Naomi Osaka fended off Patricia Maria Tig at the French Open on Sunday, but the world number two admits she has plenty of room for improvement on clay.
Osaka has been at the centre of attention in the build-up to the tournament, with the 23-year-old refusing to attend mandatory news conferences and suggesting they were not beneficial to her mental health.
The second seed stood by her decision following a straight-sets win over Romanian Tig and was subsequently handed a $15,000 fine and warned repeat offences could see her thrown out of the competition.
However, Osaka did speak in an on-court interview after her 6-4 7-6 (7-4) victory on Court Philippe-Chatrier– just her second win of the season on clay.
"I'd say it’s a work on progress," four-time grand slam winner Osaka said when asked about her clay-court game.
"Hopefully, the more I play the better it'll get. I'm really glad that I won, it's a very beautiful court. I've only played two matches here – one before the roof [was installed] and one right now. Hopefully I'll keep it going."
Next up for reigning US and Australian Open champion Osaka is Ana Bogdan, who defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-1 6-3.
ANOTHER FRENCH OPEN DUCK FOR KERBER
While Osaka took a place in round two, former world number one Angelique Kerber had no such luck as she came unstuck in the first round at Roland Garros for a third year running.
Now ranked at 27th in the world by the WTA, Kerber lost 6-2 6-4 to qualifier Anhelina Kalinina.
The French Open title has so far eluded Kerber, who has won every other grand slam, and the 33-year-old German has not won a match in Paris since 2018, when she reached the quarter-finals, having also made the last eight in 2012.
Indeed, the 33-year-old's run to the quarters in 2018 was the only time in her last six appearances at Roland Garros that she has progressed beyond the first round.
"She started well and had nothing to lose, while it took me too long to get into the contest," Kerber said. "I will try to learn from the match now because I played good the last few weeks and I had good matches."
SABALENKA AND KVITOVA BATTLE THROUGH
Aryna Sabalenka was the other top seed in action on Sunday, though she was made to work for a 6-4 6-3 defeat of Ana Konjuh.
The third seed, who is in the hunt for a first grand slam title having already won the Madrid Open this month, made a sluggish start and two breaks of serve had her 4-2 down to world number 144 Konjuh.
But Sabalenka rallied herself and a streak of four straight games handed her the set, and a further three successive breaks to start the second put her in command.
Konjuh managed to save the first match point, only for the Croatian qualifier to hit the net as Sabalenka progressed at the second time of asking.
Petra Kvitova, the 11th seed, needed three sets to overcome Greet Minnen 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-1, and had to save a match point in the process.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova was on the edge of a shock exit at 6-5 and a break down in the second set, but a backhand winner rescued her from the brink and forced another tie-break, which the Czech won before carrying the momentum into the decider.
"I would say that from my side it wasn't really good from the beginning," said Kvitova, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year.
"I was struggling, I was missing a lot, I was double-faulting a lot.
"I didn't really feel myself that well. I was pretty tight, it was really tough. I mean, I was fighting not only with her but with myself as well. I'm glad that in the end I beat myself as well and beat her, so that counts."
Kvitova will next face Elena Vesnina, who beat lucky loser Olga Govortsova 6-1 6-0 to seal a first singles win since she became a mother in 2018 and took a two-year break from tennis.
Dominic Thiem crashed out of the French Open in the first round as the US Open champion and two-time Roland Garros finalist suffered a stunning loss to Pablo Andujar.
Thiem looked to be easing to a routine win on the opening day of main draw singles action in Paris, having claimed the first two sets.
However, Andujar staged a remarkable fightback to end the world number four's bid for a third appearance in the final.
The Spaniard claimed a 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 win, his first victory over a top-five opponent at the age of 35.
Thiem hit 66 winners over the course of an epic that lasted four hours and 28 minutes, but his efforts were undermined by 61 unforced errors to Andujar's 47.
It is another low point in an underwhelming year to this point for the fourth seed, who has won only nine of his 17 matches in 2021.
And it is a result that opens up the bottom half of the men's singles draw, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all in the top half.
Andujar, who has never progressed beyond the third round at Roland Garros, will face Radu Albot or Federico Delbonis in round two.
Egan Bernal wrapped up victory in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, showing consummate composure in the final stage on the road to Milan.
INEOS Grenadiers rider Bernal, who had finished second behind Damiano Caruso in the penultimate stage, was a favourite heading into this year's race and the 24-year-old duly delivered having worn the maglia rosa since stage nine.
