Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said midfielder Bruno Fernandes needed a break after the Portugal international was left out of the starting lineup for Sunday's 3-1 FA Cup quarterfinal defeat by Leicester City.

Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice and Youri Tielemans added another as Brendan Rodgers' side beat United to set up a semifinal clash with Southampton.

Fernandes, who been a stand-out performer for United with 23 goals and 13 assists in 45 games in all competitions, replaced Donny van de Beek in the 64th minute.

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Explaining the decision to leave Fernandes out of the starting 11, Solskjaer said the 26-year-old had played a lot of football this season.

"He's also a human being, he's played a game every three or four days really," he added.

"I know Bruno wants to play but sometimes you make decisions for the benefit of both the team and him.

"Of course, we're disappointed we're out but probably it's just the sum of all the factors and all the games we've played lately, all the injuries.

"I don't want to make excuses but I try to find an explanation and an explanation is we had a few players coming back who have not really trained a lot. They've not played for a while and there are others who have played a lot but lacked a little zip and energy that we normally see.

"We conceded easy goals we don't normally concede and it's difficult against a good team like Leicester."

Solskjaer's counterpart, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, said his team are aiming to create history by winning the FA Cup for the first time after Sunday's win moved them one step closer to the final.

Leicester have lost the FA Cup final four times, the last occasion coming in the 1968-69 season when they were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City, and Rodgers said it was time to end that run.

"We are in the semifinal and we have a chance to get to the final and create history," Rodgers said.

"For the club to get to the final and win the trophy would be really special. It's a trophy in their history they haven't won.

"It's a tough game in the semifinal but the club has never won the FA Cup so to be able to do something like that will be special."

Sergino Dest credits Barcelona's new system with bringing the best out of him after becoming the first American to score a brace in La Liga in Sunday's 6-1 win against Real Sociedad.

Dest, 20, scored the second and third goals as Barca extended their unbeaten run in the league to 18 matches to remain within four points of leaders Atletico Madrid.

The United States international, along with left-back Jordi Alba, has benefitted from a more attacking role in recent weeks following coach Ronald Koeman's decision to switch to a back three and deploy wing-backs.

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"This system is really good for me and is going well for the team," Dest told Barca TV. "I have more space and I am more involved. I am really comfortable, playing almost as a winger, and it's really easy for me to play in this team.

"I am really happy. It's incredible to win 6-1 against a great opponent. I am also happy to score two goals and to help the team. It was the first time I've scored in La Liga and the sensations are really good."

Jozy Altidore and Yunus Musah are the only other Americans to have previously scored in the Spanish top-flight.

Dest joined Barca from Ajax for an initial fee of €20 million at the start of the campaign and got off to a good start, impressing in the Clasico defeat to Real Madrid and scoring in the Champions League against Dynamo Kiev.

An injury problem at the beginning of the year ruled him out for several games, though, and subsequently knocked his confidence. However, he has returned to the team in recent weeks, responding to Koeman's call for him to focus more.

In total, he has made 35 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring three goals.

Lionel Messi also scored twice against La Real as he broke Xavi Hernandez's appearance record for Barca, playing his 768th game for the club. There were also goals for Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.

"[The performance was] without a doubt the best birthday present I could have received," said Koeman, who was one of three members of Barca's traveling party celebrating birthdays on Sunday.

"I'm also delighted for Griezmann and [Jordi] Alba, who also have birthdays today and both played really well. Scoring six goals against Real Sociedad is incredible."

With 10 games to go, Barca are four points behind Atletico, although the gap could have been down to two if Jan Oblak had not saved a late penalty as Diego Simeone's side beat Alaves 1-0 earlier on Sunday.

"There's a long way to go in the [title race]," Koeman added. "Nothing is going to be decided yet but we've shown we're going to fight until the very end.

"Atletico are strong but against Alaves we've seen how tough every game is -- not just for Atletico, but also for us. And for Real Madrid, who are also there fighting. It's going to be an exciting end to the season."

