Novak Djokovic was waiting on Saturday to learn whether he would get last-minute clearance to enter the United States to play at Indian Wells and Miami, as American tennis chiefs threw support behind the world number one.
US senator Rick Scott claimed Djokovic has been refused permission by the US Department of Homeland Security for a vaccine waiver and urged president Joe Biden to intervene on behalf of the Serbian and "fix this NOW".
Scott was backed by fellow senator Marco Rubio, who wrote on Twitter: "@DjokerNole [Djokovic] shouldn’t be prohibited from playing in the @MiamiOpen because of unconstitutional vaccine mandates.
"@POTUS [Biden] should immediately grant Djokovic a waiver to the vaccine mandate for international travellers."
Djokovic has refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that stance has cost him places in two grand slam tournaments, being deported before last year's Australian Open and then denied permission to compete at the US Open later in the season.
It has also meant he has had to miss regular tour events in the United States, which demands international travellers are fully vaccinated.
Scott and Rubio are both senators for Florida, and accordingly their focus is on the Miami Open, which runs from March 22 to April 2.
More pressingly for the 35-year-old Djokovic, the Indian Wells tournament begins in the coming week, with main draw singles matches getting under way on Wednesday.
A statement posted on the US Open Twitter page confirmed support for the 22-time grand slam winner.
It read: "Novak Djokovic is one [of] the greatest champions our sport has ever seen.
"The USTA and US Open are hopeful that Novak is successful in his petition to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him back in action at Indian Wells and Miami."
Tiger Woods will not take part in The Players Championship next week after failing to enter the tournament before Friday's deadline.
The 82-time PGA Tour winner finished tied for 45th at the Genesis Invitational in February, with that his first appearance since The Open last July.
However, after competing in his first standard PGA Tour event since October 2020, Woods confirmed he will mainly focus on being ready for this year's four majors.
That means skipping the PGA Tour's flagship tournament, which gets under way on Thursday at TPC Sawgrass, with Woods not part of the 144-player field announced on Friday.
The list includes 43 of the world's top-50 players, including top three Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Woods, who continues to be hampered by mobility issues caused in a career-threatening car accident in February 2021, had been eligible due to winning The Masters in 2019.
The two-time Players Championship winner is expected to next be in action at The Masters in early April.
Erik Spoelstra bemoaned Julius Randle's one-in-100 clutch three that defeated his Miami Heat and continued the New York Knicks' winning run.
The Knicks had won seven straight ahead of Friday's trip to the Heat but looked set to see that streak ended as they trailed by a point with only seconds remaining.
But Randle somehow worked room for a shot after initially fumble the ball on the right sideline and drained a stunning effort from three-point range.
Randle finished with 43 points and eight made threes, but it was understandably that final attempt that so frustrated Heat coach Spoelstra in a 122-120 defeat.
"If you did that play 100 times, 99 times out of that it's going to end up in our favour," Spoelstra said.
"That's just crazy unfortunate luck on our part and good fortune for them. He made a heck of a shot."
"Crazy" was how RJ Barrett described it, too, saying of Randle: "He just went crazy today.
"When you're in a mode like that and you're just making shots like that, the basket just gets bigger. We needed it, for sure."
Randle himself added: "It was fate. It felt good honestly when it left my hand. I was in the zone, I guess."
The forward so caught up in the moment he knocked Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau to the floor as he ran the length of the court to celebrate.
"He's a little mad at me right now," Randle joked later. "I need to talk to him."
Stipe Miocic will face the winner of Saturday's heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane, UFC president Dana White has announced.
Jones makes his long-awaited return to the UFC at heavyweight in Las Vegas.
A former two-time light heavyweight champion, Jones is facing Gane for the vacant heavyweight belt after Francis Ngannou left the UFC as a free agent.
Ngannou beat Miocic and Gane in his last two fights before quitting, and Jones will take on the same pair in reverse order if he comes through Saturday's bout at UFC 285.
"He's absolutely the next one," White said of Miocic. "So, whoever wins on Saturday night will face Stipe next."
But there will be no blockbuster return for Ngannou, who White says will not be allowed back into the UFC.
"We negotiated with him for years," he said. "It's over. That's over. He'll never be in the UFC again."
Seventh seed Tommy Paul claimed a spot in the Mexican Open final after proving too good for countryman Taylor Fritz in the longest match in Acapulco history on Friday.
Paul edged the third seed 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-2) in three hours and 29 minutes in their semi-final clash in Acapulco.
World number 23 Paul actually generated a match point late in the second set but spurned his initial chance, then waiting another two hours before winning in the third-set tie-break.
