Roger Federer hopes he can grace Centre Court at Wimbledon one last time as he bids to return from the knee injury he suffered last year.

The 20-time grand slam champion has not played since undergoing knee surgery after a straight-sets defeat to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals at SW19 last July, having also missed much of the 2020 season with a similar injury.

But Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, has repeatedly ruled out retiring and said last month he intends to make an ATP tour comeback in 2023.

Speaking alongside a swathe of former Wimbledon champions at a ceremony marking 100 years since the opening of Centre Court, the 40-year-old said he hopes to extend his long association with the tournament when he returns.

"I've been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court, it feels awkward to be here today in a different type of role, but it's great to be here with all the other champions," he said.

"This court has given me my biggest wins, my biggest losses, one of my highlights of course was in 2001, walking out here with Pete Sampras [for a memorable fourth-round match], who inspired a lot of us to play, to try to be successful and represent the sport well, I hope I did that.

"I hope I can come back like you said, one more time."

Federer's injury woes have reduced him to featuring at just three of the last 10 grand slams, and he revealed his recovery had taken longer than he anticipated. 

"Of course, I've missed being here, I would have loved to be here," he added.

"I knew walking out here last year [after his exit] it was going to be a tough year ahead. 

"Maybe I didn't think it was going to take me this long to come back, but the knee has been rough on me.

"But I've been happy, it's been a good year, regardless of tennis."

Gian Piero Gasperini has revealed he was ready to leave Atalanta at the end of last season, but decided to remain in Bergamo due to his respect for the club's owners and love for the fans.

Gasperini took charge of Atalanta in 2016, with the club having posted five consecutive bottom-half Serie A finishes.

The former Inter boss immediately oversaw a dramatic transformation in the club's fortunes, implementing a relentless attacking style while securing fourth place in his first season at the helm, before leading them to three consecutive third-place finishes between 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Atalanta scored a staggering 188 league goals across the latter two of those campaigns, also reaching the Champions League knockout stages in both seasons.

But their momentum stalled last season as they finished eighth in Serie A, leading to speculation 64-year-old Gasperini could depart.

Gasperini said he was unsure of his future in May, but has now confirmed his desire to remain in Bergamo and build a new "young and strong" team.

"With [Atalanta president Antonio] Percassi there is a relationship of esteem and gratitude. I told him, 'maybe I'm the one who has to go away', but he absolutely didn't want it," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Now the momentum to start again is with us. If I am still here, it is because of the strong bond with the city. 

"I perceived the demand of the people strongly and this conditioned me, because I was really ready to leave, if the club had wanted me to. 

"Atalanta will be young and strong. I stayed for the people. There is a desire for revenge. 

"We are not big, we are working to become big. In the meantime, we will fight, we will have fun."

Gasperini's men were hampered by the unavailability of strike duo Duvan Zapata and Josip Ilicic for long periods last season, as the two forwards hit just 13 league goals between them and managed only 1,732 and 836 minutes of Serie A football respectively. 

And he believes the club's failure to invest heavily in the transfer market after benefiting from Champions League revenue exacerbated their issues. 

"New energies would have helped us," he added.  "We have had some important sales, substantial revenues from the Champions League, but we have remained very static, especially up front. 

"In the last two years, with the resources available, it was the right time to introduce a new champion like [now-Sevilla attacker Alejandro] Gomez and Ilicic. Other profiles have arrived.

"What I asked for was not done and we found ourselves on the edge."

Gasperini's seventh Serie A season with Atalanta will begin with a trip to Sampdoria on August 13, before they host champions Milan eight days later.

George Russell wants to better Lewis Hamilton this season, but the Mercedes man claimed he will not view his Formula One campaign as a success if he does so.

The Mercedes pair have failed to match the pace of rivals Red Bull and Ferrari this year, effectively confirming an end to the team's monopoly on the Constructors' Championship.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton in particular has struggled after his controversial last-gasp title loss to Max Verstappen last year, who is on course to defend his title.

