Patrick Marleau, the NHL's all-time leader in games played, is officially retiring after 23 seasons.
The 42-year-old Marleau, who spent 21 seasons with the San Jose Sharks while also playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, announced his decision on Tuesday in a piece he wrote in the Players' Tribune.
"It's bittersweet for sure, but I have so much to look forward to," Marleau wrote. "Who knows what the world has in store for me?
"If you would have told that kid on the frozen pond that he would break a games-played record held by none other than Gordie Howe, he would have thought you were crazy.
"It was never something I aimed for; it was just me loving this game so much that I never, ever wanted to hang up my skates."
Marleau broke Howe's games-played record of 1,767 on April 19, 2021, and finished his career with 566 goals, 631 assists and 1,197 points in 1,779 games.
The second overall pick of the 1997 draft by the Sharks, Marleau is the most decorated player in franchise history, holding club records for games played, goals, points, power-play goals, short-handed goals and shots.
He made his NHL debut in 1997 and spent his first 19 seasons with San Jose before joining Toronto in 2017.
During his time with the Sharks, Marleau helped the club capture six division titles and earn 17 playoff berths, although San Jose lost to Pittsburgh in six games in his only trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016. In 195 playoff games, Marleau amassed 72 goals and 55 assists for 127 points.
Marleau played in his final game almost one year ago on May 12, 2021, sitting out the 2021-22 season after not signing with a team.
The Portland Trail Blazers are making interim general manager Joe Cronin their permanent appointment, according to reports.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski says Cronin, who has been in the role since December, is being given a four-year contract.
Cronin replaced Neil Olshey, who was fired following an investigation into complaints around the Blazers' "workplace environment".
Although Portland finished 13th in the West this season, missing out on the playoffs, Cronin has already had to make key decisions.
The Blazers traded guard CJ McCollum – a first-round pick in 2013 and key man thereafter – to the New Orleans Pelicans.
But Cronin plans to build around injured superstar Damian Lillard, McCollum's long-term team-mate.
Cuba was victorious in both genders of the recently concluded Varadero Beach Volleyball Tournament in Varadero Cuba, the second stop of the 2022 Norceca Beach Volleyball Tour.
Leila Martinez and Lidy Echeverría were crowned at home as queens of the women's segment. The pair of Martínez and Echeverría prevailed against Canadians Emma Glagau and Ruby Sorra 2-1 (21-12, 19-21, 15-12) in a close duel. USA pair of Iya Lindhal and Alexandra Wheeler won third place after defeating Guatemalans Natalia Girón and Laura Quiñones 2-0 (21-14, 21-19).
Miguel Ayón and Yosvani Carrasco completed the Cuban double victory. Ayon and Carrasco scored a comfortable 2-0 (21-13, 21-17) win over the American duo of Travis Mewhirter and Thimothy Brewster. Third place went to another Cuban pair Jorge Luis Alayo and Noslen Díaz who edged Americans Ryan Smith and Michael Boag 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 15-12).
The Jamaican pair of Ryck Webb and Noley Ferguson placed 14th of 16 teams. Coming into the tournament the Jamaicans were seeded 15. They played and lost their first two games against the eventual 2nd and 4th place teams USA A and USA B.
General Secretary of the Jamaica Volleyball Association, Audley Weir is optimistic based on the performances of the team.
“Jamaica did well under challenging circumstances. We saw a lot of positives from this trip. The team was very competitive against the Americans who are a volleyball powerhouse in the World. We will regroup and prepare for the next tournament,” Weir said.
Jamaica was the highest placed team from the Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) region. The Jamaican women’s team will participate in the next leg of the Norceca Beach Circuit which will be held in La Paz, Mexico from May 13 – 16, 2022.
Lennard Kaemna put in a clever ride to win the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia at Mount Etna on Monday.
The German took the victory after a sprint finish with Juan Pedro Lopez, though there was sufficient consolation for the Spaniard as he now holds the maglia rosa.
It was Kaemna's first stage win in the Giro, and his second Grand Tour victory following the Villard-de-Lans stage at the 2020 Tour de France.
Lopez at 24 years of age is the youngest Spanish rider in the maglia rosa ever, taking the record from Alberto Contador (2008).
After the win, Kaemna revealed his belief of a "tacit agreement" for him to take the stage victory and Lopez to claim the maglia rosa, though that did not appear to be the case as Lopez turned the final corner without allowing much space.
