Derby missed out on a League One play-off place following a crushing 1-0 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday.
Captain Curtis Davies’ 41st-minute red card that led to Michael Smith’s match-winning penalty meant the Rams were dislodged from sixth place by Peterborough, who beat Barnsley 2-0.
The Owls, who were already guaranteed to finish third in the table and will meet Posh in the play-offs, ended the regular season unbeaten in 23 home games – the club’s longest sequence since January 1981.
Following a cagey start to the contest David McGoldrick’s fierce 20-yard drive was turned behind by Wednesday goalkeeper Cameron Dawson.
The hosts did not threaten until midway through the first period and, even then, skipper Barry Bannan’s ambitious long-range effort sailed over former Hillsborough team-mate Joe Wildsmith’s crossbar.
But Derby went on to press the self-destruct button on the stroke of half-time. Davies under-hit a back pass to Wildsmith and the keeper could only clear as far as Johnson, who Davies fouled to give away a penalty and earn a red card.
Smith confidently went on to claim his 20th goal of the season by sending Wildsmith the wrong way from the spot.
A frantic end to the first half might have seen McGoldrick level when his deft chip was clawed over the crossbar by Dawson.
Will Vaulks went close to doubling the lead in the second half when he smashed an edge-of-the-box strike against the bar before his follow-up was blocked by Craig Forsyth.
Bannan also fired narrowly wide from distance but the 10 men went close to equalising just before the hour mark when Max Bird’s scuffed shot beat Dawson but was kicked off the line by Aden Flint.
McGoldrick warmed Dawson’s hands from long range late on, but Paul Warne’s men could not force the equaliser that would have secured a top-six spot.
Plymouth clinched the League One title on the final day with a 3-1 victory at Port Vale.
The home side opened the scoring after just three minutes with a perfect through ball beyond the defence finding its way to James Plant, who slotted home.
Despite going behind, Plymouth did not panic and eventually forced an equaliser in the 34th minute when a loose ball in the box fell to Adam Randell, who made no mistake on the half-volley.
The momentum led to another four minutes later with a blistering run down the line from Bali Mumba eventually leading to a cross which Joe Edwards was on the end of.
Argyle were determined to add to their tally after the break and scored a third after just over an hour as a Finn Azaz shot from just outside the 18-yard box was too good for Aidan Stone to stop.
The full-time whistle prompted huge celebrations from the 3,926 away support.
Alfie May’s late strike earned Cheltenham a 2-2 home draw against Charlton in an entertaining season finale.
The Addicks led through Scott Fraser’s first-half strike, but Aidan Keena levelled for the Robins early in the second period.
Charlton re-took the lead when substitute Jack Payne struck with seven minutes left, but May’s 20th League One goal of the season sealed a point for the Robins.
Cheltenham started well, but Charlton created the better openings in the first half.
Mandela Egbo was denied by Luke Southwood’s near-post save and Tyreece Campbell headed wide from a good position.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi then saw an effort blocked by Caleb Taylor as Charlton continued to press, and they eventually found the breakthrough in the 34th minute.
Campbell’s strike was deflected into the path of Fraser, who rounded Southwood and tapped into the empty net.
Rak-Sakyi nearly made it 2-0 before half-time, but Southwood managed to smother at his feet.
Cheltenham levelled four minutes into the second half when May’s drive was parried by Ashley Maynard-Brewer and Keena followed up to score.
Southwood saved well from Campbell and Fraser as Charlton looked to reclaim the lead before Ryan Broom and May went close for Cheltenham.
Payne capitalised on a defensive error to make it 2-1 to the visitors in the 83rd minute, but May buried a left-footed shot inside the bottom-right corner to deny Charlton a first win over Cheltenham.
Roberto De Zerbi believes Brighton fully merit a place in Europe next season as they prepare to continue their quest with a “tough, tough game” against relegation-threatened Everton.
Memorable back-to-back Premier League victories over Wolves and Manchester United have boosted the south-coast club’s bid to qualify for a maiden continental campaign.
The high-flying Seagulls are vying with Liverpool, Aston Villa and Tottenham for a top-seven spot and have games in hand on each of their rivals.
De Zerbi urged his in-form players to remain focused on executing his possession-based game plan and not become preoccupied by results or the league table.
