point which Williams saved before the eventual tie-break, and rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the tie-break to emerge victorious.

Despite the resolve shown and delight with the win on Centre Court at the All England Club, the 24-year-old revealed she nervously came into the contest.

"[Serena] is a superstar and when I was young I was watching her so many times on the TV," Tan said post-match. "For my first Wimbledon, it's wow. Just wow.

"When I saw the draw, I was really scared. Because, yeah, it's Serena Williams. She's a legend and I was like, 'Oh my God, how can I play?' If I could win one game or two games, it was really good for me.

"I would like to thank everybody today and my team and my coach Nathalie Tauziat, who also played Serena. Thank you so much for being with me."

Tan will now face 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo, who defeated American qualifier Christina McHale 6-2 6-1.

Serena Williams' hopes of a winning a record-equalling 24th grand slam title at Wimbledon are over after she was beaten by the unheralded Harmony Tan in an epic first-round match.

Williams went down 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7) on Centre Court in her first singles match since being forced to withdraw in the opening round of last year's tournament at the All England Club, when she suffered a hamstring injury during a contest with Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion's much-heralded comeback proved to be an almighty battle and it was the SW19 debutant from France who came out on top late on Tuesday evening.

It took outsider Tan three hours and 11 minutes to claim a huge scalp, winning what could prove to be the great Williams' final singles match at Wimbledon.

Tan broke three times in a back-and-forth first set, with Williams unable to keep her at bay during the seventh game despite the world number 115 seeing three break points come and go before winning the fourth.

The underdog's slice in particular proved to be difficult for the 40-year-old - 16 years senior to her opponent - to counter, and the former world number one seemed to need the break afforded by the roof closure on Centre Court to regather herself.

Williams stamped her authority on the match in the second set to force a decider, breaking twice as she surged into a 5-0 lead before serving it out.

Tan refused to be beaten in the final set, twice breaking back to frustrate Williams. 

Williams was able to force a tie-break after saving a match point, and surged into a 4-0 lead - but Tan rallied once more to seize back the momentum, and celebrated a famous win after her legendary opponent netted a forehand.

Data slam: Agony for battling Williams

Williams declared that she would not have competed at Wimbledon if she did not feel she was capable of winning the tournament, but she fell at the first hurdle in a thriller.

In what was her 420th grand slam match, the veteran played her first final-set tie-break and looked destined to come out on top before Tan roared back. Victory for Tan ensured Williams remains one major crown shy of the record held by Margaret Court.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Tan– 29/28
Williams – 61/54

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Tan – 3/3
Williams – 5/3

BREAK POINTS WON
Tan – 5/15
Williams – 6/17

Alize Cornet claims several players contracted COVID-19 at last month's French Open, but kept the outbreak quiet in order to avoid mass withdrawals from the tournament.

Wimbledon has already been rocked by two high-profile male players withdrawing after testing positive for the virus, with last year's runner-up Matteo Berrettini and 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic both pulling out ahead of scheduled first-round matches on Tuesday.

Now Cornet, who equalled Ai Sugiyama's all-time record of 62 consecutive grand slam main-draw appearances in a win over Yulia Putintseva on day two, claims there were cases at Roland Garros that did not come to light.

"At Roland Garros, there was a Covid epidemic, no one talked about it. In the locker room, everyone got it and we said nothing," she told L'Equipe.

"When it comes out in the press, with big players, it will start to set fire to the lake everywhere and that worries me a little.

"[2021 French Open winner Barbora] Krejcikova withdrew saying she had Covid, and the whole locker room was sick. 

"At some point, we all might have had the flu. The thing is, we have the symptoms, itchy throat… we play and everything is fine, it's fine. 

"At Roland, I think there have been a few cases and it's a tacit agreement between us. We are not going to self-test to get into trouble! 

"Afterwards, I saw girls wearing masks, maybe because they knew and didn't want to pass it on. You also have to have a civic spirit."

Rafael Nadal was delighted to pass an "important test" against Francisco Cerundolo in his Wimbledon opener and refused to blame his foot injury after dropping the third set against the Argentine.

Nadal was made to work on Centre Court on Tuesday, requiring three hours and 33 minutes to wrap up a 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4 win over Cerundolo.

The 22-time grand slam champion made 41 unforced errors but regained his composure to move into the second round, winning 11 consecutive points as he fought back from a break down in the fourth set to ensure he will face Ricardas Berankis.

The Spaniard says his lack of action on grass was always going to ensure it would not be plain sailing at SW19.

"I'm going to be talking about my foot today and not anymore, if it's fine for you guys," said the second seed, who is in the hunt for a calendar Grand Slam.

"We cannot be talking about my foot every single day. If not, we forget the most important thing: that is tennis.

"All credit to Fran, he started to play great and he has been a very tough opponent.

"Grass is not a surface we play very often and especially in my case, for different reasons, the last three years I didn't put a foot on the grass.

"It always takes a while – this has been my first match and every day is a test and today has been one of those important tests.

