Hayden Buckley finished the third day at the Sony Open in Hawaii with an eagle to claim a two-stroke lead from David Lipsky, Ben Taylor and Chris Kirk on Saturday.
Buckley carded a six-under-par round of 64 to be 15-under overall, managing two eagles on the third day along with three birdies and a bogey at Waialae Country Club.
The American sunk a 28-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole, before he moved into the lead buoyed by an excellent back nine where he nailed a 133-yard hole-out eagle on the 10th hole along with another on the 18th aided by a pinpoint approach.
Halfway leader Kirk slipped after a third-day 68 which started with a double bogey on the first hole, although he expertly produced a hole-out birdie from the bunker on the 14th to stay in contention.
Lipsky had an up-and-down round that included seven birdies and three bogeys, while Englishman Taylor birdied four of his final six holes to be tied for second at 13 under.
Andrew Putnam shared the round of the day with Nick Taylor, both carding eight-under-par rounds of 62, with the former moving to 12-under overall.
Putnam, who managed a career-high 10 birdies, is tied with Si Woo Kim, who had a strong third round with seven birdies in his 64.
Will Gordon and Nate Lashley are a further shot back at 11 under, while J.J. Spaun's third-round 71 saw him drop to well off the pace and nine under.
Two-time major winner Hideki Matsuyama enjoyed his best round at the Sony Open with a 65, leaving him at eight-under overall.
The San Francisco 49ers advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs with an 11th straight victory on Saturday, recovering from a rocky first half against the Seattle Seahawks in some style.
The 49ers, led by rookie quarterback Brock Purdy and backed up by a league-leading defense, had twice beaten NFC West rivals the Seahawks this season and clearly had momentum on their side heading into their Wild Card matchup.
But a 41-23 win at Levi's Stadium was not initially as straightforward as many would have imagined – or as the final scoreline suggests, as Seattle scored 17 second-quarter points.
Purdy trailed at halftime for the first time despite San Francisco making the stronger start. Kenneth Walker ran in for the Seahawks after Christian McCaffrey had caught the opening touchdown pass, then Geno Smith – another playoff debutant but nine years older than Purdy – connected with D.K. Metcalf for a 50-yard score.
The 49ers got back on track with a TD drive to start the second half, though, and their defense belatedly came to the party when Charles Omenihu forced a fumble that was recovered by Nick Bosa.
After zero turnovers and zero penalties in the first half, the Seahawks soon unravelled, unable to respond either when Purdy superbly sought out Elijah Mitchell in the endzone or when a pass to Deebo Samuel gave him space to race away for a 74-yard TD.
Smith swiftly threw an interception as Seattle waited until after the two-minute warning for their first score of the second half, while Purdy showed no signs of slowing his remarkable rise as he finished with 332 yards and three TDs through the air in his sixth straight win to start his career.
The 2022 NFL Draft's 'Mr Irrelevant' has extended the 49ers' winning streak to 11 – tying their third-longest of all time – and continues to look capable of carrying one of the league's most talented rosters all the way in this postseason.
The Professional Tennis Players Association is committed to equal pay for men and women at grand slam level, according to the man who teamed up with Novak Djokovic to launch the organisation.
Vasek Pospisil, whose on-court doubles efforts helped Canada win the Davis Cup for the first time in November, said the PTPA would "fight for both sides" in its efforts to improve players' prospects throughout the sport.
The breakaway union has caused controversy, with the ATP and WTA, which run the men's and women's tours, adamant they already have significant player representation when it comes to making decisions in the best interests of tennis.
Djokovic quit as president of the ATP player council to become the figurehead of the PTPA, which was launched at the height of the pandemic during the 2020 US Open.
There was initial criticism of the PTPA when no women appeared to be involved.
However, Pospisil said at the time discussions were ongoing, and ahead of the upcoming Australian Open, its first executive committee was unveiled, consisting of four men and four women.
Joining Djokovic and Pospisil are Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner, plus WTA players Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Zheng Saisai.
Pay has been equal at all the grand slams since 2007, when Wimbledon announced it would reward women the same amount it pays men.
Asked about equal pay at the four majors and the PTPA's position, Pospisil told Stats Perform: "From day one, we always knew that this would only be successful with the women, and that has always been our goal. And so we're really happy that we're gaining a lot of traction now on the women's side.
"Currently, there is equal pay at the grand slam level, I believe, so that's obviously amazing.
"It is a joint organisation, both men and women, and we'll do everything to fight for both sides.
"Obviously, they're separate tours. The WTA, ATP, and grand slams are joined, of course. So, the staff will have their hands full with trying to advocate for both sides.
"It's a unified player association for both men and women, and we're really proud of that and where we're going."
Those already involved, and those the PTPA will hope to attract, are being advised the union is aiming to bolster the rights – and at the bottom line, the earning potential – of all involved.
