news app. ( ticking ) >> jon wertheim: when the french open starts later this month in paris, rafael nadal in other local news, the eiffel tower will attract tourists, diners will order wine, and the seine will be wet. nadal first won the tennis tournament as a swashbuckling teenager. now, the same week he turns 35, he will attempt to win the title for a record 14th time. if he succeeds, it will mark his 21st major victory, passing roger federer on the men's tennis all-time list and solidifying his case as the greatest male player ever to grip a racket. but as we first reported last year, nadal doesn't play tennis so much as he works it, lacing the ball with somersaulting topspin, and imposing his will on the opponent. this relentless approach, all toil and trouble, is strikingly effective and strikingly at odds with the vibe on the spanish island where he was born, lives now and vows never to leave. we found rafa nadal, during his off-season, blasting away at practice every morning, deploying his lefty forehand and double-fisted backhand. every bit as dialed in as he is during his matches

novak djokovic and rafael nadal are currently on court in the final of the italian 0pen.recovering from an early break defecit. but djokovic came back strong in the second to win 6—1. it's currently three games to two for nadal in the third set. this is the sixth time the pair have met in the final of this tournament. djokovic will be looking to retain his title, while nadal aims for a tenth italian 0pen victory. iga swiatek has beaten world number nine karolina pliskova to win the italian 0pen. the teenagerfrom poland came through in straight sets to secure victory after just 46 minutes. it finished 6—0, 6—0. the result bodes well for the defence of her french open title, which begins at roland garros in two weeks' time. in the men's doubles final, britain'sjoe salisbury and partner rajeev ram lost in straight sets to nikola mek—tic and mate pavic. they were beaten 6—4, 7—6 in rome by the croatian second seeds, for whom it was a third atp masters 1000 title of the season. 0spreys beat dragons by 42 points to 26 for their second win in the pro—14 rainbow cup. 0spreys ran

can no longer take for granted as the years pass and the injuries mounts but the quality of play rafael nadal and of a jock which can still produce shows few signs of dropping. 34 year old nadal took the 1st set in his row masters decider $75.00. only for world number one djokovic to hit back in the 2nd and level the match. this was the 57th time this pair of minutes and that's happened in so many of their previous meetings i mentioned changed hands in the decider. and the downside 63 to win this title for a record extending tense time. wise amazing i have is that i feel in my hands for the 10th time with just something impossible to imagine but happened to. come thank you not my life or all just want to do this i'm very pleased with my fighting spirit with the level of tennis was higher and higher actually. yesterday played great today i thought i also played in a high level high and now god will now turn his attention to the defense of his french open song on the richardson. well bron james is playing down health concerns as his l.a. lakers team head into the postseason james appeared to re

went game for game until the tie break was needed to separate them, zverev will now face top seed rafael nadalit's a race he came close to winning in 2018, and he says it made perfect sense to return to italy this year, rather than take part in the tour de france. i think the course also suits me a lot. i mean, a lot of climbing. in recent years not so much kilometres. the last two years also coincided with the olympic games as well, which is also a main goalfor me. personally. and i just think that doing the giro is a better way to prepare for the games and doing everything, really. and it was the kit launch for team gb today as the start of the olympics in tokyo draws closer. there is still some trepidation injapan as another surge of coronavirus cases sweeps across the country... but gymnast max whitlock and cyclist laura kenny looked optimistic as they modelled their kits in london. kenny, who is a mum to three—year—old albie, said she and husband jason, would miss having him in the crowd to cheer them on. be the most strange, i suppose. just not to have any support in the crowd. we were g

he wins his next match he could face the toughest test of them all — the king of clay himself — rafael nadalht sets. federer last played at roland garros in 2019 and has suffered from a knee injury over the past year. but he came through comfortably 6—2, 6—4, 6—3. to football, sergio aguero has been officially announced as a barcelona player. the argentinian will leave manchester city at the end of his contract next month, after a brilliant 10 years in the premier league. aguero posed in a barca shirt at the nou camp today. he'lljoin up with his good friend and fellow countryman, lionel messi at the catalan giants after signing on a two year deal. during his decade with city he scored 260 goals in 390 games, becoming the club's all—time leading goalscorer. winning 15 major trophies in the process. it's been announced that brazil will host the copa america, with less than 2 weeks notice. the change comes after argentina was stripped of the rights to hold the competition late last night because of a surge in covid cases. argentina were originally set to co—host with colombia. but they were rem

