The NBA has postponed the Boston Celtics-Miami Heat showdown due to health and safety protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday's contest was set to go ahead, despite the Celtics missing seven players – including star pair Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown – because of COVID-19 protocols, and nine in total.
But the NBA announced the postponement just hours before tip-off after a Heat player reportedly returned an inconclusive coronavirus test, leaving Miami without the required eight players to play due to contact tracing.
Heat guard Avery Bradley (health and safety protocols) had been ruled out of the game earlier in the day.
The Celtics were set to have the minimum eight players available against the Heat after Javonte Green, Semi Ojeleye, Grant Williams, Robert Williams II and Tristan Thompson were listed as outs pre-game.
Injuries had already forced Celtics pair Kemba Walker (knee) and Romeo Langford (wrist) to miss the scheduled meeting.
It comes as COVID-19 outbreaks impact the NBA following a coronavirus-hit 2019-20 campaign in the United States.
Eastern Conference leaders the Philadelphia 76ers were depleted for Saturday's loss to the Denver Nuggets after Seth Curry tested positive for coronavirus.
Contract tracing seriously impacted Doc Rivers' 76ers, who were without Curry, Tobias Harris, Matisse Thybulle and Vincent Poirier, paired with injures to All-Star duo Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Philadelphia were only able to dress eight players against the Nuggets, though Mike Scott was unable to play due to a knee injury.
The Celtics own a 7-3 record in the Eastern Conference, ahead of last season's NBA Finals runners-up the Heat (4-4).
French Rugby Federation (FFR) president Bernard Laporte says there is "no question" that the Six Nations will be staged this year.
The Telegraph this weekend reported that the tournament was in doubt after the French sports ministry imposed a ban on playing cross-border elite sports with clubs from the United Kingdom due to a new strain of coronavirus.
With the European Champions Cup and Challenge Cup reportedly set to be suspended, the French government and Six Nations officials are expected to hold talks on Monday.
Yet Laporte does not believe there is any doubt that the competition, which starts in just four weeks' time, can be staged.
He told RMC on Sunday: "It's a puzzle, but I think we should not be alarmed for the Six Nations tournament.
"The tournament will be played, with a health protocol dictated by the government, and linked to this mutant virus. Everything went well in the autumn [when the Autumn Nations Cup was staged], so will the upcoming Six Nations tournament, I'm no more worried than that."
The former Les Bleus coach added: "We have a meeting at the beginning of the week with the ministry of sports, a meeting also with the Six Nations Council.
"But we already talked to each other every day, and today there is no question of considering anything, except that we will play the tournament."
France are due to face Italy in the first game of the Six Nations at Stadio Olimpico on February 6.
Sofia Kenin and Elina Svitolina fought back from the brink of defeat as both reached the Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open quarter-finals on Sunday.
Top seed Kenin fended off a match point in the second set before battling to a 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory over Yulia Putintseva at Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre.
Putintseva was serving for a straight-sets win at 6-5 up in the second, but the tenacious Kenin forced a tie-break and rallied from 3-1 down to take the third-round match the distance.
The Australian Open champion secured three breaks in the decider to reach the last eight, hitting 35 winners to 25 from 13th seed Putintseva to set up a showdown with Maria Sakkari.
Svitolina, the second seed, was also on the verge of crashing out, but she hung in there to pull off a 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The world number five was a break down in the final set and saved two match points in a tense tie-break before finally seeing the back of her Russian opponent.
Ninth seed Sakkari beat two-time grand slam champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5 6-4 to give herself the opportunity to get the better of Kenin for the first time in three attempts.
Aryna Sabalenka stretched her impressive winning streak to 12 matches with a 6-2 6-4 success over Ons Jabeur, while Marta Kostyuk, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Elena Rybakina and Veronika Kudermetova also progressed.
LaMelo Ball became the youngest player to post a triple-double in NBA history on Saturday and Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego believes he is a "rare" talent.
At 19 years and 140 days old, Hornets rookie Ball put up 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as Charlotte improved to 5-5 with a 113-105 victory over the Atlanta Hawks at Spectrum Center.
