Shelby Rogers was anticipating "nine million death threats" after her fourth-round loss to Emma Raducanu at the US Open on Monday.
Just two days after coming from two breaks down in the third set to defeat world number one and top seed Ash Barty, Rogers succumbed to a 6-2 6-1 defeat at the hands of Raducanu.
The 18-year-old consequently reached the first grand slam quarter-final of her career and became just the third qualifier to reach the last eight of the women's draw at Flushing Meadows in the Open Era.
Having been overwhelmed with adulation in the wake of her win against Barty, Rogers admitted she was now concerned the scales would tip the other way.
Sloane Stephens revealed she received more than 2,000 abusive messages on social media after losing to Angelique Kerber in the third round and her fellow American was wary of suffering a similar fate.
"I kind of wish social media didn't exist, but here we are. It's a big part of marketing now. We have contracts, we have to post certain things," said Rogers.
"You could probably go through my profile right now, I'm probably a fat pig and words that I can't say right now. But, I mean, it is what it is. You try not to take it to heart, and it's the unfortunate side of any sport and what we do."
She continued: "I think someone asked by the other day some advice I would give, and I said try not to get too high or too low with every match.
"It's tough when you know you have a win like that [against Barty] and everybody is treating it like the final. Everybody coming up to me on-site.
"I'm really actually happy I had doubles [on Sunday] because it kind of refocused me a little bit, but everyone's coming up to you, 'Oh, great win.' I'm like, 'Yeah, but it's just the third round. We're not even halfway right now.'
"It's just really tough sometimes to keep that in perspective, but you do the best you can and try to ignore the media and everybody blowing it up and making you the story of the tournament.
"Obviously, we appreciate the spotlight in those moments, but then you have today and I'm going to have nine million death threats and whatnot. It's very much polarising – one extreme to the other very quickly.
"At this point in my career, I'd say I'm used to it. It's just now for me, finding a way to have those big wins but then be able to back it up a little bit. It's not easy to say the least."
Rogers won just 38 per cent of points behind her first serve and committed a total of 29 unforced errors, leaving the 28-year-old hugely dissatisfied with her display.
"That was pretty embarrassing," she said. "It was a tough day at the office. Unfortunately, I had to fail in front of thousands and thousands of people. I have to live with that one.
"It's disappointing that I couldn't must up a little more today. But I told you guys the other night it took everything I had to beat Barty. I guess that was a little apparent today. The tank was empty."
Emma Raducanu broke new ground on Monday as the qualifier reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in supreme style.
The 18-year-old produced one of the performances of the tournament when she defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-1 on Saturday.
The Briton lost the first two games of her clash with Shelby Rogers, who impressively beat world number one Ash Barty in the previous round, but she then stormed to a 6-2 6-1 victory in her first outing on the court of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Raducanu, who made headlines in the United Kingdom when she reached round four on her Wimbledon debut in July, will now face Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic in the first major quarter-final of her career.
Raducanu responded after a nervy start by reeling off six games in a row to take the first set in dominant fashion.
Rogers, who won just 12 points behind her first serve throughout, seemed to wilt against the onslaught as her groundstrokes became wild, her unforced error count totalling 29 by the end.
Raducanu appeared to feel the nerves towards the end of the second set but eventually closed out a famous win on her fourth match point, becoming just the third qualifier in the Open Era to reach this stage of the US Open.
"It feels absolutely amazing to play in front of all of you," she said in her on-court interview. "I'm so happy to have come through and overcome some of the nerves from the beginning.
"Belinda's a great player who's in great form, so I know I'm going to have to bring it.
"I'm just not really thinking about tennis right now. I'll leave that for tomorrow!"
Raducanu will face Bencic on Wednesday, the Swiss having beaten seventh seed Iga Swiatek in straight sets.
Tyrod Taylor has been confirmed as the Houston Texans' starting quarterback for the 2021 NFL season.
Taylor, who signed a one-year, $5.5million contract in Houston, was widely expected to be named the Texans' QB1 – a decision confirmed by head coach David Culley on Monday.
The Texans, for whom third-round rookie Davis Mills will serve as back-up, are set for a testing year.
Deshaun Watson has been the team's star QB over the past four seasons, last year leading the league in passing yards (4,823) and passing yards per attempt (8.87) – this despite being sacked 49 times, second only to Carson Wentz.
Watson was the one bright spot on a team that finished 4-12 in 2020, but he is not likely to feature this season despite remaining on the roster.
The 25-year-old in January asked for a trade, only for talk of a move to be overshadowed two months later by the emergence of sexual assault and misconduct allegations. Watson is the subject of investigations from the police and the NFL and faces 22 civil lawsuits.
