Substitute Kenneth Vargas scored his first Hearts goal to secure a 1-0 victory over Livingston and ease the pressure on manager Steven Naismith.

The Jambos started the night in the bottom six of the cinch Premiership and, after failing to win any of their previous three matches, they looked set for more frustration until their Costa Rican summer signing stepped off the bench to make their dominance over the Lions count in the 79th minute.

Livingston boss David Martindale – who was the subject of a failed approach from St Johnstone regarding their managerial vacancy earlier this week – was left frustrated as his side suffered a third straight defeat to slip to second-bottom spot.

Naismith made five changes to the side that started Sunday’s agonising 2-1 defeat away to Rangers as Stephen Kingsley, Alan Forrest, Cammy Devlin, Alex Lowry and Liam Boyce replaced Toby Sibbick, Odel Offiah, Jorge Grant, Calem Nieuwenhof and Vargas.

Martindale also rang the changes following Saturday’s 2-0 loss at home to Dundee, with goalkeeper Shamal George, Cristian Montano, Luiyi de Lucas, Dan MacKay, Bruce Anderson and Steven Bradley dropping out to make way for Jack Hamilton, Scott Pittman, Miles Welch-Hayes, Mo Sangare, Andrew Shinnie and Stephen Kelly.

Forrest – playing at wing-back for Hearts – had the first effort of the night from the edge of the box but it lacked the power to trouble former Jambos No.1 Hamilton.

At the other end, Kelly shot over the bar from distance but it would prove to be the Lions’ only notable attempt of a match largely controlled by the hosts.

Captain Lawrence Shankland threatened in the 14th minute when his powerful goal-bound strike from the edge of the box was bravely headed behind for a corner by Lions skipper Mikey Devlin.

The Hearts striker went even closer in the 20th minute when he curled a shot against the crossbar after the ball broke into his path 12 yards out.

The hosts continued to enjoy the majority of the ball but struggled to create clear chances against a well-organised Lions side. Shankland endured more frustration when his ferocious shot from the edge of the box was brilliantly beaten away by Hamilton.

Naismith made a change at half-time as Grant replaced Devlin in a move designed to inject more invention into Hearts’ play.

They continued to probe early in the second period, with Kingsley seeing a strike tipped behind by Hamilton before Lowry shot just over. Shankland then drove another effort agonisingly wide.

The half-chances and near-misses continued for Hearts but, just as it looked like it was not to be their night, Vargas – 10 minutes after entering the fray – stole in at the back post to get on the end of an inviting ball across goal from Grant and fire home from close range.

Substitute Darwin Nunez fired Liverpool into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a stunning second-half winner in a 2-1 success over Bournemouth at a blustery Vitality Stadium.

The in-form Uruguay forward had been on the pitch for just 10 minutes when he collected a pass from fellow replacement Trent Alexander-Arnold and unleashed a thunderous finish into the top right corner.

Cody Gakpo gave Jurgen Klopp’s much-changed visitors a first-half lead before Justin Kluivert’s maiden Cherries goal levelled proceedings amid treacherous conditions caused by Storm Ciaran.

Parity lasted just six minutes as Nunez’s third goal in as many games emphatically earned the nine-time winners a place in the last eight to ensure an entertaining fourth-round tie would not be settled by the jeopardy of a penalty shoot-out.

Mohamed Salah was one of only three Liverpool players retained from the team which began Sunday’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest and captained an experimental line-up.

Bournemouth, buoyed by beating Burnley 2-1 to register their first Premier League win under head coach Andoni Iraola, made just three changes and had the better of the early chances.

The recalled Kluivert was twice denied by Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, while the unmarked Ryan Christie wastefully side-footed wide following Antoine Semenyo’s cut-back.

Liverpool were dominating possession and should have taken the lead in the 27th minute when Harvey Elliott tamely fired straight at Cherries keeper Andrei Radu from level with the penalty spot.

The lively midfielder made amends four minutes later with a key role in the opener.

After Kostas Tsimikas’ corner was partially cleared, Elliott’s fizzing effort was back-heeled goalwards by Gakpo and then finished at the second attempt after Radu repelled the initial effort.

Bournemouth boss Iraola said pre-match his side faced a “big challenge” but also had a “big chance” to reach the next round.

