The New York Knicks are the favorites to win the championship -- the Las Vegas Summer League championship.

The Las Vegas Summer League tips off Friday with a 10-game slate, highlighted by a matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Knicks (9:30 p.m., ESPN).

No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Zion Williamson plays for the Pelicans, while Duke teammate RJ Barrett was the third overall selection by the Knicks.

The Knicks, at 8-1, are the favorites to win the league at Caesars Sportsbook. The Portland Trail Blazers are next at 10-1, followed by the Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, who are each 14-1.

Las Vegas sportsbooks indicated that betting interest on Summer League is increasing but remains comparatively light. Alan Berg, senior oddsmaker for Caesars, compared the amount wagered on a Summer League game to how much is bet on a WNBA game.

"It's pretty much bet on by sharper players than the public," Berg said. "It's the guys that are moving numbers that are trying to bet with us on this stuff."

All 30 NBA franchises and international teams from China and Croatia will take part in the Las Vegas Summer League, which is capped off by an eight-team, single-elimination tournament. The championship game will take place July 15.

The Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards are 15-1 to win the league at Caesars, followed by the Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets, which are each 18-1. Team China, at 100-1, is the biggest longshot on the board.

"It crosses the MLB All-Star break, where it's basically the premier event during those few days," said Jeff Sherman, NBA oddsmaker at the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas. "It's definitely the right time of year to attract to action."

While other leagues have expressed worry about wagering on exhibition and preseason events, the NBA does not view betting on summer league to be a top concern. Betting limits are generally small -- $500 to $1,000 at some books -- and the overall amount wagered on the games is low.

Earlier this year, Major League Baseball asked Nevada Gaming Control to stop the state's regulated sportsbooks from taking bets on spring training, saying that the exhibition games "are not conducive to betting and carry heightened integrity risks."

MLB's request was denied, and some Las Vegas sportsbooks are accepting bets on Las Vegas Aviators games. The Aviators are the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

Sportsbooks in the new states now offering sports betting, for the most part, have not been taking bets on minor league games; however, offshore sportsbooks serving the United States do.

"I think these guys [in Summer League] are giving it their most, because they're all trying to make rosters," Sherman said. "They're mostly on the outside and looking in, trying to get a contract. I think these guys are going to give as much effort as anyone in any sport."

The third, and biggest, of the NBA's summer leagues tips off Friday. Once again, the eyes of the NBA world cast their gaze upon Las Vegas, where all 30 NBA teams will be joined by national teams from China and Croatia to give you all the basketball you can handle over the next two weeks.

Which rookies are putting on a show? What's Zion Williamson up to? Keep it here for your daily roundup of the players, matchups and storylines to watch each night of the Las Vegas Summer League.

More: Scores and schedules | Rosters |Players to watch | UTAH/SAC buzz

Friday's must-see game

Knicks vs. Pelicans, 9:30 ET (ESPN)

If seeing Zion Williamson's first NBA game (yes, summer league, but still) isn't reason enough to be excited for the Pelicans' matchup against the New York Knicks, perhaps seeing the No.1 pick face off against his former Duke teammate, RJ Barrett, will be. Williamson will likely dazzle a sold-out crowd with the same dunks that awed the fans at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And while the Knicks missed out on big free-agent signings such as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they do have an intriguing young core that 6-foot-7 Barrett will join. Perhaps New York's summer-league opener can help Knicks fans find some optimism about the franchise's future.

Full Summer League scores and schedules

Player to watch

Zion Williamson | SF | Pelicans

The clear summer-league headliner, Zion figures to electrify Vegas with his tomahawk slams and freakish athletic feats. But for all the hype and fanfare surrounding him, there are still a few Zion-centric questions worth digging in on during summer league. What type of shape will he be in? How will his 3-point shot look from the NBA line? Will the Pelicans use him as a big man in a small-ball lineup or more on the wing? For the NBA draft hipster die-hards burned out on Zion mania, keep an eye on New Orleans' two-way player Zylan Cheatham, who has the physical profile, athleticism, defensive versatility, and playmaking ability at 6-foot-7 to carve out a role in the NBA. -- Mike Schmitz

More: The one player to watch on every NBA summer league roster

Standout players to watch for each team

Players to not watch

While No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson will be the star attraction at Las Vegas Summer League, there will be plenty of talent fans won't be able to see, starting with No. 2 pick Ja Morant, who underwent knee surgery in early June. The Grizzlies are holding him out of action for precautionary reasons. No. 4 pick De'Andre Hunter won't be able to debut for the Hawks until the trades that send him from the Lakers to the Pelicans, then from New Orleans to Atlanta, are made official on Saturday. Darius Garland is listed on the Cavaliers' roster, but the No. 5 pick is not expected to play in Las Vegas, nor is Kevin Porter Jr., the Cavs' 30th overall pick, who suffered a hip injury during a pre-draft workout. And while Williamson will face off against his former Duke teammate. RJ Barrett, on Friday night, he won't see fellow former teammate Cam Reddish, who is recovering from a core muscle injury. Two more top-10 picks -- Jarrett Culver and Jaxson Hayes -- could have their summer-league debuts held up by pending trades.

