Serena Williams announced her shock withdrawal from the French Open on Monday with injury just minutes before her scheduled fourth-round clash against long-time bitter rival and fellow Grand Slam icon Maria Sharapova.

The 36-year-old said she had suffered a pectoral muscle injury in her third-round win over Julia Goerges and “can’t serve at all”.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion added that she would stay in Paris for scans on the injury to find out how long she will be out of action.

“I unfortunately have been having some issues with my pec, my pec muscle, and (it) has unfortunately been getting worse to the point where right now I can’t actually serve. It’s kind of hard to play when I can’t physically serve,” she explained.

She was unable to say whether or not she would be fit for Wimbledon which gets underway in four weeks’ time.

“I’m beyond disappointed,” added three-time Roland Garros champion Williams who was playing in her first Grand Slam since winning the 2017 Australian Open.

She was also playing just her third tournament of the year after giving birth to daughter Olympia in September.

“I gave up so much time with my daughter and time with my family all for this moment. So it’s really difficult to be in this situation.”

The shock withdrawal came just minutes before she was due on Court Philippe Chatrier to face fierce rival Sharapova.

Williams has not lost to the Russian since 2004, winning the last 18 matches.

It had been the most eagerly-awaited match of the tournament, coming just two days after Williams had blasted Sharapova’s autobiography for being “100 percent hearsay” when it came to references about her.

Sharapova, the champion in Paris in 2012 and 2014, goes on to play a first quarter-final at the Slams since losing to Williams at the same stage at the 2016 Australian Open.

It was in Melbourne that Sharapova tested positive for meldonium after which she served a 15-month doping ban.

The Russian will face either 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza or Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine for a semi-final place.

Monday’s bombshell announcement was the first time in her 20-year career that Williams had pulled out during a Grand Slam event.

Despite her well-documented fall-outs with Sharapova, Williams insisted she had been looking forward to the match.

“I love playing Maria — it’s just a match I always get up for. Her game matches so well against mine.”

Despite playing just four matches in 2018 before Roland Garros, Williams played doubles in Paris with sister Venus.

They had been knocked out on Sunday by Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez with the American sisters getting a 6-0 bagel in the final set.

Serena had gone into that match wearing her striking all-black catsuit but she admitted she had had to tape her serving arm to try and protect the injury.

“Every match has been getting better for me. Physically I’m doing great.

“I sacrificed so much to be at this event. I can only take solace in the fact I’m going to continue to get better.

“And I had such a wonderful performance in my first Grand Slam back. I just feel like it’s only going to do better.”

However, her status for Wimbledon where she has been champion seven times, will only become clear once she has had an MRI.

“I made a promise that if I’m not at least 60 percent or 50 percent, then I probably shouldn’t play,” she added.

“The fact that I physically can’t serve at all is a good indication that maybe I should just go back to the drawing board and stay positive and try to get better and not get it to a point where it could be a lot worse.”

The pair attended a club training day at Bangkok Patana School before attending a charity dinner at the JW Marriott Hotel the same evening.

Their career successes inspired a new generation of Thai rugby talent honing their skills with the Bangkok Lions Rugby Club. Mehrtens has 70 caps, 967 points and played first class rugby for 12 years in New Zealand, England and France. He is recognized as one of the all-time greatest players and the 7^th highest point scorer in international rugby. Watson, an England and British and Irish Lion is just 24 years old and already has 36 international test caps and is a global ambassador for Adidas and Maserati.

Rugby is the fastest growing team sport on the planet, fueled by Rugby 7’s, women’s rugby and participation at the Olympic Games. Thailand will be participating in Rugby 7’s at the 2018 Asian Games. The Rugby World Cup in 2019 is to be hosted in Japan – the first time the event will be staged in Asia. Rugby has been played in Thailand since the 1920’s and has more than 150 clubs and 20,000 players in the Kingdom.

“Thailand has a proud record in world rugby, and within Asia, both men and women have a reputation for being tough and competitive opponents,” said Andrew Mehrtens. “The Thailand Women’s team won gold at the 2017 SEA Games and the Men the bronze. At this year’s Asian Games, both teams must be medal contenders,” he added.

