Sports

LOS ANGELES, United States — Luka Doncic raced to the 200th 30-point game of his career as the Los Angeles Lakers took advantage of an under-strength Denver Nuggets line-up to score a 120-108 victory over their Western Conference rivals on Thursday.

Slovenian star Doncic, once again spearheading the Lakers offense in the absence of the injured LeBron James, rattled in 31 points, with nine rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers cruised to a wire-to-wire win.

The Nuggets, missing Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, were never in the hunt after Doncic poured in 21 points in the first quarter alone as the Lakers sprinted into an early 46-29 lead.

The Lakers maintained a double-digit cushion for most of the remainder of the game, with Austin Reaves adding 22 points.

The Lakers improved to 43-25, leapfrogging Denver (44-26) into third place in the Western Conference standings.

Doncic, who joined the Lakers in February in a shock trade from Dallas, has now scored 30 points or more in eight of his 16 games with the Lakers following his blockbuster move.

"Like I always say, every day gets better," Doncic told ESPN following the win. "That's three wins in a row now so we've got to just keep it going.

"We go game-by-game because if you think too far in the future maybe you forget about the next game. We know the [standings] are tight but we've just got to try and win every game."

The Lakers' victory ensured that the Oklahoma City Thunder must wait a little longer before clinching the No. 1 seeding from the Western Conference.

Cavs lose third straight

The Thunder could have sealed the top seed with a Lakers loss after dismantling the hapless Philadelphia 76ers 133-100 earlier Wednesday.

The Thunder could afford to rest Most Valuable Player front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but were still far too strong for a Sixers team whose regular season is ending in disarray.

With Sixers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George ruled out for the rest of the campaign, and Tyrese Maxey missing with a lower back injury, the Thunder coasted to a blowout, wire-to-win after leading by as much as 41 points at one stage.

Seven Oklahoma City players finished in double figures with Aaron Wiggins topping the scoring with 26 points as the Thunder improved to 57-12 -- 12.5 games clear of the Houston Rockets.

The in-form Rockets meanwhile remained in second place in the West after rolling to their eighth straight win, a 116-108 victory on the road over the Orlando Magic.

Jalen Green led the Houston scorers with 26 points, Alperen Sengun providing offensive support with 22 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Elsewhere Wednesday, Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland slid to their third straight defeat in a 123-119 loss to the Sacramento Kings in California.

The Cavaliers fell to 56-13 after 27 points from the Kings DeMar DeRozan -- one of seven Sacramento players in double figures.

The Minnesota Timberwolves' bid for a top six finish -- and an automatic playoff berth -- lost further momentum in a 119-115 home defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans.

Zion Williamson scored 29 points for New Orleans in what was only their seventh away win of the season. The Pelicans (19-51) are already eliminated from postseason contention.

There was another sizeable upset in New York, where the San Antonio Spurs routed the Knicks 120-105 thanks to a sharp-shooting 34-point performance off the bench from Sandro Mamukelashvili.

The 25-year-old New York-born Georgian center rattled in a perfect seven-from-seven three-pointers in a blistering 19-minute spell.

San Antonio improved to 29-39 with the win to keep alive their faint chances of advancing to the Western Conference play-in tournament.

The Knicks are 43-25 and remain in third place in the Eastern Conference.

The fourth-placed Indiana Pacers meanwhile edged closer to the Knicks after staging a late rally to down the Dallas Mavericks 135-131.

The Pacers trailed by 11 points with six minutes remaining but conjured a late charge to snatch victory, with Pascal Siakam finishing on 29 points. Bennedict Mathurin added 23 points — 16 of them coming in the fourth quarter.

MIAMI GARDENS, United States — A tennis union co-founded by Novak Djokovic on Tuesday announced a series of legal actions aimed at the sport's governing bodies, alleging "anti-competitive restraints and abusive practices".

The Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) said it was suing both tour organisers, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

The International Tennis Federation (ITF), and International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) were also named as defendants in a series of actions in the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union.

Both the ATP and WTA responded by vowing to defend themselves against the claims with the men's tour saying the PTPA has "consistently chosen division and distraction through misinformation over progress".

The PTPA was set up by Djokovic and Canadian Vasek Pospisil in 2020. Some 20 players were named as part of at least one of the actions.

"The lawsuits expose systemic abuse, anti-competitive practices, and a blatant disregard for player welfare that have persisted for decades," said the PTPA statement.

