Interim Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Antonio Carlos Nunes said head coach Tite will not be sacked amid uncertainty over the Copa America.
The 2021 Copa America is scheduled to take place in Brazil, starting on Sunday, following CONMEBOL's decision to relocate the event from Argentina and Colombia, though it remains to be seen whether the Selecao will take part.
Tite has said Brazil will state their intentions following Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Paraguay, while captain Casemiro suggested the entire squad are united against hosting the Copa America amid the coronavirus pandemic.
There have been some calls for Tite to be replaced due to the uncertainty but Nunes – who has taken charge of the CBF after the governing body's ethics committee suspended Rogerio Caboclo for 30 days – does not plan to make changes.
"I say it like this: aren't we winning? We won Copa America in 2019," Nunes told O Liberal. "And now we are almost qualified for the World Cup.
"… As the saying goes, you don't change a team that is winning.
"I am a friend of Tite's. I couldn't speak with Tite on Sunday. I wanted to tell him the decisions are with me now. I like his work very much, he is serious."
Nunes also endorsed the Copa America being staged in Brazil, adding: "Our first objective is to qualify for the World Cup. Brazil has never been out of a World Cup.
"Regarding Copa America, neither Colombia nor Argentina wanted to do it because of the pandemic. CONMEBOL sought out the Brazil president [Jair Bolsonaro] and he readily accepted.
"It has the approval of the president of the republic. I had to talk to the president of the republic. This referral is right. There are things to be resolved."
Amid the ongoing speculation and controversy surrounding Brazilian football, Tite – whose team boast a perfect record after five matches in World Cup qualifying – told reporters on Monday: "My judgment, my scale of values, my ethical side and my education say that I do not heed the rumours that are said.
"I have a lot of respect for my work and the Brazilian national team and I also have a lot of respect for these qualifiers for the World Cup, and the best way to repay all that trust to the people who are in my favour and those who are against me, it is to make the selection play well and be able to win.
"This is my attribution and my place and that is what I am going to do."
"The work we do to achieve good results is very difficult, so what for some may be priority or important things, for us at this time does not have that priority," Tite continued.
"Casemiro said the things he had to say regarding the whole situation that leads to the Copa America. When the FIFA and qualifying dates are over, we will very calmly clarify the whole situation, but for now respect our time and our work."
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has been named the 2020-21 NBA Coach of the Year, it was announced on Monday.
Thibodeau was recognised for leading the Knicks to their first playoff berth since 2013 in his first season in charge – the franchise lost to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference first round.
The 63-year-old received 43 first-place votes and 351 total points to beat Phoenix Suns counterpart Monty Williams to his second Coach of the Year award, while Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder finished third.
Thibodeau also won the Coach of the Year award in his first season as a head coach with the Chicago Bulls in 2010-11.
The veteran is now the first person to be named NBA Coach of the Year in his first season as a head coach with two different franchises.
Thibodeau is also the 10th head coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award more than once and the eighth to do it with multiple franchises, while he is the third head coach to be selected as NBA Coach of the Year with the Knicks, joining Red Holzman (1969-70) and Pat Riley (1992-93).
Led by Thibodeau, the Knicks ended the regular season tied for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (41-31) as Julius Randle earned All-Star selection for the first time in his career and the Most Improved Player award.
The Knicks starred defensively throughout the season – leading the NBA in points allowed (104.7), opponents' field-goal percentage (44.0) and three-point percentage (33.7), while New York ranked fourth in defensive rating (107.8).
Facing Rafael Nadal at the French Open is arguably the toughest challenge in sport, such is the King of Clay's incredible record at Roland Garros and, for Diego Schwartzman, forgetting about the 13-time champion and his reputation will be half the battle when he faces him in Wednesday's quarter-final.
Schwartzman is enjoying another excellent run at Roland Garros, having reached the semi-finals last year only to be defeated by Nadal in their 11th career meeting.
