Serena Williams doubted whether she would return to elite tennis as she stepped up her Wimbledon preparations by playing doubles with Ons Jabeur at the Eastbourne International.
Williams teamed up with Jabeur on Tuesday to record a thrilling win over Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo in her first competitive outing since last June, when she was forced to retire from her first-round Wimbledon clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich through injury.
Having been granted a wildcard entry to the year's third grand slam, which begins next week, Williams is bidding for her first major title since winning 2017's Australian Open.
But speaking after her successful return to the court, Williams admitted her comeback had been far from certain.
"Did I ever doubt I would return? Absolutely, for sure. I would be dishonest if I said it wasn't and now my body feels great," she said.
"I definitely felt good out there and I was talking with Ons in the first set saying 'we're not playing bad' because they were just playing really good in that first set.
"But obviously winning, getting more balls and playing a little bit more made us feel a lot better. It definitely felt reassuring. It has been clicking in practice and now it seems like it is clicking. It is doubles but it still means a lot to both of us to be in it."
Williams and Jabeur will face Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-Ching in Eastbourne's doubles quarter-finals after posting an impressive 2-6 6-3 13-11 victory in their first outing.
With Williams now ranked 1,204th in the world and aged 40, speculation has abounded as to whether her SW19 appearance will mark the beginning of a farewell tour for the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
However, Williams is not rushing to make any further decisions about her future in the game.
"You know what, I am literally taking it one day at a time. I really took my time with my hamstring injury so I am not making a ton of decisions after this," she added.
"I did a lot of non-training in the beginning obviously and after I couldn't play New York [2021's US Open] I went cold turkey of not working out.
"It felt good, but I always try to stay semi-fit because you never know when you are going to play Wimbledon.
"I love tennis and I love playing otherwise I wouldn't be here, but I also love what I do off the court."
Former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has issued a blunt verdict on Charles Leclerc's title hopes and has declared those backing Ferrari this season will "get nothing".
Red Bull's defending champion Max Verstappen has won six of the nine races so far this season to establish a dominant 49-point advantage over Leclerc – who is also three points adrift of Sergio Perez – in the drivers' championship.
That deficit has come amid a huge swing in the standings, with Leclerc previously holding a 46-point advantage over Verstappen following the opening three rounds of the season as the Dutch driver was forced to retire from two of those races.
However, Leclerc's most recent victory came in Australia in April and Verstappen has won five of the six races since, with Ecclestone stating he now has it "easy".
"Errors are creeping in again. The reliability we are seeing is often reminiscent of the old days and the drivers themselves are not always confident on the track," he told Blick.
"It means Max is having an easy time in the Red Bull with six wins already."
Ecclestone added that he had wanted to see Ferrari perform better in the 2022 season but early showings have ultimately led him to write off the team's chances.
"Like many people, I had hoped that Ferrari would succeed again after more than 14 years," he said.
"Unfortunately, I have to say that anyone who continues to put their money on Ferrari or Leclerc will get nothing."
Ferrari have not won the constructors' championship since 2008 and, from 1999 to 2008, had clinched the title in eight of the ten seasons.
Kimi Raikkonen was the last Ferrari driver to win the drivers' championship with his triumph in 2007, and is the only driver to win with Ferrari since Michael Schumacher's last success in 2004.
Patrick Cantley has expressed his concerns for the future of golf after more breakaways to join the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series.
Brooks Koepka is widely reported to be set to leave the PGA Tour and, while there's yet to be official confirmation, it was announced he had withdrawn from the Travelers Championship.
Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are among those to have signed up to the series, with further additions expected in the near future.
This has resulted in a lot of uncertainty around the future of golf and Cantley has admitted he is concerned.
"Everyone wants to play against the best players in the world and a lot of us are hyper-competitive. That's maybe what drove us to be as good as we are," he told a news conference.
"Anytime there's a potential fracture in the sport, I don't think that's good. You don't see it in any other major sports, where all the talent is in one tour or league. It's definitely a real concern.
"Right now, there's a competition for talent that is going on, you've seen it in lots of businesses, you've seen it in other professional sports from time to time and part of the concern is not knowing what the future will be like.
"It's an uncertain time for golf. If you think about it in the larger business landscape, it's a competition for talent.
"If the PGA Tour wants to remain as the pre-eminent tour for professional golfers, it has to be the best place to play for the best players in the world."
