Lewis Hamilton admitted he was "as shocked as everyone" after Mercedes outpaced Red Bull to lock out the front row for the Mexican Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was the fastest in qualifying as he and star team-mate Hamilton stunned Max Verstappen's Red Bull on Saturday.
Red Bull had been the team to beat in practice, but that form was thrown out the window after Bottas turned the tables with a 1:15.875 qualifying time to claim pole position.
After Mercedes set a record with their 81st one-two qualifying performance, eclipsing Ferrari, Hamilton revelled in the surprise display.
"I've really no idea," Hamilton said when asked about Mercedes' turnaround. "They [Red Bull] were like six tenths ahead at some stage, then four-tenths, but whatever happened, we went into qualifying and we had better pace. I'm just as shocked as everyone, but we'll still take it."
Defending world champion Hamilton, who is 12 points adrift of Verstappen in the title race, added: "We've come into this weekend from P1 onwards we've generally been behind by half a second, so through the whole weekend working away at trying to improve the car, extract as much as we can from it but knowing they've generally got higher downforce, a bigger wing they use in places like Monaco, but so we've struggled in certain parts of the track.
"It's a real surprise and shock to us to see we're on the front row, I don't really have an answer for it but I'll take it for sure, grateful to be up there with Valtteri to get a 1-2."
After clinching his 19th career pole – 0.145s ahead of Hamilton and 0.350s from Verstappen, Bottas said: "Everything came together even better than I was expecting.
"I definitely surprised myself but as a team it was a big surprise as well that we were one-two because we seemed a bit off [the pace] in FP3.
"So a really rewarding feeling that all the changes we made were still in the right direction, stay calm and still try and execute the best out of the car. And it worked."
"This sport continues to amaze me," said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. "You can see that it can change so quickly from one session to the other.
"In Austin we were dominant on the Friday and then we lost the performance. Then here we were far behind then suddenly in Q2 we unlocked the potential of the car and it came together."
Verstappen, however, was not surprised by the pace of Mercedes.
"We just had a terrible qualifying. So nothing surprising," the Dutchman said. "I just think we were really slow and had terrible grip in Q3. I think my last lap, we recovered it a little bit by getting the tyres into a little bit of a better window, but we were still not what we would have liked and how the car was behaving in all the practice sessions.
"So that was a bit of a mystery. But then tomorrow we maybe race on different tyres anyway so I expect the balance to be good again."
Novak Djokovic will wait until he is retired to assess his stunning feats but recognises rankings records as "the paramount achievement of our sport".
The Serbian will finish the year as the world number one for a seventh time, a new record having previously been tied with Pete Sampras on six.
Djokovic, who also leads the way with 345 weeks at the top all-time, secured his position by advancing to the Paris Masters final with a last-four win over Hubert Hurkacz on Saturday.
"Every achievement is special," said the 20-time major champion. "I try to make myself aware of the fact that I am in a very unique position.
"It's difficult for me to understand the magnitude of these achievements, not just for myself but for the sport while I'm still [an] active player.
"Probably when I retire, I'll be able to reflect on that a little bit more and appreciate it a little bit more.
"Of course I'm very appreciative and grateful for it now, but what is the next challenge is always in your mind while you're an active player. It's constantly another task, another tournament.
"So [I] don't have really much time to enjoy the success, so to say, because you always have to turn the next page."
However, he added: "Being historically [the] number one-ranked player in the world is probably the paramount achievement of our sport.
"Also, finishing the season as year-end number one requires full commitment throughout the entire year and consistency and playing the best tennis in the biggest events, which accumulate the most points that enable you to be highly ranked. So that's what I have done this year."
Djokovic will have his work cut out as he pursues a 37th Masters 1000 title, now facing Daniil Medvedev, the man who denied him the calendar Grand Slam in the US Open final.
