Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka kept alive her hopes of a maiden grand slam final appearance after downing Donna Vekic in straight sets in their Australian Open quarter-final on Thursday.
Sabalenka, who has lost three major semi-finals, progressed to a last-four date with Poland's Magda Linette, after triumphing 6-3 6-2 over the unseeded 26-year-old Croatian in one hour and 47 minutes at Rod Laver Arena.
The 24-year-old Belarussian's powerful forehand and ability to win the key points ultimately made the difference.
Sabalenka blasted 38 winners for the match, the majority on her forehand, compared to Dekic's 21, while she also sent down nine aces.
Neither player was able to assert themselves in a disjointed first set, where Sabalenka got the first break in the fourth game with a deft drop shot, only for Vekic to respond immediately with a break back.
Vekic won only four-of-17 second-serve points in the first set, committing nine double faults, as Sabalenka broke again for 5-3 before serving out the opening frame.
Sabalenka appeared set to cruise into the last four when she broke Vekic again in the opening game of the second frame, racing to a 3-0 lead, before the Croatian showed some fight.
Data slam: Sabalenka clutch under pressure
The match was closer than the scoreline suggested, with eight of the first 12 games going to deuce, but Sabalenka's big-game experience arguably held her in good stead under pressure.
The Belarussian faced nine break points in the first set, saving eight of those, while she finished the match surviving 12 of 14, including three in the decisive game.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Sabalenka– 9/9
Vekic– 4/13
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Sabalenka– 38/35
Vekic– 21/25
BREAK POINTS WON
Sabalenka– 5/13
Vekic– 2/14
With his team in the midst of a franchise renaissance, Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair has agreed to a contract extension, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
McNair's deal comes with the Kings sporting a 27-19 record, sitting third in the Western Conference and atop the Pacific Division, 3.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers. Sacramento are heading towards ending a record 16-year playoff drought and are seeking their first division title since 2002-03.
McNair, who had entered the final months of his original three-year contract, has made several moves to put the Kings in position to reach the postseason.
Under his watch, Sacramento drafted and then later traded point guard Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers for All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis, who is now enjoying a career-best season partnered with franchise point guard De'Aaron Fox.
Last offseason, the Kings drafted impressive rookie Keegan Murray and traded for sharpshooter Kevin Huerter, while adding sixth man Malik Monk in free agency.
McNair also hired coach of the year candidate Mike Brown, who has helped change the culture of the previously dysfunctional organisation.
These moves, as well as the the growth of Fox, have propelled the Kings to a league-best 120.3 points per game. That total would the highest of any NBA team since the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets in 1983-84.
Sacramento hired McNair after 13 seasons as a front office executive with the Houston Rockets.
Poland will have a woman in the semi-final of the Australian Open after Magda Linette emerged victorious 6-3 7-5 in Wednesday's quarter-final against Karolina Pliskova.
World number one Iga Swiatek was expected to be flying the flag for Poland deep into the tournament, but after her surprising exit it is now the 30-year-old Linette who will try to step up and go all the way.
Having never advanced past the third round at any of her previous 29 grand slam appearances, Linette has now hit a remarkable run of form that includes consecutive wins over world number 19 Anett Kontaveit, world number 18 Ekaterina Alexandrova, and world number four Caroline Garcia.
Against Pliskova – a former world number one – Linette capitalised on some sloppy play as her Czech opponent committed an uncharacteristic 36 unforced errors with only 18 winners.
Pliskova also committed seven double-faults, leading to a meagre 58 per cent success rate (34-of-59) from her service points, while Linette converted at a 70 per cent clip (45-of-64).
Speaking on the court immediately after her triumph, Linette said: "I will never forget this. This is the first time ever I'm breaking through some really difficult things for me. This will stay with me for life, so I'm really grateful and super happy for the support."
Linette will face the winner between Aryna Sabalenka and Donna Vekic in the semi-final, while Elena Rybakina and Victoria Azarenka will battle it out for the other spot in the decider.
