Charles Leclerc insists Ferrari's late decision to change tyres was the right one despite him ultimately missing out on a podium finish at the Turkish Grand Prix.
The Monegasque driver recorded a fourth-place finish for the fifth time this season, though he did close the gap on team-mate Carlos Sainz to just half a point in the battle for sixth in the Drivers' Championship.
After starting third on the grid, Leclerc took the lead at Istanbul Park when eventual champion Valtteri Bottas returned to the pits in lap 37.
However, the two-time Grand Prix winner was boxed himself 10 laps later to replace his used intermediate tyres.
That ultimately cost Ferrari in Turkey as Leclerc struggled to build pace with the new intermediates – as well as what would have been a ninth podium finish for the team.
Nevertheless, the 24-year-old maintains that he and his team have no complaints with the consequences of their decision.
"It was a great race. On the first stint, we were very, very competitive. Then unfortunately, we were a little bit out of phase with the others on the second stint, stopping later," he said.
"At first, in the first five, six laps of the others on the new inters, we were quicker than them on the used inters.
"But after six laps, I think they cleared the graining, and then they found a lot of performance – around three seconds a lap – and then we had no choice, we had to stop.
"For the last 10 laps, I was just trying to switch on those inters that never really came to life. It's a bit of a shame because that made us lose the podium, but I don't regret anything.
"In Russia, I think the communication was not great, but this time the communication was very good. I had a clear picture of the race, and we did the right choice, or what we thought was the right choice at the time."
Rafa Cabrera Bello saw off fellow Spaniard Adri Arnaus in a play-off to claim a dramatic victory at the Open de Espana in Madrid.
The world number 231 captured the fourth European Tour event of his career – and first since triumphing at the 2017 Scottish Open.
Cabrera Bello's victory saw him follow in the footsteps of Seve Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia and Miguel Angel Jimenez in winning his national open, with the Canarian now having won it as a professional and at each age level from seven through to 18.
The 37-year-old went into the final round in the Spanish capital with a two-shot lead, but surrendered his advantage following a tricky opening nine.
However, a run of three successive birdies from the 13th restored a share of the lead with Arnaus, before saving par on the 18th to finish on 19-under for the tournament.
Meanwhile, Arnaus carded 67 and forced the play-off as he looked to avoid a fourth runner-up finish on the European Tour.
After returning to the 18th, each of them hit tee shots left of the fairway, but a tremendous approach from Cabrera Bello set up an 11-foot birdie that ended his title drought.
"I'm very, very happy," he said. "I knew it was going to be a really hard battle today and I don't think I need to say that I didn't get off to the ideal start.
"I've been believing in myself; I've had amazing support all this week rooting for me ever since the first minute and I was just hanging in there. I knew I'd have an opportunity and I'm glad that luck swung my way.
"I came here in probably the worst shape I have been in over the last decade, and to walk out here with a win, it's very special."
Max Verstappen regained the lead of the Formula One world championship but the Red Bull star seemingly wanted a tougher test in Turkey.
It was Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas - who had started from pole position after Lewis Hamilton's 10-place grid penalty for an engine change - who triumphed in a damp Istanbul on Sunday.
However, Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez completed the podium, with the former situated inside the top three for much of the race.
In difficult conditions, Verstappen explained how it was too risky to push the tyres early, conceding Bottas' car seemed to have more speed.
Asked what the trickiest part of the race was, Verstappen joked: "To stay awake!"
He added: "No, it was just all about managing the tyres, so you were never pushing to make it to a certain amount of laps and then you'd box for another set, happy to be on the podium."
Bottas, meanwhile, celebrated a first victory of the season.
"I think from my side, I have to say, one of the best races I've had, ever," said the Finn, who is leaving Mercedes at the end of the season.
"Apart from one little slide, everything was under control. But like I said before the race, the car has been really good in every condition, I had really good confidence in it, could really control it.
"It's not easy to choose the strategy here with the conditions, when to stop, when to switch tyre and everything, but I'm glad with how everything went.
"When there's only one dry line, it doesn't need much to go off. A difficult one, it feels like a well-earned victory."
Bottas' jubilance was in stark contrast to the frustration of his team-mate Hamilton, who had to settle for fifth place after a late call to pit by Mercedes.
Hamilton is now six points behind Verstappen in the championship race heading into the United States Grand Prix.
"It's been close the whole year and I'm sure again in Austin it’ll be a good battle with Mercedes, so we just have to keep on pushing, keep on trying to improve and then we'll see where we end up at the end," said Verstappen.
"So far this season has been really good."
Lewis Hamilton cut a frustrated figure over Mercedes' decision to pull him in for a pit stop late in the Turkish Grand Prix.
Hamilton seemed determined to finish the race in the rain in Istanbul on the same set of tyres, turning down several calls for him to pit.
