Max Verstappen strengthened his grip on the Formula One world championship as Charles Leclerc and Ferrari endured a nightmare Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Leclerc had claimed his fourth successive pole position at the street circuit in Baku but was passed into the first corner by Monaco winner Sergio Perez.

Perez struggled to press home his advantage, though, and eventually ceded the lead to Verstappen on lap 15.

Leclerc had dived into the pits under the virtual safety car after his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz retired due to a hydraulics issue and appeared to be well-placed to challenge Verstappen, only for an engine failure on lap 20 to hand victory to his Red Bull rival, who led a one-two ahead of Perez and Mercedes' George Russell.

Ferrari's dismal day began as Perez reacted quicker than Leclerc at the start to quickly render his pole immaterial and by lap nine they were down a car as Sainz was forced to end his race.

The Scuderia responded by gambling on pitting Leclerc for fresh tyres without the usual time loss and that decision appeared to be paying dividends, a potential battle with Verstappen looming after the Dutchman passed Perez on lap 15, the Mexican having emerged from a slow stop just in front of Russell.

Any prospect of that fight was removed when blue smoke puffed out of the back of Leclerc's Ferrari on lap 20, hugely damaging his title prospects.

Further blows to Ferrari came as the Alfa Romeo of Zhou Guanyu and Kevin Magnussen's Haas, both powered by their engines, suffered retirements.

Red Bull, by contrast, cruised home to a fifth successive win and a second one-two in three races. Russell took his third podium ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri rounding off the top five.

Ekaterina Alexandrova beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in The Rosmalen Grass Court Championship final on Sunday to claim her second career title. 

The world number 30 prevailed 7-5 6-0 against a below-par Sabalenka in just 77 minutes to add to her Shenzhen Open triumph from January 2020.

Sabalenka was seeking an 11th singles title and looked value to do so after cruising into the final in 's-Hertogenbosch, but she was outclassed by Alexandrova.

The pair had dropped just one set apiece in their four matches en route to the final, which went the way of the serve until the sixth game when Sabalenka broke her opponent.

However, she was unable to build on that advantage as Alexandrova hit back in the following game and broke the Belarusian again in the 11th to serve out the opener.

In the first meeting between the pair on grass, Alexandrova completely dominated the second set as she broke all three of Sabalenka's service games in a ruthless showing.

The 27-year-old, who had lost two of her previous three finals, took her second match point to complete the job in a stress-free manner.

Jiri Prochazka dethroned Glover Teixeira to claim the light-heavyweight title at UFC 275 in a fight the new champion described as "a true war".

The 29-year-old was trailing Teixeira on two of the judges' scorecards, with the other judge having it level, when he won with a rear-naked choke submission in the fifth round.

That brought an end to a gruelling bout in Singapore, with Prochazka coming through nearly five rounds of relentless punishment from his 42-year-old opponent.

"It's amazing and I'm glad. It was a true war. Glover is a true warrior, and I like that," Prochazka, UFC's first Czech champion, said in his post-fight interview.

"I never thought... that's why it's good to not be thinking, you are in the middle of the fight.

"Next time I will be better. I was ready to end the fight whenever today, whether in the first or fifth round, it doesn’t matter, and it doesn't matter which technique."

Teixeira became the oldest first-time champion in UFC history when defeating Jan Blachowicz last October and was 30 seconds away from retaining his title against Prochazka.

Despite turning 43 in four months' time, Teixeira has no intention of calling time on his career following Saturday's loss.

"I gave my all out there, no excuses," he said. "His body shots took my gas away, I was gassed out to be honest. But I'm going to keep going."

Valentina Shevchenko defeated Taila Santos by split decision in the women's flyweight fight, meanwhile, in what was her seventh successful title defence.

"I want to keep going, I want to keep improving," Shevchenko said. "I want to keep fighting no matter who – bantamweight, flyweight, I am here. Bring it on."

Rafael Nadal's latest grand slam triumph at the French Open is "unbelievable", says Roger Federer, who believes his rival "keeps raising the bar".

The Spaniard cruised through to both a record 14th success on clay at Roland Garros and a record-extending 22nd men's grand slam title with a straight sets demolition of Casper Ruud.

That made it two from two in 2022 for the 36-year-old, leaving him clear of both Federer and Novak Djokovic, who remain on 20 grand slam crowns each.

The former – who has enjoyed a strong sporting rivalry and friendship with Nadal throughout their intertwined careers – however has nothing but praise for his latest achievement.

"I didn't watch the final," Federer told Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger. "I watched the quarter-final [against Djokovic] a bit before I went to sleep.

"In general, it's just unbelievable what Rafa has achieved. The record of Pete Sampras, which I beat, was 14 grand slam titles.

"Now Rafa won the French Open 14 times. That's unbelievable. I was happy for him that he did it again.