Kyle Kuzma shared on Tuesday that he is open to a long-term extension with the Washington Wizards when he hits free agency.
Kuzma, 27, is fully expected to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season by declining his $13million player option for 2023-24.
The former 27th overall draft pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017 is enjoying a career-best season with the Wizards, averaging 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while suiting up for 45 of a possible 46 fixtures to this point.
Standing at six-foot-nine, Kuzma has shown the ability to defend three positions while also hitting 2.6 three-pointers per game, providing the kind of size, versatility and floor-spacing in desperate demand league-wide.
Kuzma shared that he has had no discussions with the Wizards about a potential extension, but he is open to the conversation when it arrives due to how the franchise has allowed him to spread his wings.
"That’s probably coming," he told The Athletic. "But I’ve said from the jump I love being here, because I can play my game and I’ve developed so much.
"Taking on a new role has been amazing for me… they understand what I’m doing right now. I’m trying to get better and that’s my priority."
He added that he believes the franchise would like to retain him long-term, and he appreciates the feeling of being wanted after being sent away from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of their trade for Russell Westbrook.
"It is a source of peace, because any time somebody wants you, that’s a good thing," he said. "You want to be wanted in this world. You don’t want to be not-wanted.
"So, it’s a great feeling… as a person, you love that, you feel love. You feel that and it makes you alive. It’s a great thing, especially when you think of the landscape of this sport between teams and players.
"Players are gone year after year, there are such short stints now. For anybody to want to keep you long term, that’s a blessing.
"They showed me love. They have allowed me to have a platform to show my game and show the league I’m not just a role player. I’m someone that’s arriving right now – that’s the biggest thing for me.
"I want to keep elevating. Having a leadership position, having somewhere where I’m developing and playing my game and my role and I’m getting better every single game – that’s what I care about."
With his ability to leave the Wizards at the end of the season, Kuzma said he is aware he will be involved in trade rumours as the franchise assesses what they could potentially get in return, but it does not bother him.
"I’ve been in trade talks five out of six years in my career," he said. "I’ve seen it. I’ve been through it. I understand it.
"I’ve been in trade rumours at the highest of the highest levels year after year. So, I’m numb to white noise and noise in general. I don’t get rattled and I don’t get bothered. I’m really an unbothered person at this point in my life."
He added: "I’m the only source in this world that knows what I want to do or what I’m thinking. People can think, they can say I may want out and say I want to be here or whatever, but nobody really knows but me, and I don’t even know.
"I don’t get caught up in speculation and all the headlines and stuff, because I’ve been there. I’ve been there and done that. I understand what it is."
LeBron James shared his pride after his son Bronny James was named as one of 24 players to participate in the 2023 Boys' McDonald's All-American game in Houston on March 28.
James, the son of four-time NBA MVP LeBron, is rated as an NBA Draft prospect when eligible in 2024. The McDonald's All-American Game is the annual all-star exhibition for high-school players.
LeBron, who was the MVP of the 2003 All-American game, posted on Instagram: "Ayyyyyyyeeeeee @bronny!!!!!! Congratulations Son! So damn proud of you! Continue to be you through it all no matter what!! You’re truly AMAZING!!! #JamesGang . P.S. Congrats to all the other men and women who was named as well in the 2023 Class Micky D's games! It’s an HONOR."
Two-way guard James, 18, is the only uncommitted player selected in this year's rosters, while there are four prospects headed to Kentucky.
James is not the only son-of-a-gun selection, with Stanford's Andrej Stojakovic, son of three-time NBA All-Star Peja, is also named.
Kentucky's D.J. Wagner is included, marking the third generation in his family to play in the game.
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Charles Omenihu was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanour domestic violence on Monday only days out from Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The San Jose Police Department confirmed the arrest after an incident on Monday where officers were called after a woman reported her boyfriend, Omenihu, pushed her to the ground during an argument.
Omenihu was booked at the Santa Clara County jail and served with a restraining order. The 25-year-old was released after posting bail.