Shohei Ohtani struck two home runs and hit eight RBI's for the Angels in a stellar individual performance but his side suffered a 12-11 defeat to the Royals in extra innings.
The Angels rallied from deficits of 5-0, 6-1 and 10-7 to send the game to the 11th inning, with Ohtani's career-high of eight runs in a performance that also saw him set a single-game record for a Japanese-born player in the MLB.
A 423-foot homer in the sixth was followed by a game-tying, 438-foot homer in the ninth, with his record-setting RBI coming in the 11th with a sacrifice that pulled the score back to 12-11.
However, it wouldn't be enough after Whit Merrifield and Kyle Isbel drove in runs off Jose Quijada earlier in the final innings.
For Ohtani, it was a 10th multi-HR game in MLB and his fourth of the season, and earned him praise from his opponents after the game.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez said: "Ohtani is unbelievable. He’s the best there is right now. It’s impressive what he’s doing. Thank god I have the opportunity to watch him."
Other records came close to tumbling for Ohtani, who's eight RBIs were the most by an Angels player since Garret Anderson had a franchise-record 10 RBIs against the Yankees in August 2007.
He will be starting pitcher for the final game of the series against the Royals, with the Angels looking to avoid a whitewash after back-to-back defeats.
The St Louis Cardinals are hopeful that the back issue that forced Paul Goldschmidt to miss Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers is nothing serious.
Six-time All-Star Goldschmidt has been a key part of the Cardinals' 39-31 start to the season, with Tuesday's win moving them top of the National League Central ahead of the Brewers.
The in-form Cardinals second baseman has the second-best batting average and OPS in the major leagues this season (.339 and 1.031), behind Luis Arraez (.362) and Yordan Alvarez (1.038) respectively.
Goldschmidt, who was awarded the National League Player of the Week on Tuesday, has an equal-second-best 86 hits this season, with 48 runs and 16 home runs.
The 34-year-old missed the Brewers game due to back tightness, which he had tried to play through as a designated hitter in Monday's 2-0 loss to Milwaukee.
"He'll experience it from time to time," Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. "Usually he takes a day, it loosens up, he'll get treatment and be back at it. That's our hope."
"He tried to play through it yesterday. It made sense to give him a day today."
The Cardinals and Brewers meet again on Wednesday, the third of their four-game series.
Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run home run and Kyle Tucker had three RBIs to give the Houston Astros an 8-2 win over the New York Mets in Tuesday's high-profile interleague matchup.
Jose Altuve and Jose Siri contributed solo home runs for Houston, who have only gone 6-4 over their past 10 games.
Altuve and Alvarez, who missed Sunday's win over the Chicago White Sox with injury, set up a 3-0 lead in the third inning, connecting off Trevor Williams. Tucker's three-run double extended the lead to 7-0, effectively securing the victory.
With the win, the Astros moved to 42-25 and only trail the New York Yankees in the American League, while the Mets lead the National League with a record of 45-25.
It was the first of nine straight games against the Mets and Yankees, with a trip to New York following this two-game stand at home.
Yaz stands up in Giants win
Mike Yastrzemski returned to form with an important two-run double, propelling the San Francisco Giants to an 8-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
Claiming only one hit from his previous 16 at-bats, the 31-year-old drove Collin McHugh deep into right-field, putting the Giants up 8-7.
The Giants moved ahead of the reigning World Series champions in the Nationa League standings with the win, claiming their eighth win in the past 11 games.
Gimenez gets Guardians up over Twins
The Cleveland Guardians moved to the top of the AL Central standings, beating the Minnesota Twins 6-5 in 11 innings.
Leading the major leagues with a .362 batting average, Guardians' lead-off hitter Luis Arraez hit a three-run home run in the seventh, sending Eli Morgan over right-center field.
Andres Gimenez hit the important RBI single in the 11th, as Emmanuel Clase earned his 16th save in 18 attempts. The Guardians' 35-28 record (.556) now inches them ahead of the Twins on 38-31 (.551).
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper expects All-Star Nikita Kucherov to play in Game 4 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday despite an injury concern.
Kucherov exited Game 3 on Monday, as the Lightning won 6-2 over the Colorado Avalanche, with 6:05 remaining in the third period after a push from Devon Toews.
The Russian tangled with Toews after being slammed into the ice and boards and was involved in the ensuing power play but left hobbling for the trainers' room soon after.
