Novak Djokovic kept his cool in the New York heat to reach the semi-finals of the US Open and break yet another record.

The ice-cold Serbian is through to the last four of a grand slam for the 47th time, moving him one ahead of Roger Federer’s tally, after a 6-1 6-4 6-4 win over Taylor Fritz.

The roof was half-closed on Arthur Ashe to shield the players from the 90 degree temperatures amid energy-sapping humidity at Flushing Meadows.

American Fritz has been red hot all fortnight, not dropping a single set on his way to the last 16, but he was ruthlessly extinguished by the 23-time grand slam champion.

A demoralised Fritz has now lost all eight matches he has played against Djokovic.

The ninth seed hit more winners – 33 to Djokovic’s 25 – but he was simply ground down by the 36-year-old with a grand total of 51 unforced errors telling its own story.

He also forced 12 break points but converted only two of them, the second of which levelled the third set at 4-4 and prompted Djokovic to shoo some of his own supporters out of one of the executive suites.

But Djokovic immediately hit back, the three-time winner then saving another break point before completing the victory in two hours and 35 minutes to silence a partisan American crowd.

Djokovic said: “It’s expected that people are backing the home player, there’s nothing wrong with that. I like the atmosphere here, I’m fine with that and I thrive on that energy.

“I’ve been playing on this court for many years, played many epic matches, and I’m looking forward to another one in a few days.

“It’s a huge opportunity every time I step out on the court and at my age I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll get.”

The defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs open the 2023 NFL season against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, and it's uncertain if All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce will be able to play.

Kelce hyperextended his knee during Tuesday's practice, putting his status in doubt for Week 1.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid did not provide any details about how the injury occurred during Kansas City's final practice ahead of the season opener.

Kelce has not missed a game to injury since his 2013 rookie season and has been indispensable to Kansas City's offense as Patrick Mahomes' favourite target.

Near the goal line, he is Mahomes' go-to receiver, as no player was targeted more in the red zone last season than Kelce with 30.

Widely considered the top tight end in the NFL, the 33-year-old caught a career-high 110 passes for 1,338 yards in 2022, his seventh straight season eclipsing 1,000 yards receiving. He also caught a career-best 12 touchdowns last season, giving him 69 in his career.

In Kansas City's march to the Super Bowl, he caught 27 passes for 257 yards with four touchdowns in three playoff games. He had six receptions for 81 yards with a TD in the Super Bowl.

Should he be forced to sit out, that could spell trouble for Kansas City given his familiarity with Mahomes and the fact the Chiefs are introducing several new receivers this year.

Noah Gray, who is listed as Kelce's backup on the depth chart, had 28 catches for 299 yards with a TD for the Chiefs last season.

The Chiefs are hopeful of having Kadarius Toney available for the opener after the wide receiver missed nearly all of training camp with a torn meniscus in his knee.

The Kansas City defense, however, will likely be without Chris Jones as the All-Pro defensive tackle has been holding out while trying to get a long-term contract.

Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is determined to make the most of his maiden World Cup following his unconventional late rise to Test-level rugby.

New Zealand-born star Gibson-Park was barely on the international radar at the time of the 2019 tournament in Japan, having only just qualified for his adopted nation on residency grounds.

The 31-year-old Leinster player, who represented the Maori All Blacks eight times between 2012 and 2015, had to wait a further year to be handed his debut by head coach Andy Farrell.

He immediately set his sights on a World Cup spot and quickly surpassed Conor Murray as Ireland’s first-choice number nine.

“It will be pretty awesome to get out there and have a run,” said Gibson-Park.

“Obviously a bit of a late bloomer – 31 at my first World Cup. It’s the pinnacle of rugby and you like to test yourself in the toughest environments. I’m looking forward to it.

“As soon as I was in the squad (I was thinking about the World Cup). As a player it’s always something you’re going to target.”

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A post shared by Mack Hansen (@mackh______)

Gibson-Park gained traction on social media this week by landing an audacious basketball shot from the roof of the team hotel, which was recorded and posted by team-mate Mack Hansen.

Asked how many takes it took, he replied: “The first one, obviously!

“We were there for a while, to be fair. Just messing on Sunday, trying to come up with stuff to do in the hotel and stay out of the heat. A bit of craic.”

Ireland begin their Pool B campaign on Saturday afternoon against Romania in Bordeaux, where Gibson-Park is expected to partner returning captain Johnny Sexton.

Veteran fly-half Sexton is poised for his first competitive appearance in almost six months, having missed Ireland’s three warm-up games through suspension on the back of a groin injury.

“He’s buzzing as you can imagine,” Gibson-Park said of his provincial team-mate.

“He’s been great. Seamlessly back into training like he always does. It will be good to see him back out there.”