"Officers did not observe any visible physical injuries to the survivor, she did, however, have a complaint of pain to her arm," investigators said.
Omenihu, who played 15 snaps in Sunday's 19-12 Divisional Round Game win over the Dallas Cowboys, has been a key part of the 49ers' defensive unit in 2022, with 4.5 sacks this season – the third-most on the team.
"We are aware of the matter involving Charles Omenihu and are in the process of gathering further information," the 49ers said in a statement.
French Rugby Federation (FFR) president Bernard Laporte was released without charge on Tuesday after being detained as part of a tax fraud investigation.
Laporte, who has been in office since 2016, was summoned by tax authorities earlier in the day.
However, the 58-year-old's lawyer Jean-Pierre Versini-Campinchi confirmed to AFP that he was later released.
"It is a case in which he is implicated for having been associated with rugby friends a long time ago," Versini-Campinchi said.
"He has neither been accused of having defrauded nor of having received any money."
Laporte stepped back from his role as FFR president in December after being given a two-year suspended prison sentence and a €75,000 fine for corruption.
The former France coach also stepped down from his role as vice-chairman of World Rugby within hours of the conviction and was banned from rugby involvement for two years.
He denied any wrongdoing and is to appeal against his court punishments. Consequently, the FFR has not ousted Laporte permanently at this stage as he bids to clear his name.
Tuesday's development came as around 2,000 French rugby clubs voted on whether to accept the appointment of interim FFR president Patrick Buisson.
"It's perfectly scandalous the prosecutors have chosen the date of Patrick Buisson's election for the questioning and that the disclosure of this questioning was made on the same day," Versini-Campinchi added.
France are due to host the Rugby World Cup in September.
Four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers says talk of him being traded by the Green Bay Packers is "all conjecture" as speculation swirls about his future.
Rodgers, 39, is mulling over his future with the Packers, who missed the 2022 playoffs.
The QB signed a three-year, $150million extension in March, but endured a difficult season where he registered the lowest QBR of his career, 39.3.
That has led to speculation he could be traded by the Packers, who will cop a $31.6m cap hit if he plays on in 2023, while Rodgers has not shut down retirement talk entirely either.
"The other ideas about trade and whatnot, that's all conjecture until I decide what I want to do going forward for myself," Rodgers told the Pat McAfee Show.
"You never know… change is a part of this business, it’s a part of life. And I think being open to it and embracing whatever that change looks like is an important part of coming to peace with whatever decision lies ahead of you.
"That’s the most important kind of peace I want to get to.
"If it means hanging it up and do that, having the peace to do that. And if I want to keep going, understanding all possibilities that are involved."
Rodgers has $59.5m guaranteed in 2023 as part his three-year extension signed in March which would make any potential trade difficult, but the quarterback said he was open to re-working his deal.
"There's a lot of teams, because of COVID, that are strapped, and you're seeing with a lot of different contracts, they're pushing more money out in deals," Rodgers said.
"They're creating void years to allow for an easier cap hit, so there would have to be some adjustments."
Rodgers threw for 3,695 yards in the 2022 season, the fewest in any of his full seasons during his career, while he had 12 interceptions, the most by him since 2008.
The New Orleans Pelicans are taking a cautious approach to Zion Williamson's hamstring injury and announced Tuesday that he will be re-evaluated in two more weeks.
It was framed as a positive update for the Pelicans' franchise star, who was initially ruled out for at least three weeks after suffering the injury on January 4.
Three weeks have passed, and New Orleans released the results of their recent re-evaluation on Twitter.
It read: "Update on Zion: he was recently re-evaluated for his right hamstring injury. The re-evaluation showed that his hamstring is healing as expected, and progressing well with his recovery.
"He will continue his rehabilitation process, which includes strengthening his hamstring and gradually progressing to more movement. He will be re-evaluated again in two weeks."
That means it will be over a month between games for the top overall pick from the 2019 NBA Draft, who has had his career marred by injuries up to this point.
