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• Djokovic clear to play US Open as Senate votes to lift COVID-19 restrictions

  Novak Djokovic looks set to appear at the 2023 US Open after the United States Senate passed a bill to end COVID-19 restrictions.

  The 22-time grand slam champion last competed in the tournament two years ago, losing to Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-4 6-4 in the final.

  He missed the 2022 edition because he had not been vaccinated against coronavirus, with the USA making vaccines a requirement for international travellers arriving in the country from November 8, 2021.

  Djokovic was also absent for the 2022 Australian Open as he was deported from the country after immigration officials cancelled his visa because of the Serbian's unvaccinated status.

  He returned to Melbourne Park at the start of this year and won a 10th Australian Open title – he will be hoping for a similar impact at Flushing Meadows after his return moved a step closer to reality.

  On Wednesday, the US Senate voted in favour of ending the COVID-19 national emergency declared in March 2020, meaning the bill is now set to be considered by President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign.

  As such, Djokovic will – assuming he is not ruled out for other reasons – be able to compete at this year's tournament, which is due to begin on August 28.

  The news will surely come as major boost to Djokovic, who has already been prevented from entering US-based tournaments in 2023.

  The 35-year-old was denied clearance to enter the US earlier in March ahead of Indian Wells and the Miami Open, with his application for special permission turned down by officials.

• Olympics chief Bach labels politicians 'deplorable' over calls to deny Russian athletes right to compete

  Olympics chief Thomas Bach has attacked politicians pushing for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be prevented from returning to international sport, saying their attitude is "deplorable".

  International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Bach launched a tirade on Thursday at the "negative reactions" to plans to allow competitors from Russia and Belarus to compete in global sporting events as neutral individual athletes.

  There has been no final decision taken yet on whether those athletes can take part in next year's Olympics; however, there will be potential pathways for them to qualify for the Games, and it could yet mean there are Russians and Belarusians taking part in the Paris Games while war continues in Ukraine.

  Government figures in the UK, Germany and beyond have expressed opposition to such athletes being allowed to take part, although IOC guidance on Tuesday potentially opened that door.

  For those politicians there was a fierce rebuke from Bach.

  Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Bach said: "Today the IOC executive board discussed the reactions to our recommendations issued on Tuesday.

  "There we have taken note of some negative reactions by some European governments in particular. I can only reaffirm there what the Olympic movement and all the stakeholders have made very clear before: that it is deplorable to see some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic movement and of all stakeholders, nor the autonomy of sport which they are praising and requesting from other countries in countless speeches, UN resolutions, EU declarations, and at every other opportunity.

  "It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards with which we have been confronted in our consultations.

  "We have not seen a single comment from them about their attitude towards the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars and armed conflicts in the world.

  "It is even more deplorable that they grossly neglect the very clear statement of the two special rapporteurs from the UN human rights council. While in other issues they are always highlighting their firm request for the respect of human rights

  "Discussions and reactions from the Olympic movement are making it very clear, that these government interventions have strengthened the unity of the Olympic movement.

  "All stakeholders make it very clear again: it cannot be up to the governments to decide which athletes can participate in which competition. This would be the end of world sport as we know it today.

  "The Olympic movement stakeholders are very concerned about this politicisation of sport. They are very concerned about the attitude of these governments wanting to take over the participation and the decision of participation in sport events in their country or even in other countries."

  Bach pointed to a letter from the presidents of the five regional groupings on national Olympic committees, representing all 206 NOCs, in which he said it was stated that "international sports competitions welcome athletes from all countries".

  Asked why it was only athletes from Russia and Belarus that were being asked to compete as neutrals, rather than those from other conflicts and wars to which he referred, Bach said that was "because this was a blatant violation of the Olympic truce and happened between the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Games".

  That was a reference to the timing of the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

  With regard to Germany and the UK, Bach said: "Both NOCs have made it very clear they do not boycott, and we will not punish athletes or an NOC for the position of their governments.

  "We will always make every effort not to punish athletes for misbehaviour of their national governments."

  Bach, who is German, said "a vast, vast majority of all stakeholders of the Olympic movement" supported the IOC putting in place conditions for the possible return to international competition of athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports.

  He added: "I can only reaffirm the entire Olympic movement strongly stands by its values and by its mission to unite the world in a peaceful competition."

• Clippers star Westbrook makes the Grizzlies pay as Lakers look for revenge

  The Los Angeles Clippers had Russell Westbrook in history-making form as they overcame the Memphis Grizzlies 141-132 on Wednesday.

  Westbrook finished with a season-high 36 points and laid on 10 assists in the victory, which snapped Memphis' seven-game winning streak.

  In the process, Westbrook became the first player in NBA history to have a 30-point and 10-assist game with five teams, having achieved the feat with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers and now the Clippers.

  The sides will meet again in Memphis on Friday, with the Clippers having pulled away down the stretch on this occasion.

  "Just being composed, as a point guard, I was taught the last five or six minutes of the game were very important," Westbrook said of the fourth quarter.

  "Getting stops, getting good shots. We did a good job of executing down the stretch."

  Westbrook's team-mate Robert Covington had a season-best 27 points, and he anticipates a tough run-in with plenty of teams in the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

  "It's going to be tight," said Covington. "The West from four through 12 or 13 is like a three-game gap, something like that?

  "Anything can happen. That's why these last five or six games for us are very important."

  Another team pushing for a postseason place are the Clippers' city rivals the Lakers, who beat the Chicago Bulls 121-110.

  Anthony Davis starred with 38 points and 10 rebounds, and believes the Lakers – eighth in the West – have what it takes to go on a deep run.

  He said: "I think we've got everything we need. It's just about going out and applying it. We can definitely make a run. We've got all the right pieces from top to bottom.

  "We owe this [Chicago] team. We owe Houston. We owe Minnesota. All these teams. Utah.

  "So all these teams on this trip are teams that we lost to recently, and we want to get some get-back. And seeing as the situation that we're in, we need to win these games.

  "So this is a time when we shouldn't shy away from the moment. We should embrace it and these are the moments that you live for as a player."

  Davis' display garnered appreciation from coach Darvin Ham and superstar team-mate LeBron James.

  "It all starts with A, man," Ham said, referring to Davis. "Him just playing with force, him not settling, putting pressure on the defense to foul, him just loving and living in the paint."

  James added: "He always plays like that. Just got to kick him in the a** every now and then. But he always plays like that so I never worry about him."