Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls have not won a Netball World Cup medal since 2007 when they took bronze in New Zealand.
When they descend upon Cape Town for the 2023 edition of the sport’s showpiece global event, the Commonwealth Games silver medallists will be very aware of their World Cup medal drought, according to Head Coach Connie Francis.
“They are very anxious and hungry to go out there and get one,” Francis told SportsMax.TV.
“We have not medalled in 16 years and I know that the girls are aware of that, especially this bunch. It will be fantastic,” Francis added.
As far as preparation goes, Francis says everything is going according to plan.
“It is going well. We took a break in our preparation for the girls to get some court time playing against each other and it’s really for the selectors and myself to assess and see the players that we need in our squad and I thought that the Elite League provided that,” she said.
“We see some young talent coming through and that’s a positive,” she added.
An initial squad of 28 players will be selected on May 13 before it is cut down to 21 a week later. On May 27, the final 15-member squad will be selected for the World Cup.
Francis described the selection of the squad as a “work in progress.”
“It’s not close, especially for the ones here in Jamaica. It’s a work in progress,” she said.
“It’s about that effort behind the work and seeing players improve every time they’re out there because we’ll be playing nine games in ten days. So, it’s about executing our sessions well and replicating the same things in competition,” she added.
The squad departs the island on June 14 with their first match of the World Cup coming against Sri Lanka on June 28.
Nicholas Paul completed a successful weekend Sunday winning gold in the Men’s Elite Sprint at the Tissot UCI Nations Cup meet in Milton, Canada.
The 25-year-old Trinidadian, the 2022 Commonwealth Games Keirin gold medalist, out-sped Poland’s Mateusz Rudyk to take the win and 800 points on Sunday.
Australia’s Matthew Richardson finished third.
Paul and Richardson reversed positions in the Men’s Keirin on Saturday with the Australian taking gold over Maximillian Dornbach of Germany. Paul had to settle for third.
Bahamian swimming star Joanna Evans intends to appeal before the Court of Arbitration, a decision by the FINA Doping Panel to ban her from the sport for two years after she tested positive for Clostebol. The decision was handed down on February 15, 2023.
She will do so, she said, with the support of the Bahamas Aquatic Federation, her family, coaches, friends and community.
Clostebol is a synthetic anabolic–androgenic steroid and is the 4-chloro derivative of the natural hormone testosterone. The chlorination prevents conversion to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) while also rendering the chemical incapable of conversion to estrogen.
A multiple CAC Games gold medalist and two-time Olympian, the 25-year-old Evans claims in a recent lengthy and emotional post on Instagram that she would never knowingly use a banned substance, adding that the situation has put her in a constant state of distress.
“Anyone who knows me, knows without hesitation that I would never, ever intentionally take a banned substance,” she said.
“The results show an unfathomable low amount of the substance which absolutely could not have enhanced my performance.”
Evans said she was tested in Austin, Texas on December 3, 2021 and was “stunned” when she was informed over the phone that her sample contained a banned substance.
She explained how she believes she came to test positive saying that while attending a meet in Naples, Italy on September 11, 2021, she cut her finger on a “jagged, rusty balcony” at the hotel where she was staying.
“Concerned about infection, I walked to a nearby pharmacy and asked for an antibiotic cream,” she said.
“I was given a tube of Trofodermin, which I believed was similar to the antibiotic Neomycin. Unknown to me at the time, an ingredient of Trofodermin is the banned substance Clostebol.”
She used the cream for three days.
On her return to Austin on October 30, 2021, she slipped on a concrete pavement and sustained a substantial gash on her knee. She used the same cream she bought in Italy. She said she used the cream for five days and then once or twice a week until the end of November that year.
A distraught Evans stated that life has been difficult since she received news of her positive test.
“Since my test result, I have been unable to function. I am broken and devastated as swimming has been my life for many years,” she said while reiterating that she is not a drug cheat.
“I would never cheat and I take pride in representing my country, college, family, friends and community to the best of my ability.
“I have a history of dozens of clean tests and conduct myself with integrity in all aspects of my life. I find it incredulous that a miniscule amount of a banned substance applied unknowingly through a topical cream can have such life-altering consequences.”
As such, Evans has hired a “specialist attorney” in this field to represent me in legal proceedings to defend my integrity and the reputation of Bahamas swimming.
