Steve Kerr is not too worried by the Golden State Warriors' form, though conceded his team need to be less reliant on Stephen Curry.
Curry scored 38 points – his sixth 30-point game of the season – though the Warriors lost for the third game running as they went down 116-110 to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
However, on only one other occasion this season has one of his teammates had at least 20 point, with Curry outscoring any other player on the Warriors' roster by at least five points in all 11 games this campaign, which is the longest such streak to start a season since Michael Jordan in 1987-88.
The Warriors lead the Pacific Division but hold a 6-5 record for the season, and while Kerr is not worried by the current rut, he does want to see other players step up to support Curry.
"I'm actually not overly concerned to be honest with you," Kerr said.
"The season is filled with ups and downs and we're in a little bit of a spell right now. But it's not like we were the world's greatest team when we were six and two and we're not the world's worst team losing the last three.
"This is part of the season and I think we just played, back-to-back, two great defensive teams that throttled us and we need to figure out some things offensively and I'm confident that we will.
"No question, we need some scoring and some playmaking elsewhere."
In Curry's mind, there is no reason to panic.
"There's always been a certain approach to guarding us. For years you know where attention is going to be," Curry said.
"Usually try to blitz me in a pick-and-roll, stay body-tight on Klay [Thompson], whatever the case is we have to make adjustments. We can't just keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.
"It's not a panic or anything. It's just a matter of getting a little smarter and a little bit more organised.
"Everything is on the table for us for adjustments. When you've lost three straight, you have to make adjustments. I don't know if it's a rotation thing or whatever the case is, but everything is on the table and everyone has to be ready to step in."
Draymond Green, meanwhile, is expecting more from himself and his other teammates.
"Chris [Paul and I] got to do a better job of making sure we're getting into things," Green said.
"When Steph's got it going, he's got it going. He's just moving. It's on us to realise that and learn how to also use him to get other guys' looks as well.
"We as players have to do better. When we're playing well, players get the credit, when you're playing bad, players have to f****** take the blame as well. We can come up here and point a bunch of fingers, at the end of the day we play basketball and it's our [job] to figure it out and play better."
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has heaped praise on skipper John McGinn, describing the midfielder as a “very good example” for other players.
Sunday’s 3-1 home win over Fulham saw McGinn put Villa 2-0 up just before the interval with a fine strike from 20 yards, then help create the hosts’ third, scored by Ollie Watkins in the 64th minute.
The Scotland international has netted three times and provided two assists for fifth-placed Villa in the Premier League so far this term and has also scored twice in the Europa Conference League.
Emery said of McGinn, who has been with the club since 2018: “He is himself very demanding.
“He is competitive, he always is ready to play, physically as well. I think when he is not training or playing he is resting – his energy always is full.
“He is a very good example, of how he is consistent and trying to help and to be an example, a very good example for players.
“I really, really appreciate a lot as a person how he is, but as a professional, he is fantastic.
“His connection here, his commitment here for a long time, with the supporters, with Aston Villa, with the project that is here, and he came here when they were in the Championship…I think he’s one of the players I really appreciate and really need to be an example for others.”
The result at Villa Park meant Emery’s side – a point outside the top four and only three off the top – made it six wins out of six at home in the league this season and equal the post-war club record for successive top-flight home victories, matching the 13 in a row achieved in 1983.
Prior to McGinn and Watkins’ efforts, the hosts had taken the lead in the 27th minute via an Antonee Robinson own goal.
Fulham reduced the deficit with 20 minutes of normal time to go when Raul Jimenez, who had seen a shot tipped against a post by Emiliano Martinez early in the second half, opened his account for the club.
It was a first league goal for the Mexico international, signed from Wolves in the summer, since March 2022.
Fulham boss Marco Silva, whose side are 16th in the table after a third defeat in four league games, said the goal would be a weight off Jimenez’s shoulders.
He said: “For sure it’s going to be not so heavy for the next time that he’s going to be on the pitch.
“It’s a tough one, it’s a long time without scoring in the Premier League. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t give the chance for us to add points with his goal.
“But I’m sure if he keeps working like he’s doing, and trying to do his best, and we keep delivering for him as well, in the future he’s going to score (goals) that can count towards points for us.”
Jimenez, whose former club are Fulham’s first opponents after the international break, told the Cottagers’ official website: “Of course it’s always nice to score my first goal in the Premier League in a long time, and first goal for Fulham.
“I’m really happy for that, but obviously the result is not what we wanted and I want to keep doing this, keep scoring, and help the team to get better.
