Rodri admits he needs a break amid the intensity of Manchester City’s relentless pursuit of an unprecedented second successive treble.

The Spain international, who has not lost any of his last 66 games for club and country in a run stretching back more than a year, is vital to City’s bid to make history.

Yet Pep Guardiola’s influential midfield driving force looked laboured at times in Tuesday’s thrilling 3-3 Champions League draw at Real Madrid and concedes the schedule is taking its toll.

The 27-year-old said: “Every one of us can do better, even myself, but we need to rest to be honest.

“I do. I do need a rest. Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is.

“I need to adjust. It (rest) is something we are planning, yes.”

Guardiola could therefore make some changes for Saturday’s Premier League encounter with relegation-threatened Luton, as he looks ahead to the return clash with Real next Wednesday.

Yet with just a point separating the top three in the domestic competition, there is little margin for error for third-placed City.

Rodri felt the holders showed their mettle as they recovered from a 2-1 half-time deficit to lead on an enthralling night at the Bernabeu Stadium.

Bernardo Silva’s early strike was wiped out by a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygo effort, but the English side responded with stunning strikes from Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol.

Real, however, were able to have the final say as Federico Valverde volleyed a late equaliser to ensure the second leg of the quarter-final tie will begin evenly poised.

“We showed our mentality to come back, to be honest,” said Rodri. “To go against them and come back with those goals sums up the mentality of the champions we are.

“It was a good result for us in terms of how the game was and everything is open. It’s one game in our home now and we are very strong there.”

City claimed a draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the semi-finals last year before thrashing the Spanish giants 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium to go through.

“Of course we can recreate it,” said Rodri, a former Atletico Madrid player. “We know how strong we are in our home.

“The key thing was, we knew whatever happened it wasn’t going to be over, even if we won or we lost. We have a draw that is the same result we had last season.

“It’s a good result in terms of the feeling of the team. We were finding the spaces in the second half, we did it great and now we move to Manchester. If we copy the first 20-30 minutes of the second half here, it’s going to be difficult for them.”

Harry Kane says the bitter pill of Bayern Munich’s doomed Bundesliga title defence and the prospect of a Wembley final is fuelling his desire for Champions League glory.

Former Tottenham star Kane returned to haunt familiar foes Arsenal by converting a first-half penalty in Tuesday evening’s thrilling quarter-final first leg which ended tantalisingly poised at 2-2.

Bayern’s 11-season run as German champions could be over before next week’s return match with the Gunners as unbeaten runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen sit 16 points clear with only 18 left to play for.

England captain Kane has understandably written off domestic silverware but retains hope of ending the season on a high under the arch of his country’s national stadium on June 1.

“Look, it’s a competition that the club want to win,” he said.

“Not winning the Bundesliga this year is a tough pill to swallow and it makes this competition even more important but we know there’s still a long way to go.

“We have to find that togetherness, we have to find that team ethic where we grind out games because we haven’t done it enough this year.

“In the Champions League, we’ve done well, had a good campaign but we will need more of that if we want to go all the way to Wembley.”

Kane was cast in the role of pantomime villain at a raucous Emirates Stadium and responded with his 15th career goal against the Gunners to help keep Bayern’s season alive.

The 30-year-old, who now has a remarkable tally of 39 goals this term, sees parallels between his current team’s predicament and when Spurs reached the 2019 Champions League final despite finishing 27 points adrift of champions Manchester City in the top flight.

“That campaign itself is similar because we weren’t having a great time in the league if I’m totally honest,” he said

“But we found some passion and togetherness in the Champions League and we managed to get to the final.

“That experience gives me hope that we can find that again, we know we can perform in the big games and try to get back to the final.

“Being at Wembley is also extra motivation for me personally being my national stadium and it’s still there to try and achieve.”

Bayern departed north London feeling aggrieved after Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg opted against penalising Arsenal defender Gabriel for inexplicably picking up the ball in his own box after a David Raya goal kick in the 67th minute.

