Kyrie Irving called out "underlying racism" and a "human zoo" environment in the NBA after a Boston Celtics fan threw a water bottle in the direction of the Brooklyn Nets star.

The Nets topped the Celtics 141-126 in Game 4 on Sunday for a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference first-round series, but it was overshadowed by another unruly incident.

Ex-Celtics star Irving posted 39 points and 11 rebounds to help fuel the Nets at TD Garden in Boston, where a fan appeared to throw a bottle at the 2016 NBA champion as he left the court.

It comes after former MVP and Washington Wizards guard Russell Westbrook was showered in popcorn during a defeat away to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2, while a New York Knicks fan spat on Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young in Game 1.

Following the latest incident in a worrying trend of fan behaviour across the league, Irving – who spent two years with the Celtics from 2017 to 2019 – told reporters: "You're seeing a lot of old ways come up.

"It has been that way in history in terms of entertainment, performers and sports for a long period of time and just underlying racism and just treating people like they're in a human zoo.

"Throwing stuff at people, saying things. There is a certain point where it gets to be too much."

Irving added: "You can see that people just feel very entitled out here. They paid for their tickets -- great, I'm grateful that they're coming in to watch a great performance.

"But we're not at the theatre. We're not throwing tomatoes and other random stuff at the people that are performing."

"Fans got to grow up at some point," Durant said. "I know that being in the house for a year and a half with the pandemic got a lot of people on edge, got a lot of people stressed out, but when you come to these games, you have to realise these men are human.

"We are not animals; we are not in the circus. You coming to the game is not all about you as a fan. So, have some respect for the game. Have some respect for the human beings, and have some respect for yourself. Your mother wouldn't be proud of you throwing water bottles at basketball players or spitting on players or tossing popcorn. So, grow the f*** up, and enjoy the game. It's bigger than you."

On the court, the second-seeded Nets flexed their muscles to move within one win of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

A game-high 42 points from Durant, and double-doubles from Irving and Harden (23 points and a playoff career-high 18 assists) inspired the Nets.

Durant, Irving and Harden tied the playoffs record for most points scored by three team-mates (104), after John Havlicek (54), Jo Jo White (34), Dave Cowens (16) in 1973 and Dominique Wilkins (50), Randy Wittman (35), Spud Webb (19) in 1986.

Brooklyn duo Durant and Irving also became the first pair of team-mates in NBA history to each score 35-plus points while going 10-for-10 shooting or better from the free-throw line in the same game, according to Stats Perform.

On Irving's performance, Nets head coach Steve Nash said: "It's Kyrie Irving. He didn't have a great game last time out. My money's on him any time after a performance he had. I loved his will, to take some of this adversity and have a great game."

Harden – on what was most satisfying about the victory – added: "Defensively. That's going to be our key every single game. Offensively, that should be the last thing we're worried about because we have so many weapons, so many guys that can get it going.

"Defensively, we have to be engaged, to be locked in possession by possession. I think in Game 3 we weren't consistently locked in on the defensive effort and it showed. Tonight was a lot better and obviously offensively we're wrecking when we come down, the ball moves, and we play with pace.

"Defensively, our effort, and then our rebounding was great too. Ky did an unbelievable job with 11 rebounds. That's elite right there. That's winning basketball."

The star-studded Brooklyn Nets are on the cusp of the Eastern Conference semi-finals after Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden helped take down the Boston Celtics 141-126 in Game 4.

Durant, Irving and Harden led the way to silence the Celtics crowd in Boston, where the second-seeded Nets claimed a commanding 3-1 lead in the opening-round series following a franchise playoff scoring record.

A game-high 42 points from Durant, and double-doubles from Irving (39 points and 11 rebounds) and Harden (23 points and 18 assists) fuelled the Nets at TD Garden on Sunday.