Buzz from Sacramento: NBA on Kawhi Watch

The chatter among several coaches, scouts and team employees at the California Classic Summer League centered around this summer's biggest mystery: What is Kawhi Leonard going to do? With Los Angeles Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and head coach Frank Vogel back in L.A., some of the team personnel on hand were asking for the latest on Leonard, naturally curious about the decision that could potentially tip the scales from the Lakers being a LeBron James/Anthony Davis-led title contender to historic juggernaut. If Leonard goes to the LA Clippers, an assistant coach at the tournament said he envisions the Western Conference becoming wide-open with the improvements the Lakers, Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers have made to go along with the Denver Nuggets returning a year more experienced. And if Leonard stays with the Toronto Raptors? "That makes them the favorites," the assistant said. -- Ohm Youngmisuk

More buzz from Utah and Sacramento

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder A.J. Pollock, who underwent surgery in early May for an infection in his surgically repaired elbow, will rejoin the team after the All-Star break, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Thursday.

Pollock went on the injured list April 30 to remove a plate in his right elbow from an operation in 2016. The infection developed after he had bumped the elbow during a series against the Chicago Cubs.

He is currently on a rehab assignment with Class A Rancho Cucamonga and is scheduled to join the Dodgers for a series against the Boston Red Sox that begins next Friday.

Pollock, 31, signed a four-year, $55 million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason, but the former All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner has struggled at the plate. He is batting .223 (23-for-103) with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 28 games this season.

When he returns, Roberts said Pollock will return to his center field spot with rookie Alex Verdugo likely shifting to left field and Joc Pederson to first base.

Milwaukee Brewers slugger Christian Yelich has no concerns about his swing heading into the All-Star Home Run Derby, so it makes sense that he's confident everything will be fine after the showcase.

"Basically, Home Run Derby is batting practice," Yelich told reporters Thursday. "It's just trying to hit home runs with every swing. I'm not worried in the slightest about a swing change or it ruining my swing. Anybody that's educated in the manner understands it's going to be just fine.

"It's batting practice. Each round is four minutes. How much damage can you do to your swing in four minutes? It's 12 total minutes if you go all the way."

Yelich, the 2018 National League MVP, leads the majors with 31 home runs this season. He is the No. 1 seed for the Home Run Derby and will face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first round of Monday night's event at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

The other first-round matchups are Pete Alonso vs. Carlos Santana, Josh Bell vs. Ronald Acuna Jr., and Alex Bregman vs. Joc Pederson.

The winner will get $1 million of $2.5 million in prize money. The losing finalist will collect $500,000, and the six other participants will earn $150,000 apiece. The player with the longest home run will get an extra $100,000.

"Whether the second half goes good or bad for me, [participating in the Home Run Derby] will have no bearing on it," Yelich said. "If this was such a dangerous thing to do for your performance, guys wouldn't do it."

Brewers manager Craig Counsell said the perception that the Derby can hurt your swing is just "a myth," and Yelich pointed to 2018 Derby winner Bryce Harper to prove his point.

"[Harper] had a better swing in the second half than he did in the first half," Yelich said. "... It's a fun event. I'm going to have fun. It's something for the fans to enjoy. They all really like it. I'm going to go out and have a good time. You obviously want to go out and perform and do well and put on a good show. We'll see how it goes. It'll be a good time."

The All-Star break is right around the corner (already?), but first we've got one more weekend of games as teams try to end the first half on an up note. Here's what we'll have our eyes on:

The Rockies and Diamondbacks, two National League wild-card contenders, tangle this weekend in Arizona, with Zack Greinke starting for the D-backs on Friday. Greinke (9-3, 2.90 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) is having another great season. How close is he to being a Hall of Famer?