He took the record from Markelle Fultz, who recorded his first triple-double for the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018 aged 19 years and 317 days.
Ball's triple-double was the first by a Charlotte player since Nic Batum in March 2018, while he became only the second Hornets rookie to achieve the feat after Kemba Walker.
"He just continuously gets better. He's a special player. He's not fazed by the moment. It's like he's been doing this for a number of years already," said Hornets head coach Borrego.
"He was special tonight. Playmaking, shotmaking, on the boards, made the right decisions. He's a special player.
"I love the person, I love the kid, and more than anything I love his spirit, I love what he brings to our locker room, our organisation. Just proud of him, he was fantastic tonight.
"A 19-year-old rookie does not look like this. This is just rare what you're seeing. I can't get over this kid, he's just a wonderful person to be around, he's humble, he's genuine, he's coachable."
Ball, the third overall pick in this year's draft, retained a level head after achieving something he thinks he will only take stock of in retirement.
"I live my life and I know what I'm capable of, so stuff like this doesn't move me like that. I know that's supposed to happen," he said.
"I've not really processed it yet. Probably when I look back on it after my career when I'm like 40 or something, then I'll probably look back at everything."
Ball was one assist away from a triple-double when the Hornets beat the New Orleans Pelicans and his brother Lonzo Ball on Friday, but he denied that provided him with additional motivation against the Hawks.
"I figured I was one assist away during the game, but pretty much the next day I knew we had another basketball game and came to it like I come to every other basketball game," he said.
"The main goal is always winning. Whenever we get a win, that's great."
LaMelo Ball created history in the Charlotte Hornets’ 113-105 win against the Atlanta Hawks by becoming the youngster player of all time to score a triple-double.
The first round rookie announced his arrival in the NBA after coming off the bench to post 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in a dazzling 31 minutes on court.
Terry Rozier added 23 points and PJ Washington posted 22 points to help Charlotte improve to 5-5 as the Hawks rallied with De'Andre Hunter scoring 20 points but fall to to 4-5.
Mikal Bridges starred and six players hit double figures as the Phoenix Suns advanced to 7-3 in the Western Conference with a 125-117 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Bridges led the scoring with a career-high 34 points as the Pacers fell to 6-3 in the Eastern Conference despite Domantas Sabonis' 28 points and 22 rebounds.
Earlier in the day, a threadbare Philadelphia 76ers fell to 7-3 after losing 115-113 to the Denver Nuggets as coach Doc Rivers had only seven players available due injury and COVID-19 protocols.
A second defeat in three days was rather easier to take for the Philadelphia 76ers as their depleted roster went down fighting against the Denver Nuggets.
Philadelphia fell to 7-3 for the season but could take great heart from their latest loss, perhaps at odds with Thursday's reverse at the hands of a Brooklyn Nets team missing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
This time it was the Sixers' turn to go without their star men in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, while Seth Curry was absent after he tested positive for COVID-19 - he was told of his result as he attended the Nets game.
Contact tracing left Doc Rivers with just eight players to choose from, though one of them - Mike Scott – did not feature due to a knee issue.
The Nuggets' 115-103 success came as no surprise then, but the relatively narrow margin was just reward for a makeshift Philadelphia team. The Sixers led in the game as late as midway through the second quarter and never let Denver get away from them, even if the result scarcely seemed in doubt.
Gary Harris' 21 points led the way for the Nuggets, while Nikola Jokic was just shy of another triple-double with 15 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds.
Three of the Sixers' five 2020 draft picks were among the seven players involved, with Tyrese Maxey in particular rising to the occasion, given the responsibility to lead the team despite Rivers jokingly suggesting before the game that center Dwight Howard would play at point guard.
Maxey, selected 21st in the first round out of Kentucky, had not previously started in the NBA and had averaged 6.9 points in 15.7 minutes over his first nine games.
Remarkably, the 20-year-old put up a massive 39 points in 45 minutes, along with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Maxey not only outstripped his previous NBA high of 16 - against Brooklyn - but also his best performance in his single college season with Kentucky (27 points).