The Argentinian saw off Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets on Monday before Nadal recovered from a slow start to beat Jannik Sinner in three and set up a reunion in the last eight.
They are the only two players remaining in the draw who are yet to drop a set.
Schwartzman has a 1-10 record against Nadal but has the distinction of having beaten the Spaniard on clay, doing so in Rome in 2020.
And he took a set off Nadal in their first clash at Roland Garros back in 2018, though he could not do the same last year.
Asked about the prospect of a four or five-hour match with Nadal, Schwartzman told a media conference: "I think at the beginning of every match against Rafa, you have to walk on the court thinking to win the match, to have opportunities, to get opportunities, and think about something else and not think about Rafa on the other side of the net.
"If you think about the four, five hours you are going to play, if you think about everything about Rafa in Roland Garros, he's very difficult to play.
"You know, you have to go on court, think about the tactics, think about how to play your best game.
"It's Rafa and you never know what is going to happen, and everyone knows that it's going to be very difficult.
"Playing against Rafa in these kind of tournaments, it's always, I mean, a good step, a good time to know how good are you playing. It's always a good challenge.
"I want to be there one more time. I beat him one time, so is not the same thing. I know we played two times here were good matches, and now let's see what happens. I have to enjoy today, day free tomorrow, and let's see what happens on Wednesday."
Nadal heads into the contest content with his overall performance against Sinner, who failed to serve for the first set and could not produce a turnaround in the second despite fighting from 4-0 down to get back on serve at 4-3.
"I think I started the first two games playing great. Then I had a bad game with 2-0 and with the wind helping, so that was a big mistake. Then I started to play too much against his backhand and too far from the baseline. So then I give him the chance to be inside the court and to have the control of the point from inside," said Nadal.
"From that position he's dangerous. I was a little bit farther every time, no, from the baseline. Then I was able to have the break back in the 5-4 with the wind helping. I know that was a chance. So it was important to hold my serve with the 5-3 against the wind.
"Then with the 5-4, you know that you can have your chances. So that's what happened. I won that game. I had the break. Then I play a solid game with my serve.
"Then from that moment to 7-5, 4-0 I think I played very good level of tennis. Then again, couple of mistakes and he played well, honestly. Four-three until that moment to the
end of the match I think I played great."
Mitch Duke scored twice as Australia closed in on a place in the third stage of World Cup qualifying with a 5-1 hammering of Chinese Taipei on Monday.
The Socceroos made it six wins out of six and within one victory of a guaranteed spot in the third phase of Asian qualifying at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait, outclassing the team propping up Group B without a point to their name.
Harry Souttar and Jamie Maclaren each scored their fifth goals of the qualifying campaign and Trent Sainsbury added a third in the first half, with Duke claiming a second-half double either side of Gao Wei-Jie's surprise goal for Chinese Taipei.
Head coach Graham Arnold called on Australia to be more clinical after a 3-0 win over Kuwait and gave a completely different side the opportunity to capitalise on Chinese Taipei's defensive frailties.
Souttar opened the scoring by heading home Riley McGree's corner 11 minutes in and A-League Golden Boot winner Maclaren got in on the act from the penalty spot after he was upended by Chen Wei-chuan.
Sainsbury got on the end of another McGree corner to head in a third Australia goal late in a first half which also saw Brandon Borrello rattle the post from close range.
Borrello provided the cross for Duke to nod home 20 seconds into the second half before Gao scored only Chinese Taipei's third goal from seven group games with a clinical finish.
Duke had the final say, tucking into an empty net after being set up by Nikita Rukavytsya six minutes from time.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek overcame a strong challenge from Marta Kostyuk to reach the French Open quarter-finals.
Swiatek is the only top-10 player in the last eight of the women's draw at Roland Garros after beating the 18-year-old Kostyuk 6-3 6-4 on Monday.
Playing her first night match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Swiatek came from a break down in a thrilling first set and went on to book a meeting with Maria Sakkari – conqueror of last year's runner-up Sofia Kenin.