“This needs to be the goal that opens the bottle. I need to keep going and it’s going to be a special game for me, that next game (against Wolves), and I want to do my best.”
Envoi Allen is poised for an outing at Leopardstown over Christmas following his narrow defeat at Down Royal on Saturday.
Although not fluent at the last it looked like the three-times Cheltenham Festival winner was going to defend his Ladbrokes Champion Chase title as he held an advantage over Gordon Elliott pair of Gerri Colombe and Conflated.
However, Jack Kennedy conjured up an extra effort aboard Gerri Colombe to hunt down Envoi Allen in the dying strides and inflict an agonising defeat on Henry de Bromhead’s nine-year-old.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned gelding could continue campaigning at three miles for the time being with a run in the Savills Chase over the Christmas period a possibility, although a repeat of his Ryanair Chase heroics appears the aim for Cheltenham in the spring.
“I thought he ran a cracker and Rachael (Blackmore) gave him an amazing ride and but for putting down at the last we may have held on,” said De Bromhead.
“It was a much improved run from Gowran and great to see him back like that. I was as happy as you could be without winning.
“He may go for the Savills and ultimately it’s the Ryanair I think.”
Meanwhile, De Bromhead’s 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Minella Indo could be set for a new challenge having been well held in fourth at Down Royal, with Cross Country and Grand National options entering the equation.
He added: “We might lower our sights with him now but I’ll need to speak with the Maloneys (owners) before firming up plans.
“We are thinking about going down the Cross Country and Grand National route with him.”
Emile Heskey will be stunned if Mauricio Pochettino isn't given time to rebuild Chelsea, who are beginning to show signs of life under the former Tottenham boss.
Chelsea have spent over £1billion in the transfer market in 18 months since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over, and they have been inconsistent since embarking on another spending spree ahead of Pochettino's first campaign in charge.
After a below-par start under the Argentine, Chelsea have shown encouraging signs in recent weeks, thrashing nine-man Tottenham 4-1 in a remarkable London derby before playing out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.
That latter game – the first in the Premier League to feature four equalising goals since Liverpool and Arsenal's iconic 4-4 draw in April 2009 – saw Cole Palmer convert a 95th-minute penalty to deny his former club victory.
Chelsea went into the November international break five points adrift of the Premier League's top six, and with the team starting to show positive signs, Heskey believes Boehly will have greater patience with Pochettino than he did with predecessors Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel.
"If you haven't negotiated that you need time at Chelsea, a club that was going through so much turmoil at that time, it would be silly," Heskey told Stats Perform.
"I'd be very surprised if he hasn't gone through that with them; 'We need time to actually build this and make sure we've got the time'.
"The reality is that if you look at some of their games, they've battered teams but not won. So there's something else there in play where the confidence of the players to go and finish, they've lost that.
"You can't say that you created 26 chances and not scored. There's something right there because you're creating 26 chances, but something's fundamentally wrong when that composure to finish isn't there.
"That could be with the stadium, the crowd, the tension that comes with that. They've never had it before because you've had all these top forwards who were just banging in goals.
"They were ruthless. They were relentless. Now they haven't got that, they need something.
"They've got players that need an arm around them, and they've got players that are low on confidence. How do you bring them back up?"
Chelsea are yet to win a trophy under the Boehly regime, though Pochettino has led them to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, a competition which appears wide open with City, Manchester United, Spurs and Arsenal already being knocked out.
Heskey won that competition four times during his playing career, twice with Leicester City and twice with Liverpool, also finishing on the losing side in another two finals.
While many consider Chelsea among the favourites to win the trophy, Heskey feels they face a tough task in the last eight, adding: "If I look at the next round, they've got Newcastle and that's not an easy job.
"Newcastle are flying at this moment in time. And for me, if I'm Eddie Howe, that's the competition I want to win."
Katie Boulter is so eager to build on her successes of this season that she will forgo a holiday and get straight back in the gym.
The 27-year-old capped a breakthrough year in which she won a first WTA Tour title and reached the top 50 by leading Great Britain to victory over Sweden in the Billie Jean King Cup in London.
Boulter cited her biggest achievement, though, as simply playing a full season having been beset by injuries and illness throughout her career so far.
Top of the Leicestershire player’s objectives is therefore trying to ensure the same is true for 2024, but she also has her sights set on being seeded at grand slams and proving she belongs at the top of the game.
“I’ve got a few different goals in my mind,” she said. “I want to build on this year, I really want to get my feet inside the line, which I already have but now I’ve got to stay there, I’ve got to win these matches week in, week out, beating the top girls.
