Novak Djokovic has had his fair share of rivalries over his career but says the latest, with Carlos Alcaraz, is bringing the very best out of him.
Djokovic begins his quest for a 24th grand slam title at the US Open on Monday having already eclipsed the totals of his illustrious peers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
But the man likely to be standing in his way is Alcaraz, the defending champion who beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last month.
Djokovic got a measure of revenge when he outlasted the 20-year-old Spaniard in a near four-hour final in Cincinnati a week ago.
The duo may be at the opposite end of their careers but they have already built a rivalry which looks set to endure for as long as Djokovic, 36, continues to pick up a racket.
“He’s always pushing me to the limit,” said the Serbian. “I think I do to him pretty much the same thing. That’s why we produced a memorable final.
“It was one of the best, most exciting, and most difficult finals I was ever part of in best-of-three, no doubt, throughout my career.
“That’s why I fell on the ground after I won the match because it felt like winning a grand slam, to be honest. The amount of exchanges and rallies. It was physically so demanding and gruelling that I felt very exhausted for the next few days.
“Those are kind of the moments in matches that I still push myself on a daily basis, day in and day out, practice, sacrifice, commitment. At 36, I still have the drive.”
If Djokovic wins his first-round match, against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, he will overtake Alcaraz to become world number one again.
Alcaraz, the top seed, starts his campaign on Tuesday against Dominik Koepfer of Germany.
Iga Swiatek opens proceedings on Monday against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden as she bids to defend the title she won last year.
“On one hand you always want to kind of take experience from last year, find all these positive things that happened, take strength from that,” said the world number one from Poland.
“On the other hand you have to remember that it’s a totally different story. A lot can happen during like these 12 months.
“So I try to take everything step by step, not really go forward with my thoughts, think that I need to do something more because last year I won.”
Jack Darcy made all to uphold family honour and provide the Coles with their sixth success in the Grand Prix de Deauville.
Paul Cole first won the Group Two event with Ibn Bey in 1988 and took home the first prize five times as the sole licence holder at the family’s Whatcombe base.
But it is the first time since Oliver Cole has joined his father on the licence that they have tasted glory in the mile-and-a-half contest on the Normandy coast.
Second to Hamish in the Glorious Stakes at Goodwood two starts ago, it was a welcome return to form for Jack Darcy who raced too freely when last seen at Newbury.
And having snapped a nine-race winless run, he will enter Cole family folklore having added his name to the race’s roll of honour.
“He’s a very good horse,” said Oliver Cole.
“Arguably he was a bit too keen in the Geoffrey Freer and it didn’t really go for him. Today he was lovely and relaxed in front and got his own way and won well.
“I nearly didn’t run him because he’s had two quick runs in succession and this was a third, but he’s a very talented horse and he’s shown it today, it’s a good race to win.
“My father has won the race five times, and now we’ve won it six (in total). We love the race and I’m really proud of the horse.
“I remember all the good horses we’ve had win this, Snurge, Courteous and the others. It just means so much for us.”
Jack Darcy’s victory was the final leg of a fantastic treble for the British-trained raiders at Deauville on Sunday, and Mill Stream appears to have teed-up a shot at Group One competition having landed back-to-back course and distance sprints.
A winner of the Prix Moonlight Cloud earlier this month, Jane Chapple-Hyam’s son of Gleneagles took another step up the sprinting ladder by following up in impressive style in the Barriere Prix de Meautry.
Then fresh from a first Group One victory when winning the Prix Morny at the track last week, the father and son duo of Simon and Ed Crisford struck again when Poker Face claimed Barriere Prix Quincey honours.
England have confirmed that Jonny May has replaced Anthony Watson in their squad for the World Cup.
Watson has been ruled out of the tournament by a calf injury so May, who started Saturday’s defeat to Fiji, has filled the gap in the 33-man party to be submitted to World Rugby on Monday.
The only other name missing from the group originally named by Steve Borthwick on August 7 is Jack van Poortvliet whose ankle problem means he has been replaced by Alex Mitchell.
Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler are also present as they continue their recovery from respective knee and pectoral injuries.