Eighth seed Swiatek has won 22 consecutive sets at the Paris grand slam and is a strong favourite to win back-to-back titles.
Swiatek, who won a marathon doubles match in combination with Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Sunday, was 2-1 down in the opening set as world number 81 Kostyuk was rewarded for her positive approach.
The 20-year-old Pole responded like a champion, though, breaking back immediately and again after fending off two break points to take a 4-3 lead.
Swiatek, demonstrating her great power and precision, served out the opening set and went a break up at 2-1 in the second, but Kostyuk – playing at this stage of a grand slam for the first time –was not finished yet.
The teenager defended brilliantly and showed great speed over the court as she broke back to level at 2-2 when Swiatek netted a backhand.
Yet Swiatek edged back in front when Kostyuk put a backhand of her own into the net and sealed victory with a magnificent winner – her 24th of an entertaining match.
Luka Doncic appeared to confirm he would be signing a supermax contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks following their NBA playoff exit.
The Mavs were eliminated from the postseason with Sunday's Game 7 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, despite another outstanding series from Doncic.
The Slovenian has played in only two playoff series – both defeats against the Clippers – but has quickly established himself as one of the league's elite offensive players.
Doncic scored 35.7 points per game across the seven games, improving his career postseason average to 33.5.
That is the best mark of any player to appear in 13 or more playoff games, passing Michael Jordan's 33.4.
Jordan is one of only three men since 1963 to outscore Doncic across the first 13 games of his playoff career, with the Mavs superstar matching Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 436 points.
Dallas will pursue an extension to keep Doncic on the team long term, and he replied to questions about an imminent supermax deal: "I think you know the answer."
Doncic is still playing on the four-year rookie contract he signed after the Mavs traded with the Atlanta Hawks on draft night in 2018.
The 22-year-old is set to earn $10.2million in the coming season, but Dallas are expected to make him an offer that would then exceed $200m across the next five years.
Doncic, who averages 25.7 points in the regular season, was the Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 and made the All-NBA First Team last year. He will likely be included in the same selection for 2020-21.
American duo Caty McNally and Caroline Dolehide bounced back from their French Open woe with victories at the Nottingham Open as their grass-court seasons began.
McNally and Dolehide both failed to progress through qualifying at the ongoing grand slam in Paris, but they recovered to make successful starts to their campaign at the WTA 250 event on Monday.
World number 36 McNally – on the day her doubles partner Coco Gauff reached the last eight in the singles at Roland Garros – won 6-4 6-3 against India's Ankita Raina, saving five of the six break points she faced.
McNally – beaten by Gauff in the French Open junior final in 2018 – will now cheer the 17-year-old on from afar while she herself looks to make further progress in England.
Dolehide conceded just one break point as she won by the same scoreline against Giulia Gatto-Monticone, while home hope Harriet Dart beat compatriot Emma Raducanu in straight sets.
Australian pair Lizette Cabrera and Arina Rodionova both beat Chinese opponents, seeing off Wang Yafan and Wang Xinyu respectively.
Number one seed Johanna Konta will begin her campaign on Tuesday against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove.
The Dominican Republic’s good run of form was halted Sunday when they lost to Russia at the Volleyball Nation’s League in Italy.
Rodrigo Moreno, Pablo Fornals, Carlos Soler and Brais Mendez will join Spain's parallel bubble for training ahead of Euro 2020 after Sergio Busquets tested positive for coronavirus.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) revealed on Sunday that captain Busquets had contracted COVID-19 just eight days before Spain's first game of the European Championship against Sweden.
With the senior squad in isolation, Spain will be represented by the Under-21 team in a friendly against Lithuania on Tuesday.
The RFEF has now announced that Leeds United forward Moreno, West Ham midfielder Fornals, Valencia midfielder Soler and Celta Vigo midfielder Mendez will enter the bubble on Tuesday.
Another "small" group of players will also train with the senior squad after the game against Lithuania, with Spain's final Euro 2020 squad dependent on further coronavirus test results.
