Jannik Sinner set up a blockbuster Italian Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, after the world number one fought from behind to beat American Tommy Paul.
Playing on home soil in his first tournament since a three-month doping ban, Sinner was made to fight before eventually overcoming the 11th seed 1-6 6-0 6-3.
In front of a packed and partisan centre court in Rome, the 23-year-old stretched his unbeaten run to 26 matches and moved one win away from being the first Italian to win their home open since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Earlier on Friday, Alcaraz dashed home hopes of an all-Italian final by beating Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz looks in good shape for the French Open later this month as he reached a fourth final of the season by winning in straight sets in just over two hours.
For Musetti, it was a fifth straight loss to the Spaniard having also lost on clay in the Monte Carlo final last month.
The 23-year-old gave up three breaks of serve and made 29 unforced errors in the first set, and was warned by the umpire after slamming his racket into the clay.
Both men exchanged breaks at the start of the second set and Musetti moved 4-3 ahead with some spectacular shots, but Alcaraz broke back in game eight – causing his furious opponent to smash his ball into the stands.
Both Nicola Peltz and her husband Brooklyn Beckham took to their social media to pay touching tributes to an important family member as Brooklyn says she ‘always made me laugh’
Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz both shared tributes online
Nicola Peltz and Brooklyn Beckham have admitted their life isn’t the same following a devastating family loss. The duo both paid a touching tribute to Nicola’s ‘naunni’ a year after her death.
The billionaire heiress was the first to take to Instagram to share a heartbreaking message detailing how she misses everything about her. Uploading snaps of the pair in happier times, Nicola wrote: “I can’t believe it’s been a whole year without my naunni on earth.
“I miss her laugh so much. i miss her happiness, her love, her everything. her magic runs though my mom and im so lucky to know the feeling of that love. i am so lucky she was my naunni – i miss her every single second. life is not as bright without her here.”
And Brooklyn echoed the sentiment with a message of his own shortly after. Taking to his own page, he too shared snaps of himself with Nicola’s naunni. The duo were seen smiling in the shots and Brooklyn wrote: “Can’t believe it’s been a year without you naunni x you were always so happy and always made me laugh. I miss you and will love you forever x
Nicola Peltz shared a touching post on the anniversary of her naunni’s death(Image: nicolaannepeltzbeckham/Instagram)
“It makes me so sad to think of our future kids not being able to know you x you were one of a kind and we miss you everyday.”
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While a lot of his followers shared messages of condolence with him, a number of others questioned his so-called feud with his own family.
Brooklyn and Nicola were absent from David Beckham’s 50th birthday celebrations, sparking rumours of a family fallout.
The so-called snub included the former England football captain’s huge bash at the swanky Core restaurant in London’s Notting Hill. Brooklyn’s brothers, Romeo and Cruz, and sister, Harper, all attended the star-studded party.
Brooklyn also shared a heartfelt post(Image: nicolaannepeltzbeckham/Instagram)
While all involved have stayed silent on any friction, sources continue to add fuel to the fire. Since reports of the rift, Brooklyn, 26, has reportedly found a “second mum” in the Peltz clan. It’s claimed he believes he can “hide away” with “less pressure” with his wife’s family.
Sources have claimed Nicola’s mother Claudia, 70, and billionaire father Nelson, 82, have become a “sanctuary” to Brooklyn during the drama.
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A source told The Sun: “Claudia is like a second mother to him and, although they are billionaires, Nicola and her brothers had more of a ‘normal’ upbringing because they didn’t have the media intrusion, which Brooklyn has always found so hard.
“He sees them as a kind of sanctuary where he can hide away if he wants to, but that is almost impossible in the Beckham family, they always seem to be on show. There is less pressure on him in a way.”
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Gloucester ensured they remain in with a shot at the play-offs going into the final round of the Premiership with a 26-12 win at bottom side Newcastle.
The victory – Gloucester’s first away since November in the league – moves them up a place to fifth, two points behind Bristol who were beaten by Sale.
Ben Stevenson’s try got Newcastle on the front foot but Chris Harris, a penalty try and Seb Atkinson put Gloucester 21-5 up, before Jack Cotgreave sealed the crucial bonus point with a fourth try.
Replacement Joe Davis’ stylish try capped a brilliant Stevenson run but the winger was shown a red card late on as Newcastle saw out the game with 14 men.
After a lacklustre performance against Harlequins six days ago dented the Cherry and Whites’ play-off hopes, director of rugby George Skivington said before kick-off that their season was “on the line” at Kingston Park.
The early pressure was all from Newcastle however. After two attempts at the Gloucester line came up short they put the first points on the board with their third as neat build-up play from the soon-to-depart Callum Chick and Jamie Blamire helped Stevenson dive into the corner.
Gloucester’s attack was repeatedly misfiring despite plenty of possession and it was not until 17 minutes they retaliated, as three quick passes from a line-out saw Harris touch down behind the posts.
Newcastle were their own worst enemy and went down to 13 men, as Chick was sent to the sin-bin for a cynical challenge at the breakdown and Cameron Neild followed two minutes later, for collapsing a maul and a penalty try was given.
