Every Milwaukee Bucks player knows what is at stake Tuesday in Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns.
Leading the series 3-2, a win at home would give the Bucks their second NBA championship and first since 1971, the franchise's third season of existence.
Beyond potentially ending that half-century wait for their fans, none of the Bucks' players has ever won a title.
The key to completing such a monumental achievement for player, team and community alike?
Do whatever you can to stay calm and focussed, says Giannis Antetokounmpo, who acknowledged that is far easier said than done.
"It's hard. It's hard, man, it's hard," the Bucks' star told reporters Monday. "Because you work so hard to be in that moment, which is tomorrow. It's hard not to get ahead of yourself. But this is the time that you got to be the most disciplined.
"That's what I'm going to try to do. I'm going to try to be as disciplined as possible. Don't get too excited. Don't get too pumped up for the game. None of that. I can't play the game right now. ...
"Right now, there's nothing I can do about that. So I don't even try to think about that. But it's very hard not to. Sometimes you sleep and you're dreaming about the game.
"But this is the time that we have to be disciplined individually. ... We cannot worry about having plans of celebrating. None of that, until it's done. And that is the mindset I'm going to have until tomorrow."
It helps that Antetokounmpo takes the same approach into every game, trying to break it down mentally into one possession and then the next so he is not overwhelmed by the bigger picture.
At this stage, he has enough confidence in himself and his team-mates to believe in their ability to come through at the moment it matters most.
"You have to be in the present," he said. "Once that present comes, you'll know what it takes to be you successful. But right now, you don't know what it's going to take.
"It might be a defensive stop. It might be Jrue [Holiday] coming and saving the day again. It might be Khris [Middleton] getting points. It might be me blocking a shot. You don't know what it's going to take.
"But I know that we have to be in the present. You have to enjoy it. We have to compete. For now, that's the three things I know.
"Once the game starts, every possession is going to be different and we're going to figure out what it takes to win the game."
That mindset stretches beyond the Greek star. Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer said that type of attitude across the board has been critical to the Bucks' success so far.
"It's the maturity of the group, the intelligence of it. I think it comes through," he said. "They understand that we have to keep our focus. We have to be prepared. We have to do the things that go into winning, the competitiveness of those moments, those opportunities to compete. That's all that matters.
"Whether you're down, you're up, I think you go back to your competitive spirit. You draw on that. That's how this team is built, so they got to continue to do that."
Benoit Paire made a strong start as the Swiss Open Gstaad got under way on Monday.
Number six seed Paire was a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) winner in his first-round match against Jozef Kovalik.
The Frenchman was not broken in the match, saving all eight of the break-point opportunities he offered up to Kovalik during a competitive 85-minute contest.
Paire's win follows a quarter-final appearance at the Hamburg European Open last week as the 32-year-old begins to recover from a dreadful first half of 2021.
Prior to his run in Hamburg, Paire had only won two ATP Tour matches this year.
Mikael Ymer had to come from behind before he progressed with a 4-6 6-3 6-3 win over lucky loser Enzo Couacaud.
The top four seeds at the ATP 250 event – led by Wimbledon semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov – get a bye through the first round and are therefore yet to begin their campaigns.
At the Croatia Open Umag, meanwhile, Radu Albot came out on top as he claimed a three-set victory over Holger Rune, with top seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas and defending champion Dusan Lajovic not in action on day one.
Nashville Predators' defenseman Luke Prokop has announced he is gay, making him the first contracted NHL player to come out publicly.
Prokop, 19, is yet to make his debut in the NHL but marked a historic day on Monday as he made his announcement on Instagram.
"It has been quite the journey to get to this point in my life, but I could not be happier with my decision to come out," Prokop wrote in his post.
"From a young age I have dreamed of being an NHL player, and I believe that living my authentic life will allow me to bring my whole self to the rink and improve my chances of fulfilling my dreams."
Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Prokop was selected as a third-round draft pick by the Predators in the 2020 NHL Draft.
He signed a three-year deal after previously impressing for Calgary Hitmen in the Western Hockey League.
Prokop's decision to come out follows that of Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib, who became the first openly gay active NFL player last month.
"It's been very special, talking to my friends, my family, my coaches, my agents," Prokop told The Athletic. "And them being very supportive, me coming out and being OK with who I was. ... I've noticed myself being a lot more confident on the ice.
"Being able to truly be who I am. This is the best I've ever felt in the summer and I think a large part of that is due to this process of me coming out."
Having made his decision in April during the COVID-19 enforced season break, Prokop told three of his Hitmen team-mates and hopes he can inspire others to feel comfortable coming out.
"They've [Prokop's team-mates] been really great," he added. "The part of me coming out is that I'm just one of the guys.
"Who I love and who I go home with that night, that's private and it shouldn't matter anymore. I'm just there to play hockey, I'm there to win a championship.
"If I can inspire or help make a difference to one person, then I've done my job in wanting to create change and to create an environment where it's healthy for players to come out now."
Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, said in a statement on Monday that the league would support Prokop and praised him for "sharing his truth and for being so brave".
"We pledge to do everything possible to ensure that Luke's experience is a welcoming and affirmative one and continue to work to ensure that any current or future NHL player contemplating following in his trailblazing footsteps knows our League is ready to provide full support."
Mercedes have revealed Lewis Hamilton would have been forced to retire from the British Grand Prix were it not for a timely red flag.
Formula One title rivals Hamilton and Max Verstappen collided during a sensational first lap at Silverstone.
Hamilton was handed a 10-second time penalty that he disagreed with but Red Bull argued was not severe enough.
The Briton recovered to record a famous race win, while Verstappen ended up in hospital for checks after a 51G impact with the tyre barrier.
It meant Hamilton cut Verstappen's lead to just eight points in the drivers' championship.
But the outcome would have been very different had the race not been red-flagged to repair the barrier, as Hamilton would not have been able to continue without the opportunity to repair damage to his wheel rim.
"We'd failed the rim where we'd had the contact on the front-left, so that would have been a DNF had it not been red-flagged," said Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
"The rest of the damage was actually remarkably little. A tyre temperature sensor had got knocked loose, so it was waggling around, but amazingly, it's the least important part on the front wing."
Hamilton passed Charles Leclerc for a famous victory – his eighth at his home race – with two laps to go.
"From our planners' view in the race, who were forecasting it live, we were looking at catching [Leclerc] up with two laps to go," added Shovlin.
"When we thought it was on I'd say was five laps into that [push]. You normally see the drop on the tyres, but you could just see Lewis holding this eight-tenths advantage to Charles every lap.
"And to be honest with Lewis, you can hear it in his voice and in what he's saying on the radio; you just get this switch where he knows in his head he's going to do it."
FIA race director Michael Masi – who was bombarded on radio with messages from Mercedes and Red Bull stating their case during the controversy – felt the stewards had got Hamilton's penalty right.
Masi insisted the severity of any crash, an injury to a driver or the race situation are factors that cannot be taken into account when applying punishments.
"Looking at the incident, I agree with the stewards and the penalty they applied," Masi said.
"I think the wording was clear as per the regulations, [Hamilton] was 'predominantly to blame', not 'wholly to blame' for it.
"He could have tucked in further like what happened with Charles later on and that may have changed the outcome, but we don't know – we have to judge on the incident itself.
"One of the big parts [of stewarding] that has been a mainstay for many, many years [is] that you should not consider the consequences in an incident.
"So when you judge incidents, they judge the incident itself, the merits of the incident and not what happens after as a consequence.
"The stewards have been advised to do from the top down – and I'm talking team involvement and so forth.
"That's the way the stewards judge it, because if you start taking consequences into it, there are so many variables rather than judging the incident itself."
British and Irish Lions captain Alun Wyn Jones is "fit and raring to go" for Saturday's first Test against South Africa, according to defence coach Steve Tandy.
Jones, the most-capped international of all time with 158 appearances for Wales and the Lions, was initially ruled out of the tour after dislocating his shoulder against Japan on June 26.
However, the 35-year-old has made a remarkable comeback and played 30 minutes off the bench in the 49-3 victory against Stormers at the weekend.
That win, on what was Jones' 22nd appearance for the Lions, ensured Warren Gatland's side avoided losing two successive non-Test matches since a three-game streak in New Zealand in 1993
After coming through that match unscathed, Jones in contention to start this week's much-anticipated showdown with reigning world champions South Africa in Cape Town.
Asked if Jones – one of only four players selected to play on four Lions tours – has enough minutes under his belt to return to the starting line-up, Tandy said: "I believe so.
"Al historically does some pretty special things. He is fit, he is raring to go. He keeps himself in great shape, so there will be no issues there.
"He has got unbelievable experience. His leadership qualities are outstanding as well. He will be fine."
The Lions have won five of their six warm-up fixtures ahead of the three-match series with the Springboks, the exception being a 17-13 loss to South Africa A last week.
Fly-half Finn Russell is the Lions' only unavailable player for the series opener due to an Achilles issue, leaving Gatland and his coaching staff with some big selection calls.
Following a meeting that lasted more than an hour and a half on Sunday, Tandy revealed the Lions' XV for the first Test is now as good as selected.
"It is one of the toughest things I have been involved in," Tandy said. "So many players put their hands up. There will be massive decisions made and a lot of unlucky players.
"We had the initial selection meeting last night and it was a long one in fairness. There was robust discussion, but now there are just one or two things to confirm. It is mostly done.
"There will be bitter disappointment for some players, but everyone will be geared up to win the first Test and those not playing will support the team."
Red Bull have said they are "disgusted and saddened" to see their on-track Formula One rival Lewis Hamilton targeted by online racist abuse.