An RFEF statement said: "In anticipation of the possible consequences that Sergio Busquets' positive could bring, the coaching staff has decided to incorporate a group of footballers to complete training during the next few days under Luis Enrique's orders within a parallel bubble.
"In this sense, tomorrow [Tuesday] the players Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds United), Pablo Fornals (West Ham United), Carlos Soler (Valencia CF) and Brais Mendez (RC Celta) will join the sessions in Las Rozas.
"In addition, once the game against Lithuania is over, a small group of footballers yet to be confirmed will join the training sessions of the senior team under the same conditions as the previous ones.
"They will train at different times and will not mix in any case with the summoned.
"The players invited to the training sessions will remain outside the Ciudad del Futbol bubble and will go daily to Las Rozas after having passed the relevant daily tests before their arrival and during their stay.
"Their definitive incorporation to the Euro 2020 list will be evaluated based on the results obtained in the coming days."
Rafael Nadal continued on his serene path to a 14th French Open title by seeing off Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Having seen Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti take Novak Djokovic to five sets earlier on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sinner made a strong start against the King of Clay.
However, whereas Musetti took two sets from the world number one before being outpunched by Djokovic, Sinner was swiftly reeled back in after spurning a chance to win the first set.
The 19-year-old's spirited efforts were undermined by 40 unforced errors, offering Nadal far too many opportunities to press home the gulf in class and experience in a 7-5 6-3 6-0 win.
Nadal held to love in his first service game and then immediately broke Sinner. However, he was uncharacteristically sloppy across his next two service games, sending down three double faults, as Sinner reversed the tide to surge into a 4-2 lead.
Yet the teenager crumbled as he failed to serve out the set, surrendering a break to love with a double fault.
Then tasked with serving to stay in the set, Sinner had no answer for Nadal, who was now in full flow, an exquisite drop shot bringing up three set points. Sinner saved one, but Nadal's defence forced him into a forehand error that handed the Spaniard his 33rd consecutive set at Roland Garros.
A scorching cross-court backhand saw Nadal craft an early break in the second and he seemingly had a stranglehold on the contest after going 4-0 up.
Sinner surprisingly rattled off the next three games to get back on serve, only to instantly cede the advantage back to Nadal, who subsequently wrapped up the second set with a powerful serve down the middle.
And there was no fightback from Sinner in the third as Nadal coasted to a last-eight clash with Diego Schwartzman, who won earlier against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Iga Swiatek is the only top-10 player remaining in the women's singles draw at the French Open after Maria Sakkari beat Sofia Kenin in straight sets.
Sakkari moved into the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time with an emphatic 6-1 6-3 defeat of last year's runner-up Kenin on Monday.
Greek 17th seed Sakkari will face either defending champion Swiatek or Marta Kostyuk in the last eight at Roland Garros.
The 25-year-old is the first Greek woman to reach a grand slam quarter-final in the Open Era.
World number four Kenin made 32 unforced errors and racked up nine double faults in a one-sided contest on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Sakkari broke the 2020 Australian Open champion, beaten by Swiatek in the 2020 final, six times and lost just four points on her first serve to march into the last eight.
Coco Gauff, 17, earlier became the youngest grand slam quarter-finalist for 15 years by beating Ons Jabeur 6-3 6-1, while Barbora Krejcikova thrashed Sloane Stephens 6-2 6-0 in Paris.
Novak Djokovic came from two sets down against Lorenzo Musetti on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open for a record 12th consecutive year after his opponent retired in the fifth set.
The world number one went into the contest with the 19-year-old having not dropped a set at these championships but found himself in big trouble after a gruelling first couple of hours.
It felt like a different match entirely after that, as Djokovic won 16 of the final 17 games before Musetti retired with the scores at 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-0 4-0 in the 2016 champion's favour.
The Serbian seemed unsettled by Musetti's unpredictable early approach, the teenager mixing up forehand speeds and backhand passes to good effect after an early exchange of breaks.