Eddie Matz: According to Baseball Reference, four of the 10 pitchers that Greinke is most similar to based on his age and career production are Hall of Famers (Mike Mussina, Jim Bunning, Roy Halladay, John Smoltz). Of the three active hurlers on that list (Justin Verlander, Jon Lester, Cole Hamels), at least one is going to Cooperstown. Not exactly an open-and-shut case. But check this out: Greinke currently sits at 64.5 WAR for his career. If he can pitch another few years without a huge drop-off -- a very reasonable "if" for a cerebral guy who eschews velo in favor of craftiness -- he should be able to reach the low 80s in WAR, which would put him on the all-time top-25 list for pitchers. With the exception of Roger Clemens, every single hurler in that top 25 is a Hall of Famer. All of which is to say, Greinke is firmly within shouting distance.

Sam Miller: Hall of Fame voting is not a mere WAR-leaderboard sort, by any means. But it's probably moving closer to that, especially with Cy Young and MVP voting (which provide a lot of the raw nutrients that build a Hall of Fame "feel") moving closer and closer to WAR sorts. As Eddie notes, Greinke's WAR at Baseball-Reference is up to Hall of Fame standards, and he is still adding to it. But here's the tricky thing: We can't say for sure how WAR will be calculated in 10 years; what philosophical choices WAR's guardians will make; how Statcast data will change the way we credit pitchers with different outcomes; how we determine the value of durability in a world of deep bullpens and short outings; and all that. As it is, Greinke is still shy of HOF standards by FanGraphs WAR and Baseball Prospectus' WARP. I think he'll make it in, but I'm just not confident enough in what the future of baseball analysis will look like to say whether the next big WAR adjustments will bump Greinke up to a no-doubter or down to that tier currently occupied by Bret Saberhagen, Kevin Appier, Tim Hudson and others.

David Schoenfield: Is Greinke a lock at this exact moment in time? Probably not. But it is interesting how favorably he already compares to Roy Halladay, who just got elected on his first ballot:

Greinke: 196-121, 3.37 ERA, 2,788.1 IP, 124 ERA+, 64.5 WAR
Halladay: 203-105, 3.38 ERA, 2,749.1 IP, 131 ERA+, 65.4 WAR

Halladay has the better adjusted ERA, but the fact that he made it with just 203 career wins shows that voters are finally adjusting to the idea that the Hall of Fame is as much about peak value as longevity. Greinke hasn't quite had that extended run of dominance that Halladay had; Greinke is more like Mike Mussina in that he is consistently very good and very durable. Greinke, however, did have two of the best seasons of the past 25 years -- his Cy Young season in 2009 with a 2.16 ERA (10.4 WAR) and his 1.66 ERA in 2015 (8.2 WAR) -- and that will help him in the voting, as compared to Mussina, who took six ballots to get voted in.

The battle of the Windy City is renewed, with the Cubs' Jon Lester facing Lucas Giolito and the White Sox on Saturday in an intriguing matchup. Let's fast-forward three years to July 4, 2022: Which team is better: the Cubs or the White Sox?

Matz: By 2022, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Kyle Schwarber will have hit free agency (unless they miraculously all sign extensions). Ditto for Cole Hamels, Jon Lester and Jose Quintana. In related news, the Cubs' farm system is hurtin' for certain: ESPN's Keith Law ranked it next to last, and MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list features one lonely Baby Bear. Yes, the Cubs made a splash this week by signing a trio of highly touted international prospects, but none of those 16-year-olds is likely to pay dividends by 7/4/22. Meanwhile, the White Sox have four top-100 prospects, including a pair of hurlers who should complement Giolito quite nicely for the next half a decade. Did I mention Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez? Or that the South Siders have almost no money on the books for 2022? (Or 2021 or 2020, for that matter.) Advantage them.

Miller: I have occasionally looked at what happens to the best and worst farm systems in baseball, and in one article I found that the future win totals of good farm teams and bad farm teams diverge most in year four. That is, if all you know about two teams is that one has a great farm system and one has a terrible one, then four years later you would expect the former to win about nine more games than the latter. Those labels accurately describe the White Sox (loaded farm) and the Cubs (depleted) before this season. So a simple answer is that in 2022 -- four years later -- the White Sox have a big edge.

But the Cubs will still have Theo Epstein running things -- at least through September 2021, they will -- and given how unpredictable ballplayers are, I might take the certainty of a great front office over the uncertainty of a bunch of ballplayers. I'll unconfidently take the Cubs for this exercise.

Schoenfield: Look, I get that the White Sox have a ton of potential, but they still have a long way to go. As of now, their one "proven" pitcher in the rotation is Giolito, and he only has been good for two months. Reynaldo Lopez has a 6.12 ERA, and Carlos Rodon, Michael Kopech and Dane Dunning all are out until 2020 after Tommy John surgeries. Dylan Cease just made his major league debut, but he had a 4.48 ERA in Triple-A. So their rotation is young, injured and unproven. The lineup also is young and unproven. They're 14th in the American League in runs, and they don't get on base enough, a long-standing franchise problem. Maybe this is Moncada's breakout season, maybe Jimenez will be a 40-homer monster, maybe Luis Robert will be a star.

