American tennis player Coco Gauff threw her support behind the Miami Heat after defeating Elise Mertens 6-4 6-0 in the fourth round of the French Open.
Gauff, the 18th seed, has not lost a set through the first four rounds, booking a quarter-final showdown against compatriot Sloane Stephens.
After her latest win, she signed the camera with support for the Heat in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics.
Speaking to the media after leaving the court, Gauff said she has not been able to watch the series because of the time difference in France, but she thinks her Heat can go all the way.
"I haven't watched actually any games, because the games have been way too early or late, I don't know what you want to even call it," she said. "I wake up in the morning and watch the score.
"I feel like, really, I do believe we are going to win, and I think whoever - I hope, not even going to put that possibility out there, but I think whoever wins this game is going to win the championship.
"I love the Warriors. I really do. I think Steph Curry and that team is really one of the best teams we are ever going to see. I think we are better. I think it's just about the culture we have."
Game 7 will be played on Sunday in Miami.
NBA suspends 76ers star Embiid three games
Joel Embiid's shove of a member of the media will cost the Philadelphia 76ers centre three games.
The NBA announced the three-game suspension on Tuesday for Embiid's confrontation with a newspaper columnist.
The ban will begin in the next game he is physically able to play. The 2022-23 league MVP has yet to play this season due to what the team is calling left knee management.
The altercation that led to the suspension occurred Saturday night in the locker room of Philadelphia's home arena after the 76ers' 124-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Embiid was angry with a piece written by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in which he questioned Embiid's professionalism and mentioned the seven-time All-Star's late brother and son.
Embiid shoved Hayes and threatened him while spewing profanity.
"Mutual respect is paramount to the relationship between players and media in the NBA," NBA executive Joe Dumars said in a statement announcing the suspension. "While we understand Joel was offended by the personal nature of the original version of the reporter’s column, interactions must remain professional on both sides and can never turn physical."
Without Embiid, the 76ers have started just 1-5.
There was some hope that Embiid would be able to make his debut Wednesday against the Clippers, but now the earliest he would be eligible to play would be next Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
WTA Finals: Gauff ends Swiatek hoodoo to reach final four
Iga Swiatek's hopes of finishing as the year-end world number one were dashed after she fell to defeat against Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
Gauff earned her first triumph over Swiatek since the 2023 Cincinnati Open, emerging a 6-3 6-4 victor to reach the final four of the competition in Riyadh.
It means Aryna Sabalenka is now guaranteed to top the WTA rankings at the end of a calendar year for the first time in her career.
World number three Gauff finished the encounter with 10 winners to 33 unforced errors, 11 of which were double faults. Swiatek outpaced Gauff with 15 winners, but struck 47 unforced errors.
At the age of 20 years and 237 days old, Gauff is the youngest American to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the WTA Finals since Tracy Austin (1979 and 1980).
She is also the first player under the age of 21 to win both her first two round-robin matches at the year-end competition since Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova in 2007.
"It feels great and despite our head-to-head I was still confident and I knew if I could find my game, I knew I had the chance to close out the match," Gauff told Sky Sports Tennis.
"I was just trying to be resilient and play it deep. The conditions are tough and the altitude is tough.
"I was trying not to give her too many unforced errors. It's just a game of cat and mouse in these conditions."
In Tuesday's other match, Barbora Krejcikova ended Jessica Pegula's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the tournament with a straight-sets triumph.
The Wimbledon champion needed just 69 minutes to secure a 6-3 6-3 victory, serving 11 aces throughout the contest compared to Pegula's one.
World number 13 Krejcikova became the lowest-ranked player to win a match at the WTA Finals since Magdalena Maleeva (ranked 17th) defeated Daniela Hantuchova in 2002.
The Czech will also have confidence of claiming the crown in Riyadh having won her previous events in Tallinn, Ostrava, Dubai and Wimbledon when beating an opponent in the WTA's top 10.
"I was fighting for every ball and I felt that I really have to play my best tennis," said Krejcikova, who picked up just her 20th match win of the season.
"I was trying to be really solid and trying to put as many balls to the other side as I could.
"I’m definitely proud. I had some very high parts of the season, especially winning Wimbledon. That’s something indescribable.
"And being here in the Finals is a huge privilege. It’s nice to get the win and still be part of the event."
Djokovic withdraws from ATP Finals
Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the ATP Finals, which start in Turin later this week.
Djokovic pulled out of the Paris Masters last month, and the world number five will now not feature in the season-ending tournament.
The 37-year-old, who lost to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters in his last competitive appearance, is sat on 99 ATP Tour-level titles, and his wait for a 100th victory will now roll into 2025.
Djokovic confirmed on Tuesday that he would not be participating in the ATP Finals.
"I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won't be playing next week," Djokovic said on social media.
"Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament. See you soon!"
Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz have all qualified for the tournament.
Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Alex de Minaur are the three players contesting for the remaining two spots.
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