分类： sports

The 2025 men’s tennis clay court season kicked off its first Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo on Tuesday, with the sport’s two top superstars Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz delivering dominant opening-round wins to fuel their tight, high-stakes battle for the ATP world number one ranking ahead of the French Open.

With Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt watching from the stands of the Monte-Carlo Country Club, the top two-ranked players turned in clinical performances that sent them smoothly into the tournament’s second round. Second-ranked Sinner, the Italian powerhouse who enters the clay swing in red-hot form, took just 64 minutes to blow past France’s Ugo Humbert in a lopsided 6-3, 6-0 victory. Shortly after, world No. 1 and defending Monte Carlo champion Carlos Alcaraz followed Sinner onto center court, wrapping up a 6-1, 6-3 win over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 69 minutes after the opening first serve.

This clay season carries extra significance for Sinner, who is still chasing his first ATP Masters 1000 title on clay and gunning to knock Alcaraz off the top spot in the global rankings. The Italian comes into Monte Carlo fresh off a historic unbeaten Sunshine Double in March, where he claimed back-to-back titles at the Indian Wells and Miami Open without dropping a single set. Tuesday’s win extended his winning streak at 1000-level events to an impressive 18 matches.

Speaking after his victory, Sinner acknowledged the challenge of adapting his game to his first clay tournament of the season. “It was a good performance from my side. The first clay event is never easy. You have to change your game style a little bit, how you approach certain situations. I come here with good feelings but, at the same time, not many expectations,” he said.

Against Humbert, a player he had not faced in five years, Sinner took a handful of games to find his rhythm on the red dirt. He broke Humbert’s serve in the fifth game to take control of the first set, closing it out 6-3. The second set was a complete rout: Sinner dropped zero games, sweeping Humbert aside 6-0 in just 23 minutes. He will next face the winner of the match between Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo and Czech qualifier Tomas Machac.

For Alcaraz, the opening win marked a promising return to his favored surface after a long hard-court stretch. The 21-year-old Spaniard admitted he had been eager to get back on clay. “It’s been almost one year since the last match I played on clay. To be honest, I missed it. I missed getting myself dirty a little bit,” he said. Last clay season, Alcaraz dominated the surface, claiming three titles from four tournaments including the Monte Carlo crown, with his only defeat coming in the Barcelona final.

Alcaraz’s path to retaining the world number one ranking is already an uphill battle, as ranking regulations reset points after 12 months, and Sinner has no points to defend from Monte Carlo this year. After his opening win, Alcaraz openly acknowledged that Sinner’s ascent to the top spot is only a matter of time. “I’m going to lose the number one in the world. I don’t know if it’s going to be in this tournament or the next one. It is going to be really difficult to defend all the points and even if I do, Jannik is going to add some points in this tournament. Number one is not on my mind but to be my best on clay and let’s see how the clay court season is going to be,” Alcaraz explained.

The Spaniard’s performance against Baez even exceeded his own expectations. He sailed through the first set, hit a small rough patch in the second, then closed out the match by winning the final seven consecutive points to seal victory. “A really good start to the tournament for me. I surprised myself with the level. I thought I was going to play a little bit worse,” he said. Alcaraz will next meet either Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry or France’s Terence Atmane in the second round.

The 2025 clay season already carries extra narrative weight after last year’s dramatic Roland Garros final, where Sinner — returning from a doping ban that sidelined him for the start of the clay swing — pushed Alcaraz to a five-hour, five-set epic. Sinner held a two-set lead and three championship points before ultimately falling to the Spaniard, setting the stage for a rematch that could come at any point during the clay swing, including Monte Carlo.

Retired Australian international cricket batter David Warner, one of the nation’s most recognizable cricketing talents of the last 15 years, has been charged with a mid-range drink-driving offense following a random breath test in Sydney’s eastern suburb of Maroubra. New South Wales Police confirmed the arrest in a formal statement on Monday, detailing the sequence of events that unfolded on Sunday.

