Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his Madrid Open title after he powered past a determined Karen Khachanov to reach the last four.
The top seed eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 but only after he staged an impressive fight back in the second set to book a third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Alcaraz’s clay-court winning streak now stands at nine and he has tasted victory in 19 of his past 20 matches, claiming title triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona along the way.
A hard-fought opener went the way of the Spaniard, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, but the second set did not initially go to plan.
Khachanov built up a 5-2 lead and looked set to force a decider only for Alcaraz to find his A-game with a string of winners and drop shots to eventually earn victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
“It was pretty tough. The first set as well, it was close,” said Alcaraz.
“I was in trouble in the second set, a break down and [he had] two break points to have the second break. So, it was really tough for me to come back and he had his chances to win the second set.
“Luckily I knew I was going to have my chances. I just tried to take my opportunities and I’m really happy to get through.”
Borna Coric will face Alcaraz for a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday in what will be their first ever meeting.
The Croatian got the better of lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 with victory achieved in one hour and 14 minutes for the 17th seed.
“I always love to play here in Madrid,” Coric said on-court.
“I have very, very nice memories from here and I knew I could play well.
“I came here very early to prepare myself for the tournament, as it’s, I would say, a little bit different to the next tournaments. I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
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Meanwhile, Andy Murray snapped his losing streak with victory over Gael Monfils in an ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
After first-round exits at the Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, Murray was able to return to winning ways with a 6-3 6-3 win over wild-card Monfils.
Murray will face another Frenchmen in Laurent Lokoli in the last-16 and aim to build momentum before this month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his Madrid Open title after he powered past a determined Karen Khachanov to reach the last four.
The top seed eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 but only after he staged an impressive fight back in the second set to book a third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Alcaraz’s clay-court winning streak now stands at nine and he has tasted victory in 19 of his past 20 matches, claiming title triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona along the way.
A hard-fought opener went the way of the Spaniard, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, but the second set did not initially go to plan.
Khachanov built up a 5-2 lead and looked set to force a decider only for Alcaraz to find his A-game with a string of winners and drop shots to eventually earn victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
“It was pretty tough. The first set as well, it was close,” said Alcaraz.
“I was in trouble in the second set, a break down and [he had] two break points to have the second break. So, it was really tough for me to come back and he had his chances to win the second set.
“Luckily I knew I was going to have my chances. I just tried to take my opportunities and I’m really happy to get through.”
Borna Coric will face Alcaraz for a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday in what will be their first ever meeting.
The Croatian got the better of lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 with victory achieved in one hour and 14 minutes for the 17th seed.
“I always love to play here in Madrid,” Coric said on-court.
“I have very, very nice memories from here and I knew I could play well.
“I came here very early to prepare myself for the tournament, as it’s, I would say, a little bit different to the next tournaments. I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
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Meanwhile, Andy Murray snapped his losing streak with victory over Gael Monfils in an ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
After first-round exits at the Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, Murray was able to return to winning ways with a 6-3 6-3 win over wild-card Monfils.
Murray will face another Frenchmen in Laurent Lokoli in the last-16 and aim to build momentum before this month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
Duhaney Park Red Sharks defeated Washington Boulevard Bulls 21-8 in a thrilling final to the Easter’s tournament held at the BB Coke High School in St Elizabeth on Saturday. It was a historic occasion as it was the first time that the parish of St Elizabeth was hosting a senior Men’s 9-a-side rugby league tournament for the first time.
Both clubs went undefeated during the group stage and had identical 3-0 records heading into the final. The Bulls raced to an early lead through tries from Javon Lewis and Andree Lee but the Red Sharks pulled level before half-time with tries from Shaquille Pollack and Javian Bryan.
In the second half, the Red Sharks took the ascendancy with a strong defensive display and denied the Bulls any points and extended their lead with additional tries from Adrian Thomas, Kenneth Walker, Marvin Thompson, and Jenson Morris.
Tournament MVP Chevaughn Bailey wrapped up the scoring with a drop goal.
“We wanted our best performance on the day as we have lost out on the last few 9’s titles. Credit to all teams on making the journey to St. Elizabeth and special commendations to St Bess Sledgehammers on organizing a great tournament,” said winning captain Marvin Thompson.
West Kingston Hyenas copped third place with a close 8-4 win over the Jamaica Defence Force while hosts St Bess Sledgehammers finished fifth after an 18-8 win over St Catherine Thundercats.
