Novak Djokovic was "not really in the mood to speak" after suffering a jarring early defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters, but insisted he would bounce back.

The 35-year-old world number one was playing his 50th main-draw match at the tournament, but it did not go to plan as he lost 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

Djokovic's post-match reaction exposed huge frustration, with his first competitive outing in over a month ending at the last-16 stage.

He was forced to miss the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments last month, being denied permission to enter the United States due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.

Hopes he had of a long run on the Monte Carlo clay have been scuppered, but the Serbian has plenty of time to find form in time for the French Open, which begins on May 28.

Defeat marked the first time Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals in a tournament since last year's Monte Carlo event, when he lost his opening match to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The loss to Musetti included an argument with the umpire over a line call, while Djokovic also smashed a racket in frustration at one point.

"The feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly," Djokovic said. "But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that's it.

"You always hope for the good day in the office, but I know I'm not playing so great and he's playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match.

"I don't think it's catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match. It's not a great day for me, so I'm not really in the mood to speak."

Djokovic is a two-time former winner of the ATP 1000 event but has not reached the semi-final stage since 2015, the year he was last champion.

He continues his clay campaign at a low level tournament next week in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Musetti moved on to face fellow Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Victory over Djokovic made Musetti the first Italian man to beat the world number one in Monte Carlo since 1973, when the ATP rankings began.

Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux showered Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani in praise on Thursday, comparing him to legends Babe Ruth, Nolan Ryan and Barry Bonds.

Ohtani, 28, is the most unique talent in the sport today. A dominating starting pitcher who has also racked up 80 home runs over the past two seasons, he trails only New York Yankees star Aaron Judge for the MLB's most long-balls since the beginning of 2021.

As well as his terrific power hitting, Ohtani's six-foot-four frame also can produce fastballs eclipsing 101mp/h, and his 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings had him second in the majors among qualifying starters last season, only narrowly behind former San Francisco Giant Carlos Rodon (12.0).

Maddux himself has a remarkable resume, becoming the first player to ever win four Cy Young Awards in a row between 1992-95, and during an appearance on ESPN radio show 'Canty and Carlin' he shared his admiration for Ohtani.

"He's one of the top two or three pitchers in the game and he's one of the top two or three power hitters in the game," he said. "We've never seen a player like that before, and it's definitely fun to watch. 

"You can watch him throw a shutout one night and go deep the next night. It's kind of special to see a guy that good just dominate as much as he does.

"He kind of reminds you of Nolan Ryan, and then he reminds you of freaking Barry Bonds. He's both of those guys, I mean he's got great stuff and he can hit a home run with the best of anybody. 

"Nobody else has done it before, I mean the last guy was who, maybe Babe Ruth? Nobody's been able to do that."

Ohtani was named the 2021 AL MVP, and it took a historic season from Judge to deny him the award in 2022. After an MVP performance in March's World Baseball Classic, Ohtani is again the favourite to be crowned the AL's top talent.

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash reflected on a "pretty amazing" achievement on Thursday after his side improved their perfect start to 13-0.

The Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-3 to bring up their 13th consecutive win, tying the 1982 Atlanta Braves and the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers for the best start to a season in modern history.

Tampa Bay are seven games away from tying the overall record of 20-0, set 139 years ago by the St Louis Maroons back in 1884.

They did it with a fifth-inning surge, where they turned a 3-1 deficit into an 8-3 lead. A double and three singles brought in three Rays runs to jump ahead by one, and after Wander Franco was hit by a pitch, Manuel Margot surprised even his manager with his decision.

With bases loaded and two outs, Margot opted to drop a first-pitch bunt down the third-base line, safely reaching first, bringing another run in and keeping the inning alive.

Designated hitter Harold Ramirez took full advantage, following with a bases-clearing double to take the contest by the scruff of the neck.

Speaking after the win, Cash was asked what the most impressive aspect of their current run has been.

"Just the overall quality of our at-bats," he said. "I can't say that we foresaw that coming, but we've got a bunch of guys who are seeing the ball well right now.

