Novak Djokovic suffered in the heat at the Australian Open but made it past Taylor Fritz and into the semi-finals.

There he will face Jannik Sinner, who finished his straight-sets victory over Andrey Rublev at 1.22am after long matches in the day session.

There will be a rematch of the US Open final in the women’s semi-finals, where defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will face Coco Gauff.

Picture of the dayStat of the dayBromanceMum’s the word

Gauff was not too impressed with mum Candi’s moment in the spotlight, saying: “I saw the video of her celebrating. I was, like, ‘it wasn’t that hard of a ball to catch. You know, celebrate your little wins’.

Fallen seeds

Women: Barbora Krejcikova (9)

Men: Andrey Rublev (5), Taylor Fritz (12)

Who’s up next?

The quarter-finals conclude on Wednesday, when Carlos Alcaraz’s battle with Alexander Zverev takes centre stage in the night session.

The winner will face either third seed Daniil Medvedev or ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, while China’s Zheng Qinwen is the only seed left in the top half of the women’s draw and plays Anna Kalinskaya.

Czech teenager Linda Noskova, who beat Iga Swiatek in the third round, faces qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the opening match of the day.

Finn Russell believes Owen Farrell will be the ideal fit for Racing 92 as England’s fly-half follows in the footsteps of his 2021 Lions team-mate.

Farrell will become ineligible for England selection until 2026 after agreeing a two-year deal that will bring an end his trophy-laden time at Saracens, his only professional club.

The move to Paris next season will reunite the 32-year-old with Stuart Lancaster, Racing’s head coach who gave Farrell his England debut in 2012.

Russell spent five years with the Top 14 leaders before joining Bath after the World Cup and the Scotland playmaker, speaking before Racing confirmed the move on Monday, is backing Farrell to make it a success.

“I loved my time in Paris,” Russell told the PA news agency at the premiere of Netflix’s Six Nations: Full Contact documentary series.

“It’s really close to London so it will be easy for him to go backwards and forwards to his family.

“I don’t know what it’s like under Stuart Lancaster and it will potentially be better for Owen with Stuart being there. The two of them will know each other from the past because of Lancaster’s time at England.

“It’s a great club and a great city to live in. I loved my time there. Owen will be great, he will fit the way they are playing just now really well.

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“Everyone views him as a kicking 10 but he’s got a great attacking game as well. He will be great for them.”

Russell’s own change of scenery has revitalised the 31-year-old as well as Bath, who are riding high in the Gallagher Premiership and have reached the knockout phase of Europe.

Scotland fans will be hoping some of that magic rubs off on their team heading into the Guinness Six Nations in the wake of a disappointing group exit from the World Cup, albeit having competed in one of the toughest pools in the tournament’s history.

What is being seen as a ‘golden generation’ of Scottish talent has yet to produce tangible success in the Six Nations and Russell, one of two co-captains for the Championship, wants to end a period of underachievement.

“For us the Six Nations has been frustrating over the last few years,” Russell said. “Last year we got off to a good start but never managed to continue it.

“This year it’s ideally about doing a bit better and winning the first two, three or four games if we can.

“It would definitely be frustrating if we didn’t manage to finish up with a title given the players and strength in depth that we have in the squad. However, all the other teams are getting stronger as well.

“We’ve got great strength in depth in the squad now and we potentially have the chance to win something, but we’ve had that for the last few years and we haven’t managed it.”

Equinox has been crowned the world’s best racehorse of 2023 – and with it the highest-rated Japanese horse of all time.

A year that started with a brilliant three-and-a-half-length beating of Westover in the Dubai Sheema Classic featured another three Group Ones, culminating in his farewell to the track in the Japan Cup.

Trained by Tetsuya Kimura, Equinox was only beaten twice in his 10-race career, winning six Group Ones in total.

He was given a rating of 135 in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, which are compiled by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

His figure is 5lb below the 140 awarded to Flightline 12 months ago, which equalled the benchmark under the current system set by Frankel in 2012, but he sits 7lb ahead of last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Ace Impact and dual Group One victor Mostahdaf, who were both rated 128.

Christophe Lemaire rode Equinox in every start and he attended a glittering ceremony in London on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the son of Kitasan Black’s achievement.

Asked what it was like to ride Equinox, Lemaire joked: “To be honest it was quite enjoyable!