Portmore Rugby League Club took seventh spot with a 15-0 result over the Liguanea Dragons.
RLJ Vice Chair Adrian Hall was impressed with the tournament.
“It was fantastic to see seven teams travel from Kingston and St Catherine and ensure a successful tournament,” he said.
“We hope to widen the footprint of rugby league in St Elizabeth and the Easter 9s was a good advert for the game. The JMD$70,000 in total prize money for the top three teams added a special incentive for teams to perform to their best.”
The tournament that was sponsored by Cheddi’s Surveillance Cameras and Digital Services, provided good preparation for several national players who will compete for Jamaica in the USARL 9s on May 20 in Naples, Florida.
A second-half turnaround helped Bromley win 2-1 at Woking and earn a place in the Vanarama National League play-off semi-finals for the first time.
Woking had finished fourth in the regular season to earn home advantage for the eliminator and Rohan Ince fired them ahead in the 13th minute.
Seventh-placed Bromley responded on the hour mark through Michael Cheek’s penalty and Deji Elerewe’s 77th-minute effort booked them a trip to Chesterfield on Sunday.
Ince provided Woking with the perfect start when he curled into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.
No second goal occurred for the hosts though and Cheek levelled from the spot for Bromley on the hour mark despite home supporters shining the torch on their phones behind the goal.
The Ravens were in the ascendency now and they grabbed a winner with 13 minutes left when a long throw from Omar Sowunmi found its way to Elerewe at the back post to head home.
Cambridge’s hopes of avoiding relegation from League One took a damaging blow with a 1-0 defeat away to Burton.
Mark Helm struck the only goal of the game in a tense affair where the visitors knew that a victory would lift them out of the bottom four going into their last match of the season.
But instead they sit a point from safety heading into their clash with already-relegated Forest Green on Sunday and needing both MK Dons and Morecambe to drop points to have a chance of survival.
Cambridge began brightly with leading goalscorer Sam Smith denied by a timely challenge from Sam Hughes before pulling a good chance wide from the edge of the box.
But Albion grabbed the lead after 28 minutes when Helm skipped past a couple of challenges before finding the corner of the net via a deflection.
Helm hit a post early in the second period having been brought down by goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov but referee Andy Haines tried to play an advantage as he looked poised to award the penalty.
Ryan Bennett headed a late chance against the crossbar as Cambridge sought an equaliser before Jordan Amissah produced an amazing last ditch save to claw away Smith’s goalbound header.
Joel Embiid's 2023 MVP win shows the influence the 1992 United States men's team had on growing basketball globally, believes former coach Justin Harden.
The Philadelphia 76ers man claimed the league's top individual honour after back-to-back finalist finishes behind Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Embiid, who hails from Cameroon, averaged 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists over 66 games, becoming the third straight international player to win the award following Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jokic.
Harden, who coached Embiid during his senior year at The Rock School in Florida, feels his success underlines how the United States team that conquered the 1992 Olympic Games helped grow the sport globally.
Commonly referred to as the 'Dream Team', the squad was the first to feature professional NBA players, with a team including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird cruising to gold medal success in Barcelona.
"When you think about who's in the top ten players [in the NBA], a good host of them are international players," Harden told Stats Perform.
"From Nikola Jokic to Giannis [Antetokounmpo] to Luka Doncic, [and] then you've got a guy who is undoubtedly going to be the number one pick [in Victor] Wembanyama.
"I can imagine he's going to be great too. I think it just is a testament to the Dream Team and their influence on what they did for international basketball playing in Barcelona.
"There's great coaching all throughout the world. The United States is not necessarily the epicentre or the only option for great basketball to be played.
"It's awesome to see that these guys are going to be MVP. Luka could be the next MVP, and then you have four in a row that are international guys.
"I think it's really neat to see that our game has become such a global sport, because when Joel was here, we had 13 guys on our team, and seven of them were international players, five of them from the continent of Africa.
"We've always cherished what international players can bring to our programme."
Having known Embiid from such a young age, Harden is proud of both the player and the man Embiid has become, saying: "I'm super excited for him. I mean, this is like a breakthrough moment.
"He's had a couple of runner-up finishes, and so it's good to see him be able to break through and have another great season, I think his third in a row.