I do like the financial flexibility that the White Sox have, but their pursuit of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper suggests ownership isn't exactly willing to go the extra mile to win in free agency. The state of the Cubs' farm system certainly raises concern about replacing what will be a very old rotation by 2022 (if those guys are still here). The other advantage the White Sox might have: The Tigers and Royals might still be rebuilding in 2022, and the Indians might have torn things down by then. I think it's close, and the Cubs' ability to carry a larger payroll will help. Cubs by a coin flip.

Baseball on the Fourth of July weekend stirs thoughts of the classic ballpark food: hot dogs. Do you have a favorite culinary treat from one of America's ballparks?

Matz: I do love me some criss-cut fries with Old Bay seasoning (a Camden Yards jawn). But I'm also a sucker for the soft ice cream that comes in the souvenir batting helmet (an any-stadium-in-the-country jawn), partly for the ice cream itself (swirl, of course), but more so for the overpriced souvenir mini-helmet that holds it. At Casa Matz, that's how my boys and I count the number of stadiums we've knocked off the list.

Miller: I have one great passion in my life, and it's avoiding paying ballpark prices for food. I haven't spent a dollar in a ballpark since I was a child, spending my parents' dollars. My favorite ballpark food is cashews from the supermarket bulk bin.

Schoenfield: I'm serious about this statement: The most important development in baseball over the past 20 years has been the improvement in ballpark food. Baseball attendance is down, but I'm convinced it would be down even more if the only offerings were still flavorless gray hot dogs that stick to the buns, stale pretzels and peanuts (not that there's anything wrong with peanuts!). Going to a ballgame gives you the perfect excuse to eat whatever you damn well please and not worry about the calories. I can't say I have any specific favorites. I was at T-Mobile Park in Seattle earlier this year and the crab fries were tasty. That was a new one beyond some of the old favorites (Bull's BBQ at Citizens Bank Park, Shake Shack at Citi Field, steak tips outside of Fenway, sausages in Milwaukee). What, you still prefer hot dogs and Cracker Jack? That's fine too. Nothing wrong with old school.

If you've still got room, what else do you plan to digest during this weekend's action on the diamond?

Matz: Well, I'll be at Nats Park this weekend. In terms of media dining, it's no Yankee Stadium (the gold standard), but it does have a decent spread with self-serve, buffet functionality that allows for easy access to seconds. Or thirds, depending on your level of gluttony.

Miller: Aaron Nola starts were such a letdown for the first few months of this season, but he finally has found his full repertoire: Over his past three starts, he has an ERA of 0.39, has upped his strike rate from 63% to 67, and has 28 strikeouts to five walks. After finishing third in the Cy Young voting last year, it's surely a disappointment that he'll be watching the All-Star Game from home. But on Sunday, he has a chance to head into the break with a roar.

Schoenfield: I'll be heading to Cleveland, so I'm all about the Futures Game. The game is fun, and batting practice is even better as the kids try to one up everyone else. Last year, Pete Alonso launched mammoth blast after mammoth blast -- a preview of things to come in the majors. This year's must-watch player is easy: Rays infielder Wander Franco, the new No. 1 prospect in the game. On the MLB slate, I'll be checking out Brendan McKay starting Friday for the Rays against the Yankees. He was supposed to be in the Futures Game, but after taking a perfect game into the sixth inning in his major league debut, I don't think he'll be back in the minors.

PICK 'EM TIME

Two of the Home Run Derby competitors square off in Pittsburgh this weekend. Who will have more total bases: the Brewers' Christian Yelich or the Pirates' Josh Bell?

Matz: Yelich has a .606 lifetime slugging percentage against Pittsburgh's three projected starters. That's pretty darned stout. Meanwhile, Bell is slugging .194 against Milwaukee's trio. I'll trust the data and take Yelly over Belly.

Miller: A question like this sends each of us in search of colorful, small-sample splits that will support one player's case over the other's -- for example, Yelich is a career .344/.416/.615 hitter in PNC Park, his best road venue. But the simplest answer is that right now Yelich is the superior hitter, and he would be the pick in any park, against any pitchers, regardless of any hot or cold streaks, over any player in baseball except Mike Trout and maybe Cody Bellinger. So I'll take Yelich!

