Harmonya Maker bounced back to form with a gutsy victory in the Grade Two Carey Glass Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase at Thurles.
The seven-year-old had jumped left when beaten at Cork last month and put in a below-par effort when a distant third behind Hauturiere in Limerick’s Dawn Run over the festive period
However, Gordon Elliott’s charge turned the tables to beat that rival with a one-and-a-half-length verdict at 100-30 on this occasion.
Silent Approach set the pace, followed by Harmonya Maker and then Hauturiere, who was put on the back foot by a mistake five out.
Harmonya Maker took control between the final two fences and was always doing enough under Jack Kennedy to fend off Hauturiere’s late challenge.
Kennedy said: “She threw her race away jumping left at Cork two runs ago – whatever that was about that day, but she jumped straight today.
“She had been disappointing in her last couple of runs but did what we had been expecting her to do all along.
“For whatever reason, she had been disappointing but it is great for her to put her best foot forward and is back to what we thought she’d be.”
The winner was cut to 16-1 for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham with Betfair and Coral.
JPR One stamped his class on the Download The Racing App Now Lightning Novices’ Chase at Lingfield.
A winner on his chasing debut at Newton Abbot in October, Joe Tizzard’s charge looked set to follow up in the Arkle Trial at Cheltenham the following month when unseating Brendan Powell at the final fence.
In December, he finished a creditable third in the Grade One Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown and got back on the winning trail in this Grade Two event, which was saved and rescheduled following the abandonment of the opening day of the Winter Million Festival on Friday.
There was drama from the off, with Matata hanging violently left on the approach to the first fence, badly impeding the 9-4 favourite Djelo, who had nowhere to go and ultimately came to grief.
Matata attempted to make every yard of the running from that point on, but 6-1 shot JPR One took over travelling strongly five fences from home and looked in control for the remainder of the race.
Matata did his best to make a race of it in the home straight and was making inroads on an idling JPR One late on, but the latter was good value for the winning margin of half a length.
Tizzard said: “He was really good today. I’m not making too many excuses for Sandown, I just think he got stuck in the Sandown ground, which you can.
“We had a little walk down the straight today and I was amazed by how well it walked. It was an easy watch today, he travelled great and jumped for fun and that’s the horse we think we’ve got up against the best two-mile novices in England anyway.
“We’ve always held him in pretty high regard and he perhaps didn’t get to the levels over hurdles, but certainly over fences, if he didn’t have that little stumble at the back of the last at Cheltenham, he was going to look majorly impressive.
“I think the ground at Sandown just took its toll but today is the best we’ve seen him and he’s got a fair bit about him on the day.
“He’s got so much athleticism and Brendan has got the hang of not getting too excited – and you could tell he enjoyed that today. We think he’s a smart horse with a big future.”
Coral cut JPR One to 16-1 from 25-1 for the Arkle Trophy and Tizzard confirmed that Cheltenham Festival contest as his next objective.
He added: “We’ll have to take him to the Arkle now, he deserves to be there.
“He’s only a novice for one year, so I would have thought we would have a crack at it. He’s already proved he runs well around Cheltenham, so I don’t know why we wouldn’t.”
Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Djokovic was on course for a ‘triple bagel’ against Adrian Mannarino before eventually winning 6-0 6-0 6-3 while Sabalenka was a 6-3 6-2 winner over Amanda Anisimova.
Sabalenka appears very likely to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals, while Australian hopes were ended when Andrey Rublev defeated Alex De Minaur in five sets.
Picture of the dayShot of the dayKicking offNext gen
Cruz Hewitt, the 15-year-old son of former world number one Lleyton, was beaten on his junior grand slam debut. But 16-year-old Jagger Leach, whose mother is three-time major champion Lindsay Davenport, did make it through to round two.
Murray magic
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Fallen seeds
Women: None
Men: Stefanos Tsitsipas (7), Karen Khachanov (15), Adrian Mannarino (20)
Who’s up next?
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Cameron Norrie will bid for a first victory over a top-10 player at a grand slam when he takes on sixth seed Alexander Zverev on Margaret Court Arena on Monday.
The winner will face either second seed Carlos Alcaraz or Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who meet in the night session, while third seed Daniil Medvedev plays Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
After beating Iga Swiatek, teenager Linda Noskova plays Elina Svitolina, and 12th seed Zheng Qinwen plays two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka.
Rory McIlroy completed the best weekend comeback of his career to successfully defend his title and win a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic.
The Northern Irishman’s previous biggest recovery with two rounds to go was from five shots back at the 2015 BMW PGA Championship but having begun round three 10 adrift he closed out a one-stroke victory on one of his favourite courses at the Emirates Golf Club.