There is currently significantly more money on offer on the ATP tour than on the WTA circuit, which points to issues of inequality remaining in the sport.
It has been known in recent times for some high-profile tournaments, where tours converge, to pay its men's champion more than its title-winning woman. This is despite events on both tours being best-of-three-set matches, whereas in the slams women play best-of-three and men play best-of-five, a matter that has long been a trigger for equal-pay debate.
Pospisil believes the WTA has a "smart and passionate" group of eight on its ExCo and said the "energy was amazing" when the group met for dinner on Thursday in Melbourne.
"I just have such a good feeling after a few years of working on this," Pospisil said. "To finally be at the stage where we're ready to go, are launching, got everything we need, and we have amazing player board reps that honestly we couldn't be happier with."
Djokovic, a 21-time singles grand slam winner, is at the forefront, and Pospisil said the 35-year-old Serbian's role has been crucial.
"I feel like you need somebody that is at the top of the sport," Pospisil said. "So, I just think all the players and our organisation, we're very lucky that he's so supportive and that he's stuck his neck out and is fighting for what he believes in and what he believes is right."
The second round of matches in the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League began as scheduled at 6:00 pm on Wednesday at the National Arena to a very involved and noisy set of spectators, with defending champion Horizon getting the better of the Waves and Storm defeating Rivers in contrasting fashion.
Horizon continued its winning ways and is now the sole leader with two wins after two rounds. They were pressured by the Waves who lead the first two quarters 24-16 and 37-34 and well into the third quarter before drawing level 54 a piece, and then inching past them with 4:42 to go in the fourth quarter and take the match 86-79 in a ding dong battle between the teams.
The top performers for Horizon were MVP for the previous competition Bobby Gray (22 points), Rasheed Maynard (17 points) and Nicholai Brown (11 points).
Cleon Morgan, coach of Horizon was pleased with the result "we started out slow compared to the previous game but we had a strategy even though the opponents were leading but the objective was to chip it little by little as we go along. Going into the third quarter we were also down but we started to chip it. We adjusted the defense a little, it worked for us and so we were able to pull off a victory today (Wednesday)."
The Waves came into the match on a high from its win against the Rivers in the first round. They were quick on the court with some smart plays but were eventually pegged back by Horizon. Waves' top scorers were Cameron Burhannan (40 points), Marin Dixon Green (14 points) and Lushane Wilson (10 points).
The other match-up pitched the Rivers against the Storm. They were looking for their first win, having both lost to Waves and Horizon respectively in the first round. The Storm came out blazing with a 35/7 first quarter but the Rivers outscored them 37-19 in the second quarter to close out the half at 44-54. The Storm re-grouped in the third quarter to extend their lead to 17 and end the quarter 79-62 in their favor after allowing the Rivers to come within three points in the quarter. The Rivers made a run 33-24 again in the fourth quarter but could not catch the Storm who posted 102 for the win to Rivers' 96.
The Storm's Brandon "BDot" Armstrong (31 points), Jayrn Johnson (25 points), Da'Rell Domine (17 points) and Roshane O'Brian (14 points) were the top scorers, while Ricky Shaford (27 points), Anthony Ottley (27 points) and Tre Brewer (25 points) were the main contributors the Rivers' score.
According to the Storm's coach Oneil Brown who spoke after the match, "I feel great. After the first game I must show respect to the guys who came back after the first game loss. They showed character and come out here and changed the way they played. This is a pro league, this is what pro teams do. We made adjustments and we changed the entire thing yesterday at practice because the first game did not work. We came out here with a plan and my team executed the plan and I am grateful for the victory." He credited top scorer BDot and Johnson and the entire team who stepped up their performance, for winning the match.
The four-team competition roster boasts overseas based pros from the USA, Canada and Barbados and fifty percent Jamaican amateurs.
The next set of matches on the four-team schedule will see Horizon taking on the winless Rivers while Storm will battle Waves on Saturday at the National Arena. The first match is scheduled for start at 6:00 pm while the second match will start at 8:00 pm.
Iga Swiatek had a reminder of the stellar rivalry that never was when she practised alongside Ash Barty on Saturday ahead of the Australian Open.
Australian Barty is the reigning women's singles champion at Melbourne Park, but she retired just weeks after lifting the trophy last year.
That shock decision from the then 25-year-old saw a figurehead of the WTA Tour make way, and Swiatek has taken her place as the undisputed world number one, saying Barty has inspired her to hit those heights.
The prospect of Barty and an ever-improving Swiatek fighting for the tour's biggest titles was dashed, and they only ever played twice, with Barty winning both times.
Barty announced on January 6 she is pregnant, and she appears to have no inclination to perform a retirement U-turn.
"For sure, when she retired, I felt like she still had the best tennis out there," Swiatek said after their light-hearted court session.