Schoenfield: Bell had that three-homer outing the other night, but even including that performance, he has slowed down a bit of late, hitting .237/.328/.526 in 29 games from May 30 to July 2. Meanwhile, Yelich has hit 57 home runs over a calendar year. I'll go with Yelich.

The Rays are looking to make up some ground in the AL East when they host the Yankees. Home runs for the Bombers on Friday through Sunday: Over or under 4.5?

Matz: Now that their home run streak is over, the Yankees will regress to the mean -- until Saturday, when Gary Sanchez (four home runs in 15 at-bats vs. Blake Snell) goes yard three times all by his lonesome. Dame el over, por favor.

Miller: The Rays must have a basement full of 2015 baseballs that they're using when they're on defense, as they've allowed the fewest dingers in baseball this year by a mile. In fact, if they somehow allowed 29 home runs this weekend, they'd still have the lowest HR/9 IP rate in the majors. The Yankees' loaded lineup might well score a lot of runs, but they'll probably have to play some small ball (doubles off the wall).

Schoenfield: The Rays have McKay, Snell and Charlie Morton lined up to start. Snell had a terrible June, but his most recent start was a good one (12 K's against the Yankees). He allowed three home runs on Opening Day, but he hasn't had a multihomer game since. All-Star Morton has been stingy with the home runs. I'll take the under.

Focusing in on two series between high-scoring playoff contenders, which series will have more total runs: Rangers-Twins or Rockies-Diamondbacks?

Matz: Trick question. It's going to be a tie, with both series featuring exactly 34 runs scored. But as everyone knows, in baseball, the tie goes to the runner. Since the (road) runner is commonly seen in desert areas of the southwest, Arizona (and its lucky opponent, Colorado) wins the tiebreaker.

Miller: Easy answer: The Rockies are on the road.

Schoenfield: The Rockies-Diamondbacks series is not in Coors Field, so the easy answer here is indeed Rangers-Twins. The Rockies are second in road ERA in the NL and last in road OPS, so they tend to play low-scoring games on the road.

TWO TRUE OUTCOMES

Each week, we ask our panelists to choose one hitter they think will hit the most home runs and one pitcher they think will record the most strikeouts in the coming weekend. Panelists can pick a player only once for the season. We'll keep a running tally -- and invite you to play along at home.

Home run hitters

Matz: Mike Moustakas

Miller: Lourdes Gurriel Jr.

Schoenfield: Joey Gallo

Strikeout pitchers

Matz: Shane Bieber

Miller: Aaron Nola

Schoenfield: Clayton Kershaw

The IAAF Diamond League series moves on to the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne on Friday

As the Diamond League moves into the second half of the season, 49 Olympic and world medallists are scheduled to be on show at the Athletissima meeting in Lausanne on Friday.

Britain’s triple European champion Dina Asher-Smith is set to line up over 100m alongside Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Dafne Schippers and Marie-Josee Ta-Lou.

In the non-Diamond League 200m, Jodie Williams will look to continue her fine form after clocking recent lifetime bests of 11.17 for 100m and 51.22 for 400m. Her fellow Briton Ashleigh Nelson is also among those in action.

“Hopefully, having run a 100m PB and a 400m PB, if we merge them together that should equal something pretty good for my 200m,” said Williams.

Ahead of this evening’s @athletissima, Jodie Williams talks to @stuartweir about her recent 100m and 400m PBs, the 200m and future plans.
“Hopefully, having run a 100m PB and a 400m PB, if we merge them together that should equal something pretty good for my 200m.” @Jodiealicia27 pic.twitter.com/fpcr2z5MB5

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) July 5, 2019

Caterine Ibarguen, who last year won both long jump and triple jump Diamond League titles, is unbeaten in the latter since 2017. However, the Olympic champion will have to work to claim her 37th Diamond League win as she faces world champion Yulimar Rojas.

Following her 2.06m clearance in Rome, Mariya Lasitskene will be seeking to continue her high jump dominance, while world indoor champion Juan Miguel Echevarria goes up against outdoor world champion Luvo Manyonga in the long jump.

The men’s 1500m includes Diamond League champion Timothy Cheruiyot, Ayanleh Souleiman, Britain’s Jake Wightman and Ingebrigtsen brothers Jakob and Filip. Britain’s Guy Learmonth, meanwhile, races 800m.

Runner-up in Rome and Rabat, Britain’s Andy Pozzi looks to continue his good form in the sprint hurdles against Pre Classic winner Orlando Ortega, but Sergey Shubenkov is out with injury.

Kori Carter, Shamier Little, Ashley Spencer, Janieve Russell, Zuzana Hejnova and Lea Sprunger race the women’s 400m hurdles, while Britain’s Seb Rodger goes in the men’s non Diamond-League event.

