THREE weeks after an acrimonious exit at the US Open, world number one Novak Djokovic will resume his pursuit of an 18th Grand Slam title when he takes on Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in the first round at the French Open on Tuesday.

PARIS — Serena Williams says she has been working on reducing her mental stress and making herself understand that she cannot possibly win every point on court as her chase of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title continues at the French Open.

In the National Basketball Association bubble, the Heat were the favorites of the working class for a reason: they never took a second off. From opening to final buzzer of any given game, they could be relied on to scrap and scrape, to clamp and claw, to push and pounce. They played every possession as if it were the last, leaving nothing in the tank and understanding its significance in the grand scheme of things. They had a living, breathing culture to protect, to live by, to live up to, and darned if they were going to fail because of lack of effort. Which, in the final analysis, was why they always — always — exceeded themselves.

BAM ADEBAYO had a career-high 32 points and 14 rebounds, Tyler Herro came alive with 11 points in the fourth quarter and the Miami Heat booked their trip to the NBA Finals with a 125-113 Game 6 win over the Boston Celtics on Sunday night near Orlando.

THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is set to resume its currently suspended season in two weeks’ time and it is making sure it will be a return worth the while of all stakeholders, particularly its fans.

GIVEN the opportunity to further his studies and develop his game abroad, Philippine youth football standout Samuel Reuben Wilhelm Chavez is out to make the most of it.

HARRISON BADER powered the playoff-bound St. Louis Cardinals to a 5-2 win Sunday over visiting Milwaukee, but the Brewers were still the big winners as they grabbed the last spot in the National League (NL)  postseason.

Nick Foles came off the bench and tossed three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to rally the Chicago Bears, who sent the host Atlanta Falcons to another stunning, second-half collapse on Sunday.

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi was back in scoring business for Barcelona on Sunday, leading them to a resounding 4-0 win at home against Villarreal in a near-perfect La Liga opener for the Catalans under new coach Ronald Koeman.

PARIS — What was billed as an opening-day classic between two old warriors turned into a damp squib as Stan Wawrinka crushed Andy Murray (6-1 6-3 6-2) at the French Open on Sunday.

PARIS — American teenager Coco Gauff made an impressive return to the Grand Slam stage when she brushed aside last year’s semi-finalist Johanna Konta 6-3 6-3 in her main draw debut at the French Open to advance into the second round on Sunday.

WORLD BOXING ORGANIZATION (WBO) bantamweight champion John Riel “Quadro Alas” Casimero of the Philippines retained his title, and he did it in impressive fashion by dominating Ghanaian challenger Duke Micah with a third-round technical knockout victory on Sunday (Manila time) in Connecticut.