"So, I was pretty sad that I'm not going to be able to compete against her and maybe win.
"But on the other hand, she gave me a lot in terms of my motivation and my kind of willingness to practise even more and to have more variety on court.
"When I played against her, I felt like she just has all these different game styles and slice. Even in her book, she says she has five types of slice. I don't know how that's possible. I still haven't figured out only one type.
"I have huge respect for Ash. She really gave me huge motivation at the beginning of last season to get even better. I'm kind of grateful for that."
Swiatek will play the first night session match on Rod Laver Arena at this year's championships, taking on a familiar foe in Germany's Jule Niemeier.
At the US Open last September, the heavy-hitting Niemeier led by a set and a break against Swiatek in the fourth round, only to let the Pole back in and eventually surrender the third set 6-0. Swiatek went on to win the title, her third grand slam trophy success.
Niemeier also reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and Swiatek is wary of the opening test that awaits.
"We played at the US Open, and you saw how intense that match was, how tough," Swiatek said. "It's not going to be easy.
"But on the other hand, any match in a grand slam is always more intense and more stressful than other tournaments. I'll be ready for it.
"It's nice also that we played not so long ago, so I can take a lot from that match. Now I know how her ball feels on the racket. So, we'll see. But she has the same."
Rafael Nadal has denied he has already decided to follow Roger Federer into retirement after this year's French Open.
The Spaniard wil turn 37 in June, and calling time on his career at the grand slam he has won a record 14 times might be the ideal way to sign off.
Making predictions for the season, Germany's Alexander Zverev told Eurosport: "Unfortunately, I think Rafa will retire at Roland Garros. I don't want it to happen, but I think he will have a great tournament, potentially win it and say goodbye."
That would mean Nadal joining his former great rival Federer in waving goodbye to a glorious career after the Swiss played for the last time at the Laver Cup in September. Nadal's tears that night in London pointed to a realisation his own time on tour was also nearing its end.
However, Nadal denies Zverev has been given any encouragement to throw out such a specific retirement suggestion, which was revealed ahead of the Australian Open.
Nadal is the defending champion in Melbourne, and he also took the Paris slam last year to reach 22 for his career, putting him one ahead of Novak Djokovic.
"I don't know what's going to happen in six months," Nadal said, quoted by Eurosport.
"I have a very good relationship with Zverev, but not enough to confess something like that to him.
"The reality is that I'm here to play tennis, try to have a great 2023, fight for everything that I have struggled throughout my career, and I don't think about my retirement.
“You think about it week after week because that's how you show me at every press conference. But I will answer the same every time you ask me."
Nadal has lost six of his last seven tour-level matches, suggesting he might struggle to make serious inroads in his title defence, which starts against Britain's Jack Draper on Monday.
Asked if he felt vulnerable, Nadal said: "Yeah, of course. Without a doubt. I have been losing more than usual, so that's part of the business.
"I think I am humble enough to accept that situation and just work with what I have today. I need to build again all this momentum. I need to build again this confidence with myself with victories. But it's true that I have been losing more than usual.
"I already have been here for three weeks, practising every day with the conditions, with the best players. That helps a lot in general terms.
"My situation, I don't know what can happen on Monday, but my personal feeling, without a doubt, is better now than three weeks ago, in general terms."
Two time defending champions Craig Simpson and Aliana McMaster are ready to drop a 'three-peat' in the Proven David East Memorial Sporting Clays Challenge organized by the Driftwood Gun Club.
The shoot will be held at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate over-looking the town of Ocho Rios on Sunday with a 9:30 am shotgun start.
It kicks off the first sporting clays shoot of the year for the Jamaica Skeet Club, which has robust calendar for 2023.
Simpson will have to battle over 100 competitors including three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso, who he got the better of by way of long-run in 2021, six-time national shotgun champion Shaun Barnes and nine-time national shotgun champion and current president Ian Banks as well as the very consistent Ray McMaster and Robert Yap Foo among others.
The Ladies section will be also be competitive as well with McMaster expecting to be challenged by her mother, five-time national shotgun champion Wendy McMaster, former national shotgun champion Marguerite Harris and a number of very good lady shooters.
The shooters will compete in various classes including A to E, Juniors, Sub-Juniors, Ladies and Hunters or beginners.
All the shooters are looking forward to this year's event which will be the first one which does not feature Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. It is expected that there will be on-course hospitality and lunch post- competition as well as the very popular prize giving and camaraderie among the competitors and members of the Jamaica Skeet Club.
The proceeds of the tournament will be used for the Driftwood Gun Club’s charities which are dominated by educational support in the Treasure Beach area in the parish of St. Elizabeth.