It looked like Djokovic had control of the opening tie-break only for Musetti to win five out of six points to lead 6-5. Two rasping forehands soon secured the set after a Djokovic error.
Belief in a shock upset really did begin to grow when Musetti took a 3-1 lead in the second set, at which point Djokovic literally took his hat off to his opponent. Whether it was psychological or his cap really was a bother, a bare-headed Djokovic promptly broke back to love.
Djokovic's error count dropped from 20 in the first set to 15 in the second, but the momentum still seemed to be with the Italian, who continued to paint the lines from both sides of the court even when it seemed impossible: early in the second tie-break, a reflex lob from the net somehow bounced on the baseline as his opponent watched in disbelief.
Deserved as his lead was, there was still a feeling that, should Musetti's standards slip even a touch, the door to the comeback would be open. Djokovic seemed to sense as much, returning from a bathroom break to power his way through the third set in just 28 minutes, less than half the time of each of the first two.
Suddenly, doubt crept into Musetti's play as Djokovic began to dictate. He won 16 points in a row to take a 4-0 lead in the fourth and broke again with the sort of drop-shot winner that Musetti had anticipated with ease in the opening two hours.
Djokovic was troubled by his lower back before the fifth set and needed treatment to his hand after somehow winning the first point on the Musetti serve despite falling heavily in the dirt.
Yet it was Musetti whose body could simply no longer keep up, his retirement ensuring Djokovic will now face Matteo Berrettini in the last eight.
Data Slam: Djokovic kept his cool as Musetti froze
Djokovic is rarely shy about showing his emotions on court, so it was interesting to see not a single outburst even after he fell 2-0 down.
Each player had won 85 points in those first two sets and Djokovic seemed to know this was no one-sided affair. When he moved up a gear and Musetti started to falter in mind and body, it was a totally different contest, Musetti winning just 18 points in the final 17 games.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Djokovic – 53/42
Musetti – 30/49
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Djokovic – 11/2
Musetti – 1/2
BREAK POINTS WON
Djokovic – 9/9
Musetti – 2/4
Pep Guardiola believes Ronald Koeman deserves to stay on as Barcelona boss for another season.
Koeman admitted it was a relief to see speculation over his future as Barca head coach ended last week when president Joan Laporta confirmed he would remain in charge for the 2021-22 season.
It followed a period where Laporta sought out other potential candidates while Koeman remained in his post, with some controversy when the president was criticised by the head coach's representatives for comments about his health.
The Dutchman led Barca to Copa del Rey glory last season, though fell short in LaLiga and the Champions League, having taken over at a turbulent period that saw Lionel Messi request to leave following a fallout with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Luis Suarez controversially sold to eventual champions Atletico Madrid.
Former Barca team-mates Koeman and Guardiola were golfing together with their sons last week, with the Manchester City boss thrilled at Laporta's decision.
"Koeman is the ideal coach for next season, I spoke to Laporta and I am very happy the president is convinced," Guardiola said to Cadena SER.
"I am a good friend of Ronald. It has been a difficult year for everyone and Ronald deserves one more year, with people in the stadium.
"Besides, second years are always better.
"At times the team has played very well, they are among those who played better football in Spain.
"They fell at the end when he was close to winning and Atletico won the league, but he won the cup and in general were very good."
Guardiola was one of the names briefly connected with the Camp Nou post when Laporta referenced his dream to bring the Catalan back to the club he coached so successfully from 2008 to 2012.
"I have a two-year contract at Manchester, I'm happy and so it will continue to be," said Guardiola.
He recently saw one of his top young prospects and an experienced stalwart swap City for Barca after the Catalans signed Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero on free transfers.
Guardiola had warm words for both players, predicting Garcia to become a future Camp Nou star.
"Aguero and Eric Garcia are two great signings - Kun is a scorer," said Guardiola.
"With Eric I will tell Koeman that he has a spectacular fit, he is a good guy, really intelligent. He will be one of the captains of the next decade."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