Veteran prop Cian Healy has been left out of Ireland’s 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in France due to injury.
The 35-year-old suffered a calf problem in Saturday evening’s 17-13 warm-up win over Samoa.
He was helped from the field by medical staff in the first half at Stade Jean Dauger in Bayonne before being pictured on crutches.
Munster loosehead Jeremy Loughman has taken Healy’s place.
Ulster pair Jacob Stockdale and Tom Stewart and Connacht’s Cian Prendergast have been left out by Andy Farrell.
Leinster fly-half Ciaran Frawley and Munster hooker Diarmuid Barron also failed to make the cut.
Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, Jack Conan, Dave Kilcoyne and Keith Earls have been picked, despite recent injury issues.
Fly-half Johnny Sexton, who has now completed a three-match ban, will captain his country ahead of retirement.
Ireland begin their campaign on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux and also face Tonga, world champions South Africa and Scotland in Pool B.
Aside from the sidelined Healy, wing Stockdale is the highest profile player overlooked by head coach Farrell.
The 27-year-old, Ireland’s joint-sixth highest try-scorer with 19, has become a peripheral figure since the last World Cup amid a series of fitness setbacks.
He started against Samoa due to Earls’ late withdrawal with a niggle but was taken off with a hamstring issue.
Veteran Earls and first-choice wide men James Lowe and Mack Hansen have been preferred to Stockdale.
Farrell’s decision to go with an 18/15 split of forwards and backs sees Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey picked and back-rower Prendergast, who started last weekend’s 29-10 win over England, overlooked.
McCloskey has impressed when selected but his opportunities at 12 have been limited by the presence of Bundee Aki and Robbie Henshaw, in addition to some untimely injuries.
The group includes 16 players who travelled to the 2019 World Cup in Japan under predecessor Joe Schmidt.
Sexton, Conor Murray and Earls are each set for their fourth World Cups.
Regular starters Hugo Keenan, Caelan Doris, Sheehan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Hansen and Lowe are among the 17 players preparing for their first.
Versatile back Jimmy O’Brien, fly-half Jack Crowley and lock Joe McCarthy have each made the grade, having only made international debuts in the autumn.
Ireland squad:
Forwards: Ryan Baird (Leinster), Finlay Bealham (Connacht), Tadhg Beirne (Munster), Jack Conan (Leinster), Caelan Doris (Leinster), Tadhg Furlong (Leinster), Iain Henderson (Ulster), Rob Herring (Ulster), Ronan Kelleher (Leinster), Dave Kilcoyne (Munster), Jeremy Loughman (Munster), Joe McCarthy (Leinster), Peter O’Mahony (Munster), Tom O’Toole (Ulster), Andrew Porter, (Leinster), James Ryan (Leinster), Dan Sheehan (Leinster), Josh van der Flier (Leinster).
Backs: Bundee Aki (Connacht), Ross Byrne (Leinster), Craig Casey (Munster), Jack Crowley (Munster), Keith Earls (Munster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster), Mack Hansen (Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Leinster), Hugo Keenan (Leinster), James Lowe (Leinster), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster), Conor Murray (Munster), Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Leinster), Johnny Sexton (Leinster, captain).
Max Verstappen equalled Formula One’s all-time record of nine consecutive race wins in his home Dutch Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver matched Sebastian Vettel’s achievement and here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares.
Cloud nine
Verstappen has won 11 of this season’s 13 races – with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two as the duo surpassed the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s run of 11 straight wins in 1988.
Since Perez’s win in Azerbaijan on April 30, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian, British, Hungarian, Belgian and now Dutch Grands Prix.
He won from ninth on the grid in Florida, passing Perez with nine laps to go, and his team judged the rain correctly to hold off Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in Monaco.
Dominant wins in Spain and Canada brought him level with Senna’s career tally of 41 race wins, which he quickly overhauled in Austria.
Victory at Silverstone took him 99 points clear in the drivers’ standings and he shot past pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton on the run to the first corner in Hungary before clinching Red Bull the record for consecutive team wins.
His attention could then turn to the individual landmark and after surging through from sixth on the grid at Spa, he returned from the summer break to beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.
