Bullish Grant Gilchrist is adamant Scotland remain unfazed by South Africa’s blistering form in the lead-up to their World Cup showdown in Marseille a week on Sunday.

While the Scots have enjoyed an encouraging summer campaign, the Boks have been busy inflicting record defeats on both Wales (52-16) and New Zealand (35-7) over the past two weekends to climb to second in the world rankings.

The Scotland squad watched South Africa’s demolition of the All Blacks together in their hotel on Friday, but lock Gilchrist insists it has not caused any heightened trepidation within the dressing room.

“It doesn’t change our mindset,” he told the PA news agency. “We’ve known all along that South Africa can peak at a World Cup, they’re world champions for a reason.

“We always knew the size of the challenge that was going to face us. Other people might say this and that, but we were expecting to play the best version of the Springboks, and we’re going to relish that opportunity.

“It’s even more exciting when you see the way they played against the All Blacks. They’re one of the top sides in the world and we have to go out and impose our game on them.

“If you don’t feel excited about playing South Africa at a World Cup when they’re in the form they’re in, then you’re in the wrong changing room. We’re going to embrace that.

“We know we’ll be massive underdogs but we’ll be going into that game having prepared really well and we certainly believe if we can get our best rugby on the pitch for 80 minutes we can cause them a lot of problems.”

The Scots made it three wins from four summer Tests on Saturday when they recovered from a 6-0 half-time deficit to defeat Georgia 33-6 at Murrayfield, with five tries after the break. Gilchrist feels it was good practice for their World Cup pool matches against the likes of Tonga and Romania when the Scots will find themselves cast as favourites.

“We spoke last week about how it was always going to be a mental challenge playing at home with all the expectation that we were going to blow Georgia away,” he explained.

“They’re a good side, they win a lot of games. I know they play a tier down from us but they beat Wales recently. They’re not a minnow side, they’re a quality outfit and they showed that for spells. They’ve got players tearing up the Top 14.

“We knew the challenge and that we’d have to be patient, so the pleasing side of it is that we didn’t panic, we stuck to the task and we got the job done.”

Gilchrist feels his team have shown in bursts over the summer – particularly in the two matches home and away against France – what they could be capable of at the World Cup.

“I think we’ve got to look at the positives,” he said, reflecting on the summer campaign. “We’ve built our game and I think we’re really comfortable with what our best performance looks like.

“Probably the second half of the home game against France (when they scored 22 unanswered points to win 25-21) and also the way we started and finished in Saint-Etienne (when losing 30-27).

“We understand we’re going to have to put that out on the pitch for 80 minutes and we’ve not done that yet. But these are warm-up games, they’re for finding your form. We understand we’re going to have to peak in two weeks and that’s an exciting challenge.”

England’s troubled build-up to the World Cup is reflected in their descent to eighth in the last global rankings to be published before the tournament begins.

World Rugby has confirmed that Steve Borthwick’s side have fallen two places from sixth following their 30-22 defeat by Fiji on Saturday – registering their joint lowest position in the standings’ 20-year history.

Fiji have climbed from ninth to seventh on the back of their stunning victory at Twickenham while Argentina – England’s main pool rivals in France – are up one place to sixth.

Ireland top the rankings ahead of second-placed South Africa with the two heavyweights’ presence in Pool B alongside fifth-placed Scotland highlighting the most lop-sided draw in the competition’s history.

England are in the easiest group but given their recent run of five defeats in six Tests, their assignments against 12th-placed Samoa and 14th-placed Japan now look like banana skins.

Apart from their form on the field, which is underpinned by a leaky defence, they have suffered from a series of suspensions and injuries that have disrupted their build-up.

While the rankings change after every round of Tests matches, England’s lowly position is symbolic of how far they have fallen and mirrors expectations over how they will perform at the World Cup.

Borthwick himself explained the importance of the rankings heading into the tournament when he announced his 33-man squad on August 7.

“If you could lay it out and say to me ‘what would you want to be right now?’, I’d use (former England coach) Clive Woodward’s words that you want to be the best team in the world,” Borthwick said.

“Ranked number one, the favourites. That’s what Ireland have right now. Why? Because you want to make sure you’re the best team. Now that’s not our situation, our situation is different.”

Kinross has the defence of his Prix de la Foret crown in his sights as the first of three key objectives for the back-end of the season.

Ralph Beckett’s ultra-consistent six-year-old bagged the 10th success of his career as he followed up his Lennox Stakes victory in style to win the City of York Stakes for the second year running on the Knavesmire.