Finally, on the 51st lap out of 58, Hamilton – who at the time was in third place having started 11th on the grid due to the 10-place penalty he took into the weekend for changing engine – heeded his team's call to come in to switch onto intermediate tyres.
Yet as the seven-time world champion came back out, he had fallen to fifth place, much to his annoyance.
"Why did you give up that place?" Hamilton questioned over the radio, as he was forced to hold off Pierre Gasly to finish fifth, behind Charles Leclerc, Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, who cruised to his first race victory of 2021.
Esteban Ocon finished within the top 10 having not changed tyres at all, and Hamilton was in a prickly mood when interviewed by Sky Sports.
Asked if he was aware he would drop down two places when he went into the pits, Hamilton said: "I didn't know at that time, I could probably have assumed that I would.
"The guys were only 15 seconds behind, it's a 24-second pit stop so I knew that I'd lose perhaps one."
Of the initial tyres potentially lasting the whole race, Hamilton added: "Ocon's did I heard so I assume they probably could.
"The tyres are bald so you don't know how far they're going to go so there's definitely the worry of the life of the tyre but also I wasn't really that fast at the end there.
"I was struggling, had little grip, not really sure why. Then all of a sudden I'd have not such a bad pace but I was losing performance to the guys behind."
Hamilton acknowledged he may have made an error not coming in for a pit earlier in the race, when Mercedes initially advised, but he believes the wrong call was made to switch so late.
"In hindsight I should have either stayed out or come in much earlier," he said. "When you come in with eight laps to go you don't have time to go through the draining phase of that medium tyre on a drying track.
"So I went through this whole sliding change where I nearly lost more positions. A bit frustrated but it is what it is.
"It felt good to be in third and I thought if I could just hold onto this it's a great result from 11th. Fifth is worse, but it could be worse."
There was an eight-point swing in the championship title race, with Verstappen now six ahead of Hamilton heading into the United States Grand Prix in two weeks' time.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, however, insisted the correct call was made.
"[Pitting earlier] would have been better than what we ended up with. But it was measured and in the car, he didn't see how much he was dropping off. It was clear that had he stayed out then he would have lost out to Gasly," he told Sky Sports.
"The correct call would probably have been taking it very conservative and pitting when everybody else pitted for the inters, coming out behind Perez and Leclerc and fighting with them for P3. That was probably correct, but that is only with hindsight."
Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated by Mercedes' decision to pit late during the Turkish Grand Prix, helping Max Verstappen take over the Formula One championship lead in Istanbul.
Hamilton had claimed pole in qualifying but was handed a 10-place grid penalty due to an engine change, meaning Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas started in first place.
It was a lead Bottas only relinquished briefly to Charles Leclerc, though the Finn regained it with a brilliant move on the inside of the Ferrari with 11 laps remaining to ensure his first win of the season.
With Verstappen claiming second, it was Hamilton's decision to hold off pitting in the wet conditions that proved crucial in the title race.
Well in the hunt for a podium place at the time, Hamilton was finally instructed to come in by Mercedes on the 51st lap.
Yet the decision to switch to intermediate tyres did not pay off, with Hamilton left furious with his team, stating: "Why did you give up that place?”.
While one half of the Mercedes garage will be left pondering their decision, the other was celebrating a flawless drive from Bottas, who endured a miserable race in Turkey last year.
Behind Bottas, it was a fantastic outing for Red Bull, with Verstappen securing a six-point lead over Hamilton in the championship standings and Sergio Perez completing the podium places.
Hamilton ultimately finished fifth, holding off Gasly but unable to gain ground on Leclerc, who missed out on the top three after pitting late on himself.
Perez and Hamilton do battle
Hamilton thought he had nipped ahead of Perez heading into lap 35, with the pair going wheel-to-wheel for five corners in a fantastic tussle.
Though Hamilton had the faster acceleration, Perez pushed at Turn One to regain the place and even though the Red Bull driver subsequently pitted, he had done enough to keep the seven-time world champion at bay and hand Verstappen a real boost.
Alonso hits out at Gasly
Fernando Alonso made a strong start in Istanbul, but he found himself spinning off the track on the first corner after a clip from Pierre Gasly.
By the time he rectified the situation, Alonso had dropped from fifth to 15th. Gasly, for his part, explained that he got "sandwiched", though the Frenchman was nevertheless handed a five-second penalty that cost him a place in the top five.
Garbine Muguruza could not keep the momentum going at the Indian Wells Open after winning a WTA title last week and the former world number one was followed out the door by Maria Sakkari.
Muguruza, who claimed the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic, was surprisingly upstaged 6-3 1-6 6-3 by Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in an upset on Saturday.
Tomljanovic had been 0-6 against top-10 players this year heading into the match but had just enough to edge the fifth seed and two-time grand slam champion with some timely breaks of serve.