"The job is not done," added Djokovic. "Obviously reaching the finals of one of the biggest tournaments that we have in our sport on our tour is something that stands out regardless of the year-end achievement that is completed.
"So hopefully going to have another great match and then take it from there.
"For now I am just proud and extremely happy. Obviously that was one of the biggest goals and it's always one of the biggest goals, to try to be number one and end the season as number one.
"To do it for the record seventh time and surpass my childhood idol and role model, Pete, is incredible. Very grateful, very blessed to be in this position.
“I wasn't bored without tennis, but I like competing so I was looking forward to coming to Paris and the biggest reason coming here was to clinch the year-end number one.
"Now that I managed to do it, it's a huge relief, as well."
France were delighted to welcome back a home crowd at the Stade de France for Saturday's Test against Argentina, but captain Antoine Dupont suggested the occasion contributed to their sloppy play.
Les Bleus were playing a home Test for the first time since crowds returned following the coronavirus shutdown.
Dupont and his team-mates were able to celebrate the reunion with a win, edging Los Pumas 29-20 despite having to wait until the 50th minute for the first try through Thibaud Flament.
Melvyn Jaminet's work from the tee had kept France in the match up to that point and he finished with five penalties along with successful conversions from both tries.
But Dupont recognised Les Bleus lacked discipline in their opening November international, referring to "a lot of mistakes" in a post-match interview with France Tele.
"The victory is there but we are able to do much better," the stand-in skipper added.
"It also felt good to no longer sing the Marseillaise alone in a stadium. It's been a long time since we've played together.
"There was a lot of appetite and enthusiasm on everyone's part, which led to small mistakes but it was for good reason."
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas revelled in a stunning qualifying performance at the Mexican Grand Prix that saw Mercedes lock out the front row.
Rivals Red Bull had been fastest in practice, with home favourite Sergio Perez leading Saturday's session ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen.
But Mercedes turned that result on its head when it mattered most, with Bottas on pole and Hamilton alongside him in second.
This was the Silver Arrows' 81st one-two in qualifying, a new record ahead of Ferrari's 80.
Verstappen took provisional pole from Perez in Q3, but his mark was shattered by Bottas, with none of the leading men able to top the Finn's 1:15.875 on their second runs.
"Valtteri did an amazing job. I'm so proud of Valtteri," Hamilton said. "He's been driving so well in the last few races.
"It's so great for the team, they've been working so hard and we didn't think we had the pace this weekend. To lock out the front row is pretty special, and it gives us a good fight with the others on Sunday."
Bottas added: "They were awesome laps, especially my first lap in Q3.
"I couldn't quite match the same last sector in my second one, but I think honestly that first run in Q3 is one of my best laps, and it's a good feeling."
Looking ahead to the race, he said: "It is a long straight and the guys behind with the tow will have good opportunities, so we'll need a good start.
"At least as a team it's great that we have two cars ahead, and hopefully we can try to keep our positions somehow."
Verstappen will have to start from third – the same position from which Hamilton won the previous Mexican GP in 2019 - with Perez just behind in fourth.
The Dutchman felt he could have challenged Bottas with his final flying lap but then found himself caught behind an incident involving Perez and Yuki Tsunoda, complaining over the team radio of "such a dumb idiot".
"On the last lap, I was on for a good lap but I don't know what happened in front of me," he said.
"There were two guys going off, so I thought there was going to be a yellow flag and I backed off. The lap is of course destroyed."
Qualifying had been delayed after a red flag early in Q1 when Lance Stroll ran wide at the Peraltada onto the dirty part of the track, failed to get his car back under control and hit the barriers.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 1:15.875
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.145
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.350
4. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.467
5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0.581
6. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.886
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) +0.888
8. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.962
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.283
10. Lando Norris (McLaren) +20.955
Late stand-in Liudmila Samsonova produced a mesmerising fightback to beat Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and clinch the Billie Jean King Cup for the Russian Tennis Federation.