Kinross’ victory spearheaded a fantastic treble for both Beckett and owner Marc Chan on Saturday, and connections now have their eye on securing further riches over the coming months.

Three major races have been highlighted for Kinross before the end of the year, with the son of Kingman set to return to ParisLongchamp on October 1 in search of a Foret double before taking another shot at conquering America in November after Kinross finished a brave third behind Modern Games in the Breeders’ Cup Mile in 2022.

After that all eyes will be on Sha Tin on December 10 where Kinross will bid to give his big-race pilot Frankie Dettori the perfect send-off before retirement on the home soil of his Hong Kong-based owner.

“Kinross will probably go straight to France, then the Breeders’ Cup and then the race in Hong Kong, they are the most important races for him,” said Chan’s racing manager, Jamie McCalmont.

Kinross also holds entries for both Doncaster’s Betfred Park Stakes (September 16) and the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Ascot, October 21) he won last year as well as Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup on September 9.

And although his Kimpton Down handler may elect to run Kinross in those events, getting the gelding to Hong Kong while he is at the peak of his powers will be the number on priority.

“Ralph knows the horse inside out for sure and it would be his call,” added McCalmont on Kinross potentially taking up his other entries.

“But it would be great to get the horse to Hong Kong for both Marc and for Frankie. For Marc to have this horse run in Hong Kong in December is massive for him.

“He’s six now and there’s no real time limit on when we would stop with him but as soon as he showed any ailments or loss of form, I think that would really decide that. There’s no reason whey he wouldn’t race for another two seasons, though.

“He’s such a lovely character and everyone adores him. He loves the attention and he loves to know he’s the king. It’s not great in my position to get emotionally attached to horses, but it is hard to not get attached to him.”

Kinross’ victory at York may have grabbed all the headlines at the weekend, but it was just one third of a phenomenal afternoon for his owner with Group One-winning juveniles Lezoo – whom Chan owns in partnership with Andrew Rosen – and Angel Bleu both returning to their very best, at Newmarket and Goodwood respectively.

Connections were thrilled to see them thrive on track as they combined for a near 50-1 treble, with each horse playing its own part to perfection.

“All three winners were as special as the other and if you said which winner meant more, all three were as equally pleasing for different reasons,” continued McCalmont.

“From a business perspective Kinross winning at York was massive because of the prize-money and there should be interest in Angel Blue now – he’s got to have some attraction as a stallion. That’s the fourth Group race he’s won and he’s won two Group Ones and two Group Two races.

“You quite often see this where a horse is a very good two-year-old and things seem to go wrong at three. But if you look at his three-year-old career he was beaten less than five lengths by Baaeed at Goodwood on ground he didn’t like and he came out of the race with an injury. That’s not exactly form to be laughed at. He’s clearly a better horse around a bend as much as he is on soft ground.”

Meanwhile, Lezoo could have earnt a return to Group One company for the Betfair Sprint Cup having shown the talent that saw her scoop Cheveley Park Stakes honours at two is still in place when successful in the Hopeful Stakes.

McCalmont added: “We could easily go to Haydock, we will see. People were beginning to question whether she had trained on or not, so to prove she has is great because myself and Ralph, we never doubted it.

“She’s a very valuable horse and will probably come up for sale at Tattersalls at the end of the year.”

Kyprios could make his long-awaited return to action in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger at the Irish Champions Festival.

The crack stayer was six from six last season, a run which included Group One victories in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, the Goodwood Cup and the Irish St Leger before a 20-length demolition in the Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend in Paris.

Injury ruled the son of Galileo out of the first half of the current campaign, but he is closing in on a comeback, with a defence of his Irish Leger crown at the Curragh on Sunday week a potential starting point.

“He is in good shape, we’re very happy with him. He was at the Curragh a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t think we’d get him to where he is,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien.

“He could run in the Leger, but if he runs it would be for a run – I couldn’t imagine him being forward enough to be that competitive in that race, but you would still say that he should run a very good race.

“Four months ago you’d have said he’ll never race again. He got an infection in his joint and then the ligament down the outside of his pastern shifted, so it became unstable.

“Everyone has done a wonderful job with him. If we got a run into him we’ll look towards Arc weekend again, either the Arc or the Cadran, but I would imagine the Arc would be too much too quick for him.

“He’s a very good horse and probably more than a stayer. We saw what he did in the Cadran last year – he just took off.”