"Hats off to Rafa. After the 10th, 11th time, I already thought: 'This can't be.' He keeps raising the bar. It's gigantic."

Federer has been unable to add to his own haul of grand slams, having missed the tail-end of 2021 and start of 2022 through injury as he continues to recover from knee surgery.

The 40-year-old Swiss star acknowledged he has not yet plotted anything more than competing in the Laver Cup and Basel Open in October, stressing he will focus on achieving full fitness rather than setting a return date.

"After Basel, the season is over anyway," he added. "It's important for me to get fit again so that I can train fully. Once I've done that, I can choose how many tournaments I play and where.

"The Laver Cup is a good start, I don't have to play five matches in six days.

"I will have be able to do that in Basel. That's why I have to prepare for it in practice. I'm curious myself what's still to come.

"But I'm hopeful, I've come a long way. I'm not far away. The next three or four months will be extremely important."

On a return to top-class tennis in 2023, Federer said that such a move remained the aim, adding: "Yes, definitely. How and where, I don't know yet. But that would be the idea. Definitely."

LIV Golf Invitational chief executive Greg Norman says "the evolution of golf" has arrived following the conclusion of the breakaway circuit's first event.

Charl Schwartzel survived a shaky finish on the back nine to hold off South African countryman Hennie du Plessis by one shot at the Centurion Club near London.

He pocketed $4.75million for his triumph – golf's biggest ever prize pot – after his Stinger GC also finished top of the team leaderboard.

The 2011 Masters champion was one of seven major winners taking part in the first leg of the breakaway series, which has attracted controversy due to its Saudi links.

But with Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed and Pat Perez the latest to defect from the PGA Tour over the past few days, LIV Golf is only gaining more and more momentum.

"All I can say is that the evolution of golf has arrived," Norman, who first tried to set up a world tour in the 1990s, said at Saturday's presentation ceremony.

"For 27 years there have been a lot of obstacles put in our path, a lot of dreams have tried to be squashed but they couldn't squash us.

"Golf was always going to be a force for good. The fans wanted this. We wanted this for you. We wanted this for the players, for the caddies, for the players' families."

Schwartzel led from start to finish to claim a prize equal to the amount it has taken him four years to earn on the PGA Tour.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we could play for that much money in golf," he said.

"As you could see I was taking a bit of heat down the stretch and there was a lot of money involved."

More big names are expected to be unveiled by LIV ahead of its second tournament in Portland at the end of June, before the series moves to New Jersey, Boston and Chicago.

Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes know they must "take a beating" in order to recover the lost ground they trail Red Bull and Ferrari by ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion will start seventh on the grid following another disappoint qualifying session in Baku, while team-mate George Russell will start in fifth.

Mercedes have remained dramatically off the pace of their rivals, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc sealing a fourth consecutive pole position in his title race with Max Verstappen.

Hamilton – who won on this track in 2018 – admitted he and his team are continuing to draw the same conclusions from their struggles, in what could be a bad omen for their prospects over the rest of the season.

"I'm not surprised [about the gap], I mean it was the same in Monaco," he told Sky Sports. "It was a really difficult qualifying session, we're constantly pushing.

"We have a very, very small window where we can work this car and everything we try doesn't give us what we want.

"So, we're making lots of changes, but we're always out with the same conclusion, which is most often bouncing, which loses us a lot of performance.

"All the performance is when you get the car low… so we said let's take a beating in our necks and backs to get the car as low as possible for the performance."

Russell, who is out to better his best-ever 15th-place finish at the circuit, posted in 2019, suggested improvements were harder to decipher from within the cockpit.

"The lap felt good, the car felt good but obviously it is pretty shocking when you cross the line and you are one and a bit seconds behind pole position," Russell said.

"We expect so much of ourselves and we are working so hard to bring more performance, but definitely this weekend has brought out the strengths and the weaknesses of all of us.

"To be honest, it truly is just not going fast enough.

"It feels ok from within, except when we are going down the straights because every single bump is the most rigid I have ever felt from any race car before.

"In the breaking zones, it is so bumpy down those straights and feels awful from within but through the corners itself the car feels good.

"So we know it isn't a balance thing getting the car in the right window with the set up, it is more we don't have the downforce and we are balancing a lot of limitations to try and get the downforce.

"We know there is a lot there but we don't know how to extract it."

Clayton Kershaw gave up a go-ahead home run to Thairo Estrada upon his return from injury, as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 on Saturday.

Kershaw has been sidelined since May due to an inflamed joint in his back, but his return has also coincided with Walker Buehler being placed on the Dodgers' injured list.

The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner pitched four innings, giving up three hits over 71 pitches, including the two runs that set up the Giants' win in the second inning.

The Dodgers claimed 13 hits in comparison to the five from their NL West rivals, but simply were not able to capitalise at the plate with runners in scoring position.