After Daria Kasatkina swept to a 6-2 6-4 win over Jil Teichmann to put the Russians ahead against Switzerland, Samsonova produced a high-quality performance to win 3-6 6-3 6-4 against Bencic.
It meant there was no need for a doubles decider, with the Russian squad taking the match 2-0.
Samsonova had not expected to be involved in the singles contest in Prague, but a knee problem forced Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to pull out just minutes before Saturday's final got under way, forcing Russian captain Igor Andreev into a reshuffle.
A worthy substitute, Samsonova is ranked 40th in the world, while Bencic sits at number 17, and this win was the Russian's third victory in three meetings this year with the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist.
One of those came in the final of the Berlin grass-court tournament, and the 22-year-old was not over-awed by another big occasion this time.
Just as she did in Berlin, Samsonova lost the opening set but then dominated, and by doing so she secured a fifth Russian triumph in this team competition, previously known as the Fed Cup.
Samsonova said: "I have too many emotions now. It's unbelievable. I'm unbelievably happy. It was an incredible fight. It was a more nervous game. It was more than tennis."
Andreev spoke of the strong bond in his squad, saying: "It's an historical win for us. It's been a long time without any trophies in team tennis. I'm very proud and very happy for the girls, the way they played.
"They're amazing, they're heroes, and they achieved this because they're a team – a real team – and real friends."
Russia dominated this event from 2004 to 2008, winning four of five titles, while Switzerland had only previously been to one final, when Martina Hingis and Patty Schynder were outmatched by Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Conchita Martinez in the 1998 showpiece.
Eddie Jones challenged his ruthless England side to become the best team on the planet after they brushed aside Tonga at Twickenham.
England ran in 11 tries as they thumped the Pacific islanders by 69-3 despite the absence of captain Owen Farrell who missed the Test after a positive Covid-19 test.
Jamie George, Jonny May and Ben Youngs claimed two tries apiece while Adam Radwan, Maro Itoje, Marcus Smith, Jamie Blamire and Alex Mitchell also crossed the line.
Tonga played the final 10 minutes a man down after replacement Viliami Fine was shown a red following an elbow to Smith's head.
England have now won 16 of their last 17 Autumn Internationals (excluding the Rugby World Cup and warm-ups), a run dating back to 2014, with New Zealand (2018) the only side to beat them in that time.
Head coach Jones acknowledged there will be much sterner opponents to come – starting with Australia next weekend – but urged his England players to target the summit of world rugby.
"It is a project, we are two years from the World Cup and by the time we get to the World Cup we want to be the best team in the world," he told Amazon Prime.
"It is not what you see, it is how much we improve: this week, and then onto next week and the week after.
"We can only play against the opposition that show. I think we left four tries out there, but I liked the attitude in the second half.
"In a game like that the crowd can go off for more pints and do a Mexican wave, we managed to keep the energy up and stopped it [the wave] about halfway round the stadium today."
England will face the Wallabies before they round off the Autumn Internationals against world champions South Africa.
Courtney Lawes captained the side in place of Farrell and the forward claimed his team-mates are already as good as any side in the world on their day – although there are still aspects to their game to improve on.
He added: "There is a little bit to work on but it is great to be back with the fans. It was nice to get a few points at the end at bring some entertainment.
"It is going to be a great game [against Australia] I believe we can go toe to toe with anyone, we have a bit to learn but I am looking forward very much to next week."
South Africa held their nerve in a terrific tussle to win 23-18 against a Wales side who were left to bemoan the moment a pitch invader cost them a likely try.
On a wet evening at the Principality Stadium, this game remained on a knife-edge throughout, the only points coming from the boots of Dan Biggar, Handre Pollard and Frans Steyn until Malcolm Marx crossed the Welsh line seven minutes from the end.
Elton Jantjies booted a penalty with the last kick of the contest, resulting in the five-point winning margin.