History repeats for Red Bull
Vettel set the record – also driving for Red Bull, for whom Adrian Newey has been in post as chief technical officer on both occasions – when he won the final nine races of 2013 to surge clear of Alonso and win the title.
His run began in Belgium, where he overtook Hamilton early on and was untroubled thereafter, before dominant wins in Italy, Singapore and Korea and a strategic success in Japan.
The German clinched the title in India and added further wins in Abu Dhabi and the United States before a season-ending success in Brazil made it nine in a row and 13 for the season.
Alberto Ascari has a claim to a share of the record, having won the last six races of the 1952 season and his first three starts of 1953. The run was interrupted by Ascari not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship and was won by American Bill Vukovich.
Michael Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.
Schumacher also had a run of six across the 2000 and 2001 seasons while Hamilton’s longest run is five wins, as was Verstappen’s before his current streak.
Verstappen is on track to be the first driver ever to win over 80 per cent of races in a season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – while he has won almost 94 per cent of the maximum points available with 339 of a possible 362 so far.
Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.
Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.
The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.
A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.
But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.
Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.
Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.
While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.
With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.
Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.
“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”
“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”
But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.
“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”
By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.
On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.
Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.
On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.
Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.
With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.
Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.
The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.
As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.
After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.
Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.
Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.
Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.
The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.
A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.
But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.
Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.
Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.
While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.
With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.
Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.
“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”
“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”
But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.
“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”
By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.
On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.
Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.
On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.
Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.
With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.
Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.
The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.
As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.
After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.
Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.
Ocean Quest showed her class when storming to Tally-Ho Stud Irish EBF Ballyogan Stakes at Naas.
Jessica Harrington’s speedy daughter of Sioux Nation was an impressive winner of the Committed Stakes at Navan on her three-year-old return and following a narrow defeat over course and distance in the Lacken Stakes, performed with real credit at Royal Ascot when fourth to Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup.
Freshened up following that outing at the Royal meeting, Ocean Quest was the 10-11 favourite to secure Group Three honours, something she did with the minimum of fuss.
Away well in the hands of Shane Foley, she was always forcing the pace on the far side and came home in splendid isolation to record a decisive three-and-three-quarter-length victory over Aussie Girl who finished best of those on the near side.
Paddy Power handed winner was handed quotes of 12-1 from 16s for Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup on September 9 and the same price from 18-1 for the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Ascot, October 21), with Harrington indicating both Group One races would be on Ocean Quest’s radar.
“That’s great. She hasn’t run since Ascot, we gave her time. We know she likes a bit of give in the ground and that’s why we put her away after Ascot,” said Harrington.
“I think she’ll go on anything actually and she’s a very classy filly.
“Ascot in October is the main target and she’s in at Haydock in the Group One sprint there.
“We didn’t put her in Irish Champions Weekend because it’s five furlongs, but apparently she gets a free entry now. If it came up heavy maybe.
“This summer we’ve had no idea what ground we’re going to get. You can have good to firm in the morning and abandoned in the afternoon.
“We know she goes on heavy, she’s won on heavy and she’s gone on good to firm so she’s a very versatile filly. She’s classy and speedy.”
There was earlier success for Harrington on the card when Matter Of Fact landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden at 22-1.
The daughter of No Nay Never was well held on debut earlier in the season, but showed how much she has flourished in the interim with a stylish display which brings loftier targets into the picture.
“That was nice. She ran in May and has grown an awful lot since then,” said Harrington.
“Nathan (Crosse) said when she was in behind she was behind the bridle, whether it was the kickback or what. It wasn’t until he pulled her out that she absolutely flew up the hill.
“She did it well. She was still very green and she’ll have learned a lot, which is great.
“I’d say she could step up in trip but the dam only got six, even though she’s by Galileo. She has got a beautiful pedigree.
“My two-year-olds are only just starting to come to themselves. They were all good in the spring and then they all started growing. She was small in May but now she’s a fine big filly.
“We’ll see what comes up and see where we go from here. I’d hope we’d be going for stakes race next. She’s got the pedigree and she’s done that well.
“I’d say it was a good maiden, my other filly didn’t seem to get home.”