"The ATP, WTA, ITF, and ITIA operate as a cartel by implementing a number of draconian, interlocking anti-competitive restraints and abusive practices."

"Tennis is broken," said Ahmad Nassar, executive director of the PTPA.

"Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardises their health and safety."

The statement listed alleged abuses they are targeting.

It said the defendants "colluded", "fixing prize money and suppressing player earnings" forcing "an unsustainable schedule" and exploiting players financially.

The bodies show a "disregard for players" by making them "compete in 100-degree [Fahrenheit] heat, endure matches that ended at 3 am, and play with different and injury-inducing tennis balls".

The PTPA also cited image right ownership, sponsorship restrictions and the "draconian system of ranking points".

The statement also complained that tennis violates player "privacy rights".

'Division and distraction'

"Players are subjected to invasive searches of personal devices, random middle-of-the-night drug tests, and interrogations without legal representation," it said.

The ATP said it was continuing to make change, with player input and hit back at the union.

"While the ATP has remained focused on delivering reforms that benefit players at multiple levels, the PTPA has consistently chosen division and distraction through misinformation over progress," the statement read.

"Five years on from its inception in 2020, the PTPA has struggled to establish a meaningful role in tennis, making its decision to pursue legal action at this juncture unsurprising.

"We strongly reject the premise of the PTPA's claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position. The ATP remains committed to working in the best interests of the game - towards continued growth, financial stability, and the best possible future for our players, tournaments, and fans," the tour concluded.

The WTA also defended their approach to the game and said that PTPA's action "is both regrettable and misguided, and we will defend our position vigorously in due course".

The ITAI said sport required robust anti-doping and anti-corruption programmes and said it was proud of it's role.

"The ITIA seeks to uphold the highest standards in our work, following best practice and appropriate rules throughout the management of cases, from intelligence gathering through to investigations and, where applicable, sanctions.

For our part, we continue to welcome opportunities to engage with any and all members of the sport, including players, coaches, support staff, officials, and media, to build trust in tennis' anti-doping and anti-corruption programmes".

In addition to Djokovic and Pospisil, the seven-member PTPA executive council also includes players, Hubert Hurkacz, Ons Jabeur, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Taylor Townsend and Zheng Saisai.

Australian Nick Kyrgios, France's Varvara Gracheva and American Reilly Opelka have joined the PTPA's case in the United States, while Frenchman Corentin Moutet and Japan's Taro Daniel have joined the case in the United Kingdom.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s U23 football plays Kuwait Wednesday evening in their opening match of the 6thU23 West Asia Championshiphosted in Oman March 19-25.

It is Jordan’s fifth time at the competition grouping eight competing teams in four groups: UAE vs Bahrain, Saudi Arabia vs Oman, Syria, vs Lebanon and Kuwait vs Jordan. The winners will move to the semis with the rest playing for final positions. 

Jordan exited Round 1 in 2015, won the title in 2021, did not play in 2022, exited the semis in 2023, and finished 5th in 2024.Iran won the inaugural U23 West Asia Championshiptitle in 2015, Jordan in 2021, Saudi in 2022, Iraq in 2023 and South Korea 2024.

The event will be a good chance for assessment and fine tuning ahead of the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers slated for Sept 1-9.  In 2024, and in their 6th time at the U23 Asian Cup, the squaddisappointed fans,exitingthe 6th AFC U23 Asian CupinRound 1of the competitionwhich was aqualifierto the Olympic Games. Jordan lost 4-1 to Indonesia, tied Australia 0-0 and lost to Qatar 2-1.

In previous editions, Jordan had their best performance finishing 3rd in 2014, reaching the quarters in 2016, exiting Round 1 in 2018,  reaching the quartersin 2020 and exitingRound 1in 2022.

Earlier this year, the U20 squad exited Round 1 of the Asian Cup(previously the AFC Youth Championship and AFC U-19 Championship) which is a qualifying tournament to the U20 World Cup.  Similarly, Jordan exited the qualifiers of the U17 Asian Cup in 2024 and 2022.  

LOS ANGELES, United States — Aaron Gordon scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors' seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their NBA Western Conference rivals on Tuesday.

A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their line-up.

The absentees were barely felt by Denver though, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco's Chase Center and led for most of the game.

The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets' fourth-quarter lead from 15 points to three points, but Denver pulled away in the closing stages to secure a deserved win.

Gordon finished with 38 points, six rebounds and three assists while Michael Porter Jr. provided offensive support with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

The Warriors were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts. Jimmy Butler led the Golden State scorers with 23 points.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr lambasted his side's "awful" performance.