Manager Thomas Tuchel branded the decision “horrible”, while Kane and fellow ex-Spurs man Eric Dier were both left bemused.

Arsenal later appealed for an added-time penalty when Bukayo Saka tumbled under a challenge from visiting goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

“It was a stonewall penalty and I don’t know why the ref didn’t give it,” Kane said of the Gabriel incident.

“It would have been strange. But the ref blew the whistle (for play to resume), he (Raya) passed it, he (Gabriel) picked it up, it would have been child like but that’s not our problem.

“The rules are the rules. Maybe they should have had one, we should have had one.”

Bayern’s sense of injustice was heightened by Leandro Trossard’s 76th-minute equaliser after goals from former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry and Kane overturned Saka’s early opener.

Kane hopes to harness the passion of a packed out Allianz Arena in the second leg, having been relentlessly jeered by home supporters as the six-time European champions played in the absence of travelling fans due to a UEFA sanction.

“I think they have a soft respect for me, the Arsenal fans,” said Kane. “I was a fan when I was younger so I know how it goes and, for me, I just try to perform.

“For some reason, I get a lot of penalties at the Emirates and I’ve been happy I’ve been able to put them away and it will be nice to be at home next and in front of the Munich fans.

“It was hard with no fans, strange to have no-one there for us but I thought we dealt with it well and I think you’ll see them even more excited next week having not been to this game and maybe even louder than they usually are.

“Hopefully we can use that energy to our advantage and really try to put the pressure on.”

Valvano is set for a step up in distance following his encouraging return behind 2000 Guineas hopeful Notable Speech at Kempton.

An impressive winner of a heavy ground maiden at Nottingham last October, the Ralph Beckett-trained colt was tasked with taking on Godolphin’s highly-regarded and unbeaten track-and-trip specialist for his return in a conditions race won by some top operators over the years.

The son of Night Of Thunder lost little in defeat when headed late on by the speedy winner – who was cut across the boards for the 2000 Guineas in the aftermath – and having blown away the cobwebs and confirmed the promise of his excellent debut, connections can now look forward to moving up in distance and a possible run in a Classic trial next.

“We knew we were going to use Saturday as a stepping stone and we know that he is going to want 10 furlongs plus and probably with a bit of juice in the ground, so for Valvano to go a mile round Kempton and take on a horse who has every chance of taking his chance in the Guineas, it was always going to be a tough ask,” said Alex Elliott, adviser to owners Valmont.

“It will have done him good to get the freshness out of him and it was an improvement on his debut and will have taught him something. We look forward to stepping him up in trip now and we will probably look at a trial, I suppose.

“The winner looks a cut above in terms of going a mile and you would like to think if we could make the same improvement as we did from a maiden going into a conditions race when going up in trip in preferred conditions, we could have a really smart horse hopefully.”

With the feeling Valvano has a preference for cut in the ground, weather conditions could dictate where he steps up in trip and although he holds an entry for the Betfred Derby, it could be the French equivalent at Chantilly that becomes a longer-term objective.

Elliott continued: “Ralph thinks from his pedigree he is going to want a little bit of rain and I think he is going to be ground dependent.

“On the bottom side of his pedigree there is a lot of stamina, being out of a Duke Of Marmalade mare. But Night Of Thunder doesn’t really get them to stay that far. Ten furlongs could be his optimum for now but I think Ralph is pretty confident the horse could stay even further.

“He’s in the Dante, but wherever the rain is, whether that is York or Chester or something like that, if that went to plan, we could look at going to France for the French Derby.

“We’ll see and it’s a long way away and for now it is nice to see him back and make the progression. Hopefully he can take another step forward next time.”

Fellow Valmont-owned three-year-old Feigning Madness could also put his Classic hopes to the test when he makes his return in trial action at either Epsom or Lingfield.

The son of Ulysses somewhat surprised his team when going unbeaten in two starts as a two-year-old and as well as being a candidate for the Derby, the colt is also seen as a possible St Leger prospect for later in the campaign.

