Serena Williams crashed out of the French Open in the fourth round as 21st seed Elena Rybakina sealed a stunning 6-3 7-5 victory on Sunday.
Rybakina, representing Kazakhstan, had not previously been past the second round at Roland Garros but she is enjoying a strong run this fortnight and showed no nerves against her illustrious opponent, hitting a series of impressive winners that the 39-year-old Williams could not match.
After breaking back and then moving 5-4 ahead in the second set, it seemed 23-time grand slam champion Williams might take the match to a decider, but Rybakina reeled off the next three games to seal the biggest win of her career and set up a quarter-final clash against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Rybakina started in a confident mood, winning her first two service games without dropping a point.
Williams came under intense pressure on her second service game, with Rybakina breaking and opening up a 3-1 lead when the American sent a backhand long.
Williams broke back in the seventh game of the match, but she squandered the opportunity to pull level when Rybakina broke again in the next game.
A nervy Rybakina needed four set points to win the opener 6-3, sealing it in 36 minutes when Williams flashed a cross-court backhand long.
Williams found herself in more trouble at the start of the second set, Rybakina comfortably breaking to move 1-0 up, but the three-time Roland Garros champion restored parity in the next game with four consecutive winners.
Rybakina missed a golden opportunity to set up a break point in the fifth match of the second set, sending a backhand long with Williams out of position, the American surviving to serve out the game and move 3-2 up.
The 21-year-old won the next game with an ace, setting the stage for her to break Williams and move 4-3 ahead.
Williams roared back, though, winning the next two games to leave Rybakina serving to stay in the set.
Not only did she do that, but she won the next two games as well to put the seal on a memorable victory that took one hour and 19 minutes.
DATA SLAM: RYBAKINA PUNISHES SLOPPY WILLIAMS
Williams looked well off the pace against an opponent who certainly made the most of her first appearance in the fourth round of a grand slam tournament. Williams won just 59 per cent of the points from her first serve, compared to Rybakina's 69 per cent, while the Russian-born player won 86 per cent of points at the net compared to Williams' 50 per cent.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Williams – 15/19
Rybakina – 21/13
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Williams – 2/1
Rybakina – 4/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Williams – 3/5
Rybakina – 5/7
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid was cleared to start Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Embiid has been managing a knee injury and missed the final game of the first-round series against the Washington Wizards, having bowed out after just 11 minutes in the previous encounter.
The center's return against a tricky Hawks team represents a big boost for the 76ers, though.
While Embiid has been limited to 24.0 points per game so far in the 2020-21 playoffs due to his knee complaint, he tallied 28.5 points along with 10.6 rebounds in the regular season.
The 27-year-old will be expected to improve on his 19.7 points per game across three meetings with Atlanta this year, although he was limited to 25 minutes or fewer in each clash.
Embiid was selected to start alongside Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Seth Curry and Danny Green, the Sixers' most-used starting five this season. They were 27-5 across 32 games.
Lewis Hamilton apologised to the Mercedes team after a "humbling experience" left the Formula One world champion outside the points at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton overcame difficulties in practice to clinch second on the grid in a red flag-laden qualifying session on Saturday, yet he finished 15th in Sunday's race.
Max Verstappen, Hamilton's championship rival, crashed with three laps remaining, and a red flag resulted in a standing start.
Hamilton, who had swiftly caught pole holder Charles Leclerc but had been delayed by Pierre Gasly in the pits, resumed the race behind Sergio Perez.
Yet the seven-time world champion, with his brakes smoking, careered off the track moments after the restart, enabling Perez to cruise to victory.
"Today was a humbling experience," Hamilton tweeted, having initially apologised to the team from his car.
"We worked so hard to put ourselves back in the top 10 today after a rocky week here in Baku. We gave it our all today and a small error caused the brakes to switch off.
"Sorry to the team, we'll come back stronger for the next race."
Mercedes' official team account echoed Hamilton's sentiment.
"This is hard to take. We worked so hard this weekend to put ourselves into the fight after a really difficult start on Friday – only to leave with nothing," the team's tweet read.
"[We] need a big reaction next time out in France."
Sunday's drama means Red Bull hold a 26-point lead in the constructors' championship, with Verstappen (105) four points ahead of Hamilton in the drivers' standings.
Fabio Quartararo was left baffled as to why his leather race suit split open as he slipped from pole position to a fourth-place finish at the Catalan Grand Prix.