Watson has not been restricted from taking part in team activities, yet a belated exit is anticipated after a period on the sidelines.
That leaves Taylor in the firing line on a team forecast to have the worst record in the league.
The 32-year-old was a regular for the Bills for three years between 2015 and 2017, but he has started only four games in three seasons since leaving Buffalo – three with the Cleveland Browns in 2018 and one last year with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Taylor completed only 16 of his 30 pass attempts in 2020, a small sample size providing a 53.3 completion percentage that paled next to Watson's 70.2.
The Texans start against the Jacksonville Jaguars and number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence on Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton has described Valtteri Bottas as the best team-mate of his career following news the Mercedes driver will be heading to Alfa Romeo.
Bottas, 32, has won nine races and helped Mercedes to four constructors' championships since joining the team back in 2017.
The Finn is now due to take the place of the retiring Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo, with George Russell expected to line up as Hamilton's new team-mate with the Silver Arrows in 2022.
Bottas will bring plenty of experience to Alfa Romeo, having twice finished as runner-up to Hamilton in the drivers' standings and also secured 54 podiums in 92 starts for Mercedes.
Reigning champion Hamilton says Bottas is a greater driver than he realises and has savoured sharing a garage over the past five seasons.
"I'm immensely proud to have worked alongside Valtteri for the last five years," he wrote on social media.
"Together, we've been part of a team that has delivered four constructors' championships, and we've motivated one another to keep pushing through the ups and the downs.
"He has been the best team-mate I've had the pleasure of working with. Your speed and resilience has been impressive but where you truly stand out to me is the human being you are and gentleman.
"You are greater than you know and I know there's a bright future ahead for you.
"Thank you Valtteri for all your support and amazing contributions to this team. You will be missed. I wish you all the best for your future endeavours. Let's finish off strong and get that 8th for the team."
Alfa Romeo have announced Valtteri Bottas will leave Mercedes to replace the retiring Kimi Raikkonen on a multi-year deal from next season.
Bottas has raced for Mercedes since 2017, winning nine races across that period and helping the Silver Arrows to four constructors' championships.
However, the 32-year-old's future has been the subject of much speculation in recent months and it has now been confirmed he will leave Mercedes at the end of the 2021 season.
The Finn's exit paves the way for George Russell's likely graduation to Mercedes to partner fellow Briton Lewis Hamilton from next season onwards.
Bottas will bring plenty of experience to Alfa Romeo, having twice finished as runner-up to Hamilton in the Driver Standings and also secured 53 podiums in 92 starts for Mercedes.
"A new chapter in my racing career is opening," he said in a statement on Monday.
"I'm excited to join Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN for 2022 and beyond for what is going to be a new challenge with an iconic manufacturer.
"Alfa Romeo is a brand that needs no introduction; they have written some great pages of Formula 1 history and it's going to be an honour to represent this marque.
"The potential of the setup in Hinwil is clear and I am relishing the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid, especially with the new regulations in 2022 giving the team a chance to make a leap in performance.
"I'm grateful for the trust the team has put in me and I cannot wait to repay their faith: I'm as hungry as ever to race for results and, when the time comes, for wins.
"I know Fred [Vasseur] well and I am looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team I am going to work with, building relationships as strong as the ones I have at Mercedes.
"I am proud of what I have achieved in Brackley and I am fully focused on finishing the job as we fight for another world championship, but I am also looking forward to the new challenges that await me next year."
The news of Bottas' arrival comes after Raikkonen announced last week he is to retire at the end of the season. Alfa Romeo have yet to announce who will partner Bottas next year.
Bottas will reunite with Alfa Romeo team principal Vasseur after the pair previously worked together at ART in F3 in 2009 and 2010, and in GP3 in 2011.
Vasseur said: "It is a pleasure to welcome Valtteri to the team and we are looking forward to our journey together. With him, we bring to Hinwil a strong team player with experience at the sharp end of the grid.
"Valtteri has been an integral part of a team that rewrote the history books and he has four constructors’ world titles to his name: he is the right driver to help Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN make a step forward towards the front of the grid."
Carlos Alcaraz's fairytale run to the quarter-finals at the US Open is a dream come true for the Spanish teenager.
Alcaraz became the youngest men's US Open quarter-finalist in the Open Era when he ousted Peter Gojowczyk 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 6-0 on Sunday.
The 18-year-old, who became the youngest man to defeat a top-three player at Flushing Meadows when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas last week, is also the most junior male player at the New York grand slam since Thomaz Koch in 1963.