In the 200m, Diamond League champion Noah Lyles is up against Olympic silver medallist Andre De Grasse and world champion Ramil Guliyev. Meanwhile world champion Justin Gatlin takes on sub-10 men Mike Rodgers and Filippo Tortu in the 100m.

The women’s 400m features Salwa Eid Naser and Britain’s Laviai Nielsen.

The men’s pole vault sees world record-holder Renaud Lavillenie facing world champion Sam Kendricks and European champion Armand Duplantis.

In the 5000m, Telahun Haile Bekele is back after his 12:52 world lead in Rome. Selemon Barega, runner-up to him there, together with world champion Muktar Edris and Joshua Cheptegei will also line up.

Briton’s Richard Chiassaro and Dillon Labrooy contest the men’s wheelchair 1500m against home favourite Marcel Hug.

A women’s city pole vault event kicked off the action on Thursday evening, with Katie Nageotte winning after a clearance of 4.82m and Holly Bradshaw placing third with a season’s best and Doha qualifier of 4.72m.

Entry lists and live results can be found here.

World 800m semi-finalist won’t shy away from outlining his big ambitions for the summer ahead

This evening’s meeting in Lausanne should be a very different Diamond League experience for Guy Learmonth compared to his last race. He’s had time to prepare for it, for starters.

Having been on standby for Rabat, the length of wait for the 27-year-old had been such that he opted to keep training heavily and was tucking into a haggis and cheese pasty at a local café when the call came very much at the last minute.

A ninth-place finish in the 800m in a time of 1:47.51 after a mad dash to Morocco, he says, felt like the last rep of a really hard session. “It just so happened that, for that rep, I was surrounded by world-class athletes,” he chuckles.

“I believe I can beat anyone and I believe that I can compete with these boys but I need half a chance and I need to be prepared for it so I’m glad Lausanne have given me a chance and I’m going to go for it.”

The intention is to get used to keeping exalted company, to make moving in the finest athletic circles a habit.

After an incident-packed indoor season which, it’s safe to say, didn’t go to plan, Lausanne is the next step on a journey which Learmonth hopes will come to a climax in the final of the 800m at the IAAF World Championships.

Learmonth is guided by long-time coach Henry Gray in the Scottish borders, but a training camp in Florence with Australian 800m Olympian Peter Bol and his coach Justin Rinaldi has been the location for Learmonth’s most recent preparations.

Trips such as this are all part of the changes the former British champion has made in pursuit of success, an approach which he expands upon in the July 4 issue of AW.

His hopes are high, as are his ambitions.

He insists his PB of 1:44.73, which puts him third on the Scottish all-time lists behind Tom McKean and Jake Wightman, will have to go.

“We’re getting into the main bulk of the season now and I really want to start pushing things on,” adds Learmonth. “I’m in a good place.

“I feel like I’m in PB shape and that I’ve been knocking on the door of 1:44s. The main thing is to get these (world) standards but I don’t get too bogged down with that. I’ve hit the times every year and qualified for all the teams so it’s never a problem. I want to be running 1:43 by the end of the year and it’s about bringing it out and gearing the training so that I peak at the right time.

“Henry says he thinks I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in and now I’ve got some big races to look forward to and it’s time to bring out.”

It’s confident talk and might raise eyebrows among those who saw Learmonth punching the track and breaking his hand after crashing out at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham, then ending his participation at the European Indoors in Glasgow sat slumped at the side of the track after colliding with Mark English.

However, this is a man who will not shy away from saying – or showing – how he feels.

“Somebody said to me years ago that I should keep my mouth shut because every time I said something I could be setting myself up for failure, whereas I say ‘well I could be setting myself up for greatness’ – that’s the angle I come at it from,” says Learmonth.

“Other people are scared to do that because they’re scared of failure and scared of setbacks. I’m not scared of either of those and I know that if I do fall short in a race or a championships, then it just wasn’t meant to be and I’ll go back to working hard again and I’ll keep going until it does happen.”

Plenty of training miles have now been run since Learmonth left Loughborough to return north and reunite with Gray, who came out of retirement to coach the athlete who was a teenager when first they worked together.

“I’ve got some key figures in my life who are investing everything into me because they believe in me so much,” he says.

“In the first years after I left Loughborough it was ‘oh, I’m going to prove everyone wrong’ and I’ve already done that with the times I’ve run during that time.

“The proof is in the pudding with what I’ve run. I’ve improved by over two seconds since I left and I’ve done that off the bare minimum – with no facilities, no resources – and that says it all.