"At the beginning of the tournament, especially under the circumstances that I arrived here, the victory is the most important thing because that gives me the chance to practice tomorrow again and to have another match in two days, and I'm happy for that, without a doubt."

Nadal played his first grass-court match in three years just last week when facing Stan Wawrinka in an exhibition contest, and is participating at the All England Club for the first time since a run to the semi-finals in 2019.

It is uncertain who will line up at quarterback when the Cleveland Browns open their 2022 season, but Baker Mayfield is pretty sure it will not be him. 

Appearing at his youth football camp in Norman, Oklahoma on Tuesday, Mayfield was asked if there was any chance of a reconciliation with the Browns. 

“I think it’s been pretty obvious, the mutual decision on both sides is to move on,” he said. 

Mayfield’s comments came the same day Deshaun Watson’s hearing began to determine whether he violated the NFL’s personal conduct policy. 

The Browns appeared content to move on from Mayfield when they traded for Watson and gave him a massive five-year, $230million guaranteed contract in March despite the fact he was being sued by two dozen women for sexual misconduct. 

Watson has long maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing, but he is likely facing a lengthy suspension from the NFL. 

Mayfield is still under contract with the Browns – due to make $18.8million this season – but said for him to suit up again for the franchise, the team has a relationship to mend.  

“I think for that to happen, there would have to be some reaching out,'' he said. ''But we're ready to move on, I think, on both sides.'' 

Part of Mayfield’s frustration with the Browns is after they acquired Watson they were unable to trade him prior to the NFL draft like he expected. Training camps begin in less than a month, and teams are set with their quarterback situations so a trade at this point is unlikely. 

''I think I got frustrated with it not happening before minicamp and all those things, but it's just the stuff that's out of my control,'' he said. ''And so, you know, let those things happen and fall in place.'' 

Mayfield helped lead Cleveland to the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2002 two seasons ago, but struggled last year while dealing with a shoulder injury and the Browns finished at 8-9. 

Other than Mayfield and Watson, the only other quarterbacks on Cleveland’s roster are Jacoby Brissett and Josh Dobbs, so one of those two are the leading candidates to start the opener against the Carolina Panthers on September 11, if Mayfield is done with the team and Watson is banned. 

And Mayfield certainly sounds like his days with the Browns are over. 

''I'm thankful for my four years in Cleveland, and had a lot of ups and downs and a ton of learning experiences that I will forever keep with me,'' he said. 

Rafael Nadal was forced to work for a first-round victory over Francisco Cerundolo on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

The world number two overcame a scare to secure a 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4 win at SW19 despite making 41 unforced errors as he eyes a first calendar Grand Slam.

Second seed Nadal, who won his first grass-court match in three years in an exhibition match against Stan Wawrinka last week, secured a break in the fourth game but Argentine Cerundolo immediately responded, finishing with a strong overhead volley after the Spaniard lost his footing after his service.

Cerundolo was certainly not fazed by his all-conquering opponent, with the pair exchanging thrilling rallies and both displaying an array of brilliant shots in a first set that Nadal won by breaking for a second time.

The 22-time major champion made a scrappy start to the second set, but a solitary break in the sixth game put him one set away from round two.

In the third, Cerundolo continued to battle as he broke Nadal back immediately to peg him back at 2-2 and edged in front at 5-3 before serving out the set to raise hopes he could pull off a huge shock.

The world number 42 continued to excel as he opened up a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, but Nadal roared back and won 11 consecutive points, breaking twice to seal his spot in the second round without being taken the distance.

He will face Ricardas Berankis in the second round at the All England Club.

Data slam: Nadal matches Navratilova record

Nadal's victory saw him equal the great Martina Navratilova's record of 306 grand slam wins in his career.

That puts him joint-fourth on the all-time list, behind only Roger Federer (369), Serena Williams (365) and Novak Djokovic (328)

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Nadal – 23/41
Cerundolo – 30/46

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Nadal – 5/3
Cerundolo – 2/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Nadal – 6/14
Cerundolo – 4/18

Red Bull have terminated the contract of their test and reserve driver Juri Vips after he allegedly used racist language during an online gaming stream.

The Estonian, who races in Formula 2 for Hitech Grand Prix, was suspended last week following  incident broadcast live on Twitch.

On Tuesday, Red Bull announced that the 21-year-old had been sacked.

A statement from the Formula One team read: "Following its investigation into an online incident involving Juri Vips, Oracle Red Bull Racing has terminated Juri's contract as its test and reserve driver.

"The team do not condone any form of racism."

Vips is highly rated within the young driver ranks and was seen as a leading contender for a seat with AlphaTauri, but was leapfrogged in the pecking order by Yuki Tsunoda following a coronavirus-disrupted 2020 campaign.

He drove for Red Bull in the first practice session at last month's Spanish Grand Prix and was likely to get further opportunities this season due to F1 regulations that promote the use of young drivers.

The sacking of Vips follows condemnation from Formula One and Red Bull towards former driver Nelson Piquet, who allegedly used a racial slur towards Lewis Hamilton last year.