Since 1963-64, only Allen Iverson - on 11 occasions in 1996-97 - and Andrew Toney - once in 1980-81 - had previously scored 35 points or more in a game as a rookie for the franchise.
Second-round picks Isaiah Joe (13 points in 45 minutes) and Paul Reed (six in 26 off the bench) also enjoyed their unlikely opportunities, showing Philadelphia's strength in depth.
Karolina Pliskova has crashed out of the Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open in the second round, while Coco Gauff was also eliminated.
Third seed Pliskova suffered a stunning 6-2 6-4 defeat to Anastasia Gasanova, a qualifier ranked at 292 in the world.
Pliskova fell to defeat in only 75 minutes on Saturday, the first time she had lost to an opponent outside of the top 50 in over a year.
Gasanova, 21, beat Mona Barthel in her WTA main draw debut this week and went on to save five of the six break points she faced to record an even bigger upset against Pliskova.
"It was not me on the court," a stunned Gasanova said after winning in her first match against a top-100 player, booking a last-16 clash against Sara Sorribes Tormo.
"I was so sure of myself. I'm really happy right now.
"I'm really surprised, but when I woke up today, I thought, 'Why not? Why can't I win this match?'
"Actually, I thought I would lose in qualies or something like that, but I just kept pushing myself, like, I need to win and I want to win.
"I had a [2021] goal to be top 200, actually! I don't know if I did this today, but that's my goal.
"To play against a top-10 player is a great opportunity for me, and it's a great chance to show how I could play."
Pliskova, therefore, starts her year on a negative note, but there were no such problems for second seed Elina Svitolina, who was a 6-4 6-1 winner against Vera Zvonareva.
Last year's Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza cruised through with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Aliaksandra Sasnovich and sixth seed Elena Rybakina won in straight sets against Xiyu Wang.
Muguruza will face Maria Sakkari in an intriguing last-16 match next after the Greek ended the hopes of American Gauff with a comfortable 7-5 6-2 victory.
Top seed Sofia Kenin, who made two grand slam finals last year and won in Melbourne, will resume her campaign against Yulia Putintseva on Sunday.
Steph Curry had Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and team-mate Eric Paschall purring about his game-changing impact in the comeback win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Golden State trailed 85-63 deep into the third quarter at Chase Center on Friday and looked set for a second straight loss to the Clippers, only for a 52-20 surge to see them emerge 115-105 winners.
Curry was the driving force behind that recovery, finishing with 38 points and 11 assists.
He was 13-of-24 from the field and nine-of-14 from three-point range in the win, and now averages 30.6 points through nine games this season.
His efforts in triggering the recovery - 33 of Curry's points came when the Warriors were trailing - were at once exhilarating but also exactly what Kerr knows his star man can produce.
Kerr said. "It's just who Steph is. He's been doing this for many, many years and it's one of the reasons he's a two-time MVP and he's a phenomenal basketball player.
"Usually with Steph when he has a tough game he bounces back [in] the next one. That's part of his character, part of his competitiveness. He found something out there, he found some openings, and got himself going."
That "tough game" for Curry came in the 108-101 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday, when he had a season-low 13 points.
This time it was a different story, and Paschall, in his second season in the NBA, was thrilled to be able to share a court with a red-hot Curry.
"Sometimes I've gotta remember that I'm his team-mate," Paschall said. "I'm so used to watching it on TV.
"Sometimes I gotta remember like, 'Hey, hold on. You're playing with Steph'. But sometimes you do want to sit there and watch, I’m not going to lie. It's very entertaining.
"I get a front-row seat so I'm not complaining."
Curry exited early in the fourth quarter before returning to finish the job.
He explained how there had been some confusion about how prominent a role he would play in that final period, after misunderstanding a message from associate head coach Mike Brown.
"Me and Mike Brown, he told me at the end of the third quarter break ... he said something like he was going to give me a minute and I didn't hear what he said after that," Curry said.
"I thought I was coming out for a minute and was going to play 10 or 11 minutes in the fourth because I had a roll on.
"But he said, 'You're going to keep playing, I’ll give you possession for a minute and then take you out'."