anything better mental because the final at their own masters was a marquee match up kane clay rafael nadal has world number one novak djokovic so the perfect tennis match at all the cost of clinching the record equalling a masters 1000 title while hoping to make it with number 6 in the italian capital so for us it actually of course it all looking for his 10th masters title not a terrible start. from baseline of course involve the net but the serbian is going to end up winning with a volley back and here we get ready all but spaniard with the serve here in game number 1057 is a meeting of these 2 legends by the way pretty heated all finish and this one here with a cross court shots that's when 7175 but rich got back to battling the 2nd one up 51 over his spanish opponent. pretty much every turn for him back at him in the dolls back in here was longer. djokovic to take that number to 61 3rd said here in a doctor's well why this is his he paints the line for an shot and well here he breaks the law for a 42 lead and well we get match point and he's going to convert this 2nd favorite your poin

rafael nadal wasn't in a giving mood as he beat birthday boy carlos alcaraz 6—1, 6—2 in their second the great clay court champion who's looking for a sixth title at this event. his spanish compatriot did manage to break the nadal serve in the fourth game of the second set.. but his dream was short lived going down in straights sets 6—1, 6—2. it would be very fair if i could win. a really enjoy, i really loan from him. and, yes, i think this much made me grow up. in the women's event the world number one ash barty is through to the semi—finals. she was pushed all the way by petra kvitova but eventually came through in three sets at an event where the australian has never previously progressed beyond the last eight. it's expected in the coming hours that wales captain alun wynjones will be named as skipper of the british and irish lions squad to tour south africa. head coach warren gatland will also announce his 36 man squad that will play three tests against the springboks after six lead—in games starting with a test match againstjapan at murrayfield on 26june. you can get all the la

rafael nadal�*s given himself the perfect springboard for the french open after beating the world numberxtending 14th win at rolland garros when the tournament gets underway in a couple of weeks. meanwhile the women's defending french open champion iga swiantek put in a sensational performance in herfinal in rome. the 19—year—old from poland thrashed karolina pliskova 6—0, 6—0 injust 45 minutes to win the title. egan bernal is in the lead of the giro d'italia heading into monday's 10th stage. bernal, the race favourite, claimed victory on stage nine's summit finish with a devastating attack in the closing stages to take his first victory of the season. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me chetan pathak and the rest of the sport team, goodbye. 0ur our thanks to the sports team for that. the glitz and glamour of the red carpet made a return at the mtv movie & tv awards. the annual ceremony, which honours the best in pop culture, took place at the hollywood palladium in los angeles — complete with an in—person audience — as the industry c

if norrie makes it to round three, there's the potential for a clash against the king of clay — rafael nadalter a straight—sets defeat by zarina diyas from kazakhstan. the british number two has never reached the second round at roland garros. she lost 6—4, 7—5, leaving johanna konta as the only briton left in the women's singles draw. konta's just getting her tournament under way against sorana kirstea. meanwhile it was a first round exit for british number one, dan evans yesterday. he was knocked out by world number 48, miomir keckmanovich. some big names to play later on today — roger federer and serena williams are both in action. some breaking news and it'sjust been confirmed that striker sergio aguero will move from manchester city to barcelona this summer. he'll leave the premier league champions with his contract expiring at the end of next month, having scored 260 goals in 390 games for the club, more than any other player in their history, and having won 15 major trophies during his time in england. luton town defender tom lockyer has been called into wales' squad for this summer's

you didn't want to miss because at the age of euro masters this was the marquee final can play rafael nadal versus world number one novak djokovic if you missed out you missed it and up on the cusp of clinching a record equalling 80 masters 1000 title while his opponent was hoping to make it a win number 6 in the italian capital so 1st that actually of course da looking for his 10th row masters not really off to a terrible start though should which getting him heat from the baseline the doll is going to get forced to the net but the serbian will end up winning in the back in volume 300 spinner though serve here in game number 1057 to finishing this one though he's going to get that cross court forehand shot so that 5 shots that he didn't fit in the 15 but should which going to go battle in the 2nd set 5 to one over spanish point dealing every year a journey getting a handle and a doll back it will go on to take them one by one to what set number 2 to the 3rd set here and all through is why this court is really his the live at forehand shot he breaks it for 4 to leave match point convert 2nd