That has led to questions over whether Russell is emerging as Mercedes' nominal first-choice driver, with the 24-year-old having nabbed three podiums to Hamilton's two so far in 2022.

But Russell will not view beating his team-mate as the bar for success.

"Obviously, I want to beat my teammate and I’m not going to take offence if he says the same," he told The Guardian ahead of Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

"But I would not see my season as a success purely because I've finished ahead of him more times than he had finished ahead of me.

"I would see it as a success if I was standing at the top step of the podium."

Russell grew up idolising Hamilton, who has been one of the sport's dominant forces since he broke through in 2007, and the Briton has nothing but respect for his team-mate.

However, the nature of their competition makes it difficult to form a friendship that would not get in the way, much in the sense Hamilton's bond with former Mercedes rival Nico Rosberg deteriorated amid a testy title tussle.

"I guess if you took an average look across F1 team-mates, that is probably the case," Russell added.

"There are a lot of people who get along in this paddock but overall, we are all fierce rivals. We are all here to be competitive and to try and win. You are in a battle."

Hamilton will start fifth on the grid at Silverstone, while Russell had to settle for eighth in qualifying.

Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere harbours no ill-will towards Christophe Galtier, who he hopes the best for at Paris Saint-Germain.

Galtier left Nice on June 27 and is expected to replace Mauricio Pochettino at PSG.

The former Lille coach enjoyed a fine start to his single season in the south of France, with Nice flying high in Ligue 1 and embarking on a run to the Coupe de France final, beating PSG en route.

However, Nice were unable to keep up their push for Champions League qualification and ultimately had to settle for fifth place, while they were defeated 1-0 by Nantes in the Coupe de France final in May. 

Nevertheless, Rivere is happy that Galtier has the chance to coach a star-studded PSG team, and believes the impending move suits all parties.

He told L'Equipe: "I am very happy that Christophe has the opportunity to coach PSG and I will always keep a watchful eye on him.

"This alignment of the planets is good for everyone."

Galtier did not reportedly see eye to eye with Nice sporting director Julien Fournier, and Rivere conceded there were issues at the club.

"There were these tensions that should not have been expressed in the press," he added.

"It may seem very confusing, but we analysed the situation calmly and I was able to explain my strategy to [INEOS director of sport] Dave [Brailsford].

"Nice must project itself with an offensive style, from the training centre to the first team. The pleasure we had at one time has been lost over the last three years."

Lucien Favre, who enjoyed success at Nice between 2016 and 2018, has been appointed as Galtier's successor.

Marcus Rashford believes enjoying a full pre-season will allow him to rediscover his form under new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag, saying he is "ready and focused" ahead of the new Premier League season.

Rashford endured a poor campaign in 2021-22, scoring just four goals in 25 league appearances as United finished sixth and posted their worst-ever Premier League points tally (58).

Having only played 1,232 minutes of Premier League football, Rashford was left out of Gareth Southgate's England squad for June's Nations League fixtures.

The Three Lions boss also claimed Rashford, as well as club team-mate Jadon Sancho, had "a lot to do" to make England's squad for the World Cup later this year after struggling on the domestic stage.

But after featuring in England's Euro 2020 party last year and missing out on a full pre-season ahead of the Coronavirus-affected 2020-21 campaign, Rashford is relishing his time training under Ten Hag. 

"I have definitely not had that much rest before in a summer break, so it was a little bit strange at first and I had to adjust my program a little bit, make it a little bit longer, so I could come in with a positive look on everything," he told the club's website.

"We are excited to go away [on tour] now. You feel every day now you are getting that one step sharper and one step fitter to being ready for the season.

"I don't think I have had a proper pre-season since 2019 so for me it is definitely a positive thing.

"I feel like I probably needed that time to switch off a little bit and me having that time enabled me to refocus a lot earlier than I expected, to be honest. 

