The 38-year-old took to the court after a 90-minute delay but proved too good for world number 73 Ivashka once the match began as he blasted 26 winners and converted three of his six breakpoint chances to set up a meeting with Grigor Dimitrov. Joining the three-times Grand Slam champion in the next round was Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who downed 18-year-old Luca Van Assche 7-6(7) 6-3 to earn a meeting with Novak Djokovic.
* AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli remained optimistic despite a dispiriting 2-0 first-leg loss to Inter in the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday which he put down to their opponents' clinical finishing. The loss to Inter was Milan's third defeat by their neighbours in a single season, something they have not experienced since the 1994-95 campaign.
* Brazilian state prosecutors charged 16 people, including seven professional soccer players, with alleged match-fixing and illegal betting on Wednesday in what threatens to be one of the largest scandals since Brazil legalized sports gambling in 2018. Prosecutors of the Public Ministry of Goias said the alleged offenses took place in 13 matches in Series A and B of the Brazilian Championship, including eight played in 2022.
* English Championship (second tier) side Watford have appointed Valerien Ismael as their coach, they said on Wednesday, their 11th different manager in less than four years. The 47-year-old took over from Chris Wilder, who was appointed in March on a short-term deal until the end of the season. Ismael last managed Turkish club Besiktas.
* Australia coach Eddie Jones has recruited London Irish assistant Brad Davis as his attack coach and confirmed a number of other appointments on a bumper staff to help the Wallabies "smash and grab" the Rugby Championship and World Cup in France. Former rugby league player Davis played over 200 games in the English Super League before switching to coaching union and has held roles at Ospreys in the Pro14, and Bath and Wasps in the English Premiership.
* Chelsea scored four first-half goals en route to a 6-0 thrashing of Leicester City that closed the gap on Manchester United at the top of the Women's Super League to a single point. The Blues, reigning WSL champions, moved up to 49 points from 19 games, with United one point ahead having played one more match. The sides meet at a sold-out Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup final on Sunday.
* Tiger Woods was not on the full field list for next week's PGA Championship, the golf major's organisers said on Wednesday, as the 15-times major champion continues to recover from an ankle surgery. Woods, who withdrew from the Masters midway through last month's tournament due to injury, underwent fusion surgery on a bone in his ankle to address his post-traumatic arthritis from a previous talus bone fracture.
* Juventus coach Massimilano Allegri will have a full-strength squad to choose from with the exception of defender Gleison Bremer for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Sevilla in Turin on Thursday. The 26-year-old Brazilian international has been on the bench for three of Juve's last four Serie A matches.
* Favourite Remco Evenepoel crashed twice on stage five of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, the first time after a dog strayed on to the road in treacherous conditions caused by driving rain, before Kaden Groves won the stage in a bunch sprint.
* David Moyes insists that if winning the Europa Conference League is good enough for Jose Mourinho then it is good enough for him as he prepares to try to lead West Ham United to their first European final for 47 years. The Scot has taken the London club to a European semi-final for the second successive season and hopes to go one better this time by getting past Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.
* AS Roma coach Jose Mourinho lightheartedly brushed off persistent speculation around taking a managerial role at Paris St Germain, as his team prepares for the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen at home on Thursday. Despite talk of potentially take over the Ligue 1 club from Christophe Galtier in the 2023-24 season, Mourinho reaffirmed his loyalty to Roma, where he is currently under contract until 2024.
* Frenchman Mathieu Raynal is his country's sole representative among the list of 12 referees named for the Rugby World Cup this year, and Television Match Official Joy Neville will make history as the first woman to be part of the panel. Neville has been named among seven TMOs, while Nika Amashukeli becomes the first Georgian to referee at the global showpiece event.
* Seville will host the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the International Tennis Federation announced on Wednesday. The showpiece women's team event, featuring 12 nations, will take place from Nov. 7-12. It is the first time since 2008 that Spain has hosted the finals of the competition, known until 2020 as the Fed Cup.
* The German city of Frankfurt will host NFL games for the first time with two fixtures scheduled for November, the National Football League announced on Wednesday. Five international fixtures will take place over October and November with three in London.
* The Greek Cup final between AEK Athens and PAOK has become a major source of headache for the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) as the location of the showpiece match has yet to be decided even though it is due to take place on May 24. The Greek FA failed to find a suitable stadium at home, prompting them to search for venues further afield, including in Cyprus, Britain and Poland. The EPO said it had shorlisted two venues and a final decision would be announced on May 12.
* Barcelona defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets will leave the club at the end of this season after spending 18 years with the Catalan outfit, the team said on Wednesday. Busquets, 34, began his youth career at Barcelona in 2005 before making his first-team debut in 2008. The former Spain international served as the club captain for the last two seasons, having become an integral part of the team over the years.