“Being in Bangkok and meeting both fans and fellow rugby players was exciting. The core values of rugby are identified as integrity, passion, solidarity, discipline, respect and inclusivity, and I think it’s something that really resonates in Thailand. The sport does not discriminate,” said Anthony Watson. “It is these fundamental values that make the sport of rugby unique and what has really seen it grow in Thailand over the past few years,” he added.

Both Watson and Mehrtens acknowledged the significance and contribution of rugby clubs at the grass root level. “The Bangkok Lions Rugby Club provides an outstanding opportunity for the youth in Thailand to learn the game of rugby. Not only do the players learn about the sport and how to keep fit and healthy, but also essential core values and life skills,” said Watson.

The alliance will seek to benefit the game worldwide, helping to drive golf’s fan base and grow the sport around the world.

The unprecedented 12-year relationship, to begin in 2019 and carry through 2030, would include global multi-platform live rights, outside the United States, to all PGA TOUR media properties totaling nearly 2000 hours of content per year, including the six Tours operating under the PGA TOUR umbrella and more than 140 tournaments annually, including THE PLAYERS Championship, the FedExCup Playoffs, and the Presidents Cup.

In addition to live linear rights in 220 markets and territories, the alliance will include the creation of a dedicated, PGA TOUR-branded, OTT video streaming service, that will capitalize on Discovery’s direct-to-consumer product and platform expertise experience as home to the Eurosport Player. Discovery expects to invest more than $2 billion over the course of the alliance, including licensing of the PGA TOUR’s international media rights and building a global OTT platform available outside the United States, with a gradual increase of annual investment during the term.

Building on a heritage of world-class coverage and storytelling, Discovery and the PGA TOUR will work with leading broadcasters and distribution platforms to deliver PGA TOUR content to viewers globally outside the United States. Opportunities will also be explored within Discovery’s portfolio of pay-TV and free-to-air channels, and digital and short-form platforms, to best utilize the PGA TOUR’s extensive non-live and library rights for all media platforms.

 David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery, said: “Today is a fantastic day for golf fans around the world as Discovery proudly partners with the PGA TOUR to create something that has never been done before. The long-term partnership between the PGA TOUR and Discovery will create the new global Home of Golf, including delivering over 2000 hours of live content year-round and this prestigious sport’s greatest moments, stories and players – 50 of the top 100 are international – across all of Discovery and Eurosport’s global distribution channels, including television, mobile and digital platforms.  Following our successful first Olympic Games in PyeongChang, Discovery will contribute its strong global reach, in-market relationships, global sports expertise and strong television and direct-to-consumer platforms and brands to create a valuable new long-term offering in every market outside the US.”

Jay Monahan, Commissioner, PGA TOUR, said: “This is an exciting next step for the PGA TOUR, which presents a tremendous opportunity to accelerate and expand our media business outside the United States, better service our international broadcast partners, and drive fan growth with a deeply experienced strategic global partner.  This partnership aligns very well with the opening of PGA TOUR offices in London, Tokyo and Beijing in recent years and will support our long-term objectives of growing the game of golf. It also will deliver more value to our sponsors as it presents a tremendous opportunity to engage new and diverse audiences around the world.”

Since 2007, the PGA TOUR has negotiated all of its non-U.S. broadcast rights deals on its own. The alliance between Discovery and the PGA TOUR will capitalize on the two organizations’ expertise in managing international multi-platform rights and launching the new digital service.  Working together, the parties expect to execute on a robust international distribution and broadcast partner strategy for the portfolio of some of golf’s most prestigious tournaments featuring the world’s greatest players, optimizing reach across free-to-air, pay-TV and digital.

The collaboration brings together two highly complementary global brands and storytellers with a rich heritage in sports, uniting the TOUR’s rich content, production assets, media rights and worldwide media partner associations with Discovery’s deep expertise and relationships in local media markets worldwide, as well as its proven record in maximizing multi-platform engagement around the biggest and most watched sports events.

The business will be led by Discovery’s Alex Kaplan, President and General Manager of the new Discovery and PGA TOUR venture. Kaplan previously was EVP, Commercial for Eurosport Digital where he helped grow the Eurosport D2C business to over 1 million subscribers.  Prior to joining Discovery, Kaplan was Senior Vice President, Global Media Distribution, for the NBA, responsible for global direct-to-consumer strategy and business operations. Prior to the NBA, Kaplan spent 10 years at DIRECTV/AT&T, where he led the organization responsible for DIRECTV Sports and oversaw Revenue and Entertainment products and services.  The full management team will be announced in due course and include the PGA TOUR’s Thierry Pascal as Senior Vice President and Head of Distribution.