"We've come up with some timely hitting – [tonight] might have been the mostly timely to-date. But we got momentum, and it just seemed like it was going to continue to roll.

"Manny's at-bat, the bases-loaded bunt – it certainly shocked me – and then Harold comes up and hits a double down the line to open up the game.

"I think we were all pretty shocked [by the bunt]... but it worked."

Touching on their 13-0 record after series sweeps against the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics and now the Red Sox, Cash said it is rare to have everything clicking like this.

"Pretty amazing," he said. "Congrats to all of our guys, and I'm glad that we did it at home, because we had tremendous fan support throughout this entire home stand. They really got loud when we needed them to, and it seemed like our guys were energised by that.

"When you do something like that you're playing really well. There's not one part of our game right now that we don't feel good about.

"We want to be really good with our roster from 14-15 throughout 40, and we feel like we are. We've got many guys who are going to contribute during the season, and many guys that have already contributed.

"To go on a run like this everything's got to be clicking, and you've got to get contributions from all parts of your roster."

Tampa Bay's 13-game winning streak also sets a new franchise record for longest winning streak at any point of a season, eclipsing their 12 wins in a row during the 2004 campaign.

The Tampa Bay Rays tied the record for the best start to an MLB season since 1884 after defeating the Boston Red Sox 9-3 on Thursday to improve to 13-0.

To reach 13-0, the Rays completed their fourth consecutive series sweep to begin the campaign. They began their season at home with a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, before a three-game sweep at the Washington Nationals, followed by a three-game sweep of the visiting Oakland Athletics.

Thursday's victory polished off a four-game series against the Red Sox, and while the whole team is in great touch, nobody is swinging a hotter bat than second-baseman Brandon Lowe.

Lowe, 28, hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, marking his fifth game with a home run from his past six starts. He has made the most of his extra-base hits, with only one double and no triples, as five of his 11 total hits this season have cleared the wall.

Tampa Bay ended up scoring the last eight runs of the contest, as the Red Sox opened up a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning thanks to a home run from Rob Refsnyder and RBIs to Enrique Hernandez and Justin Turner.

But a seven-run explosion from the Rays at the bottom of the fifth turned the tide, highlighted by a bases-clearing double from designated hitter Harold Ramirez as one of his three hits on the day.

Tampa Bay starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs was forced to leave earlier than planned in the fourth innings due to inflammation in his elbow, but that only put a slight damper on the evening as they joined the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers as the only teams since 1884 to reach 13-0.

One more win on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday would give the Rays the best post-1900 start to a season, with 20-0 the overall record set by the 1884 St Louis Maroons.

Rutschman nails walk-off homer for Baltimore

Elite young catcher Adley Rutschman was the hero as he connected on a walk-off home run to give the Baltimore Orioles an 8-7 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

In a back-and-forth contest where the teams combined for 21 hits, Rutschman himself was hit-less from four at-bats when he stepped up for a fifth time to lead off the bottom of the ninth.

He saw two fastballs, and connected on the second, sending it 405 feet to right-center field and ending the game.

Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo collected his league-leading seventh stolen base, while team-mate Cedric Mullins stole his sixth to sit in a tie for second.

Twins hammer Yankees rookie

It was a day to forget for New York Yankees rookie starting pitcher Jhony Brito as he was only able to secure two outs before being pulled in his side's 11-2 home loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Brito gave up six hits and a walk, punctuated by a two-run Michael Taylor homer to put the Twins up 7-0 in the first inning. Brito was pulled, but his replacement Colten Brewer gave up two more solo homers before the end of the first.

Taylor ended up hitting his second two-run homer of the game in the third inning, before Anthony Rizzo added a pair of consolation solo home runs to put the Yankees on the board.

Play was suspended in Thursday's opening round of the RBC Heritage with Viktor Hovland clinging onto the outright lead following his seven-under 64.

It was a great first trip around Harbour Town Golf Links for the Norwegian, going bogey-free with seven birdies.