MotoGP championship leader Quartararo was aiming to seal back-to-back wins in Barcelona following his triumph on the circuit in 2020, but the Monster Energy Yahama driver slipped up early on and failed to finish on the podium.
Miguel Oliveira got Red Bull KTM's first win of the season, and the third race victory of his career, with Johann Zarco and Jack Miller completing the top three.
Quartararo was second until the final three laps, when Zarco made a daring overtake and caught the Frenchman out.
To complicate matters, Quartararo's suit had opened, with the 22-year-old's chest protector also slipping out.
He cut two corners as he battled with Miller for third, and was handed a three second penalty which cost him a third straight podium position at the Catalan Grand Prix.
"What happened I don’t know, I just know that I had the leathers completely open," he explained to reporters.
"I tried to just put it in a normal position again, I couldn't do it. So was difficult to ride, but unfortunately, it happens.
"It happened today, so Alpinestars is looking at how it's possible because at the end of the race it was possible to close it again.
"But it's like this, it was not our day but I can be happy with this fourth position… well, third, but finishing fourth."
Former MotoGP champion Casey Stoner tweeted his thoughts on the incident, insisting Quartararo should have been disqualified from the race.
"Well, I think I already have a penalty that I don't agree [with], demoted three seconds from P3 to P4," Quartararo said when Stoner's comments were put to him.
"I think this penalty is quite enough. It's finished, the race is finished, everything is safe.
"So, I think right now it's not enough to talk anymore because the race is finished. I think there's no point to talk anymore about these possible things."
It was a race which belonged to Oliveira, with the Portuguese rider holding the lead for 23 laps.
"The most difficult thing about the race was the mental ability to stay calm, it was so easy to be aggressive or to just override the tires at the beginning," he said in a news conference.
"I felt like that was the key, stay calm and the race will come to me."
Elsewhere in a frantic race, six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez crashed out on Turn 10, which also claimed Valentino Rossi and Aleix Espargaro.
Marquez has now failed to finish the last three races, a career first for the 28-year-old.
Christian Horner described the "rollercoaster" of Red Bull's Azerbaijan Grand Prix success as Sergio Perez revealed he almost followed team-mate Max Verstappen out of the race.
Red Bull claimed consecutive wins for just the second time in the Hybrid Era, but it was Perez rather than Verstappen who led them to glory.
Verstappen was in complete control and set to head a Red Bull one-two when his left-rear tyre blew out in the closing stages. The same issue had ruled out Lance Stroll of Aston Martin.
That left the door open for title rival Lewis Hamilton to profit, but an error from the defending champion from the restart allowed Perez to race clear.
Red Bull boss Horner told Sky Sports: "I think I've aged about 20 years.
"We were staring down the barrel of our first one-two since 2016. Everything in control, we'd just checked in with Max, all okay, and then boom.
"The tyre went, and we don't know why. It looked like the wear was in good shape, so whether it's debris or something has happened.
"You can see it's a big place to have an accident. Thankfully, he's okay."
He added: "We were feeling at that point like the world had dropped from under us."
Worse might have been to come for Red Bull as Perez finished the race but then immediately broke down, receiving frantic messages over the radio as he celebrated his first victory for the team.
The Mexican, who has five consecutive top-five finishes for the first time in his career, said: "I'm so, so happy for today. Normally, Baku is pretty crazy.
"First of all, I have to say for Max I'm sorry. He did a tremendous race and really deserved the win, and it would have been incredible to get that one-two for the team.
"But at the end, it is a fantastic day for us. We were close to retiring the car but, luckily, we were able to finish the race. It was quite difficult all the way in the end."
Horner lauded Perez, whose victory moved Red Bull 26 points clear in the constructors' championship on a day Mercedes failed to score.
"He's a wily driver, a canny racer. He races really, really well," Horner said.
"We went from the despair of 'We've lost Max, we're going to lose the championship lead, Lewis could pass him at the restart and win the race'.
"It just shows the rollercoaster you go through in this sport.
"Suddenly it not being quite so bad, we've actually maintained the same lead in the drivers' championship leaving here and extended the constructors'."
Red Bull dedicated the victory to Mansour Ojjeh, the McLaren shareholder who passed away ahead of the race.
"He had the biggest heart and always carried the biggest smile," ex-McLaren man Hamilton posted on Twitter. "I am so grateful to have known such a man."
Roger Federer withdrew from the French Open on Sunday after winning through to the fourth round, citing a desire not to rush his return from injury.
