The Guardian

There is no doubt that the Australian is a fine player but the brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner means a grand slam title is still a slim prospect There are two ways to look at this. Either Alex de Minaur is not good enough to beat Carlos Alcaraz – and Jannik Sinner, for that matter – or the world’s top two players are in a class of their own. Sadly, for Australia’s top-ranked player…

Belichick widely seen as one of greatest ever coaches Hall of Fame declines to comments on ESPN report Six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick has been snubbed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, according to a report from ESPN . Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN reported on Tuesday that Belichick didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50…

Updates from the women’s singles tennis on Rod Laver Arena Polish No 2 seed takes on Kazakhstan’s No 5 in Melbourne Any thoughts? Get in touch with an email Elena Rybakina (5) 1-1 Iga Swiatek* (2) And Rybakina breaks right back! Good stuff. A lengthy baseline exchange ends with Swiatek sending down an overhead smash that Rybakina can’t return but the Kazakhstani levels things when the second seed…

Top seed secures 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 win on Rod Laver Arena De Minaur ‘deflated’ after playing ‘at times out of my skin’ Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is within two victories of a career grand slam after piling more major pain on home hope Alex de Minaur in a largely straightforward Australian Open quarter-final victory, secured 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 in 136 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. The heavily anticipated clash d…

Porro and Van de Ven join lengthy injury list Kolo Muani unharmed after M25 tyre blowout Thomas Frank’s preparations for the Champions League game at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night have been rocked by injuries to Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven – and a car crash affecting Randal Kolo Muani and Wilson Odobert. The Tottenham manager reported that Kolo Muani and Odobert were OK after pictur…

Manager wants players ‘to improve in both boxes’ Liverpool without Konaté and Gomez against Qarabag Arne Slot has said an early Champions League exit may have contributed to Liverpool winning the Premier League title last year but said his team must improve in both boxes to secure silverware this season. Slot has faced renewed criticism after his side’s 13-game unbeaten run ended at Bournemouth o…

Head coach and players spoke in wake of United defeat Side is ‘in great position in four competitions’, he says Mikel Arteta has revealed Arsenal held a team meeting after their defeat against Manchester United on Sunday “to take the temperature down”, insisting the league leaders must “play with enjoyment” in order to win a first Premier League title for 22 years. A late goal from Matheus Cunha …

Root hails captain’s calmness in third ODI victory Brook imitates move of wrestler after making century The wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was the surprising inspiration for Harry Brook’s century celebration as the England white-ball captain led his side to a one-day international series victory against Sri Lanka with a thrilling, unbeaten 136. Brook, who was involved in a clash with a nightc…

English clubs stroll through Champions League group phase but fatigue tends to take its toll by the spring Has there been a great game in the Champions League group stage this season? Probably not. Even if there had been, it almost certainly didn’t mean all that much. But that’s the way of the modern game: an extremely protracted clearing of the throat before the real business begins. Uefa will p…

36-year-old will replace fired Sean McDermott Brady will become head coach for first time The Buffalo Bills stayed in-house by promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady as their new head coach on Tuesday on a five-year deal. The 36-year-old just completed his fourth season in Buffalo and his second full season as coordinator. He previously served as quarterbacks coach before taking over the offen…

WSL says it is committed to increasing pay floors Clubs can be docked points for breaching salary cap Players aged under 23 in Women’s Super League 2 are not guaranteed to be paid the equivalent of the national living wage for a typical full-time worker annually, despite a large pay increase for the division’s lowest-paid players after the introduction of minimum salaries this season. WSL2 clubs …

In an exclusive interview at his base, athletics’ ‘iron man’ reveals why his career feels like ‘99% losses’ but he plans to retire as the greatest distance runner in history On a bone-cold new year’s morning, the world’s most compelling athlete is sweating so much that tiny puddles are starting to ooze across his treadmill. For 40 minutes Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes 6min 40sec mile pace look like a …

Amateur rider claims Dane ‘got angry’ when followed Team ask for riders to be given space after Málaga crash Visma-Lease a Bike have reminded amateur cyclists of the dangers of interacting with professional riders on the road following the revelation that Jonas Vingegaard crashed on Monday after being tailed by a fan during a descent near Málaga, Spain. “Jonas Vingegaard crashed during training o…

Fijians want neutral venue to maximise crowd receipts RFU privately delighted to take national team on the road Everton have been offered the chance to host England’s Nations Championship game against Fiji in July at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in what would be their first match in England held away from Twickenham since 2019. The 11 July Test against Fiji is an away fixture for England in their s…

Today’s rumours are wet It’s been a quiet transfer window, all things considered, with even the worst internet attention-seekers refusing to don their yellow ties and take a day off school for its final day, their mum’s toy spaceship left idling in a shoebox under the bed. But there might yet be some action – not like that, how dare you – so let’s dive in. Crystal Palace are enduring a miserable …