Novak Djokovic is amassing such a dossier of evidence that no sober judge would dispute his claims, but debate still rages as to who is the greatest men's tennis player of all time.

The 35-year-old has now racked up 378 weeks at number one on the singles rankings, not only improving his record among the men but also this week going past Steffi Graf, the leader on the women's tour.

Djokovic has won 10 of the last 16 grand slams he has contested, all since turning 30, and has moved level with Rafael Nadal on 22 singles majors, the most ever captured by a man.

His stockpiling of Masters 1000 titles is bordering on being greedy, with a record 38 tucked away, and although he turns 36 in May there is no sign of Djokovic slowing down.

Tommy Haas snatched three wins from nine encounters with Djokovic, while the Serbian was going up through the gears early in his career.

Haas told Stats Perform he sees Djokovic as a player who wants to "end that debate" over who is the greatest, but there are good grounds to reason the man from Belgrade has already done enough.

Djokovic's compelling case

With plenty of miles left in his legs, Djokovic has already reached 33 grand slam finals (W22 L11), the most by any man. It puts him level with Serena Williams (W23 L10) and one behind Chris Evert (W18 L16), who is perhaps a surprising leader in this field.

Given his form in the past 12 months, it would be astonishing if Djokovic does not reach more slam finals this year.

He has also won 38 Masters titles – the next rung down from the grand slams – and is not just the only singles player to have won every one of these nine tournaments, he has won each one at least twice.

Djokovic's six end-of-season ATP Finals titles puts him level with Federer.

Adding together grand slams, ATP Finals crowns and Masters 1000 wins, Djokovic has 66 of these so-called 'Big Titles', seven more than Nadal, who sits second on the list. It bears pointing out the Masters events only began in 1990, so this puts players of the modern era at an advantage, but the domination of these events by the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer mirrors their unprecedented grand slam supremacy.

Djokovic has an 83.5 per cent career win-loss record (W 1,043, L 206), the best of all players with at least 200 matches on tour during the Open Era (since 1968).

In the slams, his win-loss record of 341-47 gives Djokovic an 87.9 per cent winning record, just a shade behind Nadal's 88 per cent, and ahead of Federer (86 per cent).

Djokovic is rapidly closing in on overtaking Nadal's win percentage, having powered through his last 14 matches at the majors, triumphing at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

These winning percentages at the slams by the Big Three are not the absolute highest of all time, but considering Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have regularly had to play one another over the past two decades, that is easily explained.

Only Bjorn Borg (71.1 per cent) has a higher win percentage against top-10 players than Djokovic's 69.4 per cent, but Borg's career was relatively brief, stepping off the tour in his mid-20s, with Djokovic a model of sustained excellence.

Djokovic is playing in Dubai this week, seeking more trophy success.

The expert's view

"He's the ultimate competitive warrior out there," says Tommy Haas. "He doesn't leave a stone unturned, does everything that he possibly can to be the best that he can be."

Haas is now tournament director at the Indian Wells Masters – aka the BNP Paribas Open – and he had better results than most against Djokovic, scoring wins on grass in Halle and Wimbledon in 2009 before repeating the trick on hard court in Miami four years later.

Djokovic, it can be argued, is a better player at 35 than he was at 25, and he is certainly more dominant. The man who feeds off his inner "wolf energy" has lost none of his bite.

"He's spoken about it himself many times, the sort of upbringing that he had, the experiences that he had to go through just to put so much grit in him, so much fire and fighting power. And you see it. The guy is an absolute beast out there," Haas said.

"There's no doubt in my mind that in his mind he wants to become the greatest of all time and win the most slams and end that debate and I think that's that's what he's looking to do.

"We're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves now but let's just say he does have the most slams. He's won every Masters series there is, maybe the most of all of them as well. Longest number one, most slams and then I think there is no room to argue."

Is winning enough to define greatness?

Yes. It has to be. In hand-to-hand combat, whether in war or something as relatively frivolous at tennis, it's all about getting the better of the enemy. Then it's about continuing to do so, and if it's easy on the eye, all well and good.