Australia will get a new first-class venue on Tuesday when Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane hosts the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and South Australia.

There had been various changes made to the schedule in recent days with the match initially relocated to Allan Border Field, but it has been returned to Ian Healy Oval due to the impact of recent rain with the new venue having better drainage than AB Field - that drainage is likely to be tested with considerable rain forecast for the opening day.

Queensland's previous Shield match against Victoria managed just 76 overs on the first two days before the second half of the game was abandoned.

Queensland are currently top of the table in a tight race with New South Wales in what appears the likely pairing for the final next month. The side that finishes top of the regular season earns hosting rights. The two teams face each other at North Dalton Park in Wollongong in the final round of matches over Easter weekend.

Last season's final did not get played due to Covid-19 ending the competition early and New South Wales were awarded the title.

Queensland have brought fast bowler Billy Stanlake into their squad in place of Mark Steketee who has a side injury. Jack Wildermuth, who was ruled out of the abandoned Marsh Cup game against Victoria with a quad strain, has recovered to be included.

South Australia, who are bottom of the table and have not won a game in any format this season, have included the uncapped Sam Kerber who has been prolific in Premier Cricket. Wes Agar could also be in line for a recall after a 10-wicket haul for his club last week.

Ian Healy Oval is part of the A$18.6 million National Cricket Campus project with the next and final stage to redevelop Allan Border Field which will include increasing the boundary size to reach international standards and improved drainage. Work is due to start in June and last into early next year.

Queensland squad Usman Khawaja (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Joe Burns, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Bryce Street, Jack Wildermuth

South Australia squad Travis Head (capt), Alex Carey, Wes Agar, David Grant, Henry Hunt, Sam Kerber, Jake Lehmann, Joe Medew-Ewen, Harry Nielsen, Liam Scott, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter, Daniel Worrall

INDIANAPOLIS -- Paul Mills made it to laundry day.

After spending more than a week in the NCAA tournament bubble, Mills and his Oral Roberts team aren't leaving town. The Golden Eagles are headed to the Sweet 16, joining the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast team as the only 15-seeds in tournament history to reach the round of 16.

Oral Roberts erased an 11-point second-half deficit to beat seventh-seeded Florida 81-78 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Sunday. The Eagles, who on Friday won their first NCAA tournament game since 1974 by stunning No. 2 seed Ohio State, advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the same year, when they were called the Titans and the tournament featured only 25 teams.

"I'm glad that we get a chance to do laundry," Mills said on a video call with reporters. "We got here last Saturday. We'll be off [Monday]. Tomorrow will be a good day because I have run out of clothes."

His team hasn't run out of chances after outscoring Florida 13-4 over the final 4:34. Star tandem Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas fueled Oral Roberts, combining for 54 points and both playing all 40 minutes, but sophomore DeShang Weaver put the Golden Eagles up for good with a corner 3-pointer with 2:09 to play. Florida had two chances to tie in the closing seasons but 3-point attempts by Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis missed.

"D.J. Weaver was huge," Mills said. "We knew that they were playing that 1-3-1 [zone], so we stuck D.J. over there. I just told D.J., said, 'D.J., you're going to have a chance to win it, or put us up. I need you to knock down this 3.'

"That kid is not scared. Love D.J. Weaver. He's super resilient, he cares about a team."

Oral Roberts advances in the South Region to face No. 3 seed Arkansas. The teams met Dec. 20 in Fayetteville; the Razorbacks won 87-76 and held Abmas to only 11 points.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Oral Roberts is the third Summit League team to reach the Sweet 16, and the first since 1998, when Valparaiso lost to Rhode Island 74-68. Oral Roberts had four consecutive losing seasons until winning 17 games in each of the past two campaigns under Mills.