Durant, Irving and Harden tied the playoffs record for most points scored by three team-mates (104), after John Havlicek (54), Jo Jo White (34), Dave Cowens (16) in 1973 and Dominique Wilkins (50), Randy Wittman (35), Spud Webb (19) in 1986.

Brooklyn duo Durant and Irving also became the first pair of team-mates in NBA history to each score 35-plus points while going 10-for-10 shooting or better from the free-throw line in the same game, according to Stats Perform.

After his mammoth 50-point haul in Game 3, Jayson Tatum followed up with 40 points, seven rebounds and five assists but it was not enough for the Celtics, who are facing elimination.

Clippers fightback

After dropping the opening two games, the Los Angeles Clippers are now level with the Dallas Mavericks at 2-2 in the west following their 106-81 rout. Kawhi Leonard's efficient double-double of 29 points (on 11-for-15 shooting) and 10 rebounds inspired the Clippers on the road. Paul George added 20 points as the Clippers became the first team in league history to lose the first two games of a playoff series at home and then win the next two on the road by a combined 35-plus points, per Stats Perform.

The Atlanta Hawks relied on their usual stars to get past the New York Knicks 113-96 and move within one win of the second round of the playoffs. Trae Young had 27 points and John Collins chipped in with 22 of his own as the Hawks earned a 3-1 advantage.

Davis injury caps Lakers loss

The Los Angeles Lakers lost 100-92 to the Phoenix Suns, who levelled the matchup in the west. Anthony Davis' injury headlined the defeat as the Suns capitalised on his second-half absence. Davis suffered a groin injury late in the second quarter and did not return for reigning champions the Lakers in Los Angeles. 

Luka Doncic was cleared to play against the Clippers, despite a neck strain. While he put up 19 points, the Mavs star was just nine-for-24 shooting in Dallas. Doncic also had little support on the court after starters Tim Hardaway Jr. (four points on one-for-eight shooting), Dorian Finney-Smith (eight points on three-for-nine shooting) and Maxi Kleber (0 points on 0-for-three shooting) struggled.

Caruso-LeBron combo

The Lakers lost but Alex Caruso and LeBron James still produced a highlight moment in the second quarter. Caruso lobbed the ball to James off the backboard and the latter finished emphatically. James registered 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Sunday's results

Atlanta Hawks 113-96 New York Knicks
Phoenix Suns 100-92 Los Angeles Lakers
Brooklyn Nets 141-126 Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Clippers 106-81 Dallas Mavericks

76ers at Wizards

Eastern Conference top seeds the Philadelphia 76ers can seal a 4-0 series sweep of the Washington Wizards in DC on Monday.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said he is ready to carry the load after Anthony Davis suffered a groin injury as the NBA champions lost to the Phoenix Suns.

Davis sat out the second half of the Lakers' 100-92 defeat to the Suns, who levelled the Western Conference first-round series at 2-2 on Sunday.

Lakers star Davis clutched his groin area after missing a layup during the final minute of the second quarter in Los Angeles, where he is reportedly day-to-day following the injury concern.

James posted 25 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in a losing effort for the Lakers and he insisted he is ready to lead the way should Davis miss game time.

"For me, it's putting our team in position to be successful," James said afterwards.

"It starts with my approach. It starts with my accountability and trickles down to everybody else.

"These shoulders were built for a reason and if it takes for me to put more on top of it then so be it.

"Win, lose or draw, I'm ready for the challenge."

Davis, who has been hampered by injuries this season – having missed 30 regular-season games, had six points, four rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes before hobbling out of the game.

A knee injury sustained in Game 3 already had Davis under an injury cloud.

"I thought he was labouring a little bit even before the groin injury," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.

"He was saying that his knee was sore, but there was no way that he was not going to play. I thought he gave a heck of a run at it, trying to compete through pain."

Vogel added: "You know, he's one of the best players in the world, so you have to adjust.

"And I thought we gave great effort trying to overcome that loss, but it certainly wasn't enough."

Game 5 will be held in Phoenix on Tuesday.

"We kept on fighting back and got stops after stop after stop and still made it a game," James said. "But they played well. I tip my hat to them.

"They came in, played extremely well. And it's going to be a big-time Game 5 come Tuesday."

The Copa America has been thrown into disarray after CONMEBOL removed Argentina as hosts amid the country's coronavirus situation.

Argentina were set to stage the showpiece South American tournament, starting June 13 in Buenos Aires, following the governing body's decision to strip Colombia of co-hosting rights due to anti-government protests and COVID-19 concerns in the nation.

CONMEBOL had been identifying new locations in Argentina to replace Colombia ahead of next month's curtain-raiser between Lionel Messi's La Albiceleste and Chile at El Monumental.

Instead, Argentina will not stage the Copa America – already pushed back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic – as CONMEBOL considers new hosts.

Chile, Paraguay and the United States are reportedly the frontrunners to host the event.

"CONMEBOL informs that in view of the present circumstances it has been decided to suspend the development of the Copa America in Argentina," a statement read on Sunday.

"CONMEBOL analyses another offers from countries that showed interest in hosting the continental tournament."

Before the announcement, Argentina's interior minster Wado de Pedro had admitted it would be "very difficult" for the Copa America to be played in the country due to the COVID-19 situation.

"Today I was talking with the president about the health situation of certain jurisdictions, such as Mendoza, Cordoba, Tucuman and Santa Fe [the first two designated venues of the tournament], and due to the health diagnosis we see very difficult that the cup can be played in Argentina," De Pedro told C5N.

Zinedine Zidane said he would have liked his relationship with Real Madrid and president Florentino Perez to have been a "little different" following his Los Blancos exit.

Zidane led Madrid to the 2019-20 LaLiga title in his second spell in charge, but the Frenchman elected to move on after the club's runners-up finish behind city rivals Atletico Madrid in 2020-21.

In his first spell, from January 2016 to May 2018, Zidane delivered three successive Champions League triumphs and one LaLiga title.

Drawn back to the club in March 2019, his second tenure did not prove quite as successful, although he led Madrid to LaLiga success in the 2019-20 season.

Zidane departed after a barren campaign on the trophy front, however, with Madrid losing early to minnows Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey, edged out by Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals, and pipped to back-to-back LaLiga trophies by Atletico.

The 48-year-old – who was linked with former club Juventus before Massimiliano Allegri's return – is lifting the lid on his Madrid exit in an open letter set to be published in full on Monday.

"I understand football and I know the demands of a club like Real Madrid. I know when you don't win, you have to leave," Zidane said in a preview of the letter via Diario AS.

"I'm not jumping overboard, nor am I tired of coaching. I would have liked my relationship with the club and the president over the past few months to have been a little different."

Zidane had 263 games in charge in all competitions across his two tenures in Madrid, winning 65.4 per cent of them.

He achieved a points-per-game ratio of 2.17, an average that sits behind both Rafael Benitez (2.21) and Manuel Pellegrini (2.35).

In comparison to the notable head coaches who reached a century of matches, both Mourinho (2.31) and Carlo Ancelotti (2.36) exceeded Zidane in terms of points per game. Leo Beenhakker – who won three successive titles in the late 1980s – however, managed 2.11 during his reign.

"Being at Madrid for 20 years is the most beautiful thing that's happened to me in my life and I know I owe that entirely to Florentino Perez," Zidane added.

Zidane's second spell lowered his overall points-per-game average, as he won 68 out of 114 matches upon his return – a notable drop-off when compared to his time between January 2016 and the end of the 2017-18 season, when he rattled along at 2.29 points per outing.

His win percentage in LaLiga in his initial spell was 70.8. After returning to replace Santiago Solari in March 2019, that 87-game span produced 188 points, three more than rivals Barcelona managed – though both won the same number of games (56) – and it puts Madrid 12 points ahead of newly crowned champions Atleti.