if norrie makes it to round three, there's the potential for a clash against the king of clay — rafael nadaleat by zarina diyas from kazakhstan. the british number two has never reached the second round at roland garros. she lost 6—4, 7—5, leaving johanna konta as the only briton left in the women's singles draw. konta's just getting her tournament underway against sorana kirstea. that is all of the sport. you can get more of the details on our website. that is all the sport. it's the worst massacre in black american history, yet the slaughter of up to 300 black african americans in tulsa in 1921 wasn't taught in local schools until 20 years ago. sparked by an alleged assault by a black man on a white teenager, a white mob rampaged through the affluent greenwood area it's the worst massacre in black american history, yet the slaughter of up to 300 black african americans in tulsa in 1921 wasn't taught in local schools until 20 years ago. sparked by an alleged assault by a black man on a white teenager, a white mob rampaged through the affluent greenwood area of the city shooting, burning and

he�*s beaten the american in straight sets that puts him on track for a potential collage with rafael nadalon league final. that is all the sports you can of course get more on all the sports including all the action with another great of the game. serena williams playing later on tonight. just go to the bbc sport website for coverage. i for now. it�*s the worst massacre in black american history — yet the slaughter of up to 300 black african americans in tulsa in 1921 wasn�*t taught in local schools until 20 years ago. sparked by an alleged assault by a black man on a white teenager, a white mob rampaged through the affluent greenwood area of the city shooting, burning and looting. today marks the 100th anniversary. a handful of survivors who lost everything are still waiting for compensation. this report from gary 0�*donoghue contains some images you may find distressing. before the destruction they called it black wall street. but injust 18 hours a murderous white mob had razed a thriving black community to the ground making 10,000 people homeless with up to 300 black lives lost. few dis

in the men's draw, top seed rafael nadal has a bye into the second round where he'll face the winner means a great deal to him this year. yes, it is the most difficult event for me. everybody knows. but at the same time it is one of the most emotional events for me, playing at home. we don't have the chance to play with a crowd again so that means a lot to me and also super happy to be back here. mark selby will take a three frame lead over shaun murphy into monday's third session of the world snooker championship final. the match was level at 7—7 before selby, a three—time winner took the lead for the first time, and then won the remaining two frames to have the better of the opening day at the crucible theatre. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulson tollett, and the rest of the team, that is your sports news for now. the 19—year—old american singer and songwriter, billie eilish, has appeared on the cover of fashion magazine vogue. it's a massive change in style for the singer, who had been known for wearing loose—fitting cl

easier to watch anyway that's my recommendation move on and that might be why the king of clay rafael nadaldid pretty well but although he did survive a scare let's get into world number 3 here and the number 2 seed taking on tennis shop of all of it was a thriller all the way that to the last point 1st rough and trouble shapovalov getting the better of the baseline rally there takes the 1st set 63 but here comes world number 3 in a dull 70 percent point the 2nd shop of oliver turned goes long so we head to the decider and the 3rd here it was just back and forth the entire time a super tight finished. absolute battle lasting 3 and a half hours on the clay there but in the end the king of the clay would come through after saving 2 match points late in the 3rd rafa survives to win in a tie break 366476 seeking a record extending 10th row masters title shot of olive with a valiant effort but the backhand return into the net will end things rafa gets alexander's vera in the quarter finals on friday now shop of olive as a youngster he's only 22 years old and he has some interesting perspective a

djokovic, who is in the same half of the french open draw as defending champion rafael nadal and formerw. chelsea still leading 1—0 against manchester city in the champions league final. enjoy the second half, or what is left of there! the global vaccination programme is key to the fight against coronavirus. but there is still reluctance among some to get the jab. the authorities across the world are using different tactics to encourage people to have their injection — some trying to entice people into having a vaccine, as tim allman explains. this is probably the sort of thing you have in mind when you think of lotto fever. queues of people lining up to get their ticket, dreaming of a potentially life—changing jackpot. but in parts of america, there is now a new way to take part. with every injection, a chance to become a millionaire. the first winners have been announced in ohio's vax a million lottery, a typically american way to get the population vaccinated. you know, ifelt we needed to create some excitement and i thought $1 million and a scholarship over a five—week period of tim