The world number 47 Tomljanovic is into the third round at Indian Wells for the first time in seven appearances and next faces 26th seed Tamara Zidansek.
"I was really looking forward to playing Garbine, because I did lose [to her] the last couple of times," Tomljanovic said in her on-court interview. "I did try to focus on that one time I beat her [in 2014], and tried to channel that energy, so I was really happy that I got through today."
GOLUBIC STUNS SAKKARI
Sixth seed Sakkari – a semi-finalist at this year's French and US Opens – also fell victim to a shock result, going out 5-7 6-3 6-2 to Viktorija Golubic in their first meeting.
The pair kept trading service breaks in the opening set, five in all, before Golubic tightened up her game for the final two sets.
After breaking the Swiss three times in the first set, Sakkari converted just one of four break points the rest of the match.
Golubic had lost in the first round in her previous two trips to Indian Wells but is now on to the third, where she will face Anna Kalinskaya.
ANDREESCU HOLDS OFF RISKE
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu saw a potential straight-sets win slip away before recovering to defeat Alison Riske 7-6 (7-2) 5-7 6-2.
Andreescu – the defending champion after the 2020 WTA Premier 1000 event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic – led 4-1 in the second set but watched her advantage evaporate as Riske forced a decider, which the Canadian ended up taking comfortably as she faced only one break point in the last.
Top seed Karolina Pliskova eased past Magdalena Frech 7-5 6-2, while third-seeded Barbora Krejcikova was pushed to a third set before prevailing 6-4 3-6 6-1 against Zarina Diyas.
Angelique Kerber – the 10th seed and three-time major winner – went the distance to beat Katerina Siniakova 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 7-5, while 15th seed Coco Gauff downed Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 in her debut match at the tournament.
Ons Jabeur, the 12th seed, prevailed 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 over Anastasija Sevastova and 18th seed Anett Kontaveit – Andreescu's next opponent – moved on when Martina Trevisan retired down 6-3 5-2.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev made quick work of Mackenzie McDonald in his opening match at the Indian Wells Masters, cruising to a 6-4 6-2 victory on Saturday.
Medvedev – the US Open champion – has lost only three of his last 41 sets, and has never dropped one to McDonald in five career meetings with the American as he maintained his red-hot form.
Russian star Medvedev is now 37-5 on hardcourts this year and appears well-positioned to make it past the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time as he awaits Filip Krajinovic.
"I'm actually really pleased, because usually I haven’t played well in Indian Wells and I haven’t been playing that well in practices before [the tournament]," Medvedev said in his on-court interview. "[I am] really happy with my performance. That’s the most important [thing] no matter how I played before the tournament."
RUBLEV ROLLS PAST TABERNER
Medvedev's countryman Andrey Rublev closed out the night session with a 6-3 6-4 defeat of Carlos Taberner, who was facing a top-10 opponent for the first time.
Fourth seed and world number five Rublev won 66 per cent of points on his first serve and hit 30 winners to Taberner's 12.
Rublev improved to 47-16 this season, 31-9 on hard courts, and will face Tommy Paul in the third round.
SHAPOVALOV WINS IN NEAR-WALKOVER
Most of the seeded players in action had an easy time of it, none more so than Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov.
Shapovalov's opponent and countryman Vasek Pospisil retired with an apparent back injury after dropping the first three games of the match.
Sixth seed Casper Ruud blew past Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1 6-2, while eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz downed Alexei Popyrin 6-1 7-5.
Diego Schwartzman had to work harder to advance, the 11th seed outlasting qualifier Maxime Cressy 6-2 3-6 7-5.
Top-ranked American Reilly Opelka, the 16th seed, beat Taro Daniel 7-5 6-3 for his first main-draw victory at Indian Wells in four attempts.
Daniel Evans also went the distance to defeat Kei Nishikori 4-6 6-3 6-4, while former world number three Grigor Dimitrov, 2021 Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev and Frances Tiafoe were among the other players to advance.
The Los Angeles Dodgers fought back on Saturday, getting to San Francisco Giants starter Kevin Gausman early and knocking him out later in the game as the reigning World Series champions evened their National League Division Series (NLDS) with a 9-2 road victory.
The Dodgers got their offence back on track after being blanked by Giants starter Logan Webb in Game 1, pounding out 11 hits at Oracle Park before heading home for Monday's Game 3 in the MLB playoffs.
Oddly enough, it was Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias who got everything going with a run-scoring single in the second inning as Los Angeles earned a 2-0 lead that the Giants answered with one in the bottom of that inning.
Both teams' bats stayed quiet until the sixth, when the Dodgers drove Gausman from the game and broke it open with two-run doubles from Cody Bellinger and AJ Pollock.
They piled on three more against the Giants' bullpen in the eighth thanks to a Will Smith solo homer and RBI singles from Matt Beaty and Corey Seager.