Similarly, Sunday's triumph made him the youngest men's singles quarter-finalist at any grand slam since Michael Chang (18) made the last eight at the 1990 French Open.
Alcaraz will now face another rising star – Felix Auger-Aliassime – for a place in the semi-finals.
"I'm super excited to be in my first second week in the grand slam, so it's amazing for me. It's a dream come true," an ecstatic Alcaraz told reporters.
"It's really tough to play these kinds of matches, to play fifth sets. I hope to play [in] more second weeks, to play more quarter-finals of grand slams.
"I didn't expect to play in the quarter-finals here, so I think it's a really good performance from me in these matches."
Dubbed as the heir to Rafael Nadal's thrown, Alcaraz has certainly had the crowd on his side during his run.
"In the first sets I thought that I reached my limit, physically and mentally. I think the crowd was really, really important for me in this situation," Alcaraz added.
"I felt the energy of the crowd pushing me up. I think without the crowd, it couldn't be possible to be here."
Alcaraz faces a stern test in the form of world number 15 Auger-Aliassime, who has reached his second straight grand slam quarter-final.
However, the 21-year-old Canadian – who is aiming to secure a maiden appearance in the last four of a major – knows the quality Alcaraz possesses.
"He's a great player. At some point age is just a number. He already feels like a player who's established," Auger-Aliassime said of Alcaraz.
"He's playing some amazing tennis, so I think we’ll see a lot of him, a lot of us, a lot of Frances [Tiafoe] in the future."
Barbora Krejcikova explained she was hit by breathing difficulties and a spell of severe dizziness as she overcame Garbine Muguruza at the US Open.
French Open champion Krejcikova – who is making her main-draw debut at Flushing Meadows – had to hold off a fightback from former world number one Muguruza on Sunday to progress into her first US Open quarter-final with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory.
However, Muguruza was left angry after Krejcikova started to take more time in between points.
After saving three set points at 4-5 down in the decider, Krejcikova went off court for medical treatment, before returning to see out the match on a tie-break.
Muguruza appeared to confront Krejcikova during the post-match handshake, and the Spaniard told the media: "I'll let you guys judge what you think about this.
"I think, between players, you know a little bit how to behave in certain moments and I wasn't very happy at the end of the match."
Krejcikova, however, explained how she had suffered during the match.
"I think I started the match really well and was playing good tennis," Krejcikova said, according to the WTA.
"The key was to start the match well. There were a lot of breaks, which was difficult, but I was happy that I won the first set 6-3. Out of nowhere I got the lead 4-0 and then things started to get complicated.
"Garbine started to raise her level and I was expecting that. At the end I was really struggling and I feel really bad right now.
"I don't really know what happened, but I couldn't breathe. I started to feel dizzy and the whole world was shaking. It never happened to me before."
Krejcikova also needed medical attention after the match and did not hold a post-match news conference.
The Czech has now won 29 of her last 32 matches and will face Aryna Sabalenka, the highest seed remaining at Flushing Meadows, in the quarter-finals.
The San Francisco Giants got the better of Walker Buehler and the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 6-4 victory as they reclaimed top spot in MLB's National League (NL) West.
It was a tough outing for Dodgers ace and Cy Young contender Buehler, who was tagged for a season-high six runs on seven hits over three innings at Oracle Park on Sunday.
Giants star Steven Duggar hit a tie-breaking two-run triple, while Brandon Belt also homered at home to the Dodgers in San Francisco.
Future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols hit his 678th career home run but it was not enough for the Dodgers as the Giants wrapped up the series.
Ray fuels streaking Jays with historic display
Robbie Ray struck out 10 batters as the Toronto Blue Jays swept the Oakland Athletics in an 8-0 rout. The Blue Jays starter became the first pitcher in team history with 10-plus strikeouts in four consecutive starts. Ray now boasts an American League (AL)-leading 2.60 ERA.
The Cleveland Indians homered for a franchise-record 19th consecutive game after taking down the Boston Red Sox 11-5. Franmil Reyes homered for the Indians.
The New York Mets topped the Washington Nationals 13-6 behind Javier Baez and Kevin Pillar. Baez went four for four with a home run, while Pillar hit a grand slam in a six-run ninth inning.
On Sunday, the Mets scored six runs in the ninth, Indians hit five runs in the ninth, Milwaukee Brewers clubbed five runs in the ninth and the Seattle Mariners tallied seven runs in the 11th. According to Stats Perform, it is the first time four teams had a five-run inning in the ninth or later on the same day since 1940.
Salvador Perez hit another home run in the Kansas City Royals' 6-0 shutout of the Chicago White Sox. Perez (41) is second for home runs this season behind two-way Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani after hitting eight homers from his last 11 outings.