He sealed an impressive general classification victory by one minute and 29 seconds.
Bernal, now a two-time Grand Tour champion after a successful Tour de France in 2019, needed to keep his cool in Sunday's closing time trial.
He began the 30.3-kilometre test from Senago with a 1:59 minute lead over Caruso, who celebrated his maiden Grand Tour stage win on Saturday, but Bernal only gave up 30 seconds in a closing stage that was won by his team-mate and reigning time trial world champion Filippo Ganna.
Ganna beat Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) by 12 seconds, despite needing to change his bike mid-race.
Cavagna was hindered by a crash on the final bend, with the Frenchman losing control and flying over his handlebars, and despite being back on the bike within 10 seconds, it was a mistake which handed Ganna a second stage win of the Giro.
But the glory was all Bernal's, the Colombian able to take his time on the final stretch as he celebrated a supreme display over the three-week event.
It is INEOS' second successive victory at the Giro, following Tao Geoghegan Hart's triumph last year.
Simon Yates, another pre-race favourite, finished in third place in the general classification, 4:15 back from Bernal, who is going from strength to strength.
"The maglia rosa is special. It's the most beautiful race in the world's most beautiful place," Bernal told reporters.
"I'll never forget this Giro, how I won my first ever stage and the way I won it, with attacks and sprinting on the flat for bonus seconds against Remco Evenepoel. That's who I am and the cycling I like.
"In this race I found the freedom to race as I like to do. So winning in this final time trial is special.
"I was just focused on my effort and was just thinking I can't do a mistake, I didn't want to lose the Giro in one corner. I was starting to push in the parts where I could push, but in the corners, don't take any risks.
"It was special, [seeing] a lot of Colombian flags everywhere and all the people cheering for me. When I finished and realised I won, it was an incredible feeling. I can't describe what I'm feeling."
STAGE RESULT
1. Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) 0:33:48
2. Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +00:12
3. Edoardo Affini (Jumbo-Visma) +00:13
4. Matteo Sobrero (Astana) +00:14
5. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step) +00:27
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 86:17:28
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +01:29
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +04:15
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 136
2. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 118
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates) 116
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen) 184
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 140
3. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 99
Naomi Osaka has been fined and threatened with possible expulsion from the French Open after choosing not to take part in mandatory media interviews at the tournament.
Osaka declared her intentions in the build-up to the second grand slam of the year, stating that "people have no regard for athletes' mental health" during news conferences.
The WTA – organisers of the women's tour – encouraged the Japanese superstar to reach out for support with her mental well-being but stressed she had a "responsibility" to her sport to honour contractual commitments.
The 23-year-old conducted an on-court interview after beating Patricia Maria Tig on Sunday but did not appear at the allotted time for her post-match media conference.
Tournament organisers have fined Osaka $15,000 for breaching their code of conduct and warned she could be defaulted from the French Open – and face possible suspensions from other majors – should she continue a media blackout.
Osaka, holder of the US Open and Australian Open titles, has previously said any such fines should go towards a mental health charity.
A statement on the French Open's official website read: "Naomi Osaka announced last Wednesday on social media that she would not participate in the mandatory media interviews at Roland Garros 2021.
"Following this announcement, the Roland Garros teams asked her to reconsider her position and tried unsuccessfully to speak with her to check on her well-being, understand the specifics of her issue and what might be done to address it on site.
"Following the lack of engagement by Naomi Osaka, the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open jointly wrote to her to check on her well-being and offer support, underline their commitment to all athletes' well-being and suggest dialogue on the issues. She was also reminded of her obligations, the consequences of not meeting them and that rules should equally apply to all players.
"Naomi Osaka today chose not to honour her contractual media obligations. The Roland Garros referee has therefore issued her a $15,000 fine, in keeping with article III H. of the code of conduct."
The statement went on to say: "We have advised Naomi Osaka that should she continue to ignore her media obligations during the tournament, she would be exposing herself to possible further code of conduct infringement consequences.
"As might be expected, repeat violations attract tougher sanctions including default from the tournament and the trigger of a major offence investigation that could lead to more substantial fines and future grand slam suspensions.
"We want to underline that rules are in place to ensure all players are treated exactly the same, no matter their stature, beliefs or achievement.
"As a sport there is nothing more important than ensuring no player has an unfair advantage over another, which unfortunately is the case in this situation if one player refuses to dedicate time to participate in media commitments while the others all honour their commitments."