"I wasn't aware that 1974 was the last [NCAA tournament] win," Mills said. "Honest to goodness, I told the guys all year, 'Not only are we going to win the conference tournament, but we're going to win multiple games in the NCAA.' We talk about -- and a lot of coaches do this -- winning in March, back in November. These are the things that have to happen in order to win in March."

Mills is excited for the added attention the university will receive this week, but thinks staying in the NCAA bubble will help his team's focus as it heads onto an even bigger stage.

"If you saw the EJ Liddell tweet, this stuff is so phony," Mills said. "If you can be puffed up through praise, you can be ruined by criticism. I really tried to caution our guys that it's important that they get attention, that they get acknowledged for what they do, but when they have real issues, none of these people are around. You need to recognize it for what it is, and you also need to understand fandom when it doesn't go your way. The controlled environment, as the NCAA has put it, is terrific. We can get away from some of that fanfare that comes your way and people pulling you in a number of different directions.

"So 100 percent, it helps."

Florida led 42-37 at halftime, shot 55% from the field and had four players score 14 points or more. But the Gators committed 20 turnovers to only 12 for Oral Roberts. Obanor followed a 30-point performance against Ohio State by scoring 20 in the second half against Florida.

"I'm very grateful, even with this crazy year of COVID, nothing was promised," he said. "The fact that we even have March Madness and win a couple of games, we're just very grateful, very humbled, very honored. Florida was a good team. The last time we won a game in the NCAA tournament was 1974 and now we're in the Sweet 16.

"It's really just mind-blowing."

The Los Angeles Rams agreed to terms with veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson on Sunday.

Jackson fills a much-needed role as a deep-threat wide receiver on an offense that will feature quarterback Matthew Stafford next season.

"We're always trying to add some juice, and we'll see what the next month and a half entails," Rams coach Sean McVay said Friday when asked if the team needed to find a wideout to stretch the field for Stafford.

"Every offense probably in the NFL would love a deep threat, right?" Rams general manager Les Snead said, answering the same question. "If I added to that, it doesn't necessarily have to be someone that catches one deep ball a game; those can be low-percentage throws. But when you definitely have skill players with juice, that can threaten the top shelf of the coverage."

Jackson's deal is for one year, the team said.

A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Jackson has recorded the most 60-plus-yard touchdowns (24) in NFL history. The 34-year-old, who is entering his 13th NFL season, ranks sixth all time in yards per reception (17.4).

In Los Angeles, Jackson reunites with McVay, who served as his offensive coordinator for three seasons with the Washington Football Team from 2014 to 2016. Jackson joins a receiving corps that includes Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp and second-year pro Van Jefferson. The Rams also utilize tight end Tyler Higbee in the passing game.

However, McVay's offense has lacked a true deep-threat receiver since trading Brandin Cooks to the Houston Texans after the 2019 season.

"We need to be more explosive offensively, but we've been a really explosive offense with Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Higbee being centerpieces of it; those guys are going to continue to be that," McVay said. "But when you talk about opportunities, you have to call plays that give you an opportunity to be explosive, and that's where my contribution is. Anytime that you have guys that can do that, that definitely is a benefit."

Jackson became a free agent when he was released by the Philadelphia Eagles in February.

Jackson's return to Philadelphia was limited by injuries since he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019, reuniting the deep-threat receiver with the team that drafted him.

The excitement of the reunion was fueled by two touchdowns of longer than 50 yards in the 2019 opener against Washington, but Jackson wound up playing in just three games that season because of a core muscle injury. Jackson then missed 11 games in 2020 with an injured ankle.

Overall, he has 612 receptions for 10,656 yards and has scored 60 touchdowns (including four rushing and four punt returns). He was selected by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 draft and played six seasons in his first stint with the team, before joining Washington in 2014.

PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Something about Port Royal Speedway clicks with Mat Williamson.

After capturing the $50,000 prize in the Speed Showcase 200 at the track last October, the 2019 Super DIRTcar Series champion returned to Port Royal Sunday and hit paydirt again.