The 39-year-old Swiss prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 over Dominik Koepfer on Saturday in the longest match he has played in 18 months, following double knee surgery. The contest lasted three hours and 35 minutes.
Federer laboured at times, making 63 unforced errors, fighting hard to triumph in front of an empty crowd locked out by Paris' 9pm curfew, with the match finishing at close to 1am.
The 20-time grand slam winner has played few tournaments over the past 18 months and said a need to rest his body was behind his decision to withdraw.
In a statement released by the French Open, Federer said: "After discussions with my team, I've decided I will need to pull out of Roland Garros today.
"After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it's important that I listen to my body and make sure I don't push myself too quickly on my road to recovery.
"I am thrilled to have gotten three matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court."
Tournament director Guy Forget said: "The Roland Garros tournament is sorry about the withdrawal of Roger Federer, who put up an incredible fight last night.
"We were all delighted to see Roger back in Paris, where he played three high-level matches. We wish him all the best for the rest of the season."
Federer entered the clay-court major with a 1-2 win-loss record for the year, most recently losing to Pablo Andujar in Geneva last month, and little was expected from him.
However, three wins on the spin showed he is not finished yet at the highest level, with his withdrawal suggesting he wants to preserve himself for Wimbledon, which starts at the end of the month.
Federer had been due to play ninth seed Matteo Berrettini in the last 16 on Monday.
Remarkable late drama at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix saw Sergio Perez handed victory after Max Verstappen crashed out and title rival Lewis Hamilton incredibly finished outside the points.
Verstappen looked to be coasting to a second consecutive Formula One win and seventh straight podium – both career firsts.
The Red Bull driver, four points ahead of Hamilton in the standings prior to the race, was well in the clear after earlier benefitting from a slow Hamilton pit stop.
But Verstappen's left-rear tyre blew out and ended his race, prompting the furious Dutchman to kick his car in anger.
Lance Stroll had encountered the same issue with the hard Pirelli tyres, swerving out of control when he had been fourth, albeit without pitting.
A red flag – requested by a concerned Red Bull team – followed Verstappen's crash with just three laps remaining, meaning a standing start with Perez ahead of Hamilton on the front row of the grid following the delay.
In another twist, Hamilton and his smoking brakes careered off the circuit from the restart and Perez raced away to lift Red Bull spirits.
With Hamilton way back in 15th, it meant a positive end to the day for Verstappen's team, even if the season leader will continue to rue his misfortune.
Both Verstappen and Perez jumped ahead of Hamilton when he was delayed in the pit lane by Pierre Gasly, having quickly caught pole-sitter Charles Leclerc.
Stroll's mishap threw a spanner in the works, yet Verstappen pulled ahead clear from the restart following the safety car, with Perez again getting the better of Hamilton.
Sebastian Vettel's climb to fourth and attempt to reel in old foe Hamilton looked the most likely source of intrigue in the closing stages, only for Verstappen's blow to bring the race to a standstill.
Hamilton admitted his error when his restart sensationally failed, though, and Perez hung on, his car breaking down moments after crossing the line before Vettel – who achieved a first Aston Martin podium.
Kyle Sinckler has been called up to the British and Irish Lions squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa, following Andrew Porter's injury.
Tighthead prop Porter has been ruled out of the series due to a toe problem, which the Ireland international sustained on Friday while in action for Leinster.
Sinckler was a big-name omission from the original selection, but Warren Gatland has now called up the England prop.
Following his omission from the 37-man squad, Sinckler had said it "didn't make sense" to him that he had been left out. He has previously toured with the Lions in 2017, when the team visited New Zealand.
The Lions squad will convene on June 13, taking on Japan in Edinburgh 13 days later before heading out to South Africa, with the tour culminating in a three-Test series against the Springboks.
"It's really bad luck for Andrew and we send him our very best wishes for a quick and successful rehab," said Gatland.
"Andrew is a young man with a big future ahead of him and I'm sure he'll be in contention again in four years' time."
And the former Wales coach hopes Sinckler proves him wrong for his initial decision to leave him out.
"As always in rugby, when there's an injury there's an opportunity for someone else," Gatland added.
"I have been very pleased to see the way Kyle has responded to initially being left out of the touring party.
"He's showed some excellent form of late and I hope he continues to stick two fingers up to me about leaving him out in the first place."
The Lions last toured South Africa in 2009, when they lost the Test series 2-1.
