Little more than a year ago, an injury-laden Karolina Muchova was told her tennis career could be over.

Just as she has to had to fight back from injuries - to her back, her abdominals, her ankle - she had to battle on court, with world number two Aryna Sabalenka her challenge to overcome.

More than three hours later, Muchova and her weary body came out on top in a 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 epic.

World number one Iga Swiatek lies in wait in Saturday's final but for now, the Czech is simply enjoying the ride.

"There have been many moments, many lows, from one injury to another," said Muchova, 26.

"When I missed the Australian Open last year, and I was in a pretty bad state health-wise, I was working out a lot to try to get back.

"Some doctors told me, 'maybe you'll not do sport any more'. But I always kept it kind of positive in my mind and tried to work and do all the exercises to be able to come back.

"It's ups and downs in life all the time. Now I'm enjoying that I'm on the upper part now."

Ranked 43rd in the world, Muchova had only once reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam before her Roland Garros run, that coming at the Australian Open in 2021.

In Swiatek, she will play the defending champion and a player set to enter her 64th week at the top of the rankings but the stats reflect well on Muchova, having beaten the Pole in their only previous meeting in Prague in 2019.

Furthermore, on the five previous occasions Muchova has faced players ranked first, second or third in the world, she has won.

"I don't think I will be the favourite," she said. "Yeah, it's nice. I didn't really even know about this statistic.

"It just shows me that I can play against them. I can compete, and obviously the matches are super close.

"Even today, match ball down, you really never know if I win or lose, but it's great to know that I have the chance to win and I win against the top players, and that for sure boosts my confidence."

Chicago Blackhawks forward Andreas Athanasiou signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract that runs through the 2024-25 season, the team announced Thursday.

Athanasiou, 28, was headed for unrestricted free agency prior to agreeing to the deal. He tied for the team lead with 20 goals while also recording 20 assists in 81 games last season, his first with the Blackhawks after signing a one-year, $3 million contract in the summer.

He has totaled 236 points (125 goals, 111 assists) in 459 career games with the Detroit Red Wings (2015-20), Edmonton Oilers (2020), Los Angeles Kings (2020-22) and Blackhawks.

Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler said he was "excited" for Lionel Messi's potential impact on the city following news that the Argentine World Cup winner would be signing for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF.

Messi, 35, announced on Wednesday that he intended to join Inter Miami once his contract with French champions Paris Saint-Germain expires at the end of this month.

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News that one of the greatest and most decorated players in history would be heading to South Beach has already caused a buzz around the soccer world and beyond.

Butler, the leading figure for a Heat team currently facing off with the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals, was asked during a media availability Thursday what impact he thought Messi could have on soccer in the United States.

"A lot of good," he said. "Obviously, he is one of the greatest players to play that beautiful game. I'm so excited for the city of Miami, to be able to have a player of that caliber here. I'm excited for the city of Miami in so many different ways.

"Obviously us being in the Finals and having an opportunity to do something special. Now that he is here, I think all the football/soccer fans from all over the world are going to come here and get an opportunity to watch him compete. I'm glad he is here."

Messi's arrival promises to elevate the profile of Inter Miami in a city that's also home to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, MLB's Miami Marlins and the NHL's Florida Panthers, as well as the Heat.

Butler was far from alone among the city's existing sports elite to welcome Messi to the city.

"I just want to say welcome to the 305 Lionel Messi. Now we've got two number 10s, but I just want to know which one is the fastest," the Dolphins own No. 10, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, joked in a video message on Wednesday. "But anyways, congrats to you man."

With the Heat trailing 2-1 to the Nuggets ahead of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday and Messi still to tie up the loose ends of his transfer to Inter Miami, Butler understandably said he would take his time before trying to meet up with the former Barcelona icon.

"I wouldn't say that I know him enough, but I have met him before," Butler said. "Will I reach out? Probably not. I know he has probably got a ton of stuff going on anyway.

"He is coming over here to do something special for this city. I won't reach out. I'm happy that he is here, though. I really am. I know we will link whenever he is here."

Information from ESPN's Nick Friedell was used in this report.

MIAMI -- Michael Porter Jr.'s shooting, scoring and minutes have dwindled with each game in the NBA Finals.

But Michael Malone gave the forward a vote of confidence before Friday's Game 4 and made it clear that Porter is Denver's starting small forward.