Paul let match point slip at 5-4 in the second set and had to rally back from 3-1 down in the third, but triumphed on his fourth match point.
"I couldn't be happier," Paul said. "The goal for this year was to get the ranking up and get more trophies. I only have one trophy on Tour between singles and doubles.
"You don't get trophies unless your in the final, and hopefully I can play another good match tomorrow and get the winner's trophy."
The 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist will take on Alex de Minaur in Saturday's decider, after he defeated Holger Rune 3-6 7-5 6-2 in two hours and 50 minutes.
In the Chile Open, local Nicolas Jarry progressed into the semi-finals with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann. Jarry will face Spaniard Jaume Munar after he won 6-3 3-6 6-2 over Thiago Monteiro.
Third seed Sebastian Baez got past Laslo Djere 7-6 (7-4) 6-4, setting up a semi-final date with Tomas Martin Etcheverry after he won 6-1 6-2 over Dusan Lajovic.
Steve Kerr is enthused by the Golden State Warriors' recent form, believing his team have "turned a corner" in their season.
The defending NBA champions have endured a difficult up-and-down year, not helped by injuries to Finals MVP Stephen Curry.
But as Curry prepares to return from his latest lay-off, which has so far spanned 11 games, the Warriors are hitting form.
They ended a 5-0 homestand with victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, improving to 34-30 in fifth place in the Western Conference.
"It's been exciting to see our team, I think, turn a corner," said coach Kerr.
The Warriors are only a game behind the Phoenix Suns in fourth place, giving them a clear target for the remainder of the season.
"You realise how important all these games are from here on out," Klay Thompson added.
"We want to do everything we can to have home court, especially in the first round. So, it's a great challenge, and it's there for us to take."
Thompson, who is scoring 22.1 points per game for the year, has averaged 27.1 points over the last 11 games while Curry has been out and 30.3 points across the Warriors' seven wins in that time.
"Guys have figured out their roles, and I think we are in great condition," he said. "We are having fun, above all."
Joe Mazzulla could see the Brooklyn Nets' fightback coming even as the Boston Celtics led by 28 points on Friday.
The Nets produced the biggest comeback win of the season, tied for the biggest in franchise history, trailing by 28 midway through the second quarter but wiping out that deficit by midway through the third.
Brooklyn won 115-105 as the Celtics suffered their biggest collapse since blowing another 28-point lead against the Los Angeles Clippers in February 2019.
Yet Mazzulla had been concerned early on, with the Nets shooting 18.2 per cent from three-point range in the first quarter, showing the clear room for improvement.
The Celtics shot 44.4 per cent from beyond the arc over the same period, although they still only attempted nine threes. Only in five of their previous 51 first quarters had they attempted fewer, averaging 11.3 threes attempted in first quarters this season.
"I was actually worried, because we were scoring, but it wasn't because we were making shots," Mazzulla said. "It was because we were getting lay-ups.
"And they are a very analytically sound team, so I knew the tide was going to shift because they were going to continue to shoot threes.
"If we didn't play at a level of shooting threes and getting offensive rebounds and taking care of the ball, that was going to cost us."
Sure enough, as the Celtics made five-of-21 threes over the remaining three quarters (23.8 per cent), the Nets shot 12 of 33 (36.4 per cent).
Brooklyn's 44 total attempts from three tied their season high, and that volume shooting from deep made such a comeback feel far more achievable, according to Cam Johnson.
"It really does," Johnson said. "Especially when you know you're just messing up a lot, and that's the reason for it.
"In the NBA, leads aren't safe. Leads just aren't safe, you know? People go on runs. Sometimes shots go in, sometimes they don't.
"And so you've just got to stick to the script, keep your head down and keep working, and we had that effort across the board today and the result was a win."
The Brooklyn Nets produced the biggest comeback of the NBA season led by Mikal Bridges as they stunned the Boston Celtics 115-105 on Friday.
The Nets trailed by 28 points in the second quarter but rallied back with a 34-20 third quarter, eclipsing the previous largest comeback this season, set by the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this week, fighting back from 27 points down against the Dallas Mavericks.
Brooklyn outscored Boston 74-47 across the second and third quarters, claiming a three-quarter time lead before running away with their best victory since Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's departures.
The Nets, sixth in the Eastern Conference, improve their record to 35-28, halting a four-game losing streak.
Bridges, who came in from the Phoenix Suns as part of the exchange for Durant, top scored with 38 points on 13-of-22 shooting with 10 rebounds and four assists.
New acquisitions Cam Johnson, who also joined in that trade from the Suns, Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 20, 17 and 17 points respectively.
Jayson Tatum went none-of-eight from beyond the arc, scoring 22 points with 13 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Jaylen Brown top scored for the Celtics with 35 points on 15-of-27 shooting from the field, but Boston shot nine-of-30 from three-point range.
Nugs down Grizz in west top-two clash
The Denver Nuggets rallied back from 11 points down in a clash against the top two teams in the Western Conference, winning 113-97 over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Nikola Jokic recorded another triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, but it was Michael Porter Jr who top scored with 26 points. Jamal Murray added 22 points with four three-pointers.
Ja Morant scored a game-high 27 points for the Grizzlies, who led by seven points with six minutes remaining in the third quarter, before the Nuggets stormed home, winning the fourth period 33-17.
The Nuggets' win, combined with the Celtics' loss, means Denver have the second-best record in the NBA, improving to 45-19. Memphis falls to 38-24.
Knicks stay hot after clutch Randle triple
The New York Knicks extended their winning streak to eight games as Julius Randle scored 43 points with eight three-pointers in their 122-120 triumph over the Miami Heat.
Randle's eight triples included a game-winning clutch three-pointer with 1.7 seconds remaining, underlining an outstanding individual display, helping the Knicks improve their record to 38-27 to close in on the east's top four.
Tyler Herro, who finished with 29 points had put the Heat up with a layup with 23.1 seconds left, before Randle made the crucial score, albeit in a broken play under pressure from Jimmy Butler. Butler had a team-high 33 points with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Jon Rahm's brilliant recent run came to a dramatic halt in windy conditions as he slipped down the leaderboard on day two at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Friday, with Kurt Kitayama taking a two-stroke lead.
Rahm, who has claimed five wins from his past nine starts worldwide, had led the event after an opening-day seven-under 65 but carded a four-over round of 76 on day two to be six strokes off the pace at three-under overall.
The Spaniard's round saw him come back to earth, falling away dramatically late with three bogeys and a double bogey in his final five holes at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Florida.
Rahm's struggles opened the door for Kitayama, who had been joint second after the first day. Kitayama backed that up with a four-under 68 with five birdies and one bogey to be nine-under overall.
Kitayama has led three events this season after 36 holes and is yet to convert any into victories.
Over Kitayama's shoulder is three-time major winner Jordan Spieth who found his putting groove to card a three-under-par 69, sitting two shots off the lead at seven-under overall. Spieth might have been closer if not for a bogey on the 18th after a poor drive.
Xander Schauffele and Corey Conners are tied at six under, with Davis Riley, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Thomas behind them at five under. Conners carded the day's best round with a six-under 66.
Last month's Honda Classic winner Chris Kirk was tied for second after the opening day but also dropped away with a day-two 75 that included two double bogeys.
Among those to miss the projected cut, with play suspended with two players left on the course, were Collin Morikawa, Tom Hoge and Hideki Matsuyama.
Jonathan Isaac's season is over after just 11 games, adding to the Orlando Magic forward's injury woes.
The Magic announced on Friday that Isaac had received surgery to repair a torn left adductor muscle, ending his campaign.
The 25-year-old only returned in late January from a full two years on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury during the 2020 NBA bubble.
"Our thoughts are with Jonathan, whose fortitude in dealing with adversity is unique," Magic president Jeff Weltman said in a statement.
"Jonathan has worked extremely hard to return to the court this season and has demonstrated his impact on our team. We will be by his side as he focuses on the work ahead."
The confirmation from the Magic on Friday said: "An MRI conducted on Wednesday revealed the injury, after [Isaac] felt discomfort following Tuesday's practice in Milwaukee."
Isaac was the sixth overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, and has made 147 appearances for Orlando since, averaging 11.9 points per game in the 2019-20 season, but only managed 5.0 points and 0.5 assists per game in his 11 games this season.
Jamaica's Practical Pistol shooters were in impressive at the recently concluded Florida Open Pistol Shooting Tournament in Fostproof, Florida.
Despite going up against more than 200 shooters that included Grand Master from 12 countries from the Americas, Europe and the Caribbean, the local team overcame the odds to win several awards.
Ryan Bramwell, one of Jamaica's Master Class shooters was the runner-up in the Carry Optics Division (Master Class). Pistol captain Alrice Palmer walked away with first place in the B Class category while Thomas Hall finished third in C Class while Adrian Randle was fourth in A class.
Ekpedeme Otoukon was awarded second place in the Senior category.
"I am really proud of my team's achievement. Based on the growth and development of the male and female members of this team and the club, I am seeing where we will have several Master Class shooters in the near future," said Bramwell, who was the only Master Class shooter on the team.