in the men's draw, rafael nadal is through to the quarterfinals after a comfortable straight sets winn and will now play fifth seed alexander zverev in the last eight. phil mickelson leads after the first round of the wells fargo championship in north carolina. the veteran american, who's slipped to 115 in the world rankings, rolled back the years by opening up with a 7—under par round of 64. he's two shots clear of the field and a shot further back is england's tommy fleetwood, who chipped in for an eagle at the 10th on his way to a 67 while former world number one rory mcilroy is struggling 8 shots off the lead. the 23 teams that will compete in the 104th edition of giro d'italia were presented in turin on thursday. british rider simon yates, who came close in 2018, will start as one of the favourites to claim the maglia rosa while two time winner vincenzo nibali is also in the field with a time trial in turin first up on saturday. the course also suits me a light, a lot of climbing and in the last four years not so much time trial kilometres and it also coincided with the olympic g

fellow players like rafael nadal say they see press as part of the job.ommented civil on the fine, but she is scheduled to play in the second round this week. and we should note that rafael nadal did say that he understands her on, the other hand he said, quote, i have my point of view that the media is a very important part of our sport. >> yeah. >> she has support, as well. zina gary garrison, serena williams, formula 1 racer nico rosburg. she is someone who suffers from anxiety. >> i understand both sides of this, and i love naomi osaka. i nthink she's been incredibly brave. sports say if everybody were to take this attitude wye wouldn't be able to publicize our sport. >> the key is everyone can't afford to take this stance. the key, too, in the piece, the highest earning female athlete. she can afford to i guess. >> we'll see -- >> the debate that goes back and forth. >> yeah. we'll see what happens going forward. >>> up next, jamie yuccas has the stories you'll be an f-150 i isn't anan f-150 because ofof the namee on the t tailgate. it's anan f-150 b

voicing. >> reporter: voicing doubts are rafael nadal, naomi osaka, and serena williams. >> i want thecussion. >> reporter: japan's fourth wave of covid infections has been blamed on a hasty attempt to restart the economy, lax lockdowns, and pandemic fatigue. japan so far has approved only one vaccine, and restrictions on who can administer shots have also hampered inoculations. so far, only about 3% of the population has been vaccinated. a publisher's scathing full-page ad this week in three major newspapers lambasted japan's slovaks rollout compared it to arming citizens with sticks during world war ii. this economist of kao university said fear is rife that the olympics will further strain japan's medical system and unleash a superspreader event. >> we are very much worried about this growing number of infected people. many hospitals are under stress. people are quite worried about this olympic game. >> reporter: japan has vowed the games will happen no matter what. for "cbs this morning," lucy craft, tokyo. >> i don't know about the no matter what part when you hear only 3% of the

went game for game until the tie break was needed to separate them, zverev will now face top seed rafael nadalur de france. i think the course also suits me a lot. i mean, a lot of climbing. in recent years not so much 200 kilometres. the last two years also coincided with the olympic games as well, which is also a main goalfor me. personally. and i just think that doing the giro is a better way to prepare for the games. and it was the kit launch for team gb today as the start of the olympics in tokyo draws closer. there is still some trepidation injapan as another surge of coronavirus cases sweeps across the country... but gymnast max whitlock and cyclist laura kenny looked optimistic as they modelled their kits in london. kenny, who is a mum to three—year—old albie, said she and husband jason, would miss having him in the crowd to cheer them on. this one is going to be the most strange, i suppose. just not to have any support in the crowd. we were going to take albie with us, he was going to come, so for him not to be able to travel at all kind of seems a little bit strange. but, you know, i

