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Defending champion O’Sullivan withdraws from Masters

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Defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from the Masters on medical grounds.

O’Sullivan, 49, was aiming to win a record-extending ninth title, and had been set to face John Higgins in a blockbuster opening to the tournament at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.

The Englishman’s place in the invitational event for the 16 highest-ranked players in the world will be taken by Neil Robertson.

Like Higgins, the Australian is a two-time winner of the Masters and most recently triumphed in 2022 and was ranked 17th at the seeding cutoff in December.

O’Sullivan has won 41 ranking events and seven world titles during a storied career since turning professional in 1992 and claimed his first Masters crown in 1995 at the age of 19.

His success 12 months ago, aged 48, meant that he became both the oldest and youngest-ever winner of the second Triple Crown event of the season.

He also elected to miss the Masters in 2020. This week, he pulled out of the Championship League before his final group game on Thursday after becoming frustrated with his own performance in a 3-2 loss to Robert Milkins.

‘The Rocket’ played four matches on Wednesday, losing three of them and whacked his cue against the table after missing an easy pink against Milkins.

While he quickly apologised to the referee and his opponent, there were reports from Leicester, external that he later threw his cue into a bin before it was retrieved.

Every round of the Masters, which runs from 12-19 January, will be shown live on BBC TV. You will also be able to watch uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport mobile app, with additional coverage on BBC Red Button.

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Havertz online abuse has terrible consequences – Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the online abuse of striker Kai Havertz and his wife has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.

Havertz was criticised for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United, after he missed a glorious chance to win the game in normal time and then had his penalty saved in the shootout as United won 5-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw.

The German’s wife Sophia shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media amid the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.

Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to identify the culprits, but Arteta says more must be done as he spoke before Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.

“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.

“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”

Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.

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I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team – Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp says he has made a “clear commitment” that he will not become manager at one of the Red Bull clubs after starting his role as the organisation’s head of global soccer.

The former Liverpool manager was named in the role last year before officially starting at the beginning of 2025.

He has not had a managerial role since leaving Anfield last summer following a highly-successful nine year spell.

Klopp’s new role sees him take more of an oversight role across a number of clubs including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

But when asked at a media conference on Tuesday whether he might be tempted back into day-to-day management if a role at one of the clubs becomes available, Klopp said emphatically said “no”.

“I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team,” he said. “That is a clear commitment. As much as you can give a guarantee, I will not be a coach at all.

“I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue.

“But I will not be a replacement of one of the Red Bull coaches.

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Rising star Fonseca knocks out ninth seed Rublev

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Joao Fonseca had a Grand Slam debut to remember as he knocked out ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian thrilled the crowd as he caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory against Rublev.

Fonseca was playing in his first main-draw match at a major, having come through three rounds of qualifying without dropping a set in Melbourne last week.

The victory extends his winning streak to 14 matches – but who is tennis’ latest rising star?

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