The Dodgers have now lost eight of their past 12 games, with the San Diego Padres now drawing level atop the NL West.

Judge rules for Yankees

Aaron Judge led the way for the New York Yankees, scoring two home runs in their 8-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.

It was a day to forget for rookie Cubs pitcher Matt Swarmer, who gave up six solo home runs out of a total seven hits over 90 pitches in five innings.

Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Jose Trevino and former Cub Anthony Rizzo went deep along with Judge as the Pinstripes claimed their 10th win in 11 games, moving to 43-16 for the year.

Trout leads Angels upon return from injury

Mike Trout returned for the Los Angeles Angels as they claimed a morale-boosting 11-6 win over the NL East-leading New York Mets.

The three-time American League MVP returned from a minor groin injury and led the way for the Halos in the win, scoring two home runs and claiming three hits from four at-bats.

Shohei Ohtani also went deep while going three-of-four, claiming their second win in three after snapping a 14-game losing streak on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a roster filled with All-Stars, but they will be down a big one for the foreseeable future.

Right-hander Walker Buehler will be shut down for six to eight weeks after he was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his right arm.

An MRI revealed the strain on Saturday, and he won’t be allowed to throw for six to eight weeks. Even if Buehler can start throwing in six weeks, he would have to build up arm strength and throw bullpens and batting practice before a likely minor-league assignment.

While the team expects the two-time All-Star to pitch again this season, the earliest Buehler could return would be late August or early September, with this recent setback coinciding with Clayton Kershaw's return from the injured list.

''He's our opening day starter, so to lose him in any capacity is a blow,'' manager Dave Roberts said. ''Hopefully, we'll get him back sooner than later.''

Buehler, who had Tommy John surgery soon after being drafted in 2015, hasn’t been as effective this season, going 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 starts.

He went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 33 starts last season and finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting.

''When you lose one of the best pitchers in the game, it's a big blow to anybody,'' Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman said of Buehler's absence.

Buehler was forced to leave Friday night’s start at San Francisco after four innings and 70 pitches with elbow trouble. After the game, Buehler said he's dealt with occasional soreness in his elbow in recent years, and he expressed concern.

Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos revelled in his side's 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday, but insisted they will now face the best team in the NHL in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Lightning will now face the Colorado Avalanche after winning Game 6 and the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday, with Stamkos scoring both goals.

The 32-year-old put the reigning Stanley Cup champions up half-way through the second period, but the game seemed headed for overtime after Frank Vatrano equalised during a power play in the third.

The Lightning captain responded with another goal almost straight from the restart, getting on the end of a Nikita Kucherov pass in space to put his side back in front, likening it to a dream scenario afterwards.

He is aware of what awaits in Tampa Bay's hopes for a third-straight Stanley Cup, however.

"These are the games you live for as a kid," Stamkos told ESPN post-game. "It was everything I thought it was going to be and more, to give ourselves a chance to go to the finals three years in a row is amazing.

"To have a part in it tonight was certainly icing on the cake. It was just an unbelievable team effort, we deserved this one and we got it.

"The hardest thing to do is to win the championship and this group has been in the trenches. We know what it takes, but now we've got the best team in the league in the Colorado Avalanche. They have it all, that's what teams aspire to be."

Sweeping the Florida Panthers in the second round, the Lightning had to tough it out against the Rangers after going down 2-0 in the series.

Claiming Game 5 in New York before closing the series out on Sunday, Stamkos praised his battle-hardened team's ability to stay calm in adversity against a tough opponent.

"We know we didn't play our best the first two," he said. "We had that long break and didn't want to use an excuse, and they [the Rangers] had a couple of hard-fought series. They were executing and we weren't.

"We stuck with it. There's no panic on this team and what an effort. Tonight was amazing. To rattle off four against that team at this time of the year, it's pretty impressive."

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said he would still be leading the team if Tom Brady did not decide to come out of retirement.

Not long after Tampa Bay’s playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Brady retired and the Buccaneers were left without a proven quarterback on their roster.

Less than six weeks later, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback opted to return and two weeks later, Arians announced that he would be stepping down as head coach and moving into a role in the Bucs' front office, with Todd Bowles becoming the new head coach.

The new Senior Football Consultant explained he was unwilling to leave Bowles with uncertainty at the quarterback position, with Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask on the roster.

"I was going the other way. I was thinking he wasn’t going to play," Arians said. "I was thinking about who are we going to get? Who wants to trade? There wasn’t anybody in the draft.

"That was obvious. Me, to the public, I was fine with the two we had: Blaine and Kyle. Because I’ve seen Blaine win with a good team behind him. Had Tom not come back, I probably would still be coaching. I couldn’t give Todd that situation.”