The statement was co-signed by organisers from all four grand slams.
Marc Marquez crashed out on the second lap as championship leader Fabio Quartararo claimed a third MotoGP victory of the season at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
In a race overshadowed by the death of Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier after a crash in qualifying on Saturday, Quartararo became the first rider to win in Mugello after starting from pole position since 2014.
Meanwhile, Marquez's hopes of securing a strong result in his fourth race since returning from a broken arm were ended at turn three on the second lap when he made contact with Brad Binder.
Quartararo started from his fourth consecutive pole, but he was usurped by Francesco Bagnaia almost immediately.
Ducati rider Bagnaia fell from the front on just the second lap, though, handing the advantage back to Quartararo, who fought off the threat of fellow Frenchman Johann Zarco to seal a third win in six races.
This latest victory extended his lead at the head of the standings to 24 points over Zarco, who was leapfrogged by Miguel Oliveria into second with eight laps remaining, with Joan Mir pushing him off the podium soon after.
Alex Rins pushed Zarco further down the standings, but he was denied a push at a podium place when he crashed on the final corner.
Oliveira beat Mir to the line for second, although the Portuguese rider was initially demoted to third for exceeding track limits on the final lap. It later transpired Mir had also committed the same offence and they were returned to their original positions.
TOP 10
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha)
2. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM) +2.592s
3. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) +3.000s
4. Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) +3.535s
5. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) +4.903s
6. Jack Miller (Ducati Team) +6.233s
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Gresini) +8.030s
8. Maverick Vinales (Monster Yamaha) +17.239s
9. Danilo Petrucci (KTM Tech3) +23.296s
10. Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) +25.146s
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders
1. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) 105
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) 81
3. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenevo) 79
4. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenevo) 74
5. Joan Mir (Suzuki Ecstar) 65
Teams
1. Monster Energy Yamaha 169
2. Ducati 153
3. Pramac Racing 102
4. Suzuki Ecstar 88
5. KTM Factory Racing 64
What's next?
The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit plays host to the next race in the championship next weekend, with Quartararo looking for a repeat performance of his win there last year.
Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier has died following a crash in qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Swiss rider Dupasquier, 19, was struck by another bike after falling and slid along the track at Mugello.
After lengthy treatment by medics on the track he was airlifted to Careggi Hospital in Florence.
It was announced on Sunday he had died from his injuries.
A statement on the MotoGP website read: "Despite the best efforts of circuit medical staff and all those subsequently attending to the Swiss rider, the hospital has announced that Dupasquier has sadly succumbed to his injuries.
"The FIM, IRTA, MSMA and Dorna Sports pass on our deepest condolences to Dupasquier's family, friends, team and loved ones."
Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix, Dupasquier was 10th in the World Championship standings after collecting 27 points from the opening five races of his second season in the competition.
His team Prustel GP wrote on Instagram: "We're devastated and at this time all of our thoughts are with Jason's family
"You'll be sorely missed and never forgotten, Jason."
Naomi Osaka kicked off her bid for a maiden French Open title with a battling straight-sets win over Patricia Maria Tig on day one at Roland Garros.
The second seed, who has failed to get beyond the third round in four previous attempts, won 89 per cent of her first serve points on her way to seeing off Tig 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in a time of one hour and 48 minutes.
She had 39 winners to 35 unforced errors and will now take on Ana Bogdan – a 6-1 6-3 winner against Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Sunday – for a place in the last 32.
Osaka, who announced before the tournament that she would not be doing post-match media duties, had just one clay-court victory to her name heading into the second grand slam of the year, but she soon found her groove against world number 63 Tig.
However, after earning an early break of serve, the Australian Open champion squandered three set points in the eighth game as Tig hit back.
Osaka made her superiority show in the following game to take a 1-0 lead in the match and held throughout a tight second set, which went the distance.
Tig, who reached the third round in Paris last year, initially held her own but Osaka pulled away to take the tie-break 7-4 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Data Slam: Osaka seeking more major glory
World number two Osaka has now won her last 15 matches at grand slams and, even accounting for her record on clay, she will take some stopping in Paris.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Osaka – 39/35
Tig – 19/21
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Osaka – 1/3
Tig – 4/5
BREAK POINTS WON
Osaka – 2/10
Tig – 1/2
A commitment from Donovan Mitchell to be less "exuberant" on the court helped the Utah Jazz take a 2-1 lead over the Memphis Grizzlies in their first-round playoff series.