In relentless driving rain, his team began the second period on the front foot and almost received a helping hand from the swirling wind as Alex Scott’s inswinging corner from the left was headed off the line by Joe Gomez at the back post.

Salah nodded narrowly wide as Liverpool threatened to extend their lead before Semenyo sliced past the right post at the other end and substitute Marcus Tavernier tested Kelleher from distance.

Bournemouth deservedly levelled in the 64th minute.

Another Scott corner caused problems for the visitors’ static defence, leaving the unmarked Kluivert with a simple headed finish to claim his first goal in English football.

The Cherries looked well-placed to push for a winner but were soon behind again.

Nunez initially lost control of Alexander-Arnold’s sweeping pass but atoned in devastating fashion by cutting inside Chris Mepham from the left wing to thump high into the net from just inside the hosts’ 18-yard box.

Bournemouth were given five minutes of added time to force spot-kicks but rarely threatened a second equaliser as Klopp’s men comfortably held on to progress.

Benoit Badiashile scored the opening goal as he made his first appearance of the season in Chelsea’s 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Blackburn at Stamford Bridge.

The France defender had not started a Blues match since he was injured in their draw with Nottingham Forest in May and got himself involved at both ends of the pitch in a game that also saw Reece James return to the starting XI.

Raheem Sterling fired home after the break, and while the visitors had defended well, they never looked close to coming back into the contest.

Chelsea have now reached their 24th quarter-final in 33 attempts, and are one step closer to lifting a first League Cup since 2015, when Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino was in charge of runners-up Tottenham.

Backburn had not played a League Cup contest at Stamford Bridge in 26 years and over 3,000 supporters made the trip, hoping to do one better than they did in 1997 when Rovers were knocked out after a penalty shootout.

There was little excitement inside the opening exchanges, which, save for two wasted corners for the hosts and Dilan Markanday’s left-footed effort running wide, was largely characterised by two sides simply trying find an early footing.

It took just over 15 minutes for Chelsea to finally test Leopold Wahlstedt through a drilled effort from James which the Swedish goalkeeper just managed to get enough of his body in the way to make the stop.

Badiashile did well to clear away a Blackburn chance before James tried again, this time with a low effort from distance before Enzo Fernandez forced Wahlstedt into a low save at the right post.

Blackburn continued to frustrate the Blues, winning back possession inside the penalty area, while Wahlstedt was able to palm away Conor Gallagher’s dangerous cross, but the rebound somehow sailed between a sea of bodies.

It eventually landed at the feet of the fortunate Badiashile, who dutifully finished to open the scoring after 30 minutes of a half that also saw penalty shouts from both sides brushed aside by referee Tim Robinson.

Harry Leonard fired inches wide of the right post to start off the second half, while Fernandez could only send his next effort straight into the arms of Wahlstedt, who would soon have no chance of stopping Chelsea’s second.

After some good work by Cole Palmer to win the ball deep inside Blackburn’s half, Sterling latched on to the ball at the edge of the area and powered a shot into the top right.

Both managers took the opportunity to make changes, and the visitors were prevented from conceding a quick third when Palmer’s effort took a dangerous deflection off James Hill and whizzed toward the goal before Blackburn were saved by the left post.

Chelsea pushed for a third with both Gallagher and Sterling sending efforts across the face of goal as the clock wound down on Blackburn’s cup campaign, though not before substitute Arnor Sigurdsson came close to firing in a stoppage-time consolation.

Fulham eased through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2004 with a 3-1 win at Ipswich.

Marco Silva’s team were up against a Town outfit that had only lost once since their promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in April, but the Premier League side showed their class in Suffolk.

Harry Wilson provided the breakthrough for Fulham in the ninth minute with a cool finish and Muniz grabbed his first goal for the club in 19 months early into the second period to put the London outfit in control.

Tom Cairney confirmed Fulham’s win with a third in the 77th minute and, while Elkan Baggott reduced the deficit late on, Kieran McKenna’s Championship promotion hopefuls suffered a rare defeat in front of a packed Portman Road crowd.

The last meeting between these teams was three years ago in same competition and Aleksandar Mitrovic decided the tie that night, but goals had been hard to come by for the visitors since his summer exit to Saudi Arabia.

It was a different story for Ipswich, who put another three past Plymouth last weekend, but the high-flying hosts were 1-0 down after only nine minutes.