"Like I say, I feel ready and focused so when that first game does come, it's good to know you have done almost six weeks of training beforehand. It will definitely be a positive."

United endured a dire campaign last term as their major trophy drought was extended to five years, with caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick posting the worst points-per-game return (1.5) and win percentage (42 per cent) of any manager in the club's Premier League history.

But with Ten Hag at the helm, Rashford says there is a newfound excitement among the United squad. 

"We have got that feeling of excitement and that buzz around the training ground again and so it is definitely positive going into pre-season," he added.

"It is just about, one, getting the principles right of how Erik wants us to play and the details, and two, enjoying it. 

"In the first week of training we have done both and everyone is looking forward to going on the tour and putting what we have done in training into the first games.

"It is a fresh start for everyone, and for me personally I have had quite a long break, a nice camp before coming back into training, and we are starting off on the right foot.

"Like I said, everyone is looking forward to pre-season now and going out to try to put into the games what we have learned in training so far, and what we will continue to learn, not only in the pre-season but throughout the season as well."

United will face the likes of Liverpool and Atletico Madrid in high-profile friendlies before beginning their Premier League season against Brighton and Hove Albion on August 7.

Fabio Carvalho believes he has joined potentially the biggest club in the world in Liverpool, having completed his move from Fulham.

Liverpool announced they had agreed a deal to sign the Portugal youth international in May after failing to acquire him in a late deadline day swoop in January, though only unveiled him officially on Sunday.

Carvalho scored 10 goals and recorded eight assists as Fulham won the Championship title last season, starring in a side that scored 106 league goals, becoming the first second-tier team to bring up a century of strikes since Manchester City reached 108 in 2001-02. 

The 19-year-old is one of three new signings made by Liverpool during the off-season as they aim to build on last season's EFL Cup and FA Cup double, alongside striker Darwin Nunez and full-back Calvin Ramsey.

After making his long-awaited move to Anfield official, Carvalho is aiming to achieve "big things" with Jurgen Klopp's side.

"It's just an amazing feeling to be here at one of the biggest clubs in the world, if not the biggest. So, I'm just happy to be here, and I can't wait to get started," Carvalho told the club's official website.

"Once you hear that Liverpool are interested, there's only one thought in your mind, which is to join them and try to be in the team. Hopefully I can achieve big things.

"I spoke with everyone, and the manager, and it just felt so natural. When things become natural it's just so much easier to make a decision."

Carvalho also believes his experience of playing in a free-scoring Fulham team will serve him well at Liverpool.

"Marco Silva, the way he plays football and made us play football, is more like attacking football and getting goals, which is similar to how Liverpool play, which is to score goals and dominate games," he added.

"That's what I'm here to do, to be able to help the team with my assists, creativity and goals. I'm looking forward to it."

Carvalho could face his old club on his league debut for the Reds, as Liverpool travel to Craven Cottage for their Premier League opener on August 6.

Donald Cerrone confirmed his retirement from UFC on Saturday, after a loss to Jim Miller, with a Hollywood dream now set to be pursued.

Cerrone, nicknamed "Cowboy", lost via a second-round submission to 38-year-old Miller in Las Vegas on Saturday.

That took his career record to 36-17, and after the bout, the 39-year-old confirmed his career was over.

Having placed his famous cowboy hat and gloves down in the octagon, Cerrone told Joe Rogan: "I don't love it anymore.

"It's hard for me to get up – this is the longest camp I've had in a long time – I just don't love it anymore.

"It's time to bow out, I've got to know when.

"This is the perfect event, sold-out crowd, Las Vegas, got my boys, one hell of a career man – hopefully one day I'll be in the Hall of Fame."

As for his next move, Cerrone – who has acted before – said: "I'm going to be a movie star baby!"

Cerrone has made 48 appearances in the WEC (World Extreme Cagefighting) and UFC, the most of all time.

