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• Liverpool line up Feyenoord coach Slot as Klopp replacement

  Arne Slot appears to be at the front of the queue to replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager.

  Klopp confirmed in January that he would be leaving the Reds at the end of the season.

  Xabi Alonso, who has led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, was swiftly established as a leading candidate to take the helm at Anfield, where he starred as a player for the Reds between 2004 and 2009.

  The 42-year-old, however, is staying put in Germany, and Liverpool's search for Klopp's successor has taken them to Feyenoord's door.

  Slot has been previously linked to jobs in the Premier League. Leeds United wanted to appoint him last season before their relegation to the Championship, while he was targeted by Tottenham before they appointed Ange Postecoglou.

  The Dutchman intimated when linked with Spurs: "A normal next step would be to go abroad and I've always said that the best league in the world is the Premier League."

  Ideally, Liverpool will be aiming for a coach who can come close to replicating Klopp's style of play, and in particular has a flair for working with and developing young players.

  Slot has enjoyed fantastic success in Rotterdam. He became Feyenoord head coach in December 2022, after leaving AZ, and went on to win the Eredivisie title in 2022-23, having reached the Europa League final in the previous season.

  The 45-year-old has a 64.4 per cent win record from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.

  His Feyenoord team have scored 329 goals, an average of 2.2 per match, conceding 147 in return. Slot's points per game is a hugely impressive 2.13.

  Feyenoord are, though, set to relinquish their Eredivisie crown, as they trail leaders PSV by nine points. They have, however, won the KNVB Cup this term. 

  As there is no break clause in the Dutchman's contract, it has been reported that a compensation fee in the region of €10million (£8.5m) could prise him away from Feyenoord.

  Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim is another coach who has been heavily linked with the Liverpool job, albeit he is reportedly in talks with West Ham.

• Osaka storms to victory in Madrid opener to end long wait for win on clay

  Naomi Osaka comprehensively dispatched Greet Minnen on Tuesday to make a winning start to her Madrid Open campaign and earn a first win on clay for two years.

  Japanese star Osaka triumphed 6-4 6-1 in only 79 minutes, swiftly booking a second-round clash against Liudmila Samsonova.

  Osaka reached the last 32 at the WTA 1000 events on the hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami but had lost to Martina Trevisan at the first hurdle in the Open de Rouen on clay at WTA 250 level last week.

  This was therefore a welcome return to form against Belgian qualifier Minnen and represented her first triumph on the surface since beating Anastasia Potapova at this tournament in 2022.

  After an even start to the contest, the first set was level at 4-4. But Osaka then assumed full control, winning eight of nine games to race to victory.

  Data Debrief: Osaka dominates on serve

  Osaka was not broken at all in the match and allowed Minnen only one break-point opportunity across the whole contest.

  She fired down eight aces to only three double faults, and won 13 of her 16 first-serve points in the second set.

• Alcaraz: Stopping world's best Sinner not easy in Madrid

  Carlos Alcaraz considers "dangerous" Jannik Sinner as the world's best player and the man to beat at the Madrid Open.

  Sinner has won three titles in 2024, including his maiden grand slam crown at the Australian Open, and is the top seed in the Spanish capital.

  Novak Djokovic is absent from the Masters 1000 tournament but will remain the top men's player regardless of how far Sinner advances.

  And while the Italian's only appearance on clay this year saw him lose to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz knows full well what he is up against should the pair cross paths.

  "He's dangerous. He's the best player in the world right now," Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament news conference.

  "I think [some people] think his tennis doesn't suit well to the clay, but he has had results on clay as well.

  "He can win every tournament he goes to, and obviously I'm fighting with him and with Novak to be world number one. I'm trying to stay there, but honestly it is going to be difficult."

  World number three Alcaraz was unable to compete in Monte-Carlo, as well as the Barcelona Open, due to an arm injury.

  However, the Spaniard is relishing the chance of returning to clay-court action on home soil when his pursuit of a 14th Tour-level title begins against either Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Shevchenko on Saturday.

  "For me, it's really important to be at 100 per cent here in this tournament," he said. "Playing here is so special.

  "It's the tournament where a lot of family can come to watch my matches, a lot of friends as well, and for me it's really special to play in front of my home crowd as well.

  "I would love to play at 100 per cent just to give them the opportunity to enjoy my tennis and give myself the chance to get a good result here."

  Alcaraz is aiming to become the first player to win three successive Madrid Open crowns and is on a collision course to meet Sinner in the final.

  The 20-year-old ended Sinner's winning streak with victory in their BNP Paribas Open final showdown last month, with that a rare blemish for the latter.

  While Sinner has been the best male player this year, boasting a record of 25 wins to two losses, he believes there is still room for improvement.

  "I don't want to put pressure on myself," he told reporters ahead of the tournament. "I'm living a very positive moment, winning a lot of matches.

  "I just try to keep going like this. In my mind, I know that I can and have to improve if I want to win more.

  "I am searching for new opportunities and I feel like that every tournament I play, there can be a good opportunity trying to show that my level has raised. 

  "Showing what I have improved and that's for sure something that I would like to do here. This is a new opportunity, new tournament and we'll see how it goes."