Wales had been level at 15-15 in the 63rd minute when a spectator burst onto the pitch and got in the way just as a chance to break through the South Africa defence presented itself.
Liam Williams looked to have a near-enough clear run to the left corner, but the presence of the intruder, with security staff looking to grapple him away from the action, meant momentum went and the chance was lost.
This was a thundering clash throughout, South Africa handling the early threat posed by Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit, as Biggar and Pollard kept the scoreboard ticking along.
Both sides had a player yellow-carded for persistent team infringements before the break, with Ox Nche and Rhys Carre sent to the bin, and Wales led 12-9 at the break.
The hosts nudged 15-9 ahead but were pegged back to 15-15 as South Africa rallied after a penalty from within his own half by Steyn. Wales then moved in front again after Biggar's sixth penalty, which followed moments after the intruder was escorted away, with supporters in the stands directing their anger his way.
South Africa's Makazole Mapimpi sprinted through to dot down but a TMO review picked up an offence and chalked it off. There was no denying the Boks in the 73rd minute though, when they drove irresistibly over the Welsh line, Marx grounding the ball.
Jantjies, on for Pollard, missed the conversion attempt from close to the touchline, meaning South Africa were just two points clear, but Wales could not find a response.
Close... as it was bound to be
It is now the case that 13 of the last 15 meetings between these teams have been decided by single-figure margins, with 11 of those games seeing the sides separated by six points or fewer at the final whistle.
Friend or foe?
It was unclear how or why the intruder came to be on the pitch, but Wales had every cause to be furious about the fan's presence. There was no doubt he was a distraction just as Wales got themselves into a position to threaten the try-line. Had Wales got over at that stage, there might have been a very different outcome.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev set up a showdown with Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters final after dismissing Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
The Russian, who downed Djokovic in the final of this year's US Open, was at his imperious best to see off Zverev 6-2 6-2 in the French capital.
He will now attempt to deny Djokovic a sixth title at the ATP 1000 event on Sunday, while seeking to etch his own name onto the trophy for a second year running.
World number two Medvedev, who overcame Zverev in the final of this event in 2020, ended the German's run of eight consecutive victories in style.
It took just 80 minutes for Medvedev to get the job done, his flat groundstrokes posing questions that Zverev had no answers to.
While Zverev did apply some pressure by forcing his rival to face three break points, Medvedev was cool under pressure as he held serve throughout the contest.
This triumph drew Medvedev level at 5-5 in the pair's head-to-head record.
He will likely face a sterner test against Djokovic, whose come-from-behind win over Hubert Hurkacz ensured he will claim the year-end number one ranking for a record seventh time.
On Sunday, he will bid to set another record by moving ahead of Rafael Nadal to reach 37 titles in Masters 1000 tournaments.
Novak Djokovic moved one step away from a sixth Paris Masters title by beating Hubert Hurkacz, guaranteeing himself the year-end number one ranking for a record seventh time.
The Serbian great is looking to get back to title-winning ways in his first tournament since September, when his hopes of a calendar Grand Slam were snuffed out by Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.
He was pushed all the way to a deciding set tie-break by world number 10 Hurkacz, the player who beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon amid his breakout year.
But Djokovic had just enough in the tank to complete a 3-6 6-0 7-6 (7-5) semi-final victory, thumping his chest in relief and exhilaration as he got across the winning line.
On Sunday, he will bid to set another record by moving ahead of Rafael Nadal to reach 37 titles in Masters 1000 tournaments.
Saturday's success guarantees Djokovic will end the season on top of the ATP rankings for a record-breaking seventh time – Pete Sampras drops to second on the list with six years at the top.
Hurkacz broke serve in the eighth game of the first set and closed it out, only to surrender meekly in the second.
Djokovic broke to lead 3-1 in the decider, but a spirited Hurkacz recovered the break with a booming forehand into Djokovic's backhand corner in the seventh game.
The Polish player staved off a match point when serving at 5-4, getting somewhat lucky when a Djokovic passing shot landed just wide.
