Newly appointed Jamaica national U-21 Annette Daley hopes to use the unit to reinforce the senior team in light of the cancelation of the Netball World Youth Cup.
The event, which was slated to take place in Fiji, in June, was initially moved to December 2021. The tournament has, however, now been cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.
The decision was made in consultation with Fiji's Government and the Local Organising Committee. Considerations like travel restrictions, athlete well-being, pandemic-related uncertainty and planning difficulties, increased costs, and Fiji's low COVID-19 rate all contributed to the decision, organisers said.
Daley was appointed to the post in February and had just begun preparing the team for the tournament.
“We are going to meet with the ladies officially, but training continues. We are looking at continuing to develop the ladies because for the senior program we do a base that we can pull players from,” Daley told TVJ Sports.
She also pointed to the fact that there could still be some international competition that the team can take part in later this year.
“There could be a championship for Jamaica in October where Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa are coming. If that is so at least we will be ready to engage in competition.”
Brice Dulin scored a try with the final play after the 80-minute mark to earn France a thrilling 32-30 victory over Wales at the Stade de France that denied their opponents a Grand Slam and keeps their own Six Nations title hopes alive.
Wales led 30-20 with 10 minutes to play in Paris and had a one-man advantage after Paul Willemse was sent off, but Taulupe Faletau and Liam Williams were both sin-binned in quick succession and that sparked a remarkable turnaround.
Dulin touched down in the 82nd minute to secure a victory that leaves France needing another bonus-point win at home to Scotland next Friday – a fixture pushed back due to a coronavirus outbreak in their camp – to finish above Wales.
The incredible late drama followed an equally lively first half in which four tries were shared, but Wales' failure to see out the job means their fate is no longer in their own hands.
Ireland set the standard for future performances in wrapping up their Six Nations campaign with a 32-18 win over England, according to captain Johnny Sexton.
First-half tries from Keith Earls and Jack Conan - along with 22 points from the boot of Sexton - helped Andy Farrell's side claim a convincing victory in Dublin.
Ireland's place in the standings will only be decided when France meet Scotland in the tournament's final fixture next week.
But, whether he and his team-mates are leapfrogged in second place or not, Sexton had one major positive to take from the 2021 Six Nations.
He told ITV: "It was brilliant. We felt like we weren't far away all through the championship and it kind of clicked in some things.
"There's still lots of stuff we can improve on and get better, but that was the performance we wanted against a top-quality side.
"[England are] one of the best sides in the world, who we have massive respect for - their players, their coaches, everyone - so that's the standard we've set now and hopefully we can keep backing it up and become more consistent.
"I said to the boys last night that the only worry we should have is about backing up today and we put in a performance that will make us think twice about some of the standards that we set in that game."
England added an arguably undeserved hint of respectability to the scoreline as they ran in late tries through Ben Youngs and Jonny May following Bundee Aki's dismissal just past the hour mark.
Sexton believes that sort of indiscipline had hampered Ireland throughout the tournament, and called for it to be eradicated.
He added: "We still felt we should have stopped the try - a missed tackle - but we showed great guts throughout the tournament.
"Sometimes when you don't take your chances, your performances are made out to be worse than they actually are.
"The first game, we go down to 14, and indiscipline is still an issue at times. And against France, small margins, all these games.
"Both of these teams could have been going for a championship today or a Grand Slam so they are the margins we have to make up next time we come together."
England put their points on the board through two Owen Farrell penalties - the second of which brought up his 500th Six Nations point - early in the first half and that late flurry of tries.
That left flanker Tom Curry rueing a failure to compete with Ireland in the "middle section" of the game.
"I'm obviously very disappointed. It's pretty gutting," he said.
"We knew it was going to be a really physical encounter. The past three times we have played them it has been all about physicality and today was no different.
"A bit of discipline cost us here and there. In the last 20 we showed a bit more of a glimpse of what we're about.
"It was that middle section where we need to back it up and we probably didn't do that today."
Johnny Sexton scored 22 points as 14-man Ireland saw off England 32-18 at the Aviva Stadium to end their Six Nations campaign on a high.
Both sides were out of contention to win the competition heading into the final round of fixtures, but it was Ireland who claimed a third win in a row thanks to first-half tries from Keith Earls and Jack Conan.