O’Brien added Kyprios could be joined in the Irish Leger by stablemate Emily Dickinson, winner of the Curragh Cup over the course and distance before chasing home Quickthorn in the Goodwood Cup.

Aidan O’Brien is making plans for his exciting crop of juveniles, with City Of Troy set to be his chief contender in the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh on day two of the Irish Champions Festival.

Unbeaten in his two starts to date, he made his debut in a Curragh maiden at the beginning of July, before putting in a brilliant display to land Group Two honours in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket.

“He is going to the National Stakes at the moment. If he didn’t then Henry Longfellow would go there, but we had it in our heads that Henry would go to the Dewhurst and City Of Troy would go to the National Stakes. I’m very happy with both horses,” said O’Brien.

With City Of Troy – the general 2-1 favourite for the Qipco 2000 Guineas – being a son of American Triple Crown hero Justify, O’Brien is not ruling out the possibility of a switch to the dirt at the Breeders’ Cup later in the year.

He said: “To go to America you need a good horse running at a very high level and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that City Of Troy could go.

“We’ll see what happens in the National Stakes, but if he was going there is a chance that he could come back to six furlongs for the Middle Park to sharpen him up for America.

“There is a chance he could run on the dirt in America, but we’ll see.”

With City Of Troy heading for the National Stakes and Henry Longfellow – also unbeaten in two starts and a Group Two scorer via the Futurity Stakes – seemingly bound for the Dewhurst, River Tiber looks set to contest the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

Winner of the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Wootton Bassett colt lost his unbeaten record when third in the Prix Morny at Deauville earlier this month following an interrupted preparation.

“I was afraid that the Prix Morny could go very wrong because he was lame for 10 days. He came back sound, but the muscles can get tired and I was afraid that might happen,” said O’Brien.

“That is why Ryan (Moore) let him find himself in the first half of the race, but he said it was flying home and it was a very big run.

“The plan would be to go to the Middle Park, because there’s horses for those other races. Ryan said he will stay seven furlongs, but that’s what we’re thinking at the moment.”

The Ballydoyle handler confirmed unbeaten filly Ylang Ylang as his main hope Moyglare Stud Stakes, having been kept fresh since landing the Silver Flash at Leopardstown in late July.

He said: “Ylang Ylang goes to the Moyglare. We could have given her another run and tightened her up, but we felt this was the best thing for her.

“She always worked very well. The last day she probably wasn’t as impressive, but we think she’ll be better when she gets a lead.”

Aidan O’Brien is planning to run both last year’s winner Luxembourg and Auguste Rodin in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday week.

Luxembourg got the better of French-trained duo Onesto and Vadeni in the showpiece event of the Irish Champions Festival last season and has added the Tattersalls Gold Cup to his top-level CV this term.

His last two runs have come at Ascot as he finished second to subsequent Juddmonte International hero Mostahdaf in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes before placing fourth in the King George, a race in which his dual Derby-winning stablemate Auguste Rodin proved a bitter disappointment.

O’Brien has found no obvious reason for that listless display, but is hopeful he can bounce back at Leopardstown on September 9.

“We’re very happy with Luxembourg, everything has gone very well. The King George is a tough race and he was on the pace,” said the Ballydoyle handler.

“The plan is at the moment both he and Auguste Rodin are going to Leopardstown. Really we don’t know what happened to Auguste in the King George. He was drawn very wide and trapped very wide and he came off the bridle a lot earlier than Ryan (Moore) would have thought.

“His first impulse was to protect the horse and he was very surprised what happened. Before he had to ask too much he just pulled him up and that’s the reality of the situation.

“It’s probably a blessing in disguise as if he came off the bridle at the stage he was probably going to get a very tough race. For a baby three-year-old he was probably lucky he didn’t get into a brawl and he came home very well.”

O’Brien hinted that whatever the result at Leopardstown Auguste Rodin, a son of Japanese sire Deep Impact, is unlikely to remain in training as a four-year-old.

“He’s such a unique horse pedigree-wise he’s kind of irreplaceable really,” he said.

Fernando Alonso believes Max Verstappen’s record-equalling Formula One reign has been underestimated.

Verstappen matched Sebastian Vettel’s all-time streak of nine consecutive wins with a brilliant display in Sunday’s wet-dry-wet Dutch Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver is 138 points clear at the summit of the world championship and could close out his third title as early as next month.

Earlier this season, Lewis Hamilton described Verstappen’s Red Bull machine as the fastest car he has ever seen.