A tense tie-break swung Djokovic's way when Hurkacz lashed a forehand into the net at 5-5, and a backhand volley from the Miami Masters champion landed just wide on match point.
In the title match, Djokovic will tackle the winner of the second semi-final between Medvedev versus Alexander Zverev.
New Zealand extended their 100 per cent winning record against Italy to 15 games as they scored a crushing 47-9 win in Rome – setting a record for the most points in a calendar year.
The visitors, who named an entirely different line-up to the side that swept past Wales last week in Cardiff, were held scoreless in an error-strewn opening 25 minutes. However, the eventual drubbing meant New Zealand took their 2021 points haul to 675, beating the previous best of 658 set in 2007 by South Africa.
Finlay Christie broke the deadlock when he scrambled in after the All Blacks pushed the Azzurri back at a scrum. Dane Coles added a second moments later as New Zealand power won out again, and the same player grabbed a third shortly before half-time too.
Italy, in action for the first time since losing all five of their games in a dismal Six Nations showing, had new coach Kieran Crowley – a former All Blacks full-back– at the helm.
A pair of penalties from Paolo Garbisi put them on the board, and he added a third after the interval to briefly trim New Zealand's lead to 12 points, but Sevu Reece bounded through tiring blue jerseys for a fourth All Blacks try just after the hour, with Asafo Aumua grabbing a late close-range double and Hoskins Sotutu dashing down the wing to pile on the points.
Richie Mo'unga missed the conversion attempt from Aumua's second try, having successfully booted the extras for each of the previous five-pointers.
New Zealand, having beaten the United States, Wales and now Italy, face two more games on their tour, against Ireland in Dublin next Saturday, followed by France on November 20 in Paris.
Derrick Rose said he is "playing with joy" after helping to spark a superb New York Knicks revival in their 113-98 defeat of defending NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
The Knicks were slow out of the blocks at Fiserv Forum and trailed 38-19 by the end of the first quarter in Milwaukee.
But New York came roaring back, with Julius Randle scoring 32 points and finishing with 12 rebounds, while RJ Barrett had 20 points.
Rose was also influential off the bench, putting up 23 points including 10 in a second quarter in which the Knicks outscored the Bucks 37-25, while he drained a crucial three-pointer in the third shortly after a Barrett lay-up had put the visitors in front.
"I'm playing with joy. It ain't happiness, it's joy," Rose said. "I feel happiness is temporary. Joy is everlasting.
"I've been through a lot. I'm in a great place and I'm on a very talented team. I don't have to score, I don't have to score 30 points.
"I don't have that burden. I can go out there and play the game and try to affect the game by passing or just pushing the ball. So, I'm in a great place."
After being drafted first by hometown team the Chicago Bulls in 2008, Rose became the youngest MVP in 2011 at the age of 22.
However, a series of serious knee injuries hampered his progress and he left Chicago for an unsuccessful first stint with the Knicks in 2016 before also representing the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons.
Rose returned to New York in February and was a key reason for their run to fourth in the Eastern Conference last season. Now 33, he contested suggestions his performance against Milwaukee was "vintage".
"What's vintage about it? I wasn't shooting threes, not pulling off shots like I am now, if you want to say it, it's whatever," he said.
Randle had 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half and he hailed the character in the team to complete such a resounding comeback.
"It showed a lot about the character of our team," he said. "NBA games are long. What's special about our team is we fight. We have a lot of high character guys."
Head coach Tom Thibodeau hopes his side do not find themselves in such precarious positions too often, though credited the team for their resilient fightback.
"Obviously, you don't want to get down like we did, but we did," he said. "It's a long game. You've got to keep fighting and get it to a manageable number.
"Once we got going a little bit and we made a couple hustle plays, it galvanised us and gave us energy."