“You reach your goal and you think you’d be satisfied but you’re not even close. I’m already looking at the next milestone, I want to be seeded in slams, that’s my next stop. I want to be constantly in the top 50, I want to be pushing those boundaries.
“No matter how happy I might be with my year, I actually think it fuels me even more and makes me hungrier going into next year because it’s given me a lot of belief that I belong at this level and I genuinely see and think that I can climb up the rankings but I also know there’s a lot of hard work to be done.
“I’ve got to pace myself but I want to be back in the gym, I want to be bullet-proofing my body as quickly as possible, taking the least amount of days off that I possibly can.”
Her new season will begin before the year is out at the United Cup, a mixed international team competition in Australia that will see Boulter go head-to-head against her Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur.
She said: “We respect each other as competitors and also off the court as well. I’m sure we’ll talk about it when we get a little closer to it but we’re both going to put our heart on the line for our countries. I know he’s country proud, I know I’m country proud, so we’ll see if we’re still together by the end of it!”
Sweden were among the weakest opposition Britain could have faced, and a nightmare debut for Jodie Burrage, which left them having to come from behind to secure a 3-1 victory, was the obvious negative of the weekend.
Captain Anne Keothavong does have experienced players in her ranks, though, and Harriet Dart proved a solid pair of hands when she replaced Burrage on Sunday to wrap up the tie.
Both Burrage and Boulter have had the best seasons of their careers and sit in the top 100, leaving the national picture looking rosier than a period in the spring when there were no British women in double figures.
Keothavong hopes there will soon be competition, as well, from a crop of highly promising teenagers.
Isabelle Lacy, 17, was at the Copper Box as a hitting partner while there is real excitement around the futures of 14-year-old Hannah Klugman and 16-year-old Mingge Xu, who led Britain’s Junior Billie Jean King Cup team to the semi-finals last week, and another 14-year-old, Mika Stojsavljevic.
“The more of you competing at that highest level, the better,” said Keothavong. “You’re going to push each other, and it’s not just (these players).
“We’ve got Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman, the girls did really well this week, and they’ve shown lots of promise over the last few weeks, scoring some good wins.
“I know they’re limited (by age) with the number of tournaments they can play but their level is up there and I think that’s really exciting for women’s tennis. We’ve got competition for places on this team and we’ve got players with experience who know how it works, but there’s no guarantee for anyone.”
Ezri Konsa, Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis have all received their first call-ups to the England senior squad ahead of the team’s final two Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Gareth Southgate has added the trio to his squad for the matches against Malta and North Macedonia following the withdrawals of James Maddison, Lewis Dunk and Callum Wilson due to injury.
All three of the newcomers have progressed through the England youth ranks, with versatile Manchester City 18-year-old Lewis having earned four caps at Under-21 level, while 26-year-old Aston Villa defender Konsa won the 2018 Toulon Tournament just a year after lifting the Under-20 World Cup.
Chelsea forward Palmer, 21, who scored a stoppage-time equaliser from the penalty spot in Sunday’s thrilling 4-4 Premier League draw with Manchester City, was part of the squad that won the Under-21 European Championship this summer.
The majority of the England squad are due to report to St George’s Park on Monday, with further assessments set to take place ahead of Friday’s clash against Malta at Wembley.
Southgate’s men then travel to North Macedonia for their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday, with the team already assured of a spot in next summer’s tournament.
The chasing debut of the exciting Gaelic Warrior has been put on temporary hold with the meeting at Fairyhouse on Tuesday called off due to waterlogging.
Willie Mullins had chosen the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase CLG Beginners Chase as the starting point for Gaelic Warrior’s new discipline but torrential rain overnight has left the course unraceable.
Brendan Sheridan, clerk of the course at Fairyhouse said: “Following 20mm of rain overnight, which was more rain than was originally forecast for Fairyhouse, the track is now unfit for racing and the fixture scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled.
“We needed the rainfall to come up short of what was forecast but unfortunately we got slightly more and the track will not be raceable in time for tomorrow due to that volume of rain on ground that was already soft, heavy in places.
“We will liaise with Horse Racing Ireland about the possibility of rescheduling the fixture.”
The meeting at Carlisle on Monday was also abandoned as Storm Debi begins to take its toll on sporting fixtures.
Uttoxeter, which has been unable to stage any racing since October 8, is hoping to stage an all-hurdle card on Saturday after an inspection of its chase track concluded that the two races over fences would be unable to take place.