But during Verstappen’s run of nine in a row, team-mate Sergio Perez – the only other driver to win a race in 2023 – has finished off the podium five times.

And double world champion Alonso, runner-up to Verstappen in Zandvoort, said: “It is underestimated what Max is achieving. To win in such a dominant way in any professional sport is so complicated.

“Today I felt connected with the car and that I was able to give 100 per cent of my abilities but perhaps at other races in Belgium or Austria, for example, I wasn’t able to do that.

“But Max is achieving 100 per cent more often than the rest of us at the moment, and that is why he is dominating.”

Since he claimed his maiden title at the controversial season-ending Abu Dhabi race in 2021, Verstappen has won 26 of the 35 races staged. In his last 24 appearances, Verstappen has failed to win just four times. He has triumphed at 11 of the 13 rounds so far this year.

On Sunday night, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner lauded his star driver as “simply untouchable”.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team secured eight consecutive constructors’ championships before Red Bull returned to the top.

Hamilton won six titles in seven seasons, but he was never able to win more than five races in a row. Michael Schumacher managed seven straight victories for Ferrari during his stranglehold of the sport at the turn of the century.

And Verstappen, 25, said: “There have been more dominant cars in the past than we have at the moment, and they haven’t been able to win nine in a row.

“It is hard and, especially in the rain, it’s easy to make a wrong call or spin into the gravel. So, it’s never that straightforward.”

Verstappen will bid to secure his 10th consecutive win at this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Johnny Sexton admits the protracted disciplinary process which threatened to ruin his Rugby World Cup dream took a toll on his family but insists he is “not trying to play the victim”.

Ireland’s captain is unsure why he endured such a lengthy wait to discover his fate for “confrontational and aggressive” behaviour towards referee Jaco Peyper.

Almost two months passed between the fly-half’s heated exchange with the South African match official following Leinster’s 27-26 Heineken Champions Cup final loss to La Rochelle on May 20 and him eventually being hit with a three-match ban.

Sexton consequently sat out World Cup warm-up matches against Italy, England and Samoa but is available to start Ireland’s tournament opener against Romania in Bordeaux on September 9.

In the prolonged period when his punishment remained unclear, the 38-year-old, who is set to retire following the competition in France, faced intense speculation and public scrutiny amid calls for a substantial suspension.

“I’ve never seen another process last eight weeks or seven weeks, whatever it was,” said Sexton, who confronted Peyper on the Aviva Stadium pitch, having watched his province’s agonising defeat from the stands due to injury.

“It was incredibly frustrating not knowing what was going to happen. I’m not sure why it took so long, but that’s the way it was handled.

“I think when it affects your family you obviously go, ‘well, why are you upset?’ and (they reply) ‘this happened, this happened, this happened, this happened. Five weeks later, this is still happening’.

“Of course (you are aware of public commentary), but I’m not trying to play the victim.

“I made a mistake and I had to put up with what I had to put up with for seven weeks. You have to face up to your actions and that’s what I did.”

Sexton goes into his World Cup swansong having not played competitively since sustaining a groin issue in helping Ireland clinch a Six Nations grand slam against England on March 18.

His spell on the sidelines through injury and suspension means the 29-16 success over Steve Borthwick’s side was his final professional appearance in his homeland.

The 2018 world player of the year believes the “best guy in the world” meticulously plotted his road to recovery.

“For a kicker, to injure your adductors like I did is not ideal,” said Sexton, who was treated by a Doctor Griffin based in the UK.

“But thankfully the IRFU (Irish Rugby Football Union) sent me to the best guy in the world.

“He did a great job, he mapped it out for me and he was literally to the day accurate in what he told me in terms of when I could return to training, when I could kick a ball again.

“Thankfully it’s been good over the last number of weeks. Hopefully I will be in good shape come Romania.”

Ireland head to France top of the world rankings on the back of Six Nations glory and last summer’s historic tour triumph in New Zealand.

Andy Farrell’s men also face reigning world champions South Africa, Scotland and Tonga in their group ahead of a potential last-eight clash with either the host nation or the All Blacks.

Asked what gives him confidence of going all the way, Sexton replied: “What we’ve done over the last couple of years.

“I’ve been in groups before where you go to a World Cup and you say we’re here to win it but you don’t often have the achievements to back that up.

“(Whereas) we’ve got things like the grand slam, going to New Zealand and winning a series – stuff that other teams that have won it, like England in 2003 (have achieved).