“He ran above expectation last year, he ran at Newbury first time and we thought he would be green, which he was, but we didn’t really expect him to do what he did,” continued Elliott.

“To then carry a penalty the way he did at Newmarket when the horse was on his head the whole way, you have to think the horse is going to stay super well.

“He’s going to come back in a trial and it will either be the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom or Lingfield. He has had two runs now and has learnt a lot. He is crying out for a step up in trip and we’re going to try to pick our easiest way to Epsom – if we can run well in a trial, then why not take a shot.

“He’s a well-balanced horse and his work has been good this year, which is pleasing everybody, and I think the further he goes, the better, so you could hopefully see him in something at Doncaster at the end of the season.”

Feigning Madness claimed the scalp of Ed Walker’s Harper’s Ferry on his second start and it was interesting to see another of the Valmont string, Moon Over Miami, also finish ahead of that rival when making a taking debut at Doncaster at the beginning of the Flat turf season.

As he is a gelding, Classic events are off the cards, but connections are keen to see the Kimpton Downs inmate continue his on-track education with a view to lining up at Royal Ascot in the summer.

“The time boys went crazy over Moon Over Miami but with him being a gelding, he can’t take in one of the trials so we will probably go for another novice with a penalty,” added Elliott.

“I think Ralph has his eye on something Greenham weekend – I think there is a 10 furlong novice there – and I guess we will be trying to get three runs into him before Royal Ascot.

“We’re just a little hamstrung with him being a gelding as to what we do next, but he’s exciting.”

The Masters kicks off golf’s major calendar this week, with the world’s best players descending on Augusta National.

Here the PA news agency provides an armchair fan’s guide of what to look out for in Georgia.

The Masters is the first of golf’s four Majors each year and the only one which is always played at the same venue. Augusta National, designed by Yorkshireman Alister MacKenzie, has become one of sport’s most iconic venues thanks to its combination of stunning scenery and a course which ensures drama throughout.

The action starts on Thursday when, weather permitting, Erik van Rooyen will hit the opening tee shot at 0800 local time (1300BST). The final group of Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood will get under way six hours later. Rory McIlroy will have pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler for company when he begins his 10th bid to complete the career grand slam. McIlroy, who finished second behind Scheffler in the 2022 Masters, will play alongside the world number one and Xander Schauffele for the first two days, teeing off at 1042 local time (1542BST) on Thursday.

Yes. Golf has been divided since the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV competition began luring several of the sport’s biggest stars with lucrative offers two years ago. Last year 18 LIV players were in the field, although that number has reduced to 13 in 2024 – among them last year’s champion Jon Rahm. Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Charl Schwartzel and Bubba Watson also have lifetime exemptions as past winners, Joaquin Niemann received an invite, while Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Brooks Koepka, Adrian Meronk and Cameron Smith all fall into at least one of the exemption categories.

The Masters has several unique features worth looking out for. Previous winners gather for a Champions Dinner on the Tuesday of Masters week, with the menu chosen by the defending champion – this year tapas and Basque ribeye steak were among the dishes served by Rahm. The winner receives a green jacket, which is presented in the Butler Cabin away from the patrons – which is the term used for spectators at Augusta. Players will be keen to keep their ball out of Rae’s Creek, which winds through the course at Amen Corner – the nickname given to the 11th, 12th and 13th holes and a crucial stretch where Masters dreams can be made or unravel at an alarming rate.

Scheffler is the strongest favourite for a major since Tiger Woods was in his prime after his victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational saw him become the first player ever to win back-to-back Players Championship titles. Rahm will be attempting to join Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo in winning back-to-back Masters titles. Plenty of attention will be on Woods, 48, who has played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round. The Masters remains the only hurdle to overcome in McIlroy’s attempt to achieve a career grand slam.

Jonbon steps up to two and a half miles for the first time in Friday’s ultra-competitive My Pension Expert Melling Chase at Aintree.