England were given an opportunity to launch a comeback 17 minutes from time when 26-6 behind, as Bundee Aki was dismissed for a high tackle on Billy Vunipola.
Yet despite Ben Youngs crossing over almost instantly, plus Jonny May adding a late second after Conor Murray was sin-binned, Ireland comfortably saw things through to earn a first win over England in five Tests.
England were forced into a late back-line rejig as Ollie Lawrence replaced the injured Max Malins, but they settled quickly and took the lead through an early Owen Farrell penalty.
Sexton slotted over three points to level things up, with the home side ahead four minutes later thanks to Earls' impressive score.
Conan outjumped Tom Curry at a lineout and popped the ball to Earls, who found a gap and jinked his way past a couple of opponents for his second try of the tournament.
It was the seventh Test running where England had conceded the first try and, while Farrell did reply with another penalty, Sexton restored Ireland's seven-point lead with one of his own.
Andy Farrell's side then tightened their grip on the contest before half-time, the recalled Conan applying the finish to a patient move.
England were given a lifeline when Earls had a try ruled out for Cian Healy's knock-on in the build-up, though Sexton split the sticks following an earlier infringement.
The fly-half nailed another kick with an hour played but, just when it looked to be plain sailing for Ireland, referee Mathieu Raynal deemed Aki's challenge on Vunipola to be worthy of dismissal.
Youngs charged over when played in by Jamie George to potentially set up a tense finale, only for the impressive Sexton to keep the hosts comfortably clear with two more penalties.
May went outside his man to restore some pride for England in the final stages, at which point Ireland were down to 13 men after Murray was shown a yellow card, but there was to be no late twist.
Scotland captain Stuart Hogg hailed "a hell of a performance" but still felt his team could have bagged more points after they pummelled Italy 52-10 at Murrayfield.
The rampant Scots topped 50 points for the first time against the Azzurri and also clinched their biggest margin of victory in the rivalry between the teams.
They ran in eight tries and Hogg overcame early misfiring to finish with six conversions, having been pressed into action at fly-half in the absence of Finn Russell.
Defeats in Edinburgh earlier in the championship had knocked Scotland out of contention, with a 25-24 loss to Wales followed by a 27-24 setback against Ireland.
The Scots showed their capabilities by beating England at Twickenham, however, and they will finish their campaign against France in Paris on Friday.
Hogg told the BBC: "I think all week we talked about having a big reaction and showing a performance that represented us.
"At times we probably lacked that clinical edge and we didn't score as many as we'd like to, but I am chuffed to bits with that. The boys put in a hell of a performance and that's where we want to be.
"We've had a huge amount of confidence from the very beginning of this Six Nations. It's just the little things that have killed us and that's the things that have annoyed us.
"We've been in every single game and we've scored 24 points in the last two games and managed to come away with defeats, so that's been bitterly disappointing.
"Today, that was more like us. We know we can throw the ball around and have some fun and hopefully that gives us a big boost ahead of next week as well."
Flanker Hamish Watson made 21 carries and was named man of the match.
Because Italy scored the game's first try, Watson admitted there had been early jitters in the Scotland ranks. But three yellow cards for Italy players made Scotland's task all the more comfortable.
"We were a bit worried at the start," Watson said. "We probably took our time to get into it a bit, but when we did I thought we did really well and we were clinical when we got the ball. I thought it was a good performance by us overall.
"We said earlier in the week that we were pretty gutted after the last two home defeats and we needed to put it right today and I think we did that.
"Italy always come here with a lot of ambition and they're a very aggressive team. We knew it was going to be tough for the first 10 or 20 minutes, then we had to build into the game. It's nice to get a good scoreline as well."
Italy captain Luca Bigi, who scored that early try, saw his team complete another championship of five consecutive defeats.
They have now lost 32 matches in a row in the Six Nations, and Bigi said: "It was a tough championship. We are so far from where we want to be.
"Obviously we cannot compete with three yellow cards so discipline was a key of this game. Scotland played an outstanding game.
"We will keep working. We have to be focused on what we can control and discipline is one of those things. It's a tough moment for us, but we never give up."
