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Carlos Alcaraz battles back to reach Indian Wells fourth round

Carlos Alcaraz had to dig deep to extend his 2026 unbeaten run, rallying from a set and a break down to beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2 in the third round at Indian Wells on Monday.

The big-serving Frenchman’s aggressive game forced world number one Alcaraz to call on every shot in his arsenal to turn a tense contest his way.

Alcaraz will face 13th-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud for a place in the quarter-finals.

“Really happy that I was able to turn things around,” said Alcaraz.

The Spaniard nearly managed to steal the first-set tiebreaker, in which he had trailed 2-5, but a wayward forehand on set point gave Rinderknech his chance to pocket the set with a pair of winners.

Rinderknech then produced the first service break of the match to put the top seed in a hole in the opening game of the second set.

Alcaraz responded with an immediate break back, ramping up the pressure on Rinderknech’s serve on the way to a decisive break in the sixth game.

When Alcaraz broke again to open the third set, he was on his way, rolling to his sixth win over 26th-ranked Rinderknech in six career meetings.

“In the beginning, I was a little bit mad with myself because I just had a lot of chances in the first set, a few break points, a set point, and I couldn’t make it,” Alcaraz said.

“I got in trouble, to be honest. But I’m just really happy with the way that I just dealt with everything that was happening, accepted it, kept going, stayed strong mentally.”

Rinderknech had never won a match in Indian Wells in three prior appearances, and he leaves this edition without an on-court victory after enjoying a first-round bye and advancing to the third round by walkover.

Carlos Alcaraz, 22, became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with his victory at the Australian Open.

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He followed that up with the Qatar Open title, and with two wins under his belt in Indian Wells, is now 14-0 on the season.

He next faces Ruud, who beat Valentin Vacherot 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It was hard going for world number three Novak Djokovic in his 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory over 72nd-ranked American Aleksandar Kovacevic, who peppered Djokovic with 16 aces.

Djokovic made an early break to take the first set, but Kovacevic found his groove and rolled through the second against the clearly frustrated Serb.

Djokovic regrouped in the third but didn’t find the break he needed until the final game.

“Today was really anybody’s game until the last couple of points,” Djokovic said. “That last game in the third, where he missed some first serves, gave me looks on the second, and I used it. That’s pretty much it.”

With five Indian Wells titles, Djokovic is tied for the record with Swiss great Roger Federer, but he’s in the fourth round for the first time since 2017.

Djokovic next faces defending champion Jack Draper, who beat Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5.

Draper’s victory here last year launched his rise to fourth in the world.

But he then missed the better part of six months with an arm injury and arrived in California ranked 14th, his win over Cerundolo marking the first time since June that he’s posted back-to-back ATP victories.

A trio of top-10 players were sent packing.

Britain’s Cameron Norrie ousted sixth-ranked Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-4, Alex Michelsen beat seventh-ranked fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) and Australian qualifier Rinki Hijikata, ranked 117th in the world, shocked 10th-ranked Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

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Jacob Kiplimo regains half marathon world record

Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo reclaimed the men’s half marathon world record on Sunday winning in Lisbon in 57 minutes and 20 seconds, to take 10 seconds off the time set in 2024 by Yomif Kejelcha.

Kiplimo had previously set the record in Lisbon in 2021 before Ethiopian Kejelcha shaved off one second in Valencia.

In a race without pacemakers, Kiplimo covered the first five kilometres in a rapid 13:28 with Kenyans Nicholas Kipkorir and Gilbert Kiprotich on his heels.

After the trio reached 10km in 27:00 Kiprotich faded.

When the pace dropped as the leaders passed 15km in 40:52, Kiplimo, who had an eye on the record, accelerated and ran the next 5km in 13:31, a pace he kept up to the end.

“After the first 10km, I thought the world record was possible. I tried to keep pushing the pace in the final two kilometres,” he said at the finish.

Kipkorir crossed the line 48sec behind with Kiprotich a distant third.

Kiplimo ran 56:42 in Barcelona last year, but World Athletics refused to ratify the record because, it said on Sunday, “the race conditions were not fully compliant with World Athletics rules”.

Ethiopian Tsige Gebreselama retained the women’s title in 1:04:48.

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Aryna Sabalenka shows off engagement ring during Indian Wells win

INDIAN WELLS: World number one Aryna Sabalenka made a sparkling appearance at the Indian Wells Open on Friday, not only cruising into the next round but also debuting her engagement ring during her second-round victory.

The Belarusian star defeated Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume 6-4, 6-2 in a commanding performance, but much of the attention also fell on the striking oval-cut diamond ring she wore during the match.

Sabalenka recently got engaged to her Brazilian fiance, Georgios Franguli, with the proposal taking place earlier this week.

The 27-year-old revealed after the match that she felt confident wearing the ring during competition and had taken precautions to ensure it was safe.

“I was pretty confident wearing this ring,” Sabalenka told reporters. “It feels super comfortable and shiny.”

She added that her team had carefully checked whether there was any risk of the diamond coming loose during play.

“We double-checked if there was a possibility to lose the diamond, and there was none,” she said with a smile. “I was pretty confident wearing it, hoping it might even distract my opponent.”

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Sabalenka, who has reached the final of the prestigious WTA 1000 event twice in the past three years, also shared details about the emotional moment when Franguli proposed.

According to the world number one, the proposal came as a complete surprise, although members of her team were aware of the plan beforehand.

“I saw Georgios, and I was crying half the time,” she said. “I thought I looked ugly and not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment.”

Aryna Sabalenka joked that she even tried to control how the moment was captured on camera.

“I asked the videographer and photographer to make sure my face wasn’t in the pictures, just the ring or side views, because I didn’t want people to see how I looked,” she said. “But it was a beautiful moment.”

Franguli is the chief executive of global health-food brand OakBerry, and Sabalenka lightheartedly reflected on what they have learned about each other since they began dating in 2024.

“What have I learned about him? He likes OakBerry a lot,” she joked. “And what he has learned about me? That I’m crazy.”

READ: Aryna Sabalenka opens Indian Wells bid with dominant win

Max Verstappen baffled by crash in Australian Grand Prix qualifying

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen said Saturday he had never experienced anything like the crash that left him 20th on the grid for the Australian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman came out relatively late in the first qualifying session in Melbourne but didn’t manage a single timed lap, spinning at speed and careening through the gravel into the barriers at Turn 1.

He clambered out of his Red Bull, shaking his hand and wrist, but said he was okay after being checked by medics.

“I just hit the brakes and suddenly the rear axle just completely locked out of the blue,” he told reporters on the eve of the season-opening race.

“I don’t know why that happened or how that happened. I’ve never experienced something like that before in my career.

“The rear axle just completely locked on, then of course you can’t save that anymore at that speed.”

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Max Verstappen said hitting the barrier was not too bad, but the steering wheel snapped out of his hands, which is why he went to get a medical check.

“But all good,” he added.

Verstappen, the 2023 and 2024 pole-sitter, has his work cut out on Sunday with a near-impossible task ahead to salvage his weekend.

George Russell led a Mercedes 1-2 with teammate Kimi Antonelli, with the Briton almost a second faster than third-placed Isack Hadjar in the other Red Bull.

“I said in Bahrain (at pre-season testing) ‘Let’s wait and see in Melbourne, and you will see how fast they are’,” Verstappen said of the Silver Arrows.

“So for me, that’s not a surprise. We know that we have to improve the car to fight Mercedes.”

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Pakistan edge Japan to qualify for Hockey World Cup after eight years

ISMAILIA: Pakistan booked their place in the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026 after defeating Japan 4-3 in a dramatic semi-final of the qualifiers at the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Hockey Stadium on Friday.

The hard-fought victory confirmed the Green Shirts’ return to the global showpiece after an eight-year absence. The upcoming World Cup is scheduled to be jointly hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands in August 2026.