Israel Adesanya retained the UFC Middlewieght Championship with a fifth consecutive title defence, winning via unanimous decision over Jared Cannonier at UFC 276 on Saturday.

In an ultimately tentative fight, the judges awarded the Stylebender the win in a 49-46 49-46 50-45 contest, making it four out of his last five title defences to come via decision.

Largely in control since coming back to fight at middleweight, the 32-year-old immediately called out Alex Pereira, who Sean Strickland via knockout earlier in the night.

Pereira also knocked out Adesanya at GOH 7 in 2017, before the latter joined the UFC the next year, with Saturday's bouts setting up an enticing rematch.

"One thing I was looking forward to was facing Jared as an opponent, but the second thing I was looking forward to was John Crouch versus Eugene Bareman," he said post-fight.

"Two great coaches, two great teams, and I'll tell you one thing, they had an excellent game plan. It was really hard to get my follow-ups going because they had a good game plan.

"We know who's next, that Poatan [Pereira]. Trust me. The first time, I told you, it was an error on my part spamming right hands and that was in kickboxing. Like I said at the press conference, next time I put you on skates."

Cannonier was initially content to stand up with Adesanya, only making sporadic take-down attempts and opting instead to chip away with leg-kicks and wait for big strikes.

More than his unique striking, however, the Stylebender was particularly assertive in the opening two rounds, initiating the exchanges as well as changing up stances.

Cannonier taking the third made for tight closing two rounds, but Adesanya ultimately did not take on any significant damage over the fight.

Importantly, whenever Cannonier would look to force the issue, the reigning champion managed to tag the challenger to halt any progress and retain his title.

Volkanovski dominates Holloway for 12th straight UFC win

In the co-main event, Adesanya's team-mate Alexander Volkanovski reaffirmed his status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the UFC, retaining the Featherweight Championship in a unanimous decision over Max Holloway.

Each of the judges scored the fight 50-45 to Volkanovski but even that belied just how dominant the 33-year-old was over the five rounds, showing extraordinary precision, explosiveness and tactical nous.

While the second fight between the two was closer, Volkanovski neutralised Holloway's reach and height advantage this time, with timing, quickness and power in his striking - cutting Holloway up badly above his left eye in the first round.

Vokanovski lacked the final blow but was in control, claiming a 3-0 record over Holloway on the way to a 12th straight win in the UFC, a fourth title defence and a 25-1 record in professional MMA.

Nolan Arenado sparked a record string of home runs and hit the game-winning drive for the St. Louis Cardinals, in their 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

With two outs in the first inning, Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson sent Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson deep, making it the first time in MLB history a team connected for four straight home runs in the opening frame.

The game was tied at 6-6 in the ninth inning when Arenado then hit another home run, this time sending Seranthony Dominguez over left field.

Arenado's game-winning performance from four at-bats was impressive enough in isolation, before considering it was backing up from hitting for cycle in Friday's 5-3 defeat to the Phillies.

The Cardinals moved to within a game of the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, moving their record for the season to 44-36.

Yankees sweep Guardians in double-header 

The New York Yankees are running away with the American League East, taking both games in a double-header against the Cleveland Guardians.

Matt Carpenter homered twice in the opening 13-4 win, before Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hit consecutive home runs and Nestor Cortes shut the Guardians down for six innings, for the 6-1 win in the later game.

The Yankees are 25-6 since May 31, holding a seven-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL and at 58-21, hold the franchise's second-best record over 79 games.

Freeman leads Dodgers to victory

Freddie Freeman continued his strong form for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting the first of three home runs in the opening inning of their 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Freeman, who leads the Dodgers for OBP at .391 for the season, hit his sixth home run since the start of June after sending Yu Darvish deep. Will Smith and Justin Turner then followed up with solo shots off Darvish to set up the victory.