Roger Federer returned a compliment to Andy Murray and looked ahead to a potential grass-court meeting the morning after a gruelling third-round win at Roland Garros.
Federer made round four at the French Open but was so drained by the experience that he suggested he could yet withdraw from the tournament as he looks to build up fitness ahead of Wimbledon.
The Swiss superstar entered the clay-court major with a 1-2 record for the year, most recently losing to Pablo Andujar in Geneva last month.
However, Federer has strung together three straight wins in Paris, beating Dominik Koepfer in the last 32 in a match that finished in the early hours of Sunday in the French capital.
The match started at 21:00 local time (20:00 GMT), in line with a coronavirus-enforced curfew that ensured the stands were empty on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Despite the strange experience and a determined opponent, Federer came through in four sets after three tie-breaks to continue his pursuit of a record-breaking 21st grand slam title.
During the match, which finished at close to 01:00 local time (00:00 GMT), fellow great Murray posted on Twitter: "I'm not bothered by the outcome of this match at all.
"Just seeing Federer at 39 off the back of two knee surgeries playing to an empty stadium at 12:30am getting fired up is inspirational to me. Do what you [love]."
Murray himself has overcome a series of major injuries to remain on the ATP Tour, even backtracking on a retirement pledge in 2019.
So, Federer replied on Sunday: "Thank you Sir Andy, the feeling is mutual. You gotta love it. See you on the [grass]."
There was no further comment on potentially quitting the French Open, where Federer is appearing for only the second time since the start of 2016 – he made the semi-finals two years ago.
His sublime major form has slowed over the past decade, making only nine finals compared to 22 in the previous 10 years.
If Federer is able to continue, he faces a tough ask on Monday, taking on Matteo Berrettini, who has become the first Italian to reach the last 16 of all four slams in the Open Era.
James Harden's hamstring injury left Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash "heartbroken" for the star shooting guard, whose NBA playoffs participation is in doubt.
Harden missed 21 games of the regular season due to a right hamstring problem and seemed to suffer a reoccurrence of the injury just 43 seconds into Saturday's 115-107 Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Nets must now wait on the result of scans to determine the extent of the issue, though Nash was not overly positive.
"You know we got a lot thrown at us this year, so we were, in a sense, well trained for this event," Nash told reporters after the game.
"But you never want to see that for someone like James, who is such an important player and such an incredible player and cares so much.
"I'm heartbroken for him. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if he's playing the next game, if he's out. I have no idea. But I'm heartbroken for him that he had to miss tonight."
The Nets face the Bucks again on Monday, and Kyrie Irving knows how much harder their task will be without Harden.
"I mean, it's never easy to lose anybody, especially this time of the year where we just wanna have fun playing basketball and playing the right way and competing at a high level," said Irving, who scored 25 points and tallied a further eight assists.
"We're obviously out there for bigger reasons, so when you see the game snatched away so early from one of our brothers, we feel for him, and we just had to make a quick adjustment and just adjust from there.
"That's the best thing we can do. We just came in the huddle, made sure that everybody on the bench knew kind of the situation we were in, and like I said, we just played out from there. It went our way tonight, but obviously, we're gonna feel his loss no matter what."
Harden, 31, has averaged 24.6 points, 10.9 assists and 8.5 rebounds in his first season with the Nets since arriving from the Houston Rockets.
The Chiefs won 36-26 over the Rebels but missed out on the bonus point they craved to keep alive their realistic Super Rugby Trans-Tasman final hopes at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney on Sunday.
The Hamilton-based side needed a bonus-point victory against the winless Rebels to have any firm confidence in overcoming top pair the Blues and the Highlanders ahead of the final round of fixtures next weekend and raced to a three-try lead in the first half.
Anton Lienert-Brown crossed twice, including a superb 20th-minute solo try, with fly-half Kaleb Trask also touching down for the Chiefs inside the first 25 minutes to open up a 19-0 lead.
The Rebels showed fight to respond with three tries of their own before half-time, with a double from forward Isi Naisarani and one from Stacey Ili squaring the game up at the break.
Chase Tiatia came off the bench to score a second-half double, while Trask got his second for the Chiefs in the 52nd minute.
Winger Andrew Kellaway crossed for the Rebels who had a 70th minute George Worth try disallowed for obstruction.
The result moves the Chiefs to 14 points ahead of their final-round game against Waratahs, with the Blues and the Highlanders in the top two spots on 19 and 18 points respectively. The Rebels remain winless.