Saturday’s 63 had catapulted him into contention but there were far fewer fireworks in his final round and, while McIlroy escaped with some loose shots over his last few holes, rivals Cameron Young and Adrian Meronk were also guilty of scrappy play and were unable to exert any meaningful pressure.
“I didn’t really think about that (the comeback) during the course of the round,” McIlroy, who shot a one-under-par 71 to finish 14 under, told Sky Sports.
“I thought the way the course was trending, two 67s would really have a chance and the 63 put me in a great position.
“I thought on Friday night 10 under for the weekend I’d have a really good chance and I shot 11 under and won by one.
“It was a really tricky day, it was hard to get it close and make a ton of birdies. The pivotal moment came on eight and nine when I made two threes.”
McIlroy, who now has a victory and a second place in his first two starts of the season, added: “It wasn’t one of those days where there was a ton of fireworks but I held on as best I could and thankfully no-one at the top of the leaderboard made a run.
“I made that one blunder on 13 and made bogey but felt I steadied the ship well over the final few holes.”
Glasgow back-rower Rory Darge and Bath stand-off Finn Russell have been named as Scotland’s new co-captains for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
It has also been revealed that free-scoring wing Darcy Graham has been ruled out of the opening two matches through injury.
Jamie Ritchie had been the skipper since replacing Stuart Hogg in the role for the 2022 Autumn series but, with the Edinburgh flanker having been hindered by shoulder and jaw injuries following last year’s World Cup, Gregor Townsend has opted to make a change in order to “further grow and develop the leadership within the squad”.
Both Russell, 31, and Darge, 23, have previous experience of captaining the team in Ritchie’s absence.
The talismanic Russell, who has been in impressive form since moving to Bath from Racing 92, is likely to lead the Scots in the opening match away to Wales as 23-year-old Darge is expected to miss the early part of the championship as he battles to recover from a knee injury sustained at the end of December.
“Appointing co-captains for this year’s Guinness Six Nations allows us to further grow and develop the leadership within the squad,” head coach Townsend told Scottish Rugby on Sunday morning.
“Rory and Finn captained Scotland last summer and bring different strengths and styles of leadership to the table.
“Both are highly respected within our squad and have been part of our leadership group for some time.
“I’m sure they will thrive with this responsibility and lean on our other leaders to drive certain aspects of our preparation, mindset and performance.”
Ritchie was sidelined for a month after the World Cup due to a shoulder injury sustained in the first half of the pool-stage defeat by Ireland in October. After returning in mid-November for six Edinburgh matches, the back-rower suffered a jaw injury in the win over Glasgow on 30 December.
Townsend said last week that he was undecided on the captaincy and that he needed to see Ritchie “put his best foot forward” in Friday’s Challenge Cup match away to Scarlets.
However, the 27-year-old was restricted to a second-half substitute appearance as he made his return to action.
Russell’s appointment as captain is particularly significant as the influential fly-half has had a strained relationship with Townsend at times in the past.
Russell was cut from the squad ahead of the 2020 Six Nations after he missed a training session following a late-night drinking session and he was also controversially omitted from the initial squad for the 2022 autumn Tests as Townsend appeared intent on phasing him out before injuries prompted him to recall the former Glasgow fly-half midway through the series.
“Playing for Scotland is a huge honour and to co-captain the side is a privilege and something I am proud of,” Russell said.
“We have such a talented squad and to lead them alongside Rory represents a massive opportunity. I can’t wait to get started with this year’s championship.”
In the same update that confirmed the change of captaincy, Scottish Rugby revealed that Edinburgh wing Graham will miss the opening two matches away to Wales and at home to France with a quad injury.
The 26-year-old – Scotland’s second highest try-scorer of all time – has been replaced in the squad by Ross McCann, a 26-year-old wing who played for Scotland Under-20s before becoming a full-time Scotland 7s player.
Britain’s Hannah Klugman is looking to follow in the footsteps of teen sensation Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open.
Sixteen-year-old Andreeva lost in the junior final 12 months ago but beat Ons Jabeur on Rod Laver Arena on her way to the fourth round of the women’s singles in Melbourne before losing to Barbora Krejcikova.
Klugman, from Wimbledon, does not turn 15 until next month but she is already ranked seventh in the junior game and has been attracting attention well beyond British shores.
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In December, she became the first British girl to win the prestigious under-18 Orange Bowl title in Florida, whose former champions include Coco Gauff, Caroline Wozniacki and Chris Evert.