"I think this was the best one because he withstood from being injured. I think the last two seasons were hampered by his injuries and so out of his control, but his play was certainly great.
"I'm super excited for him. He's a good guy. I knew him when he was a boy, a young boy becoming a man.
"Now he's a grown man. He's got a family. As much as I'm excited to see him win MVP, I'm also equally excited to see him as a father and as a husband."
Wales international Joe Hawkins is “gutted” to miss out on the World Cup after prioritising his “professional development, personal development and financial security” by agreeing to join Exeter.
The 20-year-old centre – who will join the Chiefs from Ospreys at the end of the season – said he has been deemed ineligible to play for his country, with his five caps falling short of the 25 required by the Welsh Rugby Union for players playing outside Wales.
However, Hawkins has insisted he had little choice with no contract on offer in his native country, and claimed he was previously being “underpaid”.
He said in a statement on his social media accounts: “Gaining my first cap for Wales in the Autumn Internationals was an incredibly proud day for my family and I, and continuing to wear the Welsh jersey in the Six Nations fulfilled a childhood dream of mine.
“Unfortunately, I have been deemed ineligible to play for Wales and the opportunity to play in the World Cup is no longer a possibility. I wish the boys and staff the best of luck and I am truly gutted I can’t share this journey with them.
“I want to acknowledge that by signing for the Exeter Chiefs, my first professional contract, I have fully prioritised my rugby career. I have done so with my professional development, personal development and financial security in mind.
“The turbulent period in Welsh rugby, where there were no contracts on offer in Wales, put all out-of-contract players under pressure. Witnessing the number of players currently out of a job in Wales has reinforced my decision.
“Further, while I have spent the last three years playing professional rugby, and later, international rugby, I have been held to an ‘academy contract’, being significantly underpaid.”
Hawkins was not included in Warren Gatland’s 54-man preliminary World Cup training squad when it was announced on Monday, but has vowed to use his time in England to fulfil his potential.
He said: “As a passionate rugby player, my ultimate goal is to fulfil my potential for both my club and country, despite this being put on hold for now.
“However, I am very grateful and excited to focus on next season with my new club. I am determined to work hard and achieve success with my new team-mates at Sandy Park over the coming years.”
Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia have resigned from the DP World Tour and in the process seemingly ended their Ryder Cup careers.
The trio have been stalwarts of Europe’s Ryder Cup squad for the best part of three decades but last summer decided to join the LIV Golf series.
A host of other top names were lured to the Saudi Arabia-backed breakaway venture with multi-million dollar deals, huge prize funds and no-cut events.
It proved the catalyst for months of wrangling and legal battles and despite Westwood, Poulter and Garcia long ago pledging their allegiances to LIV Golf, only now have they handed in their resignation to the DP World Tour in the latest chapter of the sport’s civil war.
Englishman Richard Bland has also resigned from the DP World Tour, but it is the confirmation of Westwood, Poulter and Garcia’s withdrawal that is the final nail in the coffin of their illustrious Ryder Cup careers.
Westwood remains Europe’s record appearance holder with 11 showings and Garcia the leading all-time points scorer of the competition, while the biennial event always brought out the best of Poulter, but they will now definitely not be involved in September’s latest instalment in Rome.
“The DP World Tour today confirmed it has received membership resignations from Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Richard Bland and Lee Westwood who were sanctioned for serious breaches of the Tour’s Conflicting Tournament Regulation committed last June,” a statement read.
“The DP World Tour would like to take this opportunity to thank the four players for the contribution they have made to the Tour and in particular to Sergio, Ian and Lee for the significant part they have played in Europe’s success in the Ryder Cup over many years.
“Their resignations, however, along with the sanctions imposed upon them, are a consequence of their own choices.
“As we have consistently maintained throughout the past year, the Tour has a responsibility to its entire membership to administer the member regulations which each player signs up to. These regulations are in place to protect the collective interests of all DP World Tour members.
“The independent panel appointed by Sport Resolutions recognised this, determining that our Conflicting Tournament Regulation and its application in the circumstances did not go beyond what was necessary and proportionate to the Tour’s continued operation as a professional golf tour and that we have a legitimate interest in protecting the rights of our full membership by enforcing it.
“A further update on other sanctioned members will be provided on Thursday.”