Kaplan said: “I am incredibly excited to work with David Zaslav and JB Perrette to take international coverage of PGA TOUR golf to the next level.  We can’t wait to get started and build a world-class global platform and long-term distribution strategy to turn the vision of this partnership into a reality.  By joining forces with the outstanding PGA TOUR team, led by Jay Monahan and Rick Anderson, we have a unique opportunity to build an amazing product that will serve the fans with the golf content they love on every screen.”

Discovery has demonstrable experience in managing global sports rights, optimizing viewership and engagement on its own and partner platforms. For example, Discovery is the Home of the Olympics in Europe and, through its leading sports brand Eurosport, shows premium and fully localized sports coverage all-year-round on TV and Europe’s number one OTT streaming service, Eurosport Player in 54 markets. Discovery provides world-class expertise in the international sports rights and distribution and is the European gatekeeper for all TV and multimedia rights for four Olympic Games (2018 – 2024).**

For the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018, Discovery established more than 40 free-to-air broadcast partnerships, delivering every minute of the Olympic Games via OTT for the first time across Europe. It also struck innovative social media partnerships to reach younger audiences, such as establishing Snapchat’s first Olympics collaboration in Europe. Discovery delivered record-breaking TV and digital viewership for the Games, including 63% of the population in Europe interacting on Discovery’s own free-to-air, pay-TV and digital platforms and those of its broadcaster partners.

Turkey, with six wins from nine matches, are currently at sixth in the 16-team standings. They will face Japan in the opening match at 3pm on Tuesday.

Turkey Team Captain Eda Erdem Dundar said: “ The fourth round will be very difficult especially going up against top Asian teams. Those three games will be really hard but we will try to do our best. I wish everyone a good luck.”

Turkey Head Coach Giovanni Guedetti said: “We are excited to be here in Thailand,and  it’s always very nice to play volleyball here. We are going to face a very hard group – three of the best Asian teams – so it’s a big challenge for our very young team. We will see how we can adapt to this competitive kind of volleyball.”

Japan Head Coach Kumi Nakada said: “We are in the fourth round of the Volleyball Nations League and every week, we’ve been playing very tough matches. This week  is going to be another difficult week. However, we want to prepare technically, try to get good results, and grow as a team in each match.”

Thailand will try to salvage their pride after lsoing three games last week at the Hua Mark Indoor Stadium. The Kingdom will take on South Korea at 5.30pm.

Thailand Team Captain Pleumjit Thinkaow said: “I am very glad to play at home again especially here in Korat ,Nakhon Ratchasima where we have a lot of volleyball fans to cheer for us.But it is going to be a very tough week for us once again because we will be playing against the three teams with good results in the past three weeks. We will try to keep improving in each match and will play our best infront of our fans.”

Thailand Head Coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul said: “It is such a great opportunity for our team to play against top teams from Asia like Japan and Korea and one of the best teams from Europe Turkey who last week did a very good job. It will very a very challenging job for us to play against these three teams.They have a very good playing system and good players. I hope my team will gain good experience from them and we will try our best in this week.”

Korea Head Coach Cha Haewon said: ” Every match will not be easy. We will try prepare mentally and physically  and hope that my team will show their best here.”

Ariya Jutanugarn parred the fourth playoff hole to beat Kim Hyo-joo for the 73rd US Women’s Open title on Sunday and become the first player from Thailand to lift the trophy.

The 22-year-old Ariya captured her second major championship as she parred all four playoff holes at the Shoal Creek, Alabama course.

“I feel really excited that I mean I’m really honored to join the list of winners before me,” said Ariya. ” I’m really proud of myself at the front-9. I did everything I want to do. I have really good commitment. I never think about the outcome of the front-9 but that back got me a lot.”

“After having 7 shot lead and ended up having to go to playoff, I have no expectations because like I kind of got mad a little bit with my back-9. So if I have a playoff I’m going to make sure I do my best every shot because I feel like I didn’t commit at the back-9. I feel I have last chance to make myself proud or do the shot in front of me.”

She finished with a one-over par 73 and a 72-hole total of 11-under 277, making it into the playoff despite a monumental back-nine collapse that saw her seven-stroke lead evaporate.

South Korea’s Kim closed with a five-under 67 to force the playoff and had two long putts to win in the extra session but couldn’t get them to fall.

Both parred the third hole and they returned to the par-four 18th, where Ariya’s superb bunker shot left her with a tap in for the win.

She had appeared to be headed to victory hours earlier, after a birdie at the ninth hole moved her to 16-under and a seven-stroke lead.

But her lead had dwindled to just one as she headed to the final hole of regulation, where her long putt to win failed to drop.

Ariya’s collapse began with a triple bogey seven on number 10 and continued with a bogey at 12.

She carried the meltdown through with back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18.

She righted the ship in the playoff which went to a sudden death format after the two-hole aggregate start failed to produce a winner.

Not only does Ariya become the first Thai to win a US Women’s Open title but she is the first champion from a country other than South Korea or the US since Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam in 2006.

She is also the first multiple winner of the 2018 LPGA Tour season having already won the Kingsmill Championship.

Kim, chasing a second major title to go with her 2014 Evian Championship, had five birdies in her bogey-free round.

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda shot a three-under 69 to finish alone in third place, four strokes back of Kim and Ariya.

American Danielle Kang (69) was four shots back of Ciganda in solo fourth.

Ariya has won a total nine LPGA titles. Her first Major win was the British Open in 2016.

Ariya Jutanugarn’s LPGA win timeline 

1. Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Alabama, May 2016

2. Kingsmill Championship in Virginia, May 2016

3. LPGA Volvik Championship in Michigan, May 2016

4. Women’s British OPen in Woburn, July 2016

5. Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in Calgary,  AUgust 2016

6. Manulife LPGA Classic in Ontario, June 2017

7. CME Group Tour Championship in Florida, November 2017

8. Kingsmill Championship in Virginia, May 2018

9. US Women’s Open in Alabama, June 2018.

Sharapova has not defeated her fellow former world number one since 2004 — a streak of 18 matches — the same year she made her global breakthrough at Wimbledon as a slender teenager prone to fits of giggles.

The 22nd match of their one-sided rivalry will once again be played out against a familiar soundtrack of suspicion and bad blood.

Williams, the three-time French Open champion and 23-time major winner, has vented her anger at Sharapova’s claims that she had wept after losing the 2004 Wimbledon title match.

The 36-year-old described references to her in Sharapova’s memoir, ‘Unstoppable’, as “100 percent hearsay” while other revelations she dismissed as “not necessarily true”.

Williams is particularly angry as Sharapova’s claims came just months after the American had hailed her for the manner in which she announced her failed drugs test at the 2016 Australian Open.

“I was one of the few people that said she was brave to say something,” said Williams referring to Sharapova’s “drug incident”.

“I didn’t have anything negative to say about Maria.”

Sharapova’s test for meldonium led to a 15-month ban.

Ironically, the Russian’s last match before her suspension was against Williams in the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

Williams has monopolised their on-court clashes for the last 14 years so much so that Sharapova has taken just one set in a decade.

Despite that, the Russian, with five Slams to her name, still brings in the serious money.

– ‘Black heart’ –

Her net worth was valued at $285 million by Forbes last year while, according The Richlist, Williams’s financial assets were estimated at $170 million.

Elsewhere, as she rebuilt her reputation, Sharapova featured in a no warts at all Netflix documentary ‘The Point’.

Not to be outdone, Serena opened the doors to HBO for a four-part mini-series, ‘Being Serena’, focussing on her homelife and return to action after the birth of daughter Olympia.

As well as vying for commercial and PR supremacy, the two have fought very public battles over their private lives.

On the eve of Wimbledon in 2013, Williams gave an explosive interview to Rolling Stone magazine in which she left nobody in any doubt as to her target.

“She begins every interview with ‘I’m so happy. I’m so lucky’ – it’s so boring,” said Williams without namechecking the Russian.

“She’s still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it.”

The ‘black heart’ was a not so subtle reference to Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, a rumoured former boyfriend of Williams, who was then dating Sharapova.

A few days later, at a Wimbledon news conference, Sharapova aimed a trademark icy riposte at Williams.

“If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids,” she said in reference to Patrick Mouratoglou, who is still Williams’s coach but was reportedly her boyfriend at the time as well.

The fall-out from that spat was still sending shockwaves through Wimbledon two years later when Mouratoglou said that Victoria Azarenka — a former world number one and close friend of Williams — was a better player than the Russian.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to hear nice words from him about me,” said Sharapova.

Meanwhile, adding even more spice to Monday’s duel in the dust at Court Philippe Chatrier is Williams’s assertion that Sharapova is almost obsessed by the American who is named more than 100 times in ‘Unstoppable’.

“I was, like, this is really interesting…I didn’t know she looked up to me that much or was so involved in my career.”

Monday’s match, which will be third on Court Philippe Chatrier, has already grabbed the attention of other players.

“I think the thing that makes Serena one of the greatest of all time is just she takes everything with the same fire, and everything she does, it’s always at an extremely high level,” said fellow American Madison Keys who has already booked her spot in the quarter-finals.

Competing on a rain-sodden pitch at the Rajamangala National Stadium on Saturday, Thailand once again missed chance after chance while Marcello Lippi’s side capitalised on their fewer opportunities, with rising star Lei Wu netting both goals in the 34th and 74th minutes to clinch victory in the friendly international.

“I’m disappointed with the result,” the Serbian admitted. “The first goal was due to our mistake. The second goal was one player [Lei Wu] against three [Thais]. We have to avoid this situation, not let it happen again in future.”

Thousands of fans defied the second-half rain hoping to see the Kingdom salvage something from the tight contest but it wasn’t to be, a few wayward shots by Consadole Sapporo striker Chanathip Sonkrasin proving to be the nearest the home side would get.

“We created many chances but unfortunately we didn’t manage to score any goals,” Rajevac said .

“Luckily this was a friendly game, we hope to be luckier in competitive matches. We have to be more productive in terms of scoring in the future,” the Serbian coach said.

The Serbian coach also bemoaned that a lack of Thai strikers in the Thai League was one of the reasons why finishing was always a problem for the national side.

“In the Thai League, most of the striking positions are taken by foreigners, so it’s tough for us. However, we will try to improve this aspect,” he said.

The Thai team will remain in camp at Le Meridian Suvarnabhumi until Tuesday as they begin preparing for the AFF Suzuki Cup in November.

However, three J-League internationals Chanathip, Teerasil Dangda and Theerathon Bunmathan will not be available for that tournament due to club commitments in Japan

The 21-year-old played some stunning tennis in the closing stages of a dramatic 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 fourth-round victory and will next face Dominic Thiem who reached a third successive quarter-final in Paris by seeing off Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-0, 5-7, 6-4.

World number 38 Khachanov has now lost at the last-16 stage at Roland Garros twice in a row, while Zverev ended his wait for a maiden major last-eight appearance at the 12th attempt.

“Well, I’m young, so I might as well stay on court, get some practice and entertain you guys,” smiled Zverev, who is bidding to become the first German man to win the French Open since 1937.

“Me and my brother are guys that spend three, four hours a day in the gym, lifting heavy weights, on the treadmill. It paid off today.”

A tight first set heated up in the 10th game when Zverev saved two set points, the second after becoming incensed when the umpire overturned a line call of out from a Khachanov shot.

But the Russian sealed the set at the third time of asking, leaving the world number three needing a fightback for the third consecutive match.

There was excitement at the end of the second set too as a marathon game saw Zverev fail to serve it out to level the match, firing long on Khachanov’s fifth break point after wasting three set points.

But the German gathered himself, taking a tie-break as the momentum swung back in his favour.

That proved a false dawn for Zverev, though, as Khachanov eased through the third set with some powerful hitting.

But Zverev, as he did in his wins over Dusan Lajovic and Damir Dzumhur, forced a decider, sealing the set with an ace after saving two break points.

And he secured an impressive victory, finishing the match with 63 winners and 17 aces.

Former champion Novak Djokovic faces Fernando Verdasco later in the day, looking to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon last year.

– Keys sees off Buzarnescu –

American 13th seed Madison Keys reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu.

Keys, the US Open runner-up last year, will face either Czech 26th seed Barbora Strycova or Yulia Putintseva, the 98th-ranked Kazakh, for a place in the semi-finals.

The 23-year-old American has now reached at least the last-eight of all four majors, after ending the dream run of Buzarnescu, who had never won a Grand Slam match before the tournament.

“First week, my goal is to get to the second week,” said Keys.

“Then once you get to the second week, every match obviously has more nerves, and there’s more on the line and all of that.”

Later on Sunday, Caroline Wozniacki will look to continue her serene progress so far against Russian youngster Daria Kasatkina.

But all eyes will be on Monday’s showdown between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, with the latter trying to end an 18-match losing streak to her bitter rival.

Three-time champion Williams is playing her first Grand Slam tournament since taking time off last year due to pregnancy, while Sharapova is at Roland Garros for the first time in three years after serving a doping ban in 2016 and being refused a wildcard 12 months ago.

Nattavude Charoensukhawatana and his Japanese co-driver Naoki Kawamura won the GTM category on Saturday while  teammates Nattapong Hortongkum and Supong Khamtonwong came at second, propelling Toyata to the team title.

In the Super Car GTM Plus, Jono Lester and Akihiri Asai of Vattana Motosport reserved the top position on the podium with Chonsawat Asavahame and Aiden Read coming at second.

In the Sunday’s race, Nattapong Hortongkum and Supong Khamtonwong salvaged their pride to win the Super Car GTM while the second place went to Alif Hamdan of B-Quik Racing Team.

In the GT Asia category, Bhurit Bhirombhakdi and Kantasak Kusiri of Singha Plan-B by Absolute Racing Adderly Fong took the pole position while Vincent Floirendo of EN Sport by Absolute Racing followed at second.

Bhurit Bhirombhakdi and Kantasak Kusiri

Team manager Suttipong Smittachartch settled at third and second in both races of the GTC event respectively.

“They were very entertaining and challenging races. Everything went according to plan and we matched up the right drivers together. It’s a very successful weekend for our team,” said team manager Suttipong.

The 22-year-old Thailand native charged into the final turn of the major championship event, putting some distance between herself and the rest of the field at the soggy Shoal Creek, Alabama course.

“I told myself to just go out and have fun and be really committed, and I did,” Ariya said. “My putting has been working pretty good. I didn’t hit my tee shots very well, but it was a fun day.”

Former world number one Ariya roared past second round leader Sarah Jane Smith to finish with a 12-under 204 total as the tournament got back on schedule after heavy rains and lightning earlier this week resulted in a number of delays.

Ariya was among 78 players who got up at the break of dawn to return to the course early Saturday to complete their rain-hit second rounds.

Australia’s Smith, who shot a third round 74, is alone in second at eight-under 208. Smith, who is seeking her first LPGA career title, had the luxury of sleeping in Saturday morning because she finished her second round on Friday.

“I felt really good and kept my nerves under control, but I think the nerves showed up in my putting,” Smith said. “When you are leaving them short, that’s because of nerves.

“I have nothing to lose. Hopefully, tomorrow I can go out with a little bit more confidence.”

South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo was alone in third after shooting a four-under 68 while another shot behind was Kim Ji-hyun (70) at five-under 211.

Three players were tied for fifth at four-under 212, comprising world number one Park In-bee, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom and Carlota Ciganda of Spain.

Ariya has eight LPGA victories in the past two years, including a major at the 2016 Women’s British Open.

Ariya began the round three shots behind Smith and needed just three holes to close the gap to one as she gathered two early birdies.

She then posted seven straight pars, taking over the lead when Smith stumbled to back-to-back birdies on Nos. eight and nine holes.

Ariya kicked it into high gear on the back nine by draining four birdies in five holes beginning at the par-five 11th hole.

– ‘Sleep well’ –

“I think I’m going to sleep well tonight,” Ariya said. “I didn’t sleep much last night and I’m really tired. I just want to go out and be proud of myself every day.

“I’m pretty sure tomorrow is going to be a pretty good day. I don’t know what the outcome will be, but I know what I’m going to take action on.”

Smith, who is ranked 97th in the world, has put on an impressive performance this week after she switched back to a old set of clubs.

Heading into this event she missed the cut in five consecutive events and has failed to make the cut in five of her six previous US Open appearances.

Defending champion Park Sung-hyun missed the halfway cut with rounds of 76-77, and world number two Feng Shanshan of China also exited early after rounds of 78-74.