According to police authorities, officers from the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command were operating a random breath testing checkpoint when they spotted a van stop short of the testing zone and park. When law enforcement approached the vehicle to conduct a standard roadside test, the driver — identified as 39-year-old Warner — returned an initial positive result for alcohol consumption.

Warner was then taken into custody and transported to the nearby Maroubra Police Station for a second, more formal blood alcohol test. The subsequent reading came back at 0.104, which is more than double the legal limit of 0.05 set for full-license drivers in New South Wales. The charge of mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol applies to readings between 0.08 and 0.149 under state law, carrying potential penalties including fines, license suspension and possible court-mandated community service.

The former international opening batter is scheduled to appear at Waverley Local Court on May 7 to face the charge. The arrest and charge come months after Warner wrapped up a 15-year international cricket career that spanned 383 appearances across Test, One Day International and Twenty20 formats for Australia between 2009 and 2024. He earned widespread acclaim for his aggressive batting style, played a key role in four ICC T20 World Cup title wins for Australia, and retired as one of the nation’s top run-scorers in modern Test cricket.

The 39-year-old has remained active in professional franchise cricket since hanging up his international boots, and currently serves as captain of the Karachi Kings side competing in the ongoing Pakistan Super League. The franchise is scheduled to face off against Peshawar Zalmi in their next league match on April 9, and it remains unclear as of press time whether the legal matter will impact Warner’s participation in the fixture.

The National Rugby League’s next round of fixtures is bringing a wave of dramatic lineup changes across the competition, headlined by speed centre Bronson Xerri’s shock recall to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs starting side. Xerri will get his first start of the season outside of the opening round in Las Vegas this Thursday, when the Bulldogs face off against competition heavyweights and title favourites Penrith Panthers. He will replace captain Stephen Crichton, who is currently sidelined recovering from an AC joint injury.

Xerri’s path back to the starting 13 has been anything but smooth. After being dropped to reserve grade following the season opener, speculation quickly mounted that the winger could seek an immediate release from his contract to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Things grew even more tense on Good Friday, when Crichton picked up his early injury, but Ciraldo opted to leave Xerri on the bench instead of slotting him into the starting lineup. Instead, the coach shifted five-eighth Burton to left centre and called Sean O’Sullivan up into the halves.

Now that he has earned his shot against the league’s top side, Penrith centre Paul Alamoti says he expects a fired-up, hungry performance from the returning Bulldogs speedster. “I think we’ll see a lot of fire and a lot of energy from him, and rightfully so,” Alamoti told reporters ahead of the clash. “The position that he’s been in, that’s what I’m expecting from him: someone who is hungry on the field, who is locked in on every single play. He won’t miss a beat.”

For the unbeaten Panthers, the lineup news is far less chaotic, with hooker Mitch Kenny returning to the side fresh after serving a suspension.

Down the coast at St George Illawarra Dragons, the club has announced a major overhaul of its halves pairing for a must-win upcoming clash, following a messy performance against North Queensland Cowboys last round. Kyle Flanagan is back in the starting seven just weeks after suffering a sickening head knock, slotting back into the number seven jersey. Big-money off-season signing Daniel Atkinson, who struggled with a poor kicking performance against the Cowboys, will shift to five-eighth to accommodate Flanagan’s return.

Dragons captain Clint Guthrie will miss the next several weeks with a hamstring injury, opening the door for Tyrell Sloan to step into the fullback position, where he will add much-needed attacking speed to the side. On the wing, Setu Tu will come in to replace suspended forward David Fale.

Across at Brisbane Broncos, captain Adam Reynolds has been named in the starting side despite exiting last week’s match early with a groin injury. Reserves back Tom Duffy has been named on standby to step into the side if Reynolds is ruled out unfit pre-match. Blake Mozer has been named on the bench to replace the injured Ben Hunt, while Jesse Arthars will get the start at fullback after superstar Reece Walsh was ruled out for at least a month with a fractured cheekbone.

Speaking ahead of his first start in the fullback role, Arthars said he was not feeling added pressure filling in for the representative star. “I don’t feel the pressure. Obviously we are two different players and I just want to bring my strengths,” Arthars said. “I am sure the boys will have faith in me, and that is something I want to repay to my teammates and to Madge (coach Michael Maguire) for picking me and trusting me.”