“We’ve some evidence to give us a little bit of confidence but we also know that it’s the toughest group that we’ve ever had, the toughest quarter-final draw if we can manage to get through our group, so it’s all to do.”

Luis Castillo allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings and the Seattle Mariners held on for a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday to take sole possession of the American League West lead.

Sunday's victory coupled with the Texas Rangers' 13-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins moved the resurgent Mariners one game ahead of slumping Texas and the Houston Astros atop the division. 

Seattle trailed the Rangers by 7 1/2 games in the standings on Aug. 15, but has now won 11 of its last 12 while Texas has lost nine of 10. The Mariners are an MLB-best 24-6 since July 25.

Castillo permitted just two baserunners in winning his fourth consecutive start and was supported by two home runs, a solo shot from Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning and a two-run blast from Julio Rodriguez in the fifth. 

Nelson Velazquez's two-run homer off reliever Gabe Speier in the eighth brought Kansas City within 3-2, but Andres Munoz struck out the side in order in the ninth to finish off the Mariners' sweep of the three-game series. 

Royals starter Alec Marsh struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings but allowed both Seattle homers to fall to 0-7 in 11 appearances (seven starts) this season.

Twins rally from five runs down to top reeling Rangers in 13 innings

The spiraling Rangers lost their share of the AL West lead after blowing a five-run cushion in a wild, 7-6 loss to the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins in 13 innings.

Minnesota trailed 5-0 after five innings before rallying to tie the game in the ninth, then took advantage of three walks by Rangers reliever Jonathan Hernandez in the 13th to push home the winning run.

Hernandez struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the 13th before walking Joey Gallo, Matt Wallner and Michael A. Taylor in succession to gift Minnesota its third victory of the four-game series.

Texas pitchers issued a season-high 10 walks on the afternoon, including one to Taylor by closer Aroldis Chapman with the Rangers clinging to a 5-4 lead with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Chapman was then called for a balk to send Taylor to second before surrendering a single to Donovan Solano that tied the game.

Royce Lewis began Minnesota's comeback with a grand slam off reliever Chris Stratton in the sixth that pulled the Twins within a run.

Jonah Heim had a grand slam off Twins starter Bailey Ober in the fourth inning that staked Texas to a 5-0 lead. The Rangers opened the scoring on J.P. Martinez's solo homer in the second.

Dylan Floro earned the win by stranding two Texas runners after coming on in the top of the 13th, while Dallas Keuchel tossed five scoreless innings after relieving Ober to start the fifth.

Brewers blast Padres to extend winning streak to eight games

The National League's hottest team resides in Milwaukee, where the Brewers used a seven-run sixth inning to rally to a 10-6 victory over the San Diego Padres and extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.

William Contreras went 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs, while Sal Frelick drove in three runs as the NL Central-leading Brewers completed a three-game sweep heading into an important three-game road series with the division-rival Chicago Cubs.

Milwaukee owns a four-game lead on second-place Chicago, which kept pace with Sunday's 10-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Brewers trailed 4-2 before loading the bases with one out in the sixth in front of Rowdy Tellez's pinch-hit, two-run double off Steven Wilson, who later walked Carlos Santana with the bases full to force in the go-ahead run.

Frelick followed with a two-run double off Nick Martinez to stretch the lead to 7-4 before Mark Canha capped the big inning with a two-run single.

Bryse Wilson recorded the win with four scoreless innings in relief of Brewers starter Adrian Houser, who lasted just two innings and allowed four runs.

Gary Sanchez went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer to lead San Diego, which dropped to a season-high nine games under .500 at 61-70.

Simone Biles has claimed a record eighth all-around US Championship less than a month after ending a two-year break from gymnastics.

The 19-time world champion, 26, claimed the record-breaking crown – 10 years after winning her first – as she posted a total of 118.40, four clear of runner-up Shilese Jones, in San Jose, California.

Biles returned to competition in Chicago earlier this month after suffering from “the twisties” – a phenomenon which affects an athlete’s spatial awareness – and withdrawing from five of her six finals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to focus on her mental health.

The seven-time Olympic medallist became the oldest female US champion since the event was first organised by USA Gymnastics in 1963.

She is expected to bid to add to her haul of 25 World Championship medals in Antwerp in September.

Biles has not confirmed whether she plans to compete at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, who has battled a mystery kidney issue for much of the year, performed strongly on the beam and could head to Antwerp as a specialist on the apparatus.