There was a shock in the opening Irish EBF Median Sires Series Fillies Maiden when Kitty Rose denied Dermot Weld’s 11-10 favourite Tannola.
Sent off at 25-1, Natalia Lupini’s filly made the perfect start, travelling powerfully on the front-end and running on strongly to score by a length and three-quarters.
The trainer’s partner Craig Bryson said: “We were hoping for a nice run but you never know first time out.
“She’s a filly that we’ve liked a lot at home, she did it well and she’ll progress plenty. She’s big and she’s a nice filly.
“She likes to go forward, she likes to gallop and I’d imagine as you step her up in trip she’ll be better. She’s one to look forward to.
“I’ll talk to the lads but we might look at the Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown, that might suit her. If she comes out of it well that’s probably the race to go for.
“We had a filly (Highly Desirable) that was third in this race last year and went on to finish third in the Ingabelle. You’d be happy to go and take your chance in it and hopefully get black type.”
The afternoon’s other two-year-old contest went the way of Joseph O’Brien’s McTenett who justified 9-4 favouritism in the Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden.
“He had a nice run the first day and he learned a good bit, he was more professional today. He looks like a nice horse going forward,” said O’Brien.
“We were happy that he’d get the six up here well. It was a nice straightforward ride by Dylan and it’s nice to have a winner for Neil (Sands) and the Bronsan team.
“There is plenty of money in those auction races and there is a winners race in Roscommon in early September.”
Al Riffa has a choice of engagements for his next outing, with Joseph O’Brien sure “the best is yet come” from his lightly-raced colt.
Winner of the National Stakes last season, the son of Wootton Bassett did not make his three-year-old return until the Curragh in July, finishing second to Mashhoor in the International Stakes.
He went from there to Deauville for the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano – and gave unbeaten French Derby winner and Arc favourite Ace Impact a real race in going down by just three-quarters of a length.
“He’ll either go to the Irish Champion or the Prix Niel, I’d say,” said O’Brien.
“He came out of his last run well. It was a great run, the winner is one of the best three-year-olds in Europe and we were right in the mix with him.
“Hopefully the best is yet to come with him.”
O’Brien also had news on his high-class filly Above The Curve, who has been placed in Group One company three times so far this campaign, most recently in the Prix Jean Romanet.
He said: “She may go back to France for the Prix Vermeille. She’s come out of the Prix Jean Romanet well.”
Impressive York winner Dragon Leader is likely to stick to chasing the big money for the time being rather than being stepped up in class.
Trained by Clive Cox, the Kennet Valley Syndicates-owned maintained his unbeaten record in scintillating style on the Knavesmire, winning almost £150,000 in the Goffs UK Harry Beeby Premier Yearling Stakes.
In winning by four and a half lengths he evoked memories of Mums Tipple, who streaked away with the same contest in 2019. But rather than take the plunge against Group horses next like he did, Dragon Leader’s connections are happy to stay in similar company for now.
“We’ll let the dust settle, but he is in the Doncaster and the Redcar sales races – both of those are worth a fair few quid – and we’re well weighted in both,” said Kennet Valley director Piers Winkworth.
“We’ll probably go that way, rather than something more ambitious in Pattern company for now, which we might have to do at some point because he looks like a proper, proper racehorse, this Dragon Leader.
“I think for now we will target the money of the sales races rather than Pattern company.”
Desert Hero continues to please William Haggas, as the build-up to a royal runner with a real chance in the Betfred St Leger continues to gather pace.
Haggas, who guided Horse of the Year Baaeed with such expertise last season, is well aware of the attention that will be on the Royal Ascot and Gordon Stakes winner as Doncaster on September 16 draws ever nearer.
The Newmarket trainer took the decision to eschew another outing in the Great Voltigeur at York in preference for keeping the three-year-old fresh.
Having already provided the King and Queen with their first Royal Ascot success, were he to land them a Classic, his name would be etched in Turf history forever.
The King would also be emulating the late Queen as the owner of a St Leger winner, after Dunfermline won at Doncaster in 1977, which was Silver Jubilee year.
“Desert Hero is absolutely fine, he worked Thursday morning and I’m very happy with him,” said Haggas.
“We toyed with the idea of York for the Voltigeur, but in the end we just felt what was the point.”
He added: “I realise that we might be getting a phone call a day from the press, I can feel it coming, but I’d rather that than nothing at all.”
Oleksandr Usyk maintained his unbeaten record with a knockout victory over Daniel Dubois in Poland on Saturday night.
The Ukrainian put down Dubois in the ninth round to retain his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts, although there was controversy over a punch deemed a low blow by the British fighter in the fifth round that left Usyk on the canvas.
Here, the PA news agency looks at what comes next for Usyk.
Could there be a rematch?
There was no rematch clause included in the contract but Dubois and his team were furious about the low blow decision and promoter Frank Warren has already said they will push for the fight to be declared a no contest, or a rematch ordered.
What about Tyson Fury?
Usyk was asked immediately after the fight about the prospect of facing WBC champion Tyson Fury in a unification contest and said he would be ready for it “tomorrow”. Fury is due to fight Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Saudi Arabia, and predicting the 35-year-old’s next move is notoriously difficult.
Who else?
Filip Hrgovic is the mandatory IBF challenger and believes he should be ahead of Fury in the queue to take on Usyk. The undefeated Croatian defeated Demsey McKean on the same card which saw Anthony Joshua knock out Robert Helenius.
Could it be Joshua?
Usyk and Joshua have gone toe-to-toe in two of the most high-profile fights in recent years, with the Ukrainian causing an upset in the first contest and then narrowly retaining the titles he won. A third fight does not appear to be on the cards, though, with Joshua eyeing a clash against Deontay Wilder in a double bill with Usyk-Fury.
Any other options?
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At 36, there must be questions about Usyk’s future in the sport and, if the Fury fight does not happen soon, how long will he hang on? The Ukrainian took up arms in the early stages of the war against Russia and events in his homeland could also be a factor in his next move.
Connections are willing to bide their time after Passenger served a reminder of his quality to give Sir Michael Stoute his 10th win in the Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor.
Owned by the Niarchos family, the son of Ulysses was considered a Derby contender earlier this season and was supplemented for the premier Classic after backing up an impressive debut in the Wood Ditton by finishing third in the Dante at York – a race where many saw the colt as the moral winner following a luckless run on the Knavesmire.
Off the track since disappointing at Epsom, Passenger was dropped back to 10 furlongs for the Windsor Group Three on Saturday evening and showed his class when hitting the front approaching a furlong out in the hands of Richard Kingscote and knuckled down to hold off the challenge of Simon and Ed Crisford’s West Wind Blows.
“We were happy with his performance after a nice break,” said Alan Cooper, racing manager for the owners.
“He’s a Group winner now and hopefully will have learnt a lot from the race.
“It’s too soon to speak about plans and we’ll take our time and go from there.”
In winning the Winter Hill Stakes, Passenger went one better than his illustrious sire who was beaten a short head in the race in 2016.
Like Passenger, Ulysses was both trained by Stoute and contested the Derby during his three-year-old season and having gone on to strike twice at the highest level the following year, it provides plenty of optimism his talented son could follow in his footsteps and still have his best days ahead of him.
“I think it’s a good point and there are definitely similarities in their race programme, the sire and him,” continued Cooper.
“It’s a case of seeing what Sir Michael would like to do. He’ll take his time and nothing is set in stone.
“He’s a horse that has done very well this year and hopefully he will also have a very good year next year.
“He’s a 10-furlong horse that’s for sure. The Dante form is working out well and it is always good to have form working out.”
Via Sistina will head straight for the Prix de l’Opera on Arc weekend following her narrow defeat at Deauville.
So impressive when winning the Group Two Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket in the spring, George Boughey’s star mare subsequently struck Group One gold in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
The five-year-old was out of luck when dropped back from 10 furlongs to a mile in last month’s Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, but looked set to double her top-level tally on her return to a mile and a quarter in the Prix Jean Romanet, only to be denied in the final stride by Andre Fabre’s Mqse De Sevigne.