"I think so many people are quick to dismiss people," Malone said. "Michael Porter isn't making shots right now, and we know he is a great shooter. We know what he is capable of... If he's taking the right shots and we're generating the right shots for him, I want him, I want KCP [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], two guys that we know are better than they showed in three games, they've got to keep shooting the ball because that is the only way they're going to get out of that slump.

"But we believe in Michael. He is our starting small forward. I have zero doubt he is going to have a very big game coming up here that is going to help us win this championship."

The Nuggets got back on the floor for practice on Thursday. Jamal Murray was seen wearing a bandage on his left hand. Malone said his point guard, who had 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the Nuggets' 109-94 Game 3 win, is fine and has a floor burn.

As far as Porter is concerned, the forward says he is just missing shots and that he hasn't lost confidence. Since having 14 points and 13 rebounds in 43 minutes during Game 1, Porter has shot a combined 3-for-15 and scored a total of 7 points in Games 2 and 3. Porter has made just 3-for-19 from behind the arc. He also saw his playing time drop to 26 minutes in Game 2 and 21 minutes in Game 3.

"I mean, I wouldn't even say I'm not feeling confident in my shot, I'm feeling pressure, anything like that," Porter said. "I'm just missing, you know what I mean? Sometimes the ball just doesn't go in. I think a lot of shots have been right there, I've just missed.

"I know my teammates have confidence in my shot. I know my coaches do. I'll get it going."

Bruce Brown has played 27 and 29 minutes in Games 2 and 3 while rookie Christian Braun had his best game of the Finals with 15 points, making 7-of-8 shots, in 19 minutes in Game 3.

But Malone and other Nuggets like Murray have continued to express confidence that Porter will start burying shots.

"It's been a couple of rough games for me," Porter said. "I think I played hard defensively pretty good. Still tried to rebound the ball while I was out there.

"For me, shooting and offense is natural. I can't put too much stock into a couple rough games shooting-wise, even though I wish shots were falling obviously. Really, I'm just glad the team won. I know there's going to be a couple games this series where the team is going to need me on the offensive end. I'm looking toward to trying to bounce back in that area as well."

Dan Evans' grass-court campaign took an early blow as he suffered a surprise defeat in the second round of the Surbiton Trophy.

Top seed Evans had started his Wimbledon preparations early at the south London Challenger event after his first-round exit at the French Open.

Andy Murray, seeded second, plays in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Elsewhere in Thursday's action, there were mixed results for Britain's women with Katie Boulter and Lily Miyazaki among those advancing to the quarter-finals.

Boulter, who could replace the injured Emma Raducanu as British number one next week, defeated compatriot Sonay Kartal 3-6 6-3 6-4, while Miyazaki beat Eden Silva 6-4 7-5 in another all-British affair.

Isabelle Lacy also progressed to the last eight without hitting a ball after her opponent Sachia Vickery withdrew, while Katie Swan advanced after Oceane Dodin retired injured with the Briton 5-3 up in the first set.

But there was defeat for British number four Harriet Dart, who lost 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to Germany's Tatjana Maria.

England's women have been offered new deals with "significant enhancements", the Rugby Football Union says.

Contracts running up to three years - mainly one-year deals were offered before - are among the improvements, while the number of players contracted will increase by two to 32.

England - beaten finalists last time - will host the next World Cup in 2025.

The Red Roses won the 2023 Six Nations Grand Slam and the players offered the new contracts will be announced by the RFU in July.

England and Bristol prop Sarah Bern described the contracts as a "great development" and "a reflection of how far things have moved on in the women's game".

The RFU says other "enhancements" include improved match fees, better opportunities for off-field development and agreements around "revenue sharing if business targets are exceeded".

Despite not yet having taken over the team, future Red Roses head coach John Mitchell was involved in the debate about the new contracts, alongside England coaches Louis Deacon, Lou Meadows and Sarah Hunter, with input from RFU executive director of performance Conor O'Shea and head of women's performance Charlie Hayter.

Christian Day, the general secretary of the Rugby Players Association, was also involved in the contract talks and described them as "ground breaking".

Day added: "As the world's number one ranked women's team, the Red Roses have long been trendsetters in terms of both on-field performance and the off-field support made available to players.

"To maintain this position, and indeed to continue to grow the gap as other nations seek to level up, it was vital that the players' contracts would be advanced at a time of unprecedented growth and opportunity for women's rugby."

Alongside the 32 players on full-time contracts, there will also be six transition contracts to "support aspiring Red Roses".