Urias did his job on the mound, too, limiting NL West champions San Francisco to one run in his five innings of work before four Dodgers relievers finished it off.
Urias lowered his postseason ERA to 2.68 in 19 career appearances while improving his record to 7-2. The seven wins equal former Giants ace Madison Bumgarner for the most postseason victories by a pitcher aged 25 or younger.
In the other NLDS matchup, Max Fried was brilliant on the mound as the Atlanta Braves evened the series with a 3-0 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Fried allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter while striking out nine in his six innings of work before three Atlanta relievers finished off the shutout.
The Braves scored twice in the third inning on an RBI single by Freddie Freeman and a double by Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley added a home run in the sixth for insurance.
The series moves to Atlanta on Monday for Game 3.
Rays at Red Sox
After pounding out 20 hits in a 14-6 Game 2 rout to even the series, the Boston Red Sox will look to keep it going as they return to Fenway Park for Monday's Game 3, with Nathan Eovaldi set to start against the Tampa Bay Rays' Drew Rasmussen.
Lewis Hamilton is refusing to write off his chances of another Turkish Grand Prix win despite serving a 10-place grid penalty after qualifying fastest.
The Mercedes superstar had to hand over pole position to team-mate Valtteri Bottas following an engine change this week.
It means Hamilton, who comes into Sunday's race two points ahead of Max Verstappen, must start from 11th, denying him a 102nd pole at a 31st different circuit.
Only one of his 100 Formula One victories have come behind the front three rows – starting from 14th in Germany in 2018 – although one of his two triumphs from sixth came at this event last year. That was the sole example of a Turkish GP win from beyond the front row.
"I was already third at the end of Turn 1 last year, so that made a bit of a difference," Hamilton told Sky Sports on Saturday. "But it's a much, much different weekend, a much different track grip.
"My eyes are still solely set on winning the race; it's going to be very hard from 11th but not impossible. We're just making sure we'll deliver maximum attack tomorrow."
Bottas, the beneficiary of Hamilton's switch, acknowledged Saturday could not have gone any better for Mercedes.
"Obviously, as a team result, it was as we planned," he said. "Lewis, with his penalty, now gets the minimum penalty he can, and I'm on pole, so it should be good."
But Bottas insisted he was not instructed to slow down in order to allow Hamilton to secure the fastest time, having him start from 11th instead of 12th.
"No, I wasn't asked to slow down, and I was definitely going for it," said the Finn, who will leave for Alfa Romeo at the end of the season.
"I started to struggle a bit with the front end in the last sector, so I just had some understeer in Turn 12 and 14. I could feel I was losing a bit of time.
"I probably used the tyres a bit earlier in the lap. I was fully going for it, for sure."
Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar matched a feat achieved by three of cycling's greatest competitors as he triumphed at the Giro di Lombardia on Saturday.
Pogacar cruised to a title defence at Le Tour in July and the 23-year-old clinched his second Classic crown of the season with success in the final Monument race of the year.
The Slovenian, making his Giro di Lombardia debut, is the first rider in 42 years to have won both the Tour de France and Giro di Lombardia in the same season.
He joins an illustrious list of riders to have done the double – Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault.
UAE Team Emirates rider Pogacar finished ahead of Fausto Masnada in the final sprint at the culmination of the 239km race from Como to Bergamo, with Adam Yates taking third place.
Pogacar previously won the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in April.
"I'm speechless, it's crazy to be here to celebrate this success at the end of a season like this," he said.
"Every victory is important to me, being at the start of Lombardia alongside the best cyclists in the world was a dream, and now winning on my debut was incredible."
Valtteri Bottas will focus on making the most of starting the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position, and not on the fortunes of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Bottas just missed out on setting the fastest time in Istanbul on Saturday, with championship leader Hamilton claiming top spot.
However, Hamilton will start in 11th due to a penalty incurred from an engine change heading into the weekend, meaning Bottas is promoted to first on the grid.
Seven out of the eight winners in Turkey have come from the first grid line, with the only exception coming last year when Hamilton triumphed from sixth place.
Hamilton's title rival Max Verstappen will start in second place and has a real chance to regain the championship lead, as he trails by only two points as it stands – the finest margin after 15 races of a season since 2006.
Asked where his priorities would sit heading into Sunday's race, Bottas said: "I'll focus on my own race tomorrow, I think that's the way to go when you're starting in front and try to keep up a good pace."
Of the session, the Finn, who is leaving Mercedes at the end of 2021, said: "It was good. Not easy conditions, especially Q1 was a bit on the edge with damp parts and still Q3, the first corner was a bit damp but also Turn 3 and 4. But also some good laps.
"As a team result, that's really gone to plan. Lewis with his penalty gets the minimum penalty he can, and I'm on pole, so that should be good."
Hamilton is anticipating a tough ask to challenge for a podium place.
