Johanna Konta searching for new coach after parting company with Esteban Carril

Johanna Konta is hoping to appoint a new coach before the end of the year after parting company with the Spaniard who guided her into the world’s top 10. In one of the most surprising coaching developments of the current off-season, Konta has split with Esteban Carril less than two months after becoming the first British woman to break into the world’s top 10 for 32 years.

Konta began her pre-season training programme at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton this week and will be working with a number of different coaches with a view to recruiting one of them before she heads for China just after Christmas for her first tournament of the new season.

The 25-year-old Briton confirmed her split with Carril in a statement but did not go into the reasons for it. “After two and a half successful years working together we have mutually agreed to explore new options,” Konta said. “I’m looking into these with my team and once things are confirmed we will share the new set-up.”

Juan Coto, a Spanish “mind coach” based in London, had also become an important member of Konta’s team but the player was shocked to learn last month of his sudden and unexpected death. A friend of Carril’s, Coto had worked with Konta when she was in the country and also talked to her on the phone when she was away at tournaments.

Whoever heads her coaching team will have a hard act to follow given the progress Konta made after appointing Carril as her coach in the summer of 2014. She was the world No 150 at the end of that year – and was still No 147 at the start of the 2015 grass-court season - but her career has since taken off.

After reaching the fourth round of the 2015 US Open following a run of 16 successive victories Konta finished the year at No 47 in the rankings, an improvement of 100 places in just seven months.

Konta has built on that progress this year, which she began by reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open. She was the first British woman to make the last four since Sue Barker in 1977 and the first British woman to play in any Grand Slam semi-final since Jo Durie at the 1983 US Open.

After winning her first tour title at Stanford in the summer Konta went on to reach the fourth round again in New York, made the final of the China Open in Beijing and broke into the world’s top 10. Konta also went within a whisker of earning a place in the elite eight-woman field at the year-ending WTA Finals in Singapore and was voted the most improved player on the Women’s Tennis Association tour in 2016.

Konta’s Spanish connection dates back to an 18-month stay at the Sanchez-Casal academy in Barcelona when she was a teenager. She had left Australia, the country of her birth, in search of a training base in Europe when she was 13.

After her family settled in Eastbourne, Konta trained at Roehampton, but in the summer of 2014 she linked up with Carril and another Spanish coach, Jose-Manuel Garcia, who are based in Gijon. Carril, who had worked with Konta when she was a teenager, became available after parting company with Roberto Bautista Agut, the current world No 14.  Since linking up with Carril, Konta has often split her training time between Gijon and Roehampton.

A calm and thoughtful coach, Carril worked hard on Konta’s mental approach. The Briton has always been a fine athlete and good ball-striker, but nerves had often got in the way of her progress. Under Carril’s guidance, she became calmness personified on court and her results quickly improved.

Konta will need to hit the ground running next month if she is to stay in the world’s top 10. In the first two weeks of the new season she plays tournaments at Shenzhen in China and at Sydney before heading to the Australian Open, where she has semi-final points to defend.

The close season often brings changes in coaching personnel, but what is surprising this year is the number of players, like Konta, who have made changes after highly successful seasons.

Milos Raonic, the world No 3 and Wimbledon runner-up, has parted company with Carlos Moya, who had formed a two-man coaching team alongside Riccardo Piatti, with some help from John McEnroe.

It remains to be seen whether Raonic will bring in support for Piatti, but David Goffin is apparently one player who has decided that one voice is better than two. The world No 11 will continue working with his regular coach, Thierry van Cleemput, but has parted with Thomas Johansson, who had joined his team as a consultant at the start of the year.

Meanwhile Madison Keys has stopped working with Thomas Hogstedt and Elina Svitolina has parted company with Iain Hughes, her British coach. Kristina Pliskova and Petra Kvitova have effectively swapped coaches. Jiri Vanek, who split from Pliskova last month, is to work with Kvitova. Pliskova has teamed up with David Kotyza, whose seven-year partnership with Kvitova ended at the start of this year.

The evolution of Arsenal’s Mesut Özil earns comparison with Bergkamp

Basking in the glow of the masterpiece match-winner that was the talk of Europe this week, Mesut Özil made his way serenely, contentedly, back towards London. It seemed as if half of Bulgaria wanted a bit of him before he left. He gladly had time for everyone – finessing every photo, every signature, every word of appreciation with a special touch.

It was not so long ago this particular player’s body language was routinely picked apart. He was too languid. Too casual. Did not want to know. Wilted under pressure. All softness without the required substance. Too many big games passed him by ... but those criticisms have faded into the shadow of an emboldened talent who is relishing the spotlight.