Michael Feagles made a left-to-right, curling 30-footer for birdie on his final hole Thursday to shoot 59 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.

It marked the ninth sub-60 round all time on the Korn Ferry Tour and the second this year.

Mac Meissner shot 59 in April's Lecom Suncoast Classic. Prior to that, no one had broken 60 on tour since 2017. The lowest score ever recorded on the KFT is a 58 by Stephan Jaeger at the 2016 Ellie Mae Classic.

Feagles had never shot better than 64 in his KFT career, which includes 33 previous starts.

The 25-year-old former Fighting Illini began the opening round at Thornblade Club – one of two courses in rotation with the pro-am field in South Carolina – on the 10^th hole.

He turned in 6-under 30 and was 7 under through 13 holes. That’s when he birdied in, carding circles from No. 5 to his par-3 finisher a the ninth.

Even with the historic round, Feagles only leads by two shots. Josh Teater carded a 10-under 62 at Carolina Country Club.

Feagles will play Carolina CC on Friday while Teater will move to Thornblade.

It's been a hectic week for Rory McIlroy. 

Two days ahead of his three-peat bid at the RBC Canadian Open, a bombshell was dropped that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour are joining forces with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf. 

The Northern Irishman has been the PGA Tour's staunchest defender the past year, and Wednesday he once again met with the media, a press conference he called, "the most uncomfortable I've felt in the last 12 months."

After that, however, McIlroy was finally able to knock the weight off his shoulders and focus on becoming the first player to three-peat on Tour since Steve Stricker at the 2011 John Deere Classic. 

"I got a good night's sleep last night," McIlroy said after a first-round 1-under 71. "So it was nice to sort of recharge the batteries. I would say my energy levels on Tuesday and Wednesday were diminishing quite quickly. But I slept well last night and honestly felt — it was an early start this morning. Alarm went at 4:15. But I felt good out there."

This week's shocking news was still on McIlroy's mind after he teed off Thursday morning, but he quickly redirected his focus to his round. 

"Rosie (Justin Rose, his playing partner) and I said, 'All right, no chatting until lunch so that we can actually concentrate on what we're doing out there,'" McIlroy said. "We started to get in a conversation walking down the first and we're like, 'No, let's stop this. Let's just focus on our golf and we'll say what we want to say when we get inside.' So it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there."

Those five hours, though, didn't go as McIlroy, the world No. 3, may have hoped. He sits four shots off the opening lead, but lost strokes off the tee, tee to green, approach and around the green. He also hit only six of 15 fairways. 

"Need to do a better job of just putting my ball in play off the tee," he said. "Then from there, the golf course is still quite scoreable."

McIlroy, 34, is looking for his first Tour win since October's CJ Cup. He finished T-7 in his last two starts at the PGA Championship and the Memorial. He played in the final group Sunday at Muirfield Village but shot a final-round 75. 

Trying to put that round in his rear-view, he was hoping to head into next week's U.S. Open with a victory under his belt. But Tuesday's curveball certainly made that task more difficult.

However, after an exhausting 48 hours, McIlroy's attention is again on his scorecard — not what the PGA Tour's future may look like. 

"This is business and my job is playing golf, at the end of the day," he said. "So the more that I can focus on that and focus on the birdies and the bogeys instead of the stuff that's happened in the board room, I'll be much happier."

As the summer transfer window edges ever closer (find out when it opens across Europe here), there's one thing that's clear: most of the continent's top clubs are looking to sign a new No. 9 striker.

With Erling Haaland's 52 goals in 52 games for Manchester City this season proving that a central goal scorer is a key part of any team, a number of teams will be looking to the transfer market to boost themselves in this position.

Here's some of the options who could be available, and which clubs would suit them best.

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REAL MADRID
Harry Kane, 29, Tottenham Hotspur

Karim Benzema, arguably one of best centre-forwards ever, has left Real Madrid to join the Saudi Pro League and it would be logical to replace him with a world-class goal scorer of proven pedigree. If Madrid had been signing a backup, they could have gone down the "up-and-coming" route, but now they need instant quality -- alongside, sources say, a planned loan deal for Espanyol's Joselu.

While there are several No. 9s in world football that could score regularly for Madrid, Kane is the only one available who can offer the hold-up expertise, off-the-ball work and creativity to the level of Benzema. In fact, he represents the closest match to the Frenchman's skillset.