Carlos Alcaraz wishes to build his "own history" rather than "take over" from fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, having won the ninth title of his career at last week's Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz defended his crown in Catalonia by racing to a 6-3 6-4 win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final, claiming his third title of the 2023 season.
Like his legendary compatriot Nadal, Alcaraz won his first grand slam title at the age of 19, triumphing at the US Open last year.
His hopes of adding to that success at the upcoming French Open could be boosted by the misfortune of his rivals, with both Nadal and Novak Djokovic forced to withdraw from this week's Madrid Open as they battle injuries.
While comparisons between Alcaraz and Nadal are perhaps inevitable, the teenager is determined to do things his own way.
"As I've said on more than one occasion, I don't want to take over from anyone," he said after claiming his latest title.
"I feel lucky to have so many people supporting me, transmitting that positive energy from the first game.
"Speaking of this week, it's been two years that Rafa hasn't been there [in Barcelona]. I've been lucky! But as I've always said, I've always wanted to play against the best.
"It is a pity that we have not been able to enjoy Rafa these last two years. Let's hope he continues playing for a long time and we can enjoy his tennis, but obviously we're not here to take over from anyone, but to build our own history."
With Nadal and Djokovic absent, Alcaraz will be the top seed as he looks to add a 10th career title in Madrid, but he does not see winning in the Spanish capital as the only measure of a successful campaign.
"Not winning Madrid would not be a failure for me, it depends on the level I have shown and the matches," he said.
"All the players are very good, they can all win the title and they can beat me. For me, failure would depend on the level I show and the way I play."
Anthony Edwards channelled his inner-Michael Jordan after admitting he "took it personally" as he made sure the Minnesota Timberwolves did not go down 4-0 to the Denver Nuggets.
Having lost the first three encounters in their Western Conference first-round playoff series, the Timberwolves had one last chance to get on the board, and needed overtime to do it.
Edwards top-scored for his team with 34 at Target Center, though the hosts almost blew it after throwing away a 12-point lead in regulation.
Minnesota were able to get the job done eventually though, winning 114-108 to take the series to Game 5 in Denver, and Edwards made his motivation clear.
"I don't ever want to say I got swept in my career," he said. "So I definitely took it personally tonight."
Despite comfortably being his team's top scorer on Sunday, Edwards was in the mood for modesty after the game, focusing more on the shots he missed.
"I played terrible if you ask me," he said. "I took three bad threes, three terrible possessions, and I damn near shot us out the game. I didn't play that good tonight."
After his team's win, Wolves coach Chris Finch wanted his team to take confidence from the victory
"I think we gotta continue to get into something," Finch said. "I think that's part of the problem is we get down [on ourselves] or we're trying to close out the game too early."
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic scored 43 points with 11 rebounds and six assists, but he and his team still have work to do to finish Minnesota off.
"The hardest thing to stomach about this game is that we were unwilling and unable to get necessary stops," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
Game 5 takes place at Ball Arena on Tuesday.
In the classic 1994 comedy film, Jim Carrey puts on a mask that gives him special powers. In the 2023 NBA playoffs, Jaylen Brown seemingly had the same effect after removing his.
With nine minutes left in the second period, and having only scored two points, Brown emerged from a timeout without the protective mask he has worn since fracturing his cheekbone in February.
He went on to finish with 31 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-121 at State Farm Arena to go 3-1 up in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
"I was talking to [Marcus] Smart when JB took his mask off and was like, 'Oh, s***. It's go time,'" Celtics guard Jayson Tatum said, who also put up 31 points. "I knew he was going to turn it up a notch."
Brown had scored just one from seven field-goal attempts prior to taking off his mask, going on to net 11 from 15 after that.
"Maybe it was all in my head, but I just needed a different look," Brown said. "As soon as I took it off, things started to turn around a little bit."
It was an astonishing turn in form from Brown, who is averaging 23.3 points per game in the playoffs so far.
"I've just started getting comfortable with it since I've been wearing it," he added about the mask. "When I first put it on, I didn't like it too much, and I had to wear it.
"I just needed something different [on Sunday]. I don't know what it was: Change my shoes, wipe my hands off, take the mask off, whatever it is I needed to do, I needed to do to help our team get a win, and that's what I was trying to do."