Westwood, Poulter, Garcia and Bland were all given sanctions by the DP World Tour for breaking rules by appearing in the LIV Golf series’ opening event in Hemel Hempstead last year without permission.
Ineos Grenadiers’ deputy team principal Rod Ellingworth has said the British outfit is open to launching a women’s road racing team in the next couple of years.
The Grenadiers, founded in 2010 as Team Sky and boasting one of the biggest budgets in the sport, have long faced questions over potential investment in a women’s squad – something rival teams including Trek-Segafredo, Jumbo-Visma and Movistar have done with considerable success.
In 2021 the team’s former chief executive Fran Millar said the idea had been discussed as far back as 2012 but rejected at board level by Sky, which backed the team until Sir Jim Racliffe’s Ineos took over in 2019.
The Grenadiers last year signed French mountain bike world champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot to their off-road roster, making her their first female rider, but Ellingworth has now said they are open to further expansion into women’s racing.
View this post on Instagram“We’re certainly looking at moving forward,” Ellingworth said. “Obviously bringing Pauline in at the back end of last year, purposefully bringing Pauline in to support her in her Olympic mountain bike campaign.
“She made a brilliant start last week (winning at the French Cup in Gueret) in the world champion’s jersey and she’s been a fantastic addition to the team, so we’re moving in the right direction.”
Ferrand-Prevot, 31, was a world champion on the road in 2014 and has talked of returning to the discipline after the Paris Olympics next summer.
Asked if she might be able to do that in an Ineos jersey, Ellingworth added: “Why not? I’ve always said, you’ve got to follow riders’ dreams and ambitions. You get hold of a rider with really big ambitions and see where they want to go.
“You decide then as a team, are you going to go on that journey or not? If Pauline had the ambition of riding the Tour de France or whatever in the future then what a great story that would be.”
Ineos expanded into off-road racing when they signed Tom Pidcock, the men’s Olympic mountain bike champion and former cyclo-cross world champion, for the start of the 2021 season, and Ellingworth said further expansion could follow.
“There’s no real barrier,” he said. “It’s just a focus thing, the focus of the team and the direction we want go in.
“What we decided a little while back was to broaden out and that was with the mountain bike team with Tom and his ambitions across different disciplines within the sport, then bringing Pauline in.
“I think we’re showing we are looking to spread our wings and do some other things. I think for us all it’s to not just be doing the same things year on year. We’re an ambitious team with ambitious goals and we want to keep moving forward. I think we shall be going in the right direction.”
Rugby chiefs have sealed a multi-million partnership deal which will help to bring more women into the game on and off the pitch as they attempt to seize a potentially pivotal moment.
World Rugby has announced a three-year arrangement with global insurance brokerage Gallagher, the official title partner of Premiership Rugby.
Under the deal, Gallagher becomes an official partner of women’s rugby and Rugby World Cup 2025, WXV – the new, three-tier annual global women’s competition featuring 18 teams – in 2023 and 2024, and a founding partner of a new High Performance Academy aimed at increasing the prominence of females in coaching and other roles within the game.
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The initiative comes days after a record crowd of 58,498 watched England beat France 38-33 to win a fifth consecutive Tik Tok Six Nations title, and six months after 42,579 spectators packed into Eden Park to see New Zealand defeat the Red Roses in the World Cup final.
Speaking from the company’s Chicago headquarters, where she was joined by former England captain Sarah Hunter and three-times World Cup winner Kendra Cocksedge, both brand ambassadors, World Rugby’s head of women’s rugby Sally Horrox said: “We should recognise that it’s a moment in time.
“It’s come six months on the back of a record-breaking World Cup, so for me it’s that momentum and people acknowledging and recognising the value and the potential of the game on more than just one occasion when a World Cup comes around.
“But I would hate people to think it just happened overnight. It’s been building for a while, but with that sort of visibility and fans buying tickets, then people start to recognise value; that unlocks fans and revenue which then unlocks investment which means it does kick us on to a new place.
“That’s what ground-breaking attendances like that more regularly can do for the game – as well as just allowing women like Sarah and Kendra and the people that are following them just to have the right level of attention and the showcase that they deserve as brilliant athletes, which shouldn’t ever forget that.”
World Rugby has set a target of having 25 per cent of all coaching and performance roles with the 16 teams at the 2025 World Cup filled by women, one which Horrox admits is “very, very ambitious”.