The Dodgers are now one off 50 wins for the season, moving to 49-28 and extending their lead in the NL over the New York Mets to 1.5 games.

Nolan Arenado sparked a record string of home runs and hit the game-winning drive for the St. Louis Cardinals, in their 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

With two outs in the first inning, Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carson sent Phillies starting pitcher Kyle Gibson deep, making it the first time in MLB history a team connected for four straight home runs in the opening frame.

The game was tied at 6-6 in the ninth inning when Arenado hit another home run, this time sending Seranthony Dominguez over left field.

Arenado's game-winning performance from four at-bats was impressive enough in isolation, before considering it was backing up from hitting for cycle in Friday's 5-3 defeat to the Phillies.

The Cardinals moved to within a game of the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, moving their record for the season to 44-36.

Yankees sweep Guardians in double-header 

The New York Yankees are running away with the American League East, taking both games in a double-header against the Cleveland Guardians.

Matt Carpenter homered twice in the opening 13-4 win, before Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hit consecutive home runs and Nestor Cortes shut the Guardians down for six innings, for the 6-1 win in the later game.

The Yankees are 25-6 since May 31, holding a seven-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL and at 58-21, hold the franchise's second-best record over 79 games.

Freeman leads Dodgers to victory

Freddie Freeman continued his strong form for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting the first of three home runs in the opening inning of their 7-2 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Freeman, who leads the Dodgers for OBP at .391 for the season, hit his sixth home run since the start of June after sending Yu Darvish deep. Will Smith and Justin Turner then followed up with solo shots off Darvish to set up the victory.

The Dodgers are now one off 50 wins for the season, moving to 49-28 and extending their lead in the NL over the New York Mets to 1.5 games.

England’s Paul Casey, ranked 26th in the world, has become the latest player to join the Saudi Arabia-funded LIV Golf Invitational.

Casey has won 21 times as a professional, including three times on the PGA Tour and another 15 on the European Tour. He also represented Team Europe five times in the Ryder Cup.

A back injury has kept Casey sidelined since he took part in the WGC Match Play Championship in March. He played two holes of his opening match when he conceded due to back spasms, before withdrawing from the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open.

He plans to make his LIV debut later this month at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Casey joins a growing list of players to accept PGA Tour bans and join the breakaway series, fronted by CEO Greg Norman and funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson are some of the marquee names that have come on board with the promise of big signing bonuses, hefty prize purses and an eased schedule.

Branden Grace posted a seven-under 65 in the final round on Saturday, leapfrogging Dustin Johnson and Carlos Ortiz to win LIV Golf Portland.

Two shots behind the co-leaders at the start of the third round, Grace reeled off four birdies in the final six holes, including three consecutive birdies between 15 and 17, to take out the tournament.

With the victory, the South African follows up compatriot Charl Schwartel's win in London at LIV Golf's inaugural event in June.

The South African quartet that makes up Stinger GC - Grace, Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Hennie du Plessis – could only manage second in the team standings, though, with Johnson's 4 Aces GC taking out first.

"What a day. It's been like this the whole day, the crowd came out and I played flawless golf," Grace said afterwards. "I played, really, really well when I needed to do something special. It came up and I managed to pull it off, but what a great day.

"I knew the back nine, I had to kind of dig deep. Carlos was playing great golf, DJ was coming back and I think, one of the big things for me today was the birdie on 13.

"Then I thought, 'Now, I'm in with it.' Obviously, the finish was just amazing."  

Amid the news former Ryder Cup player Paul Casey defected from the PGA Tour to the Saudi-backed breakaway competition, Grace finished the tournament on 13-under, two strokes ahead of Ortiz who posted a three-under 69 on Saturday.

They were followed by 2020 Masters winner Johnson and another recent defector in Patrick Reed, who finished on nine-under after 54 holes.

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson finished tied for 40th this week with a 54-hole score of 10-over. Through two LIV Golf events, Mickelson is a combined 20-over par.