Mitchell played just the second game of his return from injury on Saturday as Utah took the series lead with a 121-111 victory in Game 3.
After scoring 25 points on his return in Game 2, which came after a 17-game absence due to an ankle sprain, the 24-year-old shot 9-of-23 from the field to lead the scoring with 29 points.
Ten of those points came in a fourth quarter in which Memphis edged into a two-point lead for the first time in the contest with five minutes on the clock.
Mitchell, who scored two three-pointers in a strong Jazz finish, felt the benefit of having conserved some energy for the decisive moments.
"It's a long game," he said. "It's been a while and just getting back into it. That's really it.
"Understanding that trying to save your energy as much as possible, not needing to be as exuberant, I think that's the right word to use, but I think just not being as loud and kind of demonstrative in my movements."
Head coach Quin Snyder thought Mitchell's influence waned little despite his quieter approach.
"When you have a guy that has that much belief in his team-mates and that competitive fire, you know he's going to make some things happen," said Snyder.
"He's not going to be successful in every possession, but he was not going to be deterred either."
The Grizzlies edged the scoring 89-87 after the first quarter, but it was not enough to counter a poor start in front of more than 12,000 fans at their first home playoff game since April 2017.
"They made the plays down the stretch," coach Taylor Jenkins said. "Couldn't get the stops.
"The first quarter, we just didn't have the discipline. Too many breakdowns and they made us pay."
Game 4 is at FedExForum on Tuesday.
Fernando Tatis Jr. did it again, hitting a two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning to tie the game before the San Diego Padres got another long ball in the 12th to defeat the Houston Astros 11-8.
Houston led 6-1 after seven before the Padres scored two in the eighth, then three on the Tatis shot in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
The teams traded runs in the 10th and 11th innings before Wil Myers homered with one out in the 12th -- two batters after Houston intentionally walked Tatis -- to provide the winning margin.
The victory kept San Diego (34-19) ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays (33-20) for the best record in MLB.
Giants pound rival Dodgers
The San Francisco Giants pounded out 16 hits as they defeated the rival Los Angeles Dodgers 11-6 for their second consecutive win after dropping four straight to the defending World Series champions. Logan Webb allowed only one hit and did not walk a batter while striking out seven for the Giants.
The New York Mets scored seven runs in the sixth inning to run away from the Atlanta Braves in a 13-2 rout. James McCann had four hits, including the first of five home runs the Mets hit in the game, while the entire Braves lineup managed only one extra-base hit.
For the second consecutive day, a young Detroit Tigers starter shut down New York Yankees batters, as Spencer Turnbull allowed only three singles in a 6-1 Detroit win.
Diamondbacks, Orioles skids continue
A late rally came up short as the Arizona Diamondbacks fell 7-4 to the St Louis Cardinals for their 13th consecutive defeat, while the Baltimore Orioles were swept in a double-header by the Chicago White Sox to run their losing skid to 12 straight.
The Pittsburgh Pirates held Colorado Rockies batters to just six hits in 49 at-bats in sweeping a double-header with 7-0 and 4-0 victories. Colorado hitters struck out 14 times after their best player, shortstop Trevor Story, landed on the injured list earlier in the day due to right elbow inflammation.
Rendon on the run
Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon had to cover a lot of ground to get to this foul pop off the bat of the Oakland Athletics' Matt Olson, then made a blind heave to double off Tony Kemp.
Saturday's results
Chicago Cubs 10-2 Cincinnati Reds
Boston Red Sox 3-1 Miami Marlins
Detroit Tigers 6-1 New York Yankees
Minnesota Twins 6-5 Kansas City Royals
Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 Philadelphia Phillies
Chicago White Sox 7-4 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox 3-1 Baltimore Orioles
San Diego Padres 11-8 Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels 4-0 Oakland Athletics
St Louis Cardinals 7-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle Mariners 3-2 Texas Rangers
San Francisco Giants 11-6 Los Angeles Dodgers
Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 Colorado Rockies
Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 Colorado Rockies
Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 Washington Nationals
Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 Washington Nationals
New York Mets 13-2 Atlanta Braves
Toronto Blue Jays-Cleveland Indians (postponed)
Giants at Dodgers
Kevin Gausman (5-0, 1.53 ERA) looks to stay unbeaten for the San Francisco Giants as they visit Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.94) and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Joel Embiid heard the opposing fans jeering him when he missed a dunk in the second quarter Saturday, so the Philadelphia 76ers star made sure to savour the response that followed.