The club president, Christina East was happy to have Proven on board for the third consecutive year as title sponsor. She credited David East who passed away in 2020 with playing a pivotal in securing the venue as the home of the club's annual competition. East was a visionary club member who only wanted the best for sporting clays in Jamaica, hence the competition was named in his honour.
Reggae Warriors forward Michael Lawrence has signed with English Championship club Bradford Bulls for the 2023 season.
This move ends his 16-year spell with the Huddersfield Giants where he made 324 appearances.
The 32-year-old Lawrence, who made his debut for Jamaica in 2019, has represented the Reggae Warriors five times was a member of their squad at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.
He previously represented the England Knights, a feeder team for the English Rugby team, twice from 2012-2013.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is adamant the franchise is not ready to move on from Aaron Rodgers.
Having ended the season 8-9, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2018, Rodgers will take time to decide whether to return in 2023 – or whether he will remain in Green Bay.
That leaves the Packers with uncertainty ahead of the new season, but they will not rush Rodgers on his decision, while Gutekunst feels he could look the veteran quarterback in the eye and tell him if they planned to move on.
That is not the case this time around, however, with the Packers keen to retain Rodgers for another season.
"You've got to be honest with him, you know what I mean? I think he deserves that if we get to that point. We're not at that point," he told reporters.
"We made a really big commitment to him last offseason, so I think as we did that it wasn't certainly for just this year.
"He's going to take his time, and the communication will be pretty constant as we move forward."
When Rodgers left November's loss at the Philadelphia Eagles due to a rib injury, Jordan Love came in to lead a pair of scoring drives late on, but Gutekunst made it clear who his preferred option to lead the offense was.
Asked whether it was Rodgers or Love who gives the Packers a better chance next season, he replied: "Well, I mean, you're talking about a four-time MVP, right?
"We are very excited about Jordan and where he's at, there's no doubt about that. But Jordan's never played a 16-, 17-game season and gone through all that stuff. So, it's no different than when we moved from Brett [Favre] to Aaron, right?
"That's a hard thing to say, but at the same time, where Aaron's at, the level he's at, there's not many teams he wouldn't give the best chance to win."
Jamaica's William Knibbs made the cut at the 8th Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) (golf) on Friday at the Grand Reserve Golf Course in Puerto Rico. The island's other representative, Justin Burrowes missed the cut.
Knibbs' first round one over par 73 at the end of the first day, had him poised to make the cut if he could maintain that score or do better. At that point he was tied for 47th place along with several other golfers. He posted a solid two over par 74 during Friday's second round for a two-day total of three over par 147 and tied for 49th place with five others, and importantly made the cut.
"I just made the cut which is amazing. That was my goal coming into this event. Its my third LAAC and I had never made a cut so that was my big goal heading into this week, just to make the cut. Now that I have made the cut I won't settle on that. I am gonna try to play as well as I can moving forward but it feels great accomplishing a major milestone. It was kinda nerve wracking for the whole day seeing my name hovering on the leaderboard in or just out by one and eventually it got kinda discouraging towards end because my name was the first name after the projected cut, so yea I am looking to tomorrow and Sunday" said Knibbs.
The cut line was set at three over par or the top 50 golfers at the end of the second round. The golfers who made the cut will compete for another two rounds to determine the overall winner.
Burrowes who is competing in the LAAC for the fourth time posted five over par 77 for the first round and placed 84th. He posted another five over par 77 on the second day for a two-day total of 10 over par 154 meant that he missed the cut line for the first time.
He said "disappointing last couple of days. Its unfortunate to miss the cut, unfortunate not to play well but its part of the game. One thing for sure about this week is that it exposed my weaknesses, the weak areas of my game. More than anything else I am just excited to get back to work. I think today was certainly more positive overall. I felt like I managed myself better even though the score didn't quite reflect it. There were some small wins out there."
Louis Carrera of Mexico topped the leaderboard at the end of the second round after posting 10 under par 134 with scores of five under par 67 on each of the first two days. The first day leader, Mateo Fuenmayor of Colombia ended the second round tied for 25th place with five others after posting five over par 77, with a two-day total of one under par 143 (66, 77).
Defending champion Aaron Jarvis of the Cayman Islands is currently tied in the 14th position with 9 others with a score of two under par 142. He shot par 72 and two under par 70 on the first and second day respectively.
The Dallas Cowboys headed into Week 18 still in contention for the number one seed in the NFC, but a desperate display from quarterback Dak Prescott saw them instead end the regular season on a bum note.
Although wins for the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers elsewhere meant the Cowboys would have finished as the fifth seed regardless, any optimism and momentum built up over the second half of the season was sapped by a stunning loss to the Washington Commanders.
The Commanders, already eliminated from the playoff race, crushed the Cowboys 26-6, helped by the worst performance of Prescott's career.
His completion percentage of 37.8 (14 of 37) was a career low, as was a yards-per-attempt average of 3.46. Only twice had the QB previously dipped below his Week 18 passer rating of 45.8.