McKenna would have been disappointed after Ipswich’s back four was pulled over to the right and Bobby Decordova-Reid spotted the unmarked Wilson, who impressively side-stepped the onrushing Christian Walton before the Welsh winger slotted into the empty net.

Goalkeeper Walton was one of 11 changes made by the home side and he almost conceded again six minutes later, but breathed a sigh of relief when Fode Ballo-Toure’s deflected cross bounced off the crossbar and to safety.

Fulham also shuffled their pack with only three players retained from the draw at Brighton and Marek Rodak atoned for his poor pass when he tipped Kayden Jackson’s low effort wide soon after the opener.

The quality of the Premier League side was clear though as Andreas Pereira arrowed a 22-yard shot wide before the visitors hit the woodwork again, with Ipswich’s second-string struggling for fluency.

Calvin Bassey started the move with a fine run out from the back and nearly provided the perfect finish, but Walton unconvincingly parried his poked effort onto the post after Axel Tuanzebe, on his first start for Ipswich, cleared Ballo-Toure’s cross straight to the Fulham centre-back in the 44th minute.

Town failed to heed that warning sign and, after no substitutions were made at the break, Silva’s men doubled their lead five minutes into the second period.

A slick counter-attack did the trick with Wilson able to find Timothy Castagne and his cross took a slight touch off Ipswich defender Cameron Burgess to fall into the path of Muniz, who fired home from six yards to open his account for the season.

Wilson took a whack to the face straight from the restart, but picked himself up to waltz into the Town penalty area before Burgess’ slide tackled denied him and Janoi Donacien blocked Bobby Decordova-Reid’s follow-up shot.

McKenna made changes to try and set up a grandstand finish, but Cairney made the result safe when his low effort went through Walton after another assist by the excellent Decordova-Reid.

It looked like Ipswich would fire a blank for the first time this season, but substitute Baggott headed home a Jack Taylor corner with 11 minutes left to give the 28,221 crowd a consolation goal.

West Ham welcomed Declan Rice back to the London Stadium and then promptly sent him and Arsenal packing on the end of a 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat.

Rice, who lifted the Europa Conference League trophy as Hammers captain last season, was back at his old club for the first time since his £105million switch to the Gunners.

But he will not be getting his hands on the Carabao Cup this season after strikes from Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, following an early own goal by Ben White, sent the north Londoners crashing out.

Rice started on the bench as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made six changes to his line-up for the fourth-round clash and the most of the damage was done by the time he was called upon.

West Ham took the lead after 15 minutes when Bowen’s corner was inadvertently headed past Aaron Ramsdale by White at the near post.

Gunners keeper Ramsdale, making his first appearance since the win at Brentford in the previous round, complained that Tomas Soucek had a hold of his shirt as the ball came over and he probably had a case but, with no VAR in operation, the goal stood.

White attempted to make amends but unfortunately for Arsenal his header at the other end was not quite as accurate and Lukasz Fabianski tipped it over the crossbar, with Eddie Nketiah heading the resulting corner wide.

After the break, Ramsdale made a fine save to deny Bowen, who was sent through by Lucas Paqueta, with White completing the clearance on the goal-line.

But the second goal arrived in the 50th minute when Ghana winger Kudus collected a long ball into the box from Nayef Aguerd, skipped past Oleksandr Zinchenko and rifled a low shot through the legs of Gabriel and into the net.

Rice was the only goalscorer the last time West Ham beat Arsenal, in the Premier League in 2019.

“You should have signed for a big club” was the mischievous chant aimed at the 24-year-old when he came out to warm up.

Much of the build-up to the match centred around the reception the England midfielder would receive and when he was sent on in the 56th minute the boos were quickly drowned out by a standing ovation from most of the home fans.

But, before Rice had a chance to get into the game, West Ham had a third after Bowen collected White’s headed clearance and lashed it past Ramsdale via a deflection off Jakub Kiwior.

Martin Odegaard scored a consolation goal with the last kick but it was West Ham’s night as they marched into the quarter-finals.

Everton paid tribute to Bill Kenwright as his long-term partner Jenny Seagrove, daughter Lucy and former Toffees striker and manager Joe Royle laid wreaths before the Carabao Cup match with Burnley.

As the trio walked to the centre-circle before kick-off at Goodison Park, Elton John’s ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues’ was played and a minute’s applause was held for Kenwright, who was chairman for almost two decades and died last week at the age of 78.