Embiid was dominant in a 132-103 Sixers rout of the Washington Wizards that gave Philadelphia a 3-0 series lead.
His signature play in a 36-point night was an emphatic dunk with 1:10 to play in the first half, after which he cupped his hands to his ears to taunt the Washington crowd that had let him have it after he missed a dunk two possessions earlier.
"They started booing, they started cheering just because I missed a dunk, and I had another opportunity where I actually made a dunk, so that's why I went over to them," Embiid told reporters afterward.
"I wanted to hear more boos because it gets me going. I like it.
"I just love playing on the road. I love playing up to the boos or fans talking trash. It gets me going."
Wizards fans did not have much to cheer about when it came to their own team, as Embiid scored 25 in the first half on the way to setting a new career playoff scoring high even though he sat out the fourth quarter.
After a while, the Philadephia fans in attendance won out, and "MVP!" chants echoed through the arena as the Sixers pushed Washington to the brink of elimination.
Embiid was 14 of 18 from the field, attempting -- and making -- six more shot than he had in the equally comfortable Game 2 win in Philadelphia.
He said he feels like the game has slowed down and he does not have to force anything, leaving him comfortable no matter how the Wizards choose to defend him.
"I always want the ball because I feel like it is hard to stop me, whether you send a double-team or not," he said.
"And if you do send a double-team I'm going to make the right play."
More often than not Saturday, the right play ended up being Embiid handling matters himself.
Now the Eastern Conference's top seed is on the verge of advancing, though Embiid was not ready to discuss the possibility.
"There's nothing to be happy about," he said. "The job's not done.
"We've got to close out the series. We've got to get one more win and then worry about the rest later."
Joel Embiid's career night led the Philadelphia 76ers to a 132-103 rout of the Washington Wizards, pushing the top seed in the Eastern Conference to the brink of a series sweep.
Embiid established a new playoff career high with 36 points in just 28 minutes, making 14 of 18 shots from the floor and adding eight rebounds.
Embiid had 25 points and seven rebounds at the interval as Philadelphia built a comfortable lead before pulling away in the second half.
Embiid's previous playoff career high was 34 against the Boston Celtics last season.
Tobias Harris added 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, while Ben Simmons had 14 points and nine assists for the Sixers.
Philadelphia made an impressive 58.6 per cent of their shots from the field (51 of 87) while limiting Washington to 38 of 96 shooting (39.6 per cent).
Russell Westbrook led the Wizards with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists while Bradley Beal scored 25.
Game 4 is Monday in Washington.
Giannis, Bucks sweep out Heat
The Milwaukee Bucks avenged last season's loss to Miami in the conference semi-finals by completing a four-game sweep of the Heat with a 120-103 victory. Milwaukee outscored Miami 64-39 in the second half to wrap up the series and will next face the winner of the Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics series. Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first playoff triple-double for the Bucks with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists, while Jimmy Butler turned in a quieter triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a losing effort. It was the first playoff series since 2014 in which Butler failed to reach 20 points in at least one game.
Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley paced the top-seeded Utah Jazz to a 121-111 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, holding off a second-half surge from the underdogs. Mitchell scored 29 points and Conley had 27 points, six rebounds and eight assists for Utah as they took a 2-1 series lead.
Norman Powell's 29 points led the Portland Trail Blazers past the Denver Nuggets 115-95 to level their series at 2-2.
Nuggets' shooters nowhere to be found
The Nuggets had a rough shooting night all the way around in their loss to Portland. Denver made only 32 of 94 shots from the field (34 per cent), including just 13 of 44 (29.5 per cent) from three-point range, and Nikola Jokic led the scoring with just 16 points on seven of 18 shooting.
Morant spins it in
Ja Morant put on a show in a losing effort for the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 28 points to give him 101 in the series. Morant is the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 100 points over his first three playoff appearances and the first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970. Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan are the other two.
Saturday's results
Milwaukee Bucks 120-103 Miami Heat
Portland Trail Blazers 115-95 Denver Nuggets
Philadelphia 76ers 132-103 Washington Wizards
Utah Jazz 121-111 Memphis Grizzlies
Suns at Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers look for a commanding 3-1 lead in their series against the Phoenix Suns after winning the last two games.
Anthony Davis managed to finish Game 3 for the Los Angeles Lakers despite injuring his left knee during the contest, and he has no intention of sitting out Game 4.