The Los Angeles Clippers trailed by 20 at one point in Friday's game at the Minnesota Timberwolves and their best player missed 80 per cent of the shots he attempted, yet they still managed to run away with their third straight victory.
Confidence is growing for a team that started the season in a 1-4 slump, and Friday's stunning 104-84 defeat of the Timberwolves was the latest building block.
The Clippers outscored Minnesota 57-27 after half-time, the fewest points by any team in a half so far this season, as they became the fourth team in the last 25 years to trail by 20 before winning by 20.
"To be down 20 on the road and come back and win by 20, just shows a lot about our team – about our character, our resilience, not giving up," Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters. "We could’ve easily gave in by winning Wednesday’s game and kind of giving into this game, but our guys kept fighting and kept competing, and that’s what you love to see."
On the heels of a 126-115 win in Minnesota on Wednesday, the Clippers got by on a poor shooting night by making sure the Timberwolves shot even worse.
Los Angeles limited the home team to 34.8 per cent shooting from the field, including a stunning 17 of 52 (32.7 per cent) showing from three-point range, while out-rebounding Minnesota 62-42 and forcing 21 turnovers.
In a normal game, stats like that would have produced a far more lopsided win, but the Clippers needed every bit of that defending Friday.
Paul George made just four of 20 from the field and the Clippers knocked down only six of 28 shots from three-point range (21.4 per cent).
George and his team-mates ended up doing most of their damage from the free-throw line, where they had 32 attempts to Minnesota's seven. George made 13 of 14 from the line to account for the bulk of his 21 points.
"My guys, they get all the credit tonight," George said. "They kept us alive, they kept me going, it was a group effort."
Reggie Jackson added 20 points and Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.
"I thought Big Zu was a force down low in the paint tonight," Lue said. "I thought Zu was phenomenal."
The Clippers (4-4) return home to face the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
Undeterred by a dreadful first quarter, the New York Knicks stormed back for a 113-98 road win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Trailing the defending NBA champions 38-19 after the opening period, the Knicks found their rhythm behind Julius Randle's game-high 32 points.
Derrick Rose came off the bench to score 23 and RJ Barrett added 22 for the Knicks as they improved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 on the road.
"Obviously, you don't want to get down like we did, but we did," Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters. "It's a long game. You've got to keep fighting and get it to a manageable number. Once we got going a little bit and we made a couple hustle plays, it galvanized us and gave us energy."
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and Grayson Allen 22 for the Bucks, but Milwaukee's other three starters combined for just 15 points as the champs shot 40.2 per cent from the field and were out-rebounded 59-37.
The Bucks (4-5) have lost four of their last five games and are 1-4 at home.
Clippers fight back to down Timberwolves
The Los Angeles Clippers mounted an impressive comeback of their own, trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves by 21 at one point before rallying for a 104-84 victory. Paul George had 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to lead the Clippers (4-4), while Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota (3-5).
Kevin Durant's 29 points and 10 rebounds lifted the Brooklyn Nets (6-3) to a 96-90 road win against the Detroit Pistons (1-8). First overall draft pick Cade Cunningham's shooting woes continued as he went six-for-17 from the field but the rookie led the Pistons with 17.
Stephen Curry made just five of 15 shots from the field, all but two of those attempts coming from three-point range, but the Golden State Warriors (7-1) still rolled to a 126-85 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (1-9) thanks to 26 points from Jordan Poole.
Morant misfires in loss to Wizards
Ja Morant has been one of the NBA's most effective scorers so far this season but the Washington Wizards (6-3) shut down the Memphis star in a 115-87 rout of the Grizzlies (5-4). Morant entered the game averaging 27.0 points and shooting 52.2 per cent from the field but made just four of 17 shots Friday on the way to an 11-point night.
Formula One has re-affirmed its commitment to China, announcing Saturday that its deal with the Chinese Grand Prix has been extended through 2025.
The Shanghai race has not been contested since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The stop was omitted from the 23-race F1 calendar for the 2022 season that was announced last month, with the series saying it would return as soon as possible.
F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali echoed those sentiments in Saturday's announcement of an extended deal.
"While we are all disappointed we could not include China on the 2022 calendar due to ongoing pandemic conditions, China will be restored to the calendar as soon as conditions allow and we look forward to being back with the fans as soon as we can," Domenicali said in a release.
Lewis Hamilton won the last race there and has been victorious in six of the 16 editions of the event, four more than any other driver.
New York's newly elected mayor has no plans to change the city's coronavirus vaccination mandate, saying it is up to the NBA and Kyrie Irving to find a solution that will get the Brooklyn Nets star back on the court.
The 29-year-old remains unvaccinated and is therefore ineligible to play home games at Barclays Center or games at the New York Knicks' Madison Square Garden.
Under current city restrictions, people in New York must have at least one coronavirus vaccine to enter indoor arenas, and mayor-elect Eric Adams told CNN on Friday the policy will remain in place when he takes office January 1.
"New York City is not going to change their rule," Adams said. "It is up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to a full understanding on how to keep him on the Nets and to continue to look at all of our athletes that are coming here. Again, I think the NBA and Kyrie [are] going to come to a conclusion on this."
Asked about Adams' remarks after the Nets' 96-90 road win against the Detroit Pistons on Friday, Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash said he was not surprised.
"I didn't expect the mayor to change the mandate," Nash told reporters. "We've just got to focus on our team. If we could have Kyrie back, we'd all be ecstatic, but we focus on our team, we keep building, we keep growing and hopefully we'll be a really good team at the end of the year."
After a sluggish start to the season, the Nets have won four in a row and sit at 6-3 following Friday's victory.
Irving would be eligible to play in most road games but the Nets said three weeks ago that Irving would not be with the team in any capacity until he can be a full participant.
The seven-time All-Star has played just 74 regular season games in two years since joining the Nets, missing long stretches due to injury issues and personal reasons.
Last year, on the same team as high-profile team-mates Kevin Durant and James Harden, Irving scored 26.9 points per game. That dropped to 22.7 points in the playoffs as he was again restricted.
Serena Williams says the hamstring injury that forced her out of Wimbledon in the first round is "better" and she plans to play at the 2022 Australian Open.
The site of her last grand slam crown in 2017 will be Williams' next chance to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 career slam titles.
The 40-year-old tore her hamstring while playing Aliaksandra Sasnovich at SW19 in June and recounted the injury in an appearance Thursday on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
"I was actually winning and I went for a shot and I heard this noise and I was like ‘oh no’," Williams said. "I felt it but I felt like 'OK, let me just keep trying', but it was bad and I was like, ‘oh man’.
"I love the grass, it’s something special walking out at Wimbledon, wearing all white and being on the green grass [but] it just wasn’t for me this year.”
The injury kept Williams out of the US Open, where she has not won since 2014 but reached the semi-finals in 2020 and the final in 2018 and 2019.
While disappointed to miss her home slam, which she has won six times, Williams told Kimmel her recovery is on track and she "definitely" expects to play in Australia in January.
"The hamstring is better," she said. "It took a long time. It took forever, but it's much better now."
Williams is a seven-time champion in Melbourne, the most of any woman in the open era.
Novak Djokovic says he has room to improve despite easing past Taylor Fritz in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.
The world number one is competing in his first tournament since his dream of winning a calendar Grand Slam was ended by Daniil Medvedev in September's US Open final.
After beating Marton Fucsovics in three sets and then benefiting from a walkover against Gael Monfils in the last 16, Djokovic made light work of Fritz in Friday's quarter-final.
He sent down eight aces and was successful with 72 per cent of his first serves that landed on his way to a 6-4 6-3 victory.
However, Djokovic lost his serve on three occasions and, while happy with his overall display, the Serbian feels like there is more to come from his game in the French capital.