Yankees blow lead
The New York Yankees are in a rut following their 8-7 defeat at home to the Baltimore Orioles. Gary Sanchez hit a grand slam and a two-run homer but the Yankees still lost, blowing leads of 4-1, 5-2 and 7-4. The Yankees have now lost sixth of their last eight games, having enjoyed their first 13-game winning streak since 1961.
Vogelbach delivers stunning walk-off slam
Daniel Vogelbach was the hero in the Brewers' 6-5 walk-off victory against the St Louis Cardinals. He hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning.
Sunday's results
San Francisco Giants 6-4 Los Angeles Dodgers
Baltimore Orioles 8-7 New York Yankees
New York Mets 13-6 Washington Nationals
Toronto Blue Jays 8-0 Oakland Athletics
Cleveland Indians 11-5 Boston Red Sox
Detroit Tigers 4-1 Cincinnati Reds
Minnesota Twins 6-5 Tampa Bay Rays
Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Miami Marlins
Kansas City Royals 6-0 Chicago White Sox
Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 St Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs 11-8 Pittsburgh Pirates
Atlanta Braves 9-2 Colorado Rockies
Texas Rangers 7-3 Los Angeles Angels
San Diego Padres 4-3 Houston Astros
Seattle Mariners 10-4 Arizona Diamondbacks
Blue Jays at Yankees
The high-flying Blue Jays (73-62) will continue their Wild Card push away to slumping AL East rivals the Yankees (78-58) on Monday. Blue Jays ace Ryu Hyun-jin starts as the Yankees go with Jameson Taillon.
Teenage Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz made history after outlasting Peter Gojowczyk for a US Open quarter-final berth.
Alcaraz became the youngest men's US Open quarter-finalist in the Open Era thanks to Sunday's 5-7 6-1 5-7 6-2 6-0 victory at Flushing Meadows.
After stunning third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in New York, where he became the youngest man to defeat a top-three player at the US Open, the 18-year-old needed another five-setter to continue his fairytale run.
Alcaraz rallied past Gojowczyk, finishing with 35 winners – five more than the German qualifier – and 45 unforced errors, which were 39 fewer than his opponent.
Dubbed the new Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz became the youngest men's US Open quarter-finalist since Thomaz Koch (18) in the pre-Open Era in 1963.
He also became the youngest men's grand slam singles quarter-finalist since Michael Chang (18) at the 1990 French Open.
With the win, Alcaraz became the youngest men's player to earn back-to-back five-set wins at a grand slam since Chang (16) at the 1988 US Open as Felix Auger-Aliassime or Frances Tiafoe await.
Canadian sensation Leylah Fernandez said she is pinching herself after continuing her fairytale run with a shock last-16 win over Angelique Kerber at the US Open.
After stunning defending champion Naomi Osaka in a third-round boilover at Flushing Meadows, giant-slaying teenager Fernandez conquered three-time grand slam winner Kerber 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 en route to the quarter-finals.
Kerber – the 2018 US Open champion – won the opening set in New York, however 18-year-old Fernandez staged a remarkable comeback on the eve of her 19th birthday to reach her first slam quarter-final.
"I did have to pinch myself a little bit to see that it actually happened, but like I said, I knew that my tennis, my level of tennis is there," Fernandez said post-match. "It's just a moment of time, opportunity, and I'm glad that I was able to get this opportunity now and that I was able to showcase what I can do in front of these players.
"Even if I would have lost, I would have been proud of myself with the way that I played, the way that I fought. I was lucky enough to get the win today and just getting this experience.
"It's my first fourth-round quarterfinals in a grand slam. I'm just going to enjoy it at 100 per cent, and tomorrow is going to be a new day."
Fernandez, who hit 45 winners to 34 unforced errors – added: "The match was incredible. I was playing well in the first set.
"Unfortunately I did a few mistakes. Her, as a great player, great champion, she noticed and she took advantage of it. I was able to refocus and fight back for the second.
"In the third, I was just enjoying every moment of it. Honestly, the crowd has been amazing, so thanks to them I was able to win."
"I'm just super happy," she continued. "I'm going to enjoy tonight as much as I can, and then once I'm off to bed, I'll try to forget about it so that I can get ready for tomorrow."
Daniil Medvedev said "it's tough to beat me" as the confident and in-form world number two took another step towards his maiden grand slam crown at the US Open.
Medvedev advanced to the quarter-finals with a comfortable 6-3 6-4 6-3 victory over 24th seed Dan Evans in New York on Sunday.