"It was a very tough lap, especially the final climb," Kaemna said. "I thought it was gone when Lopez was signaled at 30. When I took him back maybe there was a tacit agreement, stop with me and maglia rosa with him.
"I'm happy to have won a stage, it takes a lot of pressure off the team too."
A 14-man breakaway had established a lead of over seven minutes as the climb to Mount Etna began, with Alpecin Fenix's Stefano Oldani eventually making a move out in front with six other riders.
However, Lopez took control after that, before Kaemna joined him for the last 2.5km as the duo set up an exciting finish, which the latter took on the final corner.
MOTORBIKE CRASH ALMOST RUINS RACE
The day did not get off to the best start for many riders as a motorbike caused a crash in the early phases of stage four.
The motorbike was part of the race convoy and had moved close to a tightly-packed peloton, before it clipped something at the side of the road and went down, causing several riders to fall with it, while many others were forced to stop.
Roger Kluge of Lotto Soudal seemed to hit the vehicle directly as he was riding behind it, but the German was able to get up and continue his race.
STAGE RESULT
1. Lennard Kaemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 4:32:11
2. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) same time
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:34
4. Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Soudal) +2:12
5. Mauri Vansevenant (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) +2:12
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 14:17:07
2. Lennard Kaemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:39
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:58
Points Classification
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 62
2. Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 55
3. Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 53
King of the Mountains
1. Lennard Kaemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 40
2. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 18
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 12
Tom Brady will join FOX Sports as an NFL analyst when he brings an end to his legendary career, but he first has "a lot of unfinished business" with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It appeared as though the 2021 season would be Brady's last when he announced his retirement after seven Super Bowl wins.
But the quarterback backtracked on that decision, returning to Tampa, where he has one year remaining on his contract.
While it is unclear whether Brady will again call time on his career in 2023, he has at least confirmed post-career plans.
"We are pleased to announce that immediately following his playing career, seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady will be joining us at FOX Sports as our lead analyst," said FOX executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch.
"Over the course of this long-term agreement, Tom will not only call our biggest NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt but will also serve as an ambassador for us, particularly with respect to client and promotional initiatives.
"We are delighted that Tom has committed to joining the FOX team and wish him all the best during this upcoming season."
Brady reacted to the news on his Twitter page, posting: "Excited, but a lot of unfinished business on the field with the @Buccaneers."
Chris Evert announced she has completed a course of chemotherapy treatment after the American tennis great was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The 67-year-old American, whose on-court battles with Martina Navratilova in the 1970s and 1980s provided one of the greatest tennis rivalries, won 18 grand slam singles titles.
Only Steffi Graf and Serena Williams have won more in the Open Era, with Evert finishing her career on the same number as Navratilova.
Evert revealed she had cancer ahead of the Australian Open in January, with it being discovered after a preventive hysterectomy.
She explained at the time it had been found at an early stage, saying she was "very lucky" in that respect. Evert's sister Jeanne died from ovarian cancer in February 2020.
In an update, Evert wrote on Twitter: "I'm a little out of it (meds) but nonetheless, thankful and relieved I finished my 6 chemo treatments."
She posted a video showing her bidding an emotional goodbye to oncology staff at Cleveland Clinic.
Fellow US tennis star Pam Shriver replied: "Happy tears in Los Angeles! Congratulations"
Stephen Curry hailed Mike Brown's input after the Golden State Warriors moved 3-1 ahead in their Western Conference semi-final series duel with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Brown, who has agreed to become the Sacramento Kings' next head coach, is seeing out his final weeks as assistant with the Warriors and stepped up on Monday when Steve Kerr tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of Game 4 duties.
Curry joked Brown was setting trends, after being made head coach of two teams in such quick succession.
The Warriors were held to just 38 points in the first half, but Curry stepped up, scoring 18 of his 32 points in the final quarter, including eight consecutive clutch free throws in the final minute as his team edged ahead and clung on to a narrow lead.
"It's been a wild day all round. You just had to figure it out on the fly," Curry said after the 101-98 win.
"We've been through this before. In '16-17 the coach had his back problems back in the day when he was out of the line-up but still had an influence, and Mike B stepped up.
"We didn't have a lot of time to react. We went out and tried to execute. We obviously didn't for three quarters. Defensively we were solid, but offensively we couldn't get anything going, and we gutted it out."
Curry became the first player to reach 500 three-pointers in NBA playoffs during the narrow win.
Brown's move to Sacramento was only agreed on Sunday and will take effect once the playoffs are over. With Warriors head coach Kerr sidelined, Brown kept the team moving closer to the Western Conference Finals.