rafael nadal is on course to win a tenth italian open title after reaching the semi—finals.s another title in rome, nadal will equal novak djokovic's record of 36 masters titles at this level. simona halep is in a race to be fit for the defence of her wimbledon title. the world number three has confirmed today that the injury that forced her to pull out of the italian 0pen is a calf tear. she will almost certainly miss the french open that starts in ten days' time. wimbledon starts on the 28th ofjune. halep is the defending champion from her victory in 2019. last year's tournament was cancelled. that's all the sport for now. now, time for the weather on the bbc news channel. nothing new in the forecast that's going to surprise you. brollies at the ready this weekend. it's going to be very changeable, downpours expected, frequent in some parts of the country, and the possibility of hail and thunder as well, and gusty winds. low pressure will be drifting across the uk on friday night into saturday and will still be influencing our weather come tuesday. now, the jet stream is s

while found that all has recovered from a nasty fall during his court -- rafael nadal has recovered from a nasty fall during his court of final match. he fell down awkwardly while chasing down a drop shot at the end of the first set. his wife looked on concerned, but the spaniard rushed out the incident and carried on to claim the matching straight sets. he will face the supply semifinalist, american reilly opelka. >> some lines are higher than the rest of the court, so when you go to the line, it is dangerous. that's it. i think i played a very solid match, not many mistakes, playing the way i had to. >> a setback for the world women's number one ashleigh barty ahead of the australian open. the austrian retired from --- australian retired because of an arm injury for 17-year-old american moving to the for semifinal of the wta 1000 event. and finally, a nasty collision in major league baseball. reigning mvp of the american leak, chicago's jose abreu, collided head-on with kansas city's hunter dozier. both players removed from the game, unsurprising the the white sox confirmed that abreu

he wins his next match he could face the toughest test of them all — the king of clay himself — rafael nadal next month, after a brilliant 10 years in the premier league. aguero posed in a barca shirt at the nou camp today. he'lljoin up with his good friend and fellow countryman, lionel messi at the catalan giants after signing on a two year deal. during his decade with city he scored 260 goals in 390 games, becoming the club's all—time leading goalscorer. winning 15 major trophies in the process. it's been announced that brazil will host the copa america, with less than 2 weeks notice. the change comes after argentina was stripped of the rights to hold the competition late last night because of a surge in covid cases. argentina were originally set to co—host with colombia. but they were removed earlier this month after protests in the country. the south american football confederation say the venues and fixtures are still to be announced. i suspect discussions have been going on for a lot more than the ten or 12 hours since we have known that the cup will not be played in argentina. brazil,

and coming up in sports rafael nadal reaches yet another final at the ramones to. protest against the bombardment of gaza have been taking place in cities across the u.s. these are scenes from washington d.c. crowds of a show gathered in boston in dallas and are sundries earlier u.s. president joe biden spoke about the conflict to both israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and the palestinian president mahmoud abbas. u.s. president as we were in the briefing or john hendren standing by for us on that and tell us more about what we know about these calls. well to abbas the president expressed sympathy at the loss of life of palestinians he expressed concern about the number of children who had been killed in these confrontations and he said ultimately a 2 state solution is required in order to resolve the israeli palestinian conflict over time that has long been the us position but to netanyahu he added a couple of different points to both leaders he expressed concern and demanded the stop of hamas rockets coming out of gaza. netanyahu the president said that is

and have all the sports tennis star rafael nadal says he's still not sure whether he will take part in this summer's olympic games in tokyo. welcome to the program of course our top story calls for international the escalation of israel and palestinian armed groups have ramped up their attacks on each other the most intense exchange of fire since 2014. an israeli as strike brought down a residential tower block in gaza city the israeli army says it informed residents of the tower to evacuate before it was targeted it says hamas has an office inside this building well this was the view on the ground as the tower fell. the. rescue workers a searching for survivors by flashlight now that of course it's night there no word yet on casualties across the strip the health ministry is saying at least 30 people have been killed in the past 24 hours that figure includes 10 children or algis there is a ghalia how much spoke to us earlier on from the site where the building collapsed in gaza was so what to bill out of. israel bombed this tower block and it was completely flattened off to being bomb