“I went into the week with not much expectations,” said Klugman. “I wasn’t playing that great. I went into Orange Bowl with a fresh mind and really played some great tennis.
“It was amazing. I was walking past a poster with all the winners. There’s some pretty amazing people on there. So it’s great.
“Nothing’s massively changed. But, obviously, I think I have more confidence in myself. I know I can do it, I have the level. I’ve just got to bring it to the court. I want to go deep this week.”
Klugman described winning a junior grand slam title as a “massive goal” but preparing her for the senior game is the main focus.
The teenager has a powerful forehand and serve, which reached 113mph during a first-round win over Antonia Vergara Rivera in the girls’ singles on Sunday.
Age restrictions designed to prevent the kind of teenage burnout seen in the women’s game in previous decades mean Klugman is heavily restricted in the number of senior tournaments she can play – only 10 in a year even once she turns 15.
But her ranking is already in the top 700 and Andreeva’s rapid rise provides inspiration.
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“It’s not that far away,” said Klugman. “People think it’s quite far away, but it’s actually not. She was here this time last year and a lot can change really quickly.
“I don’t think some people would have said it would happen that quickly and now she’s in the fourth round here. It’s crazy.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence and trust in myself that, if I keep working hard every day, I can do it.
“I think I play a bit similar to her. She changes the pace. She doesn’t hit like crazy. I think that’s what I do.”
There is a great deal of excitement within British tennis about the potential of Klugman, who was given a wild card into Wimbledon qualifying last summer and could well be in line for a shot at the main draw this time.
She insisted she is in no hurry, saying: “It’s such a great honour to even get a qualies wild card. So I honestly don’t mind if it’s really far into the future.”
Unlike Emma Raducanu, who stayed in school to complete her A Levels, Klugman has just left Wimbledon High School and switched to online learning.
Asked if she would miss it, Klugman, who is also a talented hockey player, said: “Massively, but I’ll definitely keep in touch with my friends.
“I want to do well in my GCSEs. I want to get a good education. So it’s tough to be juggling all that when you’re away in Australia. I know I will have to be disciplined, but I know I can do it.”
Former trainer Keith Reveley has spoken of his immense pride after seeing son James belatedly break his Grade One duck in Britain aboard the hugely impressive Il Est Francais at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
The Reveley name is, of course, steeped in northern jumps racing history, with Keith’s late mother Mary a pioneering female trainer who saddled more than 2,000 winners during an illustrious career.
Son Keith later took over the reins at the family’s Saltburn base before calling it a day himself in 2017, while James Reveley has gone on to establish himself as a leading jockey in France.
It is eight years since the proud Yorkshireman took the Gallic plunge and it could hardly have worked out better, as he has been crowned French champion jumps jockey on three occasions and won a whole host of major prizes, including a hat-trick in the prestigious Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
His father is delighted with his son’s achievements across the Channel, but admits it was extra special to see the Reveley name back in the big-race winner’s enclosure on home soil after Il Est Francais, jointly trained by another French-based Englishman in Noel George, produced a scintillating display in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
“It was a great day and what made it even better was we managed to go, as we were en route to France to see the grandchildren and called in at Kempton on the way, so it was absolutely brilliant,” he said.
“The style with which the horse did it took me back to the old days, as James always rode well from the front. I remember him riding a horse called Night In Milan for me, who used to make the running and jump for fun around Doncaster.
“Funnily enough, we walked the track together an hour before the race at Kempton and for once everything worked out as we’d hoped. I said to him ‘Harry Cobden always likes to go a bit wide, so you should be able to get a nice run down the inside and it’s all about rhythm and jumping’.
“I said ‘make sure you give him a breather round this last corner, don’t press him the whole way’, and I honestly couldn’t believe how well everything was working out just as we’d spoken about, as it not very often does.”
Keith Reveley himself landed the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – then the Feltham – with the Mick Fitzgerald-ridden Ungaro in 2006, while James partnered the stable’s Tazbar to finish second to the brilliant Long Run three years later.
In Il Est Francais, though, Keith feels his son has come across the horse of a lifetime.
He added: “The Feltham was the only Grade One I actually won as a trainer, so it was a magical day to see James win it and we just pray the horse stays in one piece. Hopefully he won’t need to start training just yet, as long as that horse is still around!
“He’s an exceptional horse. I’ve actually been to Noel’s to see him work in a morning and he’s the most gorgeous horse to look at.”
Connections have already nominated the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris as Il Est Francais’ first major target for this year, with a return to Kempton for the King George also high on his agenda.
Should he come through both of those assignments unscathed, then a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup may loom large in 2025, although Reveley senior does have some reservations about the suitability of that particular test.