US Open finalist in 2019 and Australian Open runner-up this year, Russian star Medvedev is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows this week.
As Dutch qualifier Botic Van De Zandschulp awaits, Medvedev discussed expectations at the US Open in pursuit of his first major title.
"I always say I take it match by match," Medvedev told reporters after hitting 42 winners in one hour, 43 minutes. "You can lose first round, you can lose final. If I play good, I know what I'm capable of. It's tough to beat me.
"In Wimbledon, I was honest, I lost against a great player, Hubert is playing great. I think he's on the rise. He's going to be even better ranked and maybe he's gonna go further in slams. He beat Roger [Federer] after me.
"But again, I was not talking about match itself where the loss was okay, I would say. I was talking about the result in general, and fourth round is not enough for number two in the world, especially I like grass more than clay, so maybe on clay I would not say this.
"Yeah, it's the same every tournament. If you're top seed, if you are not in the final, let's say Cincinnati, I lost against Rublev, brutal match, really strong play from him. But if you talk about the result itself, semi-final was not good enough.
"There is not much to add. I want to win every tournament I play in, without putting pressure on myself. Because again, I know how to win matches, and I know sometimes why I lose them, so that's just learning and being better for the next time."
Medvedev is 31-5 on hard courts in 2021 and 162-61 in his career, while he has won 11 of his 12 ATP titles on hard courts.
The 25-year-old owns a 17-4 record (80.95 per cent) at the US Open – his most wins and highest win percentage at a grand slam event.
"Feeling great before the second week," Medvedev said. "Feeling great with my tennis, my mental, my physical. Just looking forward."
Medvedev, who lost a thrilling US Open final to Rafael Nadal two years ago, added: "Now I just want to make it to the finals again to have another thing to remember and hopefully a better one."
Max Verstappen feared Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were leaving Red Bull behind before Formula One's mid-season break, but the tables have turned and now the Dutchman wants to pull further clear.
Verstappen won five of the first nine races in 2021 to take control of the title race, only to then earn only five points across the next two races – three of them from sprint qualifying at Silverstone.
It meant Hamilton entered last month's break with a six-point advantage as he seeks a record-breaking eighth drivers' championship.
Red Bull regrouped, however, and Verstappen has claimed consecutive wins in Belgium, the country of his birth, and his home nation the Netherlands.
After his pole at the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend, the 23-year-old had complete control of the race at Zandvoort, able to hold off Hamilton and become the first Dutch driver to win at home.
Red Bull again showed greater pace than Mercedes, with Hamilton feeling the gap has widened since the season's resumption.
"I'm giving it everything. We're giving it absolutely everything," Hamilton told a post-race news conference.
"Even since the first race, these guys have just had such a strong car all year. We're trying as hard as we can.
"We had a couple of races where we looked like we were just about on par with them or just slightly ahead, but there's only been a couple of those.
"Then they took a big leap, and it's been difficult. You can't really overtake in a lot of these places we've been to, because we are so closely matched.
"There's nothing really more I can say – we just have to keep our heads down, keep working, keep pushing.
"We are ahead in the team championship, which is great, but of course we need to pick up some speed if we want to win races in future."
Verstappen explained this improvement was in response to Hamilton's performances in Great Britain and Hungary.
"For me, they had pole position at Silverstone, even though of course it didn't count as pole position, and they were ahead in Hungary, where they definitely had more pace than us," Verstappen said.
"Of course, Hungary was a crazy race with what happened, with the wet and the start, so I think you shouldn't look at stats.
"You should look at the realistic pace that there was and not look always at the race result, because I think definitely they would have won Hungary if everything went normal.
"That's why I really thought in the break, I was like, 'We really need to speed things up, because otherwise they're going to run away with it'.
"I think we did, we did pick it up a bit, [but] I feel like we still need a bit more.
"It's heading into the right direction, but there are quite a lot of different kind of tracks coming up, so it will definitely swing both ways. We just have to keep on it, keep pushing and keep bringing new bits to the car."
One area in which Hamilton has noted Red Bull progress all year long is with their Honda power unit, which made Verstappen "a rocket off the start" at Zandvoort.
"They've made a big, big step forward this year with their engine," Hamilton said. "You saw it last year, they weren't the greatest at starts.
"They've improved their power – just the whole power unit's massively better this year on all aspects for them.
"Naturally, their driveability and their starts... they're the quickest starters this year, I think, overall. We've got some work to do in lots of different areas."
Hamilton still could have won on Sunday, he felt, but Mercedes would have had to be "perfect".
"I think today we probably needed everything to be perfect to even have the slightest chance of getting past them through a strategy," Hamilton said.