German Alexander Zverev had a spectator thrown out of his US Open match against Jannik Sinner for shouting “the most famous Hitler phrase”.

A man could clearly be heard yelling “Deutschland uber alles” inside Arthur Ashe Stadium as Zverev prepared to serve.

Zverev, the 12th seed, approached English umpire James Keothovang and said: “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world. It’s unacceptable. This is unbelievable.”

Keothovang turned to the crowd and asked: “Who was the smart guy who said that? Who said that? Put your hand up. We’re going to get him out.”

He then announced to the crowd: “Please be fair and respect the players.”

The man suspected of yelling the slur was ejected by security at the end of the game.

Zverev went on to win the match in five sets and afterwards, the 26-year-old told reporters: “He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland uber alles’ and it was a bit too much.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from September 5.

Rory McIlroy was happy to be back at The K Club.

Yannik Paul was philosophical about his Ryder Cup omission.

The Santiago Bernabeu has had a remarkable upgrade.

Happy birthdays.

Marketa Vondrousova showed off her latest tattoo.

A very young Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri went back to their roots.

Sergio Perez was still celebrating his second-placed finish at Monza.

Valtteri Bottas was playing it cool.

German Alexander Zverev had a spectator thrown out of his US Open match against Jannik Sinner for shouting “the most famous Hitler phrase”.

A man could clearly be heard yelling “Deutschland uber alles” inside Arthur Ashe Stadium as Zverev prepared to serve.

Zverev, the 12th seed, approached English umpire James Keothovang and said: “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world. It’s unacceptable. This is unbelievable.”

Keothovang turned to the crowd and asked: “Who was the smart guy who said that? Who said that? Put your hand up. We’re going to get him out.”

He then announced to the crowd: “Please be fair and respect the players.”

The man suspected of yelling the slur was ejected by security at the end of the game.

Zverev went on to win the match in five sets and afterwards, the 26-year-old told reporters: “He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland uber alles’ and it was a bit too much.”

Wales boss Warren Gatland has reported a clean bill of health among his World Cup squad heading into the crunch tournament opener against Fiji.

Co-captain Dewi Lake and number eight Taulupe Faletau were among a handful of players who nursed injuries during Wales’ World Cup warm-up Tests.

Number eight Faletau played no part in those fixtures due to a calf muscle problem, while hooker Lake went off after suffering a knee injury during Wales’ defeat against England at Twickenham.

Ryan Elias, Dafydd Jenkins and Gareth Anscombe have also recovered to be available for Sunday’s Pool C clash in Bordeaux.

“The last couple of weeks we’ve had a few niggles – we had eight or 10 players not taking a full part in training,” Gatland said.

“Nothing serious, but just a few bumps. They’ve all been rehabbed and everyone is now fit, which is a positive place for us to be in.

“He (Faletau) has been taking a full part in training for the past three weeks.

“There is no doubt in the first week he was blowing pretty hard in terms of some of the set-piece stuff the boys have been doing for a number of weeks.

“That has taken a little bit of time, but we’ve kept a close eye on his GPS figures and they have been excellent for him.

“Even though he hasn’t been running around, he has done a lot of off-feet conditioning. Some of the work on the side of the pitch is harder than being on the pitch, and he is definitely in contention for the weekend.”

Lake departed during the first half at Twickenham, and the hooker added: “It always plays on your mind when you come off injured 20 minutes into a game.

“I am very grateful to be sat here, to the medical staff who got me through the three weeks at home and the coaching staff for selecting me post-injury.

“A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get me ready for this weekend.”

Wales trained amid temperatures of more than 30 degrees on Tuesday, while the forecast for Sunday’s encounter is for 28 degrees at kick-off, even though the game does not start until 9pm local time.

It is understood that World Cup organisers are considering water breaks during the opening round of pool fixtures.

“We would like the ball on the park as often as we could. We think we’re in pretty good shape physically,” Gatland said.

“In terms of that, we are not going to push back on water breaks if that’s what is decided. We won’t be arguing with World Rugby on that decision.”

It will be a fifth successive World Cup for Wales and Fiji to meet in the pool stage, and Sunday’s victors will take a significant step towards the quarter-finals.

Fiji are fresh from an outstanding away victory over England, and they are fancied by many to defeat a Wales side with just three wins from 13 Tests.

“I thought they were excellent at Twickenham,” Gatland added. “They have got some great athletes, we are aware of that.

“They are a lot more structured now as a team than they would traditionally have been in the past.

“We’ve got to impose our game on them as well. We know they are a good side at the moment, and a lot of their side play in Super Rugby and in France as well. It’s going to be an exciting challenge.

“They have always had incredibly world-class individual athletes who could open up a game. But bringing that organisation and structure makes them more dangerous.