"He had a lot of good words tonight," said Curry. "I don't know in history if anyone's been named head coach of two teams in 24 hours, so he's continued to set some trends.
"He's been through it all, been with us for this last six years, been interim coach for a little bit and made his presence felt, especially defensively."
Al Horford's career-best playoff haul of 30 points drew acclaim as the Boston Celtics secured Game 4 with a superb fourth quarter in a 116-108 road win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The 35-year-old veteran and five-time NBA All-Star delivered 11-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists as Boston levelled the NBA Eastern Conference semi-final series at 2-2.
Horford rose to the occasion after a third-quarter dunk from Giannis Antetokounmpo left him smarting, and steered the visitors to a crucial win at the Fiserv Forum in Wisconsin.
The center returned the favour on his opponent in the final act, with both handed technical fouls, but it was the sheer energy of the Dominican that captured the attention.
"That was a hell of a play," team-mate Jayson Tatum said. "Especially anytime Al turns back the clock and he looks like his old self, it gets everybody off the bench.
"Al plays with so much passion. When Al is playing with passion like that, everybody else has to follow."
Marcus Smart also hailed Horford, in particular for his dunk, adding: "It's a big-time play in a big-time moment.
"It's a physical game. We were on the other end a couple of times, so it felt kind of good to have that one."
Horford himself admitted the Celtics were driven to victory by a desire to close out the game after the Bucks held on for a 103-101 win on Saturday in Game 3.
"We felt that at the end of Game 3 that we were in a position to win the game, and we didn't," he added. "I was just really locked in.
"I understood the moment and what we needed to do as a group. Just come out and we were gonna do whatever it took tonight. It was one of those types of nights."
The two sides return to Massachusetts now, and will contest Game 5 at the TD Garden on Wednesday.
The Florida Panthers twice came back from a one-goal deficit to defeat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime, tying the series at 2-2.
Heading into the contest trailing 2-1, and playing on Washington's home ice, the Panthers were put on the back foot early after T.J. Oshie opened the scoring in the first period.
Carter Verhaeghe tied things up less than 10 minutes later, before Evgeny Kuznetsov put the Capitals back in front in the third period off an assist from legendary teammate Alex Ovechkin.
With just over two minutes to play, Sam Reinhart tied it at 2-2 to force an extra period, where Verhaeghe would slot the winner five minutes in to steal the game on the road.
Speaking to post-game media, two-goal hero Verhaeghe said the result adds to the belief of what this team – dubbed the 'Comeback Cats' – can accomplish.
"We wanted to come in and have our best game of the series, and I think we did a pretty good job," he said.
"It’s just kind of a building block. We know we have another level to get to, and we’re a great team, so I think it’s just building some confidence."
Fellow goal-scorer Reinhart added that the backs-to-the-wall nature of the battle was everything he enjoyed as a competitor.
"Those are the kind of situations you want to be in as a hockey player," he said. "It’s a game that can really go either way at the end of it – we stuck with it, and we’re happy with the result."
Washington's Ovechkin – a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner for league MVP – was clear about the next course of action, and not overreacting to a painful loss.
"At the end, it was bad bounces and it goes in," he said. "It is going to be a tough, long series, so move on. Forget about it, move on."
It was much smoother sailing for the Colorado Avalanche, beating the Nashville Predators 5-3 to sweep their series 4-0. J.T Compher and Cale Makar both collected a pair of assists each for the Avalanche.
The Pittsburgh Penguins received a vintage performance from future Hall-of-Famer Sydney Crosby as he slotted one goal and dished two assists in his side's 7-2 win against the New York Rangers, taking a 3-1 series lead in the process.
Lastly, the Calgary Flames won a crucial Game 4 on the road against the Dallas Stars 4-1 to tie their series at 2-2, despite Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger making 50 saves.
The Cleveland Guardians pulled off a spectacular comeback to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-9 on the road in extra innings, as Josh Naylor finished with a remarkable eight RBIs.
After an action-packed first inning, highlighted by Gavin Sheets' three-run home run for Chicago, the White Sox led 4-1.
There would be no more runs over the next five innings as Cleveland's Zach Plesac and Chicago's Michael Kopeck found a nice rhythm, with both starters withdrawn at the beginning of the seventh inning.
This also happened to be when the action picked back up, with the White Sox adding another run via a Tim Anderson double to make it 5-1 going into the eighth.
Naylor collected his own RBI double in the eighth to peg back one run, but the game appeared to be done when the White Sox's AJ Pollock blasted a three-run homer to make it 8-2 with one inning to play.