"There's a lot we can learn from and get better and use this tape," said Prescott afterwards, and past experience at least suggests that is likely.
On the previous four occasions Prescott has completed under half of his passes in a game, he has guided Dallas to a win in his next outing. Across those four subsequent games, Prescott has completed 80.7 per cent of his passes for six touchdowns and zero interceptions. The Cowboys have won by 22.3 points on average.
A repeat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round would represent a significant turnaround from the start of this season, however.
Prior to the Commanders game, Week 1 against the Buccaneers – a 19-3 loss – saw the most recent example of Prescott's pass completion dipping alarmingly, completing 14 of 29 attempts for 48.3 per cent.
On that occasion, a thumb injury ruled him out of the end of the game and then a chunk of the season before he was able to respond on his return.
The Cowboys went 8-2 over Prescott's next 10 starts, with both defeats coming in overtime. Dallas scored 351 points across that period, the highest-scoring 10-game span in team history.
Between Weeks 7 and 17, Prescott's 71.0 per cent pass completion led all QBs with 100 or more attempts. As only Patrick Mahomes (23) topped his 22 TD passes, the two-time Pro Bowler led the way for TD percentage (6.7).
But the Cowboys remained reluctant to rely too heavily on Prescott, running passing plays only 53.5 per cent of the time over this stretch – the sixth-lowest rate in the NFL.
This reluctance was understandable, too, given the clear warning signs ahead of that Washington game. Even without the ball regularly in his hands, Prescott threatened to derail his team.
His 13 interceptions were also a league high over those 11 weeks, meaning a pick six against the Commanders saw him end the year tied for the lead for picks (15) and pick sixes (three). Prescott played only 12 games to co-leader Davis Mills' 15.
Now, heading into the playoffs, Prescott is on a run of seven straight games with at least one interception. It is the longest such streak of 2022, while only five players have endured worse runs since he entered the league in 2016.
Prescott's careless aggression was already prompting murmurs from Jerry Jones before a Week 18 in which he averaged 10.9 air yards per attempt, up on his season mark of 8.2 air yards per attempt to that point.
He at least retains Jones' support heading into the playoffs, but the Cowboys owner will now want to see some return on a contract that pays Prescott $40million a year – in line with the deal signed by last season's Super Bowl-winning QB Matthew Stafford.
To this point, Prescott's playoff experience is made up of only four games and a single win.
In that regard, he stands at odds with his opponent this week. Tom Brady may have been unconvincing this year, too, with his 25 pickable passes third in the NFL, but he is the master when it comes to the playoffs.
Brady's 13,049 postseason passing yards dwarf not only Prescott's total (1,048) but that of every other playoff QB combined. The 13 other projected starters have a total of 9,184 playoff career passing yards.
The Buccaneers have looked likely to be accommodating postseason opponents for much of this year; they limped to the NFC South title at 8-9 and rank 17th by Stats Perform's efficiency versus expected model, with the 12-5 Cowboys seventh in EVE. There should be a clear favourite in this matchup.
But Brady has spent his entire career delivering in big moments, whereas Prescott crumbled last week.
The Cowboys may only ask their QB not to single-handedly cost them this game, yet Prescott still must prove even that is not beyond him.
Emma Raducanu is "in a good place" ahead of the Australian Open after an ankle injury threatened her participation.
Raducanu was left in tears after retiring against Viktoria Kuzmova in their round-of-16 match at the ASB Classic.
The 20-year-old won the first set 6-0, but after losing the second set 7-5, Raducanu was unable to continue, sparking fears over her ability to play in the Australian Open in just 11 days.
But with her tournament opener against Tamara Korpatsch now just two days away, the 2021 US Open champion eased fears over her fitness, saying she "fully trusts" her ankle.
"I've been able to do preparation, albeit more limited than usual," Raducanu told reporters on Saturday. "But I'm feeling in a good place to go out there and give it my best shot.
"We were thrown a bit of a curveball but we remained optimistic. It's been a team effort to get me to this place. We've been building it up pretty gradually.
"For the ankle, I feel really good. It's going to be more introducing certain things, and the rate at which we've had to do it has been really quick.
"But I've not really played much tennis ever in my career, so I'm kind of used to it. And I'm not stressed about lack of tennis that much."
In Melbourne, Raducanu will be aiming to go beyond the second round of a grand slam for the first time since her incredible US Open heroics in 2021.
Cameron Norrie missed the chance to cap his New Zealand homecoming as he was beaten 4-6 6-4 6-4 by Richard Gasquet in the Auckland Open final on Saturday.
Norrie grew up in Auckland, and the British number one reached his first ATP Tour-level final in the city in 2019.
But despite repeating that feat and then winning the opening set of Saturday's final, Frenchman Gasquet roared back to lift his first title on the ATP Tour since 2018.