"We played poorly out of the gate and never found rhythm and they played great," Kerr said. "The right team won. We didn't deserve that. We were awful."

Denver improved to 44-25 to remain in third place in the West. The Warriors dropped to 39-29 and are sixth in the standings.

Lakers, Rockets win 

The Los Angeles Lakers are just behind Denver in fourth place in the West after a 125-109 blowout over the San Antonio Spurs.

With LeBron James still injured, Austin Reaves led the Lakers scoring with 30 points while Luka Doncic had 21 points with nine rebounds and 14 assists.

Elsewhere, the in-form Houston Rockets staged an incredible second-half comeback to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers, overturning a 25-point third-quarter deficit to win 144-137 in an overtime thriller.

The struggling Sixers -- who received another gloomy injury bulletin with news that Paul George would miss the remainder of the regular season -- stunned Houston after outscoring the hosts 44-28 in the first quarter.

After leading 78-57 at half-time, the Sixers stretched their advantage to 25 points early in the third quarter.

But Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks led a dramatic turnaround as the Rockets suddenly began to find their shooting range, outscoring the Sixers 45-24 in the third quarter.

The Rockets knotted the score at 131-131 with 3.9secs remaining, before dominating overtime to bring up their seventh straight win to remain second in the Western Conference on 44-25, 12.5 games behind leaders Oklahoma City.

Quentin Grimes led Philadelphia with 46 points including eight three-pointers, while Green and Jabari Smith Jr. topped the Houston scoring with 30 points apiece.

There was another overtime thriller in Minnesota, where Obi Toppin finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and two assists to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 132-130 win over the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards led the Wolves scoring with 38 points.

In New York, 28 points from Mikal Bridges powered the Knicks to a 116-95 defeat of the visiting Miami Heat.

The Knicks, who improved to 43-24 to remain third in the Eastern Conference rankings, effectively decided the contest after blitzing Miami 41-15 in the third quarter, stretching the lead to 27 points early in the fourth before cruising home.

Miami fell to 29-39 and are ninth in the East.

The Detroit Pistons continued their pursuit of the Knicks in the East with a 127-81 thrashing of the New Orleans Pelicans in the Big Easy.

Detroit improved to 38-31 to stay in sixth place in the East.

The Pelicans are now 18-51, one place off the bottom of the Western Conference ahead of Utah, who slumped to their 54th defeat of the campaign in a 111-97 loss to Chicago.

INDIAN WELLS, United States — Britain's Jack Draper roared past Denmark's Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells.

The 14th-ranked Briton, who toppled two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals, didn't face a break point as he subdued the 13th ranked Dane in just 69 minutes.

He'll make his top 10 debut on Monday at seventh in the world.

"It's incredible," said Draper, a US Open semifinalist last year whose preparations for 2025 were hindered by a flare-up of hip tendinitis.

"I'm just so grateful and happy to be out here, to be able to play, my body feeling healthy, to feel great in my mind.

"All the work I've done over the last few years, it feels like it's all coming together on the big stage and I can't put that into words," added the 23-year-old, who also missed significant time with shoulder and abdominal injuries in 2023.

Draper said his energy was "sapped" after his big victory over Alcaraz, but his few nerves before the final quick dissipated.

"When I got out on the court, I felt amazing," said Draper, who was rock-solid in his first Masters 1000 final as he raced to a 4-0 lead.

"I felt like I was in control. I knew what I needed to do. I just went for it and played to win," he said.

Draper dropped just four points on serve in the first set as Rune, who burst on the scene with a precocious Paris Masters triumph in 2022, had 10 of his 19 unforced errors in the opening frame.

The Dane had managed to hold serve twice before Draper pocketed the set, giving himself set point with an ace before Rune thumped a backhand into the net.

Draper broke Rune to open the second set, and even though the Dane got a few more looks at Draper's second serve he couldn't take advantage.

"I think today was very clear that I didn't play well enough," said Rune, who had ousted Daniil Medvedev, runner-up the past two years, in the semifinals. "He was serving amazing, for sure. But I think I could have done my part better.

"Jack was playing extremely well, but the few chances I had to make it difficult for him, I didn't quite take them, because I wasn't really trusting every shot of my game today."

'I deserve it'

Draper seized a second break for a 5-2 lead and after sending a forehand long on his first match point he had the win when Rune went long with a backhand.

