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• Alcaraz tipped for dominant career but Murray 'wouldn't predict 20-plus slams for anyone'

  Andy Murray believes Carlos Alcaraz can be a dominant figure in tennis "for as long as he wants" but cautioned against expecting him to challenge the grand slam records of the Big Three.

  Roger Federer's haul of 20 slam titles has been overtaken by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who both have 22 majors, but those three are streets ahead of every other men's singles player in history.

  Next on the list is Pete Sampras with 14 slams, which was itself a total that many once fancied would not be beaten for decades.

  Murray was for a time part of a Big Four, until he got left behind by the relentless winning of his three great rivals. Federer has retired, but Djokovic and Nadal may yet have more slam titles in them.

  At the age of 19, Alcaraz is already off the mark, winning the US Open last year, and he has jumped back to world number one after winning the Indian Wells Open on Sunday.

  Djokovic and Nadal will be big threats to Alcaraz's hopes of triumphing at the French Open, but the young Spaniard is no longer simply the coming player on the ATP. He has arrived, and Murray is convinced Alcaraz is the real deal and poised to stay at the top of the sport for years to come.

  "He has an excellent game, an all-around game that I think will translate well onto all surfaces," Murray said.

  "He's not the biggest guy, but he can serve big. He's an unbelievable mover, great athlete. Has a lot of variety in his game. Takes the ball on a lot. That's something that you hope that he keeps.

  "I know from experience that it's a bit easier playing that way when you're sort of 18, 19, and there's not any scar tissue there. I hope that he maintains that style of play because it's exciting to watch."

  The prediction that Alcaraz can be an all-court player, and therefore succeed on grass as well as the hard and clay courts where he has already found success, bodes well for his prospects of stacking up slams.

  Murray might have faced Alcaraz in round three at the Miami Open this fortnight, but the veteran Briton, a three-time slam winner and former number one, lost his opener on Wednesday to Serbian Dusan Lajovic.

  There have only been two matches on tour between Alcaraz and Murray to date, both coming in the 2021 season when they won one each.

  Alcaraz is the defending champion in Miami, and a clear favourite after crushing Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells title match. He brings a 14-1 record for the year into the tournament.

  "He's obviously so far in his young career doing better than most of the guys that have come in the last eight to 10 years," Murray said.

  "I know a lot of people are expecting everyone to win 20-plus grand slams now, like that's sort of normal. I wouldn't predict that for anyone.

  "I would imagine he would be right at the top of the game for, well, as long as he wants to play."

• Warriors claim crucial road win amid Mavericks protest controversy, Morant and KAT return

  The Golden State Warriors claimed rare back-to-back wins with Wednesday's 127-125 victory at the Dallas Mavericks but the game was marred by controversy after Kevon Looney's third-quarter uncontested dunk.

  Stephen Curry scored 20 points with 13 assists as the reigning NBA champions secured consecutive wins on a road trip for the first time this season at American Airlines Center.

  But the Mavs were left raging after Looney's uncontested dunk with 1:54 left in the third quarter from a Warriors inbound after a timeout, which Dallas had thought was their ball, meaning they subsequently lined up on the other half of the court.

  Mavs owner Mark Cuban said they would contest the result of the game due to the incident which he labelled the "worst officiating non call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA" on Twitter.

  Despite that, the Mavs could have won the game on merit, with Luka Doncic missing a two-point attempt under pressure from Draymond Green with 3.2 seconds left at 125-122.

  That came after Curry's bounce-pass set up Green's three-point play, before the reigning NBA Finals MVP glided in for a two-point shot to open up the three-point buffer with 8.1 seconds to play.

  Doncic, in his return after missing five games with a thigh injury, scored 30 points with seven rebounds and 17 assists. Doncic shot 11-of-27 from the field and six-of-10 from the stripe.

  In Kyrie Irving's absence, 20-year-old guard Jaden Hardy was outstanding with six three-pointers in his 27 points.

  The win is a major boost for Golden State's playoff hopes, moving to sixth in the West with a 38-36 record, while the Mavs drop to ninth with a 36-37 record, having lost five of their past seven games.

  It was Golden State's first road win when trailing after the first quarter, having entered the game with a 0-20 record.

  Morant and KAT make successful returns

  Ja Morant made his successful return for the Memphis Grizzlies off the bench for the first time in his career as they won their fourth straight game, beating the Houston Rockets 130-125.

  Morant returned after his NBA-imposed eight-game suspension with 17 points and five assists, receiving a standing ovation from the home fans upon his injection into the game.

  Jaren Jackson Jr scored a season-high 37 points with 10 rebounds and Desmond Bane added 20 points as the Grizzlies clinched the Southwest division.

  It was a night of returns as Karl-Anthony Towns was back for the first time since November due to a calf strain, scoring two game-winning free-throws with 3.6 seconds left as the Minnesota Timberwolves won 125-124 over the Atlanta Hawks.

  Lakers stay right in playoff hunt

  The Los Angeles Lakers ensured they remained firmly in the congested race for Western Conference playoff and play-in tournament spots with a 122-111 victory over the Phoenix Suns.

  Anthony Davis scored a team-high 27 points including 20 in the second half, with nine rebounds, while Austin Reaves backed up Sunday's 35-point game with 25 points and a career-high 11 assists.

  Devin Booker scored 33 points on 11-of-16 field shooting with six rebounds but seven turnovers for the Suns, who remain fourth in the West but with a 38-34 record.

  The Lakers move up to 10th, just behind the Mavs in ninth, with a 36-37 record and LeBron James not far from a return from injury.

• Murray eliminated by Lajovic in Miami Open first-round upset, Monfils retires injured

  Two-time Miami Open champion Andy Murray has been eliminated in the first round of this year's event after a shock 6-4 7-5 loss to world number 76 Dusan Lajovic on Wednesday.

  Murray, ranked 53rd in the world, could not find his usual return with Lajovic winning 72 per cent of second-serve points, prevailing in one hour and 38 minutes.

  The Serbian claimed only his fourth win out of 16 matches on hard courts since the start of last year, holding his nerve after failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, converting his third match point in the 12th game.

  Lajovic hit 21-14 winners, with Murray committing more unforced errors (15-13). The Serbian converted all three break points he generated.

  Former world number six Gael Monfils was forced to retire due to a right wrist injury in his clash with French compatriot Ugo Humbert at 3-3.

  Monfils, 36, was playing at only his third event since returning to the ATP Tour following seven months out due to injury.

  Argentina's Facundo Bagnis defeated Brazilian qualifier Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3 1-6 6-4, with his reward a second-round clash with last week's Indian Wells Open winner and top seed Carlos Alcaraz.

  World number 50 J.J. Wolf beat world number 48 Alexander Bublik 7-5 6-3 in 79 minutes, earning a second-round clash with sixth seed Andrey Rublev.

  World number 74 Martin Fucsovics sent down nine aces as he beat Argentina's Pedro Cachin 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in 107 minutes. Fucsovics will next face seventh seed Holger Rune.

  Ilya Ivashka beat Daniel Altmaier 6-2 6-1 to book a second-round clash with third seed Casper Ruud, while Fabio Fognini bowed out, losing 6-4 5-7 6-4 to Jan-Lennard Struff. USA's Brandon Nakashima powered to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 victory over Germany's Oscar Otte.