A blue and white scarf was also placed on his seat in the directors’ box, where he had not sat since January due to security issues after a number of fan protests.

Owner Farhad Moshiri – making his first appearance at Goodison Park in more than two years – led the tributes in the matchday programme, saying: “Bill was a force of nature and he certainly changed my life nearly 10 years ago when he first spoke to me about getting involved with the club.

“The new Everton stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will provide an iconic new home for the club and will stand as a lasting legacy to his memory.

“I will miss no longer hearing his voice on the end of a telephone many times each day, talking about players, plotting how the club can do better and better.

“He was a special soul, a man successful in so many different walks of life. We will miss him but never forget him.”

Manager Sean Dyche said Kenwright was a “perfect gentleman and an incredibly passionate individual whose love for Everton was infectious”.

Captain Seamus Coleman said he could not thank ‘The Chairman’ – as he always called him – enough for his personal support when he made the move from Sligo to Goodison Park as a 20-year-old.

He said: “The chairman knew that my family would be concerned about me and he assured them time and time again I would be looked after.”

A number of former managers appointed under Kenwright’s chairmanship also shared their tributes with Roberto Martinez hailing “a contagious force who lived and breathed Everton”.

David Moyes said: “He gave me a big opportunity in my career when I was a young manager in the lower leagues. He was a wonderful man, brilliantly supportive. I couldn’t have had a better chairman as a young coach.”

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said Kenwright was “Everton to the core”, Fulham manager Marco Silva described him as a “great man and a great Evertonian”, while Frank Lampard said he was a “man with a huge personality and even bigger heart”.

Former players also sent their condolences, with Wayne Rooney thanking him personally for his support over the years and adding: “No-one loved the club more.”

Ex-midfielder Tim Cahill said he would “make sure your spirit will live in our football club forever”.

The LA Clippers have announced the arrival of guard James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 10-time NBA All-Star guard has been in a dispute with the 76ers and, as a result, has missed their first three games of the NBA season.

The terms of the trade see Harden joined in Los Angeles by 76ers team-mates P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev, while Clippers players Marcus Morris, Nico Batum, Robert Covington and K.J. Martin switch to Philadelphia.

Clippers president Lawrence Frank said: “James is one of the most prolific and efficient playmakers in the NBA.

“With his size and vision, he possesses an extraordinary ability to create for himself and others.

“The Los Angeles area has produced so many elite players in recent years. With Kawhi (Leonard), Paul (George), Russ (Westbrook) and James, we’re excited to bring four of them together, and eager to see what they can accomplish with the rest of our group.”

The Clippers are currently fourth in the Western Conference after winning three of their opening four games.

Mark Wood has denied England were sidetracked by contract negotiations at the World Cup but admitted performances need to improve to live up to the new terms.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has revamped its central contract system in a bid to ward off the growing threat from T20 franchises, handing out long-term deals for the first time in addition to the usual annual extensions.

Wood was one of three players to sign a lucrative three-year term, having previously admitted that a huge offer to play in the United Arab Emirates was testing his resolve, with Joe Root and Harry Brook following suit.

The ECB hoped to have agreements in place before the tournament in India but, while some were finalised swiftly, others dragged on into the campaign and the announcement was finally made last week.

By then England had already played four times, losing three, and things have continued to veer off course, leaving the defending champions rock bottom in 10th place after six rounds.

Wood does not believe the two issues are linked but acknowledges the timing of England’s unexpected dip in results has not been helpful.

“I don’t think they were a distraction, no,” he said.

“If we’re trying to look for excuses, I think players need to look at themselves a little bit more, me included.

“But we’ve not lived up to that reward of the contract. I can understand people’s frustration. I would totally get that.

“Obviously when lads are rewarded with things and then they don’t perform at the level that you think, that’s justified. But it’s not through lack of trying. We are trying our hardest to get this right.

“There’s no cracks in the group. There’s no falling out. Everyone is generally trying to do it for each other. We believe in each other. It’s just not happening the way we want.”

Wood was honest about his own status, insisting that turning out for his country remained his primary motivation while acknowledging the financial muscle being flexed by franchise owners.

At 33, and with a long history of fitness issues behind him, he sought security and was pleased to see the ECB provide it.