Draper's run to a third career title included victories not only over Alcaraz but also over 2022 Indian Wells winner Taylor Fritz and big-hitting home hope Ben Shelton.

"Last year I lost here and I felt so uncomfortable playing here," Draper said. "My serve was really struggling. I didn't feel like I was in control of the ball, and I lost my way mentally last year.

"So I knew coming here this year is a challenge, but not only for me but for a lot of the players. I think Taylor and Carlos play in a way where they are very aggressive with their forehand, they serve great.

"As the matches went on, I felt more and more confident in these conditions."

Draper, who claimed his two prior ATP titles in 2024, said his biggest title to date was a testament to his perseverance.

"I feel like I deserve it, in all honesty," he said. "It's an emotional feeling to know how much you've gone through and put in and to be here now to say that I'm going to be number seven in the world tomorrow, I can't tell you how much that means to me."

NEW YORK — Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points in his return from an eight-game illness absence and Payton Pritchard set an NBA record to spark Boston over host Brooklyn 115-113 on Saturday.

Jason Tatum contributed 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics while Pritchard had 22 points off the bench for the reigning NBA champions and set a record for most three-pointers in a season by a reserve player.

In other games, NBA scoring leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struck for a game-high 48 points to lead Oklahoma City in a 113-107 victory at Detroit.

In Brooklyn, Latvian center Porzingis was not at full strength at the start but found his form as the game continued.

"At first I felt a little out of rhythm," Porzingis said. "First few shots were a bit bricky, but as the game went on I felt better and better. Happy to be back.

"I'm not feeling in shape yet. It has been tough these past couple weeks, but in these kind of moments you've got to bite down and bring something from deep. That's what I tried to do and I'm just happy we got the win."

Pritchard sank his 219th three-pointer of the season in the fourth quarter, giving him the NBA season record for three-pointers by a bench player.

In all, he made 7-of-11 shots, 5-of-8 from three-point range, and sank three free throws in the final 8.2 seconds to secure the Celtics' 13th victory in 16 games.

Boston improved to 49-19, second in the Eastern Conference, eight games behind NBA overall leader Cleveland.

At Detroit, Gilgeous-Alexander made 17-of-26 shots from the floor, 4-of-6 from three-point range, and all 10 of his free throws.

The Canadian guard also had six assists, four rebounds and three steals to spark the Western Conference-leading Thunder, which improved to 55-12 and 18-3 since the start of February.

At Memphis, Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 31 points while Desmond Bane added 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to spark the host Grizzlies over Miami 125-91.

The Houston Rockets stretched their win streak to six games and matched Memphis at 43-25 with a 117-114 home victory over Chicago.

Jalen Green led Houston with 28 points while Turkish centre Alperen Sengun had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets.

Denver fell into a three-way tie for second in the West with Memphis and Houston with a shock 126-123 home loss to woeful Washington (15-51).

Serbian centre Nikola Jokic led Denver with 40 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists but Alex Sarr led the Wizards with 34 points and Jordan Poole sank the deciding three-pointer for Washington with 2.1 seconds remaining.

Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34 points to lead Milwaukee over visiting Indiana 126-119 while Devin Vassell led seven San Antonio scorers in double figures as the Spurs beat visiting New Orleans 119-115.

Warriors beat Knicks 

Steve Kerr, who has guided Golden State to four NBA crowns, became the winningest coach in Warriors history, passing the 557 wins by the late Al Attles for the most regular-season triumphs in team history, when the Warriors beat visiting New York 97-94.

"It's incredible. I'm thankful that I have been here for every single one of his wins," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "He's a special guy. He has made this a special place. We're lucky to have such a winner as that."

Stephen Curry scored 28 points, including three clinching free throws in the final 14.1 seconds, to lead the Warriors to their seventh consecutive victory and 14th win in 16 games.

"It feels great to walk in and know you have a chance to win. That's what we play for," Green said. "We put a lot of work in to play on the biggest stage. To put these wins together, it feels amazing."

The Warriors are 14-1 when Jimmy Butler plays. The former Miami star was traded to Golden State last month.

"It's a real ball club now. With him on this team, whether he has 11 points or 30, he makes us a real ball club," Green said.

"And when we're a real ball club, we usually win championships."

LOS ANGELES, United States — The Cleveland Cavaliers romped to a franchise record 16th straight victory on Friday, beating the Memphis Grizzlies 133-124 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland, who had been forced to overcome a double-digit deficit in Tuesday's win over Brooklyn, had no such difficulty in Friday's clash in Tennessee.