Jamaica pulled off a sweep in the Men’s Limited Division B Class in which Darin Richards finished first, Owen Campbell second and Ellesworth Dixon was third. Campbell also finished first in the Senior Category of his division.
Jamaica was also represented in the Open and Production Division where Bernard Lawrence (Open Division) and Sanjay Welsh (Production Division) were equally impressive, copping third place in C Class and second place in B Class, respectively.
The two Alpha Angels female shooters on tour were not to be outdone as Constable Shayon Francis was on target winning the Carry Optics C Class and was second in the Carry Optics Lady Category while team captain Detective Corporal Sasha-Gay Mullings finished in third place.
"The match was a very good one. The shooting stages were fun and I'm really happy with my performance and by extension my team's performance,” Francis said.
“We could have even done better, however, some of our members had equipment malfunction and we dropped some points on those stages but our team did exceptionally well nonetheless."
Meanwhile, Evan Medley who placed fourth in the Production Division and Keith Miller were among the range officers who officiated the match.
The duo of head coach Quin Snyder and general manager Landry Fields can bring the Atlanta Hawks success.
That is according to owner Tony Ressler, who also acknowledged the team has been underperforming, sitting eighth in the Eastern Conference on a record of 31-31.
Speaking to ESPN, Ressler was not shy in saying he expects better from the Hawks, and believes that will happen with Snyder on board and Fields making decisions.
"We have a relatively young team that I think is very talented... that I do not think long term is a mediocre team," he said. "Right now, we're at .500. I think we should be better than that. I hope we will be better than that.
"And I can tell you this: Landry and [assistant GM] Kyle [Korver] are running a much better, much more collaborative front office. That's of huge importance to me because I think that's how you get better.
"Having ownership, a front office, a coaching staff and the right roster – when all of those folks work well together, I think results improve. That was the objective, and that's why I made the change that I did."
The Hawks dismissed previous coach Nate McMillan in February, and quickly moved for Snyder, signing the former Utah Jazz coach to a five-year deal.
Snyder lost his debut game to the Washington Wizards, but has a chance to get his first win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
"What I've always done is rely on people who know more than I do to run a business better than I could," Ressler added.
"Who makes the decisions [now], it's undoubtedly Landry with Kyle, with Quin. [They] are going to work beautifully together from what I can tell. I do believe we will make better decisions going forward than we have done in the past."
Moises Caicedo has signed a new long-term deal with Brighton and Hove Albion.
The 21-year-old midfielder was heavily linked with an exit from the Amex Stadium during the January transfer window, publicly expressing his desire to move to league leaders Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta's side reportedly saw bids of up to £70million rejected by Brighton and there was expectation that the Gunners would return for Caicedo at the end of the season.
However, the Ecuador international has now given his commitment to the Seagulls with a new deal that runs until 2027, with a club option for a further year.
"This is fantastic news for the club, our fans, for me and most importantly for Moises. It will make us stronger as we move forward towards our targets on the pitch," head coach Roberto de Zerbi said.
Caicedo joined Brighton in February 2021 from Independiente del Valle, then spending the first half of the following season on loan with Belgian side Beerschot.
A Premier League debut came in the 2-1 win against Arsenal in April 2022, with Caicedo retaining his spot for the remainder of the season and playing an integral part this term.
Brighton sit eighth in the Premier League, four points behind sixth-placed Liverpool and with games in hand over their closest competitors.
Daniil Medvedev denied Novak Djokovic a 21st consecutive win to set up an all-Russian final against Andrey Rublev at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Djokovic had started 2023 by coming out on top in all 15 of his matches and winning the Australian Open, with his overall winning streak standing at 20 games.
But Medvedev ended the world number one's perfect start to the year with a superb display to take a 6-4 6-4 triumph on Friday.
The 27-year-old, who himself made it 13 consecutive wins, broke Djokovic twice on the way to taking the opening set.
Medvedev's high standard of play continued in the second, breaking Djokovic in the first game before holding in all five of his service games to secure a straight-sets victory.
"When you play against Novak you just have to play your best," Medvedev said after the win. "Kind of hope he doesn't play his best on the day because when he plays his best, well he has 22 grand slams, so even if you play your best, it is going to be tough, not sure you win.
"I managed to play a higher level than him today. In the second set I didn't face one break point, but there were so many 30-30 games. But I managed to stay composed and I am happy to be in the final tomorrow."
His win means he will face countryman Rublev in the final after the reigning champion kept his hopes of retaining the title alive with a 6-3 7-6 (11-9) success over Alexander Zverev.