Clayton Kershaw could not inspire the Los Angeles Dodgers to victory going down 6-4 to the freewheeling Atlanta Braves in MLB on Saturday.
Kershaw has an exceptional record against the Braves and, in the main, he continued that with nine strikeouts, giving up only eight hits, five earned, across his 95-pitch effort.
But the Braves have been free scoring this year and for the 33rd game this season they scored five or more runs, with Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr touching down in a five-run third inning which flipped the game.
It was the first time since 2016 that Kershaw has given up a five-run inning.
Leading 5-4 in the seventh inning, Abraham Almonte hit a home run to give the Braves the lead they would not surrender.
Rays win again, Dalbec hits 453-footer
Manuel Margot is ominously beginning to find some form for the Tampa Bay Rays as they won 3-0 against the struggling Texas Rangers.
The Rays claimed their 18th win from their past 22 games, with Margot hitting his fifth home run of the season.
Bobby Dalbec smashed a 453-foot home run, the longest by a Boston Red Sox player at Yankees Stadium since records commenced as they won 7-3.
For the Yankees, Gleyber Torres continues to find his groove with a home run.
Jacob de Grom had 11 strikeouts across seven innings as the New York Mets silenced Fernando Tatis Jr and the San Diego Padres in a 4-0 victory.
Jose Peraza hit a solo home run, while Francisco Lindor regained some touch with a homer of his own.
Shohei Ohtani backed up his 10 strikeouts on Friday with a first-inning home run in the Los Angeles Angels' 12-5 triumph over the Seattle Mariners.
San Francisco Giants pitcher Kevin Gausman had 10 strikeouts as his side won 4-3 over the Chicago Cubs.
Gausman has had a sensational season for the Giants, coming in at 6-0 and with a 1.40 ERA, setting up the win across his seven pitching innings.
Fumbly Giants
The Giants got nervy in the ninth inning against the Cubs with some comical errors in the field, including two fumbles by Mauricio Dubon and a collision. At least they managed to hold on.
Number 18 for Guerrero
Vladimir Guerrero Jr moved clear at the top of the charts with a league-high 18th home run in the Toronto Blue Jays' 6-2 win over the Houston Astros. He also leads MLB in a range of statistics, including RBI, with 47.
Saturday's results
Detroit Tigers 4-3 Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds 5-2 St Louis Cardinals
Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 Houston Astros
Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 Washington Nationals
Cleveland Indians 10-4 Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 Texas Rangers
Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 Miami Marlins
Minnesota Twins 5-4 Kansas City Royals
Milwaukee Brewers 7-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants 4-3 Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox 7-3 New York Yankees
Atlanta Braves 6-4 Los Angeles Dodgers
Oakland Athletics 6-3 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels 12-5 Seattle Mariners
New York Mets 4-0 San Diego Padres
Mets at Padres
The New York Mets round out their road series against the San Diego Padres.
Roger Federer says he may withdraw from the French Open as he assesses the physical impact of his epic third round win over Dominik Koepfer on Saturday.
The 39-year-old Swiss prevailed 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 over Koepfer in the longest match he has played in 18 months, following double knee surgery, lasting three hours and 35 minutes.
Federer laboured at times in the contest, making 63 unforced errors, fighting hard to triumph in front of an empty crowd locked out by Paris' 9pm curfew, with the match finishing close to 1am.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner has played few tournaments over the past 18 months and conceded the physical toll the match took would make him assess his continuation at Roland Garros.
"We go through these matches, we analyse them highly and look on what's next and will do the same tonight and tomorrow, because I need to decide if I keep on playing or not or is it not too much risk at this moment to keep on pushing, or is this just a perfect way to just take a rest," Federer said at his post-match news conference.
"Because I don't have the week in between here and Halle like normal to see what's best now, if you count back from Wimbledon and so forth.
"It's just a lot going on, but having a match like this, knowing I could have probably played a fifth set but not knowing how I will wake up tomorrow is interesting, to say the least."
He added: "Every match here or Geneva, I have to reassess the situation after the match and see in the morning how I wake up and how the knee feels.
"From that stand point for me, it always goes like that… maybe even more so after a match like this that has been long. Like I explained before, I've not been two-three-and-a-half hour battles in practice either."
Federer's third round win sees him move into the last-16 where he is scheduled to play ninth seed Matteo Berrettini on Monday.