"As I sit right now, I think he can play tomorrow," Cooper told reporters on Tuesday.
"But I'm not Kuch. If I know Kuch, he's sitting there saying the same thing. But we'll see what the doctors and everybody says."
Kucherov has been the Lightning's leading points scorer over this season's Stanley Cup playoffs, adding seven goals to his 19 assists.
The 29-year-old has been a creative force for the reigning Stanley Cup champions in important moments this post-season, namely his extraordinary game-winning backhand assist for Ross Colton in Game 2 against the Florida Panthers to set up a 2-0 series lead.
Cooper added: "I think so. I hope so. It's always difficult when the game is 12 hours ago or whatever it was. A lot can happen over the next two days.
"Am I glad there's a day off between games? Yes. We'll see how he is tomorrow."
Cooper said that Kucherov has played through pain before, including in the 2021 playoffs when he had a cracked rib.
The Lightning, who are chasing a rare Stanley Cup three-peat, trail 2-1 in the series after losing both games in Colorado.
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has thrown his support behind Jayson Tatum despite the 2022 All-NBA First Teamer's down NBA Finals series.
Three-time NBA All-Star Tatum averaged only 21.5 points per game in the NBA Finals, shooting 50 per cent or better from the field only once in their 4-2 series loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Tatum also gave up 23 turnovers in the six games in the NBA Finals. The 24-year-old had a mixed playoffs, finishing with the most turnovers (100) by a single player in NBA postseason history.
However, Tatum was also outstanding in series wins over the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, including a remarkable 46-point haul in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals facing elimination against the reigning champions.
"I just told him to go on vacation," Stevens told reporters during a videoconference call. "Go get some rest."
"This guy gave us everything he had. When you look at the minutes, when you look at the games played ... I've said this many times: He's a superstar that doesn't want to sit. He wants to play, he wants to play all the time.
"I thought that in the Finals, he would be the first to say that he would like to have some of those moments back, but I thought there were other contributing factors to how he played."
Tatum, who was named in the All-NBA First Team for the first time in 2022, averaged career-highs with 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game across the 2021-21 regular season.
The Celtics small forward shot at 45.3 per cent from the field across the regular season, dipping slightly to 42.6 per cent in the postseason.
During the playoffs, Tatum averaged 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.16 assists but with 4.16 turnovers per game.
"We're all subjective in every moment and react emotionally, but when you start looking at it objectively and more so historically, what Jayson and Jaylen [Brown] have done in the playoffs, historically at their ages, is rarified air," Stevens said.
"I think we're very cognisant of the fact that even though Jayson would admittedly not have played his best series, there's no chance we're there without him and without all of his great play all the way through.
"I think back to all of the times ... Game 6 in Milwaukee was one of the best games I've seen an individual play in my time, certainly in person and with the Celtics.
"Without that performance, we would have had this discussion a month and a half ago."
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews was awarded both the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHLPA's most outstanding player at the NHL Awards on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old scored 60 goals this season to claim his second Rocket Richard Trophy, and was one of only eight players in the league to break the 100-point barrier with 106, the highest single-season total of his career.
While beating Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid and New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin for his first Hart Trophy, Matthews became the first Maple Leafs player to win the Ted Lindsay Award, a vote conducted by the NHL's players since 1971.
A Hart Trophy finalist in 2021, losing out to McDavid, the Maple Leafs centre secured 119 first-place votes and 49 second-place votes.
"Congrats to Igor, Connor on amazing seasons," Matthews said in his Hart Trophy acceptance speech. "Like I said before, so much respect for you guys, you guys are incredible at what you do."
Meanwhile, he is only the second American-born player to win the Ted Lindsay Award following Patrick Kane in 2016.
"My family, it means the world to me to have you guys here with me, thank you guys for just your unwavering support," Matthews said in his acceptance speech earlier for the Ted Lindsay Award.
"It just means a lot to be recognised by my fellow peers and the guys that I compete against every single night, battle against. It just means a lot.
"I want to thank the Toronto Maple Leafs, from top to bottom. Management, ownership, coaches, all the staff, every single one of my team-mates, this doesn't happen without you guys, so thank you."
A phone call between jailed WNBA star Brittney Griner and her wife Cherelle is being rescheduled after a failed attempt to connect on their anniversary, due to an "unfortunate" mistake.