spanish tennis star rafael nadal continues his cocotte domination in rome the world number 3 will play dennis shapovalov in the 3rd round later on wednesday nadal faced a future star of the game a local favorite genic cinna the 19 year old pushed rafa but the spaniard managed to sneak past in 2 sets down has won the rome masters 9 times. serena williams made her long awaited return to the court on wednesday she hadn't played since the australian open in february and after receiving a 1st round bye in rome her tournament is over after losing in straight sets to last year's french open semifinalist nadia pulled out oscar from argentina it was serene as 1000 match on top. 3rd seed simona halep will also pay no further pass in the tournament after retiring midway through the 2nd set of her match against angelica the romanian struggled to a 6133 lead when a cough injury forced her out in rome. after more than a month out with a hamstring strain james harden returned to the basketball court for the brooklyn nets on wednesday and had sat out the last 18 games that is the longest layoff in his

speak to one of the hundreds of women traumatized by sexual violence and his take right region and rafael nadal has won a trade open more times than any other player and he might be taking the trophy on the set. well now cova does cutting a swathe through south asia as well as the huge number of daily cases we're seeing in india nepal is now being swarmed by and factions as well and there are serious fears that it's heading in the same direction as its neighbor nationally 47 percent of tests being carried out in apollo are turning positive it's even higher in some parts of the country doctors have warned of a major crisis with hospitals already running out of oxygen and beds india's prime minister meanwhile the renderer modi is under growing pressure to impose a nationwide lockdown another 414000 cases recorded on thursday and nearly 4000 deaths over in japan the government has extended its state of emergency in tokyo and other cities but this is just less than 3 months from its olympics and the world health organization has granted emergency approval for the vaccine made by a chinese company s

with the players coming off at one point because of the gas. 20 time grand slam tennis champion rafael nadal is on his way to the rome masters semifinals on friday he knocked out germany's alexander's vera in straight sets the world over 3 trials faint 6364 and face even of a joke which will stir pharmacist's a person next having trouble completing the quarter final right now with rain falling in the italian capital. on the women's side croatia's petra much to she is on her way to the semifinal she defeated american jessica 7564 next up the croats night sleep carolina place gaza. and they call to find. out what we are just 4 weeks away from the opening game of the delayed european championships and i'm warning you now you'll be hearing a lot of the official song has just been released. written by dutch d.j. martin garrick's the song features bono and the edge from the barracks has been waiting more than a year to release the song off of the year as were postponed because of the current virus pandemic last year but he hopes it gives people joy and something to look forward to after a difficul

spanish tennis pro tennis player carlos celebrated his 18th birthday by playing against his idol rafael nadal rafa spoiled the party of the world number to be 6162 to progress into the last 16 of the madrid and it wasn't quite the present our press was hoping for but he was given a cake after the match perhaps just a shame for him the victory was a piece of cake and i doubt sorry i can resist that. quite well with the break here on this. second seeded medvedev made his feelings clear about the clay in madrid but he still went on to beat a 102 sets to one to reach the rounds. in the women's tournament to world number one nash bhatti is into the quarter finals after knocking out patrick a bit of a in 3 sets a 3 time former champion extending her winning streak on red clay to 50 is. a serious accident in november brought an early end to his formula one career the roman groeschel is ready to step back into the cockpit the frenchman is going to complete a one off test for a while champions in the sadie's version that will do a demonstration run in lewis hamilton's 2019 title winning w 10 caught th

those who attended the line has a curfew in place between 10 pm and 5 am well to rome now where rafael nadal survived much points against us shapovalov to reach the last 8 while tennis number one of a joke which is also through extending his quarterfinal record the 5 time champion beat a 100th of a dove which for kenya 6261 to reach the last 8 in the italian capital for 15th time and he's thrilled the fans have been allowed to return to the stand. it was not good it was great. missed the crowd this as much as anybody else playing on the tour of the biggest reasons why i keep on playing so. i was it was nice nice to see them back hey you know hopefully i can stay. in this tournament an extra day or 2 to experience the crowd more and more and you know they definitely gave me great sensations of their own accord and i enjoyed it and you know looking forward to next. well joker which will face monte carlo masters champion stefan assistive past next to greet took care of local favorite imitative by retaining in straight sets. in the women's tournament american teenager coco go off and do the winn