Kevin Durant says James Harden's fresh hamstring injury "sucks" as the Brooklyn Nets brace to lose their star guard for an extended period of time during the NBA playoffs.
Harden was forced out of Saturday's 115-107 Game 1 win over the Milwaukee Bucks after 43 seconds after re-injuring the same hamstring which kept him out of 21 games late in the regular season.
The 31-year-old former MVP was sent for scans on his right hamstring with the extent of the injury unclear at this stage, but Durant spoke like someone not expecting good news.
"It sucks. It sucks. I want him to be out there," Durant told the post-game news conference. "I know how much he cares. I know how much we wants to be in this moment. It sucks.
"I wish him a speedy recovery. We're going to keep him involved as much as possible. It's just a bad break."
The Nets rallied hard to bounce back from the early loss of Harden to overcome the Bucks, who had Giannis Antetokounmpo score 34 points.
Brooklyn's defense was a feature, applying pressure to force the Bucks to shoot at 20 per cent from beyond the arc, while Blake Griffin had 14 rebounds in a throwback game.
Offensively Durant and Irving starred with 29 and 25 points respectively, but the former admitted they had to overcome the emotional blow of Harden's injury.
"We try not to be too emotional out there but losing one of your leaders like that, the first play of the game, we had to re-group for a couple of minutes and figure out what was next," he said.
"The coaching staff did a great job of moving forward. Guys came in and tried to play extremely hard.
"We're going to be thinking about James. I'll definitely call him when I leave him. I hate that it had to happen right now."
Durant refused to look too far ahead about the prospect of a tough Conference semi-final series against the Bucks without Harden.
"I'm not even thinking like that," he said. "I'm taking it a day at a time, a second at a time. Get ready for practise tomorrow.
"We're not really thinking that far. We'll try take it a game at a time and see what happens."
Game 2 between the Nets and Bucks is on Monday.
The improving gelding Miniature Man recorded a booming win in the Jamaica 2000 Guineas on Saturday for owner Elizabeth DaCosta as her son Jason DaCosta logged his first Classic triumph at Caymanas Park.
Ridden by Panama-born jockey Dick Cardenas, the 2-1 second favourite Miniature Man fought off Nuclear Noon’s stout homestretch challenge to win the JA$3.75 million (US$25,195) Colts and Geldings Guineas by a length and a quarter just an hour after Trainer Ian Parsard also landed his first Classic victory with She’s a Wonder in the 1000 Guineas.
For Jason DaCosta, the Guineas win honoured his late father, 18-time champion trainer Wayne DaCosta, who died in March.
“It means the world, this one is dedicated to Dad,” said previously US-based DaCosta, who has returned home to take charge of his father’s barn of racehorses.
“This is a special one,” he added, reflecting on a tough year for the DaCosta family. His uncle, Elizabeth DaCosta’s brother Wayne McCulloch, had also passed away the week before Wayne’s death in late March.
Hyped as the absorbing rematch of the May 8 Kingston Graded Stakes dead-heat between Miniature Man and 2020 Champion two-year-old Further and Beyond, the 2000 Guineas was contextually anticlimactic as the 3-5 favourite Further and Beyond hardly threatened and finish third.
Down the backstretch, the 9-2 bet Billy Whizz, one of five DaCosta entries in the six-horse field, set the early 23.2 and 46.3 fractions, chased by 66-1 outsider Regal and Royal and Nuclear Noon (4-1).
The pace quickened leaving the half-mile with Nuclear Noon and Regal and Royal on the heels of the front-running Billy Whizz while Miniature Man gained rapidly in fifth and Further and Beyond looked troubled about eight lengths off the lead in seventh place.
Four-time champion jockey Dane Nelson roused Further and Beyond for a rapid move into third coming off the final bend but the pair of Miniature Man and Nuclear Noon had already escaped into a clear advantage.
That duel was riveting until Miniature Man edged away in deep stretch for the win, his third in a row and fourth in nine lifetime starts. Miniature Man clocked one minute 39 and 3/5ths for the eight-furlong win.
“It was a good race. The horse on the inside (Nuclear Noon) was a tough horse but my horse never gave up,” Cardenas said after his third Jamaica 2000 Guineas victory, adding to Mark My World (2010) and Uncle Donny (2012).
Earlier, She’s a Wonder delivered a flawless win in the 1000 Guineas for Fillies, scoring by 7-1/4 lengths as the 1-2 favourite for jockey Reyan Lewis’s first Classic success.