“It will be a very tough, tough game because they are a strong team,” the Italian said of the Toffees.
“But we want to achieve our target and I think it’s clear for everybody we are fighting against big teams – Tottenham, Aston Villa, Liverpool – for Europe.
“And at the moment, I think we are deserving to reach the best position.
“We have to think not of the results, we have to be focused only on our style and quality of play.
“We have to be focused only on to enjoy and to show our quality because we are not used to playing for this target.”
Brighton cantered to a 4-1 win at Goodison Park in early January.
Frank Lampard was sacked by Everton less than three weeks later and replaced by Sean Dyche.
Although the Toffees have won just one of their last 11 top-flight fixtures, De Zerbi is braced for a stern test as sides at the bottom scrap for survival with time running out.
“It’s a totally different situation,” he replied when asked about the resounding success on Merseyside.
“When we won in Everton, it was a different team.
“I think when there are not many games (remaining) in the last part of the season, the games are always more difficult.”
Brighton enjoyed a record-breaking 6-0 thrashing of Wolves last weekend before the euphoria extended to Thursday evening’s last-gasp 1-0 triumph over United.
De Zerbi wants Seagulls fans to once again act as a 12th man by creating another raucous Amex Stadium atmosphere.
“It’s fantastic, my players feel it’s different to play at home,” he said.
“Now there is an enthusiasm, there is an incredible energy and we are playing with 12 players.”
Hibernian manager Lee Johnson hailed Elie Youan’s work-rate in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over St Mirren, although he admitted the unpredictable forward can leave him tearing his hair out in frustration at times.
The 24-year-old – on loan from Swiss side St Gallen – scored his seventh goal of the season after just four minutes and had supporters in raptures with his willingness to track back and make tackles.
“We expect that from our wingers,” said Johnson. “You’ve got to work hard. I’m pretty critical when they don’t, so when they do it’s fantastic.
“We call it (being) a ball thief when they nick it on the way back in. Elie’s earned his rest over the weekend because of the physical effort he put in, and that’s what Elie has got to do.
“He can frustrate the life out of us at times – I’m sure he even frustrates you guys (reporters), who are impartial – but he’s also got that real threat about him and can peg a team back and he can run all day.
“He’s still young and he’s got quite unique attributes so we just need to keep developing him.”
Hibs are keen to sign Youan permanently, and Johnson admits if the attacker was able to hit his best form consistently, he would be out of their reach.
“If he put it all together we wouldn’t have him,” he smiled. “That’s what we’ve got to try and do before we sell him!
“It’s difficult for me to talk about his contract but we do have an option to buy. Every negotiation is different. Some are done in advance and then put in a drawer, and some still need to be done. Obviously that’s not my bag, that’s for the CEO to deal with.”
Will Fish scored Hibs’ second before Alex Greive hit back for the Buddies who were unable to force an equaliser despite piling on the pressure in the closing stages.
The defeat saw Saints slip three points behind the fifth-placed Hibees in the battle for European places. Stephen Robinson’s men host fourth-placed Hearts next Saturday.
Robinson of his team’s Euro prospects: “They aren’t as good as they were before the game. You can pull that back very quickly, there are 12 points still to play for.
“We’ve got Hearts at home next week and we’ve been very good at home. We need to press more aggressively than we did in the first 20 minutes (against Hibs) and hope and pray we don’t make individual errors.”
Following their victory over GIANTS, Shamera Sterling’s Adelaide Thunderbirds are the new leaders of the Suncorp Super Netball League after defending champions West Coast Fever suffered only their second loss of the season on Saturday.
Led by Eleanor Cardwell near perfect 26 goals from 27 attempts and Lucy Austin’s 13 from 15, Thunderbirds led 18-13 at the end of the first quarter. However, Jo Harten who scored 23 goals from 25 shots and Sophie Dwyer (17/20) closed the gap to three by half-time as GIANTS outscored Thunderbirds 15-13 in the second stanza.
GIANTS dominated the third quarter 13-9 and take a slim lead into the final quarter of the game but Thunderbirds rallied to win the quarter 14-9 and take the game 54-50 for their sixth win of the season.
Fever, meanwhile, went down 74-73 in a thriller to Melbourne Vixens despite a game-high 48 goals of 49 attempts from the league top scorer Jhaniele Fowler, who now has 446 goals on the season.