Hovland, 25, is coming off some terrific results, tying for third at The Players Championship in March before a tied-seventh finish at the Masters last week.

He leads by one stroke from Jimmy Walker, Aaron Rai and Brian Harman, although Harman is the only of the trio to have finished their round, with Walker still having two holes to play, while Rai has three more to try and track down Hovland.

There is a logjam tied for fifth at five under including major champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Zach Johnson and Justin Rose, with Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele a further shot back at four under.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth is joined by world number two Scottie Scheffler and three-time champion at this event Stewart Cink at three under, while top-10 talents Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay headline the group at two under. 

Last week's Masters champion Jon Rahm shot a disappointing one-over 72, and world number seven Max Homa (two over) is also on the wrong side of the cut-line heading into Friday.

Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder has reached an agreement to sell the franchise to Josh Harris for a record price of $6.05billion.

Harris, who co-owns the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL's New Jersey Devils, has not finalised or sent an agreement to the league, but a sale is expected to go through if no issues emerge.

Any sale would need to be approved by the NFL's finance committee and at least 24 of the league's 32 owners, who are scheduled to meet in Minneapolis in May for the Spring League Meeting.

The widely reported $6.05billion fee would shatter the previous record price for an NFL franchise, set only last year when the Denver Broncos were sold to the Walton-Penner group for $4.65billion.

Current owner Snyder and the Commanders remain under investigation concerning allegations of workplace misconduct and potential unlawful financial conduct, while the franchise recently settled lawsuits with Maryland and the District of Columbia over fans' season-ticket deposit money.

Washington have been under Snyder's ownership since 1999 but have not won a playoff game since 2005, while their last postseason appearance came in 2020.

Overall, the Commanders have a 164-220-2 record in the Snyder years with six playoff appearances.

Liam Smith fully regrets his homophobic taunts towards Chris Eubank Jr. and expressed his apologies for comments before January's middleweight clash.

Smith previously admitted he had "crossed the line" after being heavily criticised for asking Eubank Jr.: "Nobody in this room has ever seen you with a woman. Do you have something you want to tell us?"

Eubank Jr. responded by taunting Smith about his social class, with both boxers widely condemned and remaining under an ongoing investigation by the British Boxing Board of Control.

Those comments were made in the press conference leading up to the fight, which was won by former world champion Smith, who explained he still regrets his homophobic taunts.

He told Sky Sports on Thursday: "The stuff that got said at the press conference should never have been said, in any form of life, never mind at a boxing press conference.

"I'm facing the backlash of it still to this day, and there will be people I'll never win back over.

"I fully regret how that press conference went and what got said should never have been said, and again I apologise to anyone I offended."

Eubank Jr., who was subsequently stopped in the fourth round by Smith at Manchester Arena, wore a rainbow armband throughout the weigh-in as a response to those jibes. 

Smith acknowledged he may never be able to convince people otherwise, though he insists his homophobic comments were out of character.

"Of course, I can understand people who looked into it, I can understand them thinking I was trying to make fun of it, but I fully wasn't and that was not my intention," Smith added.

"I get that there'll be people who will never accept my apology and I'll never get back on side now, and that's something I've got to live with going forward."

When pressed on how he would explain his remorse to an offended person, Smith said: "I do apologise and I fully understand why you're hurt by it.

"I'm not homophobic, I'm not a homophobic man, I'm a family man from a good family and I apologise for what got said."

Smith and Eubank Jr. are set for another bout after the latter activated his rematch clause, with suggestions that clash could take place at Liverpool's home stadium Anfield.

Odell Beckham Jr. received no assurances he will be able to link up with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore next season, but he hopes to.

The three-time Pro Bowler was confirmed as the Ravens' newest addition on Thursday on a one-year deal, having been available as a free agent since leaving the Los Angeles Rams, last appearing at Super Bowl LVI.

Beckham missed the whole of the 2022 campaign after a lengthy rehabilitation for an ACL tear sustained in that Super Bowl victory with the Rams.

