Jack Draper was almost in tears after learning he may have to miss the US Open, but now the 21-year-old British hope is in the third round.

Draper, who last year was ranked as high as 38 in the world, has endured a torrid 12 months with injuries and had to miss Wimbledon with a shoulder tear.

Now outside the top 100, Draper felt the shoulder again in a warm-up event and feared the worst.

But the issue has cleared up and Draper is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows after beating 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 7-5 in the second round.

“I felt something in my arm again that I hadn’t had in a while, and, you know, came here with the intention of ‘we’ll take it day by day’,” he said.

“I had a scan and I had a very small bit of edema in my arm, which is basically a tear.

“I was looking with my coach and physio thinking, you know, just another bit of time off. We were almost in tears. What more can we do?

“There was a strong chance I couldn’t play this week. But we got the scans done and sent it back home and they said it’s not the same injury, so it’s not that serious.

“I’m kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, I just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to.”

Draper will face American Michael Mmoh as he bids to reach the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time.

“It’s weird how sort of this sport works,” he added. “Sometimes you can be at your lowest point and then all of a sudden you get on a bit of form and you’re playing great and your body feels good.

“Hopefully, touch wood, this is going to be the start of something.”

Andy Murray bowed out of the US Open after a dispiriting defeat to his old rival Grigor Dimitrov.

In the 12th meeting between two veterans of the sport, and seven years after their last one, 19th seed Dimitrov registered only his fourth win over the Scot.

Murray wilted inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the court upon which he won his first grand slam title in 2012, as he slipped to a 6-3 6-4 6-1 defeat.

A ding-dong of a first set, including two brutal 15-minute games, was poised at 3-3 with almost an hour played and the match was shaping up to be another Murray marathon.

Murray had lost eight points in a row to slip behind but hit back after an astonishing get from a 36-year-old with a metal hip, retrieving a net cord by deftly angling the ball away from Dimitrov.

He continued his run past the net post and into Dimitrov’s side of the court, where the Bulgarian clapped his opponent before both tapped rackets.

That was where the niceties ended, though, and Murray’s hopes quickly went south.

He came up with an absolute stinker of a service game, two double-faults and two unforced errors gifting Dimitrov the set and the momentum.

Murray was broken again at the start of the second and his shoulders slumped even further when his solitary chance to break back drifted wide.

The constant chuntering to his team was getting less and less cordial and, at 4-1 down in the third, he gestured to them that the match was over as a contest.

The former world number one was proved to be right two games later as another attempt to challenge in the later rounds of a grand slam fell well short.

The Cleveland Guardians have won the Lucas Giolito sweepstakes.

The Guardians claimed the right-hander off waivers on Thursday, two days after the Los Angeles Angels opted to put six players on waivers with their season spiraling downward.

Cleveland also claimed relievers Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez, who was traded with Giolito from the Chicago White Sox to the Angels on July 26.

The Angels made a number of moves at the deadline in hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2014 - as well as convincing superstar Shohei Ohtani to re-sign. Since the calendar flipped to August, however, Los Angeles is an AL-worst 8-19 and is 11 1/2 games out of the league's final wild-card spot.

The Guardians are on the fringe of the playoff conversation - sitting five games back of the first-place Minnesota Twins in the AL Central - but the front office is showing it is committed to making a postseason push.

The Angels, meanwhile, conceded their playoff chances on Tuesday, placing Giolito, Lopez, Moore, as well as reliever Dominic Leone, and outfielders Hunter Renfroe and Randal Grichuk on waivers.

Giolito struggled in his short time with the Angels, but has a proven track record and is familiar with the AL Central.

An All-Star in 2019, the 29-year-old threw a no-hitter in 2020, and has gone 47-41 with a 3.99 ERA over the last five seasons. Since 2019, his 868 strikeouts rank second among all AL pitchers.

In 21 starts for the White Sox this season, he went 6-6 with a 3.79 ERA before going 1-5 with a 6.89 ERA in six outings for the Angels.