The Özil of today carries himself differently. The composure and confidence represents how he is enjoying the feeling of being centre stage. That is what is expected of him on Sunday, in the heat of the north London derby, where the early title credentials of both teams will undergo a particularly spicy examination. Tottenham have ruffled Arsenal at the Emirates in the last couple of seasons, requiring late equalisers from the home team to save face. It promises to be as frenetic and fierce as usual, which is not the stereotypical idea of Özil’s favourite environment.

Yet there is more obvious determination in him to want to influence games these days. “He pushes himself much more,” Arsène Wenger says. For a start he is much more muscular than the slender figure who arrived at Arsenal, discarded by Real Madrid, three years ago. It has been known for defenders to bounce off him this season, a far cry from the elegiac shrug he used to give when unsettled by some opposing hulk.

His reinvention as a player who has added a striker’s runs to his playmaking passes looks intriguingly transformative. Özil the goalscorer? Who would have thought it? Well, Wenger did. It took some time, and some encouragement but Özil’s adjusted position, as a high 10 rather than a deep-lying creator, makes him an even more effective performer.

“I convinced him that he has it in his locker to score goals,” Wenger says. “He was more focused on giving and looking. Today he understands he can have those qualities but as well be on the end of things. The timing of his runs is good. In training I noticed he is a very good finisher. When you have that in your locker you have to try to get it out. Slowly, he now realises that. Now he makes more runs to score goals. On top of that he has a fantastic attribute of a guy who is a good finisher – he is calm. You notice all the finishers are killers. That means they keep their nerve in front of goal and he has that.”

The old Dennis Bergkamp comparison has been aired recently. Wenger sees the similarities and is urging his current master of technique to do what it takes to earn the kind of status Bergkamp enjoyed at Arsenal. “He can be a legend if he commits,” Wenger says. “Dennis Bergkamp committed for a long period, he played until he was 38. I wish we have 10 more years of Özil. To become a legend at the club you need to stay for a long time. If you stay two years you would not be a legend.”

Arsenal are doing their best on the contract front to secure an extension. “We work on it,” Wenger said, accentuating the positive sign of how content Özil seems on and off the pitch. “A player needs to meet his needs inside a club. It is difficult not to be happy in London and happiness that a player has when he plays comes out by his performance.”

It is typical of how Özil has come out of his shell that he is keen to be a face of the club more readily. In this weekend’s buildup, he took part in a social media Q&A session. The hashtag #AssistMeMesut invited fans who needed some help with anything to ask Arsenal’s No11. Some of the requests were unsurprisingly left-field. Özil filmed answers to a handful of questions, ranging from a Turkish restaurant recommendation to relationship advice. “So my friend,” Özil told @theDjole, “Just be nice to her, show her your qualities and I wish you all the best.”

Wenger remembers the day well when Özil arrived in a flurry of deadline day activity in September 2013. “In fact on the day we signed him we played against Spurs,” he says, breaking into a grin. “We won without him.” It was a landmark signing for the club, at £42m demolishing its transfer record.

Özil has grown into life at Arsenal. Even for a player with his experience and the expectation that comes with such a high-impact signing, it was a slow burn. The efforts that have been a hallmark this season took some time to develop. Wenger acknowledges the Premier League was a bit of a culture shock for Özil. “He left some people sceptical – saying he didn’t go too much into challenges or tough contact. [He punches his hand for emphasis.] He’s a player who is more a guy whose strength is to get out of things but on the physical front I believe he’s improved as well.”

For Wenger, the main difference between the Özil he signed and the one he will pick this weekend boils down to commitment. “He is 28, an age where he is more mature. The difference today is he focuses more on efficiency. When he arrived here he was more focused on playing. Today efficiency is more in his mind. Sometimes the trap for very talented players is it is easy for them. They know subconsciously they don’t need to push themselves too hard to be efficient. It’s so easy.”

The desire to push himself more is making a tangible difference to his game. Özil’s increased runs, added to the indefatigable darts of Alexis Sánchez, make it that much more difficult for defenders to guard their area. Arsenal are less predictable and more punchy.

Tottenham arrive at the Emirates as the league’s dominant rearguard, with only five goals conceded, so Arsenal will need their front players to continue their lively form. Sánchez has scored eight, and Özil seven (Theo Walcott, who is hoping to return to fitness, also has eight and Olivier Giroud is trying to catch up), so Arsenal feel they have goals in them even against a resolute opponent.

So has Özil changed enough to become the type of player determined to take a tough derby by the scruff of the neck? He excelled recently in the 3-0 defeat of Chelsea, and he will be expected to emulate that performance against Tottenham. “That’s what you want,” Wenger says. “Of course he can be dangerous but in big games there is always a lot of expectation from him. But I believe that depends more on the team performance. If the team performance is strong then Özil will always shine.”