Roger Federer played the most sumptuous tennis that made him a bigger draw than anyone, and the Swiss great was also a sensational winner to boot, and a charmer, but Djokovic is picking off his records one by one.

Does this make Djokovic the most popular tennis player of all time? No, he rarely exhibits the warmth of personality that Federer brought, the crowd-pleasing flourishes are in shorter supply, and he brings some of the bad press and occasional crowd antipathy on himself.

But winning is the priority for Djokovic, and nobody does it better.

Haas says: "Really, can you say does he have the prettiest game or the best shot selection or this and that? Without Roger and without Rafa he would have been pushed to become that good of a player? Maybe not. And you have to always look at every generation pushing each other and all that stuff.

"And the debates can go on and on. Bjorn Borg retired when he was 26 years old, he won 11 slams. What if he would have played 10 more years? Yeah, he probably could have had 20."

But Djokovic has 22 and is hurtling towards Margaret Court's 24 slams, the most by a woman. There is no doubt he believes he can go beyond that, and keep going.

Shingo Kunieda won 28 wheelchair singles majors, and Djokovic might even get up towards that number.

For now, the number that matters is number one. Whether you like him or not, the man they call Nole is hurtling into history as the champion supreme.

The Los Angeles Lakers came back from 27 points down on Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks to produce the largest comeback of the season.

Early in the second quarter the Lakers trailed 48-21, before going on to escape with a 111-108 victory for their third win in a row, and their biggest comeback since 2002.

Trade deadline acquisition Malik Beasley announced his arrival with a 25-point outburst in Thursday's win against the Golden State Warriors, and this time around it was Jarred Vanderbilt showing why he has forced his way into the Lakers' starting line-up.

The rangy six-foot-eight defensive menace was everywhere, working as the primary defender on Luka Doncic on his way to 15 points (six-of-eight shooting), 17 rebounds (eight offensive) and four steals in his 27 minutes.

Anthony Davis was the star of the show on the offensive end, scoring a game-high 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting with 15 rebounds and four assists, and the league's active leader for career blocked shots per game swatted away three Maverick attempts.

LeBron James had an injury scare, and while he is still not out of the woods, he stayed in the game and put up 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting with eight rebounds.

For the Mavericks, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving shot a combined 18-of-44 (40 per cent) from the field for 47 points, while the other three members of the starting line-up combined for 18 points.

With the win, the Lakers improved their record to 29-32 and now sit just one game out of the Play-In Tournament placings, while they are also just 2.5 games away from the Mavericks in the sixth seed.

Lillard puts on a show

Damian Lillard matched Donovan Mitchell's season-best 71 points as he scored 13 three-pointers in the Portland Trail Blazers' 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets.

The Blazers guard's 71-point mark was both a franchise and career high, topping his previous record of 61.

Lillard had 41 points with eight triples by half-time, the most points of any player in a half this season. He shot 13-of-22 from beyond the arc for the game, having a perfect 14-of-14 from the line.

Klay stays hot

After 42 points and 12 three-pointers on Friday's win, Klay Thompson led the Golden State Warriors to a 109-104 home win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The future Hall of Fame sharpshooter hit another six threes on his way to a team-high 32 points, shooting 12-of-23 from the field and six-of-14 from deep. Donte DiVincenzo was strong in a supporting role, chipping in 21 points (seven-of-13 shooting), eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

After shooting a red-hot 43.1 per cent on a gaudy 11.6 three-point attempts per game in the month of January, Thompson has elevated even further this month, getting up 12.1 attempts per game and connecting at 45.9 per cent.

Camila Giorgi claimed her first WTA title since 2021 as she overcame Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson in three sets to secure the Merida Open crown on Sunday.

World number 68 Giorgi triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 6-2 over Peterson in a see-sawing decider that lasted two hours and 25 minutes in Mexico.

Giorgi seemed in strife when she trailed 2-0 in the third set after losing a lopsided second frame, but hit back emphatically by reeling off the final six games.