However, after both teams traded goals for the entire match, it was Kiera Austin’s super shot at the buzzer than kept the Vixens unbeaten at home this season and handed the defending champions their second loss of the season.
Mwai Kumwenda led the Vixens with 45 goals from 50 attempts while Austin scored 23 from 29 for her side that outscored Fever 18-16 in the first quarter before sharing honours 19-19 in the second to take a two goal lead into the break.
Fever rallied to take the third quarter 19-16 but thanks to Austin’s super shot, Vixens edged the final quarter 21-19 to secure their fifth win of the season.
In the battle between the teams at the foot of the table, Donnell Wallam scored a game high 64 goals from 65 attempts to lead the Queensland Firebirds to their second win of the season, a 73-67 win over Collingwood Magpies.
Shimona Nelson scored 56 goals from 58 attempts for the Magpies who were losing their sixth game of the season.
Steve Borthwick has returned to Leicester to recruit yet another member of his England staff with Tom Harrison to join as scrum coach ahead of the Rugby World Cup.
Harrison will join on June 1 to replace the Montpellier-bound Richard Cockerill and follows Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Borthwick himself in leaving Leicester for England.
The RFU announced in February that Wigglesworth and Walters would join at the end of the Gallagher Premiership season, and Harrison’s arrival was confirmed on Sunday as Borthwick finalised his coaching staff for the World Cup.
Wigglesworth will lead the attack coaching and kicking strategy while Sinfield will continue as defence coach. England men’s sevens head coach Tony Roques will work as contact and skills coach during training camps, while Walters will be the strength and conditioning coach.
Harrison is the Tigers’ assistant coach, leading on scrum coaching, and was part of the team that won the Premiership title in 2022.
“Tom is an excellent coach and will have a real impact in area that will be fundamental to us as a team,” Borthwick said.
“Leicester’s scrum is renowned across Europe and Tom has played a leading role in that success. I have full confidence in him and I am very happy that he will be joining England.”
Leicester chief executive Andrea Pinchon wished Harrison well in his new role while acknowledging the continuing challenge the Tigers have faced considering the number of staff that have left for England.
“Since coming into Leicester Tigers, Tom has been an exceptional contributor to the club on and off the field,” Pinchen said. “While obviously disappointed to be losing him at the end of the season, we wish him all the very best for this next chapter in his career.
“Tom is a great reflection of our club’s ability to produce coaches as well as players through the pathway programme at Leicester Tigers and while it has been another challenge for us this year, with coaches being poached by the national side, we continue to see it as a badge of honour for the level at which we are viewed within the game.”
Roques will again lend his expertise during the build-up to the summer, having previously worked with the England squad as part of the preparations for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Borthwick added: “As a group, we know each other well and we know the areas we will focus on to continue developing and building this team and be the best prepared team that we can be.
“We know this World Cup will be highly competitive, but we are genuinely excited by what this group of coaches and players can achieve in France.”
England are due to hold training camps in mid-June before taking part in a Summer Series in August with fixtures home and away against Wales, a trip to Dublin to face Ireland and a clash with Fiji at Twickenham.
The Pool D World Cup campaign then begins against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
Team Jamaica will leave the island on Sunday (May 7) to defend their West Indies Full Bore Shooting Championship in Antigua & Barbuda between May 8-14 at the Crabb's Range.
The team to be led by Captain Phillip Scott will include the current national Full-Bore champion Nicola Guy, Jamaica’s first female national champion. Also on the team is two-time Amazon trophy winner and O Class champion Karen Anderson.
Major John Nelson, the president of the West Indies Full Bore Shooting Council and five-time Wogarth Cup winner, reigning Wogarth Cup winner, Captain Dwayne Ford, Canute CC Coley, Dennis Lee and Dr. Derek Mitchell complete the line-up.
George Hutton will serve as team manager.
Full Bore competition features competitors shooting from a prone position from distances of 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1,000 yards. Notably only Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica have 900-yard and 1,000-yard courses.
Shooters compete in three possible classes. X Class comprise the top 15-20 shooters in the Caribbean. T Class is any shooter participating in a regional shoot for the first time. Everyone else is in O Class.
Jamaica is considered to be a power house in Full Bore Shooting having won several championships and is always on the podium.
