Aryna Sabalenka handed Lesia Tsurenko the dreaded double bagel at the Australian Open – but the scoreline did not bother the Ukrainian.
The defending champion’s 6-0 6-0 victory means she has cruised through to the fourth round in Melbourne for the loss of only six games.
At the end of the match there was no handshake, as has been standard between Ukrainian players and those from Russia and Belarus since the start of the war nearly two years ago, although the pair did both put their hands up to acknowledge each other.
“I respect everyone’s position,” said Sabalenka, who was criticised at the French Open last year for standing at the net as if waiting for a handshake she knew was not going to come from Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
“She was quite respectful. She said, ‘Great play’. She didn’t shake my hand, but she was respectful to me, so I appreciate that.”
Asked why she maintains the position, Tsurenko said: “This is very tough to explain, you just have to feel what I feel and you will not have these questions for me.”
The 34-year-old quickly shrugged off the scoreline, and she said: “I feel like so many things that were so important for me are not important any more, like a tennis match.
“I don’t feel like I really care about how I finish the match, what is the score. I care more about the fact I can be here and I can remind the world that the war is still on, I care about the fact that I can earn some money and I can donate and I can help other people.”
Last year in Melbourne the tournament held a prominent fundraiser for Ukraine, but the war has slipped down the tennis agenda, as Tsurenko feels it has in society generally.
“People don’t want to talk about war, people don’t want to hear bad news,” she said. “I get a lot of bad messages on social media that people are kind of annoyed if I post something.
“It seems like the whole world is tired of hearing that but unfortunately it’s still going on, it’s a part of my life and part of other Ukrainians’ life and we have to talk about it, we have to remind people about Ukraine.”
Tsurenko, meanwhile, criticised players who took part in an exhibition event in St Petersburg in December.
While it was predominantly Russian players, France’s Adrian Mannarino and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut also played in the event, which was sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom.
“In my opinion the players, especially from Europe, should not take part in propaganda of the tennis federation of the aggressor country and I think they should not take part in promotion of the biggest war sponsor,” said Tsurenko.
“This is what I’ve texted to people. You’re going to promote a company that is sponsoring a bombing of my country and of my closest relatives. I want them to feel a little bit for me and for other Ukrainians.
“Especially when that exhibition was on, there was heavy bombings and my sister was very stressed. It is very painful for me but people don’t understand.”
Sabalenka moves forward to a last-16 clash with American Amanda Anisimova, who is resurgent having missed the majority of last season for mental health reasons.
A chaotic Thursday saw Elena Rybakina, the player Sabalenka beat to win the title 12 months ago, and fifth seed Jessica Pegula lose, while Iga Swiatek survived a major scare against Danielle Collins.
Sabalenka has had no such worries, and she said: “Last year Iga won so many sets 6-0 and this is one of the goals, to get closer to her. I’m just really happy with the level.”
Fourth seed Coco Gauff has also been in impressive form and she eased to a 6-0 6-2 victory over fellow American Alycia Parks.
Anisimova, meanwhile, beat another player on the comeback trail in Spain’s Paula Badosa 7-5 6-4 despite battling stomach cramps.
“I’m really proud of myself,” said Anisimova, who first made the fourth round here five years ago as a 17-year-old.
“I wasn’t sure should I expect to do well because a lot of people were telling me, ‘Don’t put too much expectations on yourself’. I’m just really happy that I was able to get this far, but I still think that I can do more.”
American Zach Johnson made 10 birdies on a low-scoring first day of the American Express PGA Tournament, sharing the lead with Sweden’s Alex Noren.
Johnson hit seven of his 10 birdies on the front nine at La Quinta in California, while Noren had an eagle, nine birdies and a double bogey to finish on 10-under par.
After the day’s play, the American Ryder Cup captain said he has “put a lot of good work in as of late”.
He said: “Actually been a lot of normal golf work, given what happened last year, with what I was responsible for, which was awesome. Now it’s time to get back to work. I’ve enjoyed the work. I’ve enjoyed the sweat.”
Tied in third place and just one stroke off the lead are Rico Hoey from the Philippines and South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
They are ahead of nine players tied at eight-under including Americans Xander Schauffele and Scott Stallings.
Former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has been announced by Rugby Australia as the new Wallabies head coach.
Schmidt coached Ireland from 2013-2019 where he won the Six Nations and was recognised as the World Rugby coach of the year in 2018. Prior to that he was a multiple trophy winner with Leinster.
More recently he was an assistant coach for the All Blacks from 2022 and during their runners-up finish in the World Cup last year.
Schmidt signed a two-year deal with Australia and takes over from former England coach Eddie Jones who left the role after the World Cup.