The Celtics can clinch the series in Game 5 when they return to TD Garden on Tuesday.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted an error from Stephen Curry that almost cost his team a win in the NBA playoffs against the Sacramento Kings had been his fault.
In the final minute with the Warriors leading by five, Curry tried calling a timeout, only to realise they did not have any left.
That led to a technical foul, with Malik Monk making the resulting free-throw before De'Aaron Fox sank a three-pointer to bring the Kings within one, though thankfully for Curry and Kerr, Golden State were able to hold on to take the game 126-125, tying the Western Conference first round series at 2-2.
"I didn't realise when we lost the challenge that we didn't have any timeouts left," Curry said, though Kerr held his hand up and admitted he had forgotten to tell his players of the fact.
"[Coach] took the blame for it, but I ain't going to lie: I thought it was the smartest play in the world," Curry added. "I looked at the bench, and everybody was shaking their head. It was an unfortunate situation."
"We took the challenge and when the challenge was unsuccessful, as we were exiting the huddle, it's on me," Kerr said. "I've got to remind the guys, we're out of timeouts and I didn't say that, and so Steph wasn't aware. That's on me for not making that clear."
An enthralling Game 4 at Chase Center on Sunday also saw Curry attempt and miss a jump shot with 12 seconds to go, when 11 seconds remained on the shot clock, allowing Sacramento one last chance, though Harrison Barnes ultimately missed a buzzer-beater.
"It's always a balance of playing the clock and trying to find the best shots. Obviously, if I make the floater... you like that position to have one more stop," Curry said. "I live with that decision."
It was still a productive night for Curry, with only Fox (38) scoring more than his 32 points, making five of 11 three-point attempts.
Game 5 takes place at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday.
The Golden State Warriors almost blew a five-point lead in the final minute as Harrison Barnes missed a buzzer-beater as the reigning champions levelled their first round series with the Sacramento Kings after a 126-125 Game 4 win on Sunday.
The Warriors led 126-121 heading into the final 60 seconds but gifted the Kings an avenue back in after Stephen Curry called for a timeout when they had none left at Chase Center.
Malik Monk scored the subsequent free-throw before De'Aaron Fox's three-pointer cut the margin to one point.
Curry then missed a pullup shot with 14 seconds left but the Kings could not capitalise with the final possession after a timeout, when a double-teamed Fox found Barnes open before his attempt rimmed out.
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry finished with 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting with five-of-11 from beyond the arc, along with five rebounds and four assists.
Klay Thompson had 26 points with four three-pointers and Jordan Poole added 22 points, while Draymond Green returned from a one-game ban off the bench with a strong display, holding the Kings to five-of-15 as primary defender.
Clutch Player of the Year Fox did everything but hit the final shot, scoring 38 points on 14-of-31 shooting with four three-pointers.
Keegan Murray added 23 points with five-of-seven three-point shooting and Domantas Sabonis was down on his usual output with 14 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
The Warriors squared the series up at 2-2 ahead of Game 5 in Sacramento on Wednesday. Golden State are 35-8 at home across the regular and postseason but are 11-32 on the road.
Tatum and Brown led Celtics triumph
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 31 points each as the Boston Celtics pulled 3-1 clear in their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks with a 129-121 road win.
The Celtics led nearly the entire game, holding off a 68-point Hawks' second half, with Tatum and Brown combining for Boston's final 16 points to round out the win.
Tatum's 31 points came on eight-of-20 shooting from the field including four-of-13 three-pointers, with seven rebounds and three blocks. Brown scored 12-of-22 from the field with three triples.
Trae Young had a strong game for Atlanta with 35 points and 15 assists, while De'Andre Hunter added 27 points and Dejounte Murray scored 23 with nine rebounds.
Knicks pull clear, Timberwolves avoid sweep in OT
The New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead in their first round series with the Cleveland Cavaliers after Jalen Brunson scored 29 points at a loud Madison Square Garden to lead them to a 102-93 win.
Donovan Mitchell had a poor game, managing only 11 points on five-of-18 shooting, with Darius Garland stepping up for 23 points and 10 assists.
But the Knicks were too strong, with R.J. Barrett supporting Brunson with 26 points, while Josh Hart had 19 points and seven rebounds. Brunson shot five three-pointers, while Julius Randle sat out the fourth quarter, scoring on seven points fo the game.
The Minnesota Timberwolves staved off elimination and avoided a first-ever franchise sweep with a 114-108 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets, with Anthony Edwards delivering a clutch three-pointer to cap his 34 points. Denver center Nikola Jokic scored 43 points with 11 rebounds.
Boston Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was thrilled by the performance of his goaltender Linus Ullmark after 41 saves in a 6-2 Game 4 victory on the road against the Florida Panthers.
But it was not just Ullmark's shot-stopping that captured the affection of his coach, but also the fact that he tried to fight Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk.
The Bruins led 2-0 through a pair of power-play goals from Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk, until Tkachuk snatched one back for the Panthers with four minutes remaining in the second period.
Tyler Bertuzzi put Boston ahead 3-1 early in the third, and after Sam Bennett's power-play goal threatened to put the contest back up for grabs, DeBrusk collected his second goal and a late double from Taylor Hall blew out the final score.
The late Bruins' onslaught was in the midst of a series of scuffles, and Ullmark challenged Tkachuk to a fight after being unimpressed by him instigating those.
The referees prevented the clash, and Ullmark was given a penalty for trying to escalate, but his coach did not mind one bit.
"I love it," coach Montgomery said of his goalie. "He's all-in.
"[The Panthers] came up with a really good push, [but Ullmark] allowed us to weather the storm and start going back at them.
"He's been doing that for us all year. It's amazing how calm I am when I see scrambles in front of his net, because he's calm."
Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo added: "Tkachuk's kind of doing a lot of things to try and get under our skin, but for the most part we're doing a great job of keeping it between the whistles, and I'm proud of our group for doing so – but at times, you've got to show a little passion and push back."
DeBrusk scored his two goals despite suffering a nasty gash earlier in the contest from a puck to the side of the head, but he said it only helped to wake him up.
"Dusty, one of our trainers, kind of freaked out a little bit because there was a lot of blood," he said. "I thought it was the ear, but it was a little bit higher than that – it kind of woke me up honestly."
The win gives the Bruins – who set the NHL record with 65 wins this regular season – a 3-1 lead in the series, with the series heading back to Boston for Game 5.
New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau revealed Julius Randle is still dealing with the ankle sprain he sustained last month.
Randle sat out the fourth quarter, scoring only seven points from 27 minutes on three-of-10 shooting, as the Knicks won 102-93 over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday to go 3-1 up in their first-round playoffs series.
The Knicks power forward sprained his ankle on March 29 against the Miami Heat and missed the final fortnight of the regular season, before returning for this series, but is still finding his rhythm according to Thibodeau.
"The thing is, he had to work around the clock to get back," Thibodeau said. "That's what I love about Julius. He gives you everything that he has.
"There's 77 games, he sprains his ankle and then he works like crazy to get back, you know how important he is to the team, but to get back, to get ready to play - our medical people did a great job, but that's all him.
"He was working around the clock on that, he still is. That's the challenge that we have and that's what I respect about him. And we just got to get ready for our next game."
Randle is averaging 14.8, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists during the four games in the series, with the next game on Wednesday in Cleveland.
"Julius is our horse," Thibodeau added. "He's given us everything that he has. A lot of guys probably wouldn't even be playing, so I knew that with the quick turnaround, probably impact him more than most players.
"He was out an extended amount of time. So we got multiple days here before the next game, he'll get a chance to get some recovery time."
Jalen Brunson, who insisted the series was "not over", scored a game-high 29 points, making five-of-nine triples with six rebounds and six assists for the Knicks, while R.J. Barrett added 26 points.
Cavs' All-Star Donovan Mitchell was kept to 11 points on five-of-18 shooting, while Darius Garland tried hard with 23 points and 10 assists.
"This is not over with," Mitchell said. "The way we lost sucks. We can't hang our heads and ultimately give up. We're not that type of group. Like I said, we'll be ready for Game 5."
Memphis Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks accused the media of painting him as a "villain", leading to the decision to eject him for a flagrant 2 foul in Saturday's 111-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Brooks was kicked from the game early in the third quarter after his left hand struck LeBron James' groin. The incident came following trash talk from Brooks directed at James, who he called "old" after Game 2.
The Grizzlies forward, who dodged reporters after Saturday's game, claimed the incident was an accident when he spoke on Sunday, before claiming his reputation had been affected by the media's portrayal of him, factoring into the officials' decision to eject him from Game 3.
"The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain and then that just creates a whole different persona on me," said Brooks, who has been ejected from games three times this season.
"So now you think I intended to hit LeBron James in the nuts. I'm playing basketball. I'm a basketball player.
"So if I intended – and that's whatever is in the flagrant 2 category – if you think I did that, that means you think I'm that type of person.
"I've been dealing with this [for] two years now. It is what it is. The fans can talk s***, whatever they want to. It doesn't matter to me.
"I'm going to keep playing my game and get better and better each and every day and as long as my career goes."
It has been widely reported that Brooks will be free to play in Game 4, avoiding any suspension for the flagrant 2 foul.
"I knew I wasn't going to be [suspended]," Brooks said. "They can't dictate this series like that.
"[Referee] Marc [Davis] probably had to call that 'cause of what happened [in Game 3] with James Harden, and that's just unfair. I get penalised, and I can't help my team try to make a comeback in the second half."
James got the last laugh against the Grizzlies in Saturday's game, having refused to be drawn into Brooks' narrative in the lead-up, scoring 25 points with nine rebounds in the Lakers' win.
Despite that, Brooks did not regret his provocation, or "poking bears" as he called it.
"Am I saying anything that's not facts?" Brooks said.
Superstar duo Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout made their presence felt on Sunday as they hit back-to-back home runs in the Los Angeles Angels' 4-3 home win against the Kansas City Royals.
Despite coming into the contest with the second-worst record in the majors (4-16), the Royals struck first through an opening-inning home run from young outfielder M.J. Melendez.
The Angels tied things up before the end of the first inning after Trout's double put Taylor Ward on third base, setting up Ohtani for the sacrifice fly.
Neither team scored in the next four frames as Angels starter Reid Detmers and Royals pitcher Jordan Lyles kept things tight, but the runs started to flow again in the sixth.
Vinnie Pasquantino gave Kansas City a 2-1 lead with his solo home run, signalling the end of Detmers' day, before Lyles had a rotten finish to his six innings.
Lyles threw a total of nine pitches in the sixth. The very first was hit 376 feet to left-field by lead-off batter Ward, before Trout followed with a 389-foot blast to center field three pitches later. Ohtani made it three in a row five pitches after that, launching a curveball 415 feet to center for the biggest of the bunch.
Top Royals youngster Bobby Witt Jr tried to drag his side back into it with his own solo homer an inning later, but Carlos Estevez was able to secure his third save of the season to pull the Angels' record even at 11-11.
It was the fifth home run of the season for both Ohtani and Trout, leaving them tied for 17th on the major league leaderboard.
Gausman guts the Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman pitched his best start of the young season in a 5-1 road victory over the New York Yankees.
Gausman made it through seven complete innings in 103 pitches, allowing only three hits and no walks to go with 11 strikeouts. The Yankees' only run would come from a consolation solo shot from Anthony Rizzo in the ninth inning.
For the Blue Jays, 24-year-old franchise star Vladimir Guerrero Jr connected on his fifth home run of the season, opening the scoring with a two-run bomb in the sixth inning. His batting average of .341 is eighth-highest in the majors, and his 29 total hits is tied for the sixth-most.
Yoshida stars for the Red Sox
AL Rookie of the Year contender and top international signing from the offseason Masataka Yoshida was the star of the show in the Boston Red Sox's 12-5 come-from-behind victory against the Milwaukee Brewers.
After signing a five-year, $90million free agent deal to come over from Japan's Orix Buffaloes, the 29-year-old Yoshida had his first game-changing performance for his new team, becoming the first Red Sox player since David Ortiz in 2008 to hit two home runs in the same inning.
The left-fielder, who starred for Japan in March's World Baseball Classic, hit a solo home run early in the eighth inning to give the Red Sox a 5-4 lead, and eight batters later he stepped up again and hit a 407-foot grand slam to make it 12-4. Brewers third baseman Brian Anderson also hit two home runs of his own.