Aslan Karatsev captured the first ATP Tour title of his career as the late-blossoming Russian triumphed in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
At the age of 27, and with little warning, Karatsev has hurtled from obscurity before tennis went into lockdown 12 months ago to real prominence.
A 6-3 6-2 victory over South African Lloyd Harris on Saturday gave him a trophy for his efforts and he will enter the top 30 on Monday, having never had a double-digit ranking before this season.
Karatsev reached the Australian Open semi-finals last month, having had to win three qualifying rounds to make the main draw, and it took Novak Djokovic to stop that charge in Melbourne.
Now Vladikavkaz-born Karatsev is back in another winning routine, with Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner and Dan Evans having figured among his victims en route to the Dubai final.
The first-time champion said on Amazon Prime: "I am super happy. It was a tight match. [I was] really nervous. I want to congratulate my opponent for the final [run]. He did a great week. Every final is different, so I am happy that I won."
Karatsev had some promising results at Challenger Tour level last year but had never shown form on the main circuit until the start of 2021, and suddenly he looks a major force to be reckoned with.
He said of the rush of success: "You never know when it is coming. I did a good job with my team, with my coach and it has happened now."
Daria Kasatkina and Margarita Gasparyan fended off two of the great stalwarts of Russian tennis to set up a final showdown at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy.
Kasatkina recovered from a slow start to overcome fourth seed and two-time grand slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, after Gasparyan saw off former Wimbledon and US Open runner-up Vera Zvonareva.
Zvonareva, 36, and Gasparyan, whose promising career has been disrupted by injury, were both allocated wildcard entries to the tournament and seized advantage to reach the last four.
Gasparyan, a 26-year-old whose single-handed backhand is an unusual sight in modern tennis, came through the clash with Zvonareva a 6-3 7-6 (11-9) winner to reach her first final at WTA 500 level.
The world number 126 will tackle former top-10 star Kasatkina for the title, after the 23-year-old Barcelona resident scored a remarkable 1-6 6-0 6-2 win over Kuznetsova in the second semi-final.
It was a flat Kasatkina who surrendered the opening set, but she then dashed off eight games in a row, levelling the match and surging to a 2-0 lead in the decider, knocking the stuffing out of 35-year-old Kuznetsova's challenge.
Kasatkina, a 23-year-old with more variety than most, had also dropped the first set 6-1 in her quarter-final win over second seed Veronika Kudermetova on Friday before finding her best game.
She said on Amazon Prime: "Well, why not, if losing the first set will guarantee me victory, why not?"
Kasatkina, the eighth seed this week, won the Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne last month so is chasing a second WTA title of the year.
She is relishing the clash with Gasparyan, saying: "It's cool to have players of different styles. Tomorrow's a final so you've just got to go out there and try to show your best tennis."
An all-Russian final was already guaranteed, given the host country locked down all four semi-final places, and it will be the 30th such WTA title match.
Scotland crushed Six Nations whipping boys Italy with an eight-try demolition in Edinburgh as the ill-disciplined Azzurri suffered a 52-10 defeat.
Two tries from hooker David Cherry on his first start, plus a double from Duhan van der Merwe, helped the home side steam to an emphatic win, and Scotland should head to France in good spirits for the finale to their campaign on Friday.
After home defeats to Ireland and Wales earlier in the campaign, either side of a Calcutta Cup triumph at Twickenham, this was a match that coach Gregor Townsend and Scotland knew they must win.
The Italians' last victory in the championship came against the Scots at Murrayfield in 2015, and although a sketchy start from the home team may have had a Scottish crowd worried, in front of empty stands the home side were able to rapidly regroup and overwhelm their visitors.
In 2007, a hapless Scotland team trailed the Italians 21-0 after six minutes at Murrayfield following three tries, on their way to a 37-17 defeat. This time it was 7-0 to the Azzurri at that early stage after hooker Luca Bigi drove over in the left corner and Paolo Garbisi added a magnificent touchline kick.
Cherry burrowed over for a swift response, before Van der Merwe ran in a second Scots try, dashing down the left and taking his time before dotting down under the posts.
Italy lost Federico Mori to a yellow card for a dangerous dash at Sam Johnson, and the Scots took advantage, moving the ball well through hands to allow Darcy Graham and Huw Jones to plunder further tries.
Cherry powered through Italian blue shirts as the Scots drove a maul at the Italian line in the 45th minute, bagging his second try of the game. Stuart Hogg, having missed two of his four conversion attempts in the first half, nailed an excellent kick from just inside the right touchline to give Scotland a 31-10 cushion.
Sebastian Negri was the next Italian to be yellow-carded, and scrum-half Scott Steele boosted the Scotland lead from close range moments later. Monty Ioane followed Negri to the sin bin after picking up Hogg and dumping him to the ground.
Johnson dived in for a try and Van der Merwe streaked away for another to add to the misery of the disorientated Italians, who have now lost on 32 consecutive outings in the championship.
Kyrie Irving is "super excited" at the prospect of having Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin on the same team after the Brooklyn Nets saw a six-match winning streak snapped by the Orlando Magic.
The Nets had lost just once in 15 previous NBA outings before going down 121-113 at the Amway Center on Friday.
Irving scored 43 points and also posted six rebounds and four assists, while James Harden contributed 19 points in the losing effort.
Aaron Gordon had 38 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Evan Fournier drained 31 points and Nikola Vucevic 22 for a Magic side that responded to a loss to the New York Knicks last time out.
Irving said the loss can be a "great learning experience".
"They just got going early and we got down in a hole. And when you're trying to play out of a hole for the rest of the game, obviously when teams are shooting the three — or when a team is shooting the three like they were tonight — it makes it a lot more difficult and you have to be perfect down the stretch," Irving said.
"But they came in off a back-to-back very desperate, and we didn't match their energy so it kind of happens like that, this is what it feels like to lose.
"We don't want too many more feelings like this, so just learn from it and move forward, but great learning experience."
The Nets, second in the East, will soon be reinforced by the return of Kevin Durant, who is absent with a hamstring injury, and Griffin, who is yet to play since signing for Brooklyn on March 8.
Griffin has been contending with a left knee issue and Irving is excited by the impact both men can have on the team.
"I am super excited. You know, it's just high-level talent out there," he added.
"So, when you can just prepare for the game and go over the X's and O's, you can look to your left and right and know the guys next to you have your back and you're able to play at a high level offensively and defensively and make an impact, you've got to look forward to that.
"I look forward to it for sure. And as a competitor wanting to be on the main stage, we want all our guys healthy.
"Hopefully we can hit a stride at the right time and make a run, but this is great practice ground right now to just get as healthy as we can before stepping into the playoffs soon, very soon."
The Chiefs produced a sensational come-from-behind performance to claim a first Super Rugby win in over a year as they defeated the Hurricanes 35-29 at Sky Stadium on Saturday.
Trailing 26-7 at half-time after an action-packed opening 20 minutes, the Chiefs scored four second-half tries to claim a brilliant victory led by full-back Damian McKenzie.
It meant the Chiefs ended a run of 11 straight defeats against New Zealand franchises, while it was also their first triumph of any kind since overcoming the Waratahs on March 6 last year.
Coming into the game, both sides were winless in the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season after two matches, and the Hurricanes scored four first-half tries to appear in total control.
However, the Chiefs responded with a second-half display that left the hosts shellshocked in Wellington, with Luke Jacobson crossing for the decisive try with five minutes to play.
The Hurricanes got the jump on the Chiefs in the 11th minute when Jordie Barrett broke and passed for Luke Campbell to cross on his starting debut, with Barrett making the conversion.
The visitors immediately responded with Kaleb Trask going under the posts two minutes later with McKenzie converting.
The action-packed opening 20 minutes continued with Ricky Riccitelli scoring out wide for the Hurricanes to make it 12-7.
The Hurricanes went further ahead when Ngani Laumape's wide kick found Salesi Rayasi who showed strength to get down for another try that Barrett converted.
Rayasi got his second shortly prior to half-time to give the Hurricanes a strong advantage at the interval.
McKenzie was denied a try early in the second half by the TMO before the Chiefs started their rally with Chase Tiatia's 56th-minute try.
Shortly after, McKenzie led a break and released Tiatia who combined with Samipeni Finau before scrum-half Brad Weber crossed.
The comeback continued in the 66th minute when Naitoa Ah Kuoi was pushed over the line. McKenzie added the extras to put the Chiefs ahead 28-26.
Barrett stopped the Chiefs' scoring run with a monster penalty goal to restore their lead at 29-28.
But the Chiefs touched down again with five minutes to play when Jacobson crashed over the line, before McKenzie again kicked accurately to seal a stunning win.
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised into the Mexican Open final with a routine victory over Italian teenage sensation Lorenzo Musetti in Acapulco on Friday.
Tsitsipas triumphed 6-1 6-3 in 79 minutes to get past 19-year-old Musetti, who had beaten third seed Diego Schwartzman and former world number three Grigor Dimitrov on his run to the semis.
The Greek top seed will play second seed Alexander Zverev in Saturday's final after the German got past countryman Dominik Koepfer 6-4 7-6 (7-5) in their semi-final, which was literally rocked by an earthquake.
The broadcast cameras shook mid-point but play continued as a 5.7 magnitude earthquake was registered to the north of Marquelia, which is to the east of Acapulco.
Tsitsipas holds a 5-1 record against Zverev, who is ranked seventh in the world and made last year's US Open final.
"Sascha is someone I've played against in the past and it's never easy. We're both really hungry and we're both very competitive," Tsitsipas said.
The Greek made light work of Musetti, winning five straight games in the opening set after starting at 1-1.
Unforced errors cost Musetti, who had his moments, but Tsitsipas was on song with 17 of 23 winners off his forehand.
Musetti will move into the top 100 of the rankings for the first time on Monday after his breakthrough week.
"We'll definitely see a lot from Lorenzo in the future, he has a wonderful one-handed backhand and creates lots of opportunities. He showed his level this week," Tsitsipas said.
The Brooklyn Nets' six-game winning streak came to a grinding halt with a 121-113 loss to the lowly Orlando Magic, despite the return of Kyrie Irving after groin soreness.
The Magic were coming into the match on a nine-game losing streak, but jumped out of the blocks with Aaron Gordon scoring 21 points in the first half.
Orlando led by as many as 12 points in the second quarter before the Nets closed to trail by only two at the main break, led by Irving, who finished with a game-high 43 points, six rebounds and four assists.
James Harden's output was slightly down, finishing with 19 points, four rebounds and nine assists as Orlando raced away again in the third.
Gordon finished with a season-high 38 points, Evan Fournier scored 31, while center Nikola Vucevic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists as the Magic pulled off an upset.
The Utah Jazz returned to the winners' list with a thrilling 115-112 triumph over the Toronto Raptors, who have now lost seven in a row.
The Jazz had lost four of six coming into the match, but found some form, led by Donovan Mitchell with 31 points and five rebounds, the star pinching the lead late after the Raptors were up by five with 90 seconds to go.
Pascal Siakam put up a three-point attempt on the buzzer which cruelly rimmed out.
Blazers do it again, Wiggins' season high
CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard produced another special performance as the Portland Trail Blazers came from behind again to win their third straight game, 125-119 over the Dallas Mavericks.
McCollum finished with 32 points, including seven three-pointers, while Lillard had 31 points along with six assists as Portland scored 32 points to 21 in the last to win. The victory was also Portland's Terry Stotts' 500th as head coach.
Andrew Wiggins produced a season-high 40 points, including six three-pointers, eight rebounds and four steals as the Golden State Warriors beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-103.
Nikola Jokic sparkled with 34 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the Denver Nuggets edged the Chicago Bulls in overtime 131-127. Jamal Murray also scored 34 for Denver.
Guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points as the Indiana Pacers piled on the points in a 137-110 win over the Miami Heat.
Mason Plumlee had 16 rebounds while Frank Jackson scored 23 points as the struggling Detroit Pistons won back-to-back games, 113-100 over the Houston Rockets, who have lost 19 in a row.
Melo makes history
Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, 36, scored 18 points in Portland's win but he also brought up the milestone of 27,000 NBA points, becoming only the 11th player to reach the figure.
Eighth seed Ann Li toppled the top remaining seed Zheng Saisai in the quarter-finals of the Monterrey Open on Friday, throwing the field wide open.