After they split the opening two sets, Norrie looked to be on the way to victory when he held a 4-1 lead in the decider.
But 36-year-old Gasquet rattled off five straight sets, including two breaks of serve, to shock the second seed and become the oldest champion in the Auckland Open's 66-year history.
"It's an amazing title for me, especially now at my age," Gasquet told a post-match news conference. "I really didn't think I would win again.
"I'm 37 this year, so when I came here last week, if you were to tell me next Saturday you will win here, I wouldn't believe it."
Norrie gets his Australian Open campaign underway against wildcard Luca van Assche on Monday, while Gasquet will play fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the first round.
At the Adelaide International 2, Kwon Son-woo defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-4) to take the crown.
Bautista Agut, who knocked out defending champion Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semi-finals, hit back from losing the opening set to level the game with a strong second stanza.
The deciding set went all the way to a tie-break as both players lost two of their service games, but with Kwon 5-4 up in the pivotal tie-break, the world number 84 found two breaks of serve to complete the victory.
The win was Kwon's second ATP Tour title and first since lifting the Astana Open trophy in 2021, while he becomes the first South Korean to win multiple Tour-level titles.
Iga Swiatek starts the Australian Open as almost as strong a favourite to win the women's singles as Novak Djokovic is for the men's event.
Considering Djokovic is a nine-time champion in Melbourne, and Swiatek has never reached the final, that is some going and indicative of the Polish player's dominance on the WTA Tour over the last 11 months.
Swiatek ended last year with eight titles to her name, winning the French Open and US Open among them, and the 21-year-old has accrued more than twice as many ranking points as the next player on the WTA list, Ons Jabeur.
Her ascent to become the dominant woman in tennis has been remarkable, and Swiatek has also earned admiration for her efforts to raise funds for children in war-hit Ukraine.
But is she such an outstanding favourite for the Melbourne Park title as the odds-makers have it?
Since the US Open, she has been a champion at just one – modest by her standards – of the four tournaments she has contested, including the United Cup team event.
Here, Stats Perform looks at five others who might have a say in the destination of the year's first major.
Jessica Pegula
Swiatek was reduced to tears after a 6-2 6-2 drubbing by Pegula on January 6 at the United Cup, her first loss of the year.
She later described Pegula's performance as "the perfect match", and will hope the American cannot always rise to that level.
"It's always hard when you lose, especially when you're playing for the team and your country," Swiatek said at the time, explaining her post-match tears.
Swiatek had won all four of the matches they contested in 2022, dropping only one set, with quarter-final wins on the way to her two grand slam triumphs included in that set.
The result in Sydney, therefore, might have been just a blip, but Pegula is number three in the world for a reason, and Swiatek will surely want to avoid her over the coming fortnight.
Coco Gauff
Is now Gauff's time? There's a question that has been buzzing around the tennis circuit for at least a couple of seasons, despite the American being just 18 years old.
Time, it should be clear, is firmly on her side. She soared to fourth in the rankings in October but has slipped a little since, while remaining firmly established in the top 10.
Given her great talent, Gauff should be resident in the top 10 for many years to come, so we can afford to wait before watching her fly. The sometimes-erratic forehand remains in need of fine-tuning, and Gauff began this year with just two career singles titles to her name after missing out on a trophy in the 2022 season.
However, she reached a first grand slam final last June, losing to Swiatek in Paris, and began 2023 by capturing a title in Auckland where, as top seed, she made light work of the field.
The victory made her the sixth American player to secure three or more WTA-level titles before turning 19 in the last 40 years, after slam winners Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus and Serena Williams.
That is some company for Gauff, who will face Katerina Siniakova in the first rout in Melbourne, to be keeping, and her time will come. It might even come in Melbourne.
Ons Jabeur
After finishing runner-up to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Swiatek at the US Open, Jabeur is targeting a third successive slam final.
The Tunisian would win most popularity contests on the Tour, but she wants one of the big trophies now, and has to be seen as a strong contender in Australia.
Her preparations took a knock with a loss to 18-year-old Czech Linda Noskova at Adelaide International 1, but that will only have made Jabeur work harder in the build-up to the major.
She was gutted to have to pull out of the Australian Open with a back injury last year, and a first-round loss at the French Open followed, but Jabeur came good at the next two majors, albeit falling at the final hurdle.
Aryna Sabalenka
At this time last year, Sabalenka was in crisis, her serve a massive weakness as she struggled to deliver the ball safely.
She recovered from going a set down in three consecutive matches at the Australian Open before losing a rollicking tussle in round four with Estonian veteran and upset specialist Kaia Kanepi.
Sabalenka served a wretched 15 double faults in that match, which was sadly more or less par for her in the early stages of the 2022 season, but the Belarusian got her act together, overcome those yips, and finished the year strongly.
A semi-final run at the US Open was followed by an appearance in the WTA Finals title match, where she lost a close encounter with Caroline Garcia.
Sabalenka began this year not with the serving jitters, but with the Adelaide International 1 title, not dropping a set all week.
She has a big game and with it growing confidence. At the age of 24, she should be entering her prime years, and 2023 could be a special 12 months for the woman with the tiger tattoo.
Zheng Qinwen
The WTA's 2022 Newcomer of the Year winner, Zheng is a 20-year-old Chinese player who could soon follow in the footsteps of compatriot Li Na and begin scooping the biggest prizes in tennis.
How soon? Well, probably not quite yet, but then again very few picked out the then 54th-ranked Swiatek to win the 2020 French Open, the moment that launched her to stardom.
Zheng has rocketed to 30th in the rankings, having begun last year at 126th on the WTA list, and should be considered capable of halving her ranking over this season.
She first came to major prominence at the French Open, when she defeated Simona Halep and for a while also had Swiatek's number in their fourth-round match, winning the first set before menstrual cramps and a leg problem caused her to lose momentum.
The WTA Tour is a learning curve and slam-level success might not come immediately for Zheng, but that newcomer award came her way because she is a player shaping up to have a big say in the sport's future. Along with the likes of Gauff and Swiatek, she could still be a big factor in a decade's time.
Belinda Bencic eased to a 6-0 6-2 final victory over Daria Kasatkina to claim the Adelaide International 2 crown on Saturday.
Both Bencic and Kasatkina did not have to play a semi-final after their respective opponents, Veronika Kudermetova and Paula Badosa, both pulled out with injuries.
Bencic romped to victory in the final though, dropping just two games against her Russian opponent to lift her first title in Australia.
The match lasted just 67 minutes, as the 2021 runner-up converted five of her seven break point opportunities while not facing a single break point herself.
Bencic rattled off eight games in a row to start the final, and though Kasatkina did save some face with a couple of holds late on, the world number 13 finished the job to win in straight sets ahead of the start of the Australian Open next week.
"I'm happy I could show my work here on the court," Bencic told reporters at a post-match news conference. "I thought I played some great matches from the start of the tournament and also against different kind of opponents so I really could test myself out there in every way and just go confidently into the Australian Open."
At the Hobart International, Lauren Davis ended a six-year title drought with a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 triumph over Elisabetta Cocciaretto in an all-unseeded final.
In the opening set, every game went to serve until the tie-break, when Davis found three crucial breaks to take the advantage heading into the second stanza.
But the second set was not the same tight affair as Cocciaretto, playing in her first Tour-level singles final, collapsed to a 5-0 deficit to leave her staring down the barrel of defeat.
Davis, who herself was playing in a first Tour-level final since winning the trophy in Auckland in 2017, overcame losing the next two games to take the title having not lost a set at the tournament.
Davis was delighted after the match, saying: "I have a lot of emotions going through my body right now. I'm just really happy, really excited. I really had to play my best in order to win today."
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay released an open letter on Friday highlighting his disappointment in their tumultuous season.
The Colts finished with the fourth-worst record in the NFL at 4-12-1 despite entering the year with "the highest hopes for a division title and a deep playoff run", according to Irsay.
It was the fourth season in a row the Colts came into Week 1 with a new starting quarterback, and when faced with a shaky 3-5-1 start and uncertainty at the position, Irsay made the decision to fire head coach Frank Reich.
That was the first time since taking control of the team in 1997 that Irsay had fired his head coach mid-season, and his next move raised even more eyebrows as he decided to bring in long-time friend and legendary former Colts offensive lineman Jeff Saturday as Reich's replacement.
Saturday had never been a head coach at any level prior to his appointment, and after winning his first contest in charge, Indianapolis closed the season on a seven-game losing streak.
In his letter, Irsay said: "I share your frustration. I can't stand losing, and I hate letting down our fans, and we had too much of both last year.
"But please know this – no one is more unsatisfied than I am. No one has higher expectations than I do. And no one wants to win for our fans and our community more than the people in our organization wearing the Horseshoe every day.
"So as I've always said, the responsibility for making us better ultimately falls on me, and our offseason work has already begun. That includes our search for our next head coach, preparing for an important draft in April and continuing to bolster the talented core of players already on our roster.
"No one can ever guarantee wins or losses. But as long as I'm owner, I can guarantee that winning championships will always be my goal, and I'll be doing everything I can to help get us there. That's what you deserve, and that's what we'll be working hard to deliver."
The Colts own the fourth pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and pundits have speculated about whether they will take the gamble of trading up to number one or two to ensure they land one of college football's top quarterbacks.
The New York Knicks have now won six of their past seven games after Jalen Brunson excelled in a 112-108 victory against the Washington Wizards on Friday.
