Jack Draper adds new string to his bow as he rebuilds his game

Two and a half hours into one of the most unforgettable battles of his career, Jack Draper resolved to attack without hesitation, regardless of the outcome. On two pivotal points in his Indian Wells fourth-round match against Novak Djokovic, at 4-4 in the tie-break and then on match point at 6-6, Draper forced himself inside the baseline and unleashed two backhands, those shots driving him to victory.It would have been understandable for Draper to have played passive tennis in those decisive moments. Not only did Indian Wells mark his second ATP tournament back after sustaining a bone bruise to his left arm that forced him off the tour for seven months, the injury has forced him to make dramatic changes to his game.Draper returns to the circuit using natural gut strings in a hybrid string setup

Judge in rugby brain injury lawsuit tells legal teams to hurry up as cases drag on

The judge overseeing the pretrial phase of the two landmark litigation cases about brain injuries in rugby has issued another rebuke to the legal teams on both sides over their lack of progress.Senior Master Jeremy Cook started the latest round of case management hearings by reminding both the defendants and the claimants that “it won’t have escaped anybody’s notice that some of these claims are now over five years old, and we haven’t made much progress”.Since the cases involve claims of degenerative brain diseases, Cook said, time is at a premium. He has told both sides to provide him with written updates between now and a scheduled case management hearing in October, when both sides will be required to have identified their lists of 28 lead claimants from among the hundreds involved.The idea is these 28 will then be whittled down into a smaller group, who will represent the entire cohort

Seth Meyers on Trump’s Nato about-face: ‘This is just how Donald Trump does friendship’

Late-night hosts mocked Donald Trump’s rejection by Nato allies for help with the strait of Hormuz and a White House visit from the Irish prime minister for St Patrick’s Day.On Late Night, Seth Meyers recalled the many, many times that Trump insulted Nato, only to turn around and ask them this week for help with strait of Hormuz, blocked by his war with Iran. “You called them obsolete, sloppy and bad, and now you want their help?” Meyers marveled. “It’s like breaking up with someone and then immediately asking them for help moving – ‘I know I called you obsolete and sloppy, but I didn’t say you were bad at carrying things! Now hop to it, fatso, I gotta date tonight!’”The response from Nato members has been a resounding no, even from US allies like Germany and Britain. “You mean to tell me your genius plan of continually insulting them for 10-plus years and then begging them to help you out of a jam you got yourself into didn’t work?” Meyers laughed

Rolls-Royce scraps goal to go all-electric by 2030

Rolls-Royce has abandoned its goal to sell only electric cars by the end of the decade.The luxury car company launched its all-electric Spectre model in 2022, saying at the time that it would end production of its vehicles with V12 internal combustion engines by the end of 2030.However, the chief executive, Chris Brownridge, who took the top job in 2023, said the company would continue to sell cars with the V12 engines as there was demand from clients.“For every client who is unsure whether our Spectre is right for them, there will be one that says ‘I love it’,” he said. “We can respond to our client demand … we build what is ordered

Sadiq Khan urges Labour to campaign on rejoining EU at next election

Labour should go into the next general election promising to rejoin the EU, Sadiq Khan has said.The mayor of London has repeatedly made the case for joining the customs union and single market, but went much further on Wednesday night by suggesting the party should promise full membership at next ballot.“We should, as a Labour party, fight the next general election with a clear manifesto commitment, a vote for Labour means we would rejoin the European Union. I think it’s inevitable,” he told the Italian publication La Repubblica.Khan cited the time that had passed since the referendum and the economic instability caused by Donald Trump since Labour was elected in July 2024 as reasons why it would be desirable

Starmer plans to ease impact of immigration policy changes after backlash from Labour MPs

Keir Starmer is hoping to soften the impact of his government’s changes to the immigration system after a backlash from Labour MPs and a dramatic intervention from his former deputy Angela Rayner.The prime minister is considering exempting large numbers of people from the proposed changes, which would make it harder to achieve settled status in the UK, as he attempts to keep his restive party onboard.Under the plans, most people would have to wait 10 years to qualify for settled status, rather than the existing five-year period. But proposals included in a government consultation could involve migrants working in the public sector excluded from the changes, as well as those who are on the verge of being settled.Ministers are now debating how far they want to extend those exemptions but Downing Street said on Wednesday they would not cover everyone who had already arrived in the country, as demanded by Rayner and others