Hunter, who retired as a player in March having amassed a record 141 international caps, has seen huge change since her early days in the game, but knows that is only a start.
She said: “There are more females involved in domestic rugby across the world; our next step is to try to get more of those females into that international space.
“You look at Gaelle Mignot over in France, but she’s one of too few that we have, so we want to try to accelerate that and just create a really inclusive landscape for women to want to come and be involved in the game.
“That’s the big thing we need to do, we need to make it a place that women have the confidence to come. There are so many great female leaders out there and it’s just saying, ‘Actually, no you are good enough and actually, you do belong at that level in this game’.
“Hopefully this is what this programme will do.”
One day after being announced as the NBA's most valuable player, Joel Embiid could return from a right knee injury when the Philadelphia 76ers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday.
Embiid took part in the team's shootaround on Wednesday morning, and he now has a chance to suit up for the first time since Game 3 of the first round against the Brooklyn Nets.
Embiid sat out Game 4 of the opening round on April 22 due to a sprained ligament in the knee as Philadelphia swept Brooklyn.
The six-time All-Star then missed Game 1 of the semifinals in Boston on Monday, as the 76ers won 119-115 behind James Harden's 45 points.
Embiid finally won MVP honours on Tuesday after runner-up finishes in the previous two seasons.
He averaged a career-best 33.1 points in 2022-23 to claim his second straight scoring title, also adding 10.2 rebounds and a career high-tying 4.2 assists per game.
Embiid also set a personal best by shooting 54.8 per cent from the field, while his 66 games were the second-most he has played during a single campaign in his career.
Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith will take no motivation from spoiling a Celtic title party on Sunday with his focus purely on boosting his side’s European hopes.
Celtic will clinch the cinch Premiership title if they triumph at Tynecastle but Hearts also have plenty to play for as they chase Aberdeen for the lucrative third place and bid to hold off the challenge of Hibernian and St Mirren below them.
Naismith told Sky Sports News: “Celtic have been the best team over the season. They will go on to win the league, but our mindset is about us and what we can do.
“We have the games from now to the end of the season to try and get in European places. That’s got to be our focus. Whether Celtic win the league or not is irrelevant to us.”
Hearts beat Ross County 6-1 in Naismith’s first game in charge at Tynecastle and he knows that utilising their home games could be crucial in achieving their aims for the season.
“They will play a big part,” he said. “When the split fixtures came out, it’s a big benefit to us that we have got three home games.
“Our home result since I took over, in the Ross County game, was very good. It was a great day for everybody and we have got to show the same enthusiasm to play, aggressiveness to play in the opposition half.
“These are the key things we need to do at home which give us the best chance of winning games.”
Celtic have expressed “huge disappointment” that their Scottish Cup final clash with Inverness has been scheduled for an early evening kick-off, in a major break with tradition.
Celtic criticised a lack of consultation after the Scottish Football Association announced that its showpiece game would kick off at 5.30pm on June 3, moving from its long-held 3pm slot.
Reports emerged earlier in the week that the normal time could be moved – possibly to a lunchtime kick-off – to avoid a clash with the Manchester derby FA Cup final, which starts at 3pm and will be broadcast live on both BBC and STV.
Celtic said in a statement: “We are hugely disappointed that the Scottish Cup final has been moved from its traditional 3pm slot, something we don’t believe was necessary, or in the best interests of both sets of supporters.
“Additionally, there was no meaningful consultation with Celtic on this matter, in terms of assessing the many issues affecting supporters attending the match – something which is also extremely regrettable.”
Inverness promised to release a full statement in “due course” but some of their supporters were quick to point out some of the difficulties the change produces, notably that the last train from Glasgow to the Highland city on that day leaves at 7.37pm, giving supporters no chance of travelling home by rail on the day.
After confirming the kick-off time, the Scottish Football Association added: “We would like to thank all parties for their support in ensuring a slot commensurate with Scottish football’s showpiece occasion. The match will be broadcast live on BBC One Scotland and on Viaplay.”
Emma Raducanu is set to miss Wimbledon and the whole grass-court season after undergoing minor surgery.
The 2021 US Open champion has encountered several fitness problems in recent months and pulled out of the Madrid Open last month with a hand injury.
And the 20-year-old said she has had a minor procedure on both hands and on her ankle in an effort to resolve the issue.