“I must admit I think the Kempton track suits him, as the horse has got loads of natural pace, and whether he wants three and a quarter miles around Cheltenham is another thing,” he went on.
“I know he’s won around Auteuil on soft ground, but they go much slower early on in the races there and whether he’ll suit the slog of Cheltenham, we’ll have to wait and see.
“James is adamant he will suit the Grand Steep – because the pace is quite relaxed early on over there, he’s confident that the trip won’t be a problem for him, but off a flat-out pace over three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham, it’s a different ball game altogether.”
While Reveley certainly does not begrudge his son’s success, he admits he had initially harboured hopes he would continue to ride in Britain at least part-time to aid his own career before the lure of French riches proved too much for him to resist.
“He used to stay with me for the winter and then go back to France every April time and stay there for the summer,” he recalled.
“I always thought it was working well, as he’d usually get maybe 50 winners in England during the winter and I thought he had a good career, but the French people kept saying if he went full-time he’d be champion and, as it turned out, the first year he went there full-time, he was champion, so it worked out.
“I wouldn’t say it was devastating for me because I’m proud he’s done so well, but it more or less put paid to my training career because it’s a hard enough job as it is without your son moving away.
“To be fair, I think the French racing suits him because he’s always been a good horseman over a jump and obviously in France, you’ve got the bullfinch fences and different types of obstacles.
“In English races, they go very fast early on and it’s a little bit of a war of attrition, whereas the French tend to be a little more tactical and rely on the jumping a little bit more. It’s worked out very well, he’s had a great time and hopefully he has a few more years at it yet.
“It was nice to see him do it on English television at Kempton. I’ve had a lot of people commenting how good it was to see him winning over here and how it’s nice to see he’s still got his northern accent!”
Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Coneygree is reported to be loving life in retirement, almost five years after running his final race.
In an era increasingly dominated by a handful of powerhouse yards and owners with deep pockets, the recently-turned 17-year-old was an all too rare diamond in the rough for the husband and wife training partnership of Mark and Sara Bradstock.
Nine wins from 18 starts tells only half the story of a rollercoaster ride which saw Coneygree become the first horse since Captain Christy 41 years earlier to claim Gold Cup glory as a novice in 2015.
Just minutes after being pulled up in a handicap chase at Ascot in February 2019, Sara Bradstock announced the fairytale had come to an end, but she is delighted with how her pride and joy is enjoying life out of the spotlight.
“He’s at home with me and lives just outside the house. He’s having a lovely time and goes out leading the babies and does whatever he wants really,” she said.
“He enjoys letting himself out of his stable quite often! He has done a bit of ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) in the past and actually he did a team chase with my son in the autumn, which he very much enjoyed, but he won’t be doing too many of those because it’s a bit hard on the old limbs!
“He’s pretty happy really and I think it’s very important these horses stay in a place where people know them well. We know everything about him and therefore we know if he’s feeling a bit sore or what have you, but at the moment he’s in good nick and gets ridden out whenever I’ve got time.
“He deserves everything he gets. He quite likes people coming round and saying ‘can I look at Coneygree’, because he likes to be the centre of attention and is not very happy when there’s people in the yard and they’re not looking at him!
“There is something weird about good horses, they just know they’re important – and he definitely knows he’s very important.”
Coneygree’s racing journey began in November 2011, when the son of Karinga Bay – bred by Sara Bradstock’s late father, Lord Oaksey – made a successful start to his career in a Uttoxeter bumper.
“We had him in training as a three-year-old but he was very big and tall and weak, so he’d probably been with us for a year by the time he ran,” Bradstock recalled.
“We knew he was nice before he went to Uttoxeter, but he was never a flying workhorse. We knew he was a great athlete, in that you couldn’t seem to make him tired, but if anything wanted to work faster than him, he was happy to let them.
“We knew he was pretty good, but we didn’t know he was as good as he was.”
While well beaten in a Listed bumper at Newbury on his next outing, Coneygree bounced back with a vengeance the following season, winning his first three starts over hurdles, including back-to-back Grade Two victories at Cheltenham.
He had to make do with minor honours in third behind two subsequent Festival winners in At Fishers Cross and The New One next time, on what proved to be his final outing over hurdles, as he suffered the first of several injury setbacks which plagued his career.
Bradstock added: “He’s got these very long back legs, which were partly what made him so good, but they were awfully fragile and it was during that season over hurdles when he got his first stress fracture.
“When we were getting him ready the following season, he jumped onto a stone and cut his tendon, so he had another five months off after that, so he ended up being off for about 18 months in all.”