Davis said Saturday there is "no chance" he will miss Sunday's matchup against the Phoenix Suns even though he has experienced swelling in the knee since hyperextending it Thursday.
Davis and the Lakers can take a 3-1 series lead on the Suns with a win in Los Angeles.
"There's no chance that I don't play tomorrow," Davis told reporters Saturday.
"As a player, I've wanted to be in this moment. You want to be in the playoffs and help contribute to my team's success. I want to be out there.
"So in my eyes, for me as a competitor, I think I'll be out there [Sunday]."
The Lakers listed Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who also hurt his knee in Game 3, as questionable, but head coach Frank Vogel said he hopes both will play.
Davis hurt his knee in the second quarter while landing after chasing down Devin Booker for a block.
He told reporters after that game he did not really think about his knee once he got through the opening minutes of the second half.
Davis ended up playing 40 minutes and contributing 34 points and 11 rebounds in the 109-95 Los Angeles win.
Now he wants to make sure the Lakers keep pushing and send the Suns to the brink of elimination.
"It's going to be probably the biggest game of the series, I think, besides if Game 7 happens," he said.
"We're going in, want to protect home court ... We know they're going to come out and play desperate, in a sense."
Giannis Antetokounmpo knows the Milwaukee Bucks can beat the teams a variety of ways, and they had to take the hard road Saturday.
The Miami Heat held the Bucks' top two scorers without a field goal in the first quarter of Game 4, but Milwaukee pushed through that early adversity and prevailed 120-103 to sweep the first-round NBA playoff series.
Khris Middleton finally got on the board early in the second quarter and the Greek star went without a basket from the field until a dunk with one minute to play in the second quarter, but Antetokounmpo said his team never lost patience even when their shots failed to fall.
"At the end of the day, nothing's going to be easy. It's a game that's win or go home for them," he said.
"Obviously they're going to play extremely hard, they're going to try to be physical, they're going to try to get us out of our spots.
"But at the end of the day, as players you're going to have games that you're going to come, you're going to score the ball right off the bat. There's going to be days that you're not going to do that.
"Today was one of those days that we couldn't score the ball right off the bat but at the end of the day we keep finding one another, keep facilitating, keep playing the right way. For me and for Khris, that's what we both did.
"Obviously they did a great job guarding us and just making it tough for us, but it did not really test our patience, because what we do, we keep playing the right way, we keep finding one another."
Antetokounmpo turned in a career-best 15 assists on the way to his first playoff triple-double, adding 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Bucks out-scored the Heat 64-39 in the second half.
But he left most of the scoring load to others this time, as Brook Lopez led the way with 25 points, Middleton had 20, and Bryn Forbes scored 22 off the bench.
"I try to affect the game in any way I can," Antetokounmpo said.
"I'm blessed enough that I can affect the game defensively, I can pass the ball.
"There's days I'm going to be dominant, and I'm mature enough to understand that there's days I'm going to be able to do it and there's days I'm not going to be able to do it."
Thanks to their first-round sweep, Milwaukee will have a week off before the next round, where they were eliminated 4-1 by the Bucks last season.
Antetokounmpo and his teammates want more this year, and they know this was just the start.
"We've got to keep getting better. We have a week now to recover and rest our bodies and get better," he said.
Obviously we don't know who we're playing yet. We're going to try to focus on ourselves as much as possible.
"Not trying to take anything away from this moment -- obviously it's a great moment for us, winning 4-0 and beating the team that beat us last year. It feels good. But at the end of the day, we've got a long way to go. Gotta stay humble."
Trae Young helped the Atlanta Hawks regain the advantage in their first-round series against the New York Knicks, who saw Julius Randle endure another playoff outing to forget in Game 3.
Point guard Young led his team with 21 points as all five of Atlanta's starters reached double figures in a 105-94 triumph on Friday.
His eight-for-19 shooting performance was supplemented by 14 assists, making the 22-year-old just the third player since the merger with 80 or more points and at least 30 assists in his first three career playoff games, a feat also achieved by Kevin Johnson and Chris Paul.
"I feel like I've prepared my whole life for these days, these moments," Young said after helping his team go 2-1 up in the best-of-seven series in the Eastern Conference.
However, it was the defensive effort that was the bedrock for Atlanta's victory, including keeping the struggling Knicks to just 13 points in the second quarter.
The visitors were unable to claw back the deficit after trailing 58-44 at half-time, not aided by Randle remaining cold on offense.