“Now, I’m trying to do things to prove myself right as opposed to proving people wrong. I want to prove that I can do this and prove that I can run crazy times.

“I think that has been a change in motivation. That has freed my mind up a bit as well – that I don’t feel like everyone’s against me. I feel like I’ve got so much love and support and it’s up to me now to push through that final barrier because I feel like we’re on the cusp of some massive things.”

A more professional, more grown-up approach has helped.

“When you’re younger you feel like you know everything and you won’t listen to anyone ‘it’s my way or no way’,” says Learmonth. “That was the mentality I had, whereas now as I’ve got a wee bit older, been around the block, made all the championships…I’ve been through everything.

“I never used to watch any of my races back because I just wasn’t bothered. Win, lose or draw, it was a case of ‘what’s next?’. I just wasn’t professional enough and now we analyse everything – working on my technique, trying to run more economically and rather than just smashing my body into the ground things are a lot more technical now.”

“Now I’m trying to prove myself right as opposed to proving people wrong”

Global success is the ultimate aim but, to achieve that – and book his ticket to Doha – Learmonth knows it will be no mean feat to do well at next month’s British Championships.

“I never want to do any worse than I’ve done at a previous championship and London was a semi-final so in Doha it has to be the final,” he says. “As you’ve seen in many finals it doesn’t usually go to plan, especially in the 800m, so the hardest part is getting to the final.

“It’s going to be very hard to make the team this year but it’s same every year – the UK is so strong and it keep every athlete on their toes.”

That strength was underlined by the recent record-breaking performance of the 17-year-old Max Burgin, who clocked 1:45.36 to become the fastest British U20 800m runner in history.

Learmonth, however, hopes that the youngster is given space to develop at his own pace.

“Regardless of age, 1:45 is fast as hell,” he says. “He front ran it and he’s a very special talent – I just hope he can be well looked after because we’ve seen a lot of talented juniors in the past who haven’t followed it through to the senior ranks.

“He’s raised the eyebrows of a lot of people in the UK and around the world. I hope he can stay in one piece and he’s got a very bright future ahead.

“Don’t force it. He’s 17, he’s young and he’ll be enjoying life. He’s got a long way to go.

“He’ll have college, university or whatever also going on in his life over the next few years so just let him develop naturally.

“Whatever he’s doing is working and I hope people don’t interfere too much.”

In his regular BBC Sport column, Andy Murray talks about his new mixed doubles partner Serena Williams, what he admires most about the American great and their chat about the Wimbledon creche.

Playing mixed doubles with Serena is something that hadn't been on my mind until this opportunity came up.

I don't know her that well and we've haven't played together before or spent much time hanging out - so let's see what happens!

But I think we do a lot of things quite similar on court that should bode well for us as a partnership.

Both of us play predominantly from the baseline and we are both good movers and athletes. And she serves unbelievably well.

I don't think we have ever hit together over the years, but hopefully we are going to do that today before this evening's match.

Serena's coach Patrick Mouratoglou has been keen for us to have at least one practice together before we go out so we can have a chat about things together on court.

We did chat briefly here at Wimbledon the other day and we spoke a little bit about the tennis - what side of the court we are going to play on. We also spoke about our injuries because she has had some issues with her knee recently and I've had the problems with my hip.

Aside from that, we were chatting about parenting because we've both got kids that are similar ages and that led to discussing how handy the crèche is here onsite, which a lot of the players use.

But the conversation hasn't extended to exchanging any parenting tips just yet.

'One-off partnerships make off-court bonding difficult'

Although I've never really hung out with Serena off court, we have spent a little bit of time together at tournaments over the years.

I remember we did the draw ceremony and media around the US Open in 2013, because we had both won the tournament the previous year.

And then in 2016 we both won Wimbledon so we had to sit at the same table at the Champions' Dinner. Thankfully we didn't dance together after, which has been a tradition in the past. No one needs to see my dancing!

Here at Wimbledon it is difficult to build a relationship with a new doubles partner by doing things away from the court, like going out together with our families and teams for dinner.

After my doubles match last night with Pierre-Hugues Herbert, we stretched, cooled down and did ice baths together after finishing our match at almost 9:30pm.

And then we are playing again today, so dinner is difficult because it is so late!

When it is a one-off partnership, finding the time to socialise together is hard.

But when you commit to playing with a new partner for a longer period of time, like my brother Jamie does, then you start to spend more time with each other at events and you can do things such as eating together because you're on the same schedule.

But here Serena is playing singles - so she will play mixed doubles with me late today and then she is playing singles again tomorrow. I'll be back playing doubles with Pierre too, so we're on different schedules.