“Each time he ran there were big expectations, but I had so much confidence in the horse that I had no fear. To ride him, it was just a pleasure to be on a galloping horse.

“The way he ran was just amazing. Of course, I tried to do my job as well as possible and it was a great journey – I will miss him a lot.

“As have most top athletes, he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical allowed him to run fast and further using his beautiful stride, very well balanced and also he was very clever, so he understood very quickly what he had to do to win the race.

“My job was just to take a good start and put him in the right position to let him express his talent.

“He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder (Northern Farm) who could produce such a beautiful horse and the trainer for getting him mature to compete at the best level.

“Just after his debut, I could feel he was special, the way he moved, his acceleration, his attitude on the track – I could feel very quickly he would become a very good horse. Most other people discovered him in Dubai, but in Japan he was already a rising star.”

Equinox officially retired at the end of November, with thousands of people attending a ceremony for the horse in mid-December before he headed to his new role at Shadai Stallion Station, where he will stand for ¥20 million – just over £106,000.

Speaking through a translator, Kimura said: “I wasn’t prepared for it all (the praise he received after Dubai), I feel like I’ve still been in a dream since then.

“The expectations were very high (before the Japan Cup) and it was very difficult to stay calm, but Equinox showed an amazing start and he has the most beautiful stride in the world and he managed to beat all his rivals with his amazing stamina, so I have nothing else that I wanted from him at all.”

To add to the Japanese laurels, the Japan Cup was named the best race in the world for the first time, with a rating assigned on the first four finishers.

Marco Silva has revealed last season’s embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to Crawley has spurred Fulham onto the semi-finals this year.

The Cottagers host Liverpool on Wednesday night trailing 2-1 on aggregate as they aim to reach a first major domestic cup final since 1975.

Silva’s side led at Anfield in the first leg before conceding twice in three minutes to find themselves as outsiders to down Liverpool and reach Wembley.

The journey is a far cry from their 2-0 loss to Crawley in the second round last August, where Silva made 10 changes from their previous Premier League game.

“My ambition is to always play cup competitions and go further,” Silva said on the eve of the tie.

“Last season we were promoted and we played in the quarter-final of the FA Cup and our aim was always to go further – of course it’s important to recognise that the Premier League was the main thing.

“But at the same time, when we played the other competitions we were trying to be strong enough – the first game in the Carabao was really poor last season.

“It was a good moment to speak with the players about what I demand from them and what we demand from any competitions that you play in the future.”

Silva has taken charge of 229 games in England across spells at Hull, Watford, Everton and Fulham.

The 46-year-old also reached the Greek Cup final with Olympiacos in 2016, having won the Taca de Portugal with Sporting the season before.

But he admits the visit of Liverpool and the potential for a first-ever game as a manager at Wembley means Wednesday is one of the biggest nights of his managerial career in England.

“It is one of them, yes,” he replied. “I did play a (League Cup) semi-final with Hull City as well against Manchester United but, if you ask me right now, I would prefer to have another more important one in one month’s time or two months’ time.”

Philippe Clement confirmed Abdallah Sima is set to be sidelined “long term” as the Rangers manager waits on the final prognosis of the striker’s injury.

The 22-year-old Senegal international, who has scored 15 goals since arriving on loan from Brighton in the summer, was sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations with a thigh problem.

The Senegal FA confirmed Sima picked up the injury in training and a statement warned he could face a “long period of unavailability.”

Clement was asked if had any further update on Sima at his media conference ahead of Wednesday’s Premiership trip to Hibernian, where Rangers will look to use one of their two games in hand on Celtic to cut the eight-point gap to the leaders.

“No, not yet and it is not that I want to keep things away from you,” said Clement.

“I expect to have more news today, tomorrow at the latest, from my medical staff and I always listen to them and not other people.

“So ask me this question after the game and then I will have the information.”

Asked if there was any indication if it would be a short-term or long-term absence, Clement replied: “It will be long term. That is also why I want to have the right information.

“Like I always say, I want to look at the glass half-full, I don’t want pity or disappointment.

“The team and squad has proven they always stand up when something happens and other players do the job and there have been really positive surprises that way so we are going to look for solutions and other surprises.”

Clement, meanwhile, refused to confirm reports that midfielder Mohamed Diomande will be arriving from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.

