Nick Kyrgios called on the ATP Tour to "get new people" after a furious outburst at the umpire in his defeat to Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open.

Kyrgios berated umpire Carlos Bernardes after his walkie-talkie went off mid-point during the first set.

The Australian was heard to label Bernardes "an absolute clown".

He subsequently added: "This is one of the biggest tournaments and you guys can't do your job. It's embarrassing.”

"You wonder why no one watches this sport. It's a laughing stock."

After receiving a code violation for an audible obscenity, Kyrgios was then handed a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct in the first set tie-break.

Kyrgios had been appearing to talk with a friend in attendance courtside, with that penalty further infuriating him.

"What's unsportsmanlike? What is unsportsmanlike?" Kyrgios asked of Bernardes.

He then demanded to see a tournament official before smashing his racquet during the opening game of the second set, an action that saw him cop a game penalty and drop his serve.

Sinner maintained the initiative from there, easing to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win, with Kyrgios' mind clearly still focused on the performance of the official even after the dust had settled.

He posted on Twitter: "'You could do the job of the umpire' - what was said to my best friend that got me 'unsportsmanlike code violation' at 5-3 in the first set tie break.

"With 100 of thousands of dollars on the line that was the decision he made because the umpire's feelings got hurt. GET NEW PEOPLE"

Elina Svitolina is taking a much-needed break from tennis due to physical and mental stress brought on by injuries and Russia's invasion of her native Ukraine. 

The world number 20 revealed she had been struggling with a back injury that affected her preparations for tournaments, falling at the first hurdle in each of her past two events.

Svitolina, the 2018 WTA Finals champion, reached the last eight at the Monterrey Open, where she refused to play Anastasia Potapova unless the Russian was classed as a neutral athlete at the start of the month, but she lost in her first match at both Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

Svitolina's sabbatical means she will be absent from Ukraine's Fed Cup clash with the United States next month, and it remains to be seen if she will return in time for the French Open at the end of May.

The 27-year-old posted on Twitter: "It's been an extremely difficult couple of months for me not only mentally, but physically. 

"For quite a long time, I've been struggling with my back; the pain didn't let me prepare for the tournaments at my best.

"Meanwhile, observing with unbearable pain in my heart what is happening in my homeland of Ukraine and with how much bravery and courage our Ukrainian people are defending our country, this gave me a huge push to continue and fight on court.

"Now, my body can't handle it anymore and I need to rest, therefore I'm sad to announce that I will be missing the Fed Cup and a few of my favourite tournaments in Europe. But, I'm sure I will see you around soon, thank you for all your support in this challenging period."

Will Smith has apologised to Serena and Venus Williams and their family, as well as Chris Rock, after his on-stage slap aimed at the comedian marred an Academy Award win.

The Williams sisters were at the Oscars in Los Angeles on Sunday to see Smith win Best Actor for his portrayal of their father Richard in the biopic King Richard.

However, before Smith took to the stage to collect his award, he was involved in the major flashpoint of the night and one of the most remarkable incidents in Academy Awards history.

Smith stormed the stage when Rock, while presenting Best Documentary Feature, made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Rock appeared to make a comment on Pinkett Smith's hair, which prompted Smith – after originally smiling at the joke – to take to the stage and strike the comedian before telling him to "keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth".

Smith returned to his seat and was allowed to remain in attendance for the rest of the ceremony, giving a lengthy and emotional acceptance speech in which he apologised to The Academy.

Almost 24 hours past before Smith took to his Instagram page to address the issue again, explaining he took offence to a remark apparently related to his wife's alopecia but also again apologising – including to the Williams family.

"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive," he wrote. "My behaviour at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.

"Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

"I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.  

"I would also like to apologise to The Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.

"I would like to apologise to the Williams family and my King Richard family. I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.

"I am a work in progress."

In her own post on Sunday, Serena Williams had seemingly sought only to address Smith's success at the Oscars.

"This night has been surreal," she wrote. "To spend it sitting next to my sisters meant more than anything.

"I am so grateful to The Academy for making this an unforgettable night, and to Will Smith for bringing this story to the big screen and honouring my family. This will always be a night to remember."

World number two Iga Swiatek showed why she is next in line to occupy the top ranking as she comfortably handled the challenge of 14 seed Cori Gauff 6-3 6-1 to earn a spot in the quarter-finals at the Miami Open.

Swiatek, 20, will become the first Polish-born man or woman to earn the number one singles ranking when it is next updated on April 4, after Ash Barty's retirement, and she never gave Gauff a chance.

