In Sunday's title clash, the top-seeded Spaniard will face off against qualifier Aslan Karatsev or lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff who will contest the other semi-final later in the day.
* Bayer Leverkusen slumped to a 2-1 home loss to Cologne on Friday to end their 14-game unbeaten run across all competitions and put their European spot in danger with three Bundesliga matches remaining.
* One man died from gunshot wounds and seven people were injured overnight in Naples as the southern Italian city exploded in joy at the success of its soccer team, a local government official said on Friday (May 5). Partying began late on Thursday after the Napoli team won its first Serie A championship title in 33 years with a 1-1 away draw at Udinese.
* Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will become the highest scoring Egyptian of all time if he scores against Brentford in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday. Salah has netted 313 goals in a stellar career for club and country, equalling former Egypt captain Hossam Hassan’s record with a penalty in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Fulham on Wednesday.
* Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris will miss the rest of the season due to a hip injury, interim boss Ryan Mason said on Friday as the club try to keep alive their hopes of playing in Europe next season.
* Rafa Nadal will miss next week's Italian Open as he has yet to regain full fitness from the hip injury he sustained at January's Australian Open, casting further doubt over his participation in the French Open. Nadal, a 14-times Roland Garros champion, skipped the ongoing Madrid Open and has also missed tournaments at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
* Brighton & Hove Albion have signed Brazilian striker Joao Pedro from Watford on a five-year deal, with the 21-year-old set to join the club when the transfer window opens in the close season, the Premier League side on Friday (May 5). Finiancial details were not disclosed but British media reported that it was a record deal for Brighton worth 30 million pounds (US$38 million).
* Sha'Carri Richardson left her rivals in the dust as the American streaked to 100 metres victory in the first Diamond League meeting of the season in Doha on Friday. The 23-year-old beat Jamaica's world 200 metres champion Shericka Jackson (10.85) while Briton Dina Asher-Smith was third (10.98) in a field that featured five Americans on the start line.
* The English Football League (EFL) has approved a record broadcasting deal with Sky Sports worth 935 million pounds ($1.18 billion) over a five-year period, a 50 per cent increase on the value of the current rights agreement, it said on Friday. EFL clubs unanimously voted to accept the deal, which will see over 1,000 matches being broadcast or streamed from the 2024-25 to 2028-29 seasons.
* Serbia's Legia Warsaw defender Filip Mladenovic has been suspended for three months, the Polish football association (PZPN) said on Friday, after he hit three opposing players following their Polish Cup final victory.
* George Russell overcame steering issues that threatened to scuttle his first practice session of the Miami Grand Prix on Friday (May 5) to put his Mercedes top of the timing sheets ahead of team mate and seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton.
* Lionel Messi on Friday (May 5) apologised for going on an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia that led to Argentina's World Cup-winning captain being suspended by his club Paris Saint-Germain. He was suspended by the Qatar-owned club after failing to turn up for training on Monday, a day after their 3-1 home defeat by Lorient in Ligue 1.
* Napoli's champions returned home on Friday (May 5) after winning their first Serie A title in 33 years, greeted at their training camp by hundreds of jubilant fans following a raucous night of partying in Naples. Waving blue-and-white flags, singing songs and honking horns, ecstatic fans went wild at the sight of the players' white bus returning to the team's training centre in Castel Volturno, northwest of Naples.