Because of the timing, rumours circulated that a rift existed between Brady and Arians, but Arians stuck to his line that he had already been thinking about quitting and did not want to leave Bowles with an unsettled quarterback situation.

Arians, who turns 70 in October, also said that he was “upset” with the hiring cycle and expected both Bowles and offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to get head coaching jobs. He also admitted that the upcoming season would have been his last anyway.

“I had a bunch of people lined up to take their jobs,” Arians said. “When they were both here and Tom came back, I thought it was the perfect time.”

Tony Finau birdied the final hole for an eight-under 62 on Saturday to share the lead with Rory McIlroy, coming into the final round of the Canadian Open.

Finau had the best round of the tournament so far, scoring an eagle on the par-five ninth before making four birdies on the back nine.

The 32-year-old is looking for only his third PGA Tour victory, with his last win coming in a playoff over Cameron Smith in last year's Northern Trust.

McIlroy had a tricky uphill putt to also birdie on the 18th hole, despite an exceptional approach to set it up, but he had to ultimately two-putt to finish the round after his birdie attempt skimmed over the edge of the cup.

The 33-year-old has been in confident touch at St. George's this week and continued that on Saturday, posting a five-under 65 with assertive driving and wedge-play.

After a bogey on the par-three eighth, the Northern Irishman responded with three birdies over the next four holes, before managing another birdie on the par-five 15th.

The final hole would have been an apt punctuation mark for his third round, after scores of 66 and 68 over the opening two days.

McIlroy has had to wait three years to defend his 2019 title, with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing a cancellation of the tournament in 2020 and 2021.

He is among five players ranked in the world's top ten in a high-profile field at Toronto, coming into next weekend's U.S. Open, with Justin Thomas and Sam Burns joined by Wyndham Clark and Alex Smalley on nine-under.

Cameron Smith has recovered from an opening-round six-over 76 to finish on one-under after 54 holes, posting a 68 on Saturday, while world number one Scottie Scheffler scored a disappointing 71.

Nick Kyrgios said he was racially abused by a spectator during his semi-final with Andy Murray at the Stuttgart Open on Saturday.

Murray won the match 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to advance to the final, where he will play Matteo Berrettini on Sunday.

However, Kyrgios had greater concerns as he took to Instagram afterwards to say he was called a "little black sheep" by someone in attendance.

"When is this going to stop? Dealing with racial slurs from the crowd?" he wrote.

"I understand that my behaviour isn't the best all the time – but 'you little black sheep', 'shut up and play' – little comments like this are not acceptable. When I retaliate to the crowd, I get penalised. This is messed up."

Meanwhile, Murray's win saw him reach his first tour-level final on grass since 2016.

The three-time major winner upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round – his first win over a top-five opponent in six years – and followed that up against Kyrgios with another impressive performance.

"A lot of ups and downs, but I kept going and kept working and finally managed to get to another one. I am proud of the effort I have put in," Murray said after securing the win.

He moves up to 47th in the live ATP rankings – the first time he has been in the top 50 since May 2018 – and his clash with Berrettini will be his 70th career final.

"You're always battling yourself as well as the opponent, it's one of the difficult things about individual sports," he added in relation to Kyrgios' frustrations during the game.

"Nick has the potential to be one of the best players in the world, there's absolutely no question about that. But he obviously got very frustrated in the second set and made it a lot easier for me.

"I'm happy to be in the final. I've played well this week and I've got a great opportunity against Matteo tomorrow."

The New Orleans Pelicans want Zion Williamson to stay with the franchise.

And Williamson says the feeling is mutual. 

Speaking on Saturday at a New Orleans YMCA where he held a youth and basketball camp registration, Williamson was asked if opening the camp was a sign he wanted to stay with the Pelicans.

"I do want to be here," Williamson said. "That's no secret. I feel like I've stood on that when I spoke."

Williamson reiterated that he wanted to stay with New Orleans just days after Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin said it was essentially a no-brainer that the team will offer him the max of five years and at least $182 million despite the fact he missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a foot injury.

"It's not a big decision. It's a pretty easy decision," Griffin said on a podcast. "This is a max player. That's easy. The kid is historically good when he plays.

"What becomes significant with a team that's a small-market team that can't make mistakes in terms of injuries over time, you have to indemnify yourself in some way." 

When asked on Saturday about the extension, Williamson, who recently said he "couldn't sign it fast enough", smiled and said: "You have to ask the Pels, baby."

The Pelicans made the playoffs this past season without Williamson, who should be fit to suit up for the 2022-23 opener after being cleared on May 26 to play this offseason without any restrictions.

"It was a long year for me for rehab and mental battles. I'm fine now. I'm ready to get to work," he said.

Since his 2019-20 rookie season, Williamson has appeared in just 85 games, but he has been outstanding when healthy, averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting just over 60 per cent.