Brunson, who is averaging career-highs in points (21.9) and assists (6.4) since signing with the Knicks in the offseason, was once again his side's best player.
He scored a team-high 34 points on 12-of-24 shooting with eight rebounds and eight assists, continuing the red-hot form that has seen him average 33.2 points, 5.6 assists and 5.2 rebounds on 52 per cent shooting since the new year began.
Another player in scintillating form since the start of January is Knicks forward Julius Randle, and he is now averaging 24.8 points and 14.4 rebounds this month after putting up 23 points (eight-of-19 shooting) and 16 rebounds.
The Knicks overcame a terrific performance from Wizards wing Kyle Kuzma, who scored a season-high 40 points on 14-of-27 shooting with seven rebounds and seven assists.
New York are now 24-19, and sit sixth in the Eastern Conference.
No Jokic, no problem for the Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets showed they can survive without reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic as they defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 115-103.
It was just the third contest Jokic has missed out of 41 total opportunities, but while on the sidelines nursing a wrist injury he watched Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr pick up the slack.
Murray scored a team-high 24 points on eight-of-17 shooting with eight rebounds and four assists, while Porter had 22 points (nine-of-17) with four rebounds and three assists.
The highlight of the game came courtesy of Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who dunked on the head of Zeke Nnaji on his way to 24 points (10-of-21) and nine rebounds.
Hawks bigs deliver the win
Despite having two All-Stars in their backcourt, the Atlanta Hawks frontcourt came to the rescue in a 113-111 triumph over the Indiana Pacers.
Third-year center Onyeka Okongwu was tremendous with 18 points (nine-of-12 shooting), a career-high 20 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals.
His interior partner, John Collins, was less impactful for the first three quarters, and while he only finished with seven points, he scored the game-winning tip-in with less than a second remaining on the clock.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was emotional following his side's 144-113 drubbing of the San Antonio Spurs in front of a record crowd.
Officially 68,323 people packed into the Alamodome for the special occasion to break the NBA attendance record, previously set at 62,046 when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls played against the Atlanta Hawks at the Georgia Dome in 1998.
The Warriors had eight players score in double-figures, led by Jordan Poole with 25 points on eight-of-16 shooting with six assists, while Stephen Curry had 15 points in his first win with the team since December 10.
It was an even more special night for Kerr, who was a member of the Spurs' championship teams in 1999 and 2003, with the home side airing a video package dedicated to him before tip-off.
"First of all I want to say thank you to the Spurs for the incredible night," he said. "Just the presentation of the game was spectacular.
"For me, it was a little bit of a trip down memory lane. I got emotional before the game when they played the video and introduced me – to get an ovation from 68,000 fans gives you chills. This was a really special night, and the Spurs made it special.
"I think the reason I was feeling the way I did, is I know how fortunate that I was to be a part of the Spurs, and to meet 'Pop', and [general manager] R.C [Buford], and play with Timmy [Duncan], and Manu [Ginobli], and David Robinson, and Avery [Johnson] and Sean [Elliot] – the whole group.
"Just to be part of this team, and this community here for five years of my life, and to be embraced by the fans, and my family to be embraced here – my kids spent a good chunk of their childhood here.
"This is a special place, and tonight was a great display of how special the Spurs are, and how special San Antonio is."
Draymond Green compared the atmosphere to college basketball's Final Four, which is usually played in a similar sort of stadium.
"It was very fun," he said. "It was funny, I was saying to somebody at the beginning of the game that it feels like you're playing in the Final Four all over again.
"To have that experience – you never think you're going to be able to experience that again.
"I think this is a great thing that the Spurs organisation has done, and I'm happy that we were the game and the team that could be part of it."
Chris Kirk is alone atop the leaderboard at 11 under following Friday's second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Kirk was in a three-way tie for the lead after shooting a six-under 64 on Thursday, and he followed it up with a 65 in his second trip around Waialae Country Club.
He began his round in blistering fashion, collecting birdies on each of the first three holes to put himself in a commanding position, and he finished with a birdie on the 18th.
J.J. Spaun looked a sure thing to finish the day tied with Kirk at 11 under as he reached his final hole – the par-five ninth – with a share of the lead.
Despite it playing as the easiest hole on the course, Spaun found the water, resulting in his first bogey of the week to head into the weekend at 10 under.
Spaun is tied for second with American compatriot Taylor Montgomery, while Hayden Buckley and David Lipsky are at nine under to round out the top-five.
England's Ben Taylor is part of the three-man group at eight under, Germany's Stephan Jaeger is at seven under, Kim Si-woo is at six under and former Masters champion Adam Scott headlines the group at five under.
Hideki Matsuyama finished the day two strokes inside the cut-line at three under, while joint first-round leader Jordan Spieth imploded for a five-over 75 to miss the cut at one under.
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