The Amazon trophy is awarded to the highest-scoring female while Wogarth Cup is awarded to the shooter who has the highest score in the team match.
Anthony Davis bounced back with a stellar performance and got ample help from D'Angelo Russell and LeBron James in the Los Angeles Lakers' 127-97 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Davis had 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Lakers' big man was limited to 11 points and seven boards in a Game 2 loss but was relentless at both ends in this one, also adding four blocks and three steals.
Russell scored all 21 of his points in the first half as the Lakers took a 59-48 advantage into the locker room.
James did not attempt a shot in the first quarter for the first time in his playoff carer but led several runs in the second and third quarters on his way to 21 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
Los Angeles had a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 28 of 37 to just 12 of 17 for Golden State.
The Warriors ended the opening quarter with a 30-23 lead, but the Lakers won the second and third quarters by a combined margin of 63-38. Lakers coach Darvin Ham rested his starters for most of the fourth quarter.
Stephen Curry had 23 points and Andrew Wiggins added 16 for the Warriors, who committed 18 turnovers and made only 13 of 44 from long range.
Golden State got very little from anyone other than Curry, Wiggins or Klay Thompson (15 points), with starters Draymond Green and JaMychal Green combining for just four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Heat get Butler back, dominate Knicks
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points and was the driving force in his return from a sprained ankle and the Miami Heat rolled to a 105-86 rout of the New York Knicks in Game 3.
Max Strus added 19 points and Bam Adebayo had 17 with 12 rebounds to give Miami a 2-1 lead in the second-round series.
After missing Miami's Game 2 loss due to the ankle, Butler was seen limping at times in the second half Saturday, but the Heat started fast and never trailed against the cold-shooting Knicks.
Butler scored 10 points in the first quarter and the Heat made 10 of their first 15 shots in racing to a 58-44 halftime lead. New York, meanwhile, misfired on 13 of its first 17 shots and shot just 34.1 percent for the game, including a dismal 8-for-40 from 3-point range.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 20 points and Josh Hart had 14. Julius Randle was mostly ineffective with 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting and RJ Barrett was not much better with 14 points on 5 of 16.
A gallant and gutsy performance from Jon Ryder was not enough to beat Mexican fighter Canelo Alvarez in front of more than 50,000 people in Guadalajara, Mexico.
A bruised and bloodied Ryder lost by unanimous decision in a heroic effort against one of the world’s best fighters in front of a raucous crowd at Akron Stadium.
The judges scored the fight 120-107 on one card and 118-109 on the other two to improve Canelo’s record to 59-2-2 in his first fight in Mexico since 2011.
Both fighters used the first two rounds to feel each other before a Canelo jab caused blood to pour from Ryder’s nose.
Canelo then knocked down Ryder with a clean one-two in the fourth round and it looked ominous for the 34-year-old from Islington.
But he got back up and fought through the 12 rounds, coping vicious punches throughout the fight while spitting blood from his mouth but held on until the last bell.
Ryder had previously lost five career fights to Billy Joe Saunders, Nick Blackwell, Jack Arnfield, Rocky Fielding, and the most recent being Callum Smith in 2019 by unanimous decision.
The loss ended his four-fight win streak with his record now sitting at 32-6.
American Wyndham Clark shot a bogey-free day to go two strokes clear of the pack while English pair Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are still in the mix after day three of the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte on Saturday.
Clark finished the day with eight-under 63 to become the outright leader going into the last day on the tournament with 16-under at Quail Hollow, with American Xander Schauffele two strokes behind.
If Clark can hold on to the lead on the last day it will be the 29-year-old’s first ever PGA Tour win.
After finishing day two tied in first place with Clark and Schauffele, Hatton continued his good form but could not keep up with the top two.
Hatton had six birdies and three bogeys to end the day with 68 and tied in third with Australian Adam Scott who are both on eleven-under, five strokes behind Clark.
Tommy Fleetwood had a strong outing with five birdies and just one bogey which came on the last hole of the day.
He finished the day tied fifth with South Korean Sungjae Im and American Harris English on ten-under.
Rory McIlroy had another inconsistent day in Charlotte and looks out of the running for his fourth Wells Fargo Championship, finishing the day tied in 50th place.
McIlroy hit four bogeys and four birdies and finished the day one-under.
Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was criticised by Toto Wolff as being “a nasty piece of work” after the British driver qualified only 13th for the Miami Grand Prix.
As Sergio Perez took a surprise pole position – with Charles Leclerc’s late crash resulting in a red flag to leave Max Verstappen ninth on the grid – Hamilton endured another sobering evening in his unruly machine.
Fernando Alonso joins Perez on the front row following another impressive display by the evergreen Spaniard, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz third.
Kevin Magnussen qualified fourth for Haas ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell. Leclerc, who broke his rear wing in the accident at Turn 7, qualified seventh.
On Friday, Hamilton described the performance of his lacklustre Mercedes as “a kick in the guts”, and his mood will only have worsened after he was eliminated from Q2, an eye-watering 1.1 seconds off the pace, and two tenths down on Russell.
He returned to the pits shaking his head and took aim at Mercedes for leaving him with too much to do by not releasing him early enough for his final attempt in Q2.
“We left that way too late, guys,” he said over the radio. Hamilton now trails team-mate Russell 4-1 in qualifying after the opening five rounds.
“There is not a lot to say to Lewis because the car is simply not fast enough,” said Mercedes team principal Wolff.
“Putting him in a situation on his out lap where the driver is not able to prepare his tyres makes it even worse.
“We are not trying to make mistakes. We are trying to give the drivers the best position on the track, and we have in the past got it wrong many times, and also got it right many times. But if things go badly, they compound the situation.
“I take no enjoyment from finishing sixth (with Russell) and it is the lack of comprehension of what is wrong that makes this car such a nasty piece of work.
“The car is not a good car. There are problems everywhere, with the base performance of the car and the lack of understanding of the car. The performance is just really bad. It is not acceptable.”
Hamilton, already 45 points behind championship leader Verstappen, started Saturday’s running on the backfoot following a near-miss with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
The 38-year-old was on his first speedy lap of the afternoon when he was blocked by the Dane under braking at Turn 17. Hamilton was forced to take evasive action, brushing the barriers in the process.
“Check the front wing”, said the Mercedes driver, who swiftly dived into the pits for repairs. “I just hit the wall.”
Commenting on his lowly grid slot for Sunday’s 57-lap race, Hamilton said: “We knew it would be very hard and there was a 50:50 chance we could get into Q3 so we needed to be better with our timing.
“But it’s done. I’ll try and get my head down tomorrow and see what I can do – 13th to God knows where.”
Verstappen looked set to secure pole after dominating practice, but he made a mistake in his first run in Q3.
Then, with less than two minutes remaining, Leclerc lost control of his Ferrari and thudded into the wall.
The session was red-flagged and did not restart, leaving Verstappen, who leads Perez by just six points in the standings, in the midfield.
“F*** sake,” said the Dutchman over the radio after he was unable to complete his final lap.
For Perez, his pole comes a week after winning in Azerbaijan, and provides him with the chance to assume control of the world championship.
“It has been a bad weekend,” said the Mexican, who had struggled to get up to speed in his Red Bull before qualifying.
“But we made a small change and everything came alive. Tomorrow is an opportunity starting from pole and we will go out there and enjoy this amazing crowd.”
Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix from 13th following a qualifying session to forget for the seven-time world champion in the United States.
As Sergio Perez took a surprise pole position after Charles Leclerc’s late crash resulted in a red flag to leave Max Verstappen ninth on the grid – Hamilton endured another sobering evening in his unruly Mercedes.
Fernando Alonso joins Perez on the front row following another impressive display by the evergreen Spaniard, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz third.
Kevin Magnussen qualified fourth for Haas ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Russell. Leclerc, who broke his rear wing in the accident at Turn 8, qualified seventh.
Hamilton ended Q2 an eye-watering 1.1 seconds off the pace and two tenths down on team-mate Russell.
Hamilton, who returned to the pits shaking his head, took aim at Mercedes for leaving him with too much to do at the Hard Rock Stadium
“We left that way too late, guys,” he said over the radio. Hamilton now trails team-mate Russell 4-1 in qualifying after the opening five rounds.
Hamilton, already 45 points behind championship leader Verstappen, started Saturday’s running on the backfoot following a near-miss with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
The 38-year-old was on his first speedy lap of the afternoon when he was blocked by the Dane under braking at Turn 17.
Hamilton was forced to take evasive action, brushing the barriers in the process.
“Check the front wing”, said the Mercedes driver, who swiftly dived into the pits for repairs. “I just hit the wall.”
The incident will be investigated by the stewards.
Hamilton’s afternoon then took another major setback following a scruffy lap, leaving him way down the order for Sunday’s 57-lap race.
Verstappen looked set to secure pole after dominating practice, but he made a mistake in his first run in Q3.
With less than two minutes remaining, Leclerc then lost control of his Ferrari and thudded into the wall.
The session was red-flagged and did not restart, leaving Verstappen, who leads Perez by just six points in the standings, in the midfield.
“F*** sake,” said the Dutchman over the radio after he was unable to complete his final lap.
Perez’s pole comes a week after his victory in Azerbaijan and provides him with the chance to take the lead of the world championship.
“It has been a bad weekend,” said the Mexican, who had struggled to get up to speed in his Red Bull before qualifying. “But we made a small change and everything came alive.
“Tomorrow is an opportunity starting from pole and we will go out there and enjoy this amazing crowd.”
Both McLarens failed to progress from Q1 with Lando Norris 16th and rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri last but one on another sobering evening for the British team.
The television feed immediately cut to McLaren CEO Zak Brown whose pained expression was evident to see.
Williams driver Logan Sargeant, 22, who was raised in nearby Fort Lauderdale, will bring up the rear for his first F1 race on home soil.
Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix from 13th following a qualifying session to forget for the seven-time world champion in the United States.
Hamilton ended Q2 an eye-watering 1.1 seconds behind pacesetter Max Verstappen and two tenths down on team-mate George Russell, who progressed to the final phase.
Hamilton, who returned to the pits shaking his head, took aim at Mercedes for leaving him with too much to do at the Hard Rock Stadium.
“We left that way too late, guys,” he said over the radio. Hamilton trails team-mate Russell 4-1 in qualifying after the opening five rounds.
Hamilton started Saturday’s running on the backfoot following a near miss with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen.
The British driver, 38, was on his first speedy lap of the afternoon when he was blocked by the Dane under braking at Turn 17.
Hamilton was forced to take evasive action, brushing the barriers in the process.
“Check the front wing”, said the Mercedes driver, who swiftly dived into the pits for repairs. “I just hit the wall.”
The incident will be investigated by the stewards.
Both McLarens failed to progress from Q1, with Lando Norris 16th and rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri last but one on another sobering evening for the British team.
The television feed immediately cut to McLaren CEO Zak Brown, whose pained expression was evident to see.
Williams driver Logan Sargeant, 22, who was raised in nearby Fort Lauderdale, will bring up the rear for his first F1 race on home soil.
Aryna Sabalenka turned the tables on Iga Swiatek to win a gripping battle in the final of the Madrid Open.
The world’s two leading female players were meeting in the final for the second event in a row after Swiatek successfully defended her title in Stuttgart.
But the top seed had to settle for second best here as Australian Open champion Sabalenka powered to a 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory to claim her third title of the season.
Although Swiatek still has a big lead in the rankings, the gap has certainly closed and Sabalenka confirmed her status as the best player in 2023 so far ahead of the French Open later this month.
Women’s tennis has been crying out for a rivalry at the top of the game for years and this is shaping up to be a good one, particularly as there appears to be little love lost between the pair.
They are contrasting players with very different personalities – Sabalenka bubbly and ultra-aggressive on court, while Swiatek is a self-declared introvert who uses her supreme athleticism to dominate.
Throw Wimbledon and Indian Wells champion Elena Rybakina into the mix, and the WTA can begin to look forward with optimism despite the lack of true household names.
Sabalenka was desperate to get revenge over Swiatek and she learned the lessons from Stuttgart with a controlled but relentlessly offensive first set.
The Belarusian looked frustrated after failing to take two break points at 3-2 but did not allow her head to drop and made the breakthrough to lead 5-3 before clinching her first set on clay against Swiatek.
The Pole responded impressively by opening up a 3-0 lead in the second set but back came Sabalenka to level with some tremendous power tennis and, had she taken her chance to make it four games in a row, the match might have been over.
However, Swiatek dug in and reeled off another three games in a row to level proceedings at the Caja Magica.