the king of clay himself, rafael nadal. meanwhile, playing in his first.having it in the back of my mind that i�*m defending the title. she the back of my mind that i'm defending the title.— defending the title. she has withdrawn _ defending the title. she has withdrawn from _ defending the title. she has withdrawn from the - defending the title. she has - withdrawn from the tournament, defending the title. she has _ withdrawn from the tournament, there is much more on that breaking story on the bbc sport website and throughout the evening here on bbc news, just a reminder that breaking news, just a reminder that breaking news in the last few moments, they have withdrawn from the french open. 0n the football and it is official, he will be in barcelona next season and we have known for a little while that he will leave manchester city when his contract expires next month after a brilliant ten years in the premier league but his new cloud it�*s been confirmed. ahead ofjoining up with his good friend and fellow countryman, lionel messi in spain. he�*s signed

rafael nadal is on course to win a 10th italian open title, after reaching the semi—finals he beat alexanderbe fit for the defence of her wimbledon title. the world number three has confirmed today that the injury that forced her to pull out of the italian open is a calf tear. she will almost certainly miss the french open that starts in 10 days time. wimbledon starts on the 28th ofjune. halep is the defending champion from her victory in 2019. last year's tournament was cancelled. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. now it's time for your questions answered. a lot of people have been getting in touch about the indian coronavirus variant. with me is dr alan maryon—davies, honorary professor of public health at kings college london, and i'm alsojoined by jonathan ball, professor of virology at nottingham university. lots of questions and clearly a lot a lot of concerns about this variant. amanda in hertfordshire asks how has this indian variant entered the uk? she talks about how her parents are fully vaccinated and recently visited hertfordshire from the un

went game for game until the tie break was needed to separate them, zverev will now face top seed rafael nadal tokyo draws closer. there is still some trepidation injapan with another surge in coronavirus cases across the country and the president of world athletics, seb coe said there would be some tough days ahead. gymnast max whitlock and cyclist laura kenny, collected their olympic kits at somerset house in central london. kenny, who is a mum to three—year—old albie, said she and husband jason, would miss having him in the crowd to cheer them on. this one will be the most strange i suppose. just not have any support in the crowd. we were going to take him with us. he was going to come. for him not going to travel it seemed a little bit strange. but you know, if we can have the home support it will still be nice and felt like the country is coming together. getting close now. looking forward to the olympics when they get under way, fingers crossed, sean. anybody wanted to watch them wife to be doing it on the telly. we will be grateful for the good coverage from you and your colleagues. ——

rafael nadal also weighing in. >> i understand her.y point of view that the media is a very important part of our sport too. >> reporter: athletes in other sports have also been punished for not speaking to the media. in 2015, marshawn lynch was fined $75,000 for declining to meet with reporters after a playoff game. weeks later, lynch did show up at super bowl media with a simple message. >> i'm here so i won't get fined. >> and other big names in tennis have also skipped news conferences after losses and been fined. andre agassi, venus williams, novak djokovic. critics saying talking to the media is part of the job for professional athletes. we'll see when naomi plays tomorrow in the second round. guys. >> thanks, janai. >> and joining us now is formert patrick enroe. tanks so much for being with us. first off, i'm curious, what's your reaction to osaka's boycott? >> well, quite frankly, i was surprised initially to see her take this stance, although she's been at the forefront of other very important issues, the black lives matter i

rafael nadal took revenge on alexander zverev to reach the semi—finals of the italian 0pen. american reilly 0pelka, who's never made it this far in a top tournament before. it's been the battle of the root brothers in cricket's county championship. glamorgan are taking on yorkshire in cardiff. billy root was out for 23, as the hosts were skittled forjust 149. but england captainjoe root, was unbeaten at the crease, as his side closed on 69—4. and is sporting talent all in the genes? we have evidence that it could be. stewart sink is a former 0pen champion, and his mum anne, is also pretty useful with the clubs, as stewart's social media video proves. my my gosh! that is right at the flag. look at this. it is a hole—in—1! my gosh! it's in! look at this. it is a hole-in-1! my gosh! it's in!— looking pretty happy, she shouldn't be so surprised, it is the third hole—in—1 if she has got. brilliant. it is lovely having a hole—in—1, isn't it? it is lovely having a hole-in-1, isn't it? , , . . , , isn't it? especially then, they didn't have — isn't it? especially then, they didn't h