Bangladesh fall short as England secure victory on final day of first Test

Ben Stokes was England’s saviour as he took both wickets needed to wrap up a 22-run victory in the first Test over Bangladesh on a nerve-shredding final morning in Chittagong.

Stokes had both Taijul Islam and Shafiul Islam trapped lbw in the space of three balls to deny a spirited Bangladesh, who began the day needing just 33 runs to complete a historic maiden Test win over England.

As it was, Stokes rode to the rescue and not for the first time in the match, having taken four for 26 in the first innings followed by a mature 85 from 151 balls to ensure England left a testing victory target of 286 which proved tantalisingly out of Bangladesh’s reach.

Sabbir Rahman marked his Test debut with an incredible 64 not out, running out of partners at the end, to take the Tigers within reach of what would have been their finest hour in the format, but England prevailed after 3.3 overs and 19 minutes on the fifth day.

Bangladesh were chasing just their eighth win from 94 Tests and first over England, who had won all eight of their previous encounters in the longest format.

Bangladesh’s previous wins have come twice against an under-strength West Indies and five times over lowly Zimbabwe, while this is their first Test in nearly 15 months.

For those reasons, an England defeat, on paper, may have been regarded as embarrassing but Bangladesh have proved more than a match on a pitch which has offered plenty of turn from ball one as well as some reverse swing later on for the seamers.

It was with the pacemen, notably Stuart Broad and Stokes, whom England captain Alastair Cook put his trust on another hot day on Monday morning.

Broad opened the bowling after a fine spell on Sunday night that yielded two for 14 from nine overs and he nearly had a third wicket when Rahman’s inside edge narrowly avoided his stumps.

It was pace from both ends and Stokes’ bumper found Taijul’s glove, only for the ball to sail over wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow for four and the first boundary of the morning.

Stokes had more fortune in the next over when an inswinger glanced off Taijul’s pad with umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s not out decision overturned on review - the 25th challenge of the match, with 11 referrals reversed.

Eight of those decisions overturned have come at Dharmasena’s expense but he he was vindicated by technology two balls later when Shafiul padded up to another in-darter from Stokes, with Bangladesh’s review proving fruitless as they were all out for 263.

The win was the 10th narrowest for England in terms of runs as they prevailed following an absorbing contest.

Abby Kane goes close but Ollie Hynd joins the gold rush for ParalympicsGB

The final night of competition in the Aquatics Centre was one to cherish for ParalympicsGB. Ollie Hynd became a three-times Paralympic champion after breaking the world record in the SM8 200m individual medley, Hannah Russell won her second gold in Rio and Ellie Robinson’s bronze in the S6 100m freestyle means that the 15-year-old has two medals to show for her stirring efforts in her debut Games.

Robinson, who won gold in the S6 50m butterfly last week, remains the leading teenager in the British swimming team, but her thunder was very nearly stolen by an athlete who turned 13 just over a month ago.

It was so very nearly a fairytale introduction to the Paralympics for Abby Kane, who set a Paralympic record of 1min 9.09sec in her S13 100m backstroke heat.

She led after the first length of the final, only for Ukraine’s Anna Stetsenko to pull clear in the final 50m. The 24-year-old broke Kane’s record in 1:8.30, finishing a second clear of the youngster. Australia’s Katja Dedekind took bronze.

Still, not every 13-year-old girl can say she is the owner of a silver medal. The youngest member of the squad – and the youngest British Paralympian since a 12-year-old Joanne Rout competed in Seoul 28 years ago – should be proud of herself. She lost to an athlete nearly twice her age.

It was during a family holiday to Australia when Kane, who has Stargardt disease, a condition that leads to progressive vision deterioration, decided to learn how to swim. Unable to join in the fun with her brother during a trip to a water park, she started swimming at the age of seven and has followed in the grand tradition of precocious British swimmers.

Ellie Simmonds, who became the first SM6 swimmer to race below three minutes in the 200m medley last Monday, was 13 when she won two golds in Beijing eight years ago. Her performances at London 2012 inspired Robinson, who finished ahead of her hero in Saturday night’s S6 100m final.

“I really didn’t expect to medal,” Robinson said. “I’m so happy because I’ve been able to finish on a high. It’s my last event and I just thought I’m going to give it everything. It’s going to be so weird going back to school, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like.”

A tweet from her classmates at Northampton High School’s sixth form should give her an idea of what to expect: “Ellie, you were amazing today! Well done!! You have inspired so many people and we are so proud of you!”