“I think from a coaching perspective, the ultimate pinnacle is the World Cup. It’s the one time in international windows that you get full preparation.

“It feels like you’re working with a club side in having a pre-season. We’ve been able to work on a lot of things in the last few months in terms of the detail and putting together a strategy.”

William Haggas’ Doom became the shortest-priced loser since 1948 when beaten at 1-25 by Karmology in a two-runner race at Ripon.

Doom looked to have been found a great opening in the William Hill Ripon Champion Bonus 2023 Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, her fifth career outing after a juvenile season that saw her finish second to subsequent Oaks winner Soul Sister last autumn.

She had scared off all bar Karl Burke’s unraced Golden Horn filly Karmology, who was ridden by Pierre-Louis Jamin.

At the furlong marker of the one-mile affair victory seemed to be assured for Tom Marquand and Doom, but Karmology began to gain on her outside and streaked past her with half a furlong to run to cross the line a length ahead.

Doom now joins Royal Forest as the shortest-priced loser in British history, the latter being sent off at the same odds of 1-25 for Clarence House Stakes at Ascot in September 1948.

Burke told Sky Sports Racing: “She’s a nice filly but she’s a work in progress, very much one for next year over a longer trip.

“I really only entered her for the race because it was on our doorstep and there wasn’t many entries.

“I said to the owners there were no races over a mile and a quarter for her until the end of the month so we may as well run for the education.

“I think all the Newmarket trainers, apart from William, must have had a late night and never followed the (declaration) tracking so it worked out really well.”

Other prohibitively priced losers in recent years include Tree Of Liberty, beaten at 1-20 in a novice chase at Ludlow in 2018 and Broadspear, who was second at 1-16 at Chepstow last year.

England are ready to start Tom Curry in Saturday’s seismic World Cup opener against Argentina if there are no setbacks in his recovery from an ankle injury.

Curry missed all four warm-up Tests after spraining the joint during training in early August, but is now poised to make his first appearance since the Gallagher Premiership final in May.

The influential 25-year-old is so valuable to England – especially in defence – that they are willing to slot him straight into the back row, most likely at openside flanker.

“It’s great to see Tom out there training, he’s been really good. He’s been excellent,” said defence coach Kevin Sinfield, who revealed the squad has a clean bill of health.

When asked if Curry could be recalled immediately, Sinfield replied: “We’ve got no doubt about that.

“He’s got a number of caps under his belt now and he’s been doing it for years. He can play a number of positions across the back row for us too. We’re delighted he’s available.”

England will need to be armed with every possible string to their bow when they clash with Argentina in Marseille having complied a record of five defeats in six Tests.

Defence has been an alarming area of vulnerability with 30 tries conceded in the nine games since Sinfield took charge as part of Steve Borthwick’s coaching team.

Sinfield pinpoints the recent high injury count, plus the bans issued to Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell for dangerous tackles last month, as two of the reasons for the malaise.

“It really helps having Tom Curry back available. Some of the suspensions that we’ve had over the last couple of weeks haven’t helped. The back row changes we’ve had to make probably haven’t helped too,” Sinfield said.

“I do see a team here that are improving and getting better. I also understand and I’m very realistic that we’ve not been good enough so far.

“We are working incredibly hard to be better this week and I have complete confidence and belief in the group over where we’re going.

“I’ve seen a very slight change in how we’ve gone about our business this week. We needed to have that change and make that adjustment.

“I have to say I’ve really enjoyed my time with the guys. I’ve not been happy with the results and I’ve not been happy with the tries we’ve conceded, but I understand where we are going.

“We’ve just got to better across the board. I won’t hide or shy away from that. We need to be better across the board in our defence. We missed too many tackles last time out and that’s something we’ve got to rectify.

“I’m firmly in there with the players. I’m accountable, I’m responsible.”

Marco Ghiani is confident Mill Stream is capable of providing him with a breakthrough Group One winner in Saturday’s Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.

The former champion apprentice has built up a good rapport with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s three-year-old, who has won his last two races at Deauville in impressive style.

While Ghiani has ridden at the highest level before, this weekend undoubtedly provides him with his best chance yet of claiming Group One glory.

“I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’ve ridden in the King’s Stand Stakes and the Coronation Stakes so riding in a Group One is not new, but Mill Stream is around third-favourite, whereas the others were outsiders so it makes things a bit spicier,” he said.

“It is quite a big challenge, but I’m ready to take it. It would be like winning at the Olympic games if I won my first Group One on Saturday.”

Mill Stream’s Deauville victories came at Listed and Group Three level and there is no doubt he will face a much sterner test on Merseyside.

“I thought he could win at Listed and Group race level, but I didn’t expect him to bolt up twice. I thought he would have to work a bit harder than that,” Ghiani continued.

