MELBOURNE-- Twice champion Naomi Osaka avenged last year's loss to Caroline Garcia at the Australian Open on Monday but admitted it was difficult to focus on the match considering her home is in danger of being burnt down by the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles.
Osaka, champion in 2019 and 2021, went out in the opening round to Garcia on her return last year following a maternity break, but came out on top 6-3 3-6 6-3 against the Frenchwoman this time around.
Born in Japan, the 27-year-old has lived in the U.S. since childhood and has made LA her home.
"I was watching the fire map and the fire is three blocks from my house," said Osaka, who has an 18-month-old daughter.
"So, I had someone go and get my daughter's birth certificate because I didn't know what would happen if that burned down. Sending all my love to LA.
"It is really difficult for me because I think it's tougher because I find now my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter.
"There's so many things, keepsakes and stuff like that. Obviously you can't hoard them all when you're asking them to go to your house and just grab stuff."
Osaka admitted that she did find it difficult to fully concentrate on the match, but said that it could also be a motivating factor going forward.
"Honestly I don't think I've been doing the greatest keeping focus, but obviously I won so I think it's an acceptable job," Osaka said.
"I'm not there, so I don't know how bad it is or how bad it's going to get. But I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe.
"I don't feel like it's safe enough to go back there. It's kind of a little bit in a limbo, but also motivating me to hopefully stay here as long as I can."
ORCHARD PARK --James Cook rushed for a season-high 120 yards and a touchdown, Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes in the second half and the host Buffalo Bills won in the AFC wild-card round for the fifth straight year, beating the Denver Broncos 31-7 on Sunday in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Allen was 20-for-26 passing for 272 yards and added 46 rushing yards as Buffalo improved to 9-0 at home between regular season and playoffs. The second-seeded Bills will host the third-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round next weekend.
The seventh-seeded Broncos scored on the game's opening drive, but it was all Buffalo the rest of the way. Running back Ty Johnson (24-yarder) and receiver Curtis Samuel (55) caught long touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix completed 13 of 22 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown. He also guided the rushing attack with 43 yards. Courtland Sutton was the game's leading receiver with five catches for 75 yards.
Tyler Bass made a 27-yard field goal for a 13-7 Bills lead to begin the second half, and Buffalo regained possession after a quick three-and-out.
On fourth-and-1 at Denver's 24, Allen avoided the pass rush and tossed a deep ball to the back of the end zone. Johnson dove to the ground and corralled the pass while staying inbounds, and it was upheld as a touchdown upon review. Allen made it 21-7 by finding Keon Coleman for a two-point conversion.
The Bills piled on with Samuel's touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. He caught a deep ball near the right sideline, changed direction to get around two defenders and sprinted home.
Buffalo added Bass' third field goal of the day, from 34 yards, with 4:37 to go. The Bills dominated the Broncos in the second half, outgaining them 282-63 after halftime and 471-224 overall.
Denver struck first when Nix connected with his former college teammate Troy Franklin. He hauled in Nix's 43-yard bomb in the end zone just 2:24 into the game.
The Bills settled for a 26-yard field goal on their first possession before traveling 81 yards in 13 plays their next time out. Allen's 9-yard rush on third-and-3 set up Cook for a 5-yard touchdown run on the following play, putting Buffalo ahead early in the second quarter.
Denver punter Riley Dixon completed a 15-yard pass to Marvin Mims Jr. on a fake, but the Broncos' drive still fizzled out. Before halftime, Nix led them 60 yards in 1:52 before Wil Lutz's 50-yard field goal attempt resounded off the right upright as time expired.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia-- Goals from Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barcelona a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final in Jeddah on Wednesday to reach their third successive final.
Gavi opened the scoring in the 17th minute and Yamal doubled Barca's lead seven minutes after the break.
Barcelona, the most successful Super Cup side with 14 trophies, will face the winners of Thursday's semi-final between holders Real Madrid and Mallorca in the final on Sunday.