An inspection will be held at 2pm on Monday to assess the situation at Bangor ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with areas of standing water on the track.
What the papers say
Reece James is wanted by Manchester City, according to the Independent. City are said to see the 23-year-old from Chelsea as a possible replacement for his fellow England right-back Kyle Walker, who is 10 years his senior.
Mason Greenwood’s time in Spain could be set to continue. The Sun reports Getafe are looking to extend the 22-year-old striker’s loan deal from Manchester United.
Borussia Dortmund’s Julian Brandt is catching the eye of Premier League clubs, according to the Mirror. The paper reports that Arsenal and Newcastle are both keen on the 27-year-old Germany midfielder.
Arsenal are also said to be keen on adding Douglas Luiz to their midfield options. The Mirror reports Aston Villa’s 25-year-old Brazilian has emerged as the top January target at the Emirates.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Wilfred Ndidi: Barcelona are keen on the Nigerian midfielder, 26, whose contract at Leicester is up at the end of the season.
Archie Gray: Liverpool are reportedly watching the 17-year-old Leeds midfielder.
Tyrese Maxey erupted for a career-high 50 points as the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers extended their winning streak to eight games with Sunday's 137-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers.
Maxey finished 20 of 32 from the field and 7 of 11 from 3-point range to help Philadelphia remain unbeaten since a season-opening loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 26. The fourth-year guard added five assists and blocked three shots in a superb all-around effort.
Joel Embiid contributed 37 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, though the reigning NBA MVP yielded the spotlight on this night to teammate Maxey, who scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter to help the Sixers prevail after Indiana grabbed a 105-104 lead with 10 1/2 minutes left.
The 76ers went ahead for good with a 10-2 run that put them up 114-107 with under seven minutes remaining.
Tyrese Haliburton had 25 points and 17 assists for the Pacers, who entered the contest on a three-game winning streak. Myles Turner recorded 22 points in defeat.
Surging Rockets down champion Nuggets for sixth straight win
Fred VanVleet had 26 points and the Houston Rockets overcame another dominant performance from Nikola Jokić in a 107-104 victory over the Denver Nuggets that extended their winning streak to six games.
Alperen Sengun added 23 points and eight rebounds as the upstart Rockets recorded their longest stretch of consecutive wins since a six-game run from Jan. 22-Feb. 2, 2021. Houston went just 22-60 in 2022-23, tied for the second-lowest win total in the NBA last season.
The Rockets had to withstand Jokic's fourth triple-double of the season, as the two-time league MVP racked up season highs of 36 points and 21 rebounds along with 11 assists.
Reigning NBA champion Denver had cut a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit down to one when Jokic's 3-pointer with 19.5 seconds left brought the Nuggets within 103-102. VanVleet then made two free throws on the ensuing possession, and Denver then turned it over before Jalen Green went 1 of 2 from the foul line to give Houston a four-point advantage with 9.1 seconds remaining.
Michael Porter Jr. had 25 points and 10 rebounds as Denver lost for only the second time in 10 games this season. The Nuggets had won four straight coming in.
Timberwolves get past Warriors to extend winning streak
The Minnesota Timberwolves are also on a six-game winning streak following their 116-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors behind Anthony Edwards' 33 points and seven assists.
Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 21 points and 14 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 7-2 and deal Golden State a third consecutive defeat.
The Warriors got 38 points from Stephen Curry but had an overall off-shooting night, connecting on just 12 of 43 attempts (27.9 per cent) from 3-point range.
Minnesota, on the other hand, shot 66.7 per cent from the field in the third quarter and outscored the Warriors by a 35-22 margin for the period to build an 89-73 lead into the fourth. The Timberwolves maintained a double-digit advantage into the final minute.
The game was the first of two straight meetings between the teams in San Francisco, where the Warriors will host Minnesota again Tuesday.
Desert Orchid, one of the most successful steeplechasers of all time, died at the age of 27 on this day in 2006.
The dashing grey achieved greatness within the National Hunt arena and was much-loved by racing enthusiasts for his iron will and extreme adaptability.
Affectionately known as ‘Dessie’, he won 34 races in total, including the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup and seven at his beloved Kempton Park, where four victories in the King George VI Steeple Chase underlined his immense talent.
Following his retirement in 1991, he remained popular with fans, making public appearances at charity events.
In a statement, his former trainer David Elsworth said: “Desert Orchid died peacefully in his stable at 6.05 this morning. There was no stress, he departed from this world with dignity and no fuss.