Norway’s Viktor Hovland held off a determined challenge from Xander Schauffele in the final round of the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup title and 18million US dollar (£14.1million) first prize.

Hovland, who won the BMW Championship seven days ago, carded a bogey-free closing 63 at East Lake to finish 27 under par, five shots ahead of Schauffele, who returned a superb 62.

The 25-year-old began the day with a six-shot lead and, following a delay of almost two hours due to the threat of lightning, maintained that advantage as both he and Schauffele covered the first six holes in four under par.

Schauffele also birdied the eighth to be out in 30 and picked up further shots on the 11th and 12th to get within three of the lead, a lead which looked set to shrink even further when Hovland hit a poor chip to the 14th.

However, Hovland holed from 23 feet to save par and then made his first birdie since the sixth on the 16th to effectively seal a win which was quickly celebrated by Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

“I walked 3 matches with Viktor at the last Ryder Cup,” Donald wrote on Twitter.

“He was great tee to green but his short game and putting let him down. He told me he wasn’t clutch enough. Well he’s about as clutch as they come now. What a year, what a finish, what a guy! Fedex Cup Champ.”

US Open champion Wyndham Clark finished third on 16 under with Rory McIlroy, who had been hampered by a back injury all week, carding a closing 65 to finish fourth on 14 under.

“As the week went on it got looser and today it was pretty close to 100 per cent,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.

“I wish I had felt like this the rest of the week but even without a bad back I’m not sure I’d have been able to hang with the two guys in front.

“Another solid week, my game is where it needs to be and as long as I stay healthy for the next few weeks I’m excited to get back to Europe, play in Ireland and at Wentworth and ultimately get my game in shape for the Ryder Cup.”

The United States will be bidding to retain the Ryder Cup after enjoying a record 19-9 victory two years ago and McIlroy told reporters: “There’s a lot of us that were in that team at Whistling Straits and that didn’t feel very nice, didn’t feel good.

“So, yeah, I’m excited to get back over to Europe. We’re all sort of making our way over to Europe a couple weeks early. So it will be nice to all get together, get some early team dinners before the week in Rome and sort of really feel like that sort of team chemistry is starting already.

“We’re all, for the most part, playing really good. There’s still a few weeks to go, but it’s the next big thing in all of our calendars.”

Maths whizz Lily Miyazaki feels like her number has finally come up after qualifying for the US Open.

The Tokyo-born Brit had a wild card for Wimbledon last year, but has now reached the main draw of a grand slam under her own steam for the first time.

Miyazaki, who earned a masters degree in mathematical science in the United States four years ago, beat Slovakia’s Viktoria Hruncakova in the final round of qualifying at Flushing Meadows.

The 27-year-old now has to solve the puzzle of how to get past Russian Margarita Betova on Monday for a first grand slam match win.

“Playing Wimbledon last year was amazing,” said Miyazaki. “But I think that, as a wild card, I don’t know how to explain it, but I don’t know if you truly believe like you belong.

“And I played Caroline Garcia, obviously she’s a pretty good player and I was really nervous going into that match. So hopefully this time I feel like I belong here. So that experience definitely helped me.”

Miyazaki joins Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage as the British contingent in the women’s draw.

She also shares a coach, Craig Veal, with British number two Burrage, who was in the stands supporting her compatriot.

“For her to qualify, it was killing me,” said Burrage, 24. “When she was one-set all, I had to go to practice and throughout it I was shouting at my physio asking what the score was.

“I was hardly focusing on my practice because I wanted to be there watching her, but it’s so good she has qualified, with me and ‘Boults’ being in the main draw.

“It’s nice when you are friends and you can enjoy success with them and hopefully next week we can do some damage in the main draw. We’ve all got the games to be able to.”

Burrage faces Russian Anna Blinkova on Tuesday, while British number one Boulter meets France’s Diane Parry.

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson was forced to settle for another World Championships silver.

The 21-year-old was beaten to 800m gold by Kenya’s Mary Moraa in Budapest just 13 months after she also finished second in Eugene.

Hodgkinson clocked one minute 56.34 seconds with defending champion Athing Mu in third and GB’s Jemma Reekie fifth.

Hodgkinson had been beaten into silver by Mu at last year’s World Championships before Moraa took gold at the Commonwealth Games ahead of her.

Before the final, the Olympic silver medallist admitted she owed them both but was unable to beat Moraa despite overhauling Mu in the final 50m on Sunday night.