"Pit stops needed to be on point, strategy needed to be on point, traffic also, but none of those three were ideal today."
Primoz Roglic secured his third successive Vuelta a Espana title with an imperious performance in Sunday's time trial finale.
Roglic entered the 33.8 kilometre ride from Padron to Santiago de Compostel all but sure of winning La Roja barring a remarkable turn of events.
And the Slovenian finished things off in style as he became only the fourth rider in history to win the Vuelta on three separate occasions.
Roglic also succeeded in matching Roberto Heras' feat of three consecutive triumphs (set between 2003 and 2005).
He did so by crossing the line in 44 minutes and two seconds, claiming his fourth stage win of this year's Vuelta, which was bookended by Roglic victories, the Olympic time trial champion have started this year's race with a triumph on stage one.
The Jumbo-Visma rider surpassed Magnus Cort's previous best time by 14 seconds, with Thymen Arensman 52 seconds off the pace in third.
It meant his final winning margin over Spain's Enric Mas (Movistar) was a massive four minutes and 42 seconds, with Australia's Jack Haig third for Bahrain Victorious.
As if to hammer home his superiority, Roglic overtook Mas on the final turn before crossing the line, providing an exclamation point as he underlined his status as one of the finest Grand Tour racers on the planet and a clear favourite to challenge for yet more glory next season.
Toto Wolff has revealed only paperwork is preventing Mercedes from announcing their 2022 driver line-up, with George Russell expected to join Lewis Hamilton.
Much of this season has been dominated by talk around the second Silver Arrows seat, with the incumbent Valtteri Bottas under pressure from Russell.
Bottas finished third at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday to move up to third in the drivers' championship, but Russell claimed his first Formula One podium in the previous race at Spa.
The Williams man – a junior Mercedes driver – is now expected to make the step up, with Kimi Raikkonen's imminent retirement potentially opening space for Bottas at Alfa Romeo.
Alex Albon, who drove for Red Bull in 2019 and 2020 and remains on their books, has been linked with Russell's Williams seat.
Asked after Sunday's race if Mercedes' next move could be confirmed as soon as next week, at the Italian Grand Prix, team principal Wolff told Sky Sports: "Yeah, I think there's a pretty good chance – at least 50-50. The reason for waiting is the signature on the paper."
First, however, Mercedes still have a fight on their hands this year, just ahead of Red Bull in the constructors' championship but with Max Verstappen leading Hamilton in the drivers' standings.
Red Bull's superior pace was evident at Zandvoort, where Verstappen became the first Dutchman to win his home event.
"When [the other team] have the quickest car on track, whatever you try on strategy is difficult," Wolff said.
"Credit to Max, credit to Red Bull, they were really faultless today."
Of Monza, the Mercedes boss added: "I think [it will be] good. It's so close together, and here Max was the quickest, his home track, you see the crowds.
"Monza is maybe going to be a bit of a different environment. We feel that we are still in the run for the championship."
Max Verstappen revelled in living up to the hype after becoming the first home winner of the Dutch Grand Prix.
On a fine weekend for the Red Bull superstar, Verstappen reclaimed the Formula One world championship lead from Lewis Hamilton as he made history at Zandvoort.
Already one of only two Benelux drivers to triumph in the region, the Dutchman coasted to victory to celebrate in front of a euphoric orange-clad crowd.
"I've never seen a reaction like that in all my career, to any driver," Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Sky Sports.
Verstappen, who passed 1,000 laps leading in his F1 career en route to finishing 20.932 seconds clear of Hamilton, said over the cheers of his noisy supporters: "As you can hear already, it is just incredible.
"The expectations were high going into the weekend and it's never easy to fulfil that, but I'm so happy to win here, to take the lead as well in the championship.
"It's just an amazing day with the whole crowd. It's incredible."
This was Verstappen's seventh victory of the year – all of which have come in Europe, where he had only five prior triumphs.
"It's definitely a very good day," he said. "The start was very important – I think we did that well.
"Then, of course, Mercedes tried to make it difficult for us, but we countered them all the time really well. We can be really pleased with the whole team performance today."
Hamilton pitted three times in all, eventually settling for the fastest lap as Mercedes' strategy failed to make up the deficit to a faster Red Bull car.
The Silver Arrows' premier driver was one of just three men on the grid born when F1 last visited Zandvoort in 1985.
It now becomes only the fifth circuit Hamilton has raced at in F1 without winning, but he enjoyed the experience.
"What a race, what a crowd. Honestly, it's been an amazing weekend," Hamilton said.