“He did his dying in the same individual way that he did his living. It was time to go.
“Dessie had not been well for the past week and was losing his co-ordination. He was 27 years old and we had been involved with this wonderful horse for
a quarter of a century both in his racing days and retirement.”
Desert Orchid’s ashes were buried at his stomping ground of Kempton, where a statue was also erected.
Sam Reinhart had two goals and two assists and the Florida Panthers withstood another standout performance by rookie sensation Connor Bedard in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Reinhart assisted on Carter Verhaeghe's power-play goal that snapped a 3-3 tie early in the third period, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 13 of his 23 saves in the final frame to help seal Florida's fourth straight win.
Bedard followed up Thursday's two-goal, two-assist effort at Tampa Bay with two more goals, giving the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick seven in his last six games.
Reinhart's second goal of the night gave Florida a 3-2 lead seven minutes into the second period, but Bedard answered just 1:18 later and the game remained deadlocked at 3-3 into the second intermission.
Verhaeghe put the Panthers up for good 2:44 into the third period, and Bobrovsky made the lead hold up despite the Panthers being outshot by a 13-6 margin in the final 20 minutes.
Reinhart and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had first-period goals for Florida, while Bedard and Jason Dickinson both scored for Chicago in the opening session.
Arvid Soderblom finished with 28 saves for the Blackhawks.
Stars score five power-play goals in 8-3 rout of Wild
Jason Robertson had two of five Dallas power-play goals as the Stars rolled to an 8-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild to complete a perfect three-game road trip.
Wyatt Johnston also scored twice, including a short-handed goal in the final minutes, in Dallas' first meeting with Minnesota since ousting the Wild in six games in the first round of last season's playoffs.
Both Robertson and Johnston added an assist for the Stars, whose five power-play goals tied a franchise single-game record. Dallas also received goals from Joe Pavelski, Radek Faksa, Matt Duchene and Evgenii Dadonov, while Miro Heiskanen finished with three assists to back Jake Oettinger's 23 saves.
Dallas took a 3-2 lead after one period, highlighted by Pavelski's power-play goal just 57 seconds in and a short-handed tally by Faksa, and both Johnston and Dadonov scored on the power play in the second to extend the margin to three.
Robertson's two goals came just 2:07 apart and gave Dallas a 7-3 advantage early in the third.
Brandon Duhaime, Vinni Lettieri and Mats Zuccarello had goals in the Wild's third straight loss. Marc Andre-Fleury surrendered all eight Dallas goals on 37 shots.
Lafreniere stars in Rangers' shootout win over Blue Jackets
Alexis Lafreniere scored twice in regulation before recording the deciding goal in the shootout as the New York Rangers rallied for a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Lafreniere's second goal of the game came with just 11 seconds left in regulation and forged a 3-3 tie. The former No. 1 overall pick then registered the lone goal during the shootout phase to extend the Rangers' point streak to 10 games, a stretch in which they've gone 9-0-1.
Chris Kreider delivered his 10th goal of the season and added an assist for New York, while Jonathan Quick made 25 saves before stopping all three Columbus skaters in the shootout.
Lafreniere's first of the night gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead with 8:43 left in the second period, but Adam Fantilli and Sean Kuraly scored 19 seconds apart later in the period to put the Blue Jackets back ahead.
Justin Danforth put Columbus up 1-0 with 3:34 remaining in the first period before Kreider answered less than 2 1/2 minutes later.
Elvis Merzlikins finished with 37 saves for Columbus, which fell to 0-3-2 over its last five games.
San Francisco got back to winning ways after three successive defeats with a convincing 34-3 win at Jacksonville on Sunday.
Brock Purdy threw for three touchdowns as the 49ers made an impressive return to form against a Jaguars side that had won their previous five games.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was sacked five times as the visitors dominated in all departments. Both teams ended the day with 6-3 records.
The Minnesota Vikings held off a New Orleans fightback to improve to 6-4 with a 27-19 win over the Saints.
Josh Dobbs ran in a touchdown and threw for another as the Vikings opened up a 24-3 lead in the first half but the Saints set up a tight finish as back-up quarterback Jameis Winston threw for two touchdowns.
Jonathan Taylor’s first-half touchdown proved crucial as the Indianapolis Colts overcame the New England Patriots 10-6 in Frankfurt.
Mac Jones’ hopes of leading a late Patriots rally ended when he threw an interception in the fourth quarter and was benched by head coach Bill Belichick. The loss left the Patriots on 2-8.