She won all eight of her service games in the match, and broke Gauff's serve four times in eight chances to rattle off five consecutive games to close the match.

After a walkover in her last fixture, Naomi Osaka was strong on her way to a 6-3 6-4 win against Alison Riske.

Both women produced break points throughout the match, but while Osaka saved seven out of eight, coming back to double-break after her slip-up in the second set, Riske could only save nine of 12.

In a clash between top-10 seeds, Danielle Collins was terrific in her 6-2 6-4 win against Ons Jabeur.

The match was decided by each woman's success on their second serve, as Jabeur had the better first serve, but could only win 31 per cent of her second serves (8-26), while Collins was an even 73 per cent on both her first and second attempts.

Daria Saville continued her march back up the rankings with a 5-7 6-4 7-5 win against Lucia Bronzetti, making it nine wins from her past 10 matches for the Australian ranked 249 in the world after recently returning from a long-term achilles injury.

Saville will play Switzerland's Belinda Bencic after she breezed past Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-3, while Petra Kvitova got the better of higher-ranked Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

American Jessica Pegula was nearly flawless on her way to a 6-0 first set before Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina retired due to injury, while world number six Paula Badosa beat wildcard Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2 6-3.

The Miami Masters' top seed, Daniil Medvedev, had no problems making his way past Spain's Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 to earn his spot in the fourth round.

Serving was the story of the match as the world number two tallied up 14 aces to his unseeded opponent's zero, and only allowed Martinez to see five second serves in the opening set, with Zverev winning all five. Overall, Zverev won 20 of 24 points on serve in the first set.

The second set was more competitive, with Martinez even breaking back after Zverev jumped ahead and looked to coast to victory, but he could not hold off the Russian down the stretch.

Medvedev will play American Jenson Brooksby in his fourth-round matchup after he won a hard-fought 6-3 5-7 6-4 struggle against 15 seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

In a razor-close contest, Brooksby was just slightly better throughout, winning 60 per cent of his service points compared to the Spaniard's 59 per cent, as well as winning 41 per cent of return points compared to Bautista Agut's 40 per cent.

Fresh off his Indian Wells Masters triumph over Rafael Nadal, Taylor Fritz kept his good form going with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win against American compatriot Tommy Paul.

Fritz, who is now up to world number 13, did not have his serve broken all day, winning 81 per cent of his successful first serves (30-37), while also capitalising on the only two break points he saw.

14 seed Carlos Alcaraz only needed two sets to get past 21 seed Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4, creating nine break point opportunities to Cilic's one, which was saved.

In the late session, and in a meeting of rapidly rising prospects, 22-year-old Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic pulled off an upset 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over 21-year-old American Sebastian Korda.

Meanwhile, three seed Stefano Tsitsipas was too much for Australian Alex de Minaur, winning 6-4 6-3 after allowing no break point opportunities in the opening set, and saving all three in the second.

Ivan Lendl insists Andy Murray can still compete for grand slam titles after re-joining the Scot's coaching team for a third time.

Lendl has teamed up with Murray in order to prepare the two-time Wimbledon champion for his home grand slam this summer, with the 34-year-old skipping the clay-court season to enhance his chances of being at his best on the grass.

Murray won all three of his grand slam titles, Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, and the US Open in 2012, under Lendl's guidance, but has not reached a grand slam quarter-final since 2017, undergoing two hip surgeries during that time.

Lendl, who himself won eight grand slams during a glittering playing career, cited Rafael Nadal's victory in January's Australian Open as evidence that class remains permanent, and expressed confidence in Murray's ability to follow his lead.

"You are asking this [whether Murray can compete] with a straight face after what Rafa [Nadal] has done in Australia," Lendl said after watching Murray's second-round defeat to Daniil Medvedev in Miami.

"They are just like bulldogs, and they want to do things because they haven't been done before.

"If they set their mind to it then they can achieve amazing things.

"Rafa said he wasn't even sure he's going to be able to play again [after his own injury problems], then he goes and wins the Australian Open. So yes, these guys can do it.

"I would say grass is probably Andy's best surface. 

"[For] a lot of the players, it's their worst surface. That would obviously increase his chances." 

Murray made his first ATP final since 2019 earlier this year, losing in straight sets to Aslan Karatsev in the final of the Sydney International in January, and is 85th in the ATP world rankings.

Victoria Azarenka says she regrets beginning her Miami Open match against Linda Fruhvirtova after retiring during the second set of the third-round encounter.

The former world number one blamed an "extremely stressful" time in her personal life for the withdrawal, calling her decision to play a "mistake" and pledging to learn from the incident.