Lionel Messi is "very excited" about the upcoming Copa America as Argentina eye a long-awaited title.

Argentina are set to host the 2021 Copa America after Colombia were stripped of co-hosting rights amid safety concerns in the country due to anti-government protests.

Messi's Argentina, who finished third in 2019 following back-to-back runners-up performances in 2015 and 2016, will open the South American tournament against Chile in Buenos Aires on June 13.

Argentina will also face Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia in Group A and Messi is relishing the Copa America as the superstar captain seeks his first senior trophy with La Albiceleste.

"I'm very excited and eager, I'll try to do things right," Messi said on Sunday, with Argentina riding an 11-match unbeaten streak.

"In the last Copa America we left a good image, but we cannot stay with that and we will have to continue growing.

"The last qualifying games we did well too, although it's been a long time since those games and we couldn't get back together, we'll have to get back on track quickly and keep growing."

"I'm always excited to compete with the national team, whatever game it is, we always want to win, it's always the same goal," added the record six-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"The truth is that the youngest are eager and the oldest too, with the same or more eagerness. We are a very nice and united group with a good base that has already been working since [head coach Lionel] Scaloni started and some new ones who joined at the last moment. The important thing is to form a very strong group for the objectives that lie ahead."

Before their Copa America campaign, Argentina will meet Chile (June 3) and Colombia (June 8) in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with matches postponed, but before COVID-19 led to suspensions, Argentina had won three of their first four games to be two points behind Brazil in second spot.

"I'm happy to be here with all my colleagues. It is a strange and different situation from what we usually live in and we cannot live in a normal way, but little by little we are getting together and working for the two qualifying games because both will be very difficult.

"All qualifying games are very tough. Chile are a great team with very good players, although they have a new coach and he didn't have many games, they have very experienced players base and many kids who are up to the task. They had a generational change like us and they are growing and preparing, it is a very competitive team.

"We try to comply with all the recommendations they give us, the last qualifying matches we had were very similar to what we are experiencing now, although now it is more serious due to the situation in the country. Unfortunately we are having a hard time, there are many infected, so we are trying to accommodate ourselves and comply with what they tell us to do everything well."

The American League (AL) East-leading Tampa Bay Rays extended their winning streak after topping the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2.

Mike Zunino and Brett Phillips homered for the Rays, who won for the 15th time in 16 games after recording their fourth successive victory on Sunday.

Zunino hit his 12th home run in the second inning, while birthday boy Phillips homered in a two-run fifth at home to the Phillies in St Petersburg, Florida.

"There's a lot of things going our way," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "We'd like to think we're creating some of those things.

"Guys are taking advantage of opportunities whether it's at the plate, off the mound or defensively. Anytime you go on a run like this team has been on, you've got to do a lot of things right."

The Rays (34-20) are a game ahead of the idle Boston Red Sox (32-20) in the AL East.

Giolito fuels White Sox

Lucas Giolito struck out 12 batters as the high-flying Chicago White Sox beat the lowly Baltimore Orioles 2-1. Giolito allowed a run, three hits and three walks in seven innings for the AL Central-leading White Sox, who have won six of seven games.

The Milwaukee Brewers blanked the Washington Nationals 3-0 after Brandon Woodruff outpitched Max Scherzer. The Brewers celebrated a fourth consecutive win behind Woodruff's 10 strikeouts and two hits across seven innings as he finished with a 1.27 ERA. Nationals ace Scherzer struck out 10 and gave up two hits in six innings.

Giants jump on Kershaw

It was a tough outing for Clayton Kershaw, whose Los Angeles Dodgers lost 5-4 to rivals the San Francisco Giants. The Giants got on top of Dodgers ace Kershaw after scoring three runs in the first inning thanks to Mauricio Dubon's home run. Kershaw conceded another home run in the third inning. The World Series champion allowed seven hits, five runs, three walks and two homers across six innings.