"It was a really tricky session in general," Hamilton said.
"There were still some damp patches and getting the temperature in the tyres for the first lap wasn't easy, but a really great job by the team, so happy with the performance in terms of getting us out at the right time. Tomorrow's going to be difficult but I'll give it everything."
Hamilton claimed his 100th race win last time out in Russia, and he added: "It's not the easiest overtaking at the moment, and we're all on the same tyres as well. I imagine tomorrow's going to be difficult to move up. You saw in the last race what happened with Max once he got behind sixth place or something and vice versa for me also.
"We've got the long straight down the back, we'll see what we can do, hopefully we can give the fans here a good race."
Despite spinning off the track at one stage in the session, Charles Leclerc recovered to take P4, and the Ferrari driver will start in third place behind Verstappen, who was pleased with his performance after a difficult Friday practice.
"It was quite tricky at the beginning with the conditions, but compared to yesterday we actually managed to turn it around quite well," said Verstappen. He is hunting his eighth win of the season, which would also see him equal Nigel Mansell as the driver with the second most victories with a Honda engine (13), behind the late Ayrton Senna (32).
"The laps overall were quite good, even if we lost a bit down the straight on the last, we have to look into that, but of course it was not the lap I needed to fight for pole," Verstappen added.
"Overall I'm very happy. We'll try to pick up as many points as we can."
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:22:868 *
2. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +0:130
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0:328
4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0:397
5. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +0:458
6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +0:609
7. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0:838
8. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1:086
9. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +1:437
10. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1:500
*Hamilton will serve 10-place grid penalty
US Open champion Emma Raducanu is refusing to be downcast after her defeat to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, insisting that she is focused on "the bigger picture".
The 18-year-old's 10-match winning run came to an abrupt halt at the Indian Wells Open – just her fifth tour-level event – as Sasnovich won in straight sets.
Sasnovich is ranked 100th in the world, but the 27-year-old has 16 career victories over opponents in the top 20, with Raducanu ranking 17th, and six over those in the top 10.
Raducanu cites the experience gap between herself and Sasnovich as a major factor in her defeat and believes that the loss can be taken as a positive lesson.
"I'm still very, very new to the tour," Raducanu said. "I think that experience just comes from playing week in, week out and experiencing all these different things. I'm kind of glad that what happened today happened, so I can learn and take it as a lesson so going forward I'll just have more experienced banked.
"[Sasnovich's] been on tour, probably been 4-2 down like hundreds of times whereas I've been 4-2 up... it's my third WTA tournament this year. [Experience] will come in time. Just got to not rush it and keep going and get my head back to the drawing board really.
"I didn't go in there putting any pressure on myself because in my mind I'm so inexperienced that I'm just taking it all in. You're going to have highs, and you're always going to have some lows where you're disappointed with how you performed.
"Aliaksandra played an extremely great match. You could tell she's more experienced than me. She went out there and executed her game plan better than I did. She deserved to win that.
"I think it's going to take me time to adjust, really, to what's going on. For the bigger picture, I'll be thanking this moment. That's the lesson I think, that you can easily get sucked into being so focused on the result and getting disappointed."
Raducanu is set to take part at the Transylvania Open that starts on October 25, as well as the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
US Open champion Emma Raducanu was sensationally beaten in her first match following her Flushing Meadows triumph, going down in straight sets to Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Indian Wells Open on Friday.
The Belarussian, who is currently ranked 100th, stunned the 19-year-old Briton 6-2 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes.
Raducanu had been on a 10-match winning streak coming into her maiden Indian Wells campaign.
"I'm still so new to everything. The experiences that I'm going through right now, even though I might not feel 100 per cent amazing right now, I know they're for the greater good," Raducanu said after the defeat.
"I mean, I'm 18 years old. I need to cut myself some slack."
Raducanu, who did not drop a set during her US Open run, appeared in control early after winning the opening six points, but Sasnovich claimed the first break in the third game.
Unforced errors proved costly for Raducanu as the clean-striking Sasnovich capitalized to win the first set, before opening the second set with another break.
Raducanu responded with an immediate break back and led 4-2 in the second set, before the Belarussian hit back by winning the next four games to topple the British teenager.
"It was a really good match for me. I play really well," Sasnovich said. "I know she just won US Open. I lost there in the first round. But I tried to go on court, I tried to enjoy. I did everything right."
FORMER WINNER HALEP PROGRESSES
Sasnovich will face two-time Grand Slam winner Simona Halep in the third round after the Romanian defeated Marta Kostyuk 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 in one hour and 33 minutes.
The 11th seed, who split with long-time coach Darren Cahill last month amid an injury-disrupted year, was down a break early before working her way back and dominating the tiebreak.
Halep broke twice in a more controlled second set to claim victory in her 10th appearance at Indian Wells.