Williamson passed Stewart Friesen with 10 laps to go and went on to win the 40-lap, $5,000-to-win Short Track Super Series feature at the Pennsylvania half mile.

“Coming to Port Royal in March, for me, is better than anywhere else we could have gone,” Williamson said. “I like this place. I feel pretty confident when I walk in the gate. … It’s just one of those places that suits your driving style. It’s a racy, big place.”

“It’s big to get one early in the year,” Williamson said. “Hopefully, this will kick [our season] off and we can get the win total up this year.”

Friesen led the first 30 laps, but Williamson ran a methodical pace and saved his best for when he needed it.

Williamson started eighth and by lap six he had worked around polesitter Jessica Friesen for second. By that point, Stewart Friesen had built a four-second lead, utilizing the top in turns one and two and the bottom on the other end of the track.

Williamson, meanwhile, stayed patient on the bottom. When Stewart Friesen caught lapped traffic, Williamson closed to just mere car lengths before Anthony Perrego brought out the caution on lap 17.

On that green flag run, the bottom became the desired groove and Stewart Friesen focused on protecting his position. That is until he got antsy and tried passing a slower car in the middle of the track, which opened the door for Williamson.

While Stewart Friesen hung it out wide with 10 laps to go, Williamson stayed true to the bottom and drove by.

“Then it was game over,” said Friesen, who then got passed by Mike Mahaney to finish third. “I got impatient with a lapped car and tried to get rolling on the top. There was nothing there.”

A few laps before that, Williamson showed Friesen his nose on the outside, perhaps playing a bit of trickery and fooling Friesen the middle of the track was workable. From there, Friesen had one last shot on a restart with eight laps to go, but lost second to Mahaney trying to make the cushion work.

“Once it locked up on the bottom, that was it,” said Friesen, fresh off a 10th-place run with the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

For Williamson, it’s his second career Short Track Super Series win. Last year, he scored 16 wins in 50 big block modified races across the country. This year, win No. 1 of the year came in his sixth start.

“We got lucky in lapped traffic,” Williamson said. “We had to put ourselves in a position to be there for when it did come up. … We’ll take them where we can get them. Obviously, tonight was a good one. We’re happy with it.”

Jessica Friesen finished fourth while Larry Wright placed fifth.

Gregg Satterlee won the companion super late model feature Sunday afternoon.

The finish:

Mat Williamson, Mike Mahaney, Stewart Friesen, Jessica Friesen, Larry Wight, Tyler Dippel, Matt Stangle, Max McLaughlin, Ryan Godown, Billy Decker, Craig Von Dohren, Frank Cozze, Erick Rudolph, Billy Pauch Jr., Peter Britten, Michael Maresca, Alex Yankowski, Duane Howard, Dominick Buffalino, Joseph Watson, Matt Sheppard, J.R. Heffner, David Van Horn, Kyle Coffey, John Willman, Ryan Watt, Andy Bachetti, Brandon Grosso, Jimmy Horton, Anthony Perrego, Danny Bouc.

The battle for Arsenal's soul goes on. It is an exhilarating and exasperating watch in equal measure, a team so astonishingly intent on reminding everyone of the best and worst of themselves each time they take to the field.

Which is the real Arsenal? The one that was so utterly insipid for half an hour, readily acquiescing to a 3-0 deficit as West Ham seized the initiative? Or the one that responded with remarkable resilience, orchestrated by the excellent Martin Odegaard to rescue a point with a 3-3 draw through a stunning fightback?

This inconsistency of application ultimately cost Arsene Wenger and Unai Emery their position as Gunners boss.

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Under Wenger, the accusation was Arsenal were too comfortable. Under Emery, it looked like they didn't care. Mikel Arteta has sought to tackle this corrosive culture by demanding greater professionalism at all times, a sentiment reinforced by the decision to drop captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for last weekend's North London derby after he reported late to the training ground on the day of the game.