Formula 1, the FIA and Mercedes released a joint statement on Monday condemning the "unacceptable" abuse aimed at Hamilton following his collision with Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton claimed a dramatic victory in Sunday's home race at Silverstone after overtaking Charles Leclerc towards the end.
Red Bull were unhappy with Hamilton over an incident which contributed to them scoring zero points, but they were unequivocal in their stance on the racist abuse he has received as a result.
"While we may be fierce rivals on-track, we are all united against racism," Red Bull wrote.
"We condemn racist abuse of any time towards our team, our competitors and our fans.
"As a team we are disgusted and saddened to witness the racist abuse Lewis received yesterday [Sunday] on social media after the collision with Max.
"There is never any excuse for it, there is certainly no place for it in our sport and those responsible should be held accountable."
McLaren also issued a message of support for their former driver Hamilton, urging all teams to unite and eliminate racism.
The team said: "McLaren stands with Formula 1, the FIA, and our fellow teams and drivers in condemning the deplorable racist abuse towards Lewis Hamilton.
"Racism must be driven out of our sport, and it’s our shared responsibility to unite and eliminate it."
McLaren CEO Zak Brown added in a Twitter post: "Totally unacceptable racist abuse of Lewis Hamilton. These people do not represent F1 fans or our sport. We must come together to get rid of this disgraceful abuse and racism."
The race was a memorable one, with Hamilton recovering from a 10-second time penalty handed to him for the first-lap Verstappen crash as he cut his title rival's championship lead to only eight points.
Hamilton was accused of "dirty driving" by Red Bull boss Christian Horner after clipping Verstappen on Copse Corner, while the Belgian-born Dutch driver labelled his opponent "disrespectful and unsportsmanlike".
Verstappen required hospital checks after hitting the safety barriers in an impact measuring 51G, but he was released later on Sunday after being given the all-clear.
In the aftermath of his controversial but famous victory, Hamilton was subjected to vile racist abuse on Instagram in the comments section of a post by Mercedes celebrating the win.
Formula 1, the FIA and Mercedes have released a joint statement condemning the "unacceptable" online racist abuse aimed at Lewis Hamilton following his collision with Max Verstappen.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton claimed a dramatic victory in Sunday's home British Grand Prix at Silverstone after overtaking Charles Leclerc late in the race.
The 36-year-old recovered from a 10-second time penalty handed to him for a first-lap crash with Verstappen as he cut his title rival's championship lead to only eight points.
Hamilton was accused of "dirty driving" by Red Bull boss Christian Horner after clipping Verstappen on Copse Corner, while the Belgian-born Dutch driver labelled his opponent "disrespectful and unsportsmanlike".
Verstappen required hospital checks after hitting the safety barriers in an impact measuring 51G, but he was released later on Sunday after being given the all-clear.
After Hamilton went on to win the race for an eighth time in his illustrious career, the Englishman was subjected to vile racist abuse on Instagram in the comments section of a post by Mercedes celebrating the victory.
Mercedes, Formula 1 and the sport's governing body the FIA united on Monday to call for action to be taken against those responsible for posting the racial slurs.
"During, and after, yesterday's British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was subjected to multiple instances of racist abuse on social media following an in-race collision," the statement read.
"Formula 1, The FIA and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms. These people have no place in our sport and we urge that those responsible should be held accountable for their actions.
"Formula 1, the FIA, the drivers and the teams are working to build a more diverse and inclusive sport, and such unacceptable instances of online abuse must be highlighted and eliminated."
Hamilton recently voiced his support for Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after the England footballers were also subjected to racist abuse on social media after missing penalties in their side's Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat to Italy.
The England international trio called on social media giants Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to do more to tackle problem users on their platforms.
Speaking last year, Hamilton also called for increased diversity in Formula 1 and accused the sport of not doing enough to tackle racism amid the George Floyd protests.
The New York Mets fought back from 6-0 down after a bizarre early mistake from pitcher Taijuan Walker to claim a memorable 7-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Mets manager Luis Rojas was ejected as he protested after Walker mistakenly batted a fair ball into foul territory from Kevin Newman's scuff, allowing the Pirates to swipe three runs.
With bases loaded, John Nogowski touched down at home, while two more runners were able to cross after the ball rolled towards the Pirates dugout with Walker not realising the marginal call.
"Obviously, I thought it was a foul,'' Walker said. "It was so close. I thought I flipped it in the dugout. I didn't even realise it was still in play. It was just one of those plays that just happen. Crazy play.''
With Rojas ejected, the Mets put the drama behind them with Travis Blankenhorn's fourth-inning home run, his career first, bringing it back to 6-4.
In the ninth inning, Michael Conforto hit a two-run home run as the Mets piled on seven unanswered runs to turn the game around spectacularly and improve to a 48-42 record and avoid a surprise Pirates sweep.
More Guerrero and Ohtani homers
Vladimir Guerrero Jr continues to impress with another home run in the Toronto Blue Jays' 10-0 win over the Texas Rangers. Guerrero has 31 home runs and tops the MLB charts with a .332 batting average and 78 RBI.