While frustrated by the nose defeat, Boughey was delighted with Via Sistina’s performance and is now targeting a return to France on the first Sunday in October.
“We were obviously delighted to see her produce what was arguably another career-best really,” he said.
“The Fabre filly looks progressive and I think we were arguably unlucky in defeat. She was in front a long time as we just wanted to have a clear run at it.
“I think we’ll go straight to the Opera on Arc day and I think we’ll probably ride her with a little bit more patience. We’re always learning in this game and I think just holding on to her a bit longer and using that wicked turn of foot over that trip will suit.
“The Opera has been a long-term target for a long time. The Romanet was the immediate target and is possibly the one that got away, but we’re very proud of her.
“She’s finished first, second and third in three Group Ones this year, having won a Group Two beforehand, so she’s been a real star for us.”
Three weeks after the Prix de l’Opera, Via Sistina could make an appearance on Qipco Champions Day at Ascot, where she is doubly engaged.
She could take on the colts in the Qipco Champion Stakes or step up to a mile and a half for the British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes.
Boughey is in no rush to nail his colours to either mast at this stage, adding: “Hopefully we’ve got another run or possibly two if she turns up on Champions Day. I think it would be very exciting to see her run on very soft ground as it usually is at Ascot.
“We’ve put her in the Champion Stakes and the Fillies And Mares and I know we ran her over a mile in the Falmouth, but if it did look the right spot for her, I would be interested to see her dropped out stone cold last over a mile and a half on soft ground and waited with.
“She’s by Fastnet Rock out of a Galileo mare, so there’s a chance she might stay, and the fillies’ division would look notably weaker than the Champion Stakes.”
Via Sistina will head straight for the Prix de l’Opera on Arc weekend following her narrow defeat at Deauville.
So impressive when winning the Group Two Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket in the spring, George Boughey’s star mare subsequently struck Group One gold in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
The five-year-old was out of luck when dropped back from 10 furlongs to a mile in last month’s Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, but looked set to double her top-level tally on her return to a mile and a quarter in the Prix Jean Romanet, only to be denied in the final stride by Andre Fabre’s Mqse De Sevigne.
While frustrated by the nose defeat, Boughey was delighted with Via Sistina’s performance and is now targeting a return to France on the first Sunday in October.
“We were obviously delighted to see her produce what was arguably another career-best really,” he said.
“The Fabre filly looks progressive and I think we were arguably unlucky in defeat. She was in front a long time as we just wanted to have a clear run at it.
“I think we’ll go straight to the Opera on Arc day and I think we’ll probably ride her with a little bit more patience. We’re always learning in this game and I think just holding on to her a bit longer and using that wicked turn of foot over that trip will suit.
“The Opera has been a long-term target for a long time. The Romanet was the immediate target and is possibly the one that got away, but we’re very proud of her.
“She’s finished first, second and third in three Group Ones this year, having won a Group Two beforehand, so she’s been a real star for us.”
Three weeks after the Prix de l’Opera, Via Sistina could make an appearance on Qipco Champions Day at Ascot, where she is doubly engaged.
She could take on the colts in the Qipco Champion Stakes or step up to a mile and a half for the British Champions Fillies And Mares Stakes.
Boughey is in no rush to nail his colours to either mast at this stage, adding: “Hopefully we’ve got another run or possibly two if she turns up on Champions Day. I think it would be very exciting to see her run on very soft ground as it usually is at Ascot.
“We’ve put her in the Champion Stakes and the Fillies And Mares and I know we ran her over a mile in the Falmouth, but if it did look the right spot for her, I would be interested to see her dropped out stone cold last over a mile and a half on soft ground and waited with.
“She’s by Fastnet Rock out of a Galileo mare, so there’s a chance she might stay, and the fillies’ division would look notably weaker than the Champion Stakes.”
Arrest is likely to be Juddmonte’s Betfred St Leger hope after his Newbury success left him on track for the Doncaster Classic.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the Frankel colt won won the Chester Vase by a good margin in May when the race was run on soft ground, but could finish only 10th in the Derby at Epsom and fifth in the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot.