The 30-year-old was introduced as a Raven in a press conference alongside general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh.

And conversation unsurprisingly turned to quarterback Jackson, who has requested a trade but had the non-exclusive franchise tag placed on him and has not yet resolved his future.

"I didn't get any assurances for anything," Beckham said. "Life's uncertain. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day; we only know what's happened in the past.

"To me, it's about the possibility of that [playing with Jackson]. My thoughts would be that he would be here.

"I know that these two want him to be here. At the end of the day, it's going to be up to them."

GM DeCosta remains optimistic, adding: "Lamar is in our plans. We're hopeful to still get a long-term deal. He's the right player for this team."

Beckham has 7,367 receiving yards and 56 touchdowns in 96 career NFL games and will join a Baltimore team who finished 10-7 in 2022, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC Wild Card game.

On having the chance to play again, Beckham said: "I'm excited but also very determined and hungry. Through the smiles, there's still this [feeling] that I really want this badly."

He has reportedly signed a $15million deal worth up to $18m, with a base salary of $1.165m in 2023 to fit under the Ravens' salary-cap restrictions.

Great Britain has joined the breakaway international boxing federation, World Boxing, in an attempt to counter a threat to the sport's Olympic future.

World Boxing was established in response to issues surrounding the Olympic sport's existing governing body, the International Boxing Association (IBA), which was banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2019 over governing issues and alleged corruption.

At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, boxing was organised by the IOC and the situation is the same for the 2024 games in Paris as, while World Boxing is seeking Olympic recognition, it may take up to two years for that to be achieved.

Boxing's position in the Olympics moving forward is under threat, with the sport left off the initial programme for Los Angeles in 2028 as the IBA has refused to implement the changes requested by the IOC.

In October, the IBA lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, contravening IOC guidance, which saw multiple nations boycott the Women's World Championships last month.

World Boxing aims to replace the IBA's current role in the sport, with a number of national bodies said to have indicated their interest to join the new federation and the membership process will begin in May.

Lorenzo Musetti stunned Novak Djokovic to seal a "dream" victory and a quarter-final spot in the Monte Carlo Masters.

Falling to a 4-6 defeat in the first set, Musetti responded to win 7-5 in the second and 6-4 in the third following a rain delay.

The 21-year-old overcame the world number one in a mammoth two-hour, 54 minute encounter and capitalised on weak serves from the Serbian – breaking his opponent eight times en route to a career high victory.

Emotions were high for Musetti, who said afterwards: "I am struggling not to cry. It is an emotional win because it was a really long match. Three-hour match and suspended by rain.

"It was not easy conditions because it was a little bit windy and cold. Not like we used to play in the recent days. I am really proud of myself and I can see on the screen. I am struggling not to cry because it is a dream for me."

Musetti's reward is a clash with Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, who trailed Hubert Hurkacz by a set and a break before rallying to a 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 triumph – sending him into the last-eight in six of the seven events he has played this season.

Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev earned a 50th tour-level win on clay with a 7-6 (6-4) 6-2 victory over Karen Khachanov, who was his doubles partner earlier this week before the pair suffered elimination against Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski.

Rublev will meet German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff in the next round, who secured a major upset earlier in the day by eliminating world number four Casper Ruud.

A 6-1 7-6 (10-8) victory earned Struff his first top 10 win since June 2021, when he defeated Daniil Medvedev in Halle, and advances to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since Cincinnati in 2020.

World Rally Championship driver Craig Breen has died aged 33 after he was involved in a pre-event test accident ahead of the Croatia Rally.

The 33-year-old Irishman had been racing this year with Hyundai Motorsport, who confirmed he was involved in an incident on Thursday.

"Hyundai Motorsport sends its sincerest condolences to Craig's family, friends and his many fans," the team said.

Breen's team-mate and co-driver James Fulton was unharmed in the accident, which took place before this weekend's race in Zagreb.

Across a career that saw him debut in 2009, BReen achieved eight podiums, most recently matching his best ever finish with second at the 2023 Rally Sweden.