The 26-year-old made just two of his 15 attempts in total, with both successes coming from beyond the arc. He became the first Knick to go 0-for-eight or worse on two-point shots in a playoff game since Patrick Ewing did so 27 years ago.
Randle is now shooting 20.6 per cent on two-pointers across the series, making just seven of his 34 tries. It is the lowest success rate in a three-game span by any player with that many attempts in the past 30 postseasons.
His meagre offensive output is in stark contrast to his efforts in the regular season: Randle averaged a career-high 24.1 points per game to help the franchise end an eight-year playoff drought, while he became an All-Star for the first time.
For Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, the key is reacting to the situation on each possession, particularly as Atlanta's ploy of sending two and three players at Randle is leaving others open elsewhere.
"They loaded up on him pretty good. When a team does that, when they put two or three guys on you, you've got to make the play," Thibodeau said in his post-game media conference.
"You've either got to get easy buckets in transition, or off drive-and-kick, you've got to keep moving around.
"He's seen a lot of that this year, but when you have a second and a third guy, that can make it tough. But that should lead to rebounding and open threes on the back side, so we've got to trust the pass."
He added: "The big thing is to get rid of the ball and make plays early. When you do that, you can usually get high-percentage shots. When you get the second defender on the ball, their responsibility is to get rid of it and make plays for their team-mates."
Game 4 of the series takes place in Atlanta on Sunday.
Egan Bernal must hold his nerve in Sunday's closing time trial to win the Giro d'Italia after following Damiano Caruso across the finish line on the penultimate stage.
Colombian Bernal, winner of the 2019 Tour de France, stands on the brink of another famous triumph. The 30.3-kilometre time trial from Senago to the Piazza Duomo is the final frontier in his mission, and Bernal will set out with a lead of one minute and 59 seconds.
Caruso had the glory of a first individual Grand Tour stage win in his career on Saturday, delighting the Italian crowd, and there is every chance he will finish on the general classification podium.
Simon Yates had applied pressure with a stage win on Friday, but the Englishman trails Bernal by three minutes and 23 after crossing the line in sixth place.
Bernal put in a mighty ride on a devilishly mountainous stage, helped along most notably by compatriot and INEOS Grenadiers team-mate Dani Martinez.
Caruso made a bold move with 6.5km remaining, as he and Romain Bardet attacked and left Pello Bilbao trailing, the front pair opening up a lead of over 30 seconds
Martinez pushed hard and Bernal went with him in the maglia rosa group behind the leaders during the taxing climb to the finish.
Bardet fell away from Caruso with two kilometres remaining as the gradient reached 13 per cent, his legs giving up on the prospect of a stage win, allowing Bernal and Martinez to surge past and take second and third place respectively.
Caruso finished 24 seconds clear of Bernal, and a time bonus saw him narrow his gap to the overall leader by 30 seconds overall, tightening his hold on second place in the Giro.
Riding in the rain and mist at times and through snow-covered valleys as the race passed through the Swiss Alps, Saturday's 164-kilometre ride from Verbania to Valle Spluga-Alpe Motta was designed to provide an exacting test for the riders who had put themselves in place to take glory in Milan.
Bernal and Caruso showed they have the steel, but the maglia rosa remains in Colombian hands.
Bernal said on British Eurosport: "I am satisfied with the result. I think we managed well the situation. We have two minutes in advantage for tomorrow's time trial so I think we are in a good position.
"It's not the best to have the [rider ranked] second in the GC [general classification] in front of you, and almost one minute in front of you.
"But I had three team-mates and I tried to use them and finish as fresh as possible in the final climb and also for tomorrow.
"We did well, we managed the situation, but it was difficult."
STAGE RESULT
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 4:27:53
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:24
3. Dani Martinez (INEOS Grenadiers) +00:35
4. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) +00:35
5. Joao Almeida (Deceuninck–Quick-Step) +00:41
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 85:41:47
2. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) +01:59
3. Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange) +03:23
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 136
2. Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) 118
3. Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates) 116
King of the Mountains
1. Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen Team) 184
2. Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) 140
3. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 99
Sebastian Korda won the first ATP Tour title of his career with a straight-sets defeat of Marco Cecchinato in the Emilia-Romagna Open final on Saturday.
Korda became the first American man to be crowned a champion on clay in Europe for 11 years, beating the Italian wildcard 6-2 6-4 in Parma.
The unseeded 20-year-old son of former world number two Petr Korda did not drop a set this week and will head to the French Open with his confidence sky-high.
