Category Sports News

Betfred Super League

Castleford (0) 6

Tries: Senior Goals: Milnes

Leeds (7) 29

Leeds Rhinos moved up to third in the Super League table with a hard-earned away victory over Castleford Tigers.

It was only 7-0 at half-time with Sam Lisone’s converted try just after the half-hour mark and Jake Connor’s drop-goal a minute before the break the only points of a tight first half.

Louis Senior responded for the Tigers early in the second period to put the hosts within one point of Leeds, but two quick tries from Harry Newman and Ryan Hall put the Rhinos in control.

Castleford were down to 12 men after only eight minutes when Liam Horne was sin-binned for a trip on Connor.

Leeds tried to make the most of the extra man by going the length of the pitch but a poor pass on the last tackle let the Tigers off the hook.

After an arm wrestle of an opening half-hour, the Rhinos scored the first points of the contest through Lisone’s score on 32 minutes with Connor converting.

Connor then slotted a drop goal from in front of the posts to make it 7-0 to the visitors at half-time.

Senior got Castleford’s first points in the opening minute of the second half, collecting Alex Mellor’s offload before crossing, with Rowan Milnes knocking over the extras to close the gap to one point.

But the Rhinos extended their lead ten minutes later when Newman seized on a fumble from a Brodie Croft kick.

Senior thought he had a second for the hosts after 61 minutes when he collected a loose ball to run in from 90 metres but it was ruled out as Mellor had knocked the ball on in a tackle on Connor.

Hall’s score just short of the hour mark – try number 343 for the veteran – moved him ahead of Mick Sullivan into standalone 19th place in the list of all-time scorers in the British game.

That score made the game secure for the Rhinos but there was still time for Newman and Lisone to both get their second tries of the game to secure a fifth victory in six league matches.

Castleford Tigers boss Danny McGuire:

“I was really pleased with the boys, I thought they worked tirelessly and really committed, and I don’t think the score reflected the contest.

“Leeds were in a close contest and they knew it, but they took their opportunities, and rugby league is all about moments. I’m not pleased because we lost, but you can take a defeat if you’ve left everything out there, and I think we did that.

“We haven’t got the win tonight but we know we’re on the right track and we’ve just got to keep working hard.

“There is frustration at times because everyone wants it now. The good times are around the corner, but it will be through patience and hard work and commitment that we get there.”

Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur:

“We’re chasing just being a little bit better each week and getting our combinations right. Where we sit in the table is nice but not where our priorities are right now. If we get those things right the win column takes care of itself.

“I thought it was pretty professional. We made limited errors and we talked about just making sure we got to the end of the tackle count, and that’s where all our points would come.

Castleford: Hoy; Simm, Cini, L Senior, I Senior; Asi, Milnes; Amone, Horne, Lawler, Lawler, Westerman, Mellor, Singleton.

Interchanges: Hall, Mustapha, Okoro, Atkin.

Sin-bin: Horne (8).

Leeds: Miller; Hall, Handley, Newman, Lumb; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, O’Connor, Jenkins, Gannon, McDonnell, Watkins.

Interchanges: Holroyd, Lisone, Palasia, Smith.

Novak Djokovic, who defeated Hubert Hurkacz to claim his 100th ATP singles title, added another piece of tennis history to his already impressive Geneva victory.

Djokