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• Ebden and Thompson send Australia to third straight Davis Cup semi

  Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson booked Australia's place in the Davis Cup semi-finals after the pair clinched their deciding match against the United States to win 2-1. 

  The pair, who won gold at the Paris Olympics, beat Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-4 6-4 to put Lleyton Hewitt's side into their third successive semi-final at the men's team event.

  Australia, who have won the tournament 28 times, largely had Thanasi Kokkinakis to thank after his remarkable triumph over Shelton in the first match of the day.

  Kokkinakis saved four match points and let slip six of his own before eventually prevailing 6-1 4-6 7-6 (16-14) in an engrossing encounter that lasted two hours and 14 minutes. 

  However, in the rematch of a recent ATP Finals group-stage match, Taylor Fritz emerged victorious over Alex De Minaur as he did in Turin a week ago. 

  Despite De Minaur going 2-0 up in the second set, Fritz roared back to earn a 6-3 6-4 victory to send the tie the distance in Malaga. 

  But Australia held their nerve, and will discover their opponents later on Thursday when reigning champions Italy take on Argentina.

  Ebden and Thompson’s win came after United States’ captain Bob Bryan opted for a late change, with Paul and Shelton replacing Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

  “We were expecting the other pair, but we knew they’ve got incredible players who can play doubles,” said Ebden.

  “We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any.

  "Out here, finals live match, just to play with Jordan here was real fun. Following what Kokk did, unfortunately Alex went down, but what a day. So fun, so happy.”

  Data Debrief: Australia ready to right Davis Cup wrongs

  Australia have failed to win the Davis Cup since 2003, but they will be confident of halting that streak this time around. 

  If they take the trophy, they will have reason to thank Kokkinakis, whose tie-break win against Shelton was the longest an Australian player had featured in at the tournament, surpassing Pat Rafter's win over David Rikl in the 1997 quarter-finals of the competition (15-13). 

  Ebden and Thompson also shone when it mattered most, serving four aces compared to Paul and Shelton's two, while also winning 92% of their first-serve points. 

• Las Vegas Grand Prix: To be a champion, you must race 'on the limit', says Verstappen

  Max Verstappen explained that his quest for a fourth world championship title has seen him race "on the limit" ahead of this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix. 

  Verstappen has the chance to become one of the greatest to grace the sport under the bright lights of Sin City this weekend, should he finish ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris. 

  Though the world championship isn't officially decided yet, after a phenomenal wet weather performance in Brazil last time out, Verstappen is within touching distance. 

  He has a 62-point lead over Norris with two races and a sprint left, and if the Briton finds himself 60 points behind after Las Vegas, his title bid will officially come to an end. 

  The pair have exchanged battles on the track this season, most notably at the United States and Mexican Grands Prix last month, with Verstappen criticised for his driving. 

  "I know on track if you want to win, if you want to be a champion, you do need to be on the limit," the Red Bull driver told BBC Sport.

  Should he emerge victorious on Sunday, he would become the sixth driver in history to win at least four world titles, after Michael Schumacher (seven), Lewis Hamilton (seven), Juan Manuel Fangio (five), Alain Prost (four) and Sebastian Vettel (four).

  "Of course, the championship is in the back of my mind, naturally," he says. "But I will always try to get the best result out of it first and then see what’s possible.

  "I always demand a lot from myself. I always try to get the best possible result out of it. I hate making mistakes.

  "I put that pressure on myself every weekend. If you want to win a championship, you cannot afford bad results."

  But Verstappen's season has been far from plain sailing, with Red Bull's remarkable mid-season dip allowing McLaren and Ferrari to close in. 

  Prior to his win in Interlagos, the Dutchman had gone nine races without a pole position and 10 without a win, his worst streak since the penultimate round in 2020, when he went 17 qualifying rounds without a pole and 11 consecutive races without a victory. 

  After winning seven of the first 10 races of the 2024 season, Verstappen said he was surprised by the other teams' slow start to the campaign. 

  "We started really dominant, but I also feel like some teams didn’t start as well as they should have compared to last year, so we were a bit surprised about that," he said. 

  "We felt it’s a bit weird how the others are not really making the step forward. So then I guess they got their stuff sorted out.

  "I already said from the beginning of the year that I was not entirely happy with how the car was handling."

  Despite a fourth title almost being sealed and 62 wins already in the bag, Verstappen has revealed that he plans to explore the world of motorsport before he retires. 

  He is relaxed about his future, though he has been open-minded about where he might drive in F1 in coming years and how much longer he will stay.

  "It is not like when I started in F1. I had that target, seven titles, 100-plus wins. At the time, Michael (Schumacher) was the record-holder. It’s not how I see life any more.

  "Maybe when I was a bit younger, yeah, I wanted to drive F1 as long as I could. But now when you have already achieved so much, it is not about wanting to drive forever.

  "I also want to enjoy life. I definitely don’t want to be racing in F1 until I’m 40 years old. You only live once, and I don’t want to spend half of it racing cars."

  DRIVERS TO WATCH

  Max Verstappen – Red Bull

  Verstappen has the chance to become only the third driver in the competition’s history to break the 3,000-point barrier (2,979.50 currently), something only Hamilton (4829.50) and Vettel (3098) have achieved.

  The Dutchman has scored 72.24% of Red Bull's points in 2024, the widest gap to the second driver of any team this season in Formula One (44.49 – 27.76% for Sergio Perez). On the other hand, Mercedes is the team with the smallest percentage difference between its drivers in terms of total points (0.52 - George Russell's 50.26 and Hamilton's 49.74).

  But, if either Verstappen or Perez achieve the fastest lap at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Red Bull (99) will become the fifth team in Formula One history to achieve 100 fastest laps after Ferrari (263), McLaren (170), Williams (133) and Mercedes (109).

  Oscar Piastri – McLaren

  Piastri has scored points in 23 consecutive F1 grand prix. It is the seventh-best historical run in the competition (also 23 for Fernando Alonso between Europe 2011 and Hungary 2012) and the best of any McLaren driver.

  The Australian is the only driver on the grid to have finished 100% of races in 2024. Not only is this the longest current run, but if he finishes in Las Vegas, it will be the 11th longest streak in Formula One history, equalling Perez's record between France 2022 and Singapore 2023 (26).

  However, Piastri will be aiming to return to the podium places having gone three races without a top-three finish since ending the Singapore Grand Prix in third. It is his worst streak since the first seven races of the season.

  CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

  Drivers

  1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 393
  2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 331
  3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 307
  4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 262
  5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 244

  Constructors

  1. McLaren – 593
  2. Ferrari – 557
  3. Red Bull – 544
  4. Mercedes – 382
  5. Aston Martin – 86

• Ramos in 'final phase' of recovery, says PSG boss Luis Enrique

  Luis Enrique confirmed that Paris Saint-Germain striker Goncalo Ramos is nearing a return to action after sustaining an ankle injury on the opening day of the season. 

  Ramos, who scored 14 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions in his debut season for PSG last year, has not featured for the Parisiens since their 4-1 win over Le Havre in August.

  But despite his absence, Luis Enrique's side sit top of the Ligue 1 standings ahead of welcoming Toulouse to the Parc des Princes this Friday. 

  They are also the top scorers in the division, netting 33 goals in 11 matches so far, nine more than Marseille, who are second in the scoring table. 

  And as the hectic festive schedule kickstarts, Luis Enrique revealed Ramos has already returned to full first-team training. 

  "It was the 25th and that is in a few days, so it is the final phase of his recovery," Luis Enrique told reporters.

  "As for when he is available (to play) we do not know. We will see in training, he is doing really well and is in full training."

  Following Friday's fixture against Toulouse, PSG travel to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League, hoping to ignite their European campaign. 

  The Ligue 1 champions are at risk of failing to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition having taken four points from their first four games this season.

  They currently sit 25th in the new 36-team league table, and with an important week coming up, Luis Enrique insisted he would think about rotating his squad. 

  "You mustn't only think about the game against Toulouse but also the workload for players with their national teams," he said. 

  "So we will make decisions based on what we think. We want to win against Toulouse, which is our main target."

  Ousmane Dembele did not feature during the international break after he left the France training camp with a hamstring issue, though he is expected to feature this Friday. 

  "In theory, it was nothing serious. I don't think it was a big issue and these things happen during the season," Luis Enrique said.

  "It is normal with such a busy schedule, he should be available to play."

  While Toulouse sit 10th in the league standings, they will provide PSG with a difficult test. They come into the game on the back of three consecutive wins, all without conceding a goal. 

  PSG have also not won any of their last two meetings against Toulouse (D1 L1), and could go three games without a win against the Violets for the second time in the 21st century after a winless streak between December 2007 to October 2009 (five).