Coneygree’s chasing career belatedly got under way in the winter of 2014, although not at the first time of asking, as he was withdrawn at the start prior to his planned fencing debut at Plumpton by the on-course veterinary team, much to the frustration of his connections.
In the end, though, it mattered not, as the following week he made a successful start over the larger obstacles in Grade Two company at Newbury before striking Grade One gold for the first time when landing the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day by a distance.
If it was not clear already, it was becoming obvious the Bradstocks had a serious weapon on their hands.
“I’d much rather have cruised around Plumpton, but the vets wouldn’t let us, which was just one of those stupid things, so we ended up going into a Grade Two at Newbury and then Kempton,” said Bradstock.
“I remember everybody saying he only won like he did at Kempton because a couple of the others fell over, but they fell over because they were novices trying to jump with him and they just couldn’t.”
It was a couple of months later when the Gold Cup dream came into sharper focus after Coneygree made it three from three over fences in Newbury’s Denman Chase, his first forray outside of novice company.
The Wantage team considered going back into novice company at the Cheltenham Festival, but Bradstock insists the decision to go for Gold Cup glory was ultimately relatively straightforward.
She said: “Everybody thought it was the most extraordinary thing they’ve ever seen, but for us it was a no-brainer because he was very fragile.
“You could see he had a chance in the Gold Cup and if he went and won the RSA (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase) by 30 lengths, we’d have been thinking ‘why didn’t we go for it?’.
“He had already had a couple of stress fractures, so while he was fit and well, we just thought ‘why not give it a go?’.”
What followed was a sensational display in the Cotswolds as Coneygree belied his inexperience with a relentless front-running display under Nico de Boinville.
Asked what she could remember of the occasion, Bradstock replied: “Absolutely nothing! It was a complete blur.
“I remember coming home, but I actually don’t remember the day. The main thing I remember is getting him home and he was OK, which with him was always the main thing.”
The following November, Coneygree made a successful start to his next campaign in a small-field conditions race at Sandown, but it proved to be his final victory.
He returned from another year out to finish second in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and was third in a humdinger of a Punchestown Gold Cup later that season, but only made it to the track five times in the next two years and failed to complete on four occasions.
“He came back and won at Sandown and then he started having more problems, but he did run that great race at Punchestown, where he suffered another overreach, otherwise I think he could have won,” said Bradstock.
“It was difficult trying to keep him in one piece after that. I just think the wear and tear stopped him having control of his back legs and he started to overreach quite badly – and that was, in the end, what stopped him, as you don’t want to go on and on until they get hurt.
“He did extremely well for us and won a Gold Cup – and without all his problems, I think he could have won several.”
Sam Gagner snapped a tie early in the third period with a fluke goal and Stuart Skinner made 26 saves as the Edmonton Oilers extended their winning streak to 13 games on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the rival Calgary Flames.
Ryan McLeod opened the scoring in the first period and Zach Hyman had an empty-net goal as Edmonton set the record for longest winning streak by a Canadian team, surpassing the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens.
The Pittsburgh Penguins hold the NHL record with a 17-game winning streak in 1992-93.
From below the goal line near the corner, Gagner attempted to center to Dylan Holloway in the slot, but it deflected off Flames defenseman Rasmus Anderson’s skate, ended up on the top of goalie Dan Vladar’s trapper and fluttered into the net.
The Oilers improved to 23-6-0 since Kris Knoblauch took over as coach.
Red-hot Canucks beat Maple Leafs
Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander each scored twice and Quinn Hughes had three assists to lead the league-leading Vancouver Canucks to a 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers also had goals for the Canucks, who are 7-0-1 in their last eight games and lead the NHL with 66 points.
William Nylander scored twice and Mitchell Marner had a goal and an assist as the Maple Leafs dropped to 1-4-1 in their past six games.
Lightning win 5th straight
Nicholas Paul and Tyler Motte scored 52 seconds apart in the first period and Jonas Johansson stopped 27 shots against his former team as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 for their fifth consecutive win.
Calvin de Haan had an empty-net goal and Brandon Hagel added a pair of assists for the Lightning, who won the opener of a three-game trip after the first four victories of their current streak came at home.
Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury. Buffalo failed to win a season-high third straight game after shutout wins over San Jose and Chicago.
Cameron Norrie’s new attacking game style against Casper Ruud came as a surprise to many, but not to his next opponent Alexander Zverev.
The British number one eschewed his usual grinding baseline game, making frequent forays to the net, and his reward was the best grand slam victory of his career.
Through to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time, Norrie will try to break more new ground with victory over a top 10 player at a major.
