John Isner produced a blistering Miami Open semi-final display against crowd favourite Juan Martin Del Potro to win 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) and snap the former US Open champion’s 15-match winning streak.

It was a phenomenal effort from the American who blasted down 13 aces and took just one hour and 23 minutes to floor Argentina’s Del Potro and book his place in Sunday’s final.

Isner will meet world number five Alexander Zverev in the final after the German rolled over Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in the other semi-final.

“I have played a lot of big matches and not been able to get such a  good start but I am playing some of the best tennis I have played in such a long time,” Isner said.

“I started the tournament well and I have improved with every game. I am super fresh and ready to go for the final.”

An exhausted Del Potro said he is looking forward to some much-needed time away from tennis before deciding on when to play next.

Winning the final would have seen him climb to world number three but simply staying fit for the French Open in May is the ultimate goal.

– French Open target –

“I don’t want to think about tennis right now,” said the Argentine.

“I just want to stay healthy and maybe I will miss a few tournaments to get ready for the French Open. We will come up with a schedule for the clay court season.

“I will go home now, eat some barbeque, spend time with friends and not talk about tennis for the next few weeks.”

Isner, who won an impressive 83 percent of points on his second serve, was aiming to reach his fifth ATP Masters final and, finally, emerge victorious from one after four defeats.

The American had never reached the showpiece here but knew that with the fit again Del Potro in such devastating form and unbeaten in his last 15 matches, it would take a monumental effort to upset the Argentine and his hordes of followers at Crandon Park.

The American wasted no time in breaking Del Potro and racing into a 3-0 lead while sending down five aces on his own serve to brilliantly wrap up the first set in just 27 minutes.

The second set was a tight affair, going into the ninth game with the match delicately poised at 4-4.

Isner suddenly had a chance to break which was saved by Del Potro after the world number 17 hit the net, a mistake which was punished by an ace and drop shot from the crowd favourite.

Deafening chants of ‘Delpo, Delpo’ rang around the main stadium here as the 29-year-old tried to force a deciding set yet Isner’s serve held firm to force a tie-break.

The momentum was with the American, his serve reaching 136 mph as he flew into a 3-0 lead.

Isner’s serve was relentless and on target every single time making it impossible for Del Potro to get a foothold in the game, and when an excellent passing shot gave Isner four match points, he took the first with a brilliant drop volley to complete one of the finest wins of his career.

“When he plays like that, he’s one of the toughest guys on tour to beat,” Del Potro said.

Alexander Zverev of Germany

Fourth seeded Zverev needed 88 minutes to oust Carreno Busta and punch his ticket to the final.

The 20-year-old Zverev will be seeking his seventh career ATP title and first of the season when he faces Isner.

Zverev blasted 10 aces and won 88 percent of his first serve points in his first career meeting with the 26-year-old Carreno Busta.

“Every day I want to serve big,” said Zverev, who improved to 13-4 on the season. “I was very fortunate to win the first set and then I found my game in the second set.”

The shocking revelation of an illicit sex network operated at one of Argentina’s most prestigious and successful clubs was made after a 17-year-old told an Independiente psychologist he had been encouraged, alongside another 19-year-old player, to prostitute himself to adult men in a trendy Buenos Aires neighbourhood, local press said.

Public prosecutor Maria Soledad Garibaldi has asked to meet all 50-plus boys aged between 13 and 19 housed at a boarding facility operated by the club in the Avellaneda suburb of the sprawling Argentine capital.

“Of the five boys I spoke with (on Monday), three gave me some information,” said Garibaldi, quoted by local press.

“One of them told me it didn’t happen, but that they had been approached. The children knew something was going on.

“They’ve allowed me to reveal that they were offered to do it for a pair of boots or underwear.”

Football referee Martin Bustos and his lawyer have been arrested over the scandal, which was brought to the judicial authorities’ attention by Independiente club bosses.

Bustos’s lawyer is suspected of having destroyed a mobile phone in order to hide evidence.

According to Garibaldi, there might also be similar underage prostitution networks operated at other clubs.

“Unfortunately, that doesn’t surprise me,” admitted Independiente coach Ariel Holan.

“It’s something that’s hidden and it’s a problem in society, like drugs, alcohol and human trafficking.

“It’s not an issue that’s confined to sport or to Independiente.”

According to Andres Bonicalzi, a lawyer for a rape victims charity, young players from the vast interior of the country — well away from Buenos Aires on the western shore of the Rio de la Plata estuary — who are far from their families, are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

“They see the club as a role-model, they see it as a father-figure. They’re far away from their own fathers,” said Bonicalzi.

“(The perpetrators) have exploited their immaturity and these children’s need to belong to something.”

Independiente are the fourth most successful team in Argentine history with 16 national titles, behind fellow Buenos Aires outfits River Plate (36), Boca Juniors (32) and their local rivals from Avellaneda, Racing (17).

They’ve also won the continental Copa Libertadores — South America’s equivalent to the UEFA Champions League — a record seven times, having never lost a final.

Part of a multi-discipline sports organisation, Independiente has a host of different teams throughout the youth ranks as well as a football academy and an education centre for children throughout their compulsory schooling period.

Courtois did not feature for Belgium during the international break because of a hamstring problem, while defender Christensen was sent back by Denmark after struggling with muscle fatigue.

Both are serious doubts for Sunday’s match at Stamford Bridge, where a defeat could prove fatal to Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

“We have two big problems — Courtois and Christensen — and we have to check the real possibility to play, and then to play well,” said Conte on Thursday.

“The most important thing is to be available but, at the same time, to have the right physical condition to play a good game. Otherwise I have to make a different decision.

“At this moment for me it’s very difficult to tell you with accuracy which is my choice for Sunday because we have to check these two situations.”

Should Courtois fail to be fit, new Argentina international Willy Caballero would be his obvious replacement, while Gary Cahill could come in for Christensen.

Centre-back Cahill has fallen down the pecking order under Conte this season and was left out of Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad.

He looks to be the only other option available to his club manager, with David Luiz ruled out with a knee injury.

“David Luiz is out at least for another three weeks. He’s recovering from a problem in his knee,” said Conte.

Conte’s champions are playing catch-up in the race for a top-four finish but victory this weekend would cut the gap to fourth-placed Spurs to two points with seven matches to play.

While Courtois and Christensen may yet be available against Mauricio Pochettino’s men, midfielder Ross Barkley will definitely be absent.

The January signing is scheduled to play in a reserve game this weekend in his attempts to return to full fitness.

Iheanacho sustained the injury while he was away with Nigeria. He started his country’s victory in Poland last week but was absent from the squad for the 2-0 defeat to Serbia at Barnet on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old returned to Leicester on Thursday and Foxes boss Claude Puel confirmed the injury at his pre-match press conference, although he said he would be assessed to see if he could play.

“We will see about Iheanacho because he has a broken hand,” said Puel. “We will see if he can play with his injury. We will see tomorrow (Friday) in the training session.

“I think he fell. It’s not an important injury. We will see if this injury prevents him from playing in this game. Perhaps it might be strange for him to play with a cast.”

Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire both returned from international duty with England fit and well and will play against Brighton on Saturday.

There were doubts about Maguire after he was left out against Italy this week as a precaution after limping off late in the victory over the Netherlands.

Lindberg had seven birdies without a bogey at Mission Hills in Rancho Mirage, California, powering past Japan’s Ayako Uehara and Spain’s Beatriz Recari who shared second place on 66 in the first LPGA major of the season.

Thailand’s Pornanong and Moriya trailed five shots off the lead. Teenage amateur Attaya Thitikul shot a 71 while Ariya Jutanugarn carded a 72.

American Jessica Korda, South Korea’s Jang Ha-na and Swiss amateur Albane Valenzuela were tied on 67.

Lexi Thompson — who endured a rules nightmare last year that cost her a four-point penalty and a likely victory at Mission Hills last year — headed a group of six players on 68.

Thompson was delighted to get a solid first round under her belt on a course she loves, but which inevitably brings back unwelcome memories of last year.

“I don’t know if I would say it’s a relief,” she said. “I was just really looking forward to just playing this week. I love coming here, and the course can’t be in any better shape. Probably the best I’ve seen it, and the greens are perfect.

“Overall I played really well today. So just going to take that into the next three days,” said Thompson, who added she was touched by the fan support she received.

There was little to celebrate in defending champion Ryu So-yeon’s return. The South Korean, who eventually beat Thompson in a playoff to lift the trophy last year, failed to make a birdie in a three-over 75.

– Lindberg lights it up –

Lindberg teed off on 10 and had three birdies on her outward run. Her four coming in included back-to-back birdies to cap her round.

“I just set a number for myself in my head every day,” she said. “Today, I kind of kept adjusting that all day when I kept making birdies, and I even kind of upped my own number.

“That’s what I’m going to do every day.”

