MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic is up to Grand Slam title No 17 and in a tearing hurry to stake his claim for being considered the best player ever.

TA chief and Open director Craig Tiley concedes the annual summer of tennis 'will be compromised' as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Brazil star Neymar could not hold back the tears as he revealed he had come within a few inches of being paralysed. Neymar, giving his first press conference after being hospitalised with a fractured vertebrae in Brazil’s World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia, also said he disagreed with his agent for calling coach Luiz Felipe Scolari 'a repulsive and conceited old jerk'.

Holland winger Arjen Robben has insisted Argentina have zero chance of beating Germany in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Arjen Robben has revealed he turned down Louis van Gaal's advances after the outgoing Holland coach asked him to follow him to new club Manchester United.

IAN LADYMAN AT THE MARACANA: Lionel Messi played well enough for 90 minutes, but when the defining chance came early in the second half he couldn’t take it.

BRIAN BARWICK: And so to Match 64, or the World Cup Final as you and I call it. And the two teams are rested, recuperated, and ready for ‘the big one’.

And then there was one, Germany the winners of Brazil 2014 following their victory over Argentina in the final at the Maracana. But what about the other numbers to emerge from the finals?

SPONSORED: Lionel Messi and James Rodriguez have lit up the summer with their silky skills and fabulous flair... but back home these football freestylers have impressed on a special pitch in east London.

Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has ignored all of the furore caused by him posing with what appeared to be a gun on Instagram by going jet-skiing with his fiancee Fanny Neguesha.

I have multiple pension pots. I am 52 and plan to retire at 55, in summer 2022. I am in receipt of a Royal Air Force pension and along with that I have four other pensions.

If she takes the £10k pot she is liable for tax. This seems very unfair as every other year before this and after she will earn a lot under the limit. Can't she share the excess over several tax years?

I have just found out I'm not divorced after 30 years. My state pension is very low. I'm only getting £78 per week. My husband gets a full pension. If I get divorced now, would I get more?

Documents lodged last week and made public on Tuesday appear to be laying the legal framework for a deal to proceed. Sources close to the club say it is proof of talks being advanced.

KIERAN GILL: Amanda Staveley could be about to become the new First Lady of Football. She is thought to have a personal fortune of £115m-plus, and is no stranger to the limelight.

CRAIG HOPE: Newcastle United are in talks with Amanda Staveley over the sale of the Premier League club. So is this finally the end of Mike Ashley's 13-year reign as owner?

Mike Ashley's 13-year ownership of Newcastle is nearing the end. His £300m sale of the club is now in the hands of the Premier League, and he is 'closer than ever' to getting his wish.

The prospective new owners - a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund - are on the cusp of tying up a £300m that would rocket the club to the top of the financial charts.

The Premier League are understood to be going through the owners and directors test to put their seal of approval on the deal, but it may not be a straightforward case given the protests.

The versatile left back had impressed for Rennes this season before the coronavirus pandemic halted play, helping guide his side to third in Ligue 1 with 10 matches remaining.

A £300million buyout of the north-east club, backed by the country's public investment fund, is reportedly close to being finalised.

The UK government have been urged by its own members to take an active role in scrutinising the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United following calls for the deal to be blocked.

Newcastle United's Saudi Arabian takeover, led by Amanda Staveley, will face renewed scrutiny this week from the Premier League after further complaints from human rights activists.

A year has passed since the beheading of 37 Saudi men and still the families wait to receive the bodies. At the time, they did not even know their loved ones had been executed.

The Saudi Investment Fund's takeover of Newcastle United appears to be edging ever closer, as the COO of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has become closely involved with the deal.

EXCLUSIVE BY CRAIG HOPE: Andy Carroll has beaten the mystery injury that was threatening to end his season - but is now sweating on the resumption of Premier League football.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: England conceded their highest total in 983 Tests stretching all the way back to March 1877. India’s 759 for seven beat the 751 for five by West Indies in Antigua in April 2004.

TOP SPIN SPECIAL: England’s Ashes hopes are long gone, but here Sportsmail looks at five final Ashes Tests which were ‘dead rubbers’ but had ramifications beyond the result of the game.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN GALLE: England finished day one of the first Test against Sri Lanka on 321 for eight thanks to a brilliant debut innings from Ben Foakes. Here's the best of the action.

Romelu Lukaku netted a brace against Scotland on Tuesday night but he came under-fire on social media for failing to score from close range.

The 33-year-old made his managerial bow for Anderlecht, but his tenure got off to a rocky start. Kompany was still afforded a rapturous response, although his team were jeered at full time.

Romelu Lukaku was 'bored' at Manchester United and needed to leave for his own happiness, according to his international boss Roberto Martinez. 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY ROB DRAPER: The best coaches are always learning, sometimes even from their players. Vincent Kompany helped Martinez plot the downfall of Brazil at the World Cup.

Vincent Kompany says a lack of diversity within football institutions is part of the problem in tackling racism in the game. The Anderlecht boss has condemned fans who abused Romelu Lukaku.

The former Ayr player has been selected for next month's European Championship qualifiers against Russia and San Marino after netting 15 goals in his first 12 games for his new club.

Euro 2020 begins on June 12 and teams are frantically searching for opponents to play in the weeks leading up to the tournament but France are finding it particularly difficult.

Russian hoaxers telephoned the Prince on two separate occasions earlier this year and duped him into believing he was chatting with environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

Piers Morgan hit out at Prince Harry's comments in leaked telephone recordings that emerged last night from Russian hoaxers who contacted the Duke of Sussex at his luxury Canada hideaway.

In her role as Commodore-in-Chief of the Canadian navy, Princess Anne will Visit HMCS Regina, at sea, boarding in Vancouver and travelling to Esquimalt on Vancouver Island on May 1.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returned to Canada in the nick of time as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada will close its borders to non-citizens on Monday.

Meghan is self-isolating in Canada and is taking steps to protect her family from COVID-19, requiring 'everyone on their team to wear latex gloves at all times and are to follow a strict hygiene protocol'.

Diamond rock samples that have been uncovered from deep underground in Baffin Island, Canada, form part of the puzzle of Earth's ancient continent, the 2.7 billion-year-old North Atlantic Craton.

The 57-year-old actress said the widespread focus on self-isolation as authorities around the world try to slow the spread of the illness meant she was unable to fly to her dad's memorial.

Dancing On Ice star Carlotta Edwards has reportedly fled the country amid the reports surrounding her husband Alexander Demetriou and his skate partner Maura Higgins.

Prince Harry, 35, had reached his limit before he and wife Meghan Markle, 38, decided to officially move to Canada, a source said, speaking to US Weekly.

Trump retweeted the Navy boasting the USNS Mercy was 'under way' for Los Angeles after leaving port in San Diego Monday. In reality after 24 hours it was just nine miles from port.

William Dufris, the voice-actor behind Bob the Builder in the US and Canada, has died from cancer at the age of 62, it was confirmed Wednesday.

The scenes echo those from coronavirus-stricken cities in Spain and Italy, where locked down locals in Madrid, Milan and Rome pay tribute to their healthcare workers each evening

In a gesture of gratitude to the frontline healthcare heroes, mass applause and cheering can be heard from a huge apartment complex in Vancouver on Wednesday evening.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took a private flight from Vancouver, where they have been staying since stepping down as senior royals, to LA where they are setting up a permanent home.