Nicky Henderson’s charge has won multiple Grade Ones over the minimum trip but connections have been minded to try him over further for some time.

Having missed the Cheltenham Festival due to concerns over the form of his string, Henderson will be hoping for a better display than the one which saw him beaten at 1-4 in the rearranged Clarence House Chase when he made several jumping errors.

Taking him on are this year’s Ryanair winner Protekorat and the 2022 winner of that race Envoi Allen.

Protekorat had spent a large part of the previous two seasons running over three miles but excelled dropped in trip last month, while Envoi Allen put up a game defence of his title in second.

Paul Nicholls won the race last year with Pic D’Orhy and the nine-year-old is back again searching for a valuable win for his handler in the race to be champion trainer.

Gordon Elliott’s Conflated also runs in this in preference to the Grand National, with Easy Game and Minella Drama completing the field.

Two smart mares, Golden Ace and Dysart Enos, will meet again in the TrustATrader Top Novices’ Hurdle.

Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos came out on top when they met in a Grade Two bumper at this meeting 12 months ago but she was denied her chance to go for glory at Cheltenham due to a minor setback.

In her absence Jeremy Scott’s Golden Ace won the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, beating some well-touted Irish contenders.

Standing in their way is Willie Mullins’ Supreme runner-up Mystical Power, the third Firefox and Ben Pauling’s promising Personal Ambition in a field of eight.

There are six in the Huyton Asphalt Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices’ Chase and none can be confidently ruled out.

Cheltenham winner Inothewayurthinkin and Kim Bailey’s Chianti Classico will have plenty of supporters.

Henry de Bromhead sends over Heart Wood, Broadway Boy gets the chance to atone for missing Cheltenham, with Giovinco and Iroko not out of it either.

The Mullins-trained Dancing City and Readin Tommy Wrong, Shanagh Bob, Croke Park and The Jukebox Man, agonisingly reeled in by Stellar Story in the Albert Bartlett, are among nine in the Cavani Sartorial Menswear Sefton Novices’ Hurdle.

Track and field gold medallists at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer will each receive US$50,000 (£39,400) in prize money.

World Athletics announced the US$2.4million (£1.89m) prize pot on Wednesday morning in a move which makes it the first international sport federation to award prize money at an Olympics.

The global governing body said the initiative also included a “firm commitment” to extend the prize money to silver and bronze medallists at the Los Angeles Games in four years’ time.

Relay medallists will split the US$50,000 prize across the team, World Athletics said.

“The introduction of prize money for Olympic gold medallists is a pivotal moment for World Athletics and the sport of athletics as a whole, underscoring our commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.

“This is the continuation of a journey we started back in 2015, which sees all the money World Athletics receives from the International Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games go directly back into our sport.”

Coe added: “We started with the Olympic dividend payments to our member federations, which saw us distribute an extra five million dollars a year on top of existing grants aimed at athletics growth projects, and we are now in a position to also fund gold medal performances for athletes in Paris, with a commitment to reward all three medallists at the LA28 Olympic Games.

“While it is impossible to put a marketable value on winning an Olympic medal, or on the commitment and focus it takes to even represent your country at an Olympic Games, I think it is important we start somewhere and make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is.”

The awarding of prize money will be subject to ratification, which will include medal-winning athletes undergoing and clearing the usual anti-doping checks.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been contacted for comment.

Josh Tongue still marvels at his “crazy summer” last year but the swiftness of his rise and injury setbacks along the way have taught the England fast bowler not to look too far ahead.

Tongue followed up a five-wicket haul on Test debut against Ireland at Lord’s last June by returning to the venue weeks later and snaring David Warner and Steve Smith in both innings in his lone Ashes match.

A couple of separate pectoral issues – unconnected to a shoulder nerve problem that sidelined him between June 2021 and August 2022 – have interrupted his progress, denying him an ODI debut in the Caribbean at the back end of last year and possible involvement in England’s recent Test tour of India.

After going under the knife in December, Tongue is back bowling in practice again ahead of schedule and awaiting the green light to return to competitive action for the first time since last August.