Victor Oladipo will miss the remainder of the playoffs after the Miami Heat announced he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in Saturday's 121-99 Game 3 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat on Saturday claimed a surprise 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Eastern Conference top seed, but the victory was soured by Oladipo's exit with 3:56 left in the fourth quarter.
Oladipo went down on a drive to the bucket following a foul from Bobby Portis, immediately clutching his left knee with an ominous look on his face, before being assisted off the court, sparking major fears for the injury-cursed guard.
"An MRI has revealed that Victor Oladipo suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. He will miss the remainder of the postseason," the Heat announced on Sunday.
The blow comes after Oladipo only played 79 games across the previous three seasons due to a run of injuries.
Oladipo played 42 regular season games this season, averaging 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists.
He joins Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro on the sidelines after he broke his right hand in Game 1, ruling him out of the series.
Heat star Jimmy Butler had an injury scare in Game 3, sitting out the last quarter with a bruised glute, but head coach Erik Spoelstra declared he should be available for Game 4 in Miami on Monday.
Davis Riley and Nick Hardy earned their first PGA Tour wins on Sunday by securing the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a tournament-record score of 30 under par.
The American duo shot scores of 64 and 63 in their four-ball rounds on Thursday and Saturday, and they also excelled in the foursomes format, posting 66 on Friday before closing with a seven-under 65.
With five birdies from their last eight holes, Hardy and Riley broke two strokes clear of the chasing pack, eclipsing the scoring record of 29 under set by the team of Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele just last year.
For their efforts, Hardy and Riley earned $1.24million each, along with a massive jump into the top 40 of the FedExCup rankings.
Two strokes behind in outright second place was the Canadian team of Adam Hadwin with Nick Taylor, who posted a final-round 63 to tie the tournament's foursomes scoring record, which Cantlay and Schauffele set on Friday.
Wyndham Clark and Beau Hossler enjoyed an outright third finish at 27 under, while defending champions Cantlay and Schauffele were joined in fourth at 26 under by Matthew NeSmith with Taylor Moore.
The team of Keith Mitchell with Im Sung-jae came into Sunday's play at 25 under and finished the same way, blowing a golden opportunity to threaten the leaders, while the impressive young South Korean duo of Tim Kim and Kim Si-woo banked a top-10 finish at 23 under.
Iga Swiatek is delighted by the consistency levels she is demonstrating after completing a successful defence of her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title on Sunday.
The world number one overcame Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-4 to become the first back-to-back winner of the Stuttgart crown since Angelique Kerber (2015 and 2016).
Swiatek, who was appearing in her first tournament after a rib injury, claimed her second silverware of the season, in which she also completed a successful title defence in Doha.
The Pole has plenty of ranking points to defend this term having won eight titles during a dominant 2022 campaign.
Swiatek was also a finalist in Dubai and, despite a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open, she is pleasantly surprised to have started 2023 in a similar vein of form.
"Honestly, the beginning of the season was so tough that I'm happy to be in that place now," Swiatek said during her post-match press conference.
"I just hope I'm going to continue having that good mindset without looking at all this stuff [defending points]. I was able to do that here. I really like playing on clay, so I just hope I'm going focus on just playing.
"I'm just pretty proud of my consistency, because when I was consistent on another level, it was nice, but this level, it's even over my expectations.
"Last year was really, really tough, and I felt like this season may be tough because of what people are saying and expectations from the outside. Also, I knew how it is to win these tournaments in a row.
"Now, I feel like I just can use my experience a little bit more. I'm just happy that I'm world number one for more than a year, and it's an exciting time."
Carlos Alcaraz eased to another win over Stefanos Tsitsipas to take the Barcelona Open title again on Sunday.
Alcaraz has never lost to Tsitsipas and maintained that record to defend his crown in Catalonia.
A battle between the top seeds briefly threatened to be a closely contested affair, but Alcaraz soon took control, with his 6-3 6-4 win wrapped up in an hour and 20 minutes.
It made for a successful start to the European clay season a month out from the French Open, while Tsitsipas falls to a miserable 0-10 career record in ATP 500 finals.
Tsitsipas broke first, leading 2-1 early in the opener, yet he did not forge another break point across the rest of the match.
Alcaraz was quickly back on terms and dominated his next two service games, creating the opportunity to apply pressure to the Tsitsipas serve.