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Zverev had a sneak peek at Norrie’s new tactics when they trained together during pre-season and the German said: “I actually thought he played exactly what he was working on in the off-season.
“We obviously spent the off-season together in Monaco, so I’ve seen him every single day. This is exactly what he was working on.”
He continued: “When you think of Cameron Norrie, you normally think of somebody who grinds a lot, a big fighter. But in the off-season he really worked on his game and he really worked on the aggressive style of play. He really worked on coming forward.
“It was very noticeable in December, and you can see it on the court now. The work is paying off for him.”
Norrie moved to Monte Carlo in 2022, partly because it would mean being able to train with some of the best players in the world, while he hired a new assistant coach in former Wimbledon doubles champion Stephen Huss.
Having struggled during the second half of last season, Norrie appears rejuvenated and he said: “Even just being in the second week for the first time in Australia, never done that. It means a lot to do that and start the year playing some good tennis.
“I think it just helped having a good break and a really good off-season to put a lot of time on the court and get better as a player.
“I think it just comes down to how can you play the biggest points the best and feeling calm and feeling good about yourself. I have done that, and I was feeling that coming into the season.
“I want to keep going. I know it just gets tougher. Next match is going to be tougher.”
Norrie will certainly have to adjust the game plan for his clash with sixth-ranked Zverev, who has made a strong return to the top of the sport following a serious ankle injury in 2022.
The British number one relentlessly attacked Ruud’s backhand but Zverev has one of the best in the business, while putting the German under pressure on serve will be a challenge.
Much of the attention on Zverev this fortnight has been regarding his forthcoming court case to contest domestic abuse charges, which he denies, but whatever the rights and wrongs of his position on the ATP Player Council or continued participation on the tour, he remains an exceptional player.
He has beaten Norrie on each of the four previous occasions they have played without dropping a set.
“I sat down with (coach) Facu (Lugones) and watched the matches with Casper back, and we talked a lot about what wasn’t working,” said Norrie, who had also lost three times to Ruud prior to Saturday’s victory.
“I think there will be a lot of things in there with Zverev. The last few times I have played him, it’s kind of been a similar match every time, a tough set and then he’s run away with it.”
Zverev is taking nothing for granted, saying of Norrie: “He’s playing great tennis, beating Casper. I think Casper was undefeated in Australia so far this year, also playing great tennis. I’m looking forward to a tough match.
“I think everybody is always improving. Everybody is always trying new things. I think with Cam this year, you definitely see that. I’m just going to try to keep going for it and just try to extend my lead.”
Novak Djokovic equalled Roger Federer’s record by reaching a 58th grand slam quarter-final in style at the Australian Open.
It appeared the world number one might do so by becoming the first player to claim a ‘triple bagel’ victory at the tournament when he won the first 13 games against Adrian Mannarino.
The Frenchman looked hugely relieved when he finally got on the board in the second game of the third set but Djokovic, playing in his 73rd major tournament, eased to a 6-0 6-0 6-3 victory.
Having started the tournament battling illness and surviving two long matches, Djokovic is now looking in ominous form, although he still became riled by the crowd at times.
“The best sets I’ve played in a while,” the Serbian said afterwards. “I really wanted to lose that game in the third set because the tension was building up so much in the stadium. I needed to get that out of the way and refocus on what I needed to do to finish the match.
“I served very well. In the moments when I needed to come up with the first serve, I did. All in all, great performance.
“The last couple of days has been really good so it’s going in a positive direction health wise, tennis wise, so I’m really happy.”
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff restored order at the Australian Open by easing into the quarter-finals.
While Iga Swiatek’s shock loss to Linda Noskova on Saturday means no top-10 seeds made the fourth round in the top half of the draw, Sabalenka and Gauff are on a semi-final collision course in the bottom half.
Neither has yet dropped a set and they lost only eight games between them in the fourth round, Sabalenka beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3 6-2 and Gauff racing to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech.
It was a particularly impressive win and performance from defending champion Sabalenka, who had lost four of her previous five matches against Anisimova.
The 22-year-old American has been resurgent here having missed most of last season for mental health reasons but could not match the precision power of her opponent.
Anisimova reacted to the defeat by dropping her racket on the court and leaving it there as she walked off Margaret Court Arena.
“I’m super happy with the level, happy to get this win,” said Sabalenka. “She’s a tough opponent and I’m super happy to see her back on tour. I’m pretty sure she’ll be back at the top soon.
“I really want to stay here as long as I can until the very last day and, hopefully, we can get this one one more time.”
Gauff is treading new ground having made it through to the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time.