Shohei Ohtani is the only player in the majors ahead of Guerrero for home runs and he added another, taking his season tally to 34, as the Los Angeles Angels lost 7-4 to the Seattle Mariners.
J.T. Realmuto hit a walk-off home run to settle Saturday's suspended game as the Philadelphia Phillies won 4-2 over the Miami Marlins on Sunday. The Phillies also won Sunday's later game 7-4.
Alcides Escobar also secured a walk-off victory for the Washington Nationals as they defeated the San Diego Padres 8-7 in a see-sawing battle.
Corbin Burnes starred with 12 strikeouts as the Milwaukee Brewers crushed the previously in-form Cincinnati Reds 8-0 for a three-game sweep.
The depleted New York Yankees claimed an impressive 9-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Sloppy Dodgers drop
Los Angeles Dodgers' second baseman Chris Taylor dropped a simple Garrett Hampson high ball which proved costly as the Colorado Rockies won 6-5 after Charlie Blackmon's walk-off home run. Taylor's error came with the Dodgers 2-1 up at the bottom of the fifth inning, allowing a run too.
Red hot Rodon
Chicago White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon reached eight strikeouts for the 10th straight game in his side's 4-0 win over the Houston Astros. Rodon's run of eight or more consecutive Ks is the longest active streak in MLB. Houston also only had one hit for the game. The left-hander is in the mix for the American League Cy Young award.
Sunday's results
Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 Miami Marlins (resumed)
San Diego Padres 10-4 Washington Nationals (resumed)
Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 Miami Marlins
Washington Nationals 8-7 San Diego Padres
New York Mets 7-6 Pittsburgh Pirates
Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 Texas Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers 8-0 Cincinnati Reds
Detroit Tigers 7-0 Minnesota Twins
Tampa Bay Rays 7-5 Atlanta Braves
Chicago White Sox 4-0 Houston Astros
Baltimore Orioles 5-0 Kansas City Royals
St Louis Cardinals 2-1 San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies 6-5 Los Angeles Dodgers
Seattle Mariners 7-4 Los Angeles Angels
Cleveland Indians 4-2 Oaland Athletics
Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 Chicago Cubs
Toronto Blue Jays 10-0 Texas Rangers
New York Yankees 9-1 Boston Red Sox
Astros at White Sox
Reigning world champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers (58-36), take on the high-flying San Francisco Giants (58-34) in the first game of their four-game series.
Kevin Anderson landed his first title since January 2019 as the former Wimbledon finalist triumphed at the Hall of Fame Open on Sunday.
The one-time world number five served 16 aces in a 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 win over 20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby at the tournament in Newport, Rhode Island.
Playing the third grass-court final of his professional career, after being runner-up at Queen's Club in 2015 and at Wimbledon in 2018, Anderson outfought Brooksby to land a seventh ATP title.
Now ranked at a relatively lowly 113th, the 35-year-old South African former world number five saw off top seed Alexander Bublik in the semi-finals before getting the better of Californian prospect Brooksby in the title match.
"It's been a pretty tough run with some injuries," Anderson said, quoted on the ATP website. "But to be back here at the International Tennis Hall of Fame with such history, this couldn't be a better week for me to start, hopefully, my comeback.
"I'm very motivated to get back. But it all starts with each match, and I was able to really grind it out."
Anderson's last title had come on hard courts at the Maharashtra Open in Pune, India, where he got the better of Ivo Karlovic in a match where all three sets went to tie-breaks, and where Karlovic fired 36 aces in a losing cause.
Mark Cavendish delivered such an incredible comeback at the Tour de France that he sits alongside cycling royalty in the history books.
Cavendish had last featured at the Tour de France in 2016, and was not expecting to ride in the event this year. Indeed, he had even hinted retirement may be a possibility following a loss of form and several bouts of injury.
Yet, after a late substitution in for Deceuninck-QuickStep and four stage wins later, Cavendish had served up a welcome reminder of his excellence.
"I found out just a week before the Tour de France started and that was that," Cavendish said. "We didn't know what was happening with Sam Bennett's knee so I was just training as if I was going but with a 99 per cent probability that I wasn't going."
Belgian great Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage victories had stood since 1975, but the flurry of wins for Cavendish over the past three weeks means he has matched that total.
There was to be no last hurrah on the final stage for Cavendish, as he gritted his teeth but could only cross the line third in Sunday's sprint on the Champs Elysees. Consolation came with green jersey glory for the second time in his career, the king of the sprinters in the 2021 Tour.
Perhaps next year he will be back with a 35th win in his sights. Here, Stats Perform looks back at Cavendish's stage triumphs so far.
2008
In his first professional season, Cavendish started as he meant to go on at Le Tour, winning four stages. His first came in stage five at the culmination of a 232km route. He followed that up with successes in stages eight, 12 and 13 before he abandoned the tour ahead of competing at the Beijing OIympics.