The couple had not spoken since Griner's drug-related arrest in February, but attempts to connect through the United States Embassy in Russia were hindered since the phone line at the embassy was not staffed.
On Monday, it was discovered Griner tried to call 11 times over a period of several hours, dialling a number she had been given to patch the call through to her wife in Phoenix, but each call was left unanswered due to the unstaffed desk on Saturday.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price apologised for the "logistical error", confirming a rescheduled call will take place.
"We deeply regret that Brittney Griner was unable to speak with her wife over the weekend because of a logistical error," he told reporters.
"It was a mistake, it is a mistake that we have worked to rectify. As we said before, the call has been rescheduled and will take place in relatively short order.
"It was a logistical issue that was compounded by the fact that our embassy in Moscow is under significant restrictions in terms of its staffing, and so when we have issues with the telephone system there, for example, the technicians are not located on site. In fact, they're not even located in Russia."
Griner, the two-time Olympic gold medallist who plays for Phoenix Mercury and UMMC Ekaterinburg, was detained at a Russian airport in February after authorities there said a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
The US State Department designated her as wrongfully detained in May, while last week, Russian state news agency TASS reported a pre-trial detention had been extended until July.
For Cherelle Griner, the unanswered calls have had a demoralising effect.
"I find it unacceptable, and I have zero trust in our government right now," she told the Associated Press. "If I can't trust you to catch a Saturday call outside of business hours, how can I trust you to actually be negotiating on my wife's behalf to come home? Because that's a much bigger ask than to catch a Saturday call.
"This was such a big moment because this would have been the first time where I truly could tell if she's OK. This would have been the first time for me to actually just hear her in real time and to truly know if she's OK or to know if she's seconds away from not being in existence anymore."
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi will continue his tour of the AFC North by signing a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ogunjobi spent his first four seasons with the Cleveland Browns before recording a career-high seven sacks, a team-high 12 tackles for loss and 49 total tackles last season for the Cincinnati Bengals.
This is the second time this offseason that Ogunjobi has agreed to a free-agent contract, signing a reported three-year, $40.5 million deal with the Chicago Bears in March before that deal fell through when he failed his physical.
Ogunjobi started 16 games last season for the Bengals but suffered a season-ending right foot injury during a Wild Card round victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ogunjobi will replace the retired Stephon Tuitt as the third starter on the Steelers' defensive line, along with Cameron Heyward and Tyson Alualu.
He should help Pittsburgh improve a run defense that finished 32nd in the NFL last season in rushing yards allowed and 32nd in rushing yards per attempt.
Ryan Peniston stunned French Open quarter-finalist Holger Rune at the Eastbourne International to continue his strong form on the grass.
Peniston beat world number five Casper Ruud as he reached the quarter-finals at the Queen's Club Championships last week, and followed that up by recovering from a set down against Rune to reach Eastbourne's last 16 in impressive fashion.
After wrapping up a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win, the 26-year-old told the home crowd: "I'm very happy with that. A tough start but I managed to fight, thanks to you guys.
"Since Queen's it has been madness. A couple of weeks ago was a lot different and things have changed, but I'm loving it."
Rune, who was twice two points from victory in an enthralling contest, was jeered by spectators after hitting a ball out of court and kicking his towel bin after being broken in the third set.
Peniston will face Pedro Martinez in the next round after he benefited from fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina being forced to retire at one set apiece, while Ugo Humbert fell to a 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 reverse against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro.
Lorenzo Sonego posted a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) win over James Duckworth, while Tommy Paul recovered from a set down to beat Francisco Cerundolo and home favourite Dan Evans overcame Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-3.
The seeds in action at the Mallorca Open endured mixed fortunes as Sebastian Baez cruised past Jordan Thompson in straight sets, but Botic van de Zandschulp was beaten by Marcos Giron.
The Dutchman succumbed to a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-2) defeat, while Germany's Daniel Altmaier beat Dusan Lajovic 7-5 7-6 (7-2).
Nick Kyrgios set up an enticing last-16 meeting with fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut by knocking out Serbia's Laslo Djere in a marathon three-set contest, recovering to win 5-7 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-1).
Houston Rockets guard John Wall has exercised his player option for the 2022-23 season, locking in a salary of $47.4million, The Athletic reported on Tuesday.
Wall was a healthy scratch all last season for the Rockets but will be tied with the Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden for the second-largest salary cap hit in the league.