The Dallas Cowboys cruised to a 49-17 win over the New York Giants – the second time this season they have thrashed their NFC East rivals after a 40-0 success in their opening game.
Dak Prescott threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Cowboys moved to six wins and three losses.
Jason Myers kicked his fifth field goal of the game as time ran out to give the Seattle Seahawks a 29-26 win over the Washington Commanders, keeping them tied at the top of the NFC West with the 49ers.
The Detroit Lions stretched their lead at the top of the NFC North as Riley Patterson’s last-ditch field goal gave them a 41-38 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Kyler Murray’s return from injury inspired the Arizona Cardinals to a 25-23 win against the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Prater’s field goal in the dying seconds ending a run of six-straight losses.
Murray, who has been out for 11 months with a knee injury, threw for 249 yards and ran for a touchdown on his return.
The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Green Bay Packers 23-19, despite losing linebacker Kwon Alexander to a leg injury, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won for the first time in five attempts with a 20-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Replacement kicker Matt Ammendola kicked a field goal on the final play as the Houston Texans dramatically beat the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27 while the Cleveland Browns claimed a similarly nailbiting 33-31 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Dustin Hopkins, who had earlier missed an extra-point attempt that could have tied the game, kicked the decisive points for the Browns, who had trailed 17-3 after the first quarter.
Novak Djokovic ensured he will finish the year ranked world number one for an eighth time after battling to a late-night victory over Holger Rune in his opening match at the ATP Finals.
Djokovic is chasing a record seventh title but again found 20-year-old Rune, who is making his debut at the eight-man event, a troublesome opponent before pulling off a third win in five meetings.
It was past midnight in Turin when Djokovic completed a 7-6 (4) 6-7 (1) 6-3 victory after three hours and four minutes on court.
Rune has fared much better against Djokovic than most of his rivals over the last couple of years, beating him in Paris last autumn and Rome in the spring before a narrow defeat in the French capital a week-and-a-half ago.
The Serbian went on to claim the Masters series title, maintaining his record of not having lost a match since the Wimbledon final.
It was Rune who struck first with a break to lead 3-2 but Djokovic hit straight back and the high-class set went all the way to a tie-break, which the top seed took with a forehand smashed cross-court past his helpless opponent.
Rune reacted well, breaking again to lead 2-0 in the second set, but once more Djokovic found the immediate response, and a strong serve foiled the young Dane when he forced a set point at 4-5.
Rune slumped after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals prior to hiring Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker last month, but there were plenty of moments here to demonstrate his huge talent and fearsome ball-striking.
He has won at least a set against Djokovic in every match they have played, but he had a helping hand in setting up a decider, his rival playing a highly unusual lacklustre tie-break.
Djokovic broke straight away to start the deciding set, only for this time Rune to recover the deficit immediately, prompting a frustrated Djokovic to stamp on two rackets, snapping the frames.
But he broke again to lead 4-2 and this time there was no way back for Rune.
Djokovic told Prime Video: “It took everything. I saw in the first game when he fired shots from the baseline, I knew it was going to be a tough night for me. I thought he played great. I played great in some moments.
“Overall a win is a win. It was a very emotional win and a tough win knowing the significance of tonight’s match. After a really terrible second-set tie-break I think I played a really solid third set.”
Earlier, Italian Jannik Sinner delighted the crowd by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening singles match.
Sinner, 22, played as an alternate two years ago but qualified for the first time this season after claiming four ATP Tour titles and rising to world number four. He is one of the favourites to lift the trophy this week, which would be the dream scenario for the home fans, and a 6-4 6-4 victory over Tsitsipas is a big step towards the semi-finals.
Joe Espada will reportedly become the next manager of the Houston Astros.
Multiple news outlets reported the hiring on Sunday and the Astros have a news conference scheduled for Monday, and Espada will be introduced then.
The 48-year-old Espada spent the last six seasons as Houston's bench coach and this will be his first managerial position.
Many had considered Espada to be the favourite to become the Astros' manager after the 74-year-old Dusty Baker retired last month.
Baker had managed the Astros since 2020, and led Houston to the 2022 World Series title. He retired last month after the team was eliminated by the Texas Rangers in the American League championship series - Houston's seventh straight trip to the ALCS.
Espada played nine seasons of minor league baseball from 1996-2006, before pursuing a career in coaching.
After retiring as a player, he worked as a coach for the Miami Marlins and New York Yankees before joining the Astros' staff.
Last season, Espada was reportedly a finalist for Miami's open managerial job - a position that went to Skip Schumaker.
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