2009
After becoming the first British rider to wear the general classification leader's pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia, Cavendish's dominance of the sprints in grand tours really clicked into gear. He won a sensational six stages of Le Tour in 2009, including his first of four on the bounce on the Champs-Elysees. In the process, he also set a new record for Tour de France stage wins by a British rider.
2010
Five stage victories followed in 2010, even though Cavendish crashed out of the final sprint on the opening day. The Manx rider won stages five, six, 11, 18 and 20 to take his total to 15 over three appearances at Le Tour, though his efforts were not enough to claim the green jersey.
2011
Cavendish did clinch the green jersey the following year, despite being docked 20 points for finishing outside the time limit after stage nine and again after 18. Triumphant efforts in stages five, seven, 11, 15 and 21 took his career total to 20.
2012
Wearing the world champion's rainbow jersey, Cavendish crossed the line first on the Champs-Elysees for the fourth year running, earning his third stage win of the 2012 Tour. He became the most successful sprinter in Tour history with 23 wins, as well as being the first rider to win the Paris stage while wearing the rainbow jersey.
2013
Cavendish won stage five in Marseille, though he had to withstand being drenched with urine by a spectator on stage 11 – cycling is not a sport for the faint-hearted, after all. The 28-year-old also went on to win stage 13, though a fifth straight triumph in Paris eluded him.
2015
The 2014 Tour ended quickly for Cavendish as, in the sprint finish in Harrogate – Yorkshire having hosted the Grand Depart – he crashed out and suffered a shoulder injury. He bounced back in 2015 to win his 26th stage, nipping in ahead of Andre Greipel in Fougeres.
2016
After three quiet years at Le Tour by his standard, Cavendish was back at his blistering best in 2016, and completed his set of overall classification lead jerseys in Grand Tours when he clinched the opening stage in Normandy. A victory in stage three saw him equal Bernard Hinault's tally, with further celebrations following in stage six and 14, before he went on to claim his first Olympic medal with silver in the Rio omnium.
2021
Back from five years in the wilderness, when Merckx's record must have seemed cruelly so close yet so far away, Cavendish reminded everyone of his talent with a win in stage four, and two days later, he had scooped his 50th stage success at a Grand Tour. The win in Valence on stage 10 ensured that no, this was no joke and, after he matched Merckx in Carcassonne, Cavendish had 34 victories. He was terribly close in Paris to what would have been a glorious 35th, but for now he must settle for sharing illustrious company.
Max Verstappen accused Lewis Hamilton of being "disrespectful and unsportsmanlike" after Sunday's dramatic British Grand Prix.
The title rivals collided during a sensational first lap at Silverstone, and while Hamilton finished top of the podium, Verstappen ended up in hospital.
Verstappen had his championship lead trimmed to eight points by Hamilton's success, which came despite the Mercedes man incurring a 10-second penalty for his part in Verstappen's Red Bull leaving the track and ending in a crumpled heap at Copse Corner.
Hamilton served that time and went on to catch long-time leader Charles Leclerc in the closing laps, celebrating excitedly on the podium as home fans lapped up the Brit's eighth victory in the race.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner accused Hamilton of "dirty driving" within minutes of the crash, later telling Channel 4 that the punishment of the reigning world champion did not "fit the crime".
Hamilton defended himself afterwards and said Verstappen was a "very aggressive" driver, insisting he had not been at fault for the clash of wheels that sent the Dutchman spinning into the barriers.
But Verstappen, who was taken to hospital for checks after being left badly winded by his high-speed crash, took aim at the British driver.
Verstappen wrote on Twitter: "Glad I’m ok. Very disappointed with being taken out like this. The penalty given does not help us and doesn't do justice to the dangerous move Lewis made on track.
"Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike behaviour but we move on."
Later on Sunday evening, Hamilton tweeted his own take on events, saying he was glad the 23-year-old was not badly injured.
"Today is a reminder of the dangers in this sport. I send my best wishes to Max who is an incredible competitor. I'm glad to hear he is ok," Hamilton wrote.
"I will always race hard but always fairly. My team showed grit and perseverance out there."
Horner disputed Hamilton's post-race claim that he had been "fully alongside" Verstappen when their cars collided.
"He was not significantly alongside Max as you can see from the point of contact, Lewis' front left to Max's right rear," Horner said in a Red Bull statement.
"The move was never on and resulted in a 51G impact for Max. We are in contact with Max and Jos [Verstappen, his father] and will provide an update later."
The 149th Open Championship concluded in thrilling fashion on Sunday as Collin Morikawa claimed the Claret Jug.
It was a fitting finale to a memorable tournament, which marked the return of fans en masse to watch golf's oldest major.
Royal St George's was bathed in sunshine for all four days and it was a joyous event for everyone in attendance.
Stats Perform's man on the ground said a fond farewell to the Kent links, but not before one last wander around the course.