He managed only 24 games in his rookie season, and after appearing back on track with a spectacular 2020-21 campaign where he played 61 games and earned an All-Star appearance, he then went on to miss the entire 2021-22 season.
So far, he has suited up for 29 of the Pelicans' 47 games. They have gone 17-12 in those 29 contests, while posting a 9-9 record in fixtures he has been unavailable for.
One of the most dominant offensive forces in the sport, Williamson is averaging 26.0 points per game while shooting 60.8 per cent from the field. Of all players this season averaging at least 20 points per game, reigning back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic is the only other shooting at least 60 per cent (62.6).
Anthony Joshua is close to reaching an agreement to face Jermaine Franklin in his next bout in April, according to the American's promoter.
Joshua has not fought since failing to reclaim the WBA-Super heavyweight, IBF and WBO belts from Oleksandr Usyk last August, having first surrendered the titles to the Ukrainian in September 2021.
The 33-year-old, who has lost three of his last five fights after going unbeaten through his first 22 as a professional, has reportedly held talks with both Demsey McKean and Otto Wallin in recent weeks.
However, Franklin appears to have emerged as the favoured candidate for Joshua's next outing, which promoter Dmitriy Salita expects to take place at London's O2 Arena on April 1.
"Jermaine is a world-class heavyweight from Michigan in America, who is on his way to bringing a big win back home," Salita told Sky Sports.
"We hope to get the deal over the finish line to help Jermaine bring his lifetime dream to fruition."
Franklin made his first appearance on British soil in November, earning plaudits for his performance in a majority decision loss to Dillian Whyte, the first defeat of his professional career.
The Brooklyn Nets have received some good news on Kevin Durant's MCL sprain.
Brooklyn announced on Tuesday that Durant's right knee was evaluated on Monday by Dr. Riley Williams III and that he is pleased with the forward's progress.
Durant will begin running this week and participate in on-court training activities and will then be re-evaluated in another two weeks.
He sprained a ligament in his right knee in a January 8 win over Miami, when the Heat's Jimmy Butler fell backward onto him.
Durant was originally projected to miss about a month, so his recovery appears to be right on track with the initial timeline.
With the All-Star break beginning in just over three weeks, however, it is possible the Nets decide not to rush him back and give him some extra time to recover to have him return after the break.
An MVP candidate in his third season with Brooklyn, Durant ranks among the NBA leaders with 29.7 points per game while also averaging 6.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.49 blocks.
The Nets had won 14 of 15 prior to Durant's injury before losing their first four games without him in the lineup. They have since reeled off back-to-back wins over the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors to improve to 29-17.
Brooklyn enter play on Tuesday in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and five games behind the Boston Celtics for the Atlantic Division lead.
Carl Cheffers will lead the team of officials for Super Bowl LVII.
Cheffers is set to take charge of his third Super Bowl, having also overseen the 2016 and 2020 season finales.
Side judge Eugene Hall and back judge Dino Paganelli joined Cheffers in officiating the latter of those Super Bowls. The duo will also be overseeing their third such game.
Jeff Bergman, the line judge, previously officiated in the 2018 Super Bowl, having first officiated in the 1996 event.
Umpire Roy Ellison will also be partaking in his third Super Bowl.
Down judge Jerod Phillips, field judge John Jenkins and Mark Butterworth, the replay official, are all set to make their Super Bowl debuts.
The Kansas City Chiefs are vying with the Cincinnati Bengals for a place in the showpiece match from the AFC. In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers will go up against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Cheffers has history when it comes to Kansas City. In the Super Bowl two years ago, he awarded eight penalties and enforced 95 yards on the Chiefs in the first half, which were both NFL records for a Super Bowl.
Victoria Azarenka sympathised with Novak Djokovic as she stated tennis players are "not villains" after reaching the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time in a decade.
Azarenka beat Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday to set up a last-four meeting with Elena Rybakina.
Former world number one Azarenka came in for criticism when she took a medical timeout during her last semi-final at Melbourne Park back in 2013, delaying her match against Sloane Stephens by 10 minutes.
The Belarusian, who is now 33, returned to beat Stephens and went on to defend successfully her title.
Questions have been raised over the extent of a hamstring issue nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic has been contending with as he attempts to match Rafael Nadal's tally of 22 major triumphs this weekend.
Azarenka feels it is out of order for such suspicions to be raised by people who are not aware of the facts.
She said: "Do you know what happened 10 years ago? That's the thing.
"It was one of the worst things that I've ever gone through in my professional career, the way I was treated after that moment, the way I had to explain myself until 10:30pm at night because people didn't want to believe me. I actually can resonate what Novak said the other day.
"There is sometimes incredible desire for a villain and a hero story that has to be written. But we're not villains, we're not heroes, we are regular human beings that go through so many, many things.
"Assumptions and judgements, all those comments, are just s*** because nobody's there to see the full story. It didn't matter how many times I said my story, it did not cut through.
"Actually it's funny that you're saying that because I was thinking about it. It took me 10 f****** years to get over it. I finally am over that."
Asked to expound what the judgements or assumptions she experienced were, Azarenka said: "I've been called that I'm cheating, that I'm faking, that I was trying to throw people off their game. It's everything that is so wrong about my character if somebody actually knows me.
"At some point I've heard that she has this thing that is bad or this thing is bad, whatever. At some point you're like, 'Really? Am I?'. Those doubts starts to creep in.
"Now I just don't care. I am more and more confident in what I know about myself, and I'm at peace with that. Those comments, judgements, they're there. I notice them. But I don't care."
Stefanos Tsitsipas has no chip on his shoulder about how much hype he receives, despite becoming the youngest player since Roger Federer to reach three successive Australian Open semi-finals.
Tsitsipas defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets on Tuesday to seal his place in the last four in Melbourne.
In the process, the 24-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the third consecutive year, matching the feat of the great Federer between 2004 and 2006.
The world number four also became the fourth male player in the Open Era to stay unbeaten in his first six grand slam quarter-finals after Rod Laver, Patrick Rafter, and Andre Agassi.
However, Tsitsipas insists he is not worried by how much attention his accomplishments get.
When asked if no longer being talked about as one of the next generation's figureheads meant he now has a chip on his shoulder, the Greek replied: "No, I don't really think about it.
"Every single opponent has his own background, his own sort of dynamic they put out on the court.
"I kind of forgot that Jiri today was a next gen player. Never thought about it.
"I approach every single opponent of mine with the same mindset. I never put labels on them. Each and every match that I get to play against them is a new chapter in my book."
Tsitsipas also believes he has already been through the early stage of his development, and now views himself as one of the maturer players.
"I passed through this myself. At some point it fades out a little bit 'cause you are an adult," he said.
"I had my fair share of that. There's no other 'gen' after that, it's just adulthood.
"It's mindset. It's clearly mindset. Nothing more."
Asked if this could be the tournament in which he breaks his grand slam duck, Tsitsipas said: "I'm feeling great with my tennis. I don't think I felt so good in a long time.
"I will definitely say yes to it. I've said it, I'm a different player, playing different. My mentality is different. When I'm out on the court, I don't really think of negatives, to be honest. I just go out there and play the game."
An estimated 70 students from about 20 prep and primary schools are expected to participate in the third annual Mona Preparatory Rapid Chess Tournament set for Saturday, January 28, 2023 at the Mona Prep Church Hall in Kingston.
Sponsored by Express Canteen, the tournament held in conjunction with the Mona Prep Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA), began in 2020 with the objective of encouraging critical and strategic thinking among children at the primary level of education.
“Chess is a game that forces one to think and helps to build critical thinking, which are the ‘new’ buzz words for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP). The aim is to create the awareness of the game and how it can build one’s skill in critical thinking,” said Natalia Blake, Sports Director, Mona Prep PTA back then.
The tournament has children from ages 6-11 vying for trophies, books, gift baskets and certificates while hoping to emerge as champions.