The Cavs, who have already clinched their place in the postseason, maintained their charge towards securing the Eastern Conference No.1 seeding with a dominant offensive display.

Cleveland -- who have now won 20 of their last 21 games -- took a stranglehold on the contest with 75 points in the first half to open up a hefty 18-point cushion at the break.

Memphis, who came into Friday's game on a run of four straight wins, never looked like reeling in the visitors in the second half as Cleveland closed out a victory that sees them improve to 56-10.

Evan Mobley led the Cavs' scoring with 22 points while Darius Garland finished with 20. Seven Cleveland players finished in double figures.

Ja Morant led Memphis with a season-high 44 points in a losing effort.

Cleveland now lead the second-placed Boston Celtics by 8.5 games.

The reigning NBA champion Celtics bounced back from Wednesday's home defeat to Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City with a 103-91 road victory against the Miami Heat that officially booked their playoff ticket.

Derrick White helped close the deal for Boston, rattling in 12 fourth quarter points as the Celtics outscored Miami 25-14 in the final frame to clinch a win that lifts them to 48-19 in the East.

Jayson Tatum led Boston's scoring with 28 points, including five three-pointers, while Jrue Holiday finished with 25.

Andrew Wiggins top-scored for Miami with 23 points.

Lakers pipped in thriller 

A thrilling game in Denver meanwhile saw the injury-ravaged Los Angeles Lakers come within a whisker of snatching an improbable victory over the Nuggets before the hosts squeezed home 131-126.

The Lakers, missing starters LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes, clawed their way back from a 13-point third quarter deficit to edge into the lead in the final minute after 37 points from Austin Reaves and 32 points from rookie Dalton Knecht.

But hopes of victory were dashed in the dying seconds, with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook combining for eight unanswered points to give Denver victory.

Denver star Jokic finished with 28 points, with Murray adding 26 and Christian Braun 22. Denver improved to 43-24 and are second in the West, while the Lakers (40-25) dropped to fifth after their fourth straight loss.

In Atlanta, the Los Angeles Clippers poured in 68 second-half points to climb out of an 11-point halftime hole and thrash the Hawks 121-98.

James Harden led the fightback for the Clippers, scoring 13 points as the visitors outscored Atlanta 35-8 in the third quarter.

Harden and Kawhi Leonard both scored 25 points apiece. with Ivica Zubac adding 18.

The win leaves the Clippers lurking in eighth position in the Western Conference on 36-30, just outside the top six postseason berths.

In other games on Friday, the Houston Rockets took their unbeaten streak to five games with a 133-96 pummeling of the Dallas Mavericks, Tari Eason leading the rout with 30 points, with support from Jalen Green (23 points).

The in-form Rockets climbed into third place in the Western Conference on 42-25.

The Indiana Pacers moved to 37-28 for the season after defeating the hapless Philadelphia 76ers 112-100. The Sixers slumped to their 44th defeat of a miserable season after squandering a 16-point second-quarter lead.

LONDON — Manchester United announced plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium close to their historic Old Trafford home, with co-owner Jim Ratcliffe promising it would be the “world’s greatest” football ground.

The momentous decision by the Premier League club comes after an extensive consultation process on whether to develop their creaking current ground or move.

The stadium, which will be built on land surrounding Old Trafford, will cost around £2 billion ($2.6 billion) and the timescale for the project is five years.

United, 20-time English league champions, are one of the world’s most iconic football clubs but have fallen behind rivals such as Manchester City and Liverpool over the past decade.

They are having a dismal season under current manager Ruben Amorim, languishing 14th in the Premier League table and knocked out of both domestic cup competitions.

British billionaire Ratcliffe himself this week told the BBC some of the club’s players are “not good enough” and some are “overpaid”.

Scaled models and conceptual images for United’s new stadium were revealed on Tuesday at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.

“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford,” Ratcliffe said in a club statement.

“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport.”

United said the stadium and a wider regeneration project had the potential to deliver an additional £7.3 billion per year to the UK economy, including the possible creation of 92,000 new jobs.

A joint task force was created last year to explore options for regenerating the Old Trafford area of Greater Manchester, with the stadium development at its heart.

It was led by Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics and chief organiser of the 2012 London Olympics, and also included the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.

Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, said the club’s long-term objective was to “have the world’s best football team playing in the world’s best stadium”, promising further consultation with fans.