Azarenka was trailing 6-2 3-0 against 16-year-old Czech Fruhvirtova when she abruptly ended the match, having earlier shouted "why am I here?" at her coaching team.

The two-time Australian Open champion also broke down in tears after her third-round defeat to Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells earlier this month, deleting her social media accounts in the aftermath.

Via a statement released after her retirement from the tournament, the Belarusian said she should not have gone onto the court to face Fruhvirtova, blaming an "extremely stressful" time in her personal life for the incident.

"I shouldn't have gone on the court today," the 32-year-old said.

"The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life. 

"[My] last match took so much out of me, but I wanted to play in front of a great audience as they helped me pull through my first match.

"I wanted to go out there and try but it was a mistake. I always look forward to the challenge and pressure of competition but today it was too much. 

"I have to and will learn from this."

As a Belarusian, Azarenka has had to compete as a neutral player since her country's regime helped enable the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the participation of sportspeople from the two countries being a subject of intense discussion.

Serena and Venus Williams attended the Academy Awards on Sunday as Will Smith took home the Best Actor prize at this year's Oscar ceremony for playing their father in the biographical drama King Richard.

The Williams sisters, widely considered two of the sport's pre-eminent players with 30 grand slam singles titles between them, were executive producers on the film, which charts their meteoric rise.

King Richard was nominated for six Oscars in total, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress, for Aunjanue Ellis who plays the pair's mother Oracene Price.

It was not without controversy, however, after Smith – who takes on the role of the sisters' father Richard in the film – struck presenter Chris Rock for a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, shortly before accepting his honour.

"This night has been surreal," 23-time major winner Serena wrote on Instagram following the ceremony. "To spend it sitting next to my sisters meant more than anything.

"I am so grateful to The Academy for making this an unforgettable night, and to Will Smith for bringing this story to the big screen and honouring my family. This will always be a night to remember."

Smith overshadowed his own victory though following his altercation with comedian Rock.

He apologised to the Academy during his subsequent acceptance speech, in which he was tearful, while praising Richard Williams as a "fierce defender of his family".

"I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story," he stated. "I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees.

"This is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying for winning an award. It's not about winning an award for me. Thank you for this moment and thank you on behalf of Richard and Oracene and the entire Williams family."

Jannik Sinner saved multiple match points for the second straight match on Sunday, advancing to the last-16 at the Miami Masters.

After saving three in his opening match against Emil Ruusuvuoiri, the 20-year-old Italian denied Pablo Carreno Busta five times to eventually win 5-7 7-5 7-5.

A Miami finalist in 2021, the Italian was 5-4 down in the second set before winning 11 consecutive points to force a third frame.

Down a break before breaking-to-love in the third, Sinner was fearless with his ground strokes with the game on the line, moving to 5-0 in deciding sets for 2022.

He will face Nick Kyrgios, who continued his strong start to the year with a 6-2 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini.

Taking only 61 minutes to advance after defeating world number seven Andrey Rublev in straight sets in his opening match, Kyrgios hit 24 winners and only lost eight points on serve.

The Australian wildcard and Sinner were supposed to meet at Indian Wells earlier this year, but the latter had to withdraw due to illness.

Fellow unseeded Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis advanced past Denis Kudla, while Francisco Cerundolo upset Gael Monfils.

In the late result on Sunday, Alexander Zverev was a comfortable 6-2 6-2 winner over Mackenzie McDonald.

The German second seed put McDonald under immediate pressure with his return of service, winning 13 of 22 points on the American's second serve.

Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie and Casper Ruud saw their way through in straight sets.

Iga Swiatek was in a ruthless mood as she coasted into the last 16 of the Miami Open, setting up an intriguing clash with Coco Gauff.

Swiatek was in action for the first time since ensuring she will be top of the pile after the next WTA rankings update, and she certainly showed world-number-one form against Madison Brengle in a 6-0 6-3 victory.

The 20-year-old Pole needed just 25 minutes to win the opening set, during which she hit 12 winners to Brengle's one.

Brengle gave a better account of herself in the second set but Swiatek still had far too much for her, with the latter remaining on course to become only the fourth woman to win the so-called 'Sunshine Double' of Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

But certain expectations – particularly those relating to her ranking – are not what Swiatek wants to think about at the moment, especially while she is so content out on the court.

She said: "I know the ranking can be pressure, but on the other hand when I was climbing up and I entered top 10 and top five, I felt the same feeling, and right now I don't want to repeat that. So I just focus on my game.