Josiah Karapani is returning to the Cowboys starting lineup on the wing after missing last round over disciplinary issues, and he will go up against Brisbane’s Arthars. Cowboys centre Braidon Burns is still in doubt after leaving last week’s match with an ankle injury.

For Sydney Roosters, the side is getting two key playmakers back this round: enforcer Victor Radley returns after serving a club-imposed suspension, while prop Spencer Leniu is back from a hamstring injury. Hugo Savala will step into left centre to replace the injured Billy Smith.

Elsewhere across the league, Brandon Smith has finally received medical clearance to make his season debut for the Melbourne Storm after spending the opening weeks of the year sidelined with a lingering calf injury. For the Canberra Raiders, Jed Stuart will start on the wing in place of Xavier Savage, who is out with an ankle injury. At Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Mawene Hiroti has been named to replace injured centre Jesse Ramien, who will go up against the Roosters’ new starting centre Savala. The Storm have also welcomed outside backs Moses Leo and Jack Howarth back into the squad after extended time on the injury list.

New Zealand Warriors will be without starting five-eighth Luke Metcalf for multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, with Chanel Harris-Tavita stepping into the playmaking role to replace him.

Parramatta Eels are facing a crisis of injuries after a bruising Easter Monday loss, with four key players ruled out of the next round: Bailey Simonsson, Sean Russell, Jonah Pezet and breakout rookie Apa Twidle are all unavailable. Araz Nanva will make his first grade debut on the right wing, while Ronald Volkman has been named starting five-eighth, with starting centre Will Penisini hopeful of a return from his own injury issue.

Finally, Jeral Skelton has been recalled to the starting wing for Wests Tigers ahead of their clash against Newcastle Knights, who will be without star centre Bradman Best, who is out with a groin injury.

As one of South Australia’s most respected Australian Football League legends, Brownlow Medallist and eight-time All Australian Mark Ricciuto has delivered a stark assessment of Port Adelaide superstar Zak Butters’ future at the club, claiming there is a 99% likelihood the young gun will depart for Victoria at the end of the current season.

Butters is entering the final stretch of his existing contract with Port Adelaide based at Alberton, and his impending free agency has already triggered widespread speculation of a heated bidding war for his services when the off-season transfer window opens. According to industry rumours, the Western Bulldogs hold the strongest position to secure Butters’ signature, as the player has openly shared his goal to relocate closer to Darley, his rural Victorian hometown.

In comments shared with media this week, Ricciuto outlined the two stark paths Port Adelaide’s list management team now faces. The first option involves ramping up a massive contract offer to convince Butters to stay, potentially pushing his annual salary as high as AUD 2.5 million – well above the AUD 2 million figure widely cited as the going rate for star players at Melbourne-based clubs. The alternative would see the Power cut ties, capitalise on the transfer market to secure a package of high-value early draft picks, and accelerate a full team rebuild ahead of the upcoming entry of the Tasmanian AFL team, which will reshape future draft allocations.

“All I can go on is what I hear from everyone across the industry, and everyone says he’s probably a 99 per cent chance of going,” Ricciuto said. “I don’t know what the list managers at Port Adelaide will do – they might chuck an extra half a million a year on top of any existing offer, but who knows? They could also choose to let him leave, pocket the draft picks, and push forward with their rebuild. Chad Cornes has raised questions about Mitch Georgiades potentially departing too; if both players leave this off-season, Port could walk away with four or five top-round picks before the Tasmanian team entry adjusts the draft structure. I don’t know what will end up happening, but if you follow the rumour mill, the rumour mill says he’s gone.”

Beyond his analysis of Butters’ future, Ricciuto also shared his assessment of his former club, the Adelaide Crows, heading into their upcoming Round 5 Gather Round clash against Carlton this Thursday night. The Crows currently hold a 1-3 win-loss record after dropping three consecutive close matches against the Western Bulldogs, Geelong and Fremantle – a start that has left many fans concerned about the team’s trajectory this season.