“My motivation has always been to play for England. That was always what I’ve wanted to do as a kid growing up. That’s the pinnacle for me, so I’m delighted with the deal,” he said.

“I had some positive conversation with (ECB managing director of men’s cricket) Rob Key, to see if he wanted me to stay in the team or what he envisioned for me going forward with England.

“He said that I was part of the plans and I’m obviously delighted to have signed three years. It gives me security for me and my family.

“But I would definitely have had to consider (franchise offers), which is why I had lots of conversations with Keysy behind the scenes.

“As an injury-prone lad, if I ever have trouble, I’ll be well looked after by England physios.

“If you’re effectively self-employed, you go to these teams and say ‘Who wants me?’. But if I have a bad season or you get a bad injury, who then looks after you? So now I’m looked after by England and employed by England.”

England’s next match sees them take on Australia in Ahmedabad on Saturday, a renewal of hostilities between the old rivals after a tense Ashes summer.

Wood excelled for England in the series, helping inspire his side to a 2-2 draw after coming into the side 2-0 down.

Australia head into the match as favourites given England’s recent struggles and their own strong form, but Wood is still hoping to shift the balance.

“It’s completely different conditions, different players, different timing, different form (from the Ashes) but we’ve played against them for years,” he said.

“In one-day cricket, we’ve done well against them in recent times. I don’t think they’ll be going into this game pooing their pants, but it’s up to us to change that.”

Mark Wood has denied England were sidetracked by contract negotiations at the World Cup but admitted performances need to improve to live up to the new terms.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has revamped its central contract system in a bid to ward off the growing threat from T20 franchises, handing out long-term deals for the first time in addition to the usual annual extensions.

Wood was one of three players to sign a lucrative three-year term, having previously admitted that a huge offer to play in the United Arab Emirates was testing his resolve, with Joe Root and Harry Brook following suit.

The ECB hoped to have agreements in place before the tournament in India but, while some were finalised swiftly, others dragged on into the campaign and the announcement was finally made last week.

By then England had already played four times, losing three, and things have continued to veer off course, leaving the defending champions rock bottom in 10th place after six rounds.

Wood does not believe the two issues are linked but acknowledges the timing of England’s unexpected dip in results has not been helpful.

“I don’t think they were a distraction, no,” he said.

“If we’re trying to look for excuses, I think players need to look at themselves a little bit more, me included.

“But we’ve not lived up to that reward of the contract. I can understand people’s frustration. I would totally get that.

“Obviously when lads are rewarded with things and then they don’t perform at the level that you think, that’s justified. But it’s not through lack of trying. We are trying our hardest to get this right.

“There’s no cracks in the group. There’s no falling out. Everyone is generally trying to do it for each other. We believe in each other. It’s just not happening the way we want.”

Wood was honest about his own status, insisting that turning out for his country remained his primary motivation while acknowledging the financial muscle being flexed by franchise owners.

At 33, and with a long history of fitness issues behind him, he sought security and was pleased to see the ECB provide it.

“My motivation has always been to play for England. That was always what I’ve wanted to do as a kid growing up. That’s the pinnacle for me, so I’m delighted with the deal,” he said.

“I had some positive conversation with (ECB managing director of men’s cricket) Rob Key, to see if he wanted me to stay in the team or what he envisioned for me going forward with England.

“He said that I was part of the plans and I’m obviously delighted to have signed three years. It gives me security for me and my family.

“But I would definitely have had to consider (franchise offers), which is why I had lots of conversations with Keysy behind the scenes.

“As an injury-prone lad, if I ever have trouble, I’ll be well looked after by England physios.

“If you’re effectively self-employed, you go to these teams and say ‘Who wants me?’. But if I have a bad season or you get a bad injury, who then looks after you? So now I’m looked after by England and employed by England.”

England’s next match sees them take on Australia in Ahmedabad on Saturday, a renewal of hostilities between the old rivals after a tense Ashes summer.

Wood excelled for England in the series, helping inspire his side to a 2-2 draw after coming into the side 2-0 down.

Australia head into the match as favourites given England’s recent struggles and their own strong form, but Wood is still hoping to shift the balance.

“It’s completely different conditions, different players, different timing, different form (from the Ashes) but we’ve played against them for years,” he said.

“In one-day cricket, we’ve done well against them in recent times. I don’t think they’ll be going into this game pooing their pants, but it’s up to us to change that.”