The victory was Giorgi's fourth WTA title and first since winning the Canadian Open in 2021, helping her return to the top-50 when the next rankings are released on Monday.

The Italian had qualified for her 10th career WTA final without dropping a set, including a 6-0 6-0 double bagel rout of second seed Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals.

Peterson had enjoyed a resurgent tournament after an injury-hit 2022 season, but was unable to claim her first WTA title since 2019.

LeBron James conceded he was troubled by a foot issue in Sunday's 111-108 victory over the Dallas Mavericks where the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from 27 points down.

The Lakers pulled off the biggest comeback win of the NBA season, with James playing out the game despite sustaining a right foot problem late in the third quarter.

James appeared to tell teammates "I heard it pop" as he lay on the ground after his failed lay-up attempt where he suffered the injury.

Despite a noticeable limp post-game, James finished with 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting from the field with eight rebounds and three assists.

"It's been better," James told reporters. "That's for sure. But I definitely wasn't going to go to the locker room and not finish the game out tonight.

"Just understood the importance of the game and then with the momentum that we had, I felt like we could still win after being down.

"We'll monitor it the next couple days, see how it feels and go from there."

On the injury, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham added: "He's good. Our medical people are looking at him right now, he'll get reevaluated again in the morning."

Ham denied that James had said he heard a "pop" upon sustaining the injury.

The victory means the Lakers are 4-1 since their NBA deadline day trades that included the acquisitions of Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley, who both started on Sunday, along with D'Angelo Russell.

The Lakers are in a race to make the playoffs or the play-in tournament, sitting 11th in the Western Conference with a 29-32 record.

Their recent run of wins has boosted their playoffs hopes, particularly given the new-look line-up.

"I feel like we're in a good place," James said. "We're gonna try to continue that."

Ham added that the Lakers never got "discouraged" as they mounted the biggest comeback win of the season.

"The guys never got discouraged," Ham said. "They had that look of frustration, but it wasn't a look of defeatedness on their faces. Everybody just wanted to stay encouraged."

Less than two weeks after saying he planned to become a free agent next offseason, Manny Machado committed his future to the San Diego Padres.

On Sunday, ESPN reported that Machado and the Padres agreed to a new 11-year, $350million contract that will run through the 2033 season.

The new deal will begin this season and replaces the six years and $180m Machado had remaining on the 10-year, $300m contract he signed with the Padres in 2019. It also contains a full no-trade clause and no opt-out opportunities, according to MLB.com.

Machado would have been able to opt out of his previous contract at the end of this season, and announced on February 17 he intended to do so after he and the Padres were unable to agree to an extension prior to a deadline imposed by the six-time All-Star's representatives.

The Padres have yet to officially announce the agreement, which is pending a physical, though Machado alluded to a deal being reached as he passed reporters while preparing for Sunday’s spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"They believed in me since day one, and here we are," he said. "We’re going to, hopefully, make this our home. We're excited to be here for the rest of our careers and have this hat go into the Hall of Fame."

A career .282 hitter with 283 home runs over 11 major league seasons, Machado is coming off an excellent 2022 campaign where he finished second to St. Louis' Paul Goldchmidt for the National League’s Most Valuable Player award.

Machado finished the season fourth in the NL with a .298 batting average while producing 32 homers and 102 RBIs to help the Padres earn a playoff spot.

The 30-year-old homered four more times in 12 postseason games as San Diego ousted both the New York Mets and the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers to reach the NL Championship Series.

Machado previously won the NL's Silver Slugger Award for third basemen in 2020 and owns two Gold Glove awards. He broke into the majors as a 20-year-old with Baltimore in 2012 and spent six-plus seasons with the Orioles before being traded to the Dodgers in 2018. The Miami native signed with the Padres as a free agent the following offseason.

Jake Paul and Tommy Fury appear set for a rematch in the future after Fury emerged victorious via split decision in Sunday's clash in Saudi Arabia.

In a fight that was originally scheduled back in December 2021 and postponed on two separate occasions, both competitors came into the contest boasting unbeaten records.