Uehara set the early pace, shaking off an opening bogey to take the clubhouse lead with eight birdies on the day.

“The beginning I had a three-putt, and I kind of played tight,” said Uehara, who relaxed as she strung together three birdies around the turn and finished with two straight birdies.

Recari’s six birdies included three in a row at 10th, 11th and 12th.

“From the beginning I felt very confident,” Recari said after her bogey-free round. “I knew my strategy. I’ll stick to it. Whenever I was in trouble I was actually in a good spot, and I was able to get up-and-down quite easily.”

Korda burst out of the blocks with four straight birdies to start her round. She finished with eight birdies.

Korda is relishing golf, and life, after jaw surgery to correct a severe overbite.

“I didn’t realize how much it affected me until I got the surgery done,” said Korda, who won the Honda LPGA in Thailand in February, her season debut. “I’m just a happy person now. I wake up, no headaches. I get to wake up pain free every day and that’s amazing to me.”

It was an impressive display by the reigning US Open champion who booked her ticket for Saturday’s showpiece with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 triumph, just 18 days after beating the Belarusian in straight sets at Indian Wells.

Stephens was raised in Plantation, around an hour north of Key Biscayne and is expecting her friends and family to turn up in “full force.”

Saturday’s final, against either American qualifier Danielle Collins or French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko who play later Thursday, will be the last women’s final encounter before the move away from Crandon Park to the Hard Rock Stadium next year.

Stephens has won every won of the five finals she’s contested in her career and making it six in a row – and the last in Key Biscayne – would make winning here for the first time even more special.

“This feels like a home final for me,” she said. “We used to come down here all the time and play when I was younger. It’s always amazing for my friends and family when I play here. They are in full force.

“It’s weird, what’s going to happen to Crandon Park. To play in front of my friends and family again here for the last time, it feels kind of cool that I’ll be able to close it out in style for them.”

Stephens endured a terrible slump since triumphing at Flushing Meadows last September, losing her last six games of 2017 and started the New Year with deflating early exits in Sydney and the Australian Open.

– Injury-free –

“At the end of last season, I had to play. Like, my heart was there but my body physically was not,” said the American.

“And I think that was the most important thing, getting myself back in the best shape that I could be in, making sure that I was pain-free, that I wasn’t going to get injured again, and making sure I was taking care of myself.

“That was the biggest part about ending last season. And then going into this season, I knew that I didn’t have the greatest offseason, so for me, the two matches that I lost the first part of the year in Australia, not a big deal. If you’re not 100%, you can’t expect much.

“I took the time to get myself together and I guess there has been some good results.”

Stephens has certainly found her form at just the right time and despite falling behind today in the first women’s semi-final, the American, who will enter the top 10 for the first time next week when the WTA rankings are announced, upped her game while Azarenka, hamstrung by six double faults and a hip problem, lost her way.

“I knew I was going to have to fight and she came out strong but if I could keep it close, I had a chance and would get the opportunities,” said the no 12 seed.

While Stephens looks forward to attempting to win her first WTA Premier Mandatory event, Azarenka admitted she is returning to Los Angeles to continue with legal discussions over the custody of her son, Leo, who was born in December 2016.

“I have to go back, and then I will see what happens. When I have some news, I’ll be ready to share them,” said Azarenka who stressed she felt an injury for the whole match.

Back in 1986, Neylor Lasmar was called upon to fix the knee of the star of the Brazilian team heading to Mexico and aiming to win a first World Cup since 1970, Zico.

Although just a teenager, young Rodrigo was afforded the privilege of accompanying his father throughout that tournament.

“He met all the players, he was very involved,” Neylor Lasmar recently told Brazilian daily O Estado de Minas.

Now 46, Rodrigo Lasmar is carrying on the family tradition and his role in mending Neymar’s broken foot is every bit as crucial to the Selecao’s World Cup hopes in Russia as his father’s skills had been 32 years ago.

Like his father, Lasmar’s reputation preceded him and his selection by Neymar for the crucial task briefly made him the most important man in his homeland.

“In the end, it’s the patient who decides which surgeon will operate on him — it’s about confidence,” Lasmar’s predecessor as the Brazil team’s chief medic Jose Luiz Runco told AFP.

A measure of Lasmar’s importance in a football-mad nation that treats its star players almost as demi-gods was evident in the soap opera that led up to Neymar’s operation.

It was a classic tug-of-war between club and country — and there was no doubt who came out on top.

Neymar’s heart is Brazilian yellow, not Parisian blue.