'The rest of the tour has a lot to thank Serena for'

Serena is one of the world's greatest athletes so there are lots of things that are impressive about her as a player and as a person.

What I admire about her most is her longevity.

That's the one thing where she and Roger Federer differ from many players before them - and possibly many after them.

The length of time they have been at the top of the game is incredible and, after about 20 years on the tour, they seem to still enjoy competing and pushing for the biggest titles.

People sometimes take for granted how difficult that is to do, how hard it is to keep your motivation and drive for so long, especially when there are so many ups and downs - tough losses, injuries, families - to cope with.

That love for the game, and the amount that these players put into it, is maybe something which is not easy to see all the time and not always appreciated enough.

She's also been a huge ambassador for women's sport for a number of years and I think that there is a lot of responsibility, pressure and stress which comes with that.

Serena, and her sister Venus, have been advocates for a lot of things which have benefited the women's game, including equal prize money, and these positive changes have come down to them, the pull they have and the new fans they have attracted to tennis.

The rest of the tour - especially the women's side - have a lot to thank her for.

'A brilliant feeling to be back playing at Wimbledon'

On Thursday night, I made my Wimbledon return in the doubles with Pierre and we won in four sets after making quite a nervy start.

It was a brilliant feeling to be back after missing last year's singles with my hip problem.

At the beginning we were both a bit nervous, maybe because we don't know each other that well, and in doubles that can show because the communication between each other is so important.

But as the match went on we started to relax, fed off each other and began to read each other's game better.

At first, Pierre was probably doing more of the organising in terms of where to serve and where we were going to move but as the match went on it felt as if we were communicating more as a team.

Ultimately that is the best way to go about it, rather than having a leader who calls the shots.

With two people, I don't feel as if you need a leader; you just need two guys to communicate well and feed off each other.

Hopefully we can continue building that understanding - by winning more matches!

Andy Murray was speaking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko at Wimbledon.

England coach Eddie Jones says he knows around 28 of his final 31-man World Cup group, and insists he will pick a squad with the "skill, desire and experience" to win the tournament in Japan.

Jones has already made some bold selection calls, bringing Joe Marler out of retirement and axing the experience of Mike Brown, Chris Robshaw and Danny Care.

"Selection is harsh," Jones said.

"It is always about picking the best player at that particular time."

Jones told BBC Sport that big names left out "are not out of the picture", but that the latest 38-man training squad picked itself.

"Of course it is tough. They have been good competitors for England and they still have more to give," he said.

"Players generally select themselves. I was taught that by [former Australia coach] Bob Dwyer. I feel for the other guys but I know if we call on them they will be ready."

Former skipper Dylan Hartley is currently not available for selection because of a lingering knee issue, with Jones unable to confirm whether the Northampton man would come into the picture if he proved his fitness.

"We don't deal with hypotheticals, but if that situation does occur we will have a good think about it," Jones said.

Although the make-up of the final 31 has now become much clearer, Jones says the door remains open for World Cup 'bolters' such as Northampton flanker Lewis Ludlam and Bath's former Sevens winger Ruaridh McConnochie, who are both uncapped and have come from nowhere to make the training squad.

"You are always looking for a couple of 'X-factor' players that come through later and are in form and excite the squad and the fans," Jones said.

"Lewis and Ruaridh have done that with outstanding performances for their club. They both have great desire and good character."

Jones will name his final World Cup squad on 12 August, shortly after the first of England's four warm-up matches.

"It's a moveable feast, but we have a pretty good idea of at least probably 28 of the players [for the final squad]," he said.

"Out of the squad of 38 we will get 31 players with the necessary experience, skill and desire to win the Word Cup for England."

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has called on LA Galaxy to give more game time to Efrain Alvarez after the 17-year-old impressed on his first MLS start.

Alvarez set up the first of Ibrahimovic's two goals in the 2-0 win against Toronto as Galaxy snapped a three-match losing streak and the former Manchester United, Barcelona and Juventus forward said his teenage teammate is ready to play regularly.

"I said he is the biggest talent in this league and he's ready to play," Ibrahimovic said postmatch.

"He's only 17 and I believe that in this league, if you're 16 or 17, you can be ready to play, because the level is not like Europe.

"If you're 16 or 17 and not playing in this league, then it will be difficult in Europe."

Ibrahimovic's brace took him to 13 for the season, four behind LAFC's Carlos Vela in the scoring charts, but the 37-year-old played down talk of personal targets.

"I don't even know what the situation is," he said. "As long as they don't suspend me, maybe I can break some records. I'm not in control of that."