But, even with the England captain entering the final year of his contract, don't expect any swift resolution here. If he moves abroad -- and some outlets have reported that the chance to beat Alan Shearer's Premier League record tally of 260 may keep Kane (who has 213) in England -- Spurs will inevitably demand a transfer fee of over €100 million. And Madrid are already set to spend in excess of that to bring in Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.

MAN UNITED
Victor Osimhen, 24, Napoli

With Manchester United's takeover moving slowly, it's hard to predict what kind of budget manager Erik ten Hag will be handed this summer. If they have over €100m to spending on a new striker and Kane slips out of their hands, the club should be frontrunners to land Osimhen, who was Napoli's top scorer (31 goals in 39 games across all competitions this season) as they lifted the Serie A title.

The Nigeria international may not have Kane's penchant for dropping deep or playmaking (Kane touches the ball about twice as often as Osimhen per 90 minutes), but he guarantees relentless piercing runs between opposing defenders and his finishing is among the best in Europe.

Having arrived for €75m from Lille three years ago with plenty to work on, the 24-year-old has continuously polished his game and now appears more patient and precise in the build-up phase. Napoli would want around €150m to let him leave but those who have watched him closely believe Osimhen is still some way off reaching his potential.

BAYERN MUNICH
Randal Kolo Muani, 24, Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt snapped up Kolo Muani on a free transfer from Nantes last summer and he scored 23 goals in 46 games this season. The France international, who also impressed for his country at the 2022 World Cup, is contracted for another four years, so Frankfurt are reportedly looking for a transfer fee of over €75m.

Linked to practically all the elite clubs vying for a focal point in attack, it seems a lower risk for Bayern to make a move for him given how he has adapted to the Bundesliga so quickly.

Fast and tall, with quick feet, he averages over three dribbles per 90 minutes. Tactically, he'd be a good fit for Bayern as he sets up goals (10 assists in the Bundesliga this season), links up well with teammates in the final third, and creates space for midfield runners.

CHELSEA
Dusan Vlahovic, 23, Juventus

After a lacklustre season with Juventus, where he scored 14 goals in 42 games, the prospect of signing the 6-foot-3 striker comes with questions. Can he find his way back to the version of himself where he scored 20 goals in 24 games before moving to Juve from Fiorentina for €70m in January 2022? Are his recent troubles of a physical, mental, or tactical nature -- or a bit of everything? Is there too much risk in spending Juve's desired fee of €70m-€80m to sign him?

A competent scouting and coaching team should come up with most of the answers, but an inexperienced owner and a club in chaos (like Chelsea) may not wish to part with a huge slice of their transfer budget on a player whose recent form and stats are unlikely to generate much enthusiasm.

But as much as Vlahovic's recent career trajectory is a mystery, it's not so long ago that his fine touch, unstoppable left-footed strikes, excellent link-up play and well-directed headers from his Fiorentina days placed him among the best strikers in Europe. It could be a risk that pays off.

TOTTENHAM
Rasmus Hojlund, 20, Atalanta

Without European football next season, Tottenham might have to settle for signing a player of potential rather than the finished article in the event that Kane departs.

Although the 20-year-old Hojlund has been linked with every top club in Europe over the past few months -- especially after scoring five goals in four games for Denmark since making his debut in September -- there are reasons why a move to Spurs may not be as ridiculous as it seems. Rather than being signed as a back-up, Hojlund should be high on the agenda for any coach who likes his forwards to press and play on the front foot -- as new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou does.

The left-footed Hojlund is more of the speedy, physically robust, penetrative, "handful" kind of No. 9 -- and, yes, stylistic comparisons to Haaland have been made -- than the high-scoring all-rounder he could be replacing. Yet there's enough potential to work on to justify some tactical rejigging to fit him in.

JUVENTUS
Marcus Thuram, 25, Borussia Monchengladbach

With Vlahovic possibly on the way out, Arkadiusz Milik unlikely to stay and Moise Kean not guaranteed to score double figures, a new centre-forward appears an obvious part of Juventus' comprehensive summer rebuild.

Thuram won't be short of offers, given he is out of contract, and the France international has plenty of clubs to choose from. But he would offer Juve the attacking energy, freshness, directness and power they've been lacking this season.

Being confined to the Europa Conference League is not the ultimate selling point, but Juventus -- despite their current financial and legal troubles -- remain a prestigious name in European football. And who knows, perhaps a return to the city of his formative football years (he spent some childhood years in Turin, as his father Lilian established himself as a Juve legend) would count for something too?