SHELTER FROM THE WARM
The soaring temperatures made walking the course a test of endurance, and not everyone was keen to partake.
What few spots of shade there were soon became occupied by weary bodies, sheltering from the warmth of the sun.
The queues at the water refill points were longer than for the grandstands.
CELEB SPOTTING (TAKE TWO)
It may have been premature to share the story of a chance encounter with British comedian Michael McIntyre on Saturday, as Sunday heralded the arrival of an even bigger celebrity.
Milling around outside the entrance to the media centre, and somehow not surrounded by a large crowd of autograph hunters, was One Direction's Niall Horan.
He's a keen golf fan and can often be seen at the majors rubbing shoulders with the biggest names in the sport.
FLAGGING...
At the end of a long tournament, some members of the media pack wanted a morale-boosting moment, so waited patiently for Champion Golfer of the Year Morikawa to exit from the interview room in hope of an autograph or photo.
Two had souvenir flags with Open Championship branding, in the expectation Morikawa might take the time to sign them.
He bolted through the doors carrying the Claret Jug, saw his waiting fans, but had no time to stop, telling them: "Sorry guys. Maybe I'll see you later."
Oh, the disappointment.
Tadej Pogacar said he felt "super happy" after putting the finishing touches to a second successive Tour de France triumph.
The 22-year-old Slovenian had led the general classification from stage eight, and 15 days down the road in Paris he wrapped up a supremely impressive performance.
As well as the top prize, Pogacar also collected the king of the mountain and young rider honours, and it is hard to imagine there not being abundant further success to come over the next decade.
Pogacar spoke on the podium after his win, saying: "Last year I should have written a speech for my first Tour de France victory but I didn't know how to write it.
"So also this year I said, 'OK, I'm going to speak from the heart and say what I have to say'.
"Thank you everybody that came here to support us cyclists through all the three weeks. To the French public and all fans of cycling from the whole world, it is so fantastic racing on the amazing parcours of the Tour this year."
He thanked his team, UAE Team Emirates, for helping him achieve the goals they set out to reach.
"I cannot describe how happy I am to be part of this family, it melts my heart," Pogacar said.
"They were with me every day of the whole year preparing for the Tour. I'm super happy and proud to be part of this team on this journey.
"I'm not going to cry. Thank you everybody. It was a difficult year with COVID and I really hope next year we come here without the masks.
"Of course I cannot forget my family, standing beside me, and my girlfriend and my friends. I hope I've told enough but I'm super happy. Thank you everybody."
Pogacar said it was "time for celebration".
"I will remain motivated in the coming years, but what come next will come next… I’m not stressed about it," Pogacar said, quoted on the Tour's official website.
"It's quite different. Last year, I felt strong, incredible emotions. This year I'm again here, standing atop the podium, but the feelings are quite different."
Tour great Eddy Merckx won the general classification five times from 1969 to 1974, and had such a ruthlessness he was nicknamed 'The Cannibal'.
Pogacar does not want to be compared to legends of the sport, insisting he should be allowed to plot his own career path.
"The new Cannibal? I don't like to compare myself to other riders," he said. "Each rider has his own style and personality. Every rider is unique. I don't think there is anything left. I just enjoy life, I work hard, I love cycling – and those are the most important things."
Pogacar did not quite secure a sweep of the Tour honours, with the green jersey – the points classification that rewards the best sprinters – going to 36-year-old Deceuninck-QuickStep star Mark Cavendish.
Cavendish's four stage victories took him level with the record of 34 that Merckx had owned exclusively for over 40 years.
"Ten years later, again with the green jersey, it's fantastic, it feels like getting younger," Cavendish said. "I'm back. It's a dream."
Open champion Collin Morikawa revealed the unexpected and tasty secret to his success after winning the Claret Jug at the first attempt on Sunday.
The 24-year-old produced a blemish-free 66 in a stunning final round at Royal St George's to thwart the charge of Jordan Spieth and eclipse overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen.
Morikawa, who also won the 2020 US PGA Championship on debut, secured his second major win in eight entries after starting the day a shot behind Oosthuizen.
In the end his greatest beef was with 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year Spieth, who recovered from being two over through six holes to sign for a 66 himself, finishing two back.
But Morikawa, who saw playing partner Oosthuizen limp to a closing 71, clearly relished the challenge as he went bogey-free to make mincemeat of the field in sizzling sunshine on the Kent coast.
But, when grilled by the media as to what the key to his triumph was, Morikawa had an answer nobody saw coming.
"The secret? Well, I never do this, but I had a burger for four straight days, so my body is probably feeling it. I know my body's feeling it," he said.
"I think I just enjoy these moments, and I talk about it so much that we love what we do. And you have to embrace it.
"You have to be excited about these opportunities, and that's how I looked at it today, especially coming down the stretch, was I'm excited. To have the Claret Jug right here in my possession for a year, I believe, I'm excited to have it."