"I don't know what's going to happen after the tournament and the adrenaline will go down and I have more time to stress about that a little bit more, but for now I feel great. It's not like it's bothering me, it's more motivating me. So it's great."

Gauff, competing in her local tournament, awaits after showing admirable spirit to beat Zhang Shuai 7-6 (7-1) 7-5.

The 18-year-old had to save two set points in the opener before rallying back and producing a devastating display in the tiebreaker.

She then came back from 4-2 down in the second, winning five of the final six games to seal a hard-fought victory.

Another teenager hoping to leave a lasting impression is 16-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, who became the youngest player to reach the fourth round in Miami since Maria Sharapova and Tatiana Golovin in 2004 – both were also 16.

Fruhvirtova was 6-2 3-0 up over Victoria Azarenka before the three-time Miami Open winner retired, giving the youngster her first top-20 scalp.

Jessica Pegula, Petra Kvitova and Paula Badosa were among the others to secure their progression on Sunday.

Nick Kyrgios has defended Emma Raducanu amid a wave of recent criticism following the US Open champion's early exit from the Miami Open.

Raducanu was beaten by Katerina Siniakova in her first match in Miami this week after being given a bye into the second round.

She has won only four WTA Tour matches since sensationally becoming the first qualifier – male or female – to win a major in the Open Era at Flushing Meadows in September.

The 19-year-old has been in demand off the court, having last week announced she will be a brand ambassador for Porsche, but her business activities have attracted criticism.
 
Speaking after Raducanu's defeat to Siniakova, former world number five Daniela Hantuchova claimed the Briton has lost the locker room respect she had previously built up.

Kim Clijsters took aim at those who act as though they have "made it", meanwhile, though the four-time major winner did not mention Raducanu by name when making those comments.

Raducanu defended herself from the "unfair" accusations and Kyrgios has now questioned why former players have felt the need to take aim at the youngster.

"What’s with old retired players giving their opinion on our stars now?" he posted on Twitter, referencing a video uploaded by Andy Roddick on how players can curtail their anger.

"I love A-rod and I agree we all need to chill with the rackets and all that, but geezus.

"I read an article about a past female player talking about Radacanu, no offence, but she is a far, far bigger name already."

Andy Murray and Daniil Medvedev both know they could have done things better in Saturday's match, though it was the Russian who progressed with relative ease from the tie.

Medvedev, who enjoyed a short-lived stay as world number one earlier in March, defeated three-time grand slam winner Murray 6-4 6-2 to reach the third round of the Miami Open.

Murray beat Federico Delbonis in his first-round match but the former world number one has not won two successive games in a tournament since January, when he went all the way to the final in Sydney.

The crowd was largely on Murray's side in Saturday's contest yet Medvedev hardly felt the pressure. Indeed, the 26-year-old did not offer up a single break point throughout.

Nevertheless, Medvedev saw scope for development in his game, though was still able to reflect on a relatively routine victory.

"I think it was a great match. It's never easy, even if you practice on the same courts for one or two months, it's never going to be the same as a competitive tournament match," said Medvedev, who is top seed in Miami.

"So I'm happy that I managed to have zero break points against me. I feel like I have some room for improvement, but it was a great match against an amazing player and I'm happy that I managed to go through.

"On the days when you serve good, your opponent doesn't have this freedom to return, it helps you.

"[In the] second set, the scoreline was easier, it was much tougher in the beginning, but when your opponent knows you're probably going to get some aces and it's not going to be easy for him to return, he gets pressure on his serve and many times that is what happens in close matches.

"Every opportunity I had I tried to take it, to go for it, and there were a lot of moments when I was happy about my game."

Murray, on the other hand, acknowledged he is simply not yet at a level where he can expect to outlast the world's best players.

"My level of tennis is obviously not right now where it needs to be to win matches like that," the 34-year-old told reporters.

"Today there were some good signs on the court but the two key things in tennis are serve and return. I didn't do either of them particularly well."

Naomi Osaka moved into the fourth round at the Miami Open without even taking the court on Saturday, getting a walkover victory as Karolina Muchova withdrew.

The former world number one claimed straights sets victories coming into Saturday and had her run eased even further, with Muchova citing abdominal injury after almost five hours on court in her opening two matches.

Muchova has been sidelined due to the injury for the last seven months, missing the US Open in 2021 as well as the Australian Open this year.

"I'm sad that I cannot put up a battle against Naomi today." Muchova tweeted. "After a long break from tennis, two tough matches in [a] row have been a lot for my body and I need longer to recover."