“I’m super happy to be in this position and be here,” said the 19-year-old. “I think I had three fourth rounds. It’s cool to get over that hump. Hopefully I can keep going for more.”
Next she will take on Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, who made the last eight at a slam for the first time with a 6-2 6-1 victory over qualifier Maria Timofeeva.
A late Christian McCaffrey touchdown gave the San Francisco 49ers a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers and moved them one win from the Super Bowl.
The 49ers, the number one seeds in the NFC, had trailed 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter.
Jake Moody cut the gap with a 52-yard field goal before McCaffrey crashed his way over from six yards with 67 seconds on the clock.
Brock Purdy’s 32-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle had given the 49ers a 7-6 interval lead, the Packers responding after the break as Jordan Love threw touchdown passes to Bo Melton and Tucker Kraft either side of McCaffrey’s first score of the night.
The 49ers had not come from behind to win throughout the regular season, but Purdy drove them into position for the decisive score after rookie Anders Carlson had missed a field goal from 41 yards for Green Bay.
In the AFC, the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens saw off the Houston Texans 34-10.
Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes, running for two more as the Ravens pulled away in the second half.
The two teams swapped field goals in the first quarter, Jackson finding Nelson Agholor from three yards in the second quarter before Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return tied things up at 10-10.
Jackson eased the Ravens in front in the third quarter as he ran in on a score from 15 yards.
The Ravens pulled away in the final quarter, Jackson finding Isaiah Likely from 15 yards and going in himself from eight yards. Nick Tucker capped off the victory with a field goal from 43 yards late on.
The Ravens will host the Buffalo Bills or defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, who meet on Monday, in the AFC Championship game.
The 49ers will entertain the Detroit Lions or Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the NFC champions.
Donovan Mitchell and Sam Merrill each scored 18 points to lead seven players in double figures and the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled to their seventh straight victory, 116-95 over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
Jarrett Allen had 14 points with 11 rebounds and Dean Wade added 17 points as the Cavaliers scored the game’s first 10 points and never trailed to improve to 3-0 this season against the Hawks.
Cleveland is 12-3 since starters Darius Garland and Evan Mobley were injured.
Dejounte Murray tallied 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Atlanta, which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Hawks star Trae Young left the game with 8:43 remaining after taking a charge from Isaac Okoro. Young, who was hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow, remained on the court for a few minutes but walked back to the locker room with the game out of reach.
Embiid extends streak for surging 76ers
Joel Embiid scored 33 points to extend his franchise-record streak of 30 or more to 20 games, leading the Philadelphia 76ers to their fifth straight win, 97-89 over the Charlotte Hornets.
Embiid, who added 10 rebounds, last failed to reach 30 points in a loss to Boston on Nov. 15, when he had 20 points.
Tobias Harris scored 21 points and Tyrese Maxey contributed 16 with eight assists for Philadelphia, which limited Charlotte to 16 fourth-quarter points after entering the period trailing by four.
Lillard scores 45 as Bucks win
Damian Lillard poured in 45 points and handed out 11 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the lowly Detroit Pistons, 141-135.
Lillard became the first player in franchise history with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five 3-pointers in a game.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but missed 11 of 22 free throw attempts. Brook Lopez added 19 points as Milwaukee won its fourth in five games.
Detroit dropped to 2-37 in its last 39 games.
The Baltimore Ravens moved to within one win of the Super Bowl as they saw off the Houston Texans 34-10.
Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes, running for two more as the Ravens pulled away in the second half.
The two teams swapped field goals in the first quarter, Jackson finding Nelson Agholor from three yards in the second quarter before Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return tied things up at 10-10.
Jackson eased the Ravens in front in the third quarter as he ran in on a score from 15 yards.
The number one seeds eased away in the final quarter, Jackson finding Isaiah Likely from 15 yards and going in himself from eight yards. Nick Tucker capped off the victory with a field goal from 43 yards late on.
The Ravens will host the Buffalo Bills or defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Nick Dunlap will take a three-shot lead into the final round of The American Express tournament as he chases the first win by an amateur on the PGA Tour for 33 years.
The University of Alabama student shot 10 birdies and an eagle in a third round 60 – equalling the lowest round by an amateur in a tour event – on the La Quinta course to follow his second round 61 as he moved into pole position on 27-under-par.
Phil Mickelson was the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour in 1991.
Overnight leader Sam Burns is three shots back after a 65 at the Stadium Course, one of three used for the tournament and the site of the final round, where Justin Thomas equalled the course record with a 61 to sit a further stroke back.
South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout is the only other player within six shots of the lead.