Runner-up Spieth lamented his putting as he came up short, but Morikawa was delighted with that side of his own game.
He made a succession of potentially tricky putts, including one for birdie from around 15 feet on the 14th just after Spieth had cut the gap to one.
"Definitely one of the best [putting displays], especially inside 10 feet," he said.
"I felt like it was as solid as it's going to get. I don't think I really missed many from that distance. Especially in a major.
"I think in a major on a Sunday in contention, I wasn't thinking about anything other than making a putt.
"I'm going to tell myself probably tomorrow: 'Why can't I keep doing that all the time?'.
"But you know, I'm going to try to figure out what worked and use that for the future because I know I can putt well. I know I can putt well in these pressure situations. I've just got to keep doing that."
Yulia Putintseva was in devastating form as she crushed Anhelina Kalinina to win the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, her second career singles title.
She needed just 70 minutes to thrash Kalinina 6-4 6-0 and seal a first WTA Tour triumph since 2019 when she was victorious in Nurnberg.
In fact, her semi-final appearance in Budapest was Putintseva's first since that success in Germany, and she rarely looked like passing up the chance for victory against her Ukrainian opponent.
Kalinina was as much her own worst enemy at times, with 34 unforced errors continuously handing the initiative to the ruthless Putintseva, who converted five of eight break points.
Two of those breaks came in the first three games of the match, and although Kalinina hit back initially, she could not sustain that form as Putintseva closed out the set.
The second set was far more one-sided, as Kalinina took just seven points across the six games, which were all won by Putintseva.
The Kazakh now turns her attention towards the Olympics.
Jordan Spieth was left to lament a slack finish to his third round after he came up just short at The Open on Sunday.
The 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year recovered from two over through six to sign for a final-round 66, which left him two shots shy of winner Collin Morikawa.
But it was Saturday's round at Royal St George's that bothered the three-time major winner, who dropped shots at each of the last two holes.
Reflecting on a close call with what would have been a first major triumph since that success at Royal Birkdale four years ago, Spieth was quick to point out where it went wrong.
"It's hard to be upset when I was a couple over through six," he said. "I couldn't have really done much more after that point.
"But the finish yesterday was about as upset as I've taken a finish of a round to the house. I walked in and I said: 'Is there something that I can break?'.
"I knew that was so important because I would have been in the final group."
Spieth is usually a safe bet with the putter in his hand, but the 27-year-old felt that side of his game was lacking in Kent.
He took 1.58 putts per greens in regulation, which was better than the field average of 1.68, but Spieth felt he was well short of his own high standard.
"My putting is not where I want to be at all," conceded. "I say at all; It's progressing the right direction, but it's not where it has been.
"I know what needs to do to get there, and it's just very difficult to do. But it's rounds like today or this week, major championship rounds, where you have to obviously test not only your touch out here, but also a lot of knobs and breaking putts and trust lines. It's a good test for it.
"I just wasn't extremely sharp with the putter this week. I was sharper than I was at Augusta, and it's been a little bit kind of here and there this year.
"My bad weeks have been okay and my good weeks are really good, but I needed to put in a little bit of work."
Paying tribute to champion Morikawa, who has two major wins from eight starts, Spieth added: "He swings the club beautifully, gets it in positions that make it very, very difficult to not start the ball online, so therefore, he's going to be very consistent tee to green.
"At 24, obviously there's a bright future ahead."
Lewis Hamilton refused to accept responsibility for the sensational first-lap crash that sent title rival Max Verstappen out of the British Grand Prix and into the Silverstone barriers.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said Hamilton was guilty of "dirty driving" and questioned how he would sleep after the incident at Copse Corner that caused Verstappen to need hospital checks.
After the race was red-flagged and once Hamilton served a 10-second time penalty, the British driver went on to win his home grand prix and in doing so cut Verstappen's championship lead to only eight points.
"I've been giving my all this past week," Hamilton said afterwards. "Of course I always try to be measured in how I approach, particularly in battling with Max, he's very aggressive, and today I was fully alongside him and he didn't let me into space.
"Regardless of whether I agree with the penalty, I take it on the chin and I just kept working."
Verstappen was initially treated by medics at Silverstone but then needed to be taken to hospital.
"He's bruised, he's battered, but no broken bones. It was by far the biggest accident of his career," Horner said on Channel 4.
The Red Bull boss made his "dirty driving" claim just minutes after the crash, which saw Hamilton come up on the inside of the pole-sitter, only for their wheels to touch and Verstappen to suffer a crash that left his car a wreck.
"The penalty doesn't fit the crime," Horner said. "He's had no penalty because he's gone on to win the grand prix. It's a desperate move that you wouldn't expect from a seven-time world champion.
"It's just irresponsible and a sign of desperation and it's completely destroyed the car."
Horner said Red Bull would "consider our options" over a possible post-race protest, after Hamilton celebrated a record eighth victory in the British race.