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“It is safe to say the last 10 months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring injury on a bone of both hands,” Raducanu wrote on Instagram alongside a picture after her surgery.
“I tried my best to manage the pain and play through it for most of this year and end of last year by reducing practice load dramatically, missing weeks of training as well as cutting last season short to try heal it.
“Unfortunately it’s not enough. I’m having a minor procedure done on both hands to resolve the issues.
“I’m disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle.
“It pains me that I will miss the summer events and I tried to downplay the issues so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts.
“Look forward to seeing you all back out there.”
Europe captain Luke Donald admits he will find it hard to give his side a significant advantage with the way he sets up this year’s Ryder Cup course.
As the home skipper, Donald is allowed to dictate how Marco Simone Golf Club will play for this year’s contest against the United States as Europe look to bounce back from the record defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021.
The former world number one and some of his potential team members also have the opportunity to contest this week’s Italian Open at the venue on the outskirts of Rome, with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre defending the title he won last year.
“Since playing it last year, we looked at a few different fairway lines, bringing in a few fairways a little bit tighter,” Donald told a pre-event press conference.
“The template for European golf is to have a slightly narrower golf course, a little bit more rough, not greens that get too fast because that’s obviously what the US guys are always used to.
“There’s not a whole lot we have changed but we have added a couple of bunkers to create opportunities for better driving. I feel like Europe has good drivers of the golf ball.
“I think it’s a fun golf course in terms of there’s potentially two or three driveable par fours. Statistically, driving is a good part of our games so to have those in there could give us a slight advantage.
“But there’s only so much you can do. The players are very evenly matched when it comes to statistics.
“You’re just trying to find little potential differences that you can capitalise on but the standard of play is very close these days. It’s hard to gain a big advantage.”
MacIntyre defeated US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick in a play-off to win his second DP World Tour title last September, the left-hander making a birdie on the first extra hole after he and Fitzpatrick had finished tied on 14 under par, a shot ahead of Victor Perez.
Pre-tournament favourite Rory McIlroy, who was within a shot of the lead until hitting his tee shot on the 16th into the water, finished fourth on 12 under.
That was just the second qualifying event for the Ryder Cup and although MacIntyre has since fallen outside the automatic places, the world number 91 is trying to play down the potential significance of a successful title defence.
“I worried about that for the last Ryder Cup, worried about what could be,” he said. “This year, I’m not worried at all about what could be. What will be will be and I’ll be going out there to play golf because you enjoy it.
“This week is not going to define my season. I get it’s on the golf course where the Ryder Cup is going to be. Course set up is pretty similar to last year. I did it on that golf course.
“But, to be honest, I am not worried just about this week and there is so much golf to be played and it’s not going to define the season, good or bad.
“We’ll just keep marching on and working hard and hopefully we make it there come September.”
Erik ten Hag wants Alejandro Garnacho to kick on and challenge for a regular starting spot after the 18-year-old committed his long-term future to Manchester United.
The talented winger arrived at Old Trafford from Atletico Madrid in 2020, in the last wave of international signings before the Brexit regulations changed.
Garnacho was named last season’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year after playing a key role in United’s FA Youth Cup triumph and went on to make his first-team debut in April.
The Argentina youth international did not appear on the pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia after frustrating Ten Hag, but has since won the Dutchman over and has signed a new deal until 2028.
“First of all, I think he has the prize and it’s a prize,” the United manager said of Garnacho. “He also shows he can make the final step – not only in talent but also, he made it.
“But now it’s a new start, a restart, because now the expectations will be higher, the demands definitely will be higher.
“He is on his way, he is a strong character and that’s why he’s there in the moment on this level, and he did it by himself.
“But now is coming more work to go because the demands are higher, we expect more from him.
“But it’s great he made it because it tells we will give young players opportunities, but they have to deserve it.
“When I say ‘give’, translate it to ‘deserve’ and they have to deserve with their feet, they have to show it on the pitch and that means you have to invest a lot and deserve it by training performances, by performance in the under-21s, then wait for your moment and prove it again.
“For Alejandro, he is that step beyond but now the demands will be even more because he has now to compete for a starting XI position.
“So, every time is the same: you have to cross limits and every time you have to go in the next level.
“We go with him in that challenge but most important is the player has to do it.”
Garnacho has been laid low for the last seven weeks with an ankle injury sustained against Southampton – an issue that also saw him miss the chance to link up with the Argentina senior team in March.