He will take the spot in the starting rotation that belonged to Noah Syndergaard, who was released on Wednesday.

Moore and Lopez will join a Cleveland bullpen that has recorded a 3.48 ERA - the fifth best in MLB.

Moore had a 2.66 ERA in 41 relief appearances for Los Angeles this season, while Lopez posted a 2.77 ERA in 13 games with the Angels.

British number one Katie Boulter came from a set down to secure a place in the third round of the US Open for the first time.

The 27-year-old matched her run at Wimbledon this summer after a gutsy 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory over China’s in-form Wang Yafan.

Wang was on an 11-match winning streak, including beating seventh seed Caroline Garcia in the first round, but she was outlasted by Boulter in the New York heat.

In a tight first set, Boulter retrieved an early break, was given a warning for angrily swatting the ball away and had three set points on the Wang serve.

But she was unable to convert any of them and Wang promptly broke to wrap up the set.

However Boulter, from Leicester, cleared her head impressively and dominated the second set to level the match.

Having broken again for 5-4 in the decider she suffered a horrible wobble, throwing in two double faults in the first three points.

But once again Boulter recovered her composure and wrapped up a fine win when Wang hit the net.

Boulter will face 21-year-old American Peyton Stearns, the world number 59, in what looks a very favourable draw, for a place in the last 16.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 31.

Eddie Nketiah received his maiden England senior call-up.

Pablo Zabaleta looked back.

Harry Kane is looking forward to the Champions League.

And Marcus Rashford and Antony are too.

Erling Haaland was congratulated after winning the UEFA men’s player of the year award.

Coco Gauff celebrated too early.

Laura Robson had the camera out.

Tyson Fury mocked Oleksandr Usyk.

Chris Eubank Jr had a drug test.

Impressive debut for Brydon Carse!

George Russell signed a new deal with Mercedes.

….so did Lewis Hamilton.

Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda were cooking up a storm.

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Ollie Chessum knew from the reaction of his England’s team-mates that he had done some serious damage as his World Cup dream flashed before his eyes.

Chessum faced a battle to be fit for the tournament hosted by France when a “freak training accident” during the final week of the Six Nations left him needing surgery to repair a dislocated ankle.

It was a savage end to his season but England’s breakout star of the Championship had already done enough to convince boss Steve Borthwick that he should be given every chance to prove his fitness for the World Cup.

Now two matches into his comeback, the Leicester Tiger is set to join Maro Itoje in the second row for the crucial Pool D opener against Argentina on September 9.

“I got a tackle from behind and I got my foot caught. It was just a freak training accident,” Chessum said.

“Initially I just thought I’d rolled it, but as I rolled over and the lads were around me, I saw them all turn away and that’s when I knew I should probably have a quick look – and my foot wasn’t where it was supposed to be.

“When I first did the injury one of the first things I said to Freddie Steward was ‘that could be my World Cup’, and he said ‘don’t think like that’. I was quite emotional at the time.

“There have been days in the last five months where I’ve thought it doesn’t feel great, but getting back was always the goal.

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“We knew it was going to be close. I spoke to the surgeons and they said it would be four to six months and with no setbacks, that would be a semi-realistic goal.

“But then I had conversations with some of the physios and they said that they’ve had lads who have had similar injuries that have taken seven to nine months.

“I just cracked on with it. If it happened, it happened. And if it didn’t, it didn’t.

“It’s still not 100 per cent now. There is enough there that I can do what I need to and I can play rugby, but the likelihood is that for the next year or two I will need to look after it.”

Lewis Hamilton said he has “unfinished business” after signing a new £100million contract to extend his Formula One career beyond his 40th birthday.

After months of negotiations, the seven-time world champion finally concluded a new two-year deal – understood to be worth £50m-a-season, a salary hike of £10m – at last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.

The announcement ends speculation surrounding the seven-time world champion’s future with his current deal up for renewal at the end of the season.

Hamilton’s extension – which draws him level with Max Verstappen as the grid’s highest earner – will take him to a month shy of his 41st birthday. It will also allow him to continue his pursuit of a record eighth crown.