Having switched counties over the winter from Worcestershire to Nottinghamshire, the 26-year-old’s focus is on impressing at Trent Bridge rather than looking ahead to the English Test summer.

“I don’t really look into the future at all,” he told the PA news agency. “Last summer, I didn’t think I would have ever played for England and then all of a sudden, I had the phone call and I was selected.

“It was a crazy summer and it all happened so quickly. It took me a while to let it all sink in. Getting out the world’s top-class batters is an amazing feeling.

“Whatever I do as a bowler is to try and do the best for the team. When I do get back playing, I just want to focus on doing as well as I can for Notts and if England do come knocking then happy days.”

Having handed Tongue a two-year central contract, England are likely to be keeping a close eye on him, with the first Test of the summer not starting until July 10 against the West Indies at Lord’s.

There is at least one seamer vacancy following Stuart Broad’s retirement last year and with Rob Key, England’s director of men’s cricket, suggesting recently they are on the lookout for bowlers who can consistently operate in the mid-to-high 80mph range, Tongue fits the bill.

“There’s loads of fast bowlers in the country so there’s a good group of us now who are going to push for a spot,” Tongue said.

“Every team likes having fast bowlers, they’ve got a point of difference, especially when there’s not much going out there and you need someone that bowls 85-90mph to change the game.”

While Broad has also left a sizeable hole at Nottinghamshire, Tongue rejected out of hand the suggestion he could be the long-term replacement.

“Not at all,” he said. “I’m a different bowler. I go about things differently to what Broady would have done.

“He was an unbelievable bowler and somebody I grew up watching. To share the changing room for England last year was amazing. I haven’t thought about filling his shoes at all, I just want to do the best I can for Notts.”

Tongue was not alone in leaving Worcestershire for Nottinghamshire in the close-season, with Dillon Pennington and Jack Haynes also moving to the east midlands.

“I just want to win games for Notts, that’s why I came here,” Tongue added. “I want to win trophies. It’s every cricketer’s aim.”

Nottinghamshire, who were beaten by Essex in their Vitality County Championship opener, are due to welcome Worcestershire this week although Tongue is unlikely to be available against his former club.

Scottie Scheffler intends to keep the secrets of Masters success to himself as he bids to justify his position as pre-tournament favourite with a second green jacket.

The 2022 champion has been in brilliant form this season, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots and seven days later becoming the first player to win back-to-back Players Championship titles at Sawgrass.

Only a short missed birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Houston Open cost Scheffler the chance of a third straight win and the world number one has rightly been made favourite for the 88th Masters at the kind of odds last seen for Tiger Woods at his prime.

Scheffler’s victory two years ago was aided by a yardage book given to him by Ben Crenshaw’s former caddie Carl Jackson, who worked at Augusta National for 54 years.

Crenshaw arranged a meeting between the pair as bad weather delayed the pre-tournament par-three contest and, four days later, Scheffler secured his first major title by three shots, despite four-putting the 72nd hole.

“I’m not going to expand too much on Carl’s secrets in front of people but it was my third Masters and I sat in the back of the caddie house with Carl,” Scheffler said.

“Ben had suggested that I just sit down with him for a few minutes and he gave me a yardage book that had some of where I think he called it grain is, where some of the slopes are.

“And it’s just a yardage book that has some arrows in it. (But) I’m not going to tell you where the arrows are pointing.

“It’s something that I’ll kind of review at night and I always look at it in the lead-up to the tournament just because there is kind of some weird stuff that goes on around the golf course.”

Jon Rahm will defend his title when the 88th Masters takes place at Augusta National from April 11-14.

Rahm is bidding to become just the fourth player to win back-to-back green jackets after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year’s first major championship.

The 2022 champion has been in brilliant form in 2024, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots and seven days later becoming the first player to win back-to-back Players Championship titles at Sawgrass. Switching putters on the advice of Rory McIlroy has proved vital, although missed short putts did cost him a third straight win in the Houston Open. Rightly rated favourite for a second green jacket at the kind of odds previously only offered for peak-era Tiger Woods.