Hynd has been in the pool for a while. A champion in London, he earned his second gold in Rio 200m when he swam in 2:20.01.

“I’ve been chasing that world record for a while and to get it here is just incredible,” the 21-year-old said. “It’s the biggest stage of all, I’m a bit lost for words. I knew it was going to be close but I’m just really happy that I’ve got a world record. I wanted to come in and smash my best times. I hope that some kids are at home watching this and are inspired by that.”

Russell emulated Hynd’s double gold by winning the S12 50m freestyle in 27.53sec. The 20-year-old is the 100m backstroke champion as well. “I started racing on day seven so I was on the back end of the meet,” she said. “I’ve loved the whole atmosphere.”

Steph Millward’s silver in the women’s SM8 200m individual medley was her fifth medal in these Games. The USA’s Jessica Long was too strong this time. “It’s absolutely amazing,” Millward said. “It means I’m second best in the world in my classification.”

Andrew Mullen won bronze in the S5 100m freestyle. The USA’s Roy Perkins took silver and the noise from the crowd was deafening as Brazil’s Daniel Dias won his fourth gold in Rio.

Jimmy Walker Makes The Running With Hot Start In The New Jersey Heat

American Jimmy Walker claimed the lead after the opening round of the US PGA Championship as England's Ross Fisher and Andy Sullivan increased the prospects of a clean sweep for first-time major winners in 2016.

Walker carded six birdies and a solitary bogey in an impressive 65 in sweltering conditions at Baltusrol, with temperatures in the mid 90s forcing tournament officials to water the greens during the afternoon.

Fisher's 66 was his lowest round in any major and left him sharing second place with former champion Martin Kaymer and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, with Sullivan a shot further back in a group which included Open champion Henrik Stenson.

The last year in which all four majors were claimed by first-time winners was 2011, when Charl Schwartzel won the US Masters, Rory McIlroy the US Open, Darren Clarke the Open and Keegan Bradley the US PGA. So far this season, Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson and Stenson have claimed the game's biggest titles.

Walker, who won five times between October 2013 and March 2015 but has struggled to reproduce such form this season, said: “It's just been real stale and stagnant this year. I haven't been making the 15, 18-footers you need to make to start running up the leaderboard and to have high finishes.

“Winning a major would be huge but there are three days to go.”

Kaymer's 66 was the best score of the afternoon starters as the wind picked up ahead of possible thunderstorms, the former world number one carding five birdies and a single bogey.

“I've been working hard because I wanted to have a good summer and slowly it's paying off,” said Kaymer, who has not won since leading from start to finish in the Players Championship and US Open in 2014.

“The results have been okay but we all want that win and hopefully it can still happen.”

Fisher, whose sole top-10 finish in a major to date came in the 2009 US Open, said: “Everyone is striving to become a major champion and I'm no different. I'm coming here believing my game is good enough to win.

“I've got off to a great start, but I'm not going to sit back on that. There's still a long, long way to go but this is where you want to be. I missed the Masters and the US Open this year. I got to experience the Open, but only for two days.”

Sullivan has finished 12th, sixth and fifth in his last three events and completed his 67 with three birdies in the last four holes.

“I'm buzzing with that start,” the former supermarket worker from Nuneaton said. “I've been playing really well leading up to the tournament, so it's just nice to keep the form and momentum going.

“It was a bit of a struggle at times in the heat, especially down the stretch there, so I'm happy to get finished and enjoy some nice air conditioning.

“It was seriously hot and humid even first thing this morning, so I was seriously melting out there. But I'd take this over the cold and wet we had at the Open any day, so I won't complain.”

Defending champion Jason Day was three shots off the lead after returning a 68 despite having just one practice round, but playing partner Rory McIlroy struggled to a 74 which included 35 putts and returned to the course at 6.15pm for practice under the watchful eye of coach Michael Bannon.

The final member of the marquee group, Open runner-up Phil Mickelson, recovered from four over par after 11 holes with three late birdies to return a 71, but US Open champion Dustin Johnson struggled to a 77.

“I was excited to play and compete again and not have to have a month off for preparation,” said Mickelson, who won his second major title the last time Baltusrol staged the US PGA in 2005. “Unfortunately, I don't do well not playing the week before and you kind of saw it today. I hit terrible shots the first 11 holes.

“The game has been very easy and the first 11 holes was very hard. I played really well the last seven holes to get back in it and I'm pleased with that.”

Masters champion Danny Willett finished one over par, a shot behind two-time major winner Jordan Spieth. England's Andrew Johnston, who has become a cult figure better known by his nickname 'Beef,' also shot 70.