With two back rowers missing the gaps opened, and from the restart Gloucester played straight out from the back.
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Harris and Ruan Ackermann are among the 19 players confirmed to be leaving Gloucester this summer and the latter thought he had their bonus-point score when he charged down Sam Stuart’s kick and sprinted over, only to see it scratched off for offside.
Harris was then shown yellow early in the second half but Newcastle could not capitalise, with Ackermann turning the ball over as they took a tap-and-go penalty within inches of the line.
After scoring his first Premiership try a week ago, 19-year-old winger Cotgreave had his second on his first league start, as he was picked out with a long ball from Atkinson.
Steve Diamond hailed his players’ “remarkable” resilience earlier this week and Newcastle were far from down and out as Stevenson’s searing run from deep inside his own half, set up a sensational try finished off by Davis.
He has been our man at Eurovision since 2009 and now Graham tells you how to make the most of the night
Graham with the UK entry Remember Monday(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/BBC Studios/Sam McMahon)
Graham Norton has urged Eurovision fans to have fun during the final – giving his tips to party this weekend.
The TV and radio host, 62, has been the voice of the wacky singing show since replacing Terry Wogan in 2009. Asked for his essentials to throwing a good party, Graham said: “You never want to make your party seem too much like hard work, so my advice is not to go overboard. Maybe ask guests to pick countries out of a hat and they can choose to wear something traditional or bring a food item from that country.
“If you are going for raucous, then Eurovision lends itself very easily to drinking games – take a shot every time you see some sort of folk instrument, or whenever a performer makes a heart with their fingers. Say goodbye to your Sunday!” Speaking from Basel, Switzerland, where this year’s contest takes place, Graham also gave his tips on what makes a great Eurovision anthem.
“First and foremost is the song. Does it have a hook? Does it build? Then I’m looking for interesting staging. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just clever and fresh. Lastly, and this is the hardest of all, the act needs to be likeable and somehow get their personality across to the audience. Not forgetting great vocals!”
Commentator Graham also insisted despite being outsiders with the bookmakers UK act Remember Monday “have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year”.
They will compete in Saturday’s grand final against touted favourites such as Sweden’s Kaj with their entry Bara Bada Bastu, about Nordic sauna culture, Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch) with the emotional song Wasted Love, and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael with the ballad New Day Will Rise.
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Graham believes Remember Monday have a huge advantage(Image: Getty Images)
He explained: “Remember Monday have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year. Their vocals and harmonies are flawless, the song has a very strong hook and the trio are hugely likeable. With a decent place in the running order they should do very well indeed.”
On Saturday, Remember Monday will be eighth to compete – meaning they will follow Raphael, Norway’s Kyle Alessandro, the youngest Eurovision act this year at 19 years old, Estonia’s Tommy Cash with the Italian parody Espresso Macchiato, and Ukraine’s Ziferblat.”
Speaking about the entries this year, he said: “It’s a big year for party anthems,” adding that one that stood out was Miriana Conte representing Malta. He added: “Cutting through all the noise I think Italy might have a good year with a classic rock ballad performed by Lucio Corsi.”
Graham said: “I know nothing about the plans for the grand final yet, but when it’s a country like Switzerland that haven’t hosted for 36 years, I suspect they are going to pull out all the stops. I can’t wait to see what they have in store.”
There has been some speculation that Canadian singer Celine Dion, who won for the Swiss with Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi in Dublin 1988, would perform in the grand final.
One confirmed act is last year’s winner Swiss singer Nemo, who triumphed with The Code, and will perform their new song Unexplainable during the event.
The winner will be determined by a combination of points from national juries and viewer votes in the participating 26 countries, along with a separate rest of the world vote. Graham said: “To be honest I love everything about Eurovision. It’s scale and sincerity are unmatched.
“The extreme range of musical styles and talents in the contest combined with the coming together of countries and fans makes it a contest like no other.”
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TV coverage for the final is provided by Graham, on BBC One at 8pm BST on Saturday, while British audiences can listen to BBC Radio 2 and BBC Sounds for live coverage with presenters Rylan Clark and Scott Mills.
Remember Monday are still struggling to believe they’ve been picked to perform at Eurovision and revealed exactly why the pop trio are nervous ahead of the final
Remember Monday is the UK’s Eurovision entry who hope to defy 100-1 odds and win the contest this weekend(Image: Zuma Press/PA Images)
UK act Remember Monday have admitted they are still struggling to believe they’ve been picked to perform at Eurovision in front of tens of millions around the world representing the UK.
The trio, made up of friends Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele, who met at school in Hampshire, are the first all-female British group act since Precious in 1999. They are seen as huge outsiders to win Eurovision with the bookmakers but they are not letting that dampen their spirits and enthusiasm ahead of performing their single ‘What The Hell Just Happened?’.
Bookmakers Paddy Power have Sweden as odds-on favourites with Austria 3-1 and France 6-1, the UK are now 100-1 for victory. But excited Holly, 30, said: “I don’t think our brains have computed that that is the amount of people watching. For us it’s not necessarily the size of the audience, it’s that we so badly want to do a good job and that’s where our nerves are coming from, we want to be able to watch it back and be SO proud!”