Hamilton will still be partnered by George Russell after Mercedes also confirmed they 25-year-old’s stay for at least another two years.

“I have had such an incredible journey with Mercedes, and we still have unfinished business,” said Hamilton ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.

“We want to get back to the top, and back to fighting for world championships. We are in this together.

“We have a lot of work to do, but there is nowhere else I would rather be. You are all stuck with me for a little bit longer.”

Hamilton has won a record 103 races, and was carried to six of his seven championships by Mercedes, but he has not tasted victory since the controversial Abu Dhabi decider of 2021 – a losing run of 36 races.

Hamilton is fourth in the championship, an eye-watering 183 points behind Verstappen, with Mercedes unable to challenge the Dutchman’s all-conquering team.

Verstappen has won 11 of the 13 rounds so far – with Red Bull unbeaten this season.

But Hamilton added: “It is not about revenge or redemption. Abu Dhabi is in the past and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“In life, you have ups and downs, and last year everyone was questioning whether they wanted to continue. But that thought quickly went away, and you put your mind and energy into being the best you can be.

“I truly believe we can win more world championships and more races together and that’s where all my energy is going.

“I’m not thinking that it’s going to take another four years to get to where we need to be. I’m aware that it does take time.

“But I’m so hopeful the decisions we are taking will put us in that target zone. In my heart I truly believe if it’s not next year it will be the year after that we can challenge.”

Hamilton, who made his F1 debut in 2007 aged 22, once scoffed at the idea of racing into his forties.

But after signing up for his 18th and 19th seasons, he revealed the careers of NFL star Tom Brady, who retired at the age of 45, and Fernando Alonso, who turned 42 last month, is proof he can continue to compete at the highest level.

“I definitely didn’t think I would get to the age that I am and feel the way I do, physically and mentally, and still love what I’m doing as much as I do,” he added. “That’s something I’m incredibly grateful for.

“I look at people like Tom Brady, who has been such an incredible athlete, and has shown what can be done today. He’s a role model in that respect.

“I’ve been fortunate in being able to speak to him and to understand what he has done and what he does consistently to keep himself in shape.

“It is also great seeing Fernando. He was here way before I was and is still doing an amazing job.

“It just shows that your talent never really leaves you so long as you have that passion and commitment to continue.”

Russell joined Hamilton at Mercedes in 2022, out-scoring his team-mate in their first season together.

He also claimed his maiden victory – Mercedes’ sole triumph of last year – at the penultimate round in Brazil.

“Lewis wouldn’t have stayed if he didn’t think the team was capable of winning again,” added Russell. “That reinforces the confidence that I have in the team.”

The Minnesota Vikings announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement with Pro Bowl tight end T.J. Hockenson on a multi-year contract extension that will reportedly make him the NFL's highest-paid tight end. 

ESPN reports the deal has a total value of $68.5 million over four years and includes the largest amount of guaranteed money for a tight end at $42.5 million. The contract's average annual value of $17.125 million is also the highest ever at the position. 

Hockenson, a Pro Bowl selection in 2020 and 2022, was entering the final season of a five-year, $29.2 million contract he signed as a rookie in 2019.

"He fits our culture, he’s the type of player that we want around here in Minnesota," Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said Thursday at a press conference announcing the signing.  "Really excited to get it done, a lot of late nights into this and we’re excited about that,"

Hockenson had missed the majority of training camp with an inner ear infection and a lower back injury, though head coach Kevin O' Connell said Thursday he expects the fifth-year pro to be ready for the Sept. 10 season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

The 26-year-old was taken by the Detroit with the eighth overall pick of the 2019 draft and spent 3 1/2 seasons with the Lions before being traded to the NFC North rival Vikings on Nov. 1.

Hockenson fit in seamlessly with his new team, as his 60 receptions were the most by a Vikings player through his first 10 games with the team in franchise history. He added 519 receiving yards and three touchdowns while helping Minnesota capture its first division title since 2017.

The University of Iowa product's 2022 campaign was highlighted by a 179-yard, two-touchdown performance for Detroit against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 2 and a 13-catch, 109-yard, two-touchdown effort against the New York Giants on Dec. 24. Hockenson had another double-digit catch outing against the GIants in the NFC playoffs, as he finished with 10 receptions totalling 129 yards in Minnesota's 31-24 loss.

Hockenson ended the 2022 regular season second among NFL tight ends in receptions (86) and receiving yards (914), trailing only Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Travis Kelce in both categories while setting career highs in each.

Hockenson has recorded 60 or more receptions in three consecutive seasons and has compiled 246 catches, 2,587 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 57 career regular-season games. 

Marco Botti has expressed his pride in Giavellotto’s brave run in defeat at York, with connections now mulling over a possible tilt at the Melbourne Cup later in the year.

The Yorkshire Cup champion was returning to the scene of his finest hour when lining-up in the Lonsdale Cup and lost little in defeat as he fought out the finish with the Ascot Gold Cup first and second, Courage Mon Ami and Coltrane.

It was Andrew Balding’s consistent performer who came out on top on the Knavesmire, with Botti’s four-year-old giving way to the stronger stayers late in the day as he finished two lengths adrift in third.

However, the Newmarket-based handler was far from despondent as his long distance star showed his qualities once again.

Botti said: “It was a good run and he was beaten by two proper stayers who finished first and second in the Gold Cup. They are the best stayers around and maybe they just outstayed him.

“I always thought one-mile-six would be Giavellotto’s optimum trip. He gets the two miles but when he runs against the proper stayers, maybe the final furlong gets a bit hard work.

“It was no disgrace to finish third behind two proper stayers and he is a horse who has been consistent and tries his best all the time. For sure he handles York quite well.”

Giavellotto holds entries in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger (Curragh, September 10) and the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on British Champions Day (October 21).

However, Botti is hoping to get the go-ahead from owner Francesca Franchini of Scuderia La Tesa Limited to travel to Australia for the ‘race that stops a nation’ at Flemington on November 7.

“He’s a horse who wouldn’t want the ground too soft. He is in the Irish St Leger, but we thought by then you don’t know what the ground will be,” explained Botti.

“We are still discussing about the Melbourne Cup and I’m pretty sure we will enter him and then finalise the plans. Otherwise in England it will just be Champions Day as the only goal left for him.”

He went on: “I would be in favour (of going for the Melbourne Cup). The fact he went to Dubai and is a horse who travels well and I also think the track will suit him – it is similar to York, a left-handed track.

“I think he will get in. He won a Group Two so he should make the cut for the Melbourne Cup, but then it is up to the owners as it is quite an expensive trip to take on and as we know the rules are quite strict before the race. The vetting can be tricky but he is a sound horse.

“If we take that route, hopefully all goes to plan, and I would be in favour if the owner wanted to go.”

If a trip to the Southern Hemisphere doesn’t come to fruition, Botti hopes to explore other options overseas for Giavellotto during his five-year-old campaign as he envisages his stable star improving further with experience.

“He’s a nice horse to still have in the yard and we have been able to win a Group Two this year,” he added.

“He’s a nice horse to have and maybe campaign abroad next year, whether that be Dubai or Saudi Arabia. We’re not planning too far ahead but he’s definitely a horse who has scope to get even better.”

Liam Smith questioned Chris Eubank Jr’s intelligence as the pair bickered ahead of their rematch this weekend.

The British fighters meet for a second time at Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday, seven months on from Liverpudlian Smith’s fourth-round stoppage victory over his middleweight rival.

Both were in bullish mood as they held a fractious press conference in the city on Thursday, with Eubank predicting he will gain revenge with a “beautiful, artistic display of savage boxing”.

Eubank has brought in a new coach in Brian McIntyre and introduced other changes to his training regime in preparation for the contest.

McIntyre has hailed Eubank, 33, as an intelligent fighter, but 35-year-old Smith scoffed at that suggestion when they met with media.