Wall opting into the hefty payday is no surprise, but the timing of the move makes the 32-year-old point guard eligible to be traded before or during Thursday's NBA Draft, which annually brings a flurry of player and pick swaps.
Any potential Wall trade would need a sufficiently large salary coming back to Houston.
Russell Westbrook, who was traded for Wall in 2020 in a deal with the Washington Wizards, has been a frequent target of trade rumours, with the Los Angeles Lakers looking to improve on a disappointing 33-49 season in 2021-22.
National NBA reporter Marc Stein, previously of ESPN and the New York Times, reported earlier this month that the Rockets are demanding extra draft picks in another potential Wall-Westbrook swap.
Wall, a five-time All-Star, has seen his career derailed by injuries and has played just 113 games since being named Third Team All-NBA after the 2016-17 season.
Katie Boulter stunned last year's Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova at the Eastbourne International as the Briton secured the first top-10 scalp of her career.
Despite making a strong start, fourth seed Pliskova faltered and lost 1-6 6-4 6-4 to the world number 127 in the pair's last-32 match.
Boulter said: "I'm super-proud of myself today. I went out there and didn't feel great on court, and I worked so hard to battle and fight, and against a player like that it means so much to me, coming through that."
There was another major shock win for a British player later in the day as Jodie Burrage knocked out top seed Paula Badosa, the world number 169 triumphing 6-4 6-3 against a player who will be seeded fourth at Wimbledon.
Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-4 and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova saw off Donna Vekic 6-1 7-6 (7-1), while Beatriz Haddad Maia's strong form on grass continued with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over Estonian veteran Kaia Kanepi.
Brazilian left-hander Haddad Maia is coming off the back of title wins in Nottingham and Birmingham and stretched her winning run on grass to 11 matches.
There were also wins in Eastbourne for Camila Giorgi, Madison Keys and Barbora Krejcikova, but Greek third seed Maria Sakkari bowed out, losing 3-6 7-5 6-4 to Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina.
At the Bad Homburg Open in Germany, the 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep scrambled for a 4-6 6-3 6-4 win against Katerina Siniakova, and sixth seed Amanda Anisimova came from a set down to see off Alison van Uytvanck in a third-set tie-break.
Bianca Andreescu saw off Martina Trevisan 6-3 6-1 and Angelique Kerber also won in straight sets, while top seed and recent French Open semi-finalist Daria Kasatkina reached the quarter-finals with a 6-1 3-6 6-1 win over Germany's Jule Niemeier.
Kasatkina will be absent from Wimbledon due to the ban on Russian players.
Serena Williams made a thrilling return to the WTA Tour as she and Ons Jabeur teamed up to win a nail-biting doubles contest at the Eastbourne International.
Czech player Marie Bouzkova and Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo provided stiff competition but eventually succumbed 2-6 6-3 13-11 as Williams grew in belief.
This was the first competitive match for 40-year-old Williams since abandoning her Wimbledon first-round clash against Aliaksandra Sasnovich last June, due to an ankle injury.
It was also her first doubles main-draw match on grass since she and sister Venus won the 2016 Wimbledon title, so she was understandably rusty in the early stages, while world number three Jabeur's nervousness about playing with Williams, which she spoke of after the match, was also evident.
Williams will be on a wildcard at Wimbledon next week, due to her ranking plummeting, as she chases what would be a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title.
Her game looked sketchy early on, with a smash into the net handing over the second game, before she then blazed a volley over the baseline to concede the early break.
Her own serve was broken as Sorribes Tormo and Bouzkova snatched a 4-1 double-break lead in the opener, which they soon wrapped up.
Williams lost her footing on the grass midway through the second set, slipping over, but she was soon back up, with the contest becoming increasingly competitive.
Jabeur and Williams forged a 4-3 lead in the second set and then broke to force the match tie-break.
All-out assault from Williams brought up a first match point, but the American then rattled a backhand long after Jabeur failed to put away a volley at the net early in the rally.
Another match point slipped away as Jabeur netted from another great chance, but a drop shot from the Tunisian brought up a third, and this time Sorribes Tormo volleyed wide to herald a scream of delight from Williams.
"Oh my god, it was so fun to play with Ons," said Williams. "Our opponents played amazing. They played so well in that first set, they were jamming.
"We were just trying to stay in there after the first set, it was good though.
"I caught some fire behind me, so that's good; I needed that."