“I think for a sprinter it is harder to get them to race the right way around. Sometimes they are keen, and they don’t finish off their races.

“At home he was a bit keen, but now he is settling down and he seems more relaxed. He is in good order, and he has been much more settled in his last two races in France as he wasn’t over racing in the early stages of those race, which has been key to his last two results.”

Standing in his way is the not insignificant threat of fellow three-year-old Shaquille, already a dual Group One winner having landed the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and the July Cup at Newmarket.

Ghiani added: “Shaquille is always slow out of the gates, but he finds another gear late at the end. My lad jumps out fast and then he finds another gear at the end so it will be very interesting to see what will happen.

“Obviously Shaquille is a Group One winner, and my horse isn’t yet. If they both find their turn of foot, and my lad is a good way in front, and he stays there, it will be interesting to see what Shaquille can do.

“Shaquille is favourite, but my lad has a good chance. He seems in good order and Jane’s horses are running well. I just have a vision in my head and hopefully that can come to life.”

Shane Lowry believes Europe have the best 12 players available as they bid to regain the Ryder Cup from the United States.

Lowry received one of captain Luke Donald’s six wild cards on Monday having finished 11th on the European points list and eighth on the world points list, with only the top three on each qualifying automatically.

The former Open champion won the first qualifying event – and will defend his BMW PGA Championship title next week – but his sole top-10 finish in 2023 came in February’s Honda Classic.

That has led to criticism of Lowry’s selection, with former British Masters winner Richard Bland among those believing that Adrian Meronk’s consistent form – including May’s Italian Open victory at the Ryder Cup venue – meant the Pole “deserves a pick over an out-of-form Lowry.”

“Well, people have their opinion,” Lowry said ahead of the Horizon Irish Open at The K Club.

“Adrian has had a great year and obviously he’s unfortunate to miss out, but somebody has to miss out.

“I’m not going to sit here and disagree with Luke Donald. It was his decision at the end of the day, if he thinks that somebody else is better for this team than he (Meronk) was.

“If you look at the way the team was picked, there’s not many players playing that weren’t in the top 12, myself included. And that’s why you have six picks, so you have the chance to pick the 12 best players.

“I personally think that’s the right way to go about it and I think we have the best 12 players from Europe coming to play this Ryder Cup, and I think we’re in form.

“A lot of players are in very good form, as you’ve seen over the last few weeks, and I think we’re going to give it a great go this year.

“I’m very confident in my own ability, and I know what I can bring. My form probably has not been the greatest, but in some of the bigger events I’ve played some of my best golf and there’s nothing bigger than the Ryder Cup.

“Hopefully I can go to Rome and show people what I’m made of.”

Lowry also needed a wild card to make his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits two years ago and has unsurprisingly received the backing of the man who picked him then, three-time major winner Padraig Harrington.

“There’s no doubt about Shane, he’s a big-time player,” Harrington said.

“He likes the big occasions, the majors, and at the Ryder Cup he loved it. He was very comfortable, wasn’t like a rookie at all. He loves the pressure-filled occasions.

“It’s strange, I’ve seen the odd thing from people that aren’t in the know saying maybe somebody else should have got picked but it’s not even close.

“If we were playing a small tournament in the middle of nowhere with no adrenaline maybe Shane wouldn’t be the right pick, but when it comes to the Ryder Cup I’d definitely be trusting him.”

Lowry won one point from his three matches at Whistling Straits as Europe suffered a record 19-9 defeat to a home team whose lowest-ranked player at the time was world number 21 Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler went on to win four times in six starts in 2022, including the Masters, and is the current world number one.

“I think we just caught them on our downturn and their upturn,” Harrington added. “That one extra year due to Covid, our team went from peaking to slightly off.

“Many of the US players were probably at their very peak at that stage and the Europeans are only coming into that now. Europe has got a lot stronger in those two years.

“It ebbs and flows in the game of golf and I think the flow is with Europe now.”

Ireland trio Jack Conan, Dan Sheehan and Dave Kilcoyne have been ruled out of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup opener against Romania in Bordeaux.

Back-rower Conan, who suffered a foot problem against Italy a month ago, was the only member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad to sit out training on Tuesday morning.

Hooker Sheehan took part in the session at the team’s training base in Tours but will not be rushed back into action following the foot injury he sustained against England on August 19.

Prop Kilcoyne is returning to fitness following a hamstring issue.

Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell said: “Everyone’s going well, there are a few guys still finishing their rehab and they won’t be involved at the weekend.

“But by and large we’re close to a full bill of health.

“Dan and Jack Conan (will not be involved). David Kilcoyne as well is struggling a little bit but should be OK next week.”