The former WBO super-welterweight champion said: “You class Chris as an intelligent fighter? That is one thing Chris is not!”

“I’m definitely more intelligent than you, my friend,” Eubank responded.

Smith, who has a career record of 33-3-1, said: “Results speak for themselves!

“You are trying to convince people you’re intelligent? You’ve been fit, you’ve been durable, you have an engine, but you’ve never been classed as intelligent.”

“You have one form of fighting, I have many,” said Eubank. “So, if we are going to talk about intelligence there is no competition.”

Eubank, who now has 32 wins and three defeats to his name, is so confident of victory that he says he has banned his camp from even taking a towel to the ring.

Eubank’s former coach Roy Jones Jr had appeared ready to throw in the towel immediately prior to the referee’s decision to halt the first bout.

“We are not going to look for the easy way out,” said Eubank. “If it gets rough, if it gets hairy, we are there for the long haul. We are going to get through it.

“If there is going to be a towel involved in this fight it will definitely be coming from the other corner.

“What happened in the last fight was not supposed to happen. Even to Liam – he may not admit it – but he was not expecting the fight to finish how it finished. Nobody was.

“I know I am the better fighter and I am going to go out there and prove it on Saturday.

“The preparation I have had has been excellent and the performance I am going to have is going to be exquisite, supernatural. It is going to be a beautiful, artistic display of savage boxing.”

Smith was incredulous at Eubank’s remarks and claimed the outcome would be similar to that of the first fight.

He said: “All week it was, ‘Chris couldn’t be hurt’. I was like, ‘Never say never’.

“I told everyone, ‘Don’t think anyone can’t be hurt because they have got a good chin’. I do still think he has got a good chin, but he got hit, looking at the floor, and he went.

“The same will happen again. If he makes the same mistakes, I will punish him.”

A return to France on Arc weekend and a trip to the Breeders’ Cup will come under consideration for Tiger Belle following her front-running success in the Prix d’Arenberg at ParisLongchamp.

The Ado McGuinness-trained filly was a 7-1 shot stepping up to Group Three level following a narrow Listed success at Naas and was smartly away in the hands of Cristian Demuro.

Karl Burke’s Dawn Charger finished with a flourish, but Tiger Belle saw her off by a neck, with Graceful Thunder the same distance further away in third for George Boughey.

McGuinness said of the winner: “She’s a very tough filly and I’ve said all along she’s very fast, one of the fastest fillies I’ve ever had.

“She’s improving with every run, she’s a lovely filly to have and I’m delighted for the guys that own her (Shamrock Thoroughbreds).”

The County Dublin-based handler confirmed Tiger Belle could carry new colours on her next start if a suitable offer arrives as he targets a potential step up to the highest level.

“No one rang us after she won in Naas, but she is for sale and hopefully someone might buy her now. We’d love to keep her, but the lads that own her are an investment syndicate and we have to sell to survive,” McGuinness added.

“We have plenty of options for her now. She could run at the Breeders’ Cup over five or we have the option of going for the Prix de l’Abbaye if we wanted.

“She obviously handles the track. I think the key to Longchamp is the draw, but her gate speed is very fast, she kills the race halfway through and they just struggle to catch her.”

Francis Meynell could be immediately upped in grade at Doncaster’s St Leger Festival having made a successful introduction at Navan.

Michael O’Callaghan’s speedily-bred Blue Point youngster cost 125,000 guineas at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year and went some way to justifying that price-tag with a taking display in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.

Sent immediately to the front by Leigh Roche, he barely saw another rival as he defied inexperience to produce an ultra-professional performance and register a running-on three-quarters of a length success at 8-1.

His trainer was suitably impressed and is now eyeing a trip to Town Moor on September 15 for the Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Stakes, the Group Two contest most commonly known as the Flying Childers.

“He’s a horse I’ve taken my time with. He’s quite enthusiastic at home so we went back to basics with him and we’ve slowly let him get himself ready for this,” said O’Callaghan.