Both of those runs were on good to firm ground and on good to soft at Newbury, he looked more at ease when winning the Group Three Geoffrey Freer Stakes by a length and a half in the hands of Frankie Dettori.
The Leger is now on the agenda, but he will require a reasonable amount of give in the ground if he is to run.
“He’s obviously won his trial well and we know he likes a bit of ease in the ground,” said Barry Mahon of Juddmonte.
“I think as long as there’s that ease in the ground, the owners have said they’d like to go the Leger route, so that’s the way we’ll go.”
Juddmonte seem to have another promising horse on their hands in Macduff, a comfortable winner on debut at Newmarket earlier in the month.
The Sea The Stars colt beat a field of well-bred horses and has a notable pedigree himself as he is out of a mare named Present Tense, a half-sister to the great Kingman.
Connections were pleased with his maiden success but there will be little pressure put on him as he is expected to blossom as a three-year-old.
“It was a lovely debut, he’s a nice horse,” Mahon said.
“He’s a big horse, he won’t have a lot of racing this year, Ralph is taking his time and we’ll probably see how he is in the middle of September and pick another race.
“He’s from a good family, his mother is a sister to Kingman. He’s a nice horse that’s just full of potential, next year is going to be his year and I’d imagine that we won’t over-race him this year.”
George Ford admits England must conduct an uncomfortable inquest into Saturday’s Fiji debacle if they are to halt their freefall in time to make an impression on the World Cup.
Twickenham was stormed 30-22 by the Islanders as England fell to a current tier two nation for the first time in their 152-year history, registering a fifth defeat in six matches.
Fiji’s magnificent victory has heightened the sense of crisis at the Rugby Football Union with the pivotal World Cup opener against Argentina on September just two weeks away.
Even the Pool D fixtures against Japan and Samoa are fraught with danger given the depth of England’s current malaise and Ford insists that only by confronting hard truths will disaster be averted in Marseille.
“We don’t want the benefit of the doubt, we know we haven’t played well enough and know the results haven’t been good enough,” Ford said.
“When you lose for England you understand what’s going to come with it. We’re not shying away from that.
“We’re going to stick together and sort ourselves out in terms of making our preparation as good as it can be for Argentina. I’m comfortable we’ll be in a good place.
“What separates good teams from the great is that when things aren’t going well and you need to front a few things up and be honest, you do that.
“Look it square in the face because you can’t ignore those things – if you do then they will come back to haunt you later on.”
Head coach Steve Borthwick repeatedly highlighted the error count and missed tackles when explaining the nation’s first ever loss to Fiji, whose customary magic in attack was matched by tactical cohesion and smart decision-making.
England started like a freight train with Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence running on to Ford’s fizzing passes, Jonny May crossing in the left corner and the breakdown being bossed by a high-energy pack.
But as a downpour of heavy rain came and went, Fiji took control to expose a defence that has now conceded 30 tries in nine matches under Borthwick.
In recent weeks England have repeatedly stressed the quality of their training, suggesting the performances on a Saturday were an anomaly, but Ford insists practise has also been sub-par.
“Any time you play for England – especially at Twickenham – you you’ve got to pull out on the right side of the scoreboard and unfortunately we had a lot of errors against Fiji,” Ford said.
“We’re making too many errors. Now what the reason for that is I can’t be sure. Maybe it is a little bit of over eagerness or a little bit of inaccuracy, or maybe it is a little bit of understanding.
“It’s probably a little bit of all of it, to be honest. But one thing for sure is we can’t keep doing it.
“When it comes to our plan for Argentina and our understanding of what we need to do to win that game, we’ll be crystal clear on it. I’m more than confident we’ll be able to get it right for that game.
“We understand that we need to make fewer mistakes. There’s an urgency that we need to fix it and get better.
“The way you do that is to be more consistent in training. We’re clearly not consistent in training, there are probably too many errors in training. We’re playing the way we train at the minute, which is not good enough obviously.”
Jamie Ritchie declared Scotland were “ready to go” ahead of the World Cup after a largely encouraging summer campaign ended with a 33-6 win over Georgia.