The Orioles – who have been swept in four successive series – are in a hole after matching their worst skid since 2009 following a 13th consecutive defeat. Baltimore's longest losing streak stands at 21 in 1988.

Pujols doing his thing

Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols hit his third home run since joining the Dodgers and 670th of his illustrious career. Pujols went deep in the ninth.

Sunday's results

Colorado Rockies 4-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
Milwaukee Brewers 3-0 Washington Nationals
Detroit Tigers 6-2 New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays 6-2 Philadelphia Phillies
Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians 6-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago White Sox 3-1 Baltimore Orioles
Kansas City Royals 6-3 Minnesota Twins
Houston Astros 7-4 San Diego Padres
Cincinnati Reds 5-1 Chicago Cubs
Los Angeles Angels 4-2 Oakland Athletics
San Francisco Giants 5-4 Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks 9-2 St Louis Cardinals
Seattle Mariners 4-2 Texas Rangers
Boston Red Sox-Miami Marlins (postponed)
Atlanta Braves-New York Mets (postponed)

Mets at Diamondbacks

The New York Mets (25-20) will visit the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks (19-35) on Monday. Mets ace Jacob deGrom will take to the mound against a Diamondbacks team who have lost 13 consecutive games. Merrill Kelly starts for Arizona.

Roberto Mancini dropped Moise Kean from his Euro 2020 plans as the Italy head coach trimmed his finals squad to 28 - with two more players poised to be culled.

Ahead of UEFA's deadline of midnight on June 1, Mancini thinned out the large pool of players he selected on May 17 for the international friendly against San Marino.

Italy won that match 7-0 on Friday, and Mancini has been assessing his squad over the last week, with a view to finding the right players for the upcoming tournament.

He settled on 21-year-old striker Kean as one who would miss out, also releasing Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno, Fiorentina left-back Cristiano Biraghi, Lazio's versatile right-sided player Manuel Lazzari, Fiorentina midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli, Freiburg forward Vincenzo Grifo and Sassuolo frontman Giacomo Raspadori.

Kean loses his place despite scoring 19 goals in 45 games in the season just ended, including two for Everton and 17 in 41 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, whom he joined on loan in October.

"The choice to reach 26 on the squad list is the most difficult thing for me," Mancini said on Rai 3 on Sunday.

He said the cuts so far had caused him plenty of unease.

"And even more so for the other two I will have to exclude for the final list," Mancini said. "Everyone deserved to be there."

Mancini, who recently signed a contract keeping with the Azzurri until 2026, knows Italy may not be widely considered in the top bracket of likely champions.

"There are national teams who on paper are ahead of us, like France, Portugal, Belgium and England," said the former Inter boss. "But I believe that Italy must go and try to get to the end."

Italy will open their Group A campaign against Turkey in Rome on June 11 before facing Switzerland (June 16) and Wales (June 20).

Italy 28-man squad, to be reduced by two for Euro 2020:

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Alex Meret (Napoli), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino); Francesco Acerbi (Lazio), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Emerson Palmieri (Chelsea), Alessandro Florenzi (Paris Saint-Germain), Gianluca Mancini (Roma), Leonardo Spinazzola (Roma), Rafael Toloi (Atalanta); Nicolo Barella (Inter), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Jorginho (Chelsea), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Stefano Sensi (Inter), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain); Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Federico Chiesa (Juventus), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Matteo Politano (Napoli).

Gareth Bale wants to inspire another famous Wales tournament odyssey at Euro 2020 before he returns to the Real Madrid ranks next season.

The €100million man played a leading role as Wales reached the semi-finals of the last European Championship in 2016.

Widely unfancied before that tournament, Wales were only denied a place in the final by eventual champions Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo got one over his then Madrid team-mate Bale.

Now Wales go again on the big stage, with Bale coming off a strong finish to the season on loan at Tottenham.

He finished the campaign with 16 goals and three assists in 34 games, starting just 19 of those matches but showing enough flickers of his best form to suggest there is more to come from the 31-year-old. He far exceeded his expected goals (xG) score of 11.07 and converted 11 of 15 goal opportunities defined by Opta as 'big chances' (73.3 per cent).

Reminded of Wales' stellar run five years ago, Bale said: "We'd love to replicate it, but we're realistic. We know it's a different tournament, playing different teams. We also have a very different team to what we did have.

"So it's going to be difficult going into it against these top nations, but we're confident in our own ability and what we can do on the pitch, and we'll be doing everything we can on and off the pitch to try and make as much a success of it as we can."

Bale became a fringe figure at Madrid under Zinedine Zidane's leadership, but with the Frenchman having left Los Blancos, there is the chance of a fresh start in LaLiga for the winger. The flag he held up bearing the slogan 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order', when Wales qualified for this tournament, caused uproar in Spain, yet a fit Bale could still be an asset to Zidane's successor.

His first season back at Madrid after Euro 2016 proved underwhelming, with Bale hit by injuries and managing just nine goals in 27 games, failing to exceed his expected goals (xG) mark of 9.32, having done so in two of his previous three campaigns at the Santiago Bernabeu.

A significantly better campaign followed – 21 goals from an xG of 15.82, including a double off the bench against Liverpool in the 2018 Champions League final – but Bale was drifting away from being a regular starter.

He will captain Wales in the upcoming finals, with their opening game coming against Switzerland on June 12 in Baku.

Wales then face Turkey, also in Baku, before heading to Rome to tackle Italy.

After a tremendous quarter-final victory over Belgium at Euro 2016, there will be optimism in the Welsh ranks that something special can be achieved again.

This time, unlike in France in 2016, Wales will have to cope without the songs and the support of their fans in the group stage.

The UK government is advising against all but essential travel to Azerbaijan and Italy.

Bale believes the players will have a good idea of the atmosphere back home in Wales, which would be particularly fervent if the team find a winning knack again.

"I think with everything in terms of the media and even speaking to your friends on Whatsapp, you'll get a gist of what's going on back home," Bale said, speaking as Wales finalised their 26-man squad for the tournament.

"We know we'll be supported in large numbers back in Wales and we'll be trying to do everyone proud."

Dominic Thiem conceded his game was "just not there" after he let a two-set lead slip in a shock first-round loss to Pablo Andujar at the French Open.

Thiem had looked in command against a player with no previous top-five wins to his name. However, he crumbled thereafter, further opening a bottom half of the draw that is there for the taking with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Federer all in the top half.

It left the two-time finalist at a loss to describe a massive upset that was the defining story of a day that saw Alexander Zverev, the man Thiem beat in last year's US Open final, battle to a five-set win.

There were no such exertions for Stefanos Tsitsipas, who cruised to a straight-sets win over Jeremy Chardy after the 9pm (local time) curfew in Paris robbed his opponent of the backing of the home crowd at Roland Garros.

"JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH"

Thiem denied any talk of him lacking motivation against Andujar, the Austrian instead pointing to a complete loss of form as the reason for his collapse.

Speaking in the media conference after his 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 loss in nearly four and a half hours, Thiem said: "The game was just not there today.

"All the shots are missing power, they're not accurate enough. [I am] moving not well enough. Everything in my game, there are some percents missing, I actually don't really know why because since I stepped back on court it's already two months and I was really practising well."

Andujar might not have a top-five win, but he beat Federer – currently at number eight in the rankings after an injury absence – recently in Geneva.

Still, Thiem felt it was his own failings that were pivotal.

"Shots were there in practice and it got better in Madrid and Rome, but Lyon and here, the shots and how I moved was not the real me or my version who is able to play for big titles," Thiem said. "It's just not good enough at the moment. It's a very tough situation."

ZVEREV MAINTAINS PERFECT FIVE-SET RECORD

Zverev appeared set to join world number four Thiem in falling at the first hurdle when he fell two sets down to German compatriot Oscar Otte, the qualifier making just his third main draw appearance at a slam and playing in his first tour-level match this year.

But Zverev racked up 50 winners as he fought back to claim a 3-6 3-6 6-2 6-2 6-0 victory, stretching his perfect record in five-setters at Roland Garros to seven matches.

It marked the second time Zverev has produced a turnaround from two sets down, having achieved that feat to reach the US Open final by beating Pablo Carreno Busta, who overcame Norbert Gombos in straight sets on Sunday.

TSITSIPAS SEES OFF CHARDY

In terms of laying down an early marker, it was Tsitsipas who perhaps produced the greatest statement of intent on day one, though the coronavirus restrictions meant there were no fans on court to see it.

Had there been spectators, they might have helped Chardy prevail in the key moments in a tight opening set that saw Tsitsipas save a set point and then win it on a tie-break.

From there, the fifth seed was always in command and surged to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-1 triumph.

HURKACZ HIT BY BOTIC BLITZ

Roberto Bautista Agut and Karen Khachanov were routine winners on day one while Cristian Garin prevailed in four sets against Juan Ignacio Londero.

Dan Evans, the 25th seed, went out as he lost in four sets to Miomir Kecmanovic and injury ended the hopes of 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov.

Dimitrov had three match points at 6-2 6-4 5-1 against American Marcos Giron but let them slip and promptly lost the next eight games before retiring with a back problem.

Also crashing out was Hubert Hurkacz, the 19th seed undone by Dutch qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, who came from two sets down in a stunning display.

Van de Zandschulp won seven of his 14 break points and reeled off 55 winners in an incredible turnaround to seal a 6-7 (5-7) 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-2 6-4 win.

Switzerland stepped up preparations for Euro 2020 by coming from behind to beat the United States 2-1 in St Gallen.

Vladimir Petkovic's men were 1-0 down in just over four and a half minutes as Sebastian Lletget captialised on Switzerland's failure to clear their lines.

His close-range strike made it five goals in his last six USA games for Lletget, but the visitors' joy was short-lived as Ricardo Rodriguez levelled in the 10th minute.

Rodriguez found the net with a deflected drive from the edge of the area following Silvan Widmer's right-wing cross, but the left-back then followed his goal by spurning a gilt-edged chance to complete the turnaround.

The Torino left-back sent a penalty wide of the right-hand post after Sergino Dest was ruled to have handled in the area in the 41st minute.

Rodriguez's blushes were spared after another defensive error from Barcelona player Dest presented substitute Steven Zuber with a simple 63rd-minute chance that did not go begging.

Switzerland, who have won five straight matches, host Liechtenstein on Thursday in their final warm-up game before beginning their Group A campaign against Wales in Baku on June 12.

Nantes survived a tense relegation play-off on Sunday to edge out Toulouse on away goals and secure Ligue 1 football for a ninth consecutive season.

Leading 2-1 from the first leg after a successful trip to the south of France on Thursday, Nantes were beaten 1-0 at their Stade de la Beaujoire home by the side that finished third in Ligue 2.

Vakoun Bayo headed in a cross from Amine Adli to give Toulouse a 62nd-minute lead, but Nantes resisted further pressure from their visitors.

Toulouse were reduced to 10 players in the 87th minute when Nathan N'Goumou was sent off for a foul on Jean-Charles Castelletto, hitting their hopes of a late second goal.

Nantes won four consecutive games before losing to Montpellier on the final day of the regular season, jumping above Nimes in the top-flight table in the process to finish in 18th place.

Having at one stage looked destined for automatic relegation to the second tier, they have survived under the stewardship of Antoine Kombouare, the experienced head coach who was appointed in February as successor to Raymond Domenech and charged with leading the rescue mission.