Li triumphed 7-5 6-1 over third seed Zheng, who held the highest rank of all remaining players after Sloane Stephens and Nadia Podoroska's first-round exits.
World number 52 Zheng struggled to win on her first serve, with Li converted five of seven break points.
American Li, who is ranked 72nd in the world, will next face Swiss qualifier Viktorija Golubic, who beat Russia's Anna Kalinskaya 6-2 6-4.
On the other side of the draw, Canadian Leylah Fernandez defeated Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova 7-5 6-3 and will face seventh seed Sara Sorribes Tormo in the other semi-final.
Sorribes Tormo, who is now the highest ranked remaining player, defeated Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 7-5.
An earthquake hit Acapulco during Alexander Zverev's clash against Dominik Koepfer at the Mexican Open on Friday.
The broadcast camera shook mid-point during the all-German semi-final encounter.
A 5.7 magnitude earthquake was registered to the north of Marquelia, which is to the east of Acapulco.
Zverev went on to secure a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory over Koepfer to reach the final.
World number one Novak Djokovic has joined Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in deciding not to play at the Miami Open, which begins next week.
The Masters 1000 tournament has not been its usual big draw for the leading men this year, and Djokovic becomes the latest high-profile withdrawal.
The 33-year-old Serbian announced he would enjoy some family time rather than travel to the United States, citing the need for balance in his life as coronavirus restrictions affect globe-trotting sports stars.
Miami's total prize fund is said to have been cut from $16.7million in 2019, the last time it was held, to $6.68m this year.
That drastic reduction, reported by the Tennis Majors website, may or may not have been a partial factor in the withdrawals that have dented the top-tier quality in the men's side of the tournament.
The women's event looks like being a full-strength field, while new world number two Daniil Medvedev is set to be the men's top seed, providing he makes the trip.
Djokovic wrote on Twitter: "Dear fans, I'm very sorry to announce that this year I won't travel to Miami to compete.
"I decided to use this precious time at home to stay with my family. With all restrictions, I need to find balance in my time on tour and at home. I look forward to coming back next year!"
Nadal has been bothered by a back problem and cited it earlier this week as the reason for his withdrawal, as he looks to recover full fitness in time for the clay-court season and a crack at winning a 14th French Open title.
The Spaniard's great rival Federer, a fellow 20-time grand slam winner, has only just returned from a year away from the tour after knee surgery, and beat Dan Evans in his first match back at the Qatar Open before losing to Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Federer then elected not to play in Dubai and will not be in Miami, where he is the men's reigning champion, having taken the 2019 title. The 2020 tournament was cancelled because of the COVID-19 crisis.
Andrey Rublev's ATP 500 winning streak came to an end at the hands of Aslan Karatsev on a history-making day at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Rublev had won 23 consecutive matches at this level, second only to Roger Federer (28), but Karatsev finally ended the Russian's remarkable run to progress to his first ATP singles final.
Karatsev, who incredibly went from qualifying to the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year, defeated his compatriot 6-2 4-6 6-4.
He became the first Wild Card to reach the final since Thomas Muster in 1997, doing so by hitting 41 winners and forcing 16 break points – of which he won four – during two hours and 12 minutes on court.
"It was a really tight match [against a] tough opponent," Karatsev said in his on-court interview.
"It was an unbelievable performance [from Andrey]. He didn't lose a match at an ATP 500 in [one year]. Everything was decided in one or two points, I feel happy."
The championship match will be between two first-time Dubai finalists after Lloyd Harris stunned Denis Shapovalov in the other semi-final.
World number 81 Harris, who overcame top seed Dominic Thiem, 14th seed Filip Krajinovic and former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori to reach the last four, came from a set and 4-2 down to defeat world number 12 Shapovalov.
He prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) to reach a maiden ATP 500 final and become the first qualifier to reach the showpiece in Dubai.
"I don't have many words right now. I am super happy with that win," Harris said on court afterwards.
"Being a set and 2-4 down is mentally and physically a little bit troublesome for me, but I found my best tennis from there. I am just extremely happy with the result right now."