Gregor Townsend’s team head to France next weekend for the global showpiece on the back of three home wins – all after trailing at half-time – and a narrow defeat away to the host nation from their four warm-up matches.
Captain Ritchie is now relishing the prospect of leading the Scots into the tournament, with their first game against South Africa in Marseille on 10 September.
“I’m really chuffed but probably the predominant emotion now is excitement – we’re just ready to go,” he said.
“I feel we’ve built well. We’ve not had a perfect performance yet but for me that’s a positive thing because we know there’s one coming.
“I’m glad we had a little bit of a tough test in that first half against Georgia. We had to manage ourselves through that and then we stepped up in the second.”
Despite their first-half struggles throughout the summer, Scotland scored 15 tries in their four summer Tests against Italy, France (home and away) and Georgia, with 13 of them coming in the second half.
“Positive,” said Ritchie, when asked to sum up the warm-up campaign.
“I think we’ve shown that we can play really well, we’ve shown that we can come back from adversity, which I think is a really positive thing, and we’ve played some really good rugby.
“We’ve shown how we’ve grown over this period in terms of how we’ve wanted to build when we’ve had this extended period of time together and we’re really clear on how we want to play.
“It’s not been perfect but we’ve had more positive results and positive performances than not and we’re really excited for this first game.”
For all that Scotland go into the tournament in good fettle, their first opponents South Africa have sent out an ominous warning with back-to-back destructions of Wales and New Zealand over the past two weekends.
Ritchie insists his team – who watched the Boks’ 35-7 annihilation of the All Blacks on Friday together in their hotel – will learn from having seen how the world champions are going about their business in the lead-up to the tournament.
“The main thing for us is it’s been great learning for us to see what they might bring to a game,” he said.
“It’s pretty clear how they want to play and for us, we’re looking to exploit that and match them in certain areas so these games have been great for us to learn from them.
“They’ll be riding high off the back of them but we do well with an underdog tag and I’m really excited for it.”
Stand-in captain Iain Henderson insists looming World Cup selection was not a factor in Ireland’s underwhelming performance in scraping past Samoa.
Ireland were far from convincing in rain-soaked Bayonne but ultimately emerged with a 13th consecutive win on the eve of Andy Farrell naming his 33-man squad for France.
Second-half tries from Conor Murray and Rob Herring earned an unconvincing 17-13 success after Samoa battled back to lead following Jimmy O’Brien’s early score.
Six Ireland players are set for disappointment on Sunday afternoon when Farrell announces his final squad.
Yet Henderson, who skippered a mix-and-match line-up at Stade Jean Dauger, does not feel that situation contributed to a disjointed display which almost ended in an upset.
“No and if it did it’s probably one of the adversities that Faz (Farrell) would like us to be tested by,” said the lock.
“That’s not the most difficult thing we’re going to face over the next number of weeks.
“It’s an incredibly strong group of guys and the guys who’ve been waiting to find out their fate have probably carried themselves as well as you could have expected them to throughout training.
“The guys who are nervous about selection, who might be carrying that anxiety have trained well, everyone’s been on time, been as diligent as possible throughout the reviews, staying on top of stuff.
“It’s been a well-prepped Test week for us, so hats off to those guys who’ve been prepping so well.
“I think it’s not that side of things that affected us, it was a handful of other things like conditions, probably great pressure brought by Samoa.”
Head coach Farrell is awaiting injury news on prop Cian Healy.
Veteran loosehead Healy hobbled off in the first half with help from medical staff due to a calf issue, throwing his participation in a fourth World Cup of his career into doubt.
Henderson, who has endured plenty of his own fitness issues in recent times, empathised with his Ireland team-mate.
“I’ve felt it a handful of times this campaign,” he said.
“It’s worse when it’s a team-mate but even watching other guys from other nations who are looking to play at a World Cup, whether it’s their first, second or third, pick up an injury it’s not nice.
“It’s a crescendo of hard work over four years and to see that pulled away from someone in the dying minutes of that four-year cycle is not nice.
“Again, it’s the game we’ve all signed up to and, again, that’s the reason what we do is so special, it means so much to us because it’s so fragile sometimes.”
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