Rugby Australia (RA) chief Phil Waugh said Schmidt’s coaching background and experience was a significant reason for his appointment.
He said: “Given our stated plan to build a unified Australian Rugby system, Joe’s experience with Ireland and New Zealand – two of the most aligned Rugby nations in the world – will no doubt prove valuable as we move forward.
“He has a global view of the game from his experience in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and his appointment puts us in a strong position as we build towards the 2025 British and Irish Lions Tour.”
Schmidt said he is looking forward to starting in the role after a slump in Australian rugby in recent years.
He said: “I am conscious that the Wallabies have weathered a difficult period, and I am keen to help them build a way forward, with greater alignment and clear direction from RA.
“The upcoming Test matches against Wales will arrive quickly, post-Super Rugby, and the program through to the British and Irish Lions Tour next year presents plenty of opportunities and challenges – which I am sure will invigorate players and staff.”
The Wallabies failed to progress through the group stage in the World Cup, losing to Wales and Fiji, and have won just three of their last 10 matches.
The Milwaukee Bucks expect to have Giannis Antetokounmpo back on the court soon, but coach Adrian Griffin wants his team to learn from their humbling defeat without the two-time former MVP.
Antetokounmpo sat out Wednesday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and saw the Bucks beaten 135-95 in his absence.
The superstar forward had played in each of Milwaukee's previous 29 games, although he was also on the injury report before Sunday's overtime win against the Sacramento Kings, scoring 27 points towards his seasonal average of 31.2 points per game.
While taking on an in-form Cavaliers team without Antetokounmpo was always likely to be a tough ask, Griffin offered the Bucks no excuses.
Indeed, he was particularly dismayed by the way in which Cleveland were allowed to race into a 22-2 lead less than halfway through the first quarter. Donovan Mitchell scored 12 of those 22 points on his way to 31 for the night.
"[It was a] tough night collectively," said Griffin, "but we've got to find the energy from the jump – especially being short-handed.
"You have to learn from this, because you can't allow this to happen again, especially at the start of the game.
"Before we looked up, we were down 20. We would literally come down and just shoot."
A big loss for the 28-13 Bucks allowed the 32-9 Boston Celtics to pull further clear at the top of the Eastern Conference, 117-98 victors over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs' number one overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama scored 27 in his first game in Boston, but he was more impressed by the Celtics.
"Everybody can hoop on that team," said the French rookie. "Everyone's a threat on the court.
"But at the same time, they all know their roles, and they're all willing to share the ball, from the most important franchise guys to the role players.
"Everybody is ready to compete and to make the sacrifices."
Luke Littler recovered from a shaky start to power into the quarter-finals of the Bahrain Masters with some brilliant finishing.
Littler took the World Championships by storm over Christmas, the 16-year-old becoming front and back page news as he reached the final at Alexandra Palace.
Despite losing to Luke Humphries, Littler’s performances saw him fast-tracked to the top table of the sport and that included a place in the World Series event in Bahrain, where he faced Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung.
Littler looked certain to take the opening leg after his first 180 left him needing 84, but he amazingly missed seven darts at a double before Leung took out 107 to snatch the leg.
Leung also finished 83 on the bullseye to lead 2-0 before Littler kicked into top gear, the teenager taking out 151 and 136 in successive legs as he reeled off five in a row, despite missing eight darts at a double in leg seven.
Littler also hit treble 20, double 20 and double 10 for a somewhat unorthodox 120 checkout to seal a 6-3 win and set up a quarter-final with Nathan Aspinall.
Aspinall had earlier edged past Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines 6-5, Ilagan missing two match darts at 5-4, while Gerwyn Price beat Reynaldo Rivera 6-4 and Rob Cross saw off Tomoya Goto 6-3.
Japan’s Haruki Muramatsu hit a 170 checkout in the fourth leg but eventually lost 6-5 to former world champion Peter Wright.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev survived a scare at the Australian Open as he came from two sets down to beat Emil Ruusuvuori in a match that finished at 3.40am.
Medvedev looked like he might have been in bed much earlier as the unseeded Finnish player took control.
But the Russian showed his fighting spirit to ensure that it turned into an early morning as he battled back to win 3-6 6-7 (1) 6-4 7-6 (1) 6-0, with sunrise two hours away.
Carlos Alcaraz came through a tough four-set battle with Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego on a day of close encounters for the big names.
Novak Djokovic’s struggles will have given heart to his rivals but few are finding the early stages of the tournament straightforward, and second seed Alcaraz needed three hours and 25 minutes to defeat Sonego 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-3 7-6 (3).
In a match full of shot-making, Alcaraz topped the highlight reel with two winners around the net post.