Ricciuto, however, urged supporters not to hit the panic button just yet, noting that Adelaide’s slow start comes against an unusually tough opening schedule. “I think they’ve played four really good sides, had a couple of slow starts and their midfield is perhaps a little bit down as well,” he explained. “The team’s ball movement has been a talking point, so I think they’re probably only playing at 70 to 80 per cent of their full capability right now. They’ve still been competitive with the top teams in the competition, so I think there’s a lot of upside with this Adelaide group. I certainly wouldn’t be panicking, but I’d want to see some improvement in form from the players who are currently underperforming. That’s not uncommon for anyone in the competition – anyone can hit a form slump, but as long as you put in the work on the training track, you turn things around eventually.”

Ahead of this year’s Gather Round hosted in South Australia, Ricciuto has also thrown his support behind the “Always respect, always DrinkWise” public health campaign, urging footy supporters flocking to Adelaide for the blockbuster weekend of football to prioritise responsible drinking and look out for their fellow fans.

“It’s a big weekend Gather Round, it’s a good time, there’s lots of people in Adelaide, lots of interstaters,” he said. “I think the key thing is to drink alcohol in moderation and making sure you’re remembering Gather Round for the right reasons. There’s a lot of passion in footy, in close games, in big moments, so just do everything in moderation.”

One of the National Rugby League’s most promising young playmakers is facing an uncertain future at the Penrith Panthers, with a potential move to a new club for the 2027 season growing increasingly likely as his path to consistent first-grade football is blocked by established stars.

Twenty-two-year-old Jack Cole, who has been a part of the Panthers organization since he was 15 years old, is currently in his fourth season with the club. However, he has been stuck behind star halfback Nathan Cleary, rising talent Blaize Talagi and experienced recruit Jack Cogger in the team’s depth chart, leaving him with little room to break into the top side. Out of contract at the end of the current season, Cole has emerged as a potential target for rival NRL clubs, though he has ruled out a move to the UK’s Super League at this stage of his young career.

In an interview with NewsWire, Cole shared that he expects more clarity around his future over the next one to two months, and is focusing on his on-field performance to attract interest from suitors, whether that be Penrith or rival clubs. “I don’t know yet. It’s still early days, obviously being round five. Hopefully I get a bit more clarity maybe over the next month or two,” Cole explained. “Enjoying my footy and just focusing on my footy is going to help that cause. So I’m not really trying to worry about too much else really. Just trying to knuckle down and get better. And then obviously that will create more interest.”

While Cole made clear he holds deep affection for the Panthers organization that has developed him from a teenager, he acknowledges that professional rugby league is a business, and his next move will be driven by the opportunity to secure consistent first-grade game time and long-term financial security. He is eager to make the jump from understudy to a starting leading man at a club, and is open to a move if Penrith cannot offer him that path. “I love it at Penrith and we’ll just see what happens. I’ve got to go where the best opportunity is, because at the end of the day, it is a business. If there wasn’t an opportunity here for me at the end of the year to progress or play consistent NRL, then you’d obviously have to try to have a look,” he said.

This season, Cole has turned in strong performances in the NSW Cup after recovering from major shoulder surgery that cut short his pre-season training. During his rehab, he leaned heavily on Panthers star Nathan Cleary, who underwent the same procedure years earlier, for guidance on the mental side of recovery. Cleary shared a key mental skills technique he uses – visualization – to help Cole prepare for a return to playing, focusing on routine game processes rather than big high-pressure moments. “He told me to focus on the video and the mental side of the game. There are a lot of good things here we do about visualisation, which obviously if you can train your mind and visualise some stuff then it’s going to help with the physical side when you’re back doing that stuff too. Most people close their eyes and just put yourself in scenarios. It’s more so about process instead of picturing big moments like matchwinning tries,” Cole explained. Cleary also shared diet tips, including bone broth and oysters, though Cole admitted he has not tested the oyster recommendation.