Eddie Jones insists Marcus Smith is “not a full-back” and England must utilise the Harlequins talent at outside-half to get the best out of him.

England deployed Smith at full-back in during the World Cup in France, including their quarter-final victory over Fiji.

Smith was injured in the first half of that game and subsequently missed the semi-final defeat to South Africa, but England boss Steve Borthwick could opt to continue playing him there with skipper Owen Farrell and George Ford strong options at 10.

Former England boss Jones, who this week resigned from his post as Australia head coach, said: “Look at Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand outside-half), he is 29, experienced and he plays a great World Cup.

“Marcus is 24, he has got a lot of learning to do but unless he plays he never gets that learning.

“At some stage you have got to take a bit of pain if you play a guy like him. He is a good player, a very good player but he is not a full-back.

“That is up to Steve, but if you want to develop him as a player of course he has got to play 10.”

Jones led England to three Six Nations titles, including the Grand Slam in 2016, and to the final of the 2019 World Cup during his reign between 2015 and 2022.

The 63-year-old was appointed Australia head coach for a second time in January 2023, just one month after the Rugby Football Union sacked him for a poor run of results in which England had won just five of 12 Tests in 2022.

Asked at a Barbarians pre-match press conference, in which he will take joint charge of the invitation team against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday, how far he could have taken England at the World Cup, Jones replied: “That’s not a question. That’s a dream.”

On England’s campaign, he added: “They were really competitive. They fought hard and played tough.

“Steve did a really good job, he went back to English rugby which suited the tournament.”

Jones insisted his role as Australia head coach would have been compromised had he stayed in the job.

He will officially depart the position on November 25 after Australia failed to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time in their history.

“Post the World Cup there was always going to be a decision to be made whether we were going to change Australian rugby or not,” said Jones, who was reportedly interviewed by the Japanese Rugby Football Union before the tournament over becoming their head coach.

“I went in with a plan and had a commitment from Rugby Australia what that looked like.

“When the unity of where we were going wasn’t the same, not because of the lack of desire from Rugby Australia but there’s other forces at play, then the only thing I could do was resign.

“Obviously the results are disappointing, but I went in there with a plan to change Australian rugby, which not only involves the team but the system to put it together.

“When you’ve had 20 years of unsuccessful rugby that’s because of the system. I went in with a plan of how to change the system and that’s unable to be changed. I felt my job would be compromised for the next four years, which I wasn’t prepared to do.”

Jones insists his future in coaching is “up to others”, but he has ruled out the idea of coaching the British and Irish Lions on their 2025 tour of Australia.

He said: “I have moved from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

“I had my go with England, I loved coaching England, and I wouldn’t want to be involved in the Lions. Not at all.”

Daniil Medvedev denied raising his middle finger to the crowd after being booed during his defeat to Grigor Dimitrov at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Russian was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) in the round of 32 and even stopped playing in the second set until the boos stopped inside the Accor Arena, which prompted an argument with umpire Renaud Lichtenstein after he was given an official time violation.

The world number three admitted he did not want to carry on playing but also knew he risked being disqualified from the match if he refused to do so.

The drama started in the second set when, with the scores level at five apiece, the 27-year-old received jeers from the Parisian crowd after throwing his racket while stepping up to serve.

Medvedev gestured to the crowd to be quiet and walked back to his bench in protest and told the umpire he would not play until they stopped. In turn, Medvedev received the time violation for delaying the game.

In the end, Bulgarian Dimitrov battled to a three-set win after he let six match points slip before finally dispatching his opponent on the seventh to advance through to the last 16.

Medvedev received more boos as he walked off the court and appeared to give the middle finger to the crowd, something he later denied.

After the match, he told a press conference: “I just checked my nails, like this, no really it’s nothing more than that. Why would I do that to this beautiful crowd in Paris Bercy?

“I threw the racket, I get booed, normal. I don’t see a problem with that. I go to serve and they applaud or something but I want to serve so they shouldn’t applaud, so I still serve and the referee was talking during this, so Grigor wasn’t ready.

“This happens, but I get booed, I didn’t see why so I didn’t want to play and that’s actually the end of the story.

“I was like okay, until they boo I’m not going to play but the Bercy crowd doesn’t stop to boo and then when I got the code I was like ‘do I really want to get disqualified and finish the match on this note?’ So I just went on to play.”