When Curry stepped off the court after that minute, momentum was all with the Warriors. By the time he returned, they were ahead, a remarkable victory incoming.
Kawhi Leonard warned the Los Angeles Clippers "have to change" after they were made to pay by the Golden State Warriors for another second-half capitulation on Friday.
The Clippers held a commanding 85-63 lead with just over three minutes of the third quarter remaining at Chase Center, but slumped to a 115-105 defeat.
Steph Curry was their chief tormentor, scoring half of his 38 points in the third quarter to leave the Clippers 6-4 in the NBA Western Conference.
The Clippers have lost eight games when leading by at least 15 points since the start of last season, according to ESPN, letting more advantages by such a margin slip than any other team in that period.
Four-time NBA All-Star Leonard, who scored 24 points, said such collapses are unacceptable and must be addressed.
The small forward declared: "We just have to change, pretty much. We've got to change it. We've got to get better."
He added: "I'm not about to tell you what we're doing in the locker room. It's locker room talk."
Leonard felt the Clippers made it far too easy for the Warriors (5-4) to storm back and secure what appeared to be such an unlikely victory when they were so far behind.
"Our third quarter was terrible as far as defense. Them able to get easy looks, coming down just laying up the ball with no one there. Steph Curry did a few times." said Leonard.
"In that third quarter, just guys coming down and getting either open looks or just walking to the basket and laying up the ball."
Paul George, the Clippers' highest scorer with 25 points as well as laying on seven assists, echoed Leonard's sentiments.
He said: "We want to just be great as a unit, just demand greatness out of everybody. We've got to be better. All of us included. This was a team loss, more than anything. We've just got to get better. We'll work on it."
George added: "I think this is good that something like this happened for this team so early. Because fact of the matter is, we have to be a better closing-out team."
Bradley Beal slammed the Washington Wizards' defense, saying they were unable to "guard a parked car".
Beal had a game-high 41 points but the Wizards fell to 2-7 after a 116-107 loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA on Friday.
The Wizards have given up an average of 122.1 points per game – the worst record in the NBA – to begin the season and Beal rued their defensive efforts.
"We all know it's our defense, but I don't know why it's our defense," he told a news conference.
"At this point we can't guard a parked car."
After back-to-back losses, the Wizards are bottom of the Eastern Conference.
But Beal remains confident they can respond, having missed the playoffs in the past two seasons.
"The way we played in the second half, it was two different teams that were out there," he said.
"In the second half, we played with energy, coach put guys out there that haven't got burned all year and they gave us a spark that we needed so I think moving forward a lot of things will be changing in terms of our lineup.
"But I'm always optimistic, I'm confident in my game, I'm confident in the team I'm on, I'm always going to be for my guys and I'm always going to be confident that we can turn it around.
"Eventually you run out of games, you do run out of games so we can't keep saying, 'It's early', we can't keep saying, 'Oh, onto the next one', we've got to make that change and we've got to compete better than what we are."
Stephen Curry led the Golden State Warriors past the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday, while the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back.
Curry's fine start to the NBA season continued in the Warriors' 115-105 win over the Clippers.
The guard had a double-double of 38 points and 11 assists as the Warriors (5-4) responded to their loss to the Clippers on Wednesday.
Curry was 13-of-24 from the field and nine-of-14 from three-point range in the win.
Paul George (25) and Kawhi Leonard (24) combined for 49 points for the Clippers, but they slipped to 6-4.
The Lakers bounced back from their loss to the San Antonio Spurs by overcoming the Chicago Bulls 117-115.
LeBron James' 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists led the Lakers, who were without Anthony Davis (strained adductor).
Zach LaVine finished with 38 points for the Bulls.
Bucks fall despite Giannis' display, Celtics win
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 35 points, eight rebounds and four assists, but the Milwaukee Bucks went down to the Utah Jazz 131-118.
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz, posting 32 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Jaylen Brown continued his good form with a double-double of 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Boston Celtics' 116-107 win over the Washington Wizards. Brown and Jayson Tatum (32 points) became the third pair of team-mates in the past 20 seasons to each record 250-plus points in their team's first 10 games, joining Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant (2001-02) and Curry and Kevin Durant (three times).
The Wizards slumped to 2-7 despite Bradley Beal's 41 points.
Caris LeVert exploded for 43 points, but the Brooklyn Nets – without Durant and Kyrie Irving – were edged by the Memphis Grizzlies 115-110.
Magic misery
The Orlando Magic have made a good start to the season, but they shot at just 38.2 per cent in a 132-90 loss to the Houston Rockets. Orlando are now 6-3.
Brotherly battle
LaMelo and Lonzo Ball did battle on Friday. LaMelo had 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the Charlotte Hornets' 118-110 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Friday's results
Detroit Pistons 110-105 Phoenix Suns
Boston Celtics 116-107 Washington Wizards
Charlotte Hornets 118-110 New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder 101-89 New York Knicks
Houston Rockets 132-90 Orlando Magic
Memphis Grizzlies 115-110 Brooklyn Nets
Utah Jazz 131-118 Milwaukee Bucks
Toronto Raptors 144-123 Sacramento Kings
Golden State Warriors 115-105 Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers 117-115 Chicago Bulls
Cavaliers at Bucks
The Bucks (5-4) will look to bounce back when they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (5-4) on Saturday.
LaMelo Ball revelled in a "great feeling" after facing his brother, Lonzo, as the Charlotte Hornets overcame the New Orleans Pelicans.
LaMelo had 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the Hornets' 118-110 victory in the NBA on Friday.
His brother, Lonzo, had less of an impact, finishing with five points, three assists and two rebounds for the Pelicans.
LaMelo, who had the first double-double of his NBA career, enjoyed facing his older brother.
"It was a great feeling for sure," he told Fox Sports.
"Onto the next one, we don't really live in the past, we've got a game tomorrow."
Gordon Hayward lifted the Hornets with 26 points, while Zion Williamson had 26 for the Pelicans.
LaMelo praised his team for working together as they improved to 4-5.
"I've played a lot of basketball and I know basketball don't change," he said.
"At the end of the day I'm smooth but all of our team-mates together we all help each other and push each other."
Tommy Lasorda, who led the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and became one of the franchise's most beloved and iconic figures, died on Thursday at the age of 93.
The Dodgers announced Lasorda's death on Friday in a statement. According to the team, he suffered a sudden heart attack on Thursday, just two days after being released from a long hospital stay.
Lasorda spent 71 years with the Dodgers organisation as a player, scout, coach, manager and front office executive. He retired from managing in 1996 after a 21-year run highlighted by World Series championships in 1981 and 1988.
"In a franchise that celebrated such great legends of the game, no one who wore the uniform embodied the Dodger spirit as much as Tommy Lasorda," team president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. "A tireless spokesman for baseball, his dedication to the sport and the team he loved was unmatched. He was a champion who at critical moments seemingly willed his team to victory. The Dodgers and their fans will miss him terribly.
"Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable."
Lasorda had a short major-league career as a left-handed pitcher with the Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics from 1954-56 before retiring as a player in 1960 and joining the Dodgers as a scout the following year. He later managed several of the organisation’s minor league teams before being promoted to serve as the major league club's bench coach under Hall of Famer Walter Alston in 1973.
He took over managerial duties following Alston's retirement near the end of the 1976 season and began one of the longest tenures with one team in major league history. He is one of only four skippers, along with Alston and Hall of Famers Connie Mack and John McGraw, to manage the same team for 20 consecutive seasons or more.
A two-time National League Manager of the Year, Lasorda compiled a 1,599-1,439 overall record and led the Dodgers to seven National League West titles and eight playoff appearances while reaching the World Series four times. He later guided the United States to a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Lasorda moved into a role as the Dodgers' vice president following his retirement in 1996 and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. He had served as a special advisor to the team since 2004 and was present at Texas' Globe Life Field for the Dodgers' Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in October that clinched the franchise's first World Series title since his 1988 squad.
"It feels appropriate that in his final months, he saw his beloved Dodgers win the World Series for the first time since his 1998 team," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest sympathy to his wife of 70 years, Jo, and their entire family, the Dodger organisation and their generations of loyal fans."
