Top seed Aryna Sabalenka had to come back from a set down to reach the quarter-finals at the Wuhan Open, but world number three Jessica Pegula suffered a surprise defeat.
Belarusian Sabalenka, 26, lost a one-sided first set to Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva but recovered to win 1-6 6-4 6-0, winning each of the final nine games.
However, American second seed Pegula fell to a straight-set loss to China’s Wang Xinyu.
The 51st-ranked Wang is through to her first WTA 1000 quarter-final, holding her nerve to take her second match point after being broken when serving for a place in the last eight at 5-4.
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Meanwhile, Italian third seed Jasmine Paolini and American fourth seed Coco Gauff both safely progressed.
Paolini won 6-3 6-2 against Erika Andreeva – who defeated sister Mirra on Wednesday – while Gauff, winner of last week’s China Open, also sealed a straight-set win, beating Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1.
Wimbledon and French Open runner-up Paolini will meet Chinese fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, after she beat battled back to win 5-7 6-3 6-0 against Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.
The UFC flyweight division might figure out its next title challenger this Saturday.
Top contenders Brandon Royval and Tatsuro Taira clash in the main event of UFC Fight Night 244 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. At this moment, there’s no clear challenger for champion Alexandre Pantoja, thus opening up the doors for someone to make a statement and cement himself as the No. 1 contender in the division.
But how likely is that will be Royval or Taira? And who has the better shot?
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MMA Junkie’s Brian Garcia, Nolan King, Mike Bohn, and host “Gorgeous” George breakdown the flyweight main event and highlight some of the other matchups taking place on the card.
Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.
“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel at noon ET. You can also find each episode on your favorite podcast platforms – including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more – on Tuesday mornings.
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
As a teenager, Knight kept a clean sheet on his debut against Rotherham in Division Three in 1978 and he went on to represent the club in all four divisions. He was awarded an MBE following his retirement.
Knight’s final appearance for the club came on 3 January 2000, in a 2-1 Division One defeat at Norwich, making him the only Blues player to have played across four decades.
Team-mates have paid tribute to Baldock on social media.
Former Sheffield United player Samir Carruthers wrote on Instagram:, external “Brother, I don’t know what to say, I love you man. I miss you.
“You was my best mate for years and years and I was so lucky to live my football career with you and live with you. The world has lost an amazing human but I know you’re in heaven my friend. I will cherish every memory I made with you, you’ll always be in my heart.”
Oli McBurnie, who played with Baldock for five years at Sheffield United, said he felt sick at the news.
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“I genuinely can’t believe you have gone brother, I feel sick,” he wrote on Instagram., external
“One of the best people I’ve ever met, you were loved by everyone you came across. My heart is broken for your beautiful little family. Sleep well GB, I love you mate.”
Way before they became professional footballers, England and Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell got to know George Baldock as they grew up in Buckinghamshire.
Chilwell wrote on Instagram: “From hitting the bars together when we were younger in MK, to playing each other in the Premier League. I am heartbroken. Rest in peace mate.”
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And former Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom, now boss of Preston, also paid tribute.
“Numbing to hear of George Baldock’s passing, a man with so much still ahead of him in life as a husband, father, brother and son,” he wrote on X.
“George was super person and fantastic professional who was admired and adored by all who worked with him.
“My prayers are with his loved ones right now. George, it was a privilege to have known you.”
After Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) stopped Rountree (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC), the camera panned to Hill, who was seen yawning. Hill’s yawning reaction was understood by many as him thinking the fight was boring.
“It’s crazy how y’all see a clip with no context, no nothing, and y’all just be ready to talk sh*t and just attack and come disrespectful as ever,” Hill said on his YouTube channel. “It’s hilarious.
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“I wasn’t mic’d up or anything like that, so I couldn’t explain the context of the yawn and things like that after the fight. I think I did hear a reporter told Alex, ‘Oh, Jamahal said the fight was boring.’ I never said the fight was boring.”
“Now, to the yawn, the yawn at the end was – was it entertaining? Yes,” Hill said. “Was I impressed? No. I’m not impressed. You know, I’m ready to go. Did I see anything in the cage that scares me or that I didn’t expect to see? No.
“So as far as reacting and everything, I don’t think I really need to do much of a reaction to this fight because, before, if you watch, or you watch my breakdowns, you can see I told you exactly how this fight was going to go.”
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Alex Pereira reacts to Jamahal Hill yawning at his #UFC307 title defense.
JOE ROOT and Harry Brook set a new record for the highest Test Partnership in England history – but it all happened inside an almost empty stadium in Pakistan.
This comes after tickets were available for FREE inside the Multan Cricket Stadium.
England racked up 823-7 against Pakistan before stand-in captain Ollie Pope declared in the first Test in Multan.
Brook hit a triple century and Root made a double ton as records tumbled.
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Together, they surpassed England’s previous record partnership of 409 runs – set by Colin May and Peter Cowdry against the West Indies in 1957.
When Root eventually fell for 262, it brought an end to a partnership of 454 – the fourth-highest in the history of Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Brook went beyond his teammate before eventually being dismissed for 317 from just 332 balls.
But all of these record-breaking successes occurred in front of, at best, almost 1,000 people inside a near EMPTY stadium.
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Former England captain and co-commentator Mike Atherton voiced his disappointment over the extremely low turnout.
He said: “There are probably more security staff at the stadium than people in the crowd.”
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