“I didn’t feel I had downs in the match,” said the Spaniard. “In the tie-break, he started to play an unbelievable game. I think he made some big returns after a good first serve from me.
“I think probably I could do something else in the tie-break. But the level that he played, it was really, really high.”
Sixth seed Alexander Zverev and 11th seed Casper Ruud both needed fifth-set tie-breaks to edge into round three.
Zverev looked in deep trouble down two sets to one against Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein before recovering to win 7-5 3-6 4-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (10/7).
The German said of his opponent: “I didn’t know him at all. To be honest, if he would have been in a room, I would have not known that he’s my opponent.
“But he played extremely well. He played very, very aggressive, hitting every single ball as hard as he could from both sides, I feel like. A lot of the times I was a spectator in the match. I was just witnessing whether he’s going to hit a winner or miss.
“That’s not a nice feeling to be in, especially in the important moments, but I’m happy that I managed to win.”
Zverev next faces American 19-year-old Alex Michelsen, who knocked out last year’s quarter-finalist Jiri Lehecka.
Ruud was given a huge battle by Australian Max Purcell, who twice fought back from a set down to force a decider before the Norwegian prevailed 10-7 in the deciding tie-break.
“He’s a really tricky player and a great tennis player in my eyes, even though he plays different from others,” said Ruud.
“I’m very happy with the win. He beat me in Cincinnati. The plan was to do things better from that time, and I think I did, and that was just enough to win the match.”
Eighth seed Holger Rune is out, though, as Frenchman Arthur Cazaux won 7-6 (4) 6-4 4-6 6-3.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has once again questioned his snooker future after squeezing into the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix in Leicester with a 4-3 win over Zhou Yuelong.
Just four days after his controversial eighth Masters triumph over Ali Carter, O’Sullivan said he was getting “no enjoyment” from continuing to move through tournaments with comparative ease.
O’Sullivan told ITV4: “I’ve got to really consider whether I can carry on feeling how I’m feeling out there – I just don’t get any enjoyment from the way I’m hitting the ball.
“I feel like it’s just hard work, I haven’t a clue where the balls are going, and a lot of it’s just guess-work.
“The worst thing is you’re winning bloody tournaments as well. If I was getting pumped every round playing like that it would be an easy decision to make.”
O’Sullivan had eased into a two-frame lead with breaks of 67 and 107 and looked set to extend that advantage before he missed a red to the top pocket to run aground on a break of 50 in the next.
Yet to beat O’Sullivan in their five previous encounters, Zhou responded in style with a 76 to narrow the deficit, then a nerveless 102 to level the match and confirm the change in momentum.
I’ve got to really consider whether I can carry on feeling how I’m feeling out there – I just don’t get any enjoyment from the way I’m hitting the ball.
Zhou, who had recovered from a three-frame deficit to push O’Sullivan to a final frame decider in their most recent meeting at the UK Championship in December, responded to falling behind again with breaks of 65 and 66 to force the decider.
The Chinese player got in first and potted a red and black, but missed his chance to the middle and O’Sullivan swept up with aplomb with a nerveless 90 to seal another seemingly unsatisfactory win.
“It’s been happening like this for 25 or 30 years, so it’s nothing new,” O’Sullivan added.
“It’s the only thing I’ve known and it’s hard not to do this because it’s my job, it’s all I know, so I’ve struggled through it.
“But I can’t accept bad cueing, I’d rather cue well and lose than cue awful and win tournaments. I get no satisfaction out of it, I really don’t.”
O’Sullivan will face Gary Wilson in the last eight after the reigning Northern Ireland Open champion saw off Tom Ford 4-2.
Defending champion Mark Allen was beaten 4-2 by China’s in-form Zhang Anda.
Zhang stormed into a 3-0 lead before Allen belatedly clicked into gear on the back of a break of 137, but the Antrim man left himself too much to do to stay in the tournament.
Cameron Norrie is the only British singles player left in the Australian Open after a five-set win over Giulio Zeppieri in the second round.
British trio Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper and Katie Boulter all lost while Kazakh third seed Elena Rybakina became the biggest casualty of the tournament so far, losing an epic deciding tie-break against Anna Blinkova.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek almost went the same way but recovered to beat Danielle Collins while men’s second seed Carlos Alcaraz also progressed on a day Jessica Pegula and Holger Rune were knocked out.
Picture of the dayTweet of the day
Figures from across the tennis world have been paying tribute to the Daily Mail’s hugely respected tennis correspondent Mike Dickson, who died in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Stat of the dayShots of the dayBrady blow
American Jennifer Brady has been sidelined for the majority of the three years since she reached the Australian Open final in 2021, and she has now announced that she needs more surgery.