Started last year with a four-putt double bogey on the first but still shot an opening 65 and ended up winning his second major title by four shots over LIV Golf duo Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Remarkably returns to Augusta as a fellow member of the Saudi-backed breakaway, a shock move which ensures his competitive sharpness will be under scrutiny. Will be hoping Koepka and Mickelson proved last year that experience of the course is more important than current form.

McIlroy’s 10th attempt to win the Masters and complete a career grand slam comes on the back of some underwhelming form since winning in Dubai in January, although the world number two remains second favourite behind Scheffler. His recent record at Augusta National includes a thrilling final round of 64 in 2022 and two missed cuts and the four-time major winner is reportedly set to skip the pre-tournament par-three contest to fully focus on his bid to make history.

Schauffele insisted the best was yet to come in his career after narrowly missing out on the Players Championship title, the Olympic champion taking a one-shot lead into the final round only to get overhauled by a charging Scheffler. Failing to get over the line perpetuated the belief in some circles that Schauffele has underachieved, although he has seven PGA Tour titles to go with his gold medal from Tokyo, along with 11 top-10 major finishes, including three in his last five starts at Augusta.

Most golf fans are well aware of the statistic which makes Aberg appear an unlikely contender, namely that Fuzzy Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on their tournament debut back in 1979. In addition, the Masters will be Aberg’s first appearance in any major, but the 24-year-old Swede has defied the odds since turning professional in June 2023, winning on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour and justifying his wild card by helping Europe regain the Ryder Cup.

Emma Raducanu will be welcomed back into Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team “with open arms”, according to Katie Boulter.

The former US Open champion will play just her second tie for her country this week in France, two years after making her debut against the Czech Republic.

Injuries have prevented Raducanu being involved in the intervening ties, and she indicated at the Australian Open that she would prioritise her health this year when considering whether to play.

But, with the tie on indoor clay, the same surface as her next WTA tournament in Stuttgart next week, Raducanu will join Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and debutant Francesca Jones in Le Portel.

Boulter, who is a brand ambassador for Lexus, told the PA news agency: “I’m very pleased. We’ve missed her. We love having her back.

“Obviously the number one thing is that she’s healthy. I’ve always said it for myself and it’s my biggest wish for her as well is that she can stay as healthy as possible. We’re going to be welcoming her with open arms for sure.”

At 302, Raducanu is the lowest-ranked member of Anne Keothavong’s team, with Boulter at 28 and Dart also in the top 100, but it would be a major surprise if she was left on the bench for the tie on Friday and Saturday.

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Raducanu won one of her two matches on her debut and showed promise in her first campaign on clay, traditionally the weakest surface for British players, two years ago.

Keothavong’s side are undoubtedly underdogs, particularly having lost to France at the same stage last year on hard courts in Coventry.

The home side are led by world number 23 Caroline Garcia, who recently defeated Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka on her way to the quarter-finals of the Miami Open, and Boulter said: “It’s a brutal match-up.

“We’ve already been in this place before and we had it at home. I think if anything it could help us, we are completely the underdogs. I think we’ve got a free swing.

“Garcia is clearly playing some very good tennis right now. But it’s another Billie Jean King Cup tie, anything can happen.

“We’ve got to keep it very realistic, it’s everyone’s first week on clay. It’s not my favourite surface but I’m very excited to get on it. I think we will come together as a team and keep trying to push each other and I’m sure we’ll play some really good tennis.”

Raducanu’s presence represents a boost for Britain compared to last year, as does the rapid rise of Boulter, who at 27 has surged into the top 30 for the first time.

The Leicestershire player lifted her second, and biggest, WTA Tour title at the San Diego Open last month and has won more matches against top-50 opponents in the first three months of 2024 than in the rest of her career combined.

“It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind,” said Boulter. “In some aspects I’m surprised, in other aspects I’m not surprised at all, which shows that I’ve really put a lot of work in and I feel like I’m going in the right direction.