He could have reprimanded all 11 for turning up late here. This was as bad an opening 30 minutes as Arsenal have produced in years. Thursday night's Europa League exploits must be taken into account, especially in the context of a condensed schedule, but the lack of the most basic work ethic was a staggering abandonment of responsibility for a professional sports team.

The Hammers started brightly but they did not need to be anything more than focused and purposeful to race ahead. Jesse Lingard continued his fine personal record against Arsenal by scoring his seventh goal in eight games against the Gunners, rifling home a superb volley from just inside the box.

Lingard continues to look reinvigorated and marked his England recall with the seventh goal involvement since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester United in January. No other Premier League player has more during that time span.

Just 98 seconds passed before they went 2-0 up. Arsenal completely switched off after conceding a free kick ---Granit Xhaka was one of several players not even facing the play when Lingard fed Jarrod Bowen who hit an unconvincing shot goalwards. Bernd Leno was beaten far too easily at his near post, painfully slow to react. When Tomas Soucek flicked in Michail Antonio's header to put West Ham 3-0 up after 32 minutes, Arteta could be seen on the touchline scowling in disbelief.

For all the talk about off-field standards helping inform conduct on the field, this is precisely the kind of spell Arsenal simply have to completely eradicate if they are ever to progress under Arteta.

"This is my responsibility because before we could not play at that level but now we can", said Arteta afterwards. "So we cannot go from here to there. We have to be all the time here [high].

"This is where he are heading and we have to stop giving the opponents anything because the last shot that they had when they hit the post is a throw-in, we give them the ball and they are through. It is too simple.

"And for the rest, I am incredibly proud of the team. That is what keeps me awake, because it has happened too many times too often. And at that level you cannot do that because the opponents are so good, and the margins are not that big. Then the positive one is the level that we played afterwards of course."

There was consternation in some quarters on social media of the team Arteta selected, notably with Calum Chambers starting at right-back and Aubameyang pushed out to the right but this wasn't about tactics, this was simply about a basic will to win.

And what followed makes the first 30 minutes even more of a betrayal. Soucek deflected Alexandre Lacazette's 38th-minute shot into his own net and suddenly Arsenal came alive.

They improved dramatically after the break, Odegaard finding pockets of space and delivering intelligent, well-timed passes to puncture West Ham's rearguard. Chambers was in fact superb down the right, creating three chances and whipping in eight crosses, one of which forced a Craig Dawson own goal just after the hour mark.

Antonio missed a great chance to put the game to bed when Said Benrahma drilled a cross into a dangerous area, hitting the post from two yards as the game became frantically stretched. But Arsenal equalised when substitute Nicolas Pepe crossed for Lacazette to head home, celebrating with Aubameyang who had been taken off moments before.

"I am not worried about the culture because we have come so far on that and I have seen so many positive things to be consistent with what I'm saying; Today was one of those again because I have seen before completely different reactions, with each other as a team, the belief the energy.

"I am not worried about that. I am worried about the levels we can show within a game and that's where I think we are still far from the top teams."

Lacazette's equaliser will no doubt mask the decision to remove Aubameyang when Arsenal were 3-2 down but it says everything about the Gabon striker's game right now that he was withdrawn in such circumstances. Aubameyang managed 22 touches and just four sprints in the first half and had the worst passing accuracy in the opposing half (62.5 percent) of any outfield starter on either team.

For the second time this week, Aubameyang provided the wrong kind of example to others. Yet he is still the club's top goalscorer and capable of mixing it with the very best. The same is true of Arsenal, who continue to show signs of developing into a more cohesive -- and well-coached -- team in their best moments.

We're just still not really any closer to knowing how often we'll see it.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball is expected to miss the rest of the season with a fracture to his right wrist, a source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Hornets announced Sunday evening that Ball underwent an MRI and an initial diagnosis revealed a fractured bone in the wrist. The team said Ball would be "listed as out indefinitely," and that additional updates would be provided when available.

Ball, considered a frontrunner for NBA rookie of the year, is seeking a second opinion to confirm the diagnosis, a source told Wojnarowski.

Ball, 19, appeared to suffer the injury in a fall early during Saturday night's 125-98 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. He played extensively in the second half despite clearly struggling with discomfort in the wrist, and finished with 13 points.

Ball, the younger brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, is averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists for the season.

By ALAN THATCHER – Squash Mad Editor

World No.9 Joel Makin narrowly avoided a shock defeat in the second round of the men’s CIB PSA Black Ball Open as he overcame England’s Patrick Rooney after 75 minutes of absorbing squash.

Rooney had won their only previous meeting on the PSA World Tour back in 2015 when Makin was ranked outside of the world’s top 100. Since that match, though, Makin has soared up the rankings to sit inside the top 10, some 43 places above Rooney.

However, Rooney was every bit Makin’s equal for large phases of this match in the PSA World Tour Platinum event at Cairo’s Black Ball Sporting Club as he took Makin to a decider. But the Welshman held his nerve to play the crucial points well, and he closed out an 10-12, 11-2, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 victory to reach the last 16.

“I just felt flat with my movement, something wasn’t quite right,” said Makin. “I wasn’t relying on getting on the ball early, and he was getting in front of me all the time. That allowed him to use his skills and he was putting the ball away unbelievably to be fair to him.

“He didn’t give me much chance to settle, so I really had to dig in hard towards the end because I wasn’t feeling right. His quality going in short was pretty unbelievable on a glass court like that, so I just had to deal with it like I did and find a way. The quality wasn’t right. I’m not sure why but we haven’t played in four months so you can’t be perfect.”

Makin will play World No.14 Mazen Hesham in the third round after the Egyptian’s match with Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu was cut short due to a knee injury to the Spaniard.

World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy marked his return to Egypt with a 3-0 win over Frenchman Baptiste Masotti. ElShorbagy hadn’t played on home soil since June 2019 when he lined up at the CIB PSA World Tour Finals and he had to be at his best to fend off the talented World No.37 today.

“I really enjoyed being back playing and competing again, it has been a long time,” said ElShorbagy.

“Since March last year, I have only played two events and in one of those, I lost in the second round. I haven’t really played for a long time, but at the same time, I was really looking forward to being back on the glass. I am a competitor, so I enjoy playing, I enjoy winning, and I am really happy to be back.”

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ElShorbagy will go up against India’s Saurav Ghosal next as he looks to increase his current nine-match win streak over the World No.13.

French veteran Gregory Gaultier defeated Egypt’s Youssef Soliman in straight games to earn his last 16 berth. The 38-year-old was masterful in the opening stages to take a 2-0 lead and, while he tired as the match went on, he was able to keep his opponent at bay to record the victory.

“I felt really sharp and good during the first two games,” said Gaultier. “My movement was great for me, I felt okay and comfortable. It was boiling inside [the court], the ball was very bouncy, so I was just trying to hit with little pace, not to rush for all the shots or volley too much. I just tried to hit my targets to then get the openings and make him move around.”

He will play World No.4 Paul Coll after the Kiwi got the better of Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller, winning 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 in 44 minutes.

“He [Gregory Gaultier] is playing really well for his age,” Coll said. “It is incredible how he keeps going and keeps playing at such a high level. I’m really looking forward to the match tomorrow, it is going to be very tough, he is super experienced and still very high quality, but I am really excited for it. He has one of the best backhands in the world, so it will be a battle down that side and I will just have to look out for the backhand kill that he loves.”

Egyptian pair Marwan ElShorbagy and Youssef Ibrahim will go head-to-head in the third round after they completed wins over Karim El Hammamy and Lucas Serme, respectively, in the day’s other two fixtures.

Men’s 2021 CIB PSA Black Ball Squash Open, Black Ball Sporting Club, Cairo, Egypt.