Lasorda had been plagued by health issues in recent years. A heart attack led to his retirement from managing in 1996 and he suffered another in 2012. He was admitted to a California hospital with heart-related problems in November and spent several weeks in intensive care before being released earlier this week.
A native of Norristown, Pennsylvania, Lasorda is survived by his wife, Jo; his daughter, Laura and one granddaughter.
Tommy Lasorda, who led the Los Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and became one of the franchise's most beloved and iconic figures, died on Thursday at the age of 93.
The Dodgers announced Lasorda's death on Friday in a statement. According to the team, he suffered a sudden heart attack on Thursday, just two days after being released from a long hospital stay.
Lasorda spent 71 years with the Dodgers organisation as a player, scout, coach, manager and front office executive. He retired from managing in 1996 after a 21-year run highlighted by World Series championships in 1981 and 1988.
"In a franchise that celebrated such great legends of the game, no one who wore the uniform embodied the Dodger spirit as much as Tommy Lasorda," team president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a statement. "A tireless spokesman for baseball, his dedication to the sport and the team he loved was unmatched. He was a champion who at critical moments seemingly willed his team to victory. The Dodgers and their fans will miss him terribly.
"Tommy is quite simply irreplaceable and unforgettable."
Lasorda had a short major-league career as a left-handed pitcher with the Dodgers and Kansas City Athletics from 1954-56 before retiring as a player in 1960 and joining the Dodgers as a scout the following year. He later managed several of the organisation’s minor league teams before being promoted to serve as the major league club's bench coach under Hall of Famer Walter Alston in 1973.
He took over managerial duties following Alston's retirement near the end of the 1976 season and began one of the longest tenures with one team in major league history. He is one of only four skippers, along with Alston and Hall of Famers Connie Mack and John McGraw, to manage the same team for 20 consecutive seasons or more.
A two-time National League Manager of the Year, Lasorda compiled a 1,599-1,439 overall record and led the Dodgers to seven National League West titles and eight playoff appearances while reaching the World Series four times. He later guided the United States to a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Lasorda moved into a role as the Dodgers' vice president following his retirement in 1996 and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997. He had served as a special advisor to the team since 2004 and was present at Texas' Globe Life Field for the Dodgers' Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in October that clinched the franchise's first World Series title since his 1988 squad.
"It feels appropriate that in his final months, he saw his beloved Dodgers win the World Series for the first time since his 1998 team," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "On behalf of Major League Baseball, I send my deepest sympathy to his wife of 70 years, Jo, and their entire family, the Dodger organisation and their generations of loyal fans."
Lasorda had been plagued by health issues in recent years. A heart attack led to his retirement from managing in 1996 and he suffered another in 2012. He was admitted to a California hospital with heart-related problems in November and spent several weeks in intensive care before being released earlier this week.
A native of Norristown, Pennsylvania, Lasorda is survived by his wife, Jo; his daughter, Laura and one granddaughter.
Sofia Kenin admitted she was given a stern test by Kirsten Flipkens before the Belgian was forced to abandon their tussle at the Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open.
With a month to go before Kenin begins the defence of her Australian Open title, the American world number four was fighting to avoid a second-round exit to an experienced opponent.
Flipkens took the first set 7-5 and trailed 5-4 in the second, a break down, when an injury to her left ankle caused her to retire from the match.
A run of three consecutive games and 12 unanswered points from Flipkens had seen the 34-year-old former Wimbledon semi-finalist snatch the opener.
Kenin was turning the contest around in the second set and the top seed admitted she was "a little bit upset" to see Flipkens suffer when injury struck.
"We're good friends and that's not something you like to see," Kenin said, quoted on the WTA website. "I just hope [Flipkens] can have a speedy recovery and get ready for Australia.
"She played a really good match. It was the third time we’ve played each other, and it was a really solid match from both of us. This is not the way I wanted to win."
Aryna Sabalenka could be a player to fear at Melbourne Park in February, as the world number 10 made it 11 consecutive match wins by fending off Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5 6-4.
Sabalenka finished off the 2020 season with titles in Ostrava and Linz so the Belarusian is looking for a hat-trick of tournament triumphs.
Tunisian Ons Jabeur scored a 5-7 6-3 6-2 victory against Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine to reach the last-16 stage, and she faces Sabalenka next.
Jabeur won on the only previous occasion she and Sabalenka have met, securing a three-set win in round three of the delayed 2020 French Open.
Alexander Zverev insists his latest split from a high-profile coach ended on amicable terms after David Ferrer cut ties with the US Open finalist.
Spaniard Ferrer's decision to walk away leaves Zverev yet again, now at the age of 23, looking for a coach with whom he might establish a long-term partnership.
The German ditched former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero in early 2018, after six months together, claiming the coach had been "very disrespectful" to other members of his team.
He then linked up with Ivan Lendl in August 2018 but that lasted just under a year, with Zverev reportedly criticising the eight-time grand slam winner's focus.
This time, Zverev and former world number three Ferrer have not hinted at any animosity or disagreements.
They teamed up in July 2020, and Zverev said of their break-up: "I would like to thank David for the months we have shared, the times on and off the court, wishing him only the best in the future.
"I also want to thank his family for giving me the chance to spend precious weeks with David during these difficult times. I have tremendous respect for the way David played and coaches tennis."
Ferrer helped Zverev battle through to the US Open final in September, where he led by two sets but was ultimately beaten by Dominic Thiem.
Zverev also won a pair of titles in Cologne in October and reached the final of the Masters 1000 event in Paris.
But they are going their separate ways as the new season begins, with the Australian Open just weeks away.
Ferrer said: "At the end of the year, a decision had to be made, I spoke with Sascha [Zverev] and told him that I preferred not to continue, that we were not going to continue next season. Not for anything special, I just didn't think it was time."
Speaking to tennis website Punto de Break, Ferrer added: "Absolutely nothing has happened between us, everything is still fine, in fact I am very grateful to him for the opportunity he gave me to travel with him during that stretch of the season.
"During those months we had a good coexistence, everything was perfect."
Carlos Sainz compared Ferrari and McLaren to LaLiga heavyweights Real Madrid and Barcelona, and is confident of a successful transition to the Scuderia.
The Spaniard spent the past two seasons at McLaren, making the podium on two occasions, but is Ferrari-bound for 2021, replacing Sebastian Vettel.
Sainz spoke about how the objective for both teams is to cut the gap to dominant Mercedes, while he feels the fact he will have raced for both teams proves he is doing something right in his career.
Asked by AS if racing for Ferrari is like playing for Real Madrid, the team Sainz supports, he replied: "It's one way of saying it…but McLaren is Barca, which is also a very good team to be on.
"It cannot be compared, because in addition both are in a restructuring to try to dethrone Mercedes in the future.
"But they are the two best teams in history and when you go from one to the other it means that you are doing something right in Formula One."
At Ferrari, Sainz is joining a team where the pressure is always on to be a success and internal politics have historically always been a lingering presence in the background.
But Sainz is confident of being able to bring a harmonious atmosphere like the one he was part of at McLaren.
"That I managed to do it at McLaren means I can do it at Ferrari. If I could create a good team, generate good dynamics at McLaren, why not do it at Ferrari? I can do it," he added.
"I like the people out there, I like Mattia [Binotto, Ferrari team boss] and I like what I see, what we have talked about.
"There was no hesitation when it came to signing the contract and going forward. In my head there is no possibility that this environment and similar situation cannot be generated.
"If I could at McLaren, I can at Ferrari."
Sainz's predecessors at Ferrari Vettel and Fernando Alonso arrived with huge reputations as two of the most gifted drivers of their generations and with world titles to their name.
Neither man was able to end Ferrari's wait for a champion dating back to 2007 but Sainz believes it is wrong to judge their success at Maranello based on titles.
"They leave with a few victories and podiums, if you call that going empty…I only have two podiums," he said.
"Are they leaving without a championship? Yes. But the same has happened to nineteen drivers, every season for the last 10, when Red Bull or Mercedes have dominated.
"There are nineteen drivers a year who have gone empty, but I do not include those who have raced for Ferrari. Nobody leaves Ferrari empty."