Old Trafford, United’s home since 1910, is England’s biggest club ground with a capacity of around 74,000 but criticism of the stadium has grown in recent years, with issues including a leaking roof.

The proposed new stadium will rank as Europe’s second biggest, behind only Barcelona’s Camp Nou, which will accommodate about 105,000 fans once an upgrade is completed.

The move to a new ground has been backed by former United boss Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during his reign of nearly 27 years that ended in 2013.

“Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made,” he said.

United, whose struggles on the pitch are matched by problems off it, are around £1 billion in debt and have yet to say how they will pay for the new stadium.

But Berrada said Tuesday he was confident the club would find a way to finance the stadium as it was a “very attractive investment opportunity”.

Foster + Partners designed the new Wembley stadium and the Lusail stadium in Qatar, which hosted the 2022 World Cup final.

Norman Foster, founder of Foster + Partners, said United’s new stadium would feature an umbrella design sheltering a public plaza that is “twice the size of Trafalgar Square” in London.

The design will feature three masts described as “Trident”, which the architects say will be 200 metres high and visible from 40 kilometres away.

The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust said it was vital that fans were consulted throughout the process.

The group said in a statement: “Will it drive up ticket prices and force out local fans? Will it harm the atmosphere, which is consistently fans’ top priority in the ground?

“Will it add to the debt burden which has held back the club for the last two decades? Will it lead to reduced investment in the playing side at a time when it is so badly needed?”

INDIAN WELLS, United States 2025 — Russia's Daniil Medvedev shook off a day of rain delays to beat Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday and reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells, where he's vying to improve on runner-up finishes the past two years.

Taking the court around 10:00 pm, four hours after he was slated to open the night session on Stadium Court, Medvedev took full advantage of Paul's 31 unforced errors.

"It wasn't an easy preparation," Medvedev said. "We both were here early and then rain, rain, rain. I think we both went in rusty, he a little bit more than I did."

Paul had his opportunities, rallying after Medvedev jumped to a 4-0 lead to win four straight games.

But Medvedev won the next eight -- pocketing the first set on a pair of Paul forehand errors then racing through the second to seal it with one final break of the American's serve.

"Pretty strange score," Medvedev said. "Whoever won some games won them in a row."

Medvedev, who fell to Carlos Alcaraz in each of the last two finals, next faces France's Arthur Fils, a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 winner over American Marcos Giron in a match halted for more than three hours by rain in the first set.

Women's defending champion Iga Swiatek had to wait out a near-hour delay before getting started, but once she did she produced another brutally efficient 6-1, 6-1 victory over Karolina Muchova, beating the worst of the weather.

The World No.2 from Poland needed just 57 minutes to put away Muchova, who took her to three sets in the 2023 French Open final.

Swiatek, the 2022 and 2024 winner, didn't face a break point as she continued her bid to become the first woman to win three titles in the California desert.

She said the weather was an extra spur to finish it quickly, especially after the rain came again near the end of the contest.

"On last two games it was a bit slippery already, but I really wanted to finish. So I kind of played more risky, but the shots were still in," said Swiatek, who will face China's Zheng Qinwen for a place in the semi-finals.

Zheng rolled past Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2.

The off-and-on showers caused multiple delays.

Stop and start 

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, ranked 23rd, shrugged off the three-hour stoppage at the start of her third set to upset world number four Jessica Pegula 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

"Definitely was not easy with all the conditions and the rain, stop and start," Svitolina said. "Warmed up maybe like 10 times today."

Svitolina booked a meeting with 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who beat 2023 Indian Wells champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-2.

Andreeva has now won two matches in three weeks against world number seven Rybakina -- a former Wimbledon champion. She beat Rybakina in the semi-finals in Dubai on the way to becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion.

In other men's matches, Denmark's Holger Rune beat in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.

Greece's Tsitsipas was coming off his first title in nearly a year in Dubai last month, but Rune, ranked 13th, snapped the world number nine's seven-match ATP win streak with an aggressive game that included 22 winners.

Up 4-3 in the second set, Rune saved a break point with a dazzling between-the-legs shot, racing back to the baseline after a Tsitsipas lob and batting the tweener that dropped perfectly to deny the Greek.

"Mentally, I was very, very good," Rune said. "I think that's what made the difference -- how composed I was able to stay."

Rune next faces 43rd-ranked Tallon Griekspoor, who upset top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round.

Griekspoor also made a belated start and waited out a second-set delay in his 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 victory over Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki.