Draper & coach Trotman part ways after four years

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Jack Draper will no longer work with the man who coached him to the Indian Wells title as James Trotman wants to prioritise time with his family.

The British number one has already hired Jamie Delgado as his head coach for next season but had been hoping there would also be a role for the man with whom he has enjoyed much success over the past four years.

Trotman says it has become increasingly difficult to “juggle” Draper’s career with his own family life.

“I’ve made the decision that four years has been a great run,” Trotman told BBC Sport.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was getting increasingly difficult for me juggling the demands Jack deserves as the player that he is – and also being a father and a husband.

“I need to start to get those energy levels back up and have a little bit more normality – watch my son play football on a Sunday, go on some family holidays, have a bit more of a normal life.”

Trotman says he first spoke to Draper about his future after Wimbledon, having felt mentally and physically tired over the previous year.

The pair have been working together this week, with 23-year-old Draper returning to the practice court after resting the left arm injury that ended his season early.

If the bruising in his arm heals as expected, Trotman will head to San Diego for some warm weather training with Draper and Delgado at the end of November.

“My relationship with Jack is strong. We are extremely close,” Trotman continued.

“We spent more time with each other than anybody else on the planet over the past four years.

“We are going to stay incredibly close and obviously I’ll be following and supporting in any way I can from the sidelines.”

As well as winning the Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells in March, Draper hit a career-high world ranking of four in June.

Last year, he reached the US Open semi-finals and won his first two ATP titles.

“Whatever Jack does in the future, I feel incredibly proud of the work that I’ve done,” Trotman said.

Draper is due to make his comeback at the three-day UTS Grand Final in London in December, and is also expected to play an exhibition in Macau later that month.

As the top-ranked British player, he will then have the opportunity to start next season by representing his country in the United Cup mixed team competition in Sydney and Perth.

Delgado will be in full charge by then, and Trotman speaks highly of a man he has known since he was 12.

“One of the few people we could have worked really well together with was Jamie,” Trotman added.

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Muscat close to deal to become Rangers head coach

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Rangers are close to agreeing a deal to secure Kevin Muscat as their new head coach with personal terms and details still to be finalised.

The 52-year-old former Ibrox defender is currently in charge of Chinese league leaders Shanghai Port, who have four games left in their season.

One of the key issues holding up an announcement is Shanghai’s match against Quingdao Hainiu, which takes place at 11:00 BST on Friday.

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Rangers are also working to secure Muscat’s backroom team and tie up all the relevant paperwork needed for the Australian to coach in Scotland.

Youth coach Stevie Smith will take charge of the side for Saturday’s league match against Dundee United at Ibrox, but it is yet unclear who will be in the dug-out for the Europa League game away Brann Bergen on Thursday.

Muscat emerged as favourite for the job after former manager Steven Gerrard withdrew his candidature at the weekend saying the timing was not right for him to return to Ibrox.

Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl was also under consideration, but the German also pulled out the race on Wednesday.

Crawley-born Muscat, who spent a season as a Rangers player, started his coaching career with Melbourne Victory, with whom he won the A-League title.

After a less successful spell with Sint-Truiden in Belgium, he led Yokohama F Marinos to the J-League title before taking charge of Shanghai in 2023, won the title last season and is four games away from retaining it this term.

Rangers were left seeking a new head coach after sacking former Southampton boss Russell Martin just 17 games into the ex-Ibrox defender’s reign.

The Glasgow side head into Saturday’s game against United sitting eighth in the Scottish Premiership, nine points behind city rivals and reigning champions Celtic – and two more adrift of leaders Heart of Midlothian.

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Rivers Govt Cancels ₦134bn Contract Awarded By Ibas

The Rivers State Executive Council has taken a major decision at its first meeting since the suspension of the six-month state of emergency.

The meeting, held at the Government House in Port Harcourt, reviewed key contracts and policies implemented during the emergency rule.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara presided over the session attended by the Deputy Governor, Professor Ngozi Odu, the Secretary to the State Government, the Head of Service, eight retained commissioners, and the Permanent Secretaries of Works and Education.

After extensive deliberations, the Council cancelled the ₦134 billion contract for the reconstruction of the State Secretariat Complex earlier awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) during the emergency rule.

The Council also directed the company to refund the ₦20 billion mobilisation fee it received.

It further ordered a fresh bidding process for other revoked projects in Opobo/Nkoro and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Areas, previously advertised in February.

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The Council approved a six-man committee chaired by the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, to evaluate and recommend sites for Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the state.

The centres will facilitate external examinations and improve digital learning infrastructure.

The flood committee, also led by the Deputy Governor, was directed to take immediate action to curb flash floods across affected communities.

The Council further warned residents against blocking drainage channels and called for public cooperation to prevent flooding.

Clarke v TKV on BBC moved to November after injury

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The British heavyweight title fight between Frazer Clarke and Jeamie ‘TKV’ Tshikeva has been moved to 29 November after TKV suffered an injury in training.

It had originally been scheduled for 25 October at Derby’s Vaillant Arena and will stay at the same venue, as well as be live on BBC Two and iPlayer.

The rearranged card will still mark the first event in a new partnership between BBC Sport and Boxxer.

“Jeamie suffered an injury in training and the medical advice was he can’t compete,” said Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom.

“There’s an extra edge to the fight. Frazer feels he’s ready to win right now and is frustrated at having to completely change his training plan.

“Jeamie will be desperate to prove he’s fighting fit and capable of beating Frazer.

“They have been quite respectful of each other up to now, but it feels like that’s changing as emotions are running high on both sides.”

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Clarke, 34, will be bidding to win the British title for the first time, having drawn and then lost in two attempts against Fabio Wardley earlier this year.

The Burton-upon-Trent fighter – who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – has nine wins from 11 professional bouts.

Tottenham’s 31-year-old TKV, whose real name is Tshikeva, is also seeking redemption after his own controversial defeat to David Adeleye for the belt.

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LeBron, Ronaldo, Brady ‘inspire’ Djokovic to play into 40s

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Novak Djokovic wants to follow sporting greats such as LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady by playing in his 40s and help shape the future of tennis.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion, 38, reached the semi-finals of all four major tournaments this year.

Djokovic has been chasing one more to move clear of Australian Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam singles titles in history.

However, his last came at the 2023 US Open when he was 36 – the same age his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal also won their final majors.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner won two each this year, with Djokovic losing to Sinner in the last four at Wimbledon and the French Open, and Spaniard Alcaraz at the US Open.

Every tournament exit has led to questions about his future, but Djokovic said he had no plans to retire and took inspiration from stars in other sports who have defied age to play at the top.

He told Riyadh Season: “Longevity is one of my biggest motivations.

“I really want to see how far I can go. If you see across all the global sports, Lebron James he is still going strong, he is 40, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady played until he was 40-something years old, it is unbelievable.

“They are inspiring me.

“In the next couple of years tennis is a sport that can be greatly transformed and I want to be part of that change.

“I want to be playing when we rejuvenate our sport and set the new platform that is going to go on for decades to come.”

Leading players are pushing the Grand Slams for a greater share of revenue, while the Professional Tennis Players Association – co-founded by Djokovic – launched lawsuits against tennis’ governing bodies earlier this year in an effort to force through changes.

Djokovic was speaking in Saudi Arabia for the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament, where he and six-time major champion Alcaraz have been given byes to the semi-finals.

There is a reported $4.5m (£3.4m) in prize money on offer, with some players also likely to have been paid seven-figure sums to appear.

Reports say the winner could take home up to $6m (£4.5m).

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