Medvedev’s dawn raid
Men’s third seed Daniil Medvedev looked to be heading out as he went two sets down to Emil Ruusuvuori.
But the Russian showed his fighting spirit and ensured it was a very early morning as he battled back to win in five sets, winning 3-6 6-7 (1) 6-4 7-6 (1) 6-0 just before 4am local time, with sunrise two hours away.
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Fallen seeds
Women: Elena Rybakina (3), Jessica Pegula (5), Daria Kasatkina (14)
Men: Holger Rune (8), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (23), Jan-Lennard Struff (24), Jiri Lehecka (32)
Who’s up next?
Novak Djokovic will attempt to find his form when he takes on dangerous Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round on Friday.
Women’s defending champion Aryna Sabalenka faces Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko while Coco Gauff takes on fellow American Alycia Parks.
Jannik Sinner has been the most impressive of the leading men so far and he meets 26th seed Sebastian Baez.
Saturday’s BetMGM Clarence House Chase fixture at Ascot has been abandoned due to a frozen track.
The Berkshire circuit was due to host a seven-race card, with the Grade One feature set to stage a mouthwatering rematch between old foes El Fabiolo and Jonbon.
However, a third clash between the pair will not take place this weekend, with the track deemed unraceable following a 4pm inspection Thursday and further freezing temperatures forecast.
A statement from Ascot posted on X, formerly Twitter, read: “The BetMGM Clarence House Chase Raceday has been abandoned.
“Temperatures dropped to minus 6C overnight into Thursday and the track is still frozen in places at 4pm under the covers.
“Given the forecast remains for sub-zero temperatures over the next two nights there is no prospect of improvement before raceday on Saturday.”
An inspection has also been called ahead of Saturday’s meeting at Haydock, with officials set to check on conditions at 8am on Friday.
Clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright admits the card, which is headlined by the Sky Bet Peter Marsh Chase, needs a “miracle” if it is to go ahead.
“We’ve not had a great day and the frost hasn’t even got off the running rail, so we are not looking great,” Tellwright said on Thursday afternoon.
“We will wait to see if the thaw starts early but there is no indication of it, so I think we will be put out of our misery in the morning.
“We just need to pray there is a miracle and the thaw starts in time.”
Friday’s meeting at Market Rasen was called off following a noon inspection, with the track frozen after temperatures dropped to minus 8C overnight.
Taunton’s meeting on Saturday is subject to an inspection at noon on Friday.
Paul Townend will have an enviable book of rides at the Dublin Racing Festival as he seeks to find the top novice prospects to partner alongside proven stars.
The two-day meeting was created in 2018 and has quickly become a real highlight of the National Hunt calendar, with eight Grade One races across the weekend including the Irish Gold Cup and Irish Champion Hurdle.
Willie Mullins is guaranteed to field a powerful team of horses and as stable jockey, Townend has the pick of the bunch when it comes to selecting his rides.
In the novice ranks, where horses are yet to assert themselves in a clear hierarchy, this leaves the rider with a few tricky choices to make as the meeting, run on February 3 and 4, approaches.
“I’m trying to sit on as many as I can and see what’s going well,” he said.
“Especially the novices, because they can step forward so much, like the two-mile novice hurdle that was run at Christmas as an example (Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle).
“We’re still in the dark about what probably is our best. Daddy Long Legs didn’t turn up on the day. He could win at Leopardstown in February and he didn’t show up at all at Christmas. I thought I’d know a bit more coming out of Christmas, and I don’t.”
Another example the rider offers is El Fabiolo, a 10-length winner of the Goffs Irish Arkle last season when Townend had opted to ride the third-placed Appreciate It instead.
He said: “Then there’s the novice chasers. Last year, El Fabiolo showed up, I chose the wrong one. Novices can progress at different rates.”
Though there is this element of the unknown with less experienced horses, Townend generally views it as a positive rather than a negative as runners can improve significantly and sometimes unexpectedly as they progress.
“When they do something you’re not expecting it’s fantastic,” he said.
“The other side is the disappointment of the one you think is going to build and keep building throughout the year and it just peters out.
“At the very start of my career, as an 18-year-old, I had Hurricane Fly winning my first Grade One in the Royal Bond. So I probably always loved what might happen with the novices.”
While there will be decisions to be made regarding his novice rides, there is no question Townend will partner proven top horses like State Man and Galopin Des Champs.
State Man, a favourite of Townend’s, is odds-on for the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, a race he won by nearly five lengths from Honeysuckle last season.
“He just turns up every time. You can rely on him,” he said.
“You can make the running if nothing else will or you can sit in behind. He just shows up and runs his race most of the time.
“He jumps, he gallops and he tries hard for you. I just get a great kick out of winning on him, I must say, and doing it for the Donnellys (owners) adds to that.”
Galopin Des Champs returned to winning ways in the Savills Chase after two beaten runs behind Fastorslow previously, and Townend is confident the reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner can hold his own to retain his Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup title.
“He’s doing well and everything has gone well since the Savills Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas,” he said.
“He probably had a little bit to prove that day after losing twice, although we never lost faith in him and he was showing us all the same things at home. But that performance was as good as anything he had ever done before and if he were to repeat that every day, that would be good enough for me!
“It will be a strong race for definite and Fastorslow is obviously a big danger again but there hasn’t been all that much between them in the Punchestown Gold Cup and the John Durkan. I’d be confident if Galopin is firing, he would take all the beating.”
Topsy Ojo believes now is the right time for Steve Borthwick to freshen up his England squad with one eye looking ahead to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
On Wednesday, Borthwick named seven uncapped players in the 35-man training camp ahead of next month’s Guinness Six Nations.
Broadcaster Ojo, who won two England caps in 2008, admitted the likes of Billy Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler will be disappointed at missing out on selection, but the introduction of young talent will strengthen their World Cup bid in three years’ time.
He said: “Now is the time to have something new and do something fresh and if you look at the guys he’s (Steve Borthwick) picked, they’re all there on merit and have played incredibly well.
“It’s an exciting squad. There’s a continuity of leadership and emerging young talent.
“Sinckler and Vunipola will be disappointed and you know they’ll go away and fight tooth and nail to get their shirts back.
“It’s the start of a new cycle. Who will benefit from being exposed now? Out of the uncapped players, we need to think who will be playing in Australia in 2027 with 30 caps under their belts and are battle-ready and experienced in international rugby. There’s that long-term vision ahead and it starts now.”
Borthwick, who replaced Eddie Jones in December 2022, had a rocky start to his tenure as England head coach but finished 2023 with a third-placed finish at the World Cup.
Ojo believes the 44-year-old is still the right man to take the side forward.
“Yes, 100 per cent,” Ojo said. “It was a difficult time for him to come in because a lot of the other teams were settled in their processes.
“He’s been through some painful experiences, but ultimately he’s taken this team to a World Cup semi and a bronze-place finish.
“If you look at the squad he’s picked now, he has the talent at his disposal to make England a success.
“Will there be some teething problems early on? Yes. That’s the nature of sport, but it’s a challenge he’ll look forward to and embrace. So is he the man to do it. Absolutely.”
Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who was born in Cardiff and eligible to play for Wales, is among the new additions and Ojo talked up the 21-year-old.
He said: “I’m happy to see Feyi-Waboso in there. He’s electric and I’m happy to see him exposed at the next level. He’s not played that many senior games but he’s shown enough.”
Rory McIlroy was left to rue a poor finish to his opening round in the defence of his Hero Dubai Desert Classic title.
Seeking a record fourth victory in the event at Emirates Golf Club, McIlroy made an excellent start with four birdies in the first nine holes and bounced back from a bogey on the first – his 10th hole – with a birdie on the second.
However, the world number two then three-putted the sixth, duffed a chip on the seventh to drop another shot and also bogeyed the eighth to card a disappointing one-under-par 71.
That left the four-time major winner four shots off the lead shared by 2018 winner Li Haotong, England’s Andy Sullivan, American Cameron Young and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard.
Li missed the cut or withdrew from his last 16 events in 2023 but finished 14th in last week’s Dubai Invitational and carried on where he left off with seven birdies and two bogeys in his 67.
“I think I played just as solid as last week,” the three-time DP World Tour winner said.
“I’ve been working on a lot of stuff during the wintertime and (am starting to) see some results like this. I can’t believe it’s six years since my win here.
“It’s a lot of great memories and hopefully I can continue to do some magic here.”
Sullivan’s form also came as something of a welcome surprise, the former Ryder Cup player carding a bogey-free 67 on his debut appearance in 2024.
“First event of the year for me so you’re always a bit anxious,” Sullivan said.
“You never know quite how you’ve done in practice. Could be playing brilliantly, and then you never know until you put it into tournament rounds.
“I felt like I grew into the round well. I didn’t feel like I started great, but then sort of got around the turn and felt like I was swinging it a lot better and felt like I could go at a few more flags and the putter got hot. Massively satisfied.”
Young looked unlikely to enjoy a share of the lead when he bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in one over par, but the world number 25 birdied the 10th, 13th, 16th and 17th before holing from 50 feet for an eagle on the last.
“I played really well,” Young said. “The front-nine scoring was a little bit hard to come by.
“I played better than that so I was really happy with the back nine, happy just that I stayed patient throughout the front nine and kind of let it come to me late. To make those birdies and eagle on the last was tremendous.”
England’s Richard Mansell was part of a seven-strong group on four under par, with former world number one Adam Scott and Dubai Invitational winner Tommy Fleetwood another stroke back.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has once again questioned his snooker future after squeezing into the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix in Leicester with a 4-3 win over Zhou Yuelong.
Just four days after his controversial eighth Masters triumph over Ali Carter, O’Sullivan said he was getting no enjoyment from continuing to move through tournaments with comparative ease.
O’Sullivan told ITV4: “I’ve got to really consider whether I can carry on feeling how I’m feeling out there – I just don’t get any enjoyment from the way I’m hitting the ball.
“I feel like it’s just hard work, I haven’t a clue where the balls are going, and a lot of it’s just guess-work.
“The worst thing is you’re winning bloody tournaments as well. If I was getting pumped every round playing like that it would be an easy decision to make.”
O’Sullivan had eased into a two-frame lead with breaks of 67 and 107 and looked set to extend that advantage before he missed a red to the top pocket to run aground on a break of 50 in the next.
Yet to beat O’Sullivan in their five previous encounters, Zhou responded in style with a 76 to narrow the deficit, then a nerveless 102 to level the match and confirm the change in momentum.
Zhou, who had recovered from a three-frame deficit to push O’Sullivan to a final frame decider in their most recent meeting at the UK Championship in December, responded to falling behind again with breaks of 65 and 66 to force the decider.
The Chinese player got in first and potted a red and black, but missed his chance to the middle and O’Sullivan swept up with aplomb with a nerveless 90 to seal another seemingly unsatisfactory win.
“It’s been happening like this for 25 or 30 years, so it’s nothing new,” O’Sullivan added.
“It’s the only thing I’ve known and it’s hard not to do this because it’s my job, it’s all I know, so I’ve struggled through it.
“But I can’t accept bad cueing, I’d rather cue well and lose than cue awful and win tournaments. I get no satisfaction out of it, I really don’t.”
O’Sullivan will face Gary Wilson in the last eight after the reigning Northern Ireland Open champion saw off Tom Ford 4-2.
A Dream To Share is set to bid for back-to-back victories in the Goffs Future Stars INH Flat Race at next month’s Dublin Racing Festival, after connections put a pause on plans to go hurdling this season.
The JP McManus-owned six-year-old is five from five in bumpers for veteran trainer John Kiely, also landing the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and a Grade One at Punchestown.
He was due to embark on a hurdling career this term and was at the head of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle market, but a setback meant he missed his intended jumping debut at Punchestown in October and he was later ruled out until the new year.
And while A Dream To Share is reported to be back in good form, McManus’ racing manager Frank Berry has confirmed he will instead revert to the bumper route in Leopardstown’s Grade Two finale on February 3.
He said: “All being well, he’ll go for the bumper (at the Dublin Racing Festival).
“Basically he’s missed a few schooling days and a few things and with the setback it just didn’t give us a lot of time to get him jumping.
“He’s eligible for the bumper in Leopardstown and that’s the route he’s going to take, so let’s see how we get on doing this.
“He’s coming along nicely, John is happy with him. We’ll learn a bit more at the Dublin Racing Festival and see where we go from there.”
Joe Joyce admits it would be a crazy decision to retire now as he targets a return to winning ways in “thriving” heavyweight division against Kash Ali.
Frank Warren announced the first “Magnificent Seven” boxing card of 2024 on Thursday, including Joyce and Nathan Heaney, will take place in Birmingham on March 16.
Joyce will look to bounce back from two defeats to China’s Zhilei Zhang in 2023 and try to return to world title fight contention.
“It’s good to be back and get back into camp and to start the year with a bang,” Joyce said at a press conference at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena.
“I’m still here. I’m not retiring and I have plenty of fights to be in. It’s an exciting time to be in. Why retire now? I’d be crazy to.
“I want to get back to winning ways again with a nice victory and then there are plenty of fights on the horizon. The heavyweight division is thriving at the moment especially with the opportunities in Saudi Arabia.
“Styles make fights and he’s a hard hitting durable southpaw (Zhang). I learnt from the first fight but I didn’t get the result (in the second). He got the beating of me and I’ll see what he’ll do next.”
Following his victory over Denzel Bentley in November, the undefeated Heaney will headline the event when he defends his British middleweight title against Brad Pauls.
The Stoke fighter said: “I’ve got the British title and the next title after that is the English title (which Pauls holds) so he is no easy pick at all.
“It was something I’ve always dreamt about (winning British title). That motivation is there for everyone. He’s better than people think, he has got a good jab and it sets up for a good fight.”
Birmingham’s Solomon Dacres features on the card, Eithan James fights Owen Cooper for the English welterweight title and Zach Parker faces Germany’s Tyron Zeuge.
Dennis McCann will also return to the ring after August’s technical draw with Ionut Baluta when he goes head-to-head with Liverpool’s Brad Strand while Erik Robles fights Liam Davies for the IBO world super bantamweight title.
The news comes soon after the announcement of Anthony Joshua’s next bout against MMA star Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8.
Queensbury promoter Warren said: “We have so many quality fights, great for those buying tickets.
“We have top talent with youngsters coming through. It’s a competitive fight for everyone on the card. We have revived the format, we will do this a few times this year.”
Jamaican professional racing driver Fraser McConnell expressed gratitude at being nominated for the RJR Gleaner National Sportsman of the Year award for a second time.
“Getting nominated for sportsman of the year again is a huge honor,” said the 25-year-old.
McConnell had a successful debut season in Extreme E as his X44 Vida Carbon Racing team secured the fourth position in the Extreme E Championship finale in December.
Owned by Sir Lewis Hamilton, the X44 Vida Carbon Racing team achieved a third-place podium finish in the final two rounds at the Copper X Prix in Antofagasta, Chile, earning 121 points to secure the fourth spot overall.
In Round 5 and final, despite a major setback due to a collision in the switch zone, X44 finished the race eight minutes slower than Veloce Racing, the eventual winner. This victory placed Veloce in third place in the final standings with 155 points, while Sainz XE took second place with 177 points. Rosberg X Racing (RXR) was crowned champions with 182 points.
“To be able to represent Jamaica on the international stage doing what I love and being up there with the other best athletes in the country is a big honor and big motivation for me to keep going,” he said.
“Regardless of the decision the judges make, it’s still such a great success and achievement. Just going to keep my head down, keep focused and keep going and flying the flag everywhere I go,” added McConnell.
The favorite for the award would have to be trailblazing Jamaican sprinter Antonio Watson who made history as the first Jamaican man in 40 years to clinch the gold medal in the World Championships 400m.
The list of male nominees also features World Championships 110m hurdles silver medalist and Diamond League champion Hansle Parchment, along with standout long jumpers Wayne Pinnock, Tajay Gayle, the silver and bronze medalists from Budapest as well as Pan American 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde.
Sandor Clegane will look to get off the mark over fences when he heads to Navan on Saturday.
The Paul Nolan-trained seven-year-old was a good quality hurdler who finished a close third in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham last season and then went on to win the valuable Irish EBF Auction Hurdle Series Final at Punchestown.
He made his chasing debut at Fairyhouse in early November and finished fourth whilst gaining experience around an insufficient trip of two miles and a half a furlong.
At Punchestown later the same month the gelding was stepped up in both trip and level to contest the Florida Pearl Novice Chase, a Grade Two run over three miles for which he was a 7-2 chance.
Gordon Elliott’s Favori De Champdou was an easy 14-length winner of that race as Sandor Clegane finished second with Flooring Porter, Affordale Fury and Quilixios behind him.
Navan will be the next port of call for the bay, who holds an entry for the Jack Kiernans Celebrating 55 Years In Business Beginners Chase over three miles on Saturday.
“He’s in good form, we were a bit disappointed by how far he was beaten the last day but hopefully we have our reasons,” said Nolan.
“Hopefully he’ll jump well and run a nice race, we’ll know a lot more after Saturday.”
Reflecting on the Punchestown run, the form from which is varied as Favori De Champdou was well beaten next time out yet Quilixios won comfortably, Nolan added: “There were a couple of fences that he was perhaps a little bit scratchy at, but I thought he was far better the last day than he was the first day and he looked like he enjoyed himself far more.
“We were way happier with his jumping than the first day so it was definitely a step forward, but when you’re beaten a long way you always start asking questions.
“That can happen at times, horses can perform out of their skin on certain days and that might be totally reversed the next day.
“You can’t read too much into other horses, you have to concentrate on what you have yourself.
“He’s the best we have so we’ll concentrate on him and find the race we think is most suitable for him.
“That’s what we’re doing, we’ll creep before we walk and see where it will take us.”
Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion has a whole host of options open to him after coming home the runner-up in the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle.
The seven-year-old began his season by winning the Welsh Champion Hurdle, a length-and-a-half success that then led him to Greatwood at Cheltenham where he was fifth under the burden of 12st.
In the Lanzarote only one of his 18 rivals shouldered more weight than him and under Richard Patrick he produced another fine run to go down by a length and a quarter to Dan Skelton’s Jay Jay Reilly.
The run was a step up to two miles and five furlongs for the gelding and provided ample proof that the extended trip was to his liking, leaving an array of hurdle races open to him as the season progresses.
“I was absolutely delighted with him, these big handicaps are a lottery and he was giving away a lot of weight,” said Lee.
“I think he’s run incredibly well, I’m very proud of him.
“He’s given us a lot more options after that, we can really shop around for which way to go now.”
Nemean Lion was a well-regarded performer on the Flat before joining Lee, finishing second in the Group Two Prix Chaudenay on his final start for Andre Fabre in 2020.
Over two years off the track followed due to injury and while soft ground is not mandatory, Lee is naturally mindful of preserving the horse’s soundness after waiting so long to campaign him under the National Hunt code.
“I think he’s proven that he doesn’t need soft ground, it’s just that he is so fragile,” she said.
“When a horse has had two years off the track, you’ve got to respect that they’ve had an injury that could recur if you run them on the wrong ground.
“I’m very careful with him, I thought the ground at Kempton was absolutely beautiful and I walk the track every time before running him – or not as the case may be.”
Nemean Lion, who is by Golden Horn, holds entries in a host of races including the two key hurdle events at the Cheltenham Festival, though the Stayers’ is now more likely than the Champion Hurdle after his performance at Kempton.
“We’ve got to look at all our options, literally every single one of them, and get our heads together based on how the horse comes out of the race,” said Lee.
“We’ll look at everything, he has a cheeky entry in the Stayers’ and I think that would be a more likely option now than the Champion Hurdle – exciting times.”
An emotional Iga Swiatek survived a major scare to reach the third round of the Australian Open but Elena Rybakina was beaten by Anna Blinkova in a record-breaking encounter.
Swiatek lost to Danielle Collins in the semi-finals in Melbourne two years ago and it appeared history was about to repeat itself when the American took a 4-1 lead over the world number one in the deciding set under the roof on Rod Laver Arena.
But Swiatek responded with five games in a row to claim a 6-4 3-6 6-4 victory and set up a clash with Czech teenager Linda Noskova.
The Pole sobbed into her towel at the end of the match and she said with a relieved smile: “I was at the airport already.
“I wanted to fight until the end. She played perfectly so I knew it would be hard for anybody to maintain that level. I waited for the mistakes to come. I’m really proud of myself because it wasn’t easy.”
Rybakina, the third seed and last year’s beaten finalist, also appeared like she might escape after saving two match points to force a tie-break against 57th-ranked Blinkova.
But, more than half an hour later, Blinkova finally clinched a 6-4 4-6 7-6 (22/20) victory on her 10th match point, with Rybakina having seen six opportunities go begging.
It was the longest tie-break in a singles match in grand slam history.
For Blinkova, it is also the biggest win of her career, and she said: “I don’t know what to say. It was super tough. I just tried to stay focused on every point.
“I had so many match points. I tried to be aggressive at these moments but my hand was shaking and my legs too. I tried to be calm as hard as I could and I’m super happy to win in the end.
“This day I will remember for the rest of my life. Especially on this court, with this crowd. I will never forget it. It’s the best day of my life so far.”
After her defeat by Swiatek, Collins walked straight off court into the press room, where she revealed this will be her final season.
“I don’t really know exactly when (I will stop) but this will be my last season and I’m really looking forward to that,” said the 30-year-old, who also made the semi-finals in Melbourne in 2019 and reached a career-high ranking of seven.
“I have other things that I’d like to accomplish in my life outside of tennis and would like to be able to have the time to be able to do that. Obviously having kids is a big priority for me.”
Swiatek edged a tight first set disrupted by a brief rain break but the aggression of Collins was troubling the top seed and the American, who also made the semi-finals here in 2019, won five games in a row to take a 5-1 lead in the second set.
She showed nerves, hitting four double faults as she failed to serve it out at the first time of asking, but she was rock solid on her second opportunity.
Swiatek found returns drilled back at her feet and she was staring at the exit door when Collins broke serve twice in succession to lead 4-1 in the deciding set.
However, the American tightened up with the finish line in sight and Swiatek came roaring back, clinching victory on her third match point with a backhand into the corner.
Swiatek applied strapping under her left knee at the start of the third set, but she played down concerns, saying: “I’ve been struggling a little bit with my knee since (the WTA Finals in) Cancun. I have ups and downs but it’s not like it affects my game. You don’t have to be worried.”
On a day of high drama at Melbourne Park, fifth seed Jessica Pegula was also ousted, going down 6-4 6-2 to France’s Clara Burel, while former finalist Sloane Stephens beat 14th seed Daria Kasatkina 4-6 6-3 6-3.
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