A relatively sloppy affair by professional boxing standards, both fighters were deducted a point by the referee. First, Paul was docked a point for a shot to the back of the head in the fifth round, but the ledger was evened in the sixth when Fury was penalised for excessive holding.

The biggest drama came in the eighth and final round as Paul connected and knocked Fury down, but he comfortably beat the count and looked on solid footing on the way to the final bell.

In the end, one judge scored the fight an even four rounds apiece, with Paul getting the edge 74-75 due to the knockdown, while the other two judges gave Fury a six rounds to two advantage and a pair of 76-73 scorecards.

There was no rematch clause written into the contract if Paul was named the winner, but there was one in the event of Fury winning, and both fighters indicated afterwards they are prepared to go again.

"For the past two and a half years, this is all that's consumed my life," Fury said during his in-ring interview. "I've had broken ribs, denied access, and everybody thought I was running scared. But tonight I made my own legacy – I am Tommy Fury.

"All the way through these two and a half years, I had a dream, I had a vision I would win this fight and no one believed me.

"Now I can stand up and everybody can take note. In my first main event [at] 23 years old, I had the world on me, I had pressure on my shoulders and I came through.

"One hundred per cent [I will fight him again], this is my first main event. I'm only gonna go stronger, I'm only gonna go bigger, and I'm only gonna go better… if he wants a rematch, bring it on."

In the press conference afterwards, Paul said the rematch is at the top of his list of future fights.

"Yeah, for sure, I think I've got to go and get this one back," he said. "KSI is yet to fight a real opponent, so we don't even know his actual skill level, but that's obviously still a massive fight.

"But I'm going to go back for this rematch. I just talked to Tommy back in the medical room, and he's like 'lets go, let's do it again' – so I think that will be the focus first and foremost. 

"I'm going to prove that I can fight a better fight than I did tonight, and get that W."

Draymond Green has suffered an injury "setback" forcing him out of a second straight game, according to Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Kerr revealed Green's right knee contusion had "flared up", meaning he was a late scratch for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The four-time NBA All-Star had missed Friday's 116-101 win over the Houston Rockets due to the same injury.

"It flared up today," Kerr told reporters pre-game. "He will be more thoroughly checked today by our medical staff.

"It was sort of unexpected, the way he came through treatment yesterday, everything was looking good. He had a setback today, so we'll learn more today and we'll have more for you tomorrow."

Kerr confirmed it was likely Green, who is averaging 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists this season, would undergo an MRI on the injury.

The reigning NBA champions are already without two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry due to a leg injury.

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer offered reassurance on the severity of Giannis Antetokounmpo's knee injury after missing Sunday's 104-101 win over the Phoenix Suns.

Antetokounmpo sustained the injury after a clash of knees forced him out of Friday's 128-99 win over the Miami Heat in the first quarter after playing only six minutes.

Budenholzer was unable to offer much detail after Friday's game, but provided more clarity following Sunday's win, which was Milwaukee's 14th in a row.

"It's enough where he can't play today, but I think we're also confident that this is a fairly common occurrence in our league," Budenholzer told reporters.

"You hit knees, you knock, sometimes it takes a day or two and it's really nothing more than that. The level of conversations have all been along that line."

The Bucks' 14-game win streak is the longest in the NBA this season, with the 43-17 side behind only the Boston Celtics (44-17).

MVP candidate Antetokounmpo, who recently spent time out with a wrist injury, has been a key part of the Bucks' success this campaign.

Antetokounmpo (31.3) is behind only Luka Doncic (33.2), Joel Embiid (33.1) and Damian Lillard (31.4) for points per game this season and is second for rebounds, averaging 12.0 per game behind only Domantas Sabonis (12.3).

Jrue Holiday top scored with 33 points against the Suns, while center Brook Lopez made a strong contribution with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

After 179 starts and nearly eight years since his last victory on the PGA Tour, Chris Kirk survived finding the water on 18 to beat rookie Eric Cole in a playoff for the Honda Classic.

Kirk came into Sunday with a two-stroke lead, and after a two-under front nine he was enjoying a gap on the rest of the field. 

Cole was not flawless, but his work on the greens was exceptional, with 11 one-putts through the first 15 holes to keep the pressure on Kirk as he tried to become the first rookie winner this season.

Paired together, the duo reached the final hole with Kirk ahead by one, but after a perfect tee shot he went for the par-five green in two, coming up just short and finding the water.

It left the door wide open for Cole, who could have stolen the win with a birdie, but his approach found the bunker, and he could only salvage a par. Meanwhile, Kirk made bogey, setting them up to replay the 18th for the playoff.

This time Kirk's tee shot nestled in right behind a tree trunk, forcing him to play conservative and lay-up, while Cole went for it in two and was long into the bunker.

Kirk's approach was the tournament winner, spinning it into range for a tap-in birdie, and while Cole got out of the bunker and gave himself a makeable birdie putt, it tragically lipped out to hand Kirk the win.

Speaking after stepping off the final green, Kirk reflected on his journey the past few years, having temporarily stepped away from the game in 2019 to deal with alcohol and depression issues.

"I can't yet [describe it]," he said. "I just have so much to be thankful for. I'm so grateful for my sobriety, I'm so grateful for my family, I'm so grateful for everyone who has supported me throughout the past three or four years especially.

"I definitely did [draw on recent top-three finishes]. I was obviously very, very nervous today, having not won in so long. 

"Going down the stretch I felt good, obviously that putt on 16 was huge. I was in a great position on 18, but just made a bad swing at the wrong time. 

"I was just trying to stay aggressive and hit it in the middle of the green, but you know, in hindsight it probably would have been better to hit it over to the left somewhere – but thank god it worked out."

For the win, Kirk took home $1.5million, while Cole's consolation prize of $915,000 will soften the blow.

Cameron Norrie avenged last week's Argentina Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz by fighting back to beat the injury-hit Spaniard in a back-and-forth Rio Open final on Sunday.

Defending Rio Open champion Alcaraz was hampered by an injury to his right leg as he was pegged back after taking the opener, with Norrie eventually claiming a 5-7 6-4 7-5 win.

Alcaraz performed admirably despite seeing his movement limited in a nail-biting decider, but Norrie's power ultimately proved too much as the 27-year-old took his fifth ATP career title.

Top seed Alcaraz – playing in his 10th tour-level final at the age of 19 – started well and had forced seven break points by the time he took a thrilling first set, allowing Norrie just one.

With Alcaraz stopping to have his right thigh wrapped after appearing to be in discomfort, Norrie roared back and took the second set following three straight breaks of serve.

That teed up a dramatic finish, with Alcaraz playing a series of delightful drop shots to take the first break of the decider despite playing at walking pace for long periods. 

Alcaraz stopped to tear the wrapping off his leg as the pair traded breaks in front of a lively crowd in Brazil, but it proved a bridge too far for the Spaniard as Norrie pinned him back, hitting several excellent returns to claim his first final success against a top-10 ranked opponent.  

"It's so special to win this one, especially after losing a couple of finals already this year," Norrie told Amazon Prime Video. "I had to do it the tough way, you know? 

"I was looking done there and I just managed to flip a switch and turn it around. It's a good day, especially on a surface I'm not too comfortable with. I had to battle a lot of demons in the last couple of weeks."

Charles Howell III put together a blistering eight-under final round to secure a dominant victory at LIV Golf Mayakoba on Sunday.

In the first event of the LIV Golf season, Howell just got better as the week rolled on, posting a three-under 68 on Friday, before closing with a 66 on Saturday and a 63 to put the icing on the cake.

He finished four strokes clear of the field, also carrying his team Crushers GC to the team title. Along with Paul Casey, also in the top five at seven under, and captain Bryson DeChambeau at one under, Crushers GC gapped the competition by nine strokes.

It was Howell's first professional win since the 2018 RSM Classic, earning a $4million prize as the individual champion, as well as his share of $3m for the team's success.

Peter Uhlein ended up in second place at 12 under, but he had his sights set on the win prior to an ugly triple-bogey following a shanked drive, and a shanked provisional.

Branden Grace was third at 10 under, and then there was another three-stroke gap to the rest of the field.

Reigning Open champion Cameron Smith produced a four-under final round to climb into a tie for fifth at six under.

After winning the inaugural team title, 4 Aces GC were weighed down by a horrific seven-over final round from captain Dustin Johnson, but they still finished second in the team standings thanks to Uhlein and Pat Perez (five under).

Phil Mickelson will be pleased with his four-under final round, pulling him to one over for the tournament, while Bryson DeChambeau ended up at even par.

Scotland boss Gregor Townsend claimed his team did everything but take their chances as they fell 32-21 to France in Paris, seeing Grand Slam hopes collapse.

The visitors came back from an early 19-0 deficit to close to 25-21 going into the final moments, when Gael Fickou went over for a clinching try.

After beginning their campaign with wins over England and Wales, the Scots arrived at the Stade de France believing they could extend their successful run, but an early red card for Grant Gilchrist put them in trouble.

Fabien Galthie's hosts pulled clear but were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas was ordered off for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Head coach Townsend said: "From our perspective we're disappointed not to win. I'm so proud of a lot of aspects of the game, how we played, the effort that we put in, our togetherness, our resilience that was on show, but we created enough chances to win the game.

"We created enough chances to be leading at half-time, which was incredible to think when we were a man down and points down on the scoreboard. We believed we could win that in the second half, and we're just disappointed we didn't come away with a win.

"In the second half the game opened up even more, and we had opportunities to take them on wide, which we did. We just didn't take those opportunities. Credit to France in defence, but we probably played better today than in our last two games, and we did enough to win. We feel we did enough to win, but you've got to take those opportunities when you play the top teams in the world."

There is still a chance of a Triple Crown, with unbeaten Ireland heading to Murrayfield in two weeks' time.

"It's big for us to be still in the competition with two games to go, to be playing for a trophy and the Triple Crown," Townsend said. "It'll be a different game against Ireland. I don't think it will be as open. We'll wait and see if it is, and they're a difficult team to play against.

"But we really believe in what we have here. We've got up against one of the best teams in the world on their own patch with 14 men, and we've come away really disappointed not to get a win or get four tries against their defence."

France defence coach Shaun Edwards reflected on a dramatic match, saying Les Bleus knew the size of the challenge they faced.

"It's difficult to sum it up because there were so many ebbs and flows: red cards, fantastic tries, interceptions," Edwards said. "It had the lot, some fantastic goal-kicking as well. It was a high-class game.

"We knew we were playing against a high-quality opponent. They're the only team to have beaten us here since Fabien took over, so we were doubly determined not to let that happen again.

"It ended up being 14 against 14 so that was equal, but obviously having an advantage at first for us was something we took, and we picked up some points. It doesn't affect that much in defence. I think both teams adapted well."

France got back to winning ways in the Six Nations with a 32-21 bonus-point victory over Scotland at the Stade de France.

Scotland headed into Sunday's game having opened the competition with back-to-back wins for the first time ever in the Six Nations era, but their hopes of setting up a potential Grand Slam decider against Ireland were ended as France bounced back from their 32-19 defeat to Andy Farrell's side in their last outing.

France were ahead within five minutes through Roman Ntamack, with Thomas Ramos adding the extras, and things went from bad to worse for Scotland shortly after when Grant Gilchrist was sent off for a high tackle on Anthony Jelonch.

The hosts extended their lead to 19-0 with tries from Ethan Dumortier and Ramos, though they were down to 14 men themselves when Mohamed Haouas saw red for a head-on-head hit on Ben White.

Huw Jones reduced the deficit prior to the break before going over again shortly after the restart to spark hopes of a Scotland revival, though a Ramos kick went through the posts to stretch France's advantage to 11 points.

Finn Russell then barrelled over before converting his own try to cut the lead to just four, and his team got the ball back with less than two minutes to play.

Scotland needed to go almost the full length of the field, but a penalty handed possession back to France, and the hosts capped the victory through Gael Fickou.