The earliest chances fell to Barcelona's Raphinha, who first acrobatically volleyed over and then struck a powerful free kick which keeper Unai Simon parried away, but Barca were soon rewarded for their early onslaught.
Pedri played a pass to Alejandro Balde wide in the area who pulled the ball back across to Gavi, and from just outside the six-yard box he slipped his shot through the legs of Simon.
Barca could have doubled their lead but Raphinha hit his shot straight at the keeper when put through on a one-on-one by Yamal, and Athletic finally began to create opportunities of their own.
Wojciech Szczesny got down to stop a low cross from Yuri Berchiche with Gorka Guruzeta waiting in front of goal for what would have been a simple tap-in, and the Barcelona keeper then denied Inaki Williams just before the break.
Lamal missed the last two games with an ankle injury but his performance showed why manager Hansi Flick risked the winger from the start.
Gavi turned provider with a delightful pass played forward which Lamal controlled beautifully on the turn before taking the ball into the area and coolly driving his shot past Simon.
Athletic had left a not fully fit Nico Williams out of the starting side but the winger was called into action with his side trailing, but their best chance fell to his brother Inaki who pulled his shot wide from a decent position.
Oscar de Marcos and Inaki Williams both had the ball in the net for Athletic late on but were denied by offside decisions, and Barcelona deservedly took their place in the final.
Wednesday's decision by Spain's National Sports Council (CSD) to allow Barcelona to provisionally register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor came too late for the game against Athletic, but the pair will now be available to play in Sunday's decider.
The Dakar Rally tested competitors on the rocky route to AlUla, with Daniel Sanders maintaining his dominance in the Bike class, now leading by over 13 minutes. In the Challenger class, Corbin Leaverton moved to second overall, ahead of teammate Gonçalo Guerreiro. The Ultimate class saw setbacks for Sébastien Loeb, who retired due to a damaged roll cage, and Nasser Al-Attiyah, who dropped to seventh after mechanical issues. Meanwhile, Mattias Ekström stayed steady in third, with Henk Lategan holding the lead. Francisco "Chaleco" López finished second in the SSV class, navigating the challenging terrain with ease.
SAUDI ARABIA- - Toyota's South African Henk Lategan stretched his Dakar Rally lead on Thursday while a 10 minute penalty denied Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah a first stage win for Dacia after a dominant day in the Saudi Arabian desert.
Lategan led Saudi local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi, driving a Toyota for the Overdrive Racing team, by 10 minutes and 17 seconds overall after finishing third in the 428km stage five from Al Ula to Hail.
"We did a good job. It was a high pace, which means it was easy to make mistakes and lose time. I’m happy with the whole week, even if starting first the day after tomorrow wasn’t part of the plan," said Lategan.
Friday is a rest day with the second half of the two-week event starting on Saturday from Hail to Al-Duwadimi.
Five times Dakar winner Al-Attiyah had celebrated a first stage win for the Renault-owned Dacia brand but was then penalised for arriving at the finish without a spare wheel.
Toyota's American Seth Quintero was promoted to stage winner, his second of the event with the first also awarded some hours after the finish, by a single second after Al-Attiyah's penalty.
Al-Attiyah remained 35 minutes behind Lategan after starting the stage 35 minutes and 53 seconds adrift.
Without the penalty he would have had a career 49th stage win, one short of the record held jointly by Stephane Peterhansel and Ari Vatanen.
The 54-year-old is still waiting to extend his record of winning at least one stage in the Dakar Rally to 18 editions in a row.
There was no change at the top of the motorcycle category either, with Australian KTM rider Daniel Sanders seven minutes and two seconds clear of Spaniard Tosha Schareina. Botswana's Ross Branch stayed third.
"On the last 40 km, I had a little navigation instrument problem again. I’m just disappointed," said Sanders, who has led since day one.
"I’m glad it happened at the end of the stage when I was with other riders, otherwise I would have been stuck."
SAUDI ARABIA -- Nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb is out of the Dakar Rally after he rolled his Dacia in the Saudi desert on Tuesday as the race continued to take a toll of the big names after the exit of 2024 winner Carlos Sainz.