Japan created the first major opportunity of the match when Tsubasa Tanaka found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper but lifted his attempt over the crossbar.

Pakistan soon capitalised, with Ammad Butt opening the scoring in the ninth minute. His initial shot was saved by goalkeeper Takumi Kitagawa, but rebounded off the post, allowing Butt to react quickly and slot the ball home.

Japan pushed for an equaliser and were denied a couple of penalty corners, including a crucial save on the line by Arshad Liaqat.

Their persistence paid off in the 21st minute when Ryoma Ooka deflected the ball into the net from open play to level the score at 1-1 heading into the halftime break.

Japan came out strongly in the second half and took the lead in the 35th minute through Shota Yamada’s drag flick.

They extended their advantage in the 41st minute when a clever overhead ball behind the Pakistani defence forced the goalkeeper out of his circle.

Unable to clear the danger, the loose ball was collected by Koji, who calmly finished with a slap-in at the left post.

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With momentum on Japan’s side, Pakistan responded strongly after their opponents were reduced to ten men following a yellow card with ten minutes remaining.

Abu Mahmood pulled one back in the 52nd minute with a powerful drag flick down the centre before Sufyan Khan levelled the contest three minutes later with another blistering drag flick that squeezed between the goalkeeper and the post defender.

Pakistan completed a remarkable turnaround in the 57th minute when Afraz produced a superb deflection from open play to give his side the lead.

Japan had one final opportunity to force the match into a shootout after being awarded a penalty stroke, but Pakistan goalkeeper Ali Raza produced a decisive save, stretching out his right foot to deny the attempt and seal a memorable victory.

The triumph marked Pakistan’s fourth consecutive win in the qualifiers, having also topped the group stage unbeaten.

Pakistan will now face England in the final of the qualifying event, scheduled to take place at the same venue on Saturday.

Once regarded as a dominant force in world hockey with four World Cup titles, Pakistan have struggled in recent years.

The team failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in The Hague, finished 12th in the 2018 edition in Bhubaneswar, and also missed out on the 2023 tournament in Odisha.

READ: Aryna Sabalenka opens Indian Wells bid with dominant win

Aryna Sabalenka opens Indian Wells bid with dominant win

World number one Aryna Sabalenka launched her bid for an elusive first Indian Wells title with a dominant 6-4, 6-2 second-round victory over Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume on Friday.

Sabalenka and men’s world number two Jannik Sinner headlined the day’s play as seeded players swung into action after enjoying first-round byes.

Sabalenka, playing her first tournament since a runner-up finish to Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open, showed no sign of rust as she overpowered 136th-ranked Sakatsume, who was playing her first career match against a top-20 player.

“I’m really happy with the way I was serving, with the way I was putting her on the back foot,” said Sabalenka, who has twice reached the Indian Wells final but lost to Rybakina in 2023 and to Mirra Andreeva last year.

A nervous Sakatsume dropped her serve in the opening game but steadied after saving four break points to hold in the fifth.

Even so, she had no real answer to the Belarusian’s power and the lone break was enough for Sabalenka to seize the opening set.

After Sakatsume held serve to open the second, Sabalenka won five straight games, closing out the match after 72 minutes without facing a break point.

“I haven’t played for a while after the Australian Open, and happy with the performance today,” said Sabalenka, who was cheered on by Brazilian fiance Georgios Frangulis.

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She said the ring he surprised her with was “very comfy,” although she’d taken care to ascertain there was no danger of losing the impressive diamond solitaire during the rigours of a match.

“I was pretty confident wearing this ring,” she said. “It feels comfy, it feels shiny.

“I hope that my opponent will get distracted with this diamond and it’s going to benefit me,” she added with a laugh.

Men’s fourth-seed Alexander Zverev also sailed into the third round, beating Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point.

It was an encouraging start for the German, who fell in his opening match last year and has never made it past the quarter-finals in the California desert.

“I have struggled in Indian Wells before, but I feel different this year,” he said.

Hungarian veteran Marton Fucsovics pulled the first big upset of the week, ousting fifth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-1.

It was another disappointing setback for Musetti, who was playing his first tournament since he retired with a right leg injury while leading 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic by two sets in the Australian Open quarter-finals.

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LeBron James breaks NBA all-time field goal record in Lakers loss

LeBron James broke the record for most field goals made in NBA history Thursday, though the latest milestone in his glittering career did not stop the Los Angeles Lakers from crashing 120-113 to the Denver Nuggets.

James, who already held the NBA all-time points record, sailed past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 15,837 field goals with a fadeaway jumper in the first quarter.

The 41-year-old has played a record 23 NBA seasons, and has stoked rumors of possible retirement in recent weeks, telling reporters in January: “I don’t know what the future holds.”

James, who scored 16 points in Thursday’s loss, appeared to injure his left elbow in the fourth quarter, after he was shunted off the court and landed on the legs of a cameraman.

Play was halted as he was substituted out. James returned to the court for the game’s final two minutes, but in evident pain.

It was a wire-to-wire win for the Nuggets, though the Lakers had closed to within one point with two minutes remaining.

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“They’re a difficult team to beat,” said Nikola Jokic, who grabbed another triple-double, including 28 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. “We scored when we needed.”

The result could prove crucial to playoff qualification, with the Lakers sitting in the final automatic spot in sixth, just behind the Nuggets.

They are two games clear of the Phoenix Suns, who lost 105-103 to the Chicago Bulls.

James’s career tally of well over 43,000 points is nearly 5,000 more than second-placed Abdul-Jabbar, whom he passed back in 2023.

LeBron James reached the points record earlier in part because Abdul-Jabbar played much of his career before the introduction of the three-pointer, but the field goal record is further testament to his longevity and prowess.

READ: ‘She’s coming back’: Novak Djokovic predicts Serena Williams’ return

‘She’s coming back’: Novak Djokovic predicts Serena Williams’ return

Novak Djokovic is convinced US tennis great Serena Williams will return to competition, and the 24-time Grand Slam champion is itching to see “one of the greatest athletes” back on court.

“I think she’s coming back,” Djokovic said Wednesday at the ATP/WTA Indian Wells Masters.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her, but I guess the sentiment is that she’s coming back. Where and how, singles, doubles, we don’t know, and if I’m in her position, I would hide it too.”

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t competed since a third-round loss at the 2022 US Open.

But the 44-year-old mother of two re-entered the anti-doping testing pool in December and regained eligibility.

Initially she denied she planned a comeback, but in January she declined to rule it out, telling NBC’s “Today” show: “That’s not a yes or a no. I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens.”

Djokovic said players were buzzing at the prospect.

“Everybody is excited, and it’s definitely something that’s very highly anticipated,” he said.

Williams’s sister Venus, 45, accepted a wild card into the Indian Wells singles draw and will face France’s Diane Parry in the first round.

Djokovic suggested Serena could return for Wimbledon — where she is a seven-time singles champion.

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“I pick that one as well as her comeback,” he said. “I don’t know. I think she might maybe play a doubles tournament or two with Venus. That would be nice to see, just from my point of view and tennis fans’, for sure.

“She’s one of the greatest athletes, really. It would be great to have her back too.”

Djokovic is seeded third in Indian Wells as he plays his first event since he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final, after toppling Jannik Sinner in the semis.

“For me that has been a phenomenal result,” the 38-year-old said. “I have proven to myself primarily and to others that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys.

“So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and also motivation to do that.

“There are objectives and goals that are always there. You want to win, so you want to get another title and get another Slam, hopefully,” he said. “I was close in Australia.”

Djokovic’s five Indian Wells titles are tied for the most with Swiss great Roger Federer.

But he hasn’t reached the quarter-finals since his last title run in 2016.

He’ll launch his latest desert campaign on Saturday against either France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak.

READ: Lewis Hamilton reveals ‘F1: The Movie’ sequel in the works

Lewis Hamilton reveals ‘F1: The Movie’ sequel in the works

Lewis Hamilton revealed Thursday he was working on a sequel to the blockbuster Brad Pitt film ‘F1: The Movie’, with a script being written.

The film released last year starred Pitt and Damson Idris and was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who made ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ among others.

Producers included Jerry Bruckheimer and seven-time world champion Hamilton.

“We are already working on the first script,” the Ferrari driver said in Melbourne ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

“We had our first meeting maybe mid-to-late the second part of the end of the year — me, Jerry and Joe talking about different ideas, different directions that we could go with the script.

“So it’s really exciting. I’m super excited. Now I’ve been through it, and it was already very intense the first time going. Now I’m used to it. So I know what to expect.”

In the first film, Pitt played a grizzled veteran brought in to shore up a foundering Formula One team run by his one-time teammate, played by Javier Bardem.

The team’s talented rookie driver (Idris) resented the older man, with their difficult relationship forming the emotional backbone.

It was a huge hit, raking in more than US$630 million worldwide.

“It’s been amazing to see how big an impact it’s had, how many people have loved the movie,” said Hamilton.

“I’m still getting texts from people who are still only just watching the movie and how it’s opened their eyes up to what this sport is about

“Sequels often aren’t always great,” he added. “But we’ve got a great team, got a great cast, great writer. So I’m not concerned about that.

“But we’re going to take our time and make sure we get it just the way it needs to be.”

Asked if he might be tempted to have a role in the sequel, he replied: “I don’t really have a lot of desire to be on camera, and I’ve had loads of opportunities to be in movies.

“I really liked the idea of being in the background. It was an amazing experience, and it’s so much more enjoyable, I think, than actually being on camera.”

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Daniil Medvedev wins Dubai title after Tallon Griekspoor withdrawal

Daniil Medvedev claimed his second Dubai title on Saturday following the withdrawal of his opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, due to a left hamstring injury.

The Russian also said he was unsure if he would be able to play next week’s ATP 1000 event in California after UAE airspace was partially closed due to Iranian strikes on the country, following the United States’ and Israel’s attacks on Iran.

Dutchman Griekspoor picked up the injury towards the end of the opening set of his semi-final win over Andrey Rublev on Friday and looked doubtful for the final when he limped into his post-match press conference.

The tournament announced on Saturday that Griekspoor “was deemed unfit to play in the ATP 500 men’s final following a medical assessment”.

“Of course, unfortunate, but Tallon, I could see yesterday that maybe he had an injury,” said Medvedev in audio quotes provided by the ATP.

“You never know how these injuries develop through the night. Sometimes they get easier, and you can play, like with some soreness. Sometimes they get worse, so I guess it got worse.

“I cannot do anything about it. I played a great tournament, the four matches I played. Of course, I wanted to play the final, but it is what it is.

“I played an unbelievable match yesterday, so I would, either way, take it as a final for me, and I’m happy to win the tournament.”

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This is the first time Medvedev has been able to repeat a title. The 30-year-old Russian had won 22 trophies in 22 different events before clinching a second Dubai crown on Saturday to go with the one he captured in 2023.

“Of course, I take a lot of confidence. But tennis is a very fast-paced sport, so one week you can play not the way you want, and the other week you’re playing amazingly. So I just hope to bring this confidence from the four matches I played in Indian Wells, for sure.

“I played unreal the whole week, so I was actually really looking forward to the final and trying to play even better than I did. But it is what it is, and I’m really happy with how the week turned out in general.”

The Dubai doubles final went ahead as scheduled, and the singles final was set to be played despite Iran’s ongoing attacks on the UAE on Saturday.

The players are meant to fly straight to California for the upcoming Indian Wells Masters, but their travel plans have been disrupted due to regional airspace closures and the suspension of all flight operations at all Dubai airports until further notice.

Medvedev said he still didn’t know how he was going to make it to California and will be waiting on updates regarding the reopening of the Gulf region’s airspace.

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