CK Updates
US Open 2026 results: Lucky loser Arthur Gea is beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp in New York classic
Van de Zandschulp’s reward for reaching the second US Open quarter-final of his career is a meeting with German top seed Alexander Zverev.
Zverev, 29, had a rare finish before midnight in New York when he beat Italian 21st seed Luciano Darderi 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to reach the last eight.
Zverev’s previous three matches finished at 1:55am, 2:15am and 1:09am.
“I don’t know what to do with myself because it’s before midnight – I might go back to the practice courts or go to a bar,” Zverev joked.
On whether he wants to play Van de Zandschulp in Wednesday’s night session, the French Open champion added: “I will request the night match for sure.
“I’ve rented this court out from 11pm until 2am for two weeks so I hope they will continue putting me on at [night] time.”
Earlier on Monday, Belgium’s Alexander Blockx said he was “really close” to retiring injured against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo before playing on to reach his first major quarter-final.
Blockx, seeded 28th, fought through rib pain to win 6-3 4-6 7-5 7-5, becoming the first Belgian man to make the last eight in New York.
“It was really tough from the beginning of the match. I was struggling a lot, especially while serving. It kept getting worse throughout the match,” said 21-year-old Blockx.
“I was really close to retiring, to be honest. I was just hanging in there, but if I would have lost the third set, I think the chances were really high of me retiring.
“I’m glad that I kept on playing.”
Presuming he is fit enough, Blockx will play Russian world number 50 Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Khachanov, 30, fought back to win 7-5 4-6 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4 against 14th seed Learner Tien, ending the American’s attempt to put four home men in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1995.
CK Updates
English Open: Liam Davies beats world champion Wu Yize to set up Mark Williams match
World champion Wu Yize fell in the third round of the English Open as Liam Davies scored an eye-catching 4-1 victory in Brentwood.
Welsh prospect Davies, 20, opened up a 3-0 lead on his way to the first ranking event quarter-final of his career, helped by a break of 105 in the second frame, then completed his victory as China’s Wu struggled to find his dynamic best form.
Tantalisingly, Davies will face compatriot Mark Williams, the three-time world champion, in the last eight on Friday evening.
Williams, still a major force on the baize at the age of 51, had breaks of 76, 103 and 63 in a late-night 4-1 victory over England’s Barry Hawkins.
Mark Selby, who was runner-up at last week’s British Open and won the China Open in August, had his hopes of reaching another final ended by a 4-3 defeat against fellow former world champion Kyren Wilson.
Selby led 2-0 in the all-English tussle after an early break of 112 but then lost the next three frames. He dragged himself level, but Wilson trebled in the yellow to effectively make sure of victory in the decider.
England’s Judd Trump, newly deposed as world number one, edged a tense decider against Scot Anthony McGill to take a 4-3 victory.
Trump will face a quarter-final against Shaun Murphy who was taken the distance after midnight by Pang Junxu before racing through the deciding frame with a 103 break.
Ali Carter had a highest break of 75 as he completed a 4-2 win over Gong Chenzhi, Zhou Yuelong made a 141 in his 4-2 victory over Chinese compatriot Yuan Sijun, and Ding Junhui beat Joe O’Connor 4-1.
CK Updates
Spanish Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton says he and Charles Leclerc have ‘squashed’ Monza controversy
F1 faces a fresh challenge this weekend at the first Spanish Grand at the new Madring, a hybrid street circuit built on the Ifema complex near the city’s international airport.
Hamilton said: “It’s a massively challenging circuit. Of all the new tracks that I’ve gone to, this one, maybe Saudi, are the two closest in terms of how difficult it was to get on top of the car and find the right lines and such.”
Mercedes driver George Russell said: “It’s a crazy circuit, I would put it. Arguably one of the most risky circuits of the whole calendar.
“Because you have real high-speed corners, sort of Jeddah-esque, the walls are very close, so there’s no margin for error, but then you have other corners… where you’re coming from a high speed into a slow braking zone, you’re braking and turning at the same time, so locking tyres are going to be easy and if you lock up you’ll be straight in the wall.
“So, excited to try that out, I think it’s going to be really challenging for us as drivers, the race is going to be challenging to overtake, so on the whole it’s not an easy one.”
Russell heads into the race 66 points behind team-mate Kimi Antonelli after the Italian’s landmark victory in Monza from 19th on the grid.
The Briton acknowledged that his title hopes with nine or 10 races left, amid uncertainty about the end of the season, were fading fast.
“I would definitely need some luck and I need some good performances,” Russell said. “It’s not really something I’m thinking about, because he’s performing better than me, so he deserves to be leading the championship.
“There’s still a long way to go, but he’s yet to have a bad weekend in terms of performance.
“So he’s performing exceptionally well, my performances are better, but if I want to win this championship, I’m going to need some luck on the way. But it’s not something I’m focused on. I’m focused on driving faster and just finding more performance.”
Antonelli said: “I don’t really want to try thinking about the championship. I think Monza was the proof that I wasn’t driving thinking about, or worrying about the championship. I was just driving to win, to do my best. So that’s the mindset.”
The Italian said his win in Monza was “so far the best day of my life and definitely one I will remember forever”.
He said a day karting with Mercedes on Monday helped him move on from the excitement of the day before.
“After Monza, that night, that day overall, I was very excited. But then going karting on Monday helped me to go back to earth, just go back to the ground.
“It was a good day, good fun day with the team. It was also a way to remind myself where I came from, all the journey that was done.
“And then about pressure, I try to embrace it as much as possible. And I try to see it as a positive thing and try to see it as an opportunity too. That’s also what is helping me to stay calm under difficult situations.”
CK Updates
WXV Series: Clarke & Gallagher start for Scotland against Canada
Scrum-half Rhea Clarke will make her first start when Scotland begin their WXV Series campaign against Canada in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Evie Gallagher returns on the openside flank for her first appearance since last year’s World Cup.
She will partner captain Rachel Malcolm, who leads the team from the blindside, with Becky Boyd taking the number eight shirt for the match which will be broadcast live on BBC ALBA and BBC iPlayer (kick-off 16:10 BST).
Shona Campbell is selected on the left wing, joining the experienced pair of Rhona Lloyd and Chloe Rollie in the back three.
Glasgow fly-half Ceitidh Ainsworth and Exeter full-back Katie Buchanan, both uncapped, are among the replacements chosen by interim head coach Dave Butcher.
Second row Adelle Ferrie is also on the bench, having replaced the injured Alex Stewart in the squad.
World Cup runners-up Canada have won seven of their eight meetings with Scotland, including a 40-19 success in the group stage of the tournament last September.
After taking on Canada, Scotland have Tests against New Zealand and Australia.