"I missed a lot playing tennis at this level this year because I've been injured and many months, I couldn't play matches," said Halep, who won at Indian Wells in 2015. "I came here a little more aggressive than normal and I'm trying to improve my game and myself."
KVITOVA CRUISES AS TOP SEEDS WIN
Two-time major winner Petra Kvitova eased into the last 32 with a 6-2 6-2 triumph over Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands.
Seventh seed Kvitova set up a showdown with two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka after she beat Magda Linette 7-5 3-0 in a walkover. Kvitova leads Azarenka 5-3 in head-to-head battles.
Second seed Iga Swiatek dominated Croatian Petra Martic 6-1 6-3 to seal her passage into the third round, while fourth seed Elina Svitolina got past Teresa Martincova 6-2 7-5.
Beaten 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez triumphed over experienced Frenchwoman Alize Cornet 6-2 6-3 and will play ninth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round after she easily accounted for Madison Keys 6-3 6-1.
Three-time major winner Andy Murray marked his return to the Indian Wells Masters with a strong 6-3 6-2 win over dangerous Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in Friday's first-round encounter.
Murray, who had not played at Indian Wells in four years, won in one hour and 24 minutes with a disciplined display, winning 82 per cent of first serve points.
The Briton, who only faced one break point for the match, will next take on Spanish 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who enjoyed a fine run to the US Open quarter-finals in September.
"I think Alcaraz is really, really good," Murray said after the win. "I think he’s got a good chance at it."
On his own performance, Murray added: "I thought my mentality was good tonight. I sort of focused just on every single point.
"It's been a tough road to get back and it was so nice that so many people managed to come out and support today. I really enjoyed it."
BROOKSBY SETS UP ZVEREV DATE
Emerging American Jenson Brooksby triumphed over Cem Ilkel 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to book his spot in the second round where he will face third seed Alexander Zverev.
The 20-year-old world number 79, who was the runner-up at the Hall of Fame Open in July, prevailed in his Indian Wells debut in one hour and 44 minutes.
Brooksby dropped only four points on his serve, with Ilkel unable to generate a break point throughout the match.
The California native has been a break-out star in the latter half of 2021, reaching the fourth round at the US Open, entering the top 100 after starting the year ranked 307th.
SOCK PUT AWAY BY AUSTRALIAN
Former top 10 player Jack Sock was bundled out by Australian John Millman 7-5 4-6 6-3 in an epic first-round clash which lasted two and a half hours.
Sock, who has battled injuries in recent times and was handed a wild card for Indian Wells, pushed Millman all the way, with the Australian breaking to lead 5-3 in the third set before serving out for victory.
World number 61 Pedro Martinez made light work of Italian qualifier Roberto Marcora 6-4 6-0 to set up a second-round meeting with second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 24-year-old Spaniard triumphed in one hour and 15 minutes.
Former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Kevin Anderson sent down 10 aces in a 7-5 6-2 win over Jordan Thompson.
The San Francisco Giants shut out the prolific Los Angeles Dodgers led by Logan Webb as they secured a 4-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the National League Division Series on Friday.
The Dodgers, who were shut out just five times in the regular season, could not convert any of their five hits on Friday, while the Giants delivered three home runs.
Seven-time All-Star Buster Posey got the Giants on the board with a two-run blast in the first inning from Walker Buehler, who allowed six hits across six-and-one-third innings.
Buehler still managed five strikeouts on the mound for the Dodgers but he was over-shadowed by Giants right-hander Webb, who tossed down 10 Ks across seven-and-two-thirds scoreless innings.
Kris Bryant, who had three hits to mark an outstanding game, padded the Giants' lead in the seventh inning with a left-field home run from a tiring Buehler.
Brandon Crawford, who had 24 home runs across the regular season added, another in the eighth inning, recording his second career post-season homer to add insurance.
Astros launch into 2-0 lead
The Houston Astros produced a five-run rally in the seventh inning to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the American League Division Series (ALDS) against the Chicago White Sox with a 9-4 victory.
But the Astros had to come from behind, trailing 4-2 after Luis Robert, who had two runs, three hits and one RBI for the game, touched down at the top of the fifth inning.
Jose Altuve, who had a great defensive game in the field, and Alex Bregman levelled it from a Yuli Gurriel base hit, before the five-run rally in the seventh underlined by Kyle Tucker's two-run shot.
With two out and two on leading 5-4, Carlos Correa's powerful shot to right-field eluded Leury Garcia, driving in two runs before Tucker padded the advantage.
Sale loses his puff
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale endured a nightmare first inning, allowing four hits and five earned runs as the Tampa Bay Rays opened up an early 5-2 lead. Sale was pulled after that before the Red Sox launched an admirable fightback in a run-fest 14-6 victory over the Rays to square up their ALDS. Tanner Houck steadied on the mound, with five strikeouts across five innings allowing only one run and two hits.