Daria Kasatkina and wildcard Margarita Gasparyan sank the top two seeds at the St Petersburg Ladies Trophy, where the semi-finals will be all-Russian showdowns.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, the number one seed, fell 6-2 7-5 to Gasparyan, before former top-10 star Kasatkina continued her recent revival by landing a 1-6 6-1 6-2 victory against Veronika Kudermetova.
Friday marked the first time at a WTA tournament that as many as seven of the final eight players have been Russian, and the day's opening clash produced a significant upset.
It was a valid reminder of what might have been for world number 126 Gasparyan, who like Alexandrova is 26 years old but has struggled massively with injuries over the years.
Gasparyan was particularly helped by her superior form on first serve in the opening set, putting 72.7 per cent in court to 44 per cent by her opponent and winning 75 per cent of points when landing that delivery.
A topsy-turvy second set saw a total of seven breaks between the two players, but Gasparyan's 4-3 advantage in that respect helped her clinch a first WTA 500 semi-final appearance.
Up next for her is 36-year-old Vera Zvonareva, the former world number two who beat Anastasia Gasanova 6-3 6-1, saving six of seven break points en route to victory.
Romania's Jaqueline Cristian was the final non-Russian player left in the draw and she certainly tested Svetlana Kuznetsova, but ultimately the 35-year-old fourth seed prevailed 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3.
Next for former US Open and French Open winner Kuznetsova will be Kasatkina, who rounded off the day by shaking off a slow start to look highly impressive against second seed Kudermetova.
The 23-year-old Kasatkina has endured a couple of lean years since entering the top 10 in October 2018 but landed a title last month at the Phillip Island Trophy.
Asked about how she came back from being trounced in the opening set by Kudermetova, Kasatkina said on Amazon Prime: "I think it's just women's tennis and this is what tennis is all about.
"It took me some time to get into this match but at the end I won it."
As for how Saturday's clash with Kuznetsova might play out, Kasatkina said: "We trained many times together but never played in an official match so it's hard to say."
Matt Toomua contributed 18 points as the Rebels piled more misery on the winless Waratahs in a 33-14 victory at AAMI Park.
New South Wales are bottom of the pile in Super Rugby AU with just a single point, although they belatedly showed some fight on Friday.
All 14 visiting points came in the final five minutes, but a rare fast Melbourne start had long since taken the game away from the Waratahs, who have now equalled their worst Super Rugby run against Australian opposition with four straight defeats.
The Rebels had conceded just one first-half try in the 2021 competition, the fewest of any team, but also scored only one. By the break on Friday, they had crossed twice more.
Toomua kicked the first points from the tee after five minutes and the breakthrough try soon followed as Lachie Anderson crashed over from close range.
There were two more penalties from the boot of Toomua, before the fly-half ended the opening 40 minutes with a superb solo try, chasing his own kick to cross in the corner.
With Melbourne comfortable, their star performer was replaced after 51 minutes and Reece Hodge assumed kicking duties, adding a fourth penalty prior to Jordan Uelese touching down in what appeared a routine second half.
The result was never in doubt - a third Rebels win in four against the Waratahs - but NSW enjoyed some late cheer at least, twice picking apart their opponents for Jeremy Williams and Jack Maddocks to score in quick succession.
Khabib Nurmagomedov has thanked Dana White and the UFC for their support and understanding as his retirement was confirmed.
Khabib, who boasts a 29-0 record in the UFC, announced after his most recent victory against Justin Gaethje last October he was quitting the sport.
The fighter's father and coach, Abdulmanap, passed away earlier in 2020 and Khabib said: "There's no way I'm going to come here without my father."
UFC president White retained hope of changing his star performer's mind, but he accepted defeat on Thursday.
White posted on Twitter following a meal with Khabib that he was "officially retired".
The UFC chief also thanked for the Russian for his efforts, and those feelings of gratitude were reciprocated by Khabib in his own social media post.
"It was a good dinner with some great people," he wrote on Instagram. "@danawhite thank you so much brother and the entire @ufc team for the opportunity to prove myself, you guys have changed many live forever because of this sport.
"Dana - I'll never forget your attitude towards me, my father did not forget and my sons will remember you. Today there was a real conversation between real men.
"Also thank you to all team, sparing partners (sic) and all fans. I hope you will accept my decision and understand me."
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