“It feels good to win a Classic at my age and I am thankful,” the 21-year-old Lewis said.
After a brief tussle with the 99-1 shot Silver Hawk early down the backstretch, She’s a Wonder cruised into a commanding lead and used splits of 23.0 and 45.2 to enter the homestretch more than six lengths in front of the 2-1 second favourite Secret Identity and Sure Curlin (48-1). In the end, the 7-1 bet Amy the Butcher (7-1) snatched second from Secret Identity.
Owned by Henry Pratt and the trainer’s wife Karen Parsard, the unchallenged She’s a Wonder clocked 1:41 and 3/5ths while stretching her winning streak to four races.
“She is a fantastic horse to train. We knew coming in that everything was perfect,” Parsard declared after the unchallenged win.
The Brooklyn Nets overcame the early loss of James Harden to injury to win Game 1 of their Conference semi-final series against the Milwaukee Bucks 115-107 on Saturday.
Harden left the court after only 43 seconds after re-injuring his right hamstring, but Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving stepped up in his absence, along with Blake Griffin who had a throwback game.
Durant finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks while Irving had 25 points and eight assists including 20 points in the first half but it was a collective effort on both defense and offense for the Nets.
Griffin made four three-pointers, totalling 18 points and 14 rebounds, the latter being a season-high for him since joining the Nets.
In contrast, the Bucks struggled from beyond the arc, shooting six from 30 with the main culprits being Jrue Holiday with two from seven and Khris Middleton who shot none from five.
At one stage in the first half, Milwaukee missed 11 consecutive three-point attempts to leave them playing catch up.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was the Bucks' best with 34 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and four assists.
The Nets edged ahead in the first half where the Bucks rallied to finish the second quarter with a 14-3 stretch to trail by two points at the long break.
But Durant lifted Brooklyn in the third quarter, as the Nets piled on 35 points to open up a sizeable 14-point lead at the final change.
While the Bucks struggled from range, the Nets shot 15 from 40 beyond the arc, going at 37.5 per cent led by Joe Harris who made five from nine.
The series continues on Monday at Brooklyn's Barclays Center although the Nets will be sweating on Harden's status.
Jordie Barrett missed two late penalties as the Hurricanes lost their 100 per cent Super Rugby Trans-Tasman record, slipping to a 12-10 defeat to the Brumbies after the Highlanders had hammered the Waratahs.
The Hurricanes' hopes of reaching the final were rocked at GIO Stadium, where the Brumbies held on to secure their first win of the competition on Saturday.
Brumbies scrum-half Ryan Lonergan crossed for the opening try in Canberra, but Jason Holland's side led 10-7 at half-time courtesy of a Dane Coles score and five points from the boot of Barrett.
Len Ikitau put the Brumbies back in front with their second try 12 minutes after the break and the visitors had a late Alex Fidow try ruled out for a knock-on.
Barrett was then off target with a penalty from the halfway line in the closing stages and the New Zealand international was unable to win it from the tee with the last kick of the game.
A second victory for an Australian franchise in the tournament leaves the beaten Hurricanes in fourth place and looking likely to miss out on a place in the final, with just one game of the regular season to come, which is against the Reds next Friday.
A ruthless Highlanders team had no such trouble in Dunedin, thrashing the struggling Waratahs 59-23 to sit in second place - a point behind the Blues and ahead of the Crusaders on points difference.
They ran away with it in the second half, scoring 26 points without reply after going in at the interval with a 33-23 advantage.
There were doubles for Ethan de Groot and Jona Nareki in a nine-try rout, while Mitch Hunt booted 14 points.
Zack Greinke produced a complete game to inspire the Houston Astros' 13-1 demolition of the Toronto Blue Jays in MLB action on Friday.
Astros ace Greinke threw his first complete game since 2017 and the 17th of his career to lead the Astros to a crushing victory over the Blue Jays.
Greinke – a six-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner and two-time Silver Slugger – turned back the clock, the 37-year-old pitcher giving up six hits and one walk while striking out three batters.
"This was one of the first times where I felt really strong at the end," the 2009 American League (AL) Cy Young Award winner said.
"Most games I feel a little tired later on. Today it felt just as good, if not better, in the last inning, as it did in the first inning."
Astros team-mate Carlos Correa also homered twice in Buffalo, where Martin Maldonado hit a grand slam as Houston won for the fifth time in six games.