According to Andrea Johnson, a member of the Mona Prep PTA and member of the organizing committee, the tournament has proven to be quite popular among students. She indicated that even during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022, more than 50 students competed online.
With the tournament returning to face-to-face competition this year, she is expecting that even more students will be keen on participation.
Terence Lindo, national arbiter, who is also a member of the organizing committee, said students will play each other according to the grades they are in. This means that grade one students will play grade one students and so on. However, in the event that there are not a sufficient number of entries from any one grade, players will be pooled with those from the next grade.
The international organizer said the Jamaica Chess Federation rating system will be used during the tournament where matches will last 30 minutes with 30-second increments to ensure competitiveness.
He revealed that over time, for future tournaments, students will be given ratings.
Express Canteen has been a long-time supporter of school sports in Jamaica. In addition to their sponsorship of the Mona Prep Rapid Chess Tournament, Express Canteen, is also the concessionaire and sponsor for Lannamans Prep, the recent winners of the JISA Prep School Football Competition as well as Hydel Prep that recently won the JISA Netball Competition.
It is no surprise then that their support has helped propel several schools towards success, fostering a spirit of success.
This, among other reasons, is why CEO of Express Canteen Ryan Foster said his company was glad to be on board as a sponsor of this very important competition.
"Express Canteen is pleased to have partnered with the Mona Prep PTA for the third time in the staging of "The Mona Chess". We are not only Mona Prep food partner but also a key stakeholder in the process of providing a balanced environment between education and sport,” he said.
“We want to wish all participants the best of luck and may the core values of fair play be at the center of competition. We are extremely happy with the work being done by the PTA body along with the school and hence why we have continued on board to make this event a reality. Sport transcends borders and improves lives and livelihood."
Mikaela Shiffrin made history on Tuesday by winning an 83rd World Cup race, triumphing in Kronplatz with another giant slalom masterclass.
Just 16 days after Shiffrin equalled fellow American Lindsey Vonn's record tally of 82nd victories in Kranjska Gora, she moved out on her own as the most successful female World Cup alpine skier of all time.
The remarkable 27-year-old beat Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami by 45 hundredths of a second to take the top step of the podium, with Italy's Federica Brignone in third place.
Shiffrin is enjoying an outstanding season, with this her fourth win of the past five giant slalom races.
She was fastest in both runs with another imperious exhibition of giant slalom skiing and now stands just three victories away from matching Swede Ingemar Stenmark's record number of wins for any skier of 86.
Shiffrin said on a momentous day in the Dolomites: "I was a bit nervous for the second run, but mostly I hate waiting, and finally when it was time to go, then everything went quiet and I just pushed as hard as I could every turn.
"I was a little bit wild in some spots, but it felt so clean. I thought I wouldn't be faster [than Gut-Behrami], but I thought I could maybe be close and then somehow I got to the finish."
Shiffrin has racked up 51 slalom victories in an astonishing career, more than any other skier in the discipline, while she is only two victories shy of Vreni Schneider's record of 20 World Cup giant slalom triumphs.
The Waves overpowered defending champion Horizon to snap their winning streak and hand them their first loss of the Elite 1 Caribbean Basketball Winter League last Saturday at the National Arena while the Storm defeated the Rivers, who is yet to record a win in the league.
Horizon started out slowly while taking three minutes to score its first point and ending the quarter 18 to Waves' 26. Waves outscored them in the second quarter as well and lead by as many as 23 to close the quarter at 34-57. Horizon picked up the scoring in the third quarter but was still behind (60-73) at the end. Horizon continued to make inroads in the fourth quarter but jut could not get the win. The match went to the Waves 88-83 who won by just five points. The Waves's Cameron Burhannon (37 points) was on fire throughout the game while Bobby Gray (22 points), was the top scorer for Horizon.
Waves and Horizon now have four wins each after playing five matches while defeating each other once in the league so far. The will next meet in the play-off to see who the finalists will be.
Waves' coach Rohan Robinson was pleased with the win, "well it was a good one (match). We watched the game (the first game and saw the mistakes). We went back to the drawing board and said that the guys have to live up to their responsibility and live up to role and as a result of that we gained a 26-point lead, then we had some issues with persons playing too much minutes. I allowed the bench to give them as much rest as possible but I am just disappointed a bit that when the bench came in they couldn't hold the lead. I am going to hold my leaders accountable for how we finished the game because we should not be in that position again." He made special mention of 7-footer Tyran Walker who was injured early in the league, for having a very good game.
Horizon's coach Cleon Morgan accepted the loss but thinks that its good for the team at this stage of the competition. "We have lost tonight but we have a four-game win streak which was pretty good for us. I think there are two matches to go. Losing at this point is good for the team as we can go back to the drawing board, look at our mistakes tonight and work on that so we can come back again play how we are used to playing." He was happy to reduce the Waves' win margin to just five after being down by 26 in the third quarter.
The second match of the night was eagerly awaited as everyone in the Arena willed the Rivers to get their first win. They came close to doing so several times but faltered by the way after being in good positions with healthy leads but it was another night of disappointment for them. The Storm put on a show while winning every quarter 21-15, 58-38, 78-62 and 102-79 to take the match by 23 points. The top scorers in the match were - Storm's Brandon "Bdot" Armstrong with 23 points and Rivers' Anthony Ottley 27 points.
Armstrong credited his team for the win "it was great overall match. It was the first time we had a full squad, no injuries so I knew that we were going to come out playing well, playing well defensively, and moving the ball. This is our best complete game from starting number to the fourteenth person on the bench. I must give credit to my teammates."
The next set of matches are scheduled for Wednesday (January 25) when four-time winner Waves will take on the Storm (2 wins) at the National Arena at 6:00 pm. The 8:00pm match-up will see the defending champion Horizon taking on Rivers who is still seeking their first win.
Jamie George and Elliot Daly have withdrawn from England's Six Nations squad due to injury.
Hooker George has been sidelined by concussion after taking a blow in Saracens' European Champions Cup defeat at Edinburgh last weekend.
Versatile back Daly has been ruled out with a hamstring injury as the Red Rose prepare to face Scotland in their first game of the tournament a week on Saturday.
Jamie Blamire and Ollie Lawrence were on Tuesday called up as replacements for the experienced duo.
England head coach Steve Borthwick is also set to be without Courtney Lawes for his first match in charge at Twickenham next week, as the towering lock is struggling with calf injury.
Hooker George McGuigan (knee) is also in the treatment room along with Luke Cowan-Dickie (ankle).
Blamire, Tom Dunn and the uncapped Jack Walker are the remaining hooker options for Borthwick.
Karen Khachanov has defended his decision to publicly show support for the breakaway region of Artsakh, despite drawing the ire of the Azerbaijan Tennis Federation (ATF).
Khachanov – who was born in Russia but has an Armenian father – has written supportive messages on a camera twice during his run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Azerbaijan's blockade of Artsakh, which began in December, is part of the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with the area internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan despite historically being a part of Armenia.
Following Khachanov's show of support, the ATF wrote to the International Tennis Federation, calling the world number 20's messages a "hateful act".
The statement added: "The ATF condemned this act and demanded that the tennis player be punished and urged the International Tennis Federation to take harsh measures for prevention of such incidents in the future."
Speaking after his quarter-final win over Sebastian Korda, in which the American retired hurt with Khachanov leading by two sets and a break, the Russian defended his actions.
"I say many times. I have Armenian roots," he said. "From my father's side, from my grandfather's side, even from my mum's side. I'm half Armenian.
"To be honest, I don't want to go deeper than that, and I just wanted to show strength and support to my people. That's it."
On whether he had heard from the ITF since the complaint was made, Khachanov replied: "I didn't hear anything about that," adding that he has also not been told to stop writing the messages on cameras.
Khachanov will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday.
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