MIKE DICKSON: Coco Gauff spent some of this week doing her high school homework, and ended it by taking the first of what will surely be many titles on the main WTA Tour.

Coco Gauff is remarkably through to her maiden tour-level WTA final at the tender age of 15 after defeating Germany 's Andrea Petkovic in the semi-final of the Linz Open on Saturday.

The Swiss went down to a surprise 7-5 7-5 defeat against Dominic Thiem in his opening group match at the 02 Arena on Sunday, jeopardising his chances of making the weekend semi-finals.

Margaret Court (pictured) has accepted Tennis Australia's invitation to the Australian Open despite the governing body slamming her opposition to same-sex marriage. 

Even before he suffered what he termed a 'setback' to keep him out of next month's Australian Open, the 32-year-old Scot had hinted his participation on clay this year might be strictly limited.

Tennis champion Margaret Court sparked another divisive controversy on Sunday, telling a Perth church congregation that LGBT material in schools is 'of the devil'.

Court won all four grand slams in 1970 and also holds the record for the most grand slams won by a female player at 24 titles. Serena Williams is one grand slam title away from equally Court's record.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: The tennis world is going to spend much of this year trying to work out the best way to deal with the issue of the great champion turned fiery Christian preacher.

A chance meeting with Yeovil Town striker Courtney Duffus at the end of Wimbledon last summer is what the British number two says is behind her form going into the season's first Grand Slam.

Serena Williams was seen flaunting koala-themed nail polish on the court on Monday as she took on Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova in Melbourne Park, on the first day of the Aus Open.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: It was a 'Hello World' moment when Coco Gauff defeated Venus Williams in the first round on Wimbledon's Court Number One last summer.

MIKE DICKSON IN MELBOURNE: It was literally at the eleventh hour that Dart saved British tennis from an Australian Open wipeout when she fought her way through to second round.

Roland Garros, where the workforce on its new building projects downed tools earlier today, will shift from its expected start of May 24 and begin instead on September 20,

The R&A moved swiftly on Thursday to knock down a report from America that the Open would suffer the same fate as Wimbledon and be cancelled.

The claim will help to cover the £250m plus loss of revenue after the coronavirus outbreak wiped out the fortnight-long tournament, which was set to start in June.

The Laver Cup has been postponed until 2021 after the French Open was rescheduled to clash with the September tournament which was co-created by tennis icon Rodger Federer.

Police were called to Nathaniel Suggitt's house in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, where they found his body with multiple stab wounds on Saturday.

Asda is set to launch Greggs counters selling the full menu in five of its UK branches across the UK on a trial basis, including Boldon, Corby, Huyton, Wigan and Eastlands.

Taylor Wimpey was the top riser on the FTSE 100 after it said it was still selling homes virtually, adding its order book was at £2.7bn at the end of last week, up from £2.4bn the same time last year.

Andrew Murphy, John Lewis Partnership's executive director of operations, said the chain could begin reopening some stores as soon as the middle of next month.

The FTSE 100 index rose 156.75 points to 6115.25, closing above the 6000 mark for the first time since early March, despite data showing the US economy shrank 4.8 per cent in the first quarter.

Last year Shell was the most generous dividend payer in the UK, handing pension funds and investors £11.6bn.That amounted to 15.5 per cent of all payments made by FTSE 100 firms.

The fast food business's 1,350 restaurants have been closed since the Government brought in lockdown measures in March due to concerns over staff and customer safety.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is looking at claims from 12,000 savers who bought so-called mini bonds from LCF and were left high and dry when the company collapsed.

Vue boss Tim Richards is 'hopeful' that venues can be open in time for the release date of Nolan's new film, Tenet (starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, pictured) on July 17.

The fact that Marcus Rashford has just one goal from open play in his last 16 games shows that he does not have the potency to lead an attack, at the moment at least.

TOM UTLEY: All right, I'm prepared to believe that some people spend a chunk of every day wishing they'd done something differently. Take David Cameron...

Eddie Hearn insists he is now determined to get Anthony Joshua into the ring with Tyson Fury, admitting it is the one fight his prized asset wants to take on next.

JORDAN SEWARD: There are still a lot of hurdles that need jumping before we can see Fury vs Joshua. Here, Sportsmail looks at the potential issues and what needs to happen for the fight to be agreed.

Tyson Fury's team have opened discussions to face Australian cruiserweight Jai Opetaia in Sydney next year, despite a trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder coming up this summer.

Kubrat Pulev has called on Anthony Joshua to make their historic fight happen despite the on-going coronavirus pandemic. The pair were due to meet on June 20 but the fight has been postponed.

Joshua suffered the first loss of his career after being knocked down four times against little-known Mexican Ruiz in New York last June before the referee waved off the fight in round seven.

Tyson Fury says daily exercise at home has helped to bring his family closer together during the coronavirus lockdown. The Briton has been enjoying workout sessions with his wife and children,

EXCLUSIVE BY LAWRENCE BOOTH: Chris Wood never quite considered killing himself, but he did wonder about the point of living. Cricketer by day, gambler by night.

The FTSE 100 was down by 144 to 5757 points, wiping out much of the strong gains it had seen this week after signs of several countries easing lockdown measures.

There are three significant events in the 2021 athletics calendar, with the European Indoors on March 5-7 joined by the rescheduled World Indoors on March 19-21 and the Tokyo Olympics.

The index of Britain's biggest firms dropped by nine points to 5,763, with further losses in the eurozone markets which were 3.5 per cent lower at close today.

The Seattle-based coffee chain is aiming to have 90 percent of its cafes opened by June. It temporarily shuttered half of its 8,000 US stores in late March after the COVID outbreak.

Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek revealed Disneyland Shanghai (left) will reopen its gates on Monday, becoming the first Disney theme park to start operating again after COVID-19.

Preparations for the opening are underway as the theme park in China is set to welcome visitors again in mid-to-late May, a source revealed to the Chinese media on Monday.

London markets opened flat today as Asian shares continued to climb after China's central bank fixed the yuan in a bid to ease US trade-war tensions.

Phil Mickelson, looking to seal the career Grand Slam after finishing runner-up six times at the US Open, shot an opening round of one-over par to leave himself seven shots behind leader Justin Rose.

The 119th US Open continues at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Friday, with Justin Rose leading after a stunning six-under-par first round of 65. You can keep up with all the latest scores right here.

DEREK LAWRENSON AT PEBBLE BEACH: A thrilling weekend is in prospect at the US Open with Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy in contention behind leader Gary Woodland.

Several spectators were injured by a runaway golf cart during the second round of the US Open at Pebble Beach. Reports varied on the number injured with some saying four and some five.

The third round of the US Open takes place at Pebble Beach in California on Saturday. Here are all the tee times and pairings as the main contenders look to make their move.

The 119th US Open continues at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Saturday, with Justin Rose two shots behind overnight leader Gary Woodland.

Reed broke the wedge over his thigh after leaving the ball in the rough on a delicate chip from right of the 18th green. After taking it out on the wedge, he tossed the club shards toward his bag.

DEREK LAWRENSON AT PEBBLE BEACH: One month to go until the biggest sporting event the province has seen, and the boys from Northern Ireland are building up a head of steam.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER AT PEBBLE BEACH: Is it possible to win a major golf tournament without actually playing well? Justin Rose appears determined to find out.