But the teenager has made good progress and is closing in on a return to action, albeit Thursday’s Premier League trip to Brighton comes too soon.
“We have one training but I think it’s too soon to be available,” Ten Hag said. “I think he’s short, I think he needs some training and then short notice he will be available.”
Raphael Varane is also making good progress on his return to fitness.
The 30-year-old went off injured in last month’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against Sevilla, when fellow centre-back Lisandro Martinez suffered a season-ending metatarsal injury.
Varane will be unavailable at Brighton and then at West Ham on Sunday, but Ten Hag suggested he could return in United’s home match against Wolves on May 13.
“The prognosis, I think Rapha is closer than Scott McTominay in this moment,” the United boss said. “But still for the coming two games, they are not available.”
United have the chance to strengthen their grip on a Champions League qualification spot when they head to the high-flying Seagulls on Thursday.
Brighton are the only away team to have won at Old Trafford in the league this term but are reeling from their recent FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out loss to the Red Devils at Wembley.
“I think everyone involved in top, top sport, if you get beaten you want to have revenge and that is normal that they have a huge motivation to beat us,” Ten Hag added.
“But we have to match that and not only match that – we have to do more.
“We have to show we have more hunger than them to win this game and willingness – that is the word for (Thursday).”
Rob Baxter says Exeter do not shoulder responsibility for Wales centre Joe Hawkins’ controversial World Cup omission.
Hawkins was left out of Wales’ preliminary World Cup training squad on Monday following his move from Ospreys to Exeter.
The 20-year-old will join the Devon club this summer and, with five caps, has less than the 25 needed to continue at international level and play outside Wales.
National-team head coach Warren Gatland said he was “disappointed” to lose Hawkins for the World Cup in France later this year after Wales’ Professional Rugby Board told him he was ineligible upon studying documentation over the timing of his move to England.
Hawkins, who was first named in a national squad in October 2022 and made his debut against Australia the following month, could still have been deemed available for Wales by eligibility rules if he was uncapped when he signed his Exeter contract.
Exeter rugby director Baxter said: “We don’t take any responsibility because we approached it completely with open arms, with the anticipation that he would play for Wales.
“We felt that we had got everything in place we needed to. We complied with what we were asked to do with the information we had.
“Obviously Wales feel there’s stuff that doesn’t prove certain dates and times that they wanted.
“We haven’t done anything wrong, we certainly haven’t broken any rules.
“I think what will surprise people is how early we looked at Joe. He was playing under-20s rugby and I was watching those games with players we’ve got here.
“We’ve been looking at him for years basically. Whatever has happened has happened, but we’ll get on with it and support Joe in what he wants to do.”
The spotlight was shone on Wales’ eligibility rules after Gatland named a 54-man squad that, while omitting Hawkins, did include former England prop Henry Thomas, France-bound Dragons forward Will Rowlands and Japan-based Cory Hill.
Thomas, capped seven times by England between 2013 and 2014, has served World Rugby’s stand down period of three years to represent another country.
The 31-year-old Montpellier tighthead has not been capped by Wales, so is not affected by the 25-cap criteria.
Thomas would, however, have to play in Wales after his current Montpellier deal expires should he be capped in the meantime.
Rowlands has won 23 caps and his registration will remain in Wales before he joins Paris-based Racing 92 next season.
Two World Cup warm-up games against England and another with South Africa in August could take Rowlands to the 25-cap mark.
Asked if he was surprised by Hawkins’ World Cup omission, Baxter said he was a “little bit”, but added: “It certainly isn’t my place to be critical of the WRU (Welsh Rugby Union).
“I’ve got to be very careful without knowing in depth what the situation is in Wales, what the regions’ thoughts are on it.
“There is a lot going on within rugby across the world, a lot going on in the Premiership.
“But if Wales decide they don’t want to take Joe to the World Cup then that’s their decision.”
Jamaica's top shooters came out on top of their Caribbean rivals in last Saturday's Spectrum Handgun Championship held at Jamaica Rifle Association’s Mountain View shooting range in Kingston.
The home shooters topped all four divisions with Ryan Bramwell emerging the victor in Open Division, Andrew Yap taking the Standard Division and Chris Hart winning the Production Optics Division. Yeonie Campbell captured the Production Division.