While Lucia Bronzetti also won in a walkover, Osaka will face Alison Riske, who defeated fellow unseeded American Ann Li 6-2 3-6 6-3.

In her third match since losing to Ash Barty in the Australian Open final, Danielle Collins defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-1 6-4 in 78 minutes.

The American world number 11 has had to deal with numerous niggling injuries this season, including a viral illness that left her with significant neck pain.

"There was obviously an emotional moment for me, the pain I'm dealing with right now with this injury," she said post-match.

"Just trying to work through that, I think is one of the hardest things we go through mentally when we're on court."

Fellow seeds Belinda Bencic and Ons Jabeur also made their way through to the fourth round, defeating Heather Watson and Kaia Kanepi respectively.

Both won with relative comfort, with Bencic winning 6-4 6-1, and Jabeur only dropping three games in the opening set to triumph 6-3 6-0.

Daniil Medvedev comfortably saw off Andy Murray in their third-round match at the Miami Masters, winning 6-4 6-2 on Saturday.

Medvedev must reach the semi-finals in order to retake the top spot in the ATP rankings from Novak Djokovic in April, and he got off to a positive start in Miami, not facing a single break point in his 90-minute win.

"On the days when you serve good, your opponent doesn't have this freedom to return, it helps you," Medvedev said post-match.

"[In the] second set, the scoreline was easier, it was much tougher in the beginning, but when your opponent knows you're probably going to get some aces and it's not going to be easy for him to return, he gets pressure on his serve and many times that is what happens in close matches."

Medvedev will face Pedro Martinez, who defeated Cristian Garin 7-6 (6-2) 6-2.

Reigning Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz got his title defence off to a good start with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory over Arthur Rinderknech.

Following defeats for Murray and John Isner, the Polish world number 10 is the only former champion left in the draw.

A number of men's seeds were beaten in their second-round matches on Saturday, however, including Canadian duo Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.

Miomir Kecmanovic continued his good run of recent form, defeating Auger-Aliassime in straight sets 6-4 6-2, while South African Lloyd Harris beat Shapovalov 6-4 6-3.

For his third consecutive ATP 1000 match, meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas was pushed to three sets by an unseeded American.

After some entertaining hitting, with both looking to finish points early, the Greek third seed claimed four straight breaks of serve to eventually defeat Jack Wolf 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1.

Robert Lewandowski joined skiing greats Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin in saluting Iga Swiatek for earning the number one ranking in women's tennis for the first time.

At the age of 20, Swiatek guaranteed she will top the WTA list after the Miami Open by beating Viktorija Golubic 6-2 6-0 in her opening match at the event.

Swiatek will replace Ash Barty, whose shock retirement will see the Australian drop off the ranking ladder entirely when it is next published on April 4.

Since a shock French Open victory in October 2020, when the unseeded Swiatek stormed through the draw without dropping a set, the Polish youngster has continued to make a major impact.

She reached at least the fourth round of all the grand slams last year and was a semi-finalist at the 2022 Australian Open, before victory at WTA 1000 events in Doha and Indian Wells propelled her to number two in the rankings.

Now she will climb a step higher, and that news has proven popular with Swiatek's supporters, who include a number of illustrious names.

Fellow Polish sporting star Lewandowski, who is rewriting goalscoring records in Germany with Bayern Munich, sent his compatriot a message on Instagram that read simply: "Congratulations Iga. Well done."

Swiatek is a huge admirer of Americans Vonn and Shiffrin, who have both landed World Championship and Olympic gold medals on the slopes, and the respect is mutual.

Vonn told Swiatek her achievement was "So deserved!!", and Shiffrin posted: "Congrats Iga!!"

Former WTA number one Kim Clijsters, who was also 20 when she first hit the top spot in 2003, felt it was a natural next step for Swiatek to move up a rung and become the 28th top-ranked player in the tour's history. Swiatek will also be the first Pole to sit at the summit.

Clijsters said: "To see Iga grow as a tennis player, it has been so beautiful for me. There's a certain type of focus that is on tennis, and tennis only. There's a drive there that I admire very much – a drive that I recognise."

Belgian Clijsters, quoted on the WTA website, added: "She's had great results in the past, but she still wants to improve. We've seen others that kind of take a step back and say, 'Oh, I've won a slam now, I've made it. There's sponsors coming in and I get treated like a princess wherever I go'.

"Just because you’re the number one player and have won slams, doesn't mean you should treat other people differently. I feel like Ash Barty did that amazingly, and I think Iga has that focus, too."