That paid off with a decisive break, allowing Alcaraz to take his second set point.
A slightly more measured second set followed, but it again went the way of Alcaraz, breaking at the second attempt for a 3-2 lead to which Tsitsipas could not respond.
Holger Rune defeated Botic van de Zandschulp in the BMW Open final for the second straight year but had to do things the hard way this time.
The top seed in 2023, Rune won his first career title at this event last year, albeit only after Van de Zandschulp retired from the final with chest pains.
It was "probably the worst way to win a final", Rune said back then, so Sunday's 6-3 1-6 7-6 (7-3) victory would have felt especially sweet.
Van de Zandschulp's only career final appearances have been in Munich, meaning he is still waiting for a first title. That wait should have ended here.
Rune took the opening set, breaking immediately, but the fourth seed roared back in the second to tee up a decider.
Momentum was with Van de Zandschulp, who broke twice and forged a pair of match points.
Both were squandered, however, and Rune recovered to tie the set, then did so again when Van de Zandschulp broke into the lead once more and created two more match points.
That meant a tie-break, in which Rune swiftly gained control and held off the giant Dutchman for a hard-earned win.
Lucas Herbert was "shaking" prior to sinking the winning putt on the second playoff hole against Aaron Cockerill to win the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan.
The Australian was tied with his Canadian rival at 15 under par for the tournament after the regulation holes, Herbert having missed a 20-footer for birdie at the last.
Herbert, who had travel issues and arrived late into Japan, missed his birdie attempt at the first extra hole, where Cockerill agonisingly lipped out.
He then found the trees off the tee but recovered brilliantly to make birdie and take home a third DP World Tour title.
"It's pretty special. I got pretty lucky over there on the right to get a good lie after we dropped it," Herbert said.
"Nick [caddie Nick Pugh] gave me the number and it was basically perfect. It was exactly what you'd want off that lie.
"So it was good to hit a good shot in there. And then my hand was shaking all over the place just to get the putt started on line, and to have it fall in was pretty cool."
Calum Hill was third at 14 under, one clear of fellow Scotsman Grant Forrest and home favourite Hiroshi Iwata
Iga Swiatek scooped her 13th career title with a statement victory against Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's Stuttgart Open final.
The world number one has seen her dominance take a dip this season, with Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina emerging as serious candidates to displace her at the top of the women's game.
However, Swiatek is the queen on clay and illustrated her prowess with a 6-3 6-4 win at the tournament that rewards its champion not only with a cheque for $120,150 and trophy, but also a Porsche.
This success made Swiatek the first player to defend the Stuttgart title since Angelique Kerber's back-to-back 2015 and 2016 triumphs, and it came in her first tournament back after a rib injury.
The 21-year-old Polish player entered the title match having said she and Ons Jabeur are the tour's best players on clay, and that put her there to be shot at by Australian Open winner Sabalenka, who has climbed to second place in the rankings.
This was the first time a tour-level final has featured the top two women in the world rankings since the 2018 Australian Open final, when Simona Halep beat Caroline Wozniacki.
It was also a repeat of last year's Stuttgart final that Swiatek won comprehensively, dropping only four games, amid a 37-match winning run that would bring her a second French Open title.
The traffic was not quite so one-way this time, but Swiatek was terrific and did not drop serve once.
For Sabalenka, the outcome meant a third consecutive defeat in Stuttgart title matches, having also lost in the 2021 showpiece to Ash Barty.
After Swiatek surged through the opener, she forced a break point at the start of the second set and a Sabalenka double fault handed over the advantage.
Unforced errors were costing the Belarusian, who could not capitalise on a break point in the fourth game of the second set, going on to fling a desperate forehand wide to hand over a 3-1 lead.
Swiatek took evasive action to avoid a fierce Sabalenka smash in the next game, after initially charging towards the net, but she remained firmly in charge.
The title was secured with a ruthless love game on serve, an outmanoeuvred Sabalenka left to watch her opponent drill away a backhand into an empty court.
Reflecting on her injury lay-off, Swiatek said: "It's been such an intense time in the last couple of weeks and tough decisions sometimes, but I'm so happy we're making the right decisions."
Sabalenka, who during the week made no secret of her eagerness to win the Porsche, said: "I'll keep coming back until I get the car."
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