"I don't think Lewis can take any satisfaction from a victory like that because we were lucky today that a driver wasn't badly hurt," Horner said.
"I hope he can sleep well tonight because that's not good driving."
Horner suggested the crash could ramp up the excitement for the rest of the season, backing his young driver to come back strongly.
"He's fit, he'll recover quickly and he's mentally very, very strong," Horner said. "If anything it'll just make him more determined.
"It just raises the stakes. It didn't need to be like that because it could have been a great race between the two drivers today."
Tadej Pogacar clinched a second successive Tour de France general classification title as Mark Cavendish narrowly missed out on a record-breaking 35th stage win.
It was a racing certainty that Pogacar would be crowned on the Champs Elysees on Sunday after dominating the 21-stage tour, having secured top spot on Saturday ahead of the largely processional finale in Paris.
Cavendish made sure of the green jersey as the tour's top sprinter, but hopes of a 35th stage win were dashed when Wout van Aert snatched glory in the French capital.
Cavendish had powered from 30 stage wins at the start of the 2021 Tour to 34 during the course of the past three weeks, matching Eddie Merckx's long-standing record, but the Manxman could not nose ahead of Van Aert in a frantic finish.
Van Aert's success means his Belgian compatriot Merckx continues to hold a share of that stage-win record, and it raises the question of whether Cavendish will return in 2022 in an effort to take sole ownership.
The sprint was suitably phenomenal, with Jumbo-Visma's Van Aert keeping enough in reserve to get ahead of countryman Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), who took second, and third-placed Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep).
It means Van Aert became the first Tour rider since 1979 to win a sprint, a mountain stage and an individual time trial in the same edition of the race.
The time-trial success came on Saturday, and it was remarkable he had so much left in the tank 24 hours later.
Van Aert said on Eurosport: "This tour has just been amazing. It's been such a roller coaster, but to finish with a weekend like this is beyond expectations."
His next target will be an Olympic gold, with Van Aert revealing he was due to travel from Paris to Tokyo later on Sunday.
He realised after sealing victory that he would be a man in demand over the coming hours.
"I guess I put myself in trouble because I have to take a flight tonight," Van Aert added. "We'll see if I can get there.
"It's definitely not a pity. I went for it today because a victory like this is priceless."
Collin Morikawa produced a stunning final round to win The Open by two strokes from Jordan Spieth at Royal St George's.
The 2020 US PGA Championship winner added a second major to his list of honours in only his eighth appearance in such tournaments, with this his debut at the oldest of golf's four headline events.
His blemish-free 66 on Sunday ensured he overturned the one-stroke overnight lead that Louis Oosthuizen had held, while Spieth closed with the same score as he came up just short.
Morikawa nailed a lengthy birdie putt on the 14th, just after Spieth's run of four gains in four holes around the turn had cut the gap to one, and the 24-year-old never looked back as he sealed the prize on 15 under.
Spieth, the 2017 champion at Royal Birkdale, and Oosthuizen, who triumphed at St Andrews in 2010, had each been chasing a second Claret Jug.
But Morikawa showed nerves of steel as he refused to wilt in the sunshine on the Kent coast, the American averaging 1.5 putts per greens in regulation.
He needed to hit such a high level to keep Spieth at bay, his compatriot rallying from two over for the day after six holes to close at 13 under.
Oosthuizen endured the frustration of finishing as runner-up at the US PGA Championship and the U.S. Open this year and he suffered more disappointment following a closing 71.
Pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm wrapped things up in style with a 66 and he will return to the world number one spot next week, displacing Dustin Johnson.
Reigning champion Shane Lowry finished at six under, while Rory McIlroy closed with a 71 to wrap up a low-key outing at even par.
SHOT OF THE DAY
Morikawa's approach shot on the 14th was short and left him with a long uphill putt for birdie on a par five that was playing at a generous average of 4.6.
Spieth was on the charge and momentum looked to shift in the three-time major winner's favour, but Morikawa turned a potential negative into an overwhelming positive with one decisive swipe of the putting blade.
It was the point at which the engravers may as well have started putting his name on the silverware.
CHIPPING IN
Shane Lowry: "I really enjoyed the whole week. It was an amazing experience. Walking down the last hole today was one of the coolest things you'll ever get to do, and I got to do it."
Rory McIlroy: "For me at the minute it's just the process of trying to work my way back to the sort of form and the sort of the level that I know I can play at."
Brooks Koepka: "I like coming over here and playing links golf. It's always a bunch of fun, and I've always said that it's the one tournament a year where the fans actually know what a good shot is."
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME
- Louis Oosthuizen's last three major results are now tied second (US PGA Championship), second (U.S. Open), and tied third (The Open).
- Shane Lowry's failure to retain the Claret Jug means no player has successfully defended the honour at Royal St George's since Harry Vardon in 1899.
- Germany's Matthias Schmid won the silver medal for low amateur after finishing two over par.
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