Ohtani show continues, Snell flirts with no-no
Shohei Ohtani tied a season high with 10 strikeouts as the Los Angeles Angels edged the Seattle Mariners 3-2. The two-way star did not walk a batter for the first time in his 20 career starts. He allowed two runs on four hits across six innings. Since 1900, Ohtani is the only player with 15-plus home runs in a season and at least one 10-strikeout game that year, having also achieved the feat in 2018.
The San Diego Padres blanked the New York Mets 2-0 behind ace Blake Snell, who was scoreless across seven innings. He allowed just one hit while striking out 10.
World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first MLB team to have an 11-run inning in one game and then an eight-run inning in their next outing since the Astros in 1969, according to Stats Perform. The Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 9-5 thanks to an eight-run fifth inning.
Per Stats Perform, Whit Merrifield of the Kansas City Royals became the first player to have two hits, a homer and a stolen base in the opening inning of a game since Oakland's Rickey Henderson in 1980. The Royals blitzed the Minnesota Twins 14-5.
Ryu fades
Toronto ace Ryu Hyun-jin had a game to forget after a promising start. Usually the Blue Jays' most reliable pitcher, Ryu allowed seven runs on seven hits, two homers and three walks in 5.2 innings, having retired his first seven batters.
That walk-off feeling
Yermin Mercedes hit a game-ending single in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the Chicago White Sox to a 9-8 walk-off victory over the Detroit Tigers. Mercedes snapped a 0-for-22 skid entering the game.
Friday's results
Boston Red Sox 5-2 New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles 3-1 Cleveland Indians
Pittsburgh Pirates 9-2 Miami Marlins
Washington Nationals 2-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Houston Astros 13-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Los Angeles Dodgers 9-5 Atlanta Braves
Texas Rangers 5-4 Tampa Bay Rays
Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Chicago White Sox 9-8 Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals 14-5 Minnesota Twins
Cincinnati Reds 6-4 St Louis Cardinals
Oakland Athletics 9-5 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels 3-2 Seattle Mariners
San Francisco Giants 8-5 Chicago Cubs
San Diego Padres 2-0 New York Mets
Mets at Padres
Star pitcher Jacob deGrom will take to the mound as the Mets look to bounce back from back-to-back defeats to the Padres in the third meeting of a four-game series on Friday. Joe Musgrove starts for the Padres.
Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard said he "definitely didn't want to go home" after producing a monster performance to avoid elimination from the NBA playoffs.
Leonard matched his playoffs career high with 45 points as the Clippers topped the Dallas Mavericks 104-97 on Friday to force a deciding Game 7 in the Western Conference first-round series.
Facing a postseason exit with the Mavericks leading 3-2, Leonard came up big for the fourth-seeded Clippers in Dallas, where the two-time NBA champion erupted on 18-for-25 shooting while nailing five three-pointers.
Through six games in the playoffs this season, Leonard is averaging 32.8 points per game on 60.5 per cent shooting. According to Stats Perform, he is the first player to average 30.0-plus points per game on 60.0-plus per cent shooting over his first six games of a postseason since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1983.
As attention now turns to Sunday's decider in Los Angeles, Leonard told ESPN: "I definitely didn't want to go home.
"We have to do whatever it takes to get a win if we don't want to go home. It's on us."
For the first time in their history, the Clippers won three road games in one series, with Paul George contributing a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds as Reggie Jackson put up 25 points.
With the Clippers triumphing in Game 6, it marks the first time in league history that the road team have won the first six games of a postseason series with the home side playing in their true home arena.
"Just another basketball game," Leonard said as he looked ahead to Game 7. "Like we say, if we don't want to go home, pay attention to details, have faith, shooting the ball with confidence. If you do that, you can live with the results."
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue hailed Leonard, saying: "Great players perform in big moments. It just shows you who Kawhi Leonard is."
Mavericks counterpart Luka Doncic was also full of praise after Dallas failed to book their spot in the Western Conference semi-finals.
Doncic – carrying 361 points from 11 playoff games into the contest, the highest total at that point of his career since Hall of Famer Michael Jordan (405) in 1988 – posted 29 points but he was just two-of-nine shooting from three-point range.
On Leonard, Doncic told reporters: "I mean, he destroyed us. That's what it is. He had a hell of a game. And that's what he does."
Doncic and the Mavericks remain upbeat, despite their missed opportunity on home court.
"It's all right," Doncic said. "We're still motivated. There's one more game left. I don't see why we shouldn't believe in it. There's one more game, so we all believe."
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