Rublev had never previously won a match or set against Zverev in five previous meetings, but won three of the German's service games in the opener to go a set ahead.
The second seed was out-aced nine to two in the second set but managed to force a tie-break, going on to survive a set point before eventually securing the win on his sixth match point.
Rublev will look to join Roger Federer and Djokovic as only the third repeat champion at the tournament when he takes on Medvedev in Saturday's final.
The compatriots have met six times previously with Medvedev winning four of them, though Rublev has taken victory in their last two match-ups.
Fernando Alonso provided an unlikely threat to Max Verstappen and Red Bull in practice ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Verstappen and Red Bull will be expected to take the Formula One title again this year after dominating in 2022.
But Verstappen topped the charts in neither of the first two sessions of the week on Friday.
Team-mate Sergio Perez was fastest in FP1, yet Aston Martin's Alonso was in second, ahead of third-placed Verstappen.
In FP2, F1 great Alonso then went one better with the fastest time. Verstappen was again one place back, in second, with Perez third.
Red Bull could at least be encouraged by the lack of a credible challenge from their long-standing rivals.
Charles Leclerc was fifth and then fourth for Ferrari, and the two Mercedes cars were further back still.
Lewis Hamilton was made to work hard for a pair of top-10 finishes in 10th and eighth, while George Russell settled for 11th in FP1 before falling to 13th in FP2.
Jonathan Quick was reported to be unhappy with the trade that took him away from the Los Angeles Kings this week, but he was soon back at the top of the Pacific Division.
Goaltender Quick was included in a trade deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets as the Kings moved for Joonas Korpisalo.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion in LA, Quick paid the price for a difficult season but was said to have remained in the city amid frustration at his departure.
Rather than heading to Columbus, he will instead make the shorter trip to Las Vegas after the Golden Knights agreed their own trade with the Blue Jackets.
Starting Golden Knights netminder Logan Thompson is out injured, potentially presenting the opportunity for Quick to come straight into the team.
The veteran's new Golden Knights team-mates are tied with the Kings at the top of the division.
Vegas will play the Kings once more this season, on April 6.
Antoine Davis hopes to get another shot at Pete Maravich's college scoring record after falling three points short on Thursday.
Maravich's 3,667 points in three years at LSU represented an NCAA Division I record many thought would never be broken.
But Detroit Mercy star Davis had the opportunity to pass that mark by scoring 26 points against Youngstown State.
He finished with 22 points, however, and his college exited the Horizon League tournament at the quarter-final stage.
That defeat potentially ends Detroit Mercy's season and Davis' career, but there remains the possibility of an invite to a postseason tournament.
"The NCAA tournament is the goal," Davis said.
"I wouldn't have a problem with [the College Basketball Invitational]. I'm sure none of my team-mates would have a problem with it."
Davis played five years at college due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, averaging 25.4 points per game.
Maravich, playing without a three-point line between 1967 and 1970, scored 44.2 points per game.
Mike Davis, Antoine's father and head coach, said: "People would have put an asterisk by his name if he would've broken [the record].
"Pistol Pete was in a world of his own, and there will never be another Pistol Pete in college basketball.
"I think there will never be another Antoine the way he scored in 144 consecutive games."
Antoine added: "I'm thankful to even be in the same boat as Pistol Pete."
Bryce Young understands the questions that are being asked about his size ahead of the NFL Draft but remains confident in his ability.
The former Alabama quarterback is one of the most highly rated prospects heading into April's draft and is one of the most decorated players available.
Winner of the Heisman Trophy and SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, Young threw 79 touchdowns and had just 12 interceptions in his two seasons as a starter for the Crimson Tide.
His stellar performances include 321 yards and five TD's in his final game for Alabama, a 45-20 victory over Kansas State in December's Sugar Bowl.
Despite those impressive numbers, questions have been asked about Young's frame heading into the NFL, having been listed at six-foot and 194 pounds at Alabama.
While Young is aware of those potential concerns, it is not something that fazes him.
"I've been this size, respectfully, my whole life. I know who I am, I know what I can do," he said on Friday at the NFL Combine.
"For me, it's fair, everyone can speculate, ask me every question. I'm going to continue to control what I can control, continue to keep working my hardest. I'm confident in myself. I know what I can do.
"To be honest, I don't really know too much about what's said about me. I'm grateful for everyone's opinion, I respect everyone's opinion, but I focus on what I can control.
"I take the advice and the direction of the people that I trust."
Young also confirmed that he had met formally with the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans at the combine, who hold the first two picks of April's draft.
A potential trade for the Bears' number one pick is widely reported to be on the cards.
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