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James condemned the scenes in Washington, D.C. and shared the feeling that the response by law enforcement could have been far worse had the perpetrators been black people.
On Wednesday, a large number of violent protestors stormed the US Capitol after descending on the city for a rally held by Donald Trump, who has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, his presidential election loss to Joe Biden was fraudulent.
Five people are confirmed to have died and dozens arrested after appalling scenes at the seat of democracy in the United States on the day the electoral college certified Biden's victory, with some individuals able to force access into private offices and take pictures in the chair of vice president Mike Pence while members of congress were forced to flee under escort.
Tear gas was used in the Capitol Rotunda as part of non-lethal means to disperse the crowd, and Washington Wizards star Russell Westbrook claimed the outcome would have been "totally different" had the vast majority of aggressors been African-American.
Team-mate Bradley Beal said, compared with the police handling of Black Lives Matter protests last year, the response lacked the same "sense of urgency".
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers shared that sentiment, saying: "It basically proves the point about a privileged life in a lot of ways. I'll say it because I don't think a lot of people want to: could you imagine today if those were all black people storming the Capitol and what would have happened?"
And James, who hit 27 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in the Lakers' 118-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, said the black community has endured a hard week following the Capitol riots and the news that the police officer who shot and paralysed Jacob Blake in Wisconsin in August will face no charges.
"Obviously, the last few days have been very, very tough on anybody in the black community," James said.
"We got the news in Memphis with the Jacob Blake announcement and the cop being let off and then seeing what happened in our national capital, inside the Capitol.
"We live in two Americas. That was a prime example of that yesterday, and if you don't understand that or don't see that after seeing what you saw yesterday, then you really need to take a step back, not even just one step, maybe four or five or even 10 steps backwards.
"Ask yourself: how do you want your kids, or how do you want your grandkids, how do we want America to be viewed as, how do we want to live in this beautiful country? Because yesterday was not it.
"Being part of a household with three kids, two boys, a daughter, a wife, a mother-in-law, so many black folks in my household during that time and it's on the TV, couldn't help but wonder if those were my kind storming the Capitol... what would have been the outcome? I think we all know."
The Los Angeles Lakers' four-game winning streak was snapped in the NBA on Thursday, while the Philadelphia 76ers also fell.
Despite a double-double of 27 points and 12 assists from LeBron James, the Lakers were beaten by the San Antonio Spurs 118-109.
Anthony Davis also had 23 points and 10 rebounds, but the Lakers slipped to 6-3.
LaMarcus Aldridge posted a game-high 28 points for the Spurs.
After five straight wins, the 76ers fell to a 122-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Joel Embiid had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds for the 76ers (7-2).
The Nets were without Kevin Durant (quarantine) and Kyrie Irving (personal reasons), but Caris LeVert posted 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as they improved to 5-4.
Lillard lifts Trail Blazers, Doncic dominates
Damian Lillard's 39 points, seven rebounds and seven assists saw the Portland Trail Blazers past the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-117.
Luka Doncic dominated with 38 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks overcame the Denver Nuggets 124-117 after overtime.
Andre Drummond had a double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Memphis Grizzlies 94-90.
Terrible Timberwolves
After back-to-back wins to start the season, the Timberwolves have suffered six straight losses. Malik Beasley struggled against the Trail Blazers, going three-of-13 from the field for 12 points in 28 minutes.
Cool Jokic
Nikola Jokic forced overtime for the Nuggets against the Mavericks with a long two. He finished with 38 points and 11 rebounds in the overtime loss.
Thursday's results
Brooklyn Nets 122-109 Philadelphia 76ers
Cleveland Cavaliers 94-90 Memphis Grizzlies
Portland Trail Blazers 135-117 Minnesota Timberwolves
San Antonio Spurs 118-109 Los Angeles Lakers
Dallas Mavericks 124-117 Denver Nuggets
Clippers at Warriors
The Los Angeles Clippers (6-3) and Golden State Warriors (4-4) meet for the second time in three days on Friday. The Clippers claimed a 108-101 victory on Wednesday.
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