Playing as a sponsor’s invite, Dunlap is the first amateur to make the cut at the event and while he will not collect the 1.5million dollars (£1.18million) prize money, a win would secure his PGA Tour card for two years.
Natasha Jonas was pushed to the limit but retained her IBF welterweight crown with a razor-thin split decision victory over American rival Mikaela Mayer in a thriller in Liverpool.
Jonas started strongly in the first defence of the world title she won by defeating Kandi Wyatt last July but Mayer steadily grew into the bout and was the busier of the two in several riveting exchanges.
It was an all-action affair but, despite being left with a cut below her left eye, Jonas, who raised her arm aloft at the final bell, was given the nod 96-94 and 96-95 as a third judge sided with Mayer 97-93.
The result divided opinion on social media but, after Jonas extended her record to 15 wins and two defeats with one draw in her home city, she indicated 2024 will be her final year in the sport.
The 39-year-old has won six fights in a row since losing on points to long-time rival Katie Taylor in May 2021, becoming a unified world light-middleweight champion before stepping down to reign at 147lbs.
She told Sky Sports: “Unfortunately I can’t be around forever, this is probably my last year in boxing and we want to make it the best chapter of the book.”
A rematch against an opponent six years her junior, a former unified world super-featherweight champion who was fighting at welterweight for the first time on Saturday night, would surely be welcomed.
Jonas said: “She’s in the top two people I’ve fought, she’s a very, very skilled operator and her time will come again. She beats a lot of the champions that are already here.
“That little bit of fear factor brings out the best in me, I need opponents like her to tango. With no disrespect to the likes of Kandi Wyatt, I knew I would dominate and I was supposed to win.”
Mayer, who slipped to her second defeat in 21 fights, wants a chance at gaining revenge over Jonas.
She said: “I thought I did enough to win. I would have given her the first round or two but after that, I feel like I out-punched her and landed the cleaner shots. I think that fight is worth seeing again.
“I just hope Natasha will be the stand-up champ that she is and give me another shot at the belt – I feel like I deserve it.”
The New York Islanders fired head coach Lane Lambert and replaced him with Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy in a surprising mid-season shake-up.
President of hockey operations and general manager Lou Lamoriello announced the moves Saturday after the Islanders lost their fourth straight game Friday night to the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks. New York have dropped six of their last seven.
Roy last coached for the Colorado Avalanche from 2013-16, winning the Jack Adams Award in 2014 as coach of the year. Over the last five years, he was the coach and GM of his home-town junior team, the Quebec Ramparts.
Lambert was midway through his second season as the Islanders’ bench boss, accumulating a 61-46-20 record and leading the team to a play-off appearance last season.
Despite an eight-game point streak in December, this year’s squad has been unable to keep pace in the East, and their recent swoon has dropped them out of a play-off slot.
Lambert is the fifth NHL coach fired since the start of this season, joining the Oilers’ Jay Woodcroft, Wild’s Dean Evason, Blues’ Craig Berube and Senators’ D.J. Smith.
Roy played in goal for 19 NHL seasons and is third on the all-time wins list. He won four Stanley Cups as a player.
England are enlisting retired stars such as Chris Ashton and Jonny May to help young players deal with the type of scrutiny that has compelled Owen Farrell to take a break from international rugby.
Farrell is missing the Guinness Six Nations to prioritise his and his family’s mental well-being following the World Cup and it’s build-up, during which he was heavily criticised online for being sent off for a dangerous tackle against Wales.
The Saracens fly-half may have already played his final game for England as he considers a move to Racing 92, which would make him ineligible for Test selection.
Aware of the demands on his players, especially emerging talent such as Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Oscar Beard and Fin Smith, head coach Steve Borthwick is keen to ensure they are properly supported.
“The environment we create around the players is vital. It’s vital in any team but especially the England team,” Borthwick.
“The England team, as we all respect, has more scrutiny upon it than any other national team in world rugby.
“That’s the nature of it so creating an environment where the players are supported and cared for is really important.
“We have looked at it and are exploring how we improve that from where we were to where we are now to try and get ahead of the societal element.
“The way we work and intensity with which we work is going to be a level up so off the field I think it needs to be incredibly enjoyable.
“They need to be able to have fun and spend time with each other, relaxing with each other so that this is an environment where you get better and you improve, and it’s fun and it’s enjoyable to be around.
“We will have that and there will be the mentors that we have within the squad – the senior guys, the guys that have had many caps.
“And there are the people from outside the squad that always offer their support to help in any way, shape or form that they can.
“Chris Ashton has offered support to help in any way he can with any of the young wingers. And Jonny May has offered his support to help the young ones. That’s really important to us.”
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