Both knew how important the start of the decider was and, with the intensity levels increasing still further, Sabalenka produced some of her best tennis of the match to move 3-0 in front.
Swiatek rallied again as she looked to maintain her proud record in finals – she had won 14 of her previous 16 – but, having levelled at 3-3, Sabalenka broke once more to lead 5-3 and overcame her nerves to clinch her fourth match point.
Max Verstappen took top spot in final practice for the Miami Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton finished only 13th.
Verstappen clocked the best time in Saturday’s running, and the world champion will head into qualifying at 4pm (9pm BST) as the favourite to secure pole position.
Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari – four tenths slower than Verstappen – with Sergio Perez, six points behind Red Bull team-mate Verstappen in the driver standings, third.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fourth. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell was 10th.
Hamilton has described Mercedes’ form at the first of three rounds to be staged in the United States as a “kick in the guts”.
He heads into Sunday’s race 45 points behind championship leader Verstappen after just four rounds of the season.
The British driver’s Mercedes team have endured a turbulent campaign. Hamilton finished second in Australia at the beginning of last month to raise hope of a Mercedes fightback.
But the 38-year-old, whose contract with the Brackley team expires in just over six months, was a distant sixth in Azerbaijan last weekend.
And, despite an encouraging opening practice session on Friday, with Russell leading his team-mate in a Mercedes one-two, the Silver Arrows look poised for another troubling weekend.
Hamilton ended the concluding running before qualifying 1.1 seconds slower than Verstappen. Russell outpaced his team-mate by 0.1 sec.
Mercedes are due to introduce an upgrade at the next round in Imola in a fortnight’s time, but team principal Toto Wolff has already warned Hamilton that he will not have the speed to fight with Red Bull.
“I am going to stay optimistic, but it feels like we are racing the same car as last year,” said Hamilton.
“We desperately need those upgrades, that is for sure. We have to keep our heads down for one more race and hopefully we will start a new path at the next race.”
Andy Murray guaranteed a return to the top 50 with victory over Harold Mayot to reach the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
The Scot, currently ranked 52, took a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after losing in the first round of the Madrid Open and has made the most of the opportunity with four victories in a row.
They have all come against French players, and Murray comfortably brushed aside 21-year-old Mayot, ranked 241, 7-5 6-1 to set up a finale against American Tommy Paul.
One consequence of the decision to extend the clay-court Masters events in Madrid and Rome to two weeks each has been the strong Challenger fields this week, with Paul a top-20 player and Australian Open semi-finalist in January.
Murray has certainly gained in confidence through the week and pulled well clear with a run of seven games in a row, Mayot bowing to the pressure being exerted on him by double-faulting to give away the opening set.
Finishing off matches has at times been a struggle for Murray in recent years and he wobbled slightly, missing two match points at 5-0 before finally taking his fifth opportunity to clinch it.
It is Murray’s second final of the season after the ATP Tour event in Doha in February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
The Scot is bidding for his first title since Antwerp in 2019, while, should he beat Paul, he would claim his first trophy at Challenger level for 18 years.
He would also climb to just outside the top 40, which would be a major boost to his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon.
Andy Murray guaranteed a return to the top 50 with victory over Harold Mayot to reach the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
The Scot, currently ranked 52, took a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after losing in the first round of the Madrid Open and has made the most of the opportunity with four victories in a row.
They have all come against French players, and Murray comfortably brushed aside 21-year-old Mayot, ranked 241, 7-5 6-1 to set up a finale against American Tommy Paul.
One consequence of the decision to extend the clay-court Masters events in Madrid and Rome to two weeks each has been the strong Challenger fields this week, with Paul a top-20 player and Australian Open semi-finalist in January.
Murray has certainly gained in confidence through the week and pulled well clear with a run of seven games in a row, Mayot bowing to the pressure being exerted on him by double-faulting to give away the opening set.
Finishing off matches has at times been a struggle for Murray in recent years and he wobbled slightly, missing two match points at 5-0 before finally taking his fifth opportunity to clinch it.
It is Murray’s second final of the season after the ATP Tour event in Doha in February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
The Scot is bidding for his first title since Antwerp in 2019, while, should he beat Paul, he would claim his first trophy at Challenger level for 18 years.
He would also climb to just outside the top 40, which would be a major boost to his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon.
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