When he suffered the injury on February 25, speculation was rife over what to do, where to do it and who would be given the responsibility.

The 26-year-old had joined Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record 222 million euros ($264 million) six months earlier, but Neymar is a national treasure in Brazil and their World Cup ambitions trumped PSG’s Champions League hopes.

Brazilian fans still haven’t recovered from the pain of losing their star player to a broken vertebrae ahead of the 2014 World Cup semi-final on home soil and few want to be reminded of how the Selecao coped without him: a humiliating and record-equalling 7-1 thrashing by Germany.

Uncertainty reigned until Lasmar returned from a conference in Russia to meet with Neymar’s representatives and PSG management.

When the verdict was announced, Brazilians breathed a sigh of relief while Parisians were left deflated — and more so a few days later when Real Madrid dumped their Neymar-less side out of the Champions League.

Neymar was going under the knife immediately, but not in Paris and one of its reputed clinics; in Lasmar’s home town of Belo Horizonte.

– Accused of lying –

To add insult to PSG’s injury, Lasmar stated Neymar’s foot had suffered a full fracture rather than the less serious hairline version diagnosed by French doctors.

Neymar would be out for up to three months rather than the “six to eight weeks” previously announced by the player’s father.

He was in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup, not to play any further part in PSG’s season.

The next day, an article in French newspaper L’Equipe citing sources close to PSG accused Lasmar of having lied about the true nature of Neymar’s injury to ensure he would be kept in cotton wool until Brazil needed him.

PSG were reduced to sending their prefered surgeon Gerard Saillant — renowned for having operated on Brazilian great Ronaldo’s knee in late 2000 — as Lasmar spent an hour and a quarter on Neymar on March 3.

“He faced up to all the pressure very well, he’s a very focussed person,” said Runco, who passed the Brazil baton to Lasmar in 2014.

Lasmar had joined Runco’s backroom staff in 2001 and went to the World Cup a year later.

Ironically, that was where Ronaldo, freshly patched up by Saillant, fired Brazil to their last World Cup success with a brace in the 2-0 final victory over Germany.

Saillant’s handiwork had left its mark on Lasmar.

“What impressed me most was the recovery of Rivaldo and Ronaldo, whose presence had been uncertain,” Lasmar said in an interview with Hoje em Dia.

Neymar’s injury is not as serious as Ronaldo’s was, but Lasmar will hope his surgical skills stand the test of time in the way Saillant’s did, and that Neymar emulates his striking predecessor.

Whatever happens, one person is particularly proud of Lasmar: his father Neylor.

“For us, it’s highly gratifying that he was called upon to operate on Neymar, as I was with Zico before,” he said. “It’s an honour to operate on a star footballer.”

If Neymar succeeds where Zico failed, Lasmar’s fame in Brazil will only grow.

The German world number five produced a supremely solid display and was excellent value for this deserved victory against Coric who was ultimately overpowered and outmaneuvered.

Zverev, who enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2017 after winning the Italian Open in Rome and the Canada Masters by beating Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer respectively, is keen for more of the same at Key Biscayne.

“The times we played before, he just better than me,” said Zverev, who will move to number three in the world if he manages to win Sunday’s final.

“I am really happy to have made it through against him. Carreno Busta will be a very difficult match, he’s playing really well now.

“It is going to be a big test but I am looking forward to it.”

Play was delayed for over an hour because of a problem with the Crandon Park floodlights but when the action finally began, the restless crowd were treated to an absorbing match-up between two of the rising stars of the men’s game.

And in the end it was Zverev who emerged victorious after just 84 minutes, executing the perfect balance between pressurizing the Coric serve, and comfortably holding his own.

 Alexander Zverev of Germany

Zverev, 20, had lost both his previous matches against the 21-year-old Croatian, at Cincinnati in 2015 and two years later at the US Open. Yet the German started well in the bid to finally get to the Miami last four after losing at this stage for the previous two years.

With his serve reaching 137 mph, he was able to keep Coric in check while adopting the an aggressive mindset.

Carreno Busta has never played Zverev before. He will head into Friday night’s match full of confidence after beating Anderson in a dramatic third set tie-break.

Anderson had saved two match points in the second set but the gleeful Spaniard eventually prevailed, reaching his second ATP Masters semi-final.

It was just his second win over a top 10 player in 23 attempts, and his first over Anderson in five attempts.

“It was an amazing match, no?,” said the world No. 19. “I lost last week with him, 7-6 in the third set. And today, well, at the beginning of the match I started to play really well. I was returning good, serving good, being very aggressive.

