Sports from Friday, March 13th, 2026

Formula One championship leader George Russell put Mercedes on pole position for the first sprint race of the season in China on Friday in a provisional front row lockout with teammate Kimi Antonelli.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz charged past Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-4 on Thursday to set up an Indian Wells semi-final against Daniil Medvedev after the Russian ended defending champion Jack Draper's run 6-1 7-5.

Aston Villa came away from Lille with a 1-0 win thanks to Ollie Watkins' goal in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, while Bologna and AS Roma played out a 1-1 draw in the all-Italian clash.