Rob Gronkowski is retiring from the NFL – again.
After coming out of his 2019 retirement to spend the last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – with whom he won the Super Bowl in the 2020 campaign – the future Hall of Fame tight end took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal he is once again calling it a career.
"I want to thank the whole entire first-class Buccaneers organisation for an amazing ride, trusting me to come back to play and help build a championship team," he wrote. "I will now be going back into my retirement home, walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped out on the field."
A four-time Super Bowl champion who won his first three titles during nine seasons with the New England Patriots, four-time first-team All-Pro Gronkowski entered this offseason as a free agent but implied if he was going to continue to play it would be with Tom Brady.
When Brady announced in mid-March he would play again for the Buccaneers in 2022 after briefly retiring, many expected Gronkowski would also return seeing as Brady had already lured Gronk out of retirement once.
The oft-injured 33-year-old, however, decided it was time to step away.
"The friendships and relationships I have made will last forever, and I appreciate every single one of my team-mates and coaches for giving everything they had as well," he wrote. "From retirement, back to football and winning another championship and now back to chilling out, thank you to all."
Gronkowski retires as one of the most decorated and dangerous players at his position in NFL history. With soft hands coupled with the power to plow over would-be tacklers, Gronkowski ranks third among all tight ends with 92 career touchdown receptions, while his 9,286 receiving yards rank fifth.
As one of Brady's most reliable and trusted targets across their time together in New England and Tampa, Gronkowski amassed 15 receiving touchdowns in the playoffs – trailing only Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's 22 for the most in NFL history.
Anthony Joshua labelled himself "the comeback king" as he faced up to Oleksandr Usyk ahead of their eagerly anticipated August rematch in Saudi Arabia.
While Joshua said he was confident of bouncing back from last September's unanimous decision reverse, Ukrainian Usyk pledged to give his home country some cheer through his boxing after returning to aid against the Russian invasion earlier this year.
Joshua will be bidding to reclaim the unified WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles on August 20, after falling to just the second defeat of his professional career against Usyk in London last year.
As the fighters looked ahead to their clash in Jeddah, Joshua said he was grateful for the opportunity to right the wrongs of his previous performance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"The great thing is I've got a second chance. What got me into boxing in the first place... when I was a youngster I got in a little bit of trouble every now and again, and I was blessed with a second chance and I found boxing," Joshua said.
"I took it with both hands. So if you know me and a lot of my story, you know I'm the comeback king. You can put me down, but it's difficult to keep me down.
"In the fight in September, I was wrong and he [Usyk] was right. Definitely the hunger is still there. Blips happen, things happen in life, but resilience, mental toughness and consistency will always prevail."
The pair's second bout was delayed by Usyk returning to Kyiv in March to help defend Ukraine against Russian forces.
The 35-year-old Usyk, who is unbeaten in 19 professional fights, hopes he can offer some happiness to his countrymen when he returns to the ring.
"As we all know we are not in the best condition at the moment back at home, but we are doing what we have to do," Usyk said.
"We are doing our job. Together with my team we are working hard to achieve our goals. I never made some very loud and bright speeches.
"All I did was I just worked hard in my training camp and in my gym. That's what I'm going to do until the date of the fight, and then I will enter the ring and will make you happy with my boxing."
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has settled all but four of the 24 civil lawsuits for sexual misconduct brought against him, according to attorney Tony Buzbee.
Buzbee represents the women suing Watson, who has been accused of committing sexual misconduct during massage sessions by two dozen women.
"Today I announce that all cases against Deshaun Watson, with the exception of four, have settled," Buzbee said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We are working through the paperwork related to those settlements. Once we have done so, those particular cases will be dismissed. The terms and amounts of the settlements are confidential. We won't comment further on the settlements or those cases."
One of the four women who did not settle is Ashley Solis – the first woman to accuse Watson of inappropriate sexual conduct.
"Ashley Solis is one of the heroes of this story," Buzbee said. "Her case has not settled and thus her story and that of the other three brave women will continue. I look forward to trying these cases in due course, consistent with other docket obligations and the court's schedule."
Watson has not commented on Buzbee's statement.
Until all 24 cases are settled, Watson's NFL future is still uncertain. The NFL is conducting its own investigation into whether he violated the league's code of conduct.
The New York Times recently reported the embattled quarterback hired at least 66 different women for private massages over the course of 17 months. Watson has long maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing.
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