Cole has not yet featured in first-grade this season, but he stands ready to step up into the side when Cleary is away representing New South Wales in the annual State of Origin series. He credits Penrith’s “next man up” culture and the NSW Cup side’s alignment with the first-team game plan for making it easy for reserves to slot straight into the top side when called upon. “I think that’s a big part of Penrith where everyone’s got to be ready. It’s sort of a next man up mentality here, so we all train the same, we all have the same sequences, set plays. Our Cup team models our game off the NRL team, so I think that helps that when someone does get called up, you sort of just slot straight in,” he said. “If I get called up, I’ll be ready and just enjoy it and take it with both hands.”

When the Champions League quarter-final first leg kicks off between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at Camp Nou on Wednesday, all eyes will fall on Antoine Griezmann, the French striker whose chapter at Barcelona ended in bitter disappointment, but now returns to the Catalan ground chasing a fairytale final trophy for his Atletico Madrid career.

The 35-year-old, who announced last week he will leave La Liga at the end of this season to join Major League Soccer side Orlando City, has one unfulfilled goal before he departs: deliver Atletico’s first-ever Champions League title, and end his trophy drought at the club stretching back to 2018. Atletico have twice fallen at the final hurdle of Europe’s top club competition, losing the 2014 and 2016 finals, and Griezmann has not lifted silverware with the Rojiblancos since their 2018 Europa League triumph and subsequent UEFA Super Cup victory.

Griezmann’s history with both clubs is tangled. He first left Atletico for Barcelona in a high-profile 2019 transfer, but his two-year stint at Camp Nou was marked by struggle: he never clicked alongside Lionel Messi, and was part of the side that suffered a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2020 Champions League quarter-finals. He also missed out on Atletico’s 2021 La Liga title – a trophy that has eluded Griezmann across his entire career. He returned to Atletico on loan in 2021, before making the move permanent a year later, and has since become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 211 goals to his name.

Orlando City had originally pushed for Griezmann to join the club by the end of March, but the forward insisted on staying to chase two major trophies: the Champions League and this season’s Copa del Rey. A key part of Diego Simeone’s dynasty across the Argentine coach’s 14-year reign at Atletico, Griezmann has blended tireless work ethic with world-class technical quality, earning praise even from his opponent’s dugout this week. “Griezmann is a maverick, it’s unbelievable how he plays football,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said last week. “It seems so light, it’s like he’s dancing.”

This is not Griezmann’s first iconic Champions League performance at Camp Nou. A decade ago in the 2016 quarter-finals, he scored twice to knock out Barcelona’s superstar attacking trio of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar and send Atletico through – though that run ultimately ended in a crushing final loss to Real Madrid in Milan. This week, after starting in Atletico’s 2-1 La Liga defeat to Barcelona at the weekend, Griezmann is likely to start the quarter-final from the bench, with reduced minutes across this season a key factor in his decision to move on at the end of the campaign.

Joining Griezmann in the spotlight for Atletico is Argentine striker Julian Alvarez, who has been repeatedly linked with a transfer to Barcelona amid speculation over his future at the Metropolitano. The 2024 signing from Manchester City – who cost Atletico £81.5 million ($108 million) – fuelled rumours earlier this season when he refused to rule out a summer move, answering “maybe yes, maybe no” when asked if he would stay beyond this campaign. While Barcelona’s ongoing financial struggles mean they are unlikely to afford the steep transfer fee Atletico would demand, Alvarez will have a prime opportunity to impress his potential suitors on Wednesday, where he is expected to start.

After a rocky start to the season that saw him go through a winter goal drought, Alvarez has found his form in recent months, earning consistent public backing from Simeone. He scored in Atletico’s 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first leg win over Barcelona in February, where Griezmann also found the net as the Catalans capitulated.

While five-time Champions League winners Barcelona enter the tie as favorites, Atletico carry unique motivation: Griezmann chasing a career-defining piece of silverware to cap his Atletico legacy, and Alvarez out to prove his quality to suitors. With both players hungry to make their mark, the quarter-final showdown is set for a dramatic clash at Camp Nou.