Burnes still on fire
Corbin Burnes continued his excellent regular season form in the Milwaukee Brewers' opening game of their NLDS with six scoreless innings and six strikeouts in a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Burnes, who finished the regular season with an MLB-best 2.43 ERA, set up the victory before Josh Hader closed it out, with Rowdy Tellez scoring a two-run homer in the seventh inning.
Saturday's results
Houston Astros 9-4 Chicago White Sox
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 Atlanta Braves
Boston Red Sox 14-6 Tampa Bay Rays
San Francisco Giants 4-0 Los Angeles Dodgers
Dodgers at Giants
The Dodgers will look to bounce back in Game 2 against the Giants, with Julio Urias and Kevin Gausman starting on the mound for the respective sides.
Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry has praised LeBron James for his longevity and pushing him to sustain his prime for as long as he can.
Curry and James are set to face off on the opening night of the 2021-22 NBA season when the Golden State Warriors meet the Los Angeles Lakers on October 19.
Four-time NBA MVP and four-time NBA champion James enters his 18th NBA season with the Lakers among the favourites for the title.
Despite being 36-years-old, James remains a key part for the Lakers, who won the NBA in 2020, before bowing out in the first round of the 2021 play-offs.
Curry praised 17-time All-Star James for maintaining his high levels throughout an extended period, when the pair have arguably been the league's best players.
"He set the standard for that," Curry told reporters on Friday. "Let's keep it real – in his 18th year, nine straight Finals, all the things that he's accomplished.
"You have a vision of sustaining your prime for as long as you can, kind of re-imagining what that looks like. The work that goes into it, the intentionality, especially in the off-seasons, especially how you take care of your body, your mind. Balance on court, off court."
The Lakers forward had an injury-interrupted 2020-21 season, averaging 25.0 points,7.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game, having boasted a career-best 10.2 assists per game in the side's title-winning 2019-20 season. He has averaged 25.0 points per game or more since his debut season in 2003-04 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James is four years Curry's senior, with the 2003 NBA Draft first pick having claimed one more NBA title across his career than the Warriors point guard who debuted in 2009.
"For me, it's a weird perspective just because I still remember my college days and he was just coming into his prime in the league," Curry said.
"And my sophomore year, [NCAA] tournament run he came to a game, then came to a game my junior year. I still have a jersey that he signed back in '08 in my parents' house back in Charlotte. So it's kind of weird to think about what's happened in the last 13, 14 years.
"Hopefully there's more chapters of that, playing at that prime. Re-imagining and extending your prime and playing at a high level for a long time looks like."
Curry, who only played five games in the 2019-20 season due to injury, topped the NBA last season for points per game, at 32.0.
The 33-year-old's 32.0 points per game was a career-best return, while he also averaged 5.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.
"I love exactly where I'm at," Curry said ahead of the new season. "I'm planning to be ready for opening night.
"Body feels good, mind feels good, shot feels strong. I'm not pacing myself but I'm being smart about how I approach preseason games."
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash has welcomed reports that Kyrie Irving will be permitted to train at the franchise's facilities despite being unvaccinated and unable to play home games.
Irving will still not be available for home games at the Barclays Center in the 2021-22 NBA season, which starts for the Nets on Tuesday 19 October against the Milwaukee Bucks, under New York's COVID-19 vaccination laws.
The Nets point guard has not been able to join Nets practice this week but according to reports the franchise's HSS Training Center has now been deemed a private office building, enabling him to train there despite his unvaccinated status.
"It’s positive to be able to welcome him back into the building and have him be part of the team," Nash told reporters on Friday.
"I don’t want to comment too much on it firmly until I know what the parameters are but it sounds like it’s positive news."
Nash admitted Irving would need to catch up after his interrupted pre-season but was bullish he would be able to maintain a level of game fitness throughout the season.
"When someone's able to resume full activity on the court they'd still need to meet a level of high intensity, before you'd put them in a game," he said.
"Even if you're not injured, you still have to reach those thresholds. If you are injured, once you are healthy, you have to meet those thresholds as well."
Tyson Fury has vowed to "obliterate" Deontay Wilder when he puts his WBC world heavyweight title on the line in Saturday's trilogy fight at the T-Mobile Arena.
The 33-year-old looked in tremendous condition at Friday's weigh-in as he tipped the scales at 277 pounds — four pounds heavier than he was in his most recent meeting with Wilder 20 months ago.
Wilder is also at a career-high weight of 238, an increase of seven pounds, but Fury does not believe he will have any problems stopping his American opponent for a second time in a row.
Asked what the advantage is of coming in heavier this time around, Fury said: "It means total obliteration of a dosser! Total annihilation. That is what it means to me.
"Two-hunded-and-seventy-seven pounds... I am going to put him in the royal infirmary after the fight."
The 39-pound difference between the two is the closest across their three fights.
"I wanted to look tasty and feel sexy," Wilder said of his physique. "I am bench pressing over 350 so I will be able to lift him. We just wanted to have fun in camp, we had a great time. The say you practice for perfect, we practiced for permanent.
"Calmness is the key to the storm. I know when I am not calm my mind is cloudy, when my mind is cloudy it allows you to make bad decisions.
"When you are calm you are able to make great decisions. I have rejuvenated myself, redemption is upon us and I can't wait to show the world what I am all about."
This will be the third chapter in a heavyweight rivalry that has produced plenty of drama in the past, both in and out of the ring.
After a contentious split-decision draw in the first meeting back in December 2018, the rematch saw Fury take the judges out of the equation with a dominant performance, forcing a seventh-round stoppage that not only saw Wilder lose the WBC title but also his unbeaten record as a pro.
The trilogy was not seemingly on the cards — or at least not this soon — until the outcome of an arbitration hearing, a judge ruling the reigning champion was contractually obliged to face his former foe again, ending the possibility of a unification showdown with Anthony Joshua.
Fury contracting COVID-19 led to a further delay, scuppering an original July fight date, but, finally, the stage is set in Las Vegas for the pair to meet again.
For Wilder, this is an opportunity to rebuild his reputation. He hopes a new man in his corner can help: Malik Scott once lost to his fellow American in the ring, now he is tasked with formulating a plan to get his old foe back on top.
Scott has certainly talked the talk in the build-up, even predicting his fighter gets the job done inside five rounds after working hard to refine his game.
"He got content with knocking people out with one weapon, which was the right hand," Scott said.
"What I did was I went to his toolbox and pulled everything out that he does well. Deontay Wilder can do it all. I just pulled a lot of stuff out of him in training camp. I made sure we drilled him with intent."
The development of Wilder, a power hitter whose boxing skills have always been questioned, is just one of the intriguing plot lines going into a contest that should make for absorbing viewing, whatever the final outcome.
TALE OF THE TAPE
TYSON FURY
Age: 33
Height: 6ft 9ins (206cm)
Weight: 277lbs
Reach: 85ins
Professional record: 30-0-1 (21 KOs)
Major career titles: IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO heavyweight
DEONTAY WILDER
Age: 35
Height: 6ft 7ins (201cm)
Weight: 238lbs
Reach: 83ins
Professional record: 42-1-1 (41 KOs)
Major career titles: WBC heavyweight
Emma Raducanu still has so much to improve and it is far too early to declare her a contender to win every tournament, according to Tim Henman.
The 18-year-old achieved stunning success at the US Open, winning the grand slam event as a qualifier without dropping a set.
Raducanu will play her first match since that famous Flushing Meadows triumph when she takes on Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the Indian Wells Open on Friday.
The youngster has been rated as favourite to win the tournament, which is seen as one of the most prestigious outside of the four majors.
There is already talk of her qualifying for the lucrative season-ending WTA Finals and triumphing at Wimbledon next year, having burst onto the scene in 2021 by reaching round four at All England Club.
But fellow Briton Henman urged fans to show caution with what they expect from Raducanu before her first match in 27 days against seasoned pro Sasnovich.
Raducanu has regularly discussed her lack of experience at tour level while she searches for a new coach to show her the ropes and Henman did not want to entertain discussions of her winning Wimbledon in 2022.
"I think that is probably getting a little ahead of ourselves," Henman said to talkSPORT.
"She has shown her enormous potential by what she did in New York, but she is still so young and so inexperienced.
"She has played so few events on the tour, let alone at grand slam level. I think it’s very easy to get ahead of ourselves.
"Regarding some of the young up and coming players, to really understand where they are at and their development, for me you get a very good insight once they have played every tournament twice.
"To put it into context, she has never played the clay court swing, she’s never played Roland Garros, she has never played the Australian Open.
"Once she has played all those events twice, then we will be able to assess where her game is at.
"Right now, it is as much about the process as the outcome and keep developing her game."
Henman, though, was in no doubt that Raducanu is a prodigious talent.
He added: "What is exciting is that she can improve in so many areas.
"It is easy to focus on her tennis game, but she can get fitter, stronger, faster and gain experience playing at the highest level and continue improving her tennis game.
"If she does that then I think she will go on and win more tournaments in the future.
"It was a privilege to be on the side of the court for all her main draw matches and just see the quality of her tennis at close quarters.
"Her resilience mentally, her composure and the consistency was incredible. To win 20 straight sets to qualify and win a grand slam is unprecedented in our sport, it was a real pleasure to watch."
While Raducanu received a first-round bye, Sasnovich had an easy opener as she beat Maria Camila Osorio Serrano in straight sets.
The Belarusian has never won a WTA Tour event or reached the last eight of a major.
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