“He’s going to improve plenty. It’s more so his mind that made him look so professional today, but I think he’ll improve a lot from what he’s done at home.

“It looked like a good race on paper beforehand and Leigh said he thought that he was only in second gear.

“I thought if he was able to win his maiden today and he looked nice that I might pitch him into something like the Flying Childers.

“He’s quick, he’d get six furlongs I’d say, but he has a lot of speed and there is no point trying to tame it.

“I not trying to talk him up but I honestly don’t know where the bottom of him is.”

Earlier on the card Aidan O’Brien’s Pop Star (100-30) highlighted his potential when downing 1-3 favourite Yosemite Valley to shed his maiden tag at the third time of asking.

Off the track since finishing second at Navan just over a year ago, the son of Sioux Nation showed plenty of pace to make up for lost time and potentially earn a shot at something bigger and better next time.

“We thought a bit of him last year and he got a setback, he’s missed a lot of time off the track,” said winning rider Seamie Heffernan.

“Pat Martin trained the mother, she was very genuine and she won a heap of races.

“In the last 20 yards was quite green but I was more than happy with him.

“He’s quick, five or six furlongs. If he gets seven furlongs, he’s definitely a stakes horse.”

Also on course for a sterner test in his next outing is Michael Mulvaney’s Bid For Chester (7-2) who thrived dropping back in trip to break his duck at the fifth attempt in the Navan Racecourse Nursery Handicap.

“He fired a warning shot the other day and Chris came in a said he was a bit green when he went for him,” said Mulvany.

“When he came through them today the hill suited him.

“Hopefully now he’ll go to the sales race, the Goffs Sportman’s Challenge in Naas on September 14th. That was the plan all year.”

Derby third White Birch is set to return to the track at Leopardstown during the Irish Champions Festival following a mid-season break.

Trained by John Murphy, the colt acquitted himself with real credit in the first half of the season and it was at Leopardstown where he won the Ballysax Stakes on his seasonal bow before podium finishes in both the Dante and the Derby at Epsom.

The only blot in the son of Ulysses’ copybook came when misfiring at the Curragh in the Irish Derby prior to his break, but he is now reported to be in rude health ahead of his impending return to the track.

He holds entries in Leopardstown’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix Niel at ParisLongchamp, but connections are favouring the Group Three Paddy Power Stakes at the Dublin track for White Birch’s comeback outing.

“He’s in super shape and he’s had a couple of weeks of a break,” said George Murphy, assistant trainer to his father.

“We’re just building him up slowly to run probably next weekend. He’s in the Champion Stakes, the Kilternan Stakes (Paddy Power Stakes) and the Prix Niel in France.

“There’s no concrete plan which we will go for next, but he will run in one of those races.

“I think at the moment it is likely we will go to the Kilternan Stakes.”

White Birch has plied his trade at the highest level in his most recent outings, contesting Classics on both sides of the Irish sea.

However, he will be dropping back to Group Three company if contesting the Paddy Power Stakes, with Murphy explaining it is the mile-and-a-half distance that is the biggest determining factor when selecting the horse’s next target.

He added: “There is going to be nothing easy about a race on Champions Weekend, but I think a mile and a half is his most suitable trip and it just happens to be a Group Three.

“That’s the race that suits him that weekend other than the Prix Niel in France which he also has the option of as well.”

White Birch’s appearances are set to be limited this autumn as his training team already have one eye on a four-year-old campaign.

However, there is the possibility the colt may take an enterprising trip to Germany before the end of the season for a crack at Munich’s Grosser Preis von Bayern in early November, a Group One contest won two years ago by Sir Mark Prescott’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Alpinista.

“He’s entered in the Grosser Preis von Bayern and there is the potential he may go there – that’s a bit later in the year,” said Murphy.

“There’s a couple of other races but we’re probably not going to over-race him in the autumn.

“He’s grown quite a lot and we’re kind of looking forward to next year with him really.

“There’s a nice programme throughout the year for older horses and he’s shown throughout this year he is more than happy to travel. He should have a big future next year, please God.”