Second Round (Bottom Half):
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 12-10 (44m)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 15-13 (65m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-2: 4-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6 (61m)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6 (67m)
[8] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-2: 10-12, 11-2, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8 (75m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 3-1: 11-9, 13-15, 11-6, 5-0 retired (57m)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 (42m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-0: 14-12, 11-7, 11-9 (43m)

Third Round (March 22):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Mostafa Asal
Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [7] Fares Dessouky (EGY)
Zahed Salem (EGY) v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v Gregory Gaultier (FRA0
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) v [6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[8] Joel Makin (WAL) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Pictures courtesy of PSA

HAMPTON, Ga. – Just when it looked like Kyle Larson would cruise to victory in Sunday’s  Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney arrived on the scene to crush his hopes.

Blaney was able run down Larson in the final 25 laps and wrestle the lead away with less than 10 laps left to become the sixth different race winner in as many NASCAR Cup Series races this season.

“We had a great long run car all day. It took us a little bit to get going,” Blaney explained. “I was pretty free all day, so we made a really good change to tighten me up where I needed it and it looked like Kyle was getting loose. I’m happy it worked in our favor that there were a couple long runs at the end that kind of let us get there.”

Larson appeared untouchable throughout Sunday’s race as he swept the first two stages of the race by a considerable margin. Blaney, however, was the only driver who seemed to be in the same zip code as Larson all day.

The lead duo made their final pit stops with 56 laps to go, with Larson emerging with a two second advantage over Blaney. However, unlike previous long green flag runs, Larson was unable to stretch out his lead as Blaney was able to keep Larson within reach.

“He got a little bit of a ways away from me on pit road after we came out and he stretched his lead out a tiny bit, but I was just like, ‘Alright, it’s going to be a 50 plus lap run. I’m going to try to save my stuff a little bit and hopefully it will even out and he’ll start coming back to me,'” Blaney said.

With less than 20 laps left Blaney began to visibly close on Larson, who found himself hung up behind the slower car of Blaney’s Team Penske teammate Joey Logano. With 15 laps left Blaney had cut Larson’s lead down to one second and five laps later he was within half a second of Larson’s bumper.

With nine laps left Blaney made his first run at Larson, getting alongside him briefly in turns one and two, but Larson was able to hold serve. As they raced around to turns three and four Blaney ran the top lane while Larson stuck to the bottom, allowing Blaney to get a huge run coming out of turn four.

Blaney used that run to dive under Larson as they raced to the start/finish line, with Blaney leading the race at the line. Larson was unable to hold off Blaney, who pulled clear on the next lap and quickly pulled away from Larson.

With no caution flags to slow the pace and give Larson a chance to close the gap, Blaney was able to roar to a 2.083-second victory. It was the fifth victory of Blaney’s NASCAR Cup Series career.

“I wasn’t going to beat him in a 10 lap shootout,” Blaney lamented. “His car was so good. Luckily we were more fortunate that it played out for a long run. Such a great long run car.”

Larson explained that after the final pit stop with 56 laps left he tried to build a big gap on Blaney like he had in previous runs, but his car simply wasn’t good enough to do that and he used up his tires.

In turn, that opened the door for Blaney to run him down late in the race.

“I was trying to get out to a big gap, but I never really did,” Larson explained. “I think I extended it a little, but not nearly enough. Before the other green flag stops I could exit pit road and I’d feel like I gained a few seconds over the course of like 20 laps. I was hoping it was going to be like that.

“After the green flag stop he was just really good. I couldn’t get out to that gap that I could earlier in the race. Ultimately just had to run my tires too hard to try and get that gap and I didn’t have anything there at the end.”

Alex Bowman finished a distant third, more than 10 seconds behind Blaney at the checkered flag. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch completed the top-five.

Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and local favorite Chase Elliott was never a contender Sunday and retired from the race due to engine failure after completing 219 laps.

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