The Guardians had other ideas, as Andres Gimenez led off the inning with a solo home run, and a pair of errors first allowed Amed Rosario to advance from first base to third, and then brought him home, making it 8-4 with no outs.
After the next two batters were retired, a walk and a single loaded the bases for Naylor to be the hero. Naylor blasted the first pitch he saw over the right-centre wall for a grand slam, tying the game and sending it to extra innings.
Gimenez added a run in the top of the 10th inning, which was matched by Reese McGuire's RBI in the bottom of the frame, forcing an 11th innings.
With two outs, capping off an outrageous day at the plate, Naylor hit a three-run home run, giving him eight RBIs with three hits and a walk from six at-bats.
Stars shine in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Angels' two MVP hopefuls put on a show in their 11-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
After a fourth-inning solo home run for Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena, Angels stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout collected back-to-back hits later in the inning, setting the table for Jared Walsh to blast a three-run homer.
There was more back-to-back magic in the sixth inning, as Trout stepped up and blasted a two-run home run, before Ohtani came out next and sent a 407-foot shot over the wall at left-centre.
Trout would drive in another run an inning later with his bases-loaded walk, before Ohtani once again followed him in style, bombing a 413-foot grand slam.
Yankees no-hitter broken up late
New York Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes took his no-hit bid into the eighth inning as his side beat the Texas Rangers 1-0.
Through seven complete innings, the score was tied at 0-0, with the Rangers' four base-runners for the game all reaching via walk.
After the first batter of the eighth inning was struck out, Texas' Eli White finally broke up the no-hitter with a base hit to centre-field, before New York's Anthony Rizzo drove in the one and only run for the contest later in the same frame. Cortes finished with 11 strikeouts from his seven-and-a-third innings.
The Boston Celtics produced an incredible fourth quarter to take Game 4 116-108 on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks, tying the NBA Eastern Conference semi-final series at 2-2.
A strong start for home side Milwaukee saw them hold the Celtics to just 18 points in the first quarter, but the tough play of Al Horford, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown helped the visitors back into the game, trailing 48-47 at half-time.
Performances went up a gear in the second half, as a massive Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk on Horford was then reciprocated, with both players receiving technical fouls after their respective dunks.
After a quiet start, Jayson Tatum began to find his footing, eventually taking over to score 20 of his 30 points in the second half, going 11-of-24 from the field overall with 13 rebounds and five assists.
Tatum was vital to the Celtics, but Horford was their best player, with 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists, while also being their primary source of interior defence.
There were times when it appeared Antetokounmpo simply would not be denied, going on to post game-highs in points with 34 (14-of-32 shooting) and rebounds with 18, but he needed far more offensive help from Jrue Holiday, who shot just five-of-22 from the field for his 16 points to go with his nine assists and seven rebounds.
Antetokounmpo's 13 points in the third quarter guided the Bucks to a 80-73 lead at three-quarter time, but there would be nothing they could do about the offensive onslaught that was to come.
In the final frame, the Celtics shot 16-of-19 from the field (84 per cent), four-of-five from three-point range and seven-of-seven from the free-throw line, winning the quarter 43-28 and pulling away down the stretch.
Game 5 will head back to Boston, with Game 6 scheduled to return to Milwaukee. Game 7, if needed, will be played in Boston.
Chef Curry cooks up late comeback
The Memphis Grizzlies lacked the firepower to match the Golden State Warriors down the stretch, going down 101-98 as the Warriors established a 3-1 series lead in their Western Conference semi-final.
Without Ja Morant, who missed the game after suffering a knee injury in Game 3, the Grizzlies fought gallantly, leading at quarter-time, half-time and three-quarter time as their defense rose to the occasion and turned it into a scrap.
With Jaren Jackson Jr dominating around the rim – blocking five shots and snatching two steals – the Warriors were held to just 38 points in the first half, but poor shooting from Jackson (seven-of-21) and Dillon Brooks (five-of-19) bogged down the Grizzlies offense.
Needing a hero in the fourth quarter, Warriors superstar Stephen Curry stepped up, scoring 18 of his 32 points, including eight consecutive clutch free throws in the final minute, as his team edged ahead and clung on to a narrow lead.
Curry shot 10-of-25 from the field across the game, and four-of-14 from long range, with eight assists and five rebounds.
Andrew Wiggins was arguably the Warriors' strongest performer across all four quarters, shooting seven-of-13 for his 17 points, with five of his 10 rebounds coming on the offensive end, and he added two blocks and one steal to finish with a team-high plus/minus of plus 12.
Otto Porter – who is still just 28 years old and set to become an unrestricted free agent – continues to make himself money this postseason as he played a crucial 26 minutes off the bench, shooting four-of-six from long range and adding three assists with two steals.
Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant has officially been ruled out of Game 4 against the Golden State Warriors due to a knee injury he suffered in Game 3.
Morant, who was the winner of this season's Most Improved Player award, has averaged 38.3 points, 8.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game through the first three fixtures of the series.
It appeared Morant had a knee-on-knee clash in Game 3, but the Grizzlies highlighted a sequence where Morant got tangled up with Jordan Poole during a double-team near half-court, where Poole appeared to grab Morant's knee and pull it.
While it seemed innocuous, with the NBA announcing Poole would face no repercussions, Morant tweeted a video of the incident immediately after the game with the caption "broke the code" – before deleting the tweet.
The "code" Morant is referencing touches on a comment made by Warriors coach Steve Kerr, when he said Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks "broke the code" with his flagrant two foul on Gary Payton II that caused a fractured elbow and sidelined the defensive specialist through at least the rest of the series.
While Morant's absence will be clearly felt, the Grizzlies may be the team most equipped to survive for a game without their star, finishing the regular season with a 20-5 record in the 25 games Morant missed.
Game 4 will be played at the home of Golden State, before returning to Memphis for Game 5.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss Game 4 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Assistant coach Mike Brown will step in as acting head coach – a role he is familiar with.
During the Warriors' 2017 championship run, Brown went 12-0 as acting head coach in the playoffs as Kerr was sidelined for an extended period, with the Warriors ultimately finishing that postseason with a 16-1 record.
It is interesting timing for Brown, who was announced as the next Sacramento Kings head coach on Sunday.
He has been with the Warriors since 2016, after spending 10 years as a successful head coach beforehand, winning over 61 per cent of his games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Former NBA player and Michigan State star Adreian Payne has died at the age of 31 after being shot in Orlando.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Monday that Payne was transported to hospital following reports of a shooting at 01:34 local time and was later pronounced dead.
Payne was a first-round pick in the 2014 draft and played 107 NBA games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.9 rebounds across spells with the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Orlando Magic.
He played professionally with Lithuanian side Juventus Utena earlier this year and has also previously represented sides in Turkey, France, Greece and China.
A male has been arrested for the shooting on a first-degree murder warrant.
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams has won NBA Coach of the Year, beating fellow finalists Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat and the Memphis Grizzlies' Taylor Jenkins.
Williams narrowly missed out on 2020-21 award, with the New York Knicks' Tom Thibodeau edging the final tally by 11 votes, but he was the clear choice this season after leading the Suns to a league-best 64-18 record.
As well as winning eight more games than any other team, it also set a new franchise record for wins in a season, and legitimised last year's run to the NBA Finals as more than a fluke.
The news was first broken by Suns star Devin Booker, who tweeted: "Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams has been voted the NBA's COY, book tells sources. A formal announcement is expected later today."
Williams, a former first-round pick in his own right, spent 10 years in the league as a player, and became the youngest head coach in the NBA in 2010 when he earned the head coaching role of the New Orleans Hornets at 38 years old.
After his departure from New Orleans and five years as an assistant, Williams was hired by the Suns in 2019, guiding his team to a memorable 8-0 run in the 'bubble' during his first season.
He has followed that season with two consecutive National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year awards, and his first official NBA Coach of the Year.
The Suns are a combined 115-39 over the past two regular seasons.
Former world number ones Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka advanced to the second round of the Internazionali d'Italia on Monday, while Coco Gauff scored an impressive win over Angelique Kerber.
Halep was a 6-4 6-4 winner against Alize Cornet, who defeated her in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, and will face seventh seed Danielle Collins next.
It was only the Romanian's second win in her six matches against Cornet, though she needed two chances to serve out both sets.
Azarenka needed just 68 minutes to see of Viktorija Golubic, dropping just five points behind her first serve and winning 12 out of 14 from the final three games to complete a 6-3 6-0 triumph.
It only took Gauff two minutes more to see off the challenge of Kerber, who has now won just two of her eight matches on the WTA Tour this year.
Leylah Fernandez came from behind to claim an impressive 1-6 6-2 6-2 victory over 16th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while Madison Keys went down 6-4 6-4 to Anhelina Kalinina.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich's 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 win over Veronika Kudermetova secured her a second-round match against second seed Paula Badosa.
Belinda Bencic overcame Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4 6-2, Shuai Zhang set up a match with Aryna Sabalenka by beating Martina Trevisan 6-4 6-2, and Petra Martic will face Anett Kontaveit after besting Karolina Muchova 6-2 3-6 6-1.
There were also wins for Daria Kasatkina and Yulia Putintseva before rain interrupted Ajla Tomljanovic's match against Camila Giorgi when the Australian was 6-3 4-2 up.
Mercedes principal Toto Wolff has refused to rule out the team reverting to an older car concept as they continue to trail Red Bull and Ferrari after enduring a poor start to the season.
George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and sixth respectively at the inaugural Miami Grand Prix on Sunday as the team's difficult start to the 2022 campaign continued, leading Wolff to declare Mercedes were "in no man's land" as the third-fastest outfit on the grid.
Both drivers have criticised the feel of the team's W13 car after managing just one podium finish apiece this term, with seven-time drivers' champion Hamilton asserting the team were yet to take a "step forward" after a troubled start to the season.
Mercedes' eight-year run of constructors' championships now looks destined to come to an end, with Ferrari possessing a slender lead over Red Bull in the team standings after five races.
Speaking after reigning world champion Max Verstappen claimed victory in Florida, Wolff said a return to the car concept used during pre-season testing at Barcelona could not be ruled out, despite it being "clearly much slower on paper".
However, Wolff said the team's focus had to be on making the current iteration of the car work.
"We need to find out how we can make the current car work predictably for the drivers," he said.
"I wouldn't discount anything. But we need to give all of our people that have produced great race cars in the past the benefit of the doubt and we believe this is the route to go.
"We are faithful to the current concept. We're not looking at the lady next door [to see] if we like it more or not, because it's still good.
"We need to understand, before we make a decision on another concept – where did this one go wrong? And what is the goodness of the concept and what is the badness of the concept?"
Carlos Alcaraz is the best player on the ATP Tour at the moment, according to world number one Novak Djokovic.
Spanish 19-year-old Alcaraz claimed his fourth title of the season at the Madrid Open on Sunday, defeating world number three Alexander Zverev in the final after overcoming Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in his two previous matches.
The teenager has surged up to a career-high sixth in the world rankings as a result, though he opted against competing at this week's Internazionali d'Italia with the French Open rapidly approaching.
"He definitely is special," said Djokovic, who will begin his campaign in Rome against Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday.
"Already he's breaking a lot of records as a teenager, winning two Masters events this year, a couple of 500s. So far, he's the best player in the world, no question, this year with the results that he's been doing.
"The way he was dealing with the pressure... In our match few days ago, how calm he was all the way until the [end] was impressive.
"He deserved to win the trophy. Everything about his game is really impressive. He's a really complete player, can play equally well offensively and defensively. He's the talk of the sport."
Djokovic is yet to win any silverware this season and possesses a 7-4 record, but feels as though he has turned a corner ahead of Roland Garros, where he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his second French Open title last year.
"I think it's closer to [my] desired level every week," he explained. "Madrid, even though I lost in the semi-finals, I still think I played really good tennis, felt physically 100 per cent, even after an almost three-and-a-half-hour battle against Alcaraz.
"I recovered well the next day, was ready to go. That's a positive and encouraging factor prior to Rome and also, of course, the big goal, which is Paris.
"I think I'm [going] in the right direction. I know I can always play better, and I know that I'm very self-critical on the court. At the same time, realistically looking, I think the tennis, quality of tennis, level of tennis, is really high now.
"Hopefully I can maintain that level throughout this week and build, go deep in this tournament hopefully — that's the goal — and come to Paris well-prepared."
Tiger Woods has been included in the final field for the US PGA Championship next week, with Phil Mickelson returning from his self-enforced break to defend his title.
After contesting his first event in 17 months at the Masters in April, 15-time major winner Woods will take part in the tournament at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa.
The 46-year-old finished 47th at Augusta, an impressive feat having almost lost his leg following a car accident Los Angeles in February 2021.
Woods two weeks ago played a practise round at Southern Hills, which was the site of his 2007 US PGA Championship success.
Reigning champion Mickelson will also be in the field when the second major of the year gets under way on May 19.
Mickelson has not played since February after opting to take a break from the sport following the backlash to his controversial comments over the Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League – now officially called the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
The 51-year-old said Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights", but added he was willing to commit to the league as it was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates". Mickelson later apologised for his "reckless" comments.
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