Korda won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve and broke three times to get the better of Cecchinato at the President Tennis Club.
The Florida native took just an hour and 15 minutes to become the first American man since Sam Querrey in Belgrade back in 2010 to win a title in Europe on this surface.
His victory ensured the Kordas are the third father-son duo to win ATP Tour-level singles titles in the Open Era, emulating Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan, and Phil Dent and Taylor Dent.
World number 63 Korda will face Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the first round at Roland Garros next week.
Barbora Krejcikova clinched a first Tour-level singles title of her career as she dispatched Sorana Cirstea 6-3 6-3 in the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
World number 38 Krejcikova lost to Garbine Muguruza in the Dubai Tennis Championships final in March but suffered no such disappointment this time around, overcoming her Romanian opponent in one hour and 41 minutes.
Cirstea was in fine form this week following her Istanbul success, but the world number 61 was on the back foot from the off after losing her first two service games, offering up six break points in the process as Krejcikova reeled off four games in a row.
Krejcikova squandered two set points as Cirstea broke back, but the Czech took the lead at the third time of asking.
Cirstea rallied straight away in the second set, yet problems on her own serve continued as she suffered successive breaks and those errors ultimately handed Krejcikova an advantage she did not relinquish, with the 25-year-old sealing her maiden title with a powerful cross-court forehand.
Novak Djokovic will head to the French Open on the back of claiming the singles title at the Belgrade Open after battling past Alex Molcan in the final.
The world number one did not have it all his own way against the world number 255, with the first set featuring just three service holds.
But Djokovic claimed four breaks to Molcan's three to take the opener and did not let his advantage slip in front of his home crowd.
He negotiated a similarly tricky second set to prevail 6-4 6-3, with attention now turning to the second grand slam of the year after Djokovic won the Australian Open back in January.
After a resilient performance in the first set as he twice came back from a break down, Djokovic was able to enjoy a slightly less frenetic path to victory in the second.
He broke down a more obdurate Molcan for a 4-2 lead, only for the Slovak to hit straight back.
But Djokovic was not to be denied and immediately claimed another break, which he consolidated to delight his adoring public.
Victory in what was Djokovic's first final on home soil since 2011 means he now has 83 ATP singles titles to his name, with three of them coming at this event.
It also caps a positive period of preparation for a tilt at a second French Open title, with Djokovic having reached the final in Rome this month only to lose to Roland Garros favourite Rafael Nadal.
Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the semi-finals this year in Paris, where the Serbian was thrashed by the King of Clay in three sets in the 2020 final.
Djokovic will start his campaign to add to his 2016 French Open success when he faces Tennys Sandgren in the first round.
The Reds finally ended the wait for an Australian win in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman season, but there were heavy defeats for the Waratahs and the Brumbies on Saturday.
With Damian McKenzie sent off in the 22nd minute for making contact with the head area, the impressive Reds appeared to be coasting to victory when they opened up a 40-8 lead midway through the second half.
Isaac Henry scored two of their six tries, the first of which came with Chase Tiatia in the sin bin. McKenzie's red card then swung the game even further in the Reds' favour, as they capitalised on having an extra man to run up the score.
However, they were then forced to repel a frenetic comeback bid, four tries from the Chiefs closing the gap down to six points in the closing minutes.
The hosts managed to hold on to win 40-34 and register a first Australian success in the tournament at the 15th attempt, in the process denting their opponents' hopes of making the grand final as they collected only a losing bonus point.
New Zealand sides had dominated the two earlier fixtures, though, including the rampant Crusaders cutting loose against the Waratahs.
There were eight different try-scorers for Scott Robinson's team in an emphatic 54-28 triumph, with Richie Mo'unga converting all bar one of the scores in the rout.
The Waratahs did get within 10 points after Izaia Perese touched down with Oli Jager in the sin bin, while they also capitalised on yellow cards for David Havili and Nathan Vella to score a late try through Alex Newsome, albeit it was no more than a consolation effort.
The Blues made it three straight Trans-Tasman wins despite a determined Brumbies side matching them in the first half at Eden Park, the away team even holding a 10-7 lead when hooker Connal McInerney went over.
They were unable to hold onto the lead for long and trailed 17-10 at the break, Finlay Christie touching down for a try converted by Otere Black, who also slotted over a penalty.
The hosts added 21 points without reply in the second half, Bryce Heem, AJ Lam and TJ Faiane all grabbing tries in a 38-10 triumph that sees them take over at the top of the table.
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