BUDAPEST-- Europa League thoroughbreds Sevilla worked their magic yet again to beat AS Roma 4-1 on penalties on Wednesday and lift the trophy for a record-extending seventh time, handing Roma boss Jose Mourinho his first defeat in six European finals.

PARIS - Novak Djokovic launched his quest for a record 23rd men's Grand Slam singles title with a 6-3 6-2 7-6(1) victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the French Open first round before risking controversy by writing a political message on a camera. World number one Carlos Alcaraz also came through with flying colours as the Spaniard crushed Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli 6-0 6-2 7-5 in his first Grand Slam match since winning the U.S. Open title last year. Twice Roland Garros champion Djokovic breezed through the first two sets before encountering resistance from the 24-year-old American. He ended the contest with a sizzling service return on his first match point and will take on Hungarian journeyman Marton Fucsovics for a place in the third round. "It's always a pleasure to come back here, one of the best tournaments in the world," said Djokovic, who made his Roland Garros debut in 2005. "I'm very motivated to go far here, all the way I hope." However, he risked courting controversy by writing "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence" on a camera lens in Serbian as he departed. Around 25 NATO peacekeeping soldiers defending three town halls in northern Kosovo were injured in clashes with Serb protesters on Monday, while Serbia's president put the army on the highest level of combat alert. Roland Garros organisers said there were no official Grand Slam rules on what players can or cannot say. Jannik Sinner closed out the night session with a dominant win as the eighth seed downed Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-4 6-1 to book a clash with Daniel Altmaier. Dominic Thiem took his main draw spot after the withdrawal of 14-times champion Rafa Nadal - his conqueror in the 2018 and 2019 finals but the injury-plagued Austrian fell to Argentine Pedro Cachin who won 6-3 6-2 6-7(1) 4-6 6-2. Italian veteran Fabio Fognini showed he was still a force to be reckoned with as he dismissed ailing 10th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-4 6-3, making the Canadian the first top-10 player in the men's draw to crash out. Wawrinka Through Stan Wawrinka also made his way into the second round after the 2015 champion beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(5) 6-4 6-7(2) 1-6 6-4 in an epic battle lasting more than four hours. Zhang Zhizhen later became the first Chinese man in the Open Era to win a main draw match at the French Open as Dusan Lajovic retired while down 6-1 4-1. Two former runners-up made quite an impression in the women's draw. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova celebrated her return to Roland Garros with a dominant win over Czech Linda Fruhvirtova after fearing for her career a year ago due to a knee problem. The 31-year-old enjoyed her best run at a Grand Slam in the 2021 tournament when she reached he final, and skipped last year's edition as well as the second half of the season to nurse an injury. Sloane Stephens, runner-up in 2018, dismantled former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-0 6-4. Although everything went smoothly on court for the American, she said racist abuse of players had got worse. "Yes, it's obviously been a problem my entire career," said Stephens, who is Black. "It has never stopped. If anything, it's only gotten worse." Former world number three Elina Svitolina celebrated a winning return to Grand Slam tennis with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Italy's Martina Trevisan following her one-year maternity break and the Ukrainian quickly waded into a debate over the war in her country. She said since her return to the tennis tour in April the focus had not been on the suffering of Ukrainians following Russia's invasion last year. "What I found is... a lot rubbish is happening around the situation where we have to focus on what the main point of what is going on," Svitolina said when asked what she had been hearing on the tour since her comeback. Caroline Garcia, who is carrying French hopes for a first Roland Garros singles champion since Mary Pierce in 2000, fought her way into the second round by downing China's Wang Xiyu 7-6(4) 4-6 6-4. It was the end of the road for Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, however, as the Swiss player lost 6-3 2-6 6-4 against lucky loser Elina Avanesyan. Double Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova, the 10th seed, fell to a 6-3 6-4 defeat to Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto while 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko battled back from 1-5 down in the second set to beat Tereza Martincova 6-3 7-5.

FRANCE- - Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild said it was the happiest day of his life after beating world number two Daniil Medvedev at the French Open on Tuesday. The 23-year-old, making his debut at Roland Garros, won a gruelling contest 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4, sending the Russian second seed home in the first round of the Grand Slam. "It's definitely the happiest day of my life. But the tournament is not over, and I have worked very hard to be here, and I would like to stay as long as possible," he told a press conference.

"From the first day I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I knew how to play. I've seen him (Medvedev) play thousands of times. I just had to believe in myself and believe in the work I've been doing." Wild, who had not played a tour-level tournament nor a Grand Slam main draw since 2020, concentrated on the clay-court circuits earlier this year, claiming championships in Chile and Argentina. "The French Open is a very special tournament for me. I think with so many times I've played here I could get the experience I need to qualify this year and get past the first round, but I think it's momentum. You have to make that momentum last as long as possible," he added.

The Brazilian, who qualified in Paris by beating Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the final round, said his inspiration came from record 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. "He's a guy I've admired all my life. The way he plays, the spirit he puts on the court and the way he wants to win, you don't see that every day, you don't see that in anybody. He's Rafael Nadal," Wild said.

KANSAS CITY –The Royals took advantage of a ninth-inning error to rally for a 3-2 win over the visiting Washington Nationals on Sunday afternoon. With one out, MJ Melendez reached second when first baseman Dominic Smith misplayed a grounder. One out later, Michael Massey's hit to right field gave the Royals their second walk-off win of the year.

Solo home runs by Melendez in the seventh inning and Edward Olivares in the eighth forged a tie. Melendez connected for the first time since May 8, his fifth of the year, and Olivares for the first time since May 10, his fourth. Scott Barlow (2-3) picked up the win by pitching a hitless ninth inning, while Chad Kuhl (0-3) was the hard-luck loser. After surrendering a leadoff double in the first, Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore retired 19 of the next 21 batters and allowed just three balls out of the infield before Melendez's one-out homer in the seventh. Gore struck out a career-high 11 while matching his career best with seven innings, allowing a run on three hits and a walk. Ildemaro Vargas' one-out double off the top of the left-field wall opened the scoring for Washington in the fourth. Michael Chavis followed with an RBI hit to center, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

Chavis and Smith each had two of Washington's eight hits. Lane Thomas wasted no time extending his career-best hitting streak to 13 games, lining the game's first pitch into the left-field corner for a double. Thomas has an on-base streak of 24 games since May 3, hitting safely in 22 of those games and batting .320 (32-for-100) with 14 extra-base hits. Royals starter Daniel Lynch made his season debut in a return from the 10-day injured list (left shoulder strain). He was lifted after 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six. Kansas City won for just the fourth time in 15 games and have dropped 14 of 17 series this year. After victories on Friday and Saturday, the Nationals have again won a series against the Royals, winning exactly two of three games across five series all-time.