“I served for the match in the second set, 40-15, and he played some unbelievable points, passing shots, returning really good, winner with his forehand.

“After that it was a really tough mental moment for me. But I continued fighting.

“It’s a very important victory for me against him. I am so happy to be in the semi-finals.”

Juan Martin del Potro and John Isner will contest the first semi-final on Friday afternoon.

The Thailand team have no meet-ups scheduled until Fifa Day in September, and the Serbian coach views this six-month idle period as too long for the national team so proposed that the end of May would be suitable for a training camp.

Rajevac raised the issue as Thailand players had limited time together before the recently concluded King’s Cup, where they were beaten 3-2 in the final by Slovakia.

“As we had time constraints for the King’s Cup, players did not have much time to recover from their leagues. We also didn’t have enough time to work on tactics,” Rajevac said.

He said May is the perfect time, as players will need to focus on the Thai League to avoid relegation in September. As leagues in Europe are in the off-season during that time, Thailand can play warm-up games with strong European teams.

“Several teams have shown an interest in playing us in Europe, which will serve as a good opportunity for our players to test their mettle against European players. Also I’d like to get to know new players that I can recruit to the team,” Rajevac added.

Previously, Thai clubs including Newin Chidchob’s Buriram United had disagreed with the Thai Football Association’s plan for overseas national-team training due to concern that players might become exhausted. Newin even threatened not to permit players to join the national team.

The national team will have a long break before the AFF Suzuki Cup in November and Asian Cup in January.

Meanwhile, Worrawut Srimaka, national coach for the under-21 team, has asked clubs to let players join his national camp in May in preparation for August’s Asian Games in Jakarta.

Roared on by a partisan crowd, del Potro rallied after losing the first set to finally wear down the Canadian in two hours and 53 minutes of relentless drama.

There was little difference between these two big hitters, but it was the Argentine who held his nerve when it counted to book a last-four encounter with Isner on Friday.

“I love to play in matches like this,” a visibly weary del Potro said after his 15th straight match win.

“We both played well, the difference was perhaps that I just played better in the tie-breaks.

“I am tired now, but at least I have a day off to prepare for Friday. It’s going to be important that I recover physically and mentally because that was a real battle.”

Del Potro came into the match owning the hottest streak on the ATP tour with 20 match wins this year.

The Argentine’s return to form has delighted his fans in Miami, where they packed the main stadium once again to cheer their hero ever closer to winning the “Sunshine Double” of Indian Wells and Miami on the heels of his triumph in Acapulco.

Raonic, the big serving Canadian, had other ideas.

The pair met in the Californian desert just three weeks ago with 2009 US Open champion del Potro winning 6-2, 6-3, but 25th-ranked Raonic was on his game from the off.

The first set went with serve until del Potro double-faulted on set point to silence the crowd.

Their fears worsened as sixth-ranked del Potro called for the trainer, although after a lengthy discussion with officials no treatment was given and the second set began.

It was similarly neck and neck with both players hitting powerfully from the baseline.

Del Potro badly needed to break a player who arrived at this last eight encounter having held in all 28 service games as well as saving five break points in his three straight-sets triumphs.

Attempting to stay alive in the match, del Potro almost suffered a freak injury when, racing to reach a Raonic passing shot, he leaped over a hoarding and into the photographer’s pit at the side of the court.

He needed time to recuperate but emerged unscathed and was able to send the second set into a tie-break.

Del Potro raced to a 5-0 lead and sent his fans wild by sending the match into a decider.

The first four games all went against serve as Raonic was broken for the first time in the tournament.

Del Potro finally held for 3-2 and Raonic was left to serve at 5-6 to keep his hopes alive and so it went into a final tie-break.

– Isner dominates Chung –

Del Potro carved out a 5-2 lead, a position of strength from which he was finally able to see the match out.

Isner will, however, be a difficult nut to crack with the American recovering from an early season slump to play some of the best tennis of his career.

His destruction of South Korean Chung Hyeon 6-1, 6-4 was impressive considering the 14th seed arrived in South Florida having won just two matches all year.

The big-serving 32-year-old American fired 13 aces to dispatch 19th-seeded Chung in only 68 minutes.

“I played extremely well and every match I have gotten better and stronger,” Isner said.

“The conditions were perfect for me. The way the ball bounces, the court isn’t too fast, so it’s great for me. I have played well here before but I am delighted to get this far.”