Charlotte, 31, from the band, would have been watching at home in fancy dress were she not involved this time around. She explained: “I am a huge Eurovision fan, I have been for as long as I can remember – it’s kind of infamous as a Charlotte thing now. We always host Eurovision parties – everyone picks a country, they bring food and drink from that country, we go all out! My favourite Eurovision artist has to be Alexander Rybak who represented Norway in the 2009 and won with Fairytale. I just loved it!”
Remember Monday are representing the UK this year and revealed why they’re nervous(Image: Getty Images)
Lauren, 30, described the weeks heading into the final as a “whirlwind of creativity and chaos” and also told how the band were given a memory box on the day they were announced as the UK entry and so they will have that with them backstage as a lucky charm on the night. The band are no strangers to singing live having kickstarted their career on The Voice UK in 2019.
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Asked what their Eurovision final performance will be like, Charlotte said: “We obviously want it to be a surprise on the night, but what we can say is that we are leaning into our musical theatre backgrounds that is for sure and we just hope that audiences love the staging and design as much as we do.”
A total of 26 countries are through to the Grand Final. As one of the ‘Big Five’ countries ( United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Italy), the UK has a guaranteed place in the Grand Final. Switzerland is also guaranteed a place in the Grand Final due to them being hosts this year.
Commentator Graham Norton also insisted, despite being outsiders with the bookmakers, UK act Remember Monday “have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year”.
They will compete in Saturday’s grand final against touted favourites such as Sweden’s Kaj with their entry Bara Bada Bastu, about Nordic sauna culture, Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch) with the emotional song Wasted Love, and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael with the ballad New Day Will Rise. He explained: “Remember Monday have a great advantage in that they are unlike any other act this year.
“Their vocals and harmonies are flawless, the song has a very strong hook and the trio are hugely likeable. With a decent place in the running order they should do very well indeed.”
The result of the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest will be determined by a combination of points from national juries and viewer votes in the participating countries, along with a separate rest of the world vote. Each national jury is made up of a group of five music professionals in that country.
The Welsh opera singer was previously asked to step down from the Strictly live tour after an uncouth joke he made about a co-star was leaked to the press
Wynne Evans is allegedly suing Strictly tour bosses after he injured his foot on the road(Image: Getty Images)
Strictly Come Dancing is believed to be embroiled in controversy, this time over allegations of ‘inadequate’ care after an injury, as Wynne Evans has reportedly taken legal action after allegedly being told to perform on a broken foot during the live tour.
The 53-year-old opera singer is allegedly suing production company Phil McIntyre Entertainments, which is responsible for the live tour, for personal injury, claiming he was “strapped up” and expected to continue dancing despite suffering from a double fracture and two snapped ligaments.
It has been claimed that Evans fell from the stage during a performance in Newcastle in January, just days before he was caught on camera making a lewd “spit roast” remark at the tour’s Birmingham launch.
Wynne Evans is suing Strictly Tour bosses for allegedly telling him to ‘carry on’ while in agony(Image: Instagram/@wynneevans)
A source claimed to the Sun: “He was basically bandaged up and told to keep smiling and carry on. He was in agony. The following night, he had to pull out of Glasgow, then the following day ‘spit-roast-gate’ kicked off — just as his foot started to swell up.”
An MRI scan later revealed the full extent of Evans’ injuries. He had a broken foot, a fractured ankle, and two torn ligaments. Four months on, he is reportedly still struggling to walk without experiencing pain.
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His legal team is now believed to be arguing that the backstage medical provision was “inadequate” and that he should be compensated for his continuing discomfort and spiralling physio bills. They also claim that Wynne’s lawyers have argued that he has a legitimate injury claim.
Evans, who had also been presenting a show on BBC Radio Wales, was taken off air while the broadcaster investigates his inappropriate backstage comment which was directed at Janette Manrara and captured on video.
Despite apologising at the time, Evans has since attempted to backtrack, claiming the audio was “manipulated” and insisting he has done “nothing wrong”.
Listener numbers for his BBC Wales show have dropped sharply since his suspension, with several blaming the broadcaster for removing him prematurely.
However others have been less forgiving, and some called his denial of the footage “disingenuous”, telling him to own up to his mistakes and not blame the tabloids.
Sadly, Wynne’s situation isn’t unique, as Strictly has a history of stars dancing through injuries. Zara McDermott reportedly continued to perform with a stress fracture that later required surgery, and Paralympian Will Bayley was left with “life-altering” damage after a rehearsal fall.
This latest legal drama adds to a growing list of headaches for the BBC’s flagship dance show, which already came under fire last year after actress Amanda Abbington levelled bullying allegations against professional dancer Giovanni Pernice.
During an appearance on ITV, Amanda told Lorraine: “It was bullying and I put up with it for five weeks. It started very early on, and when it started to happen, I shut down because I recognised those red flags.”
A spokesperson for Giovanni responded saying: “We would urge people to wait for the review’s conclusion and not to pay heed to these very serious and defamatory allegations that have no evidence in support of them.”
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Wynne Evans’ manager has been contacted for comment. Phil McIntyre Entertainment has also been approached for comment.