So far in the winter transfer window only Fabio Silva has joined the Ibrox club, the Portuguese attacker coming on loan from Wolves.

While Clement expects to add further to his squad, he was tight-lipped about 22-year-old Diomande.

He said: “I don’t speak about many rumours because there has been how many, 50 names in the last couple of weeks?

“If you start to talk about one rumour you need to talk about the other rumours and then I am only busy about that and not making training any more or looking at players or talking to my own players, so I never do that.”

Clement also revealed that 20-year midfielder Alex Lowry will go back out on loan after returning from a temporary spell at Hearts which was cut short.

He said: “The plan is we want him to go on loan again to get minutes and come back in a good way. We will see what teams are interested and what is best for him.”

Luke Littler will make his Premier League debut against Luke Humphries in a rematch of their World Championship final in Cardiff next week.

The 17-year-old headlines the opening night of the weekly competition against the man who beat him in the showpiece at Alexandra Palace at the start of the month.

While Humphries became world champion and world number one in a brilliant tournament of his own, lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy after a 7-4 win, it was Littler who stole the headlines on his historic run where he transcended the sport, becoming front and back page news.

That earned him a coveted slot in the Premier League and he doubled down on his stardom by beating Michael van Gerwen and hitting a nine-dart finish on his way to winning the Bahrain Masters last week.

He opens his campaign against fellow debutant Humphries in the Welsh capital a week on Thursday, plays Rob Cross in a repeat of the World Championship semi-final a week later, meets Michael Smith in Exeter on week five and then faces Van Gerwen in Nottingham a fortnight later.

Each weekly mini-event, where a night consists of quarter-finals, a semi-final and a final over the best of 11 legs, contributes to a league table where the top four players advance to the play-offs at the O2 in London in May.

The opening night also sees Van Gerwen and Smith go head-to-head in a blockbusting clash, while Welshman Gerwyn Price takes on Nathan Aspinall and Peter Wright battles Cross.

Britain’s John Ryder says he will walk away from boxing if he loses to Mexican Jaime Munguia in Phoenix this weekend.

Ryder, who faces Munguia (42-0, 33KOs) in the super-middleweight division on Saturday night, will be looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision defeat to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last May.

And the Londoner, who would not be willing to fight at a lower level if he is not victorious, is hoping he can cause an upset and spoil Munguia’s plans of a date with fellow Mexican Alvarez later this year.

“It really wouldn’t be ideal if I picked up two losses,” Ryder told the PA news agency. “I’ve been in this predicament before, where I have come from defeat so it’s a must-win.

“I need to win this to continue my career. A loss here would signal the end for me. I’m not willing to drop down levels and fight at a lower grade.

“I want to go out at a level I know I can operate at.

“They’re priming Munguia to fight Canelo in May and I’m looking to spoil that party.”

The 35-year-old, nicknamed ‘The Gorilla’, believes the knowledge garnered from previous fights will stand him in good stead when the pair meet at the Footprint Center.

“I’ve got more experience,” said Ryder (32-6, 18KOs). “I know it sounds strange because I have had less fights than him but I’ve got a vast experience at this level.

“Experience is one of those things you can’t buy.

“I’ve been in with many different styles, I’ve been in the away corner before so it’s nothing new to me and I have all the balls in my court.”

Hard-hitting Munguia has developed into a feared super-middleweight foe, having stopped three of his last four opponents, and Ryder feels he needs to take the fight to the 27-year-old.

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“He’s had it his own way so far so I’m going to take it to him, stick it on him in the middle of the ring,” the Briton added.

“I can’t let him push me back like he wants to do or let him get in a rhythm and fight his fight.

“He’s got a high work-rate with a good variation of punches. I wouldn’t say he’s massively quick but he throws a lot of shots so it’s going to be hard to keep the movement going and to keep rolling.

“I’m not expecting no easy rides, I learnt that (what it’s like to fight a Mexican) from fighting Canelo. I’m not expecting an easy night’s work but I am expecting to be victorious.”

Luke Donald has appointed Edoardo Molinari as his first vice-captain for Europe’s Ryder Cup defence at Bethpage Black in 2025.

Molinari’s statistical analysis played a key role in Europe regaining the trophy in Rome last year with a five-point victory over the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

The 42-year-old former US Amateur champion, who also played on a winning team in 2010, said: “I’m very happy. It’s something that I’m very proud of and probably means I did a pretty decent job last time, so I cannot wait to help the team and Luke again in Bethpage and I’m really looking forward to it.

“Luke called me the very day he was named captain, a little before the official announcement, and said he really enjoyed working with me in Rome and would like my help again.

“We had another chat about a week later, maybe 30 or 40 minutes on the phone, chatted about a few things and he asked me and I said of course, I would happily do it all over again.

“I think Rory put it best in the press conference after Rome, he said the most difficult thing in golf these days is to win an away Ryder Cup.

“It hasn’t been done in many years now, Luke was part of the team in Medinah, the last one that Europe won away, and hopefully we can produce something similar.”

Donald, who has never been on a losing side in five Ryder Cups as a player or captain, said: “Edoardo is someone I have got to know very well over the last couple of years and he’s going to be a great addition again for the 2025 Ryder Cup.

“He plays a very significant role. He’s around the players a lot and he works with a lot of players on their statistics as well.

“I’ll lean heavily on him with the qualification criteria and then when we get close to the matches, how the team is forming, how their skillsets match to the golf course at Bethpage and whether they’re more foursomes-related pairings, fourballs-related players, and putting those pairings together.”

Paisley Park is in rude health as he prepares to go in search of an unprecedented fourth success in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Emma Lavelle’s veteran 12-year-old has won the Grade Two three times, just like Lady Rebecca at the turn of the century.

Third behind the French Raider Gold Tweet last season, Paisley Park has run two huge races in defeat already this campaign when just touched off at Newbury and Ascot, most recently in the Long Walk.

When asked if Paisley Park was in the same form as for his two meritorious runs this season, Lavelle told Sky Sports Racing: “I think so.

“He seems very well at home, he schooled this morning. He’s jumped more hurdles than I’ve had hot dinners at home so he’s in great order.

“He’s his own man so it’s fingers crossed he brings to the table what he has in both races so far this season.

“He loves Cheltenham, he’s got a great record there and we’ve just got to keep everything crossed.”

Paisley Park’s old adversaries Champ and Dashel Drasher are likely to take him on again, with 2022 Grand National winner Noble Yeats and Marie’s Rock other notable entries.

Barcelona boss Xavi has urged his side to remain “focused” ahead of their Copa del Rey quarter-final clash against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

The sides have history in the competition after Barca beat Athletic 4-0 in the 2021 final, but they were knocked out by Athletic the following year in the last 16.

Barca reached this stage of the competition after overcoming a scare from Unionistas in the last 16, where they came from behind to beat the third-tier team 3-1.

They now face a tough task against Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic side, who beat Alaves 2-0 to secure their spot in the last eight.

https://twitter.com/Athletic_en/status/1749453223318945996v

Athletic are in great form this season, sitting just three points behind Barcelona in the LaLiga table, and have won six of their last seven games in all competitions, with the only blip being a 1-0 loss to Valencia on Saturday.

“(The game is) very important and we have to go into the game completely focused,” Xavi told a pre-match press conference.

“Athletic are an aggressive side and they will pressure us a lot.

“They have a great coach and international players who are in excellent form such as Nico Williams, (Oihan) Sancet and (Inigo Ruiz) De Galarreta.

“Also, they have a stadium and fans that make a lot of noise and gets behind them. It will be a tough game and we will have to compete.”

Barcelona have been handed a boost, with Joao Cancelo returning to the squad following his recovery from a knee injury, while Andreas Christensen is also back after missing the Real Betis victory on Sunday with a foot problem.

Xavi also praised the contribution of youth players from La Masia in recent games and Sunday’s clash against Betis saw spots in the starting line-up handed to then-16-year-old duo Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi.

He added: “We have a lot of confidence in them and they are showing great character. It’s a production line of players who can establish themselves in the first team.”

In what might be an ominous portent of what is to come, City Of Troy “should have no problem over a range of distances” this season, according to Aidan O’Brien.

The unbeaten Justify colt enters his Classic year with a sky-high reputation and ranked second only to Johannesburg – a four-time Group One-winning juvenile – among O’Brien’s 13 champion two-year-olds to date with a rating of 125 following the unveiling of the European classifications.

“He looks very exciting, obviously, and he looks like he’ll have no problem going up in distance,” said O’Brien of the Dewhurst winner, who is favourite for the 2000 Guineas and Derby and has even been talked of as a potential Triple Crown horse.

“I suppose from the first time he ran he looked something different and we always felt that he was a horse who should go forward from two to three, so he’s very exciting from that point of view.

“Johannesburg was more of a two-year-old, he was a small horse. This horse has a massive big, long stride, a bigger horse and obviously he looks very exciting.

“He’s made good physical progress, we’re very happy with him. He’s not too big a horse, he’s not too small, he’s medium-sized and a lovely, well-balanced horse, he’s got a lovely mind. He’s moving very well and he looks like a horse who should have no problem over a range of distances.

“I suppose what makes him different is the tempo he goes in a race and then he just kicks into another gear at halfway, really.

“We didn’t have a horse as exciting ever as City Of Troy as a two-year-old, probably.”

O’Brien enjoyed notable success from a relatively small sample with offspring of American Triple Crown hero Justify, and he floated the idea of taking some of them out to the States to race on dirt.

“We will definitely consider taking the Justifys to America. I would imagine they will be made for the dirt, Justify was a big dirt sprinter who got a mile and a half, but that is why he’s so exciting, they are as good on turf as dirt,” said O’Brien.

“The Kentucky Derby is unlikely as we might not have anything forward enough for that, but after that, once the Classics are out of the way, there’s every chance we could travel over with some of them.”

City Of Troy was rated 5lb clear of Bucanero Fuerte, trained by Adrian Murray, while just 1lb behind him was another O’Brien inmate, Henry Longfellow, also unbeaten in three races.

“We always thought they were two very good colts but we never put them together,” said O’Brien.

“Both travel very well and quicken very well. City Of Troy has a lower action, while Henry Longfellow bends his knee a little bit.

“Henry Longfellow was impressive in his three runs but what City Of Troy did, he always looked different.

“We were thinking at the moment, although obviously it can change, of starting City Of Troy at Newmarket and we’re thinking of maybe starting Henry Longfellow in France.”

The leading two-year-old filly for 2023 was another Ballydoyle inmate, Opera Singer, a five-length winner of the Prix Marcel Boussac.

“I think we’ll probably start her in the English Guineas. Physically she’s done very well, she’s at the same stage as City Of Troy at the moment,” said O’Brien.

“We’ll probably split them up, one might go to France and one might go to England, her and Ylang Ylang (Fillies’ Mile winner), that’s what we’re thinking at the moment.

“She’s a Justify and they are very versatile but she’s out of a Sadler’s Wells mare (Liscanna) and we didn’t think she’d have any problems handling an ease in the ground. We were hoping good ground would bring out the best in her.”

Opera Singer is a half-sister to Hit It A Bomb and Brave Anna, who both won Group Ones at two but failed to train on at three.

“I suppose she’s by Justify which is the massive thing and Justifys improve a lot a three, that’s what we’re thinking. She’s much bigger than they were, scopier, so I think the Justify factor will make a massive difference to her,” said O’Brien.

“When you look at a horse you can tell physically if they have changed from two to three, first impressions is always the thing. Some might get heavier but physically they don’t change.

“They’ve done all their strength and conditioning now and their canters are starting to build up so you want them to be looking like three-year-olds now.”

Udinese have been ordered to play one match behind closed doors after AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan was racially abused during a Serie A match on Saturday.

The sanction has been imposed by the league’s sports judge, Gerardo Mastrandrea.

The judgement states the one-match stadium closure was the minimum sanction which could have been imposed, and was chosen to reflect Udinese’s active stance and willingness right from the start to identify those responsible.

The club announced on Monday they had banned a supporter for life for racially abusing Maignan.

Brazil defender Eder Militao has signed a contract extension with Real Madrid until the summer of 2028.

Militao, 26, is currently recovering from a long-term ACL knee injury suffered during the opening match of the LaLiga season on August 12.

The centre-back joined Real Madrid from Porto in the summer of 2019 and has made 143 appearances, scoring 11 goals.

During his time at the Bernabeu, Militao has helped Los Blancos win the Champions League as well as two LaLiga titles.

A short statement on the club website read: “Real Madrid and Eder Militao have agreed to extend their player’s contract with the club until 30 June 2028.”

As well as his nine trophies with Real Madrid, Militao also won the 2019 Copa America with Brazil and has so far been capped 30 times by the Selecao.