Bramwell put on a master-class display of speed and accuracy to earn 1059.57 points, firing 215 rounds in 130.70 seconds over the 12-stage course.
Alrice Palmer scored 949.3 points to claim the runner-up spot while Lennie Moulton scored 879.76 points for third place.
"It was a great day. I shot very well. I was very fast and aggressive today (Saturday) and I had very good hits so overall I came out the winner,” the victorious Bramwell said.
“It’s a great feeling. Having put in the work and gotten the results, it’s fantastic and we go back to the drawing board and keep training."
Campbell copped the Production Division and topped the Ladies Category. In the Production Division she got the better of Anthony Johnson in a nail biter with just one point separating them while Rohan Wallace was third.
In the Ladies Category she was comfortably ahead of second place Florence Golding and third place Philana Brown.
"My performance today was okay. I think that the stages were very challenging as well as they allow you to express yourself so I was pleased with my performance," Campbell said.
“The ladies did very well today, exceptionally well today. I am very proud of them. I think that we all competed admirably today and the results showed it."
There was keen competition in the Standard Division which went to Master Class shooter Yap, who scored more than one hundred points more than of Darin Richards and Lennie Moulton who were second and third, respectively.
The Production Optics Division went to Chris Hart ahead of Adrian Randle and Michael Bradshaw who took third place.
One overseas-based shooter got on the podium with Richard Durrant of Barbados getting second place in the Senior Category of the Standard Division behind Ellsworth Dixon while Thomas Jones was third.
Durrant commended the Jamaican shooters.
"The quality of shooting here is really high. I had some hope of placing on the podium. The last time I was in Jamaica was in 2018 and since that time the standard has really, really sky-rocketed,” he said.
“Andy Yap and Greg Henry, I shot against them before but today it was a different level. I have to go back to the lab now so I have to recalculate my shooting. The experience was really good. I would come again."
Major John Nelson, president of JRA was pleased with the overall standard of the competition.
"It’s a Level 3, which, is in fact the highest match we have had now for about four years. It is such a highly respected match that we had international shooters from the Cayman Islands, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago,” he said.
“It was attractive enough for them to be here. We had the highest turnout of our local shooters including our shooters from Trelawny, Negril and May Pen, who came in to compete in this particular shoot.
“Spectrum Systems have outdone themselves and as Mr. (Andrew) Stanigar said to me at the end of the presentations, you are not getting rid of us we are here to stay with you and support you."
David Martindale is adamant there is no chance of Livingston winding down in the closing weeks of the season even though they have little to play for.
The Lions spent much of the season in the top half of the cinch Premiership and in contention for a European place but a run of six defeats in nine games before the split led them to slip into the bottom six.
Livingston have little chance of being relegated – they are 11 points clear of second-bottom Kilmarnock – but Martindale feels duty-bound to ensure his team do not take their foot off the gas as each of the five sides they will be coming up against are still threatened by the drop.
“In the last batch of fixtures we fell a bit short for the top six and we’ve only got ourselves to blame,” he said. “But when you look at the bottom six it would be hard to say there’s nothing to play for when you look at the teams that are around us.
“Our next three games are Ross County, Kilmarnock and Dundee United who are all fighting for their lives to stay in the Premiership.
“I’ve got to make sure for the integrity of the league, not just Livingston Football Club, that I’m not tinkering with my squad thinking about next season because there’s a lot at stake for teams within the bottom six.
“I’ll be trying to play my strongest team possible because I genuinely do think I’ve got to do that for sporting integrity.
“Have I got one eye on next year? Potentially. But is that going to have an impact on my decision-making just now? Probably not because of the reasons I’ve touched on, for the better of Scottish football and the teams in the bottom six.”
Livingston missed out on the top six on the last pre-split weekend last season but picked themselves up from that blow and finished a comfortable seventh in the league with three wins and two draws from their five bottom-six fixtures.
Martindale is confident his team will not be plagued by any lingering negativity this time round either.
“We did it last year and we’ll do it again,” he said when asked if it would be hard for the players to rouse themselves for the run-in. “The way I like to coach is ‘one game at a time’ so there’s not going to be a hangover.
“If we go up to Ross County (this Saturday) and don’t pick up points it will not be because of their mindset about not getting into the top six.
“That doesn’t play a part in my psyche anyway, and I’ll be making sure it doesn’t play a part in the players.”
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