"I was absent from the tour for two months coming into this tournament," he said. "The last competitive match I played was in the US Open final, compared to the other guys playing one or two events prior to Paris.
"I knew that I needed to start well, with good intensity and put in a lot of hours on the practice court. But it's different when you play points in a competitive match.
"I am pleased with the way I played against Fucsovics and again today, though I did have ups and downs. I am not entirely pleased with the way I closed out the sets.
"I backed myself up with good returns and read Taylor's serve very well to get into rallies. I closed out the last couple of service games well and that's a positive."
Djokovic is aiming to win the Paris Masters for a record-extending sixth time in his bid to end the year as world number one for a record seventh occasion.
The Serbian will contest his 71st career Masters 1000 semi-final – four short of Rafael Nadal's record – against Hubert Hurkacz, who saw off James Duckworth 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-5.
With that victory, the world number 10 clinched the final singles spot at the ATP Finals in Turin later this month.
Hurkacz is the second Polish player to qualify for the event after Wojtek Fibak in 1976. It also means only European players will feature in the ATP and WTA Finals for the first time ever.
Saturday's other semi-final in Paris will be contested between Djokovic's US Open conqueror Medvedev and Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev.
Home favourite Hugo Gaston eliminated Pablo Carreno Busta earlier in the tournament but was always likely to face a tougher task against Medvedev.
So it proved, with the qualifier going down 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 in a match that saw Medvedev hit 13 aces to his opponent's one.
"When the atmosphere is against you, you need to face it," Medvedev said. "You need to try to win, no matter what.
"Even when it is against me, I think, 'I will try to beat my opponent and the crowd' because there is no other choice."
Zverev kept his momentum going with a 7-5 6-4 win over Casper Ruud in Friday's final contest, as he made it eight wins on the bounce.
The German held serve throughout, while breaking his opponent twice, to remain on course for a sixth final of 2021.
Veronika Kudermetova and Liudmila Samsonova propelled a Russian tennis squad into their first Billie Jean King Cup final since 2015 as they sealed a 2-1 victory over the United States.
The Russians will meet Switzerland in the trophy showdown on Saturday, after Olympic champion Belinda Bencic defeated Ajla Tomljanovic to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead for the Swiss over Australia.
While Switzerland did not need a doubles decider, the Russian team, who are competing this week as Russian Tennis Federation, did.
Samsonova, who clinched her maiden singles title on the WTA Tour earlier this year, put them ahead in their tie against the USA, downing 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Yet the USA hit back through Danielle Collins, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7 (9-11) 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 – a contest that lasted two hours and 42 minutes in Prague.
Momentum was with the 18-time champions, but the Russians recovered in the doubles, with Samsonova and Kudermetova ultimately having little trouble in seeing off Shelby Rogers and Coco Vandeweghe 6-3 6-3.
Bencic saw off Tomljanovic to confirm Switzerland's place in the final, with Jil Teichmann having earlier overcome Storm Sanders 6-0 6-3.
Russia dominated this event, previously known as the Fed Cup, in the mid to late 2000s, winning four out of five editions from 2004 to 2008, but they have not triumphed since. Switzerland recorded their best result when a team featuring Martina Hingis finished second to Spain, way back in 1998.
England captain Owen Farrell has tested positive for COVID-19 and is a major doubt for the upcoming clash with Tonga.
The 30-year-old has gone into isolation after receiving a positive PCR test result and is absent from England's training session on Friday, but he still has a chance of featuring on Saturday, according to the Rugby Football Union.
England confirmed that - aside from one member of support staff - all their other players and staff had returned negative test results on Thursday, and Farrell will be tested again.
The England skipper was set to start the Autumn Nations Series opener at fly-half, with George Ford not named in the squad and Marcus Smith struggling with an injury.
If Farrell is unable to feature, George Furbank is the most natural replacement, although Henry Slade could also move across to take his spot.
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