“I am very realistic at the same time. Not everything’s going to click every week. I think that’s where, going into the next part of the season (on clay), I’ve got a free swing, because it’s obviously something I’m not used to.

“It’s something fresh and exciting but this last month has been a massive, massive leap for me.”

The winners of the tie will qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Seville in November.

Max Whitlock has announced this summer’s Paris Olympics will mark the end of his glittering gymnastics career after more than two decades of history-making moments and “muck-ups”.

The 31-year-old, who has won three Olympic gold medals and three world titles, says he no longer fears life beyond the competitive side of the sport which drove him to become one of the greatest British athletes of his generation.

And whether it involves his quest to extend that remarkable legacy, or to win games of ‘Pick a Pair’ with his five-year-old daughter Willow, who will watch him at an Olympics for the first time in Paris, Whitlock’s competitive fires continue to burn as ferociously as ever.

“Working towards that end goal of my fourth and final Olympics is so exciting, and it will hopefully put me in a position to push the boundaries further, and make this final chapter the best it can possibly be,” Whitlock told the PA news agency.

“To have the opportunity to do that in front of Willow feels amazing. I always said I wanted to continue until she was old enough to watch me in competitions, and I love that she will get that chance in Paris.

“I get the feeling Willow is mega-proud. She loves going round telling people I’m the Olympic champion, and she thinks I win everything. Even when we’re playing ‘Pick a Pair’ together, my competitive instinct doesn’t stop.”

Whitlock’s almost decade-long career as a global champion, starting when he edged out pommel rival Louis Smith to become Britain’s first individual world champion in Glasgow in 2015, has masked periods of struggle and self-doubt.

“I’ve mucked up more times than a lot of people think,” insisted Whitlock, who missed out on a medal most recently at last year’s World Championships in Antwerp, where he came off the apparatus midway through his final routine.

“I’ve been to so many competitions, so many European Championships, where I’ve not been able to achieve what I wanted.

“But what it does is it massively hones you, it focuses you to go back into the gym and work on fixing things. Sometimes, it’s those mistakes that get you in the mindset to get where you want to be.”

Whitlock won two Olympic gold medals – on floor and pommel – within two hours on an unforgettable Sunday afternoon in Rio, as well as defending his world crown in Montreal and Stuttgart in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

But his fondest memory remains his first significant step on the global stage at London 2012, where he was part of a history-making bronze medal-winning men’s team and also took individual bronze on pommel, paving the way for his future exploits.

“London was such a big thing for me, to be completely doubted but to come away with those bronze medals, and it gave me the motivation and inspiration that I could go on from there and compete anywhere,” recalled Whitlock.

“I was approaching my prime and I felt invincible. The four years after London were amazing because it was about seeing how far I could take it. I felt like I was floating. If I hadn’t made London, my career might have turned out very differently.”

Whitlock’s third Olympic gold, in an almost empty Ariake Arena in Tokyo, preceded 18 months of soul-searching, during which he privately struggled with the concept that his competitive career was drawing to a close.

Almost three years on, however, his growing family and flourishing business, rolling out bespoke gymnastics courses for children, have given Whitlock renewed confidence that life without the constant calling to improve and excel can be equally rewarding.

“I feel like I’ve learned from the hard-stop of the Tokyo experience, when I was adamant that I was never coming back,” continued Whitlock.

“A lot of things weren’t really ticking the box. I had nothing to wake up to in the morning and think, ‘I’m going to work hard to try to achieve this.’ I’ve said I felt like a waste of space. But it’s different now.

“I’m equally passionate about the business I’ve set up, that creates a massive impact among young children, and the two complement each other because the enthusiasm I get from that is helping me have a really positive outlook in the gym.

“I know deep inside that Paris 2024 feels like the right time to say, ‘I’m done’. For 24 years I’ve been pushing to do everything I possibly can.

“I’ve got one final opportunity to grab, and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”