"Max did an incredible job, so congratulations to him. I gave it absolutely everything today, flat out, pushed as hard as I could, but they were just too quick for us."
Max Verstappen sprinted back to the top of the Formula One world championship with a historic home win at the Dutch Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton questioned Mercedes' scrambled strategy.
Verstappen had claimed a precious pole position at Zandvoort, where the tight confines of the circuit make overtaking extremely difficult.
So it proved on Sunday, even as Mercedes sought various different paths to glory.
Hamilton pitted twice and appeared to intimate he would like to stop again, but the sheer pace of Verstappen's Red Bull kept him in the clear, becoming the first Dutch driver to win in his own country.
It was comfortable from the first corner, where Verstappen moved across to block Hamilton before racing away into the distance, soon passing 1,000 laps led in F1.
Hamilton pushed hard before stopping, yet Verstappen responded immediately and gained 0.9 seconds in the pit lane.
With Valtteri Bottas starting from third, Mercedes were at least able to slow Verstappen for a time by having their second man hold the race up for around two laps.
But Verstappen passed Bottas in front of the grandstand to the delight of the orange-clad crowd and quickly again opened up a gap to Hamilton that had closed to under a second.
With that deficit only increasing, Mercedes gambled and brought Hamilton in again to make use of his second set of medium tyres, yet he returned to the race in traffic among the back markers, meaning any advantage was minimal as Verstappen again followed his rival in – although having to switch to hards.
Red Bull retained control of the race, which Mercedes finally conceded, calling in Hamilton for a third time to claim the additional point for the fastest lap – still not enough to keep Verstappen off the summit.
'We've gone too soon'
Sergio Perez's miserable performance in qualifying meant he spent his Sunday attempting to close on the midfield, leaving Verstappen alone at the front.
Meanwhile, Mercedes had two men in contention, and Toto Wolff outlined plans for a split strategy.
It was Hamilton who stopped early in Mercedes' first tactical manoeuvre and, when that did not work, the Silver Arrows soon called the defending champion in again – another failed move that frustrated Hamilton.
"We haven't got an advantage," he said. "We've gone too soon on this. There was still so much life left in that last tyre and we rushed it."
More Russell regret
George Russell was bidding to become the first Williams driver to earn back-to-back podiums since Bottas in 2014, although simply collecting points in a third consecutive race was a far more realistic objective after his crash in Q2.
Even that proved beyond the Briton, though. A five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane all but ended his hopes.
There may be news to lift the spirits in the coming days, with an announcement from Mercedes regarding their 2022 line-up anticipated, but this was a weekend to forget.
IN THE POINTS
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +20.932secs
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +56.460
4. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1 lap
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1 lap
6. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +1 lap
7. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +1 lap
8. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +1 lap
10. Lando Norris (McLaren) +1 lap
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 224.5
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 221.5
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 123
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 114
5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – 108
Constructors
1. Mercedes – 345
2. Red Bull – 333
3. Ferrari – 182
4. McLaren – 170
5. Alpine – 90
Ian Foster and Dave Rennie backed the law change over red cards in the Rugby Championship after New Zealand completed a Bledisloe Cup sweep over Australia on Sunday.
Jordie Barrett scored the game's opening try in Perth, setting New Zealand on the way to a 38-21 triumph that means they have won all three Tests against their trans-Tasman rivals this year.
However, the full-back did not last long after scoring, dismissed for dangerous play after catching Wallabies winger Marika Koroibete in the face with a boot while catching a high ball.
All Blacks boss Foster felt the decision to send off Barrett was a little harsh, particularly as it could lead to a suspension that has an impact on the rest of the Championship campaign.
"I was pretty surprised to be honest [that he got the red card]," Foster told the media. "We'll go and have a good look at it, but certainly we'll be putting together a case for that one.
"He just lost balance and you could see he tilted and you could see what happened.
"I feel for the refs in situations like this, because technically they saw things and they make their decisions. I get all that. Have we got a technique problem? No."
While Barrett did not feature again, the tournament is experimenting with a ruling where players who have been sent off can be replaced by a substitute after a 20-minute period.
The initiative allowed the All Blacks to be back at full strength early in the second half, by which time they were comfortably in charge of proceedings.
"It's why all the SANZAAR countries were pretty united in wanting to carry on this global trial," Foster said of the trial.
"It's easy to ask me my opinion because we were the ones on the end of it, so we probably benefited by only having a 20-minute red card. I get that.
"But we were keen supporters of that even before the game and today probably justifies that."
Wallabies head coach Rennie felt the red card was the right call, even if Barrett had not been malicious in making contact with Koroibete, but also backed the initiative on trial.
The hosts still trailed 18-0 at half-time and while they did cross three times after the break, New Zealand eased clear to claim a bonus-point victory that puts them top of the table after two rounds.
"I think it's good that we have a 20-minute red card at the moment, because it's certainly not malicious," Rennie said.
"But based on law, when you field a ball, kick your foot out and hit someone in the head, there's going to be repercussions for that. So, I think the decision is probably accurate, and the fact it's only 20 minutes is a good thing."
New Zealand cruised to a Bledisloe Cup clean sweep in 2021 thanks to a 38-21 victory over Australia in Perth, despite the first-half dismissal of Jordie Barrett.
The All Blacks had lost 47-26 on their previous trip to Optus Stadium in August 2019 but there was to be no repeat result for the Wallabies, who had already lost twice to their trans-Tasman rivals in Auckland last month.
Beauden Barrett kicked a pair of penalties to make it 6-0 to the visitors before putting his boot to good use in open play too, a clever grubber creating the chance for brother Jordie Barrett to get the opening try of the game.
However, the full-back's involvement in the contest only lasted a further 12 minutes. Claiming a high ball, he caught Marika Koroibete in the face with an outstretched boot while still in the air, leading to a contentious red card for dangerous contact with the head.
Despite being down to 14, New Zealand extended their lead before the break to 18-0 when David Havili grabbed the first of his two tries, the other coming just after the hour mark as the second half saw a glut of points.
Folau Fainga'a gave Australia hope 10 minutes after the interval with a try that Noah Lolesio converted, yet the All Blacks responded impressively, moving the ball across the line for wing Will Jordan to waltz over.
They also exploited turnovers ruthlessly, both Havili and substitute George Bridge crossing after Australia had lost possession, the latter benefiting from a superb kick into space by TJ Perenara.
In between, Anton Lienert-Brown went over from Akira Ioane's inside pass near the touchline, New Zealand easing to a bonus-point triumph that sends them top of the Rugby Championship standings after two rounds.
Substitute Nic White forced his way over for a second Wallabies try, while they had the last say in terms of the scoring with Tom Banks' 79th-minute effort converted by Reece Hodge, but the hosts were already condemned to another heavy loss that leaves them bottom of the table.
Where there's a Will, there’s a way
Jordan's second-half try means he has now scored in six consecutive Test appearances, the best streak by any player from a Tier 1 nation since the beginning of 2010. His latest effort was put on a plate for him by his team-mates, with the impressive Ioane breaking free of a tackle to create the simple finish after some neat handling had stretched the Australian defence out wide.
Barrett off, All Blacks still march on
Koroibete was certainly at the centre of the early action. He had already seen a try ruled out by the TMO by the time he was hit by Jordie Barrett's boot. However, the Wallabies were unable to capitalise when having an extra man on the field, with the competition's rules allowing a replacement to come on after a 20-minute period.
Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev refused to get carried away about his chances of winning his maiden major title despite easing into the US Open fourth round on Saturday.
The German fourth seed was leading 3-6 6-2 6-3 2-1 when Jack Sock withdrew with a groin issue which had been plaguing him throughout the match.
Zverev's walkover victory extended his winning run to 14 matches, dating back to his Tokyo 2020 gold medal triumph along with last month's Cincinnati Masters victory.
Reigning champion Dominic Thiem along with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all withdrew from the US Open prior to the tournament, opening the door for a first time winner.
"I’m on a 14-match winning streak now," Zverev said during his on-court interview. "I’m playing well. That’s all I want to say, I don’t want to say anything else.
"We all know that Novak is the big favourite, we all know that Daniil [Medvedev] is playing incredible tennis, we all know that there are a lot of other players out there that are playing incredible tennis.
"I think my fourth-round match against Jannik Sinner is going to be extremely entertaining because he’s a young guy that is very hungry and I feel like that’s going to be a high-level match."
Zverev also spoke about his drive to succeed at majors, having struggled earlier in his career.
The German was runner-up at last year's US Open and made the semi-finals at this year's French Open and last year's Australian Open.
Zverev's hopes for going deep at Flushing Meadows will be aided by the premature end to his match with Sock, having won in straight sets in the first two rounds over Sam Querrey and Albert Ramos Vinolas.
The Olympics gold medalist was full of praise for Sock, who has been plagued by injuries, after a dominant opening set.
"Jack I think played the best set of tennis I've ever seen him play," Zverev said. "I did one unforced error in the whole set and I lost it, 6-3, without having really any chances.
"If he would have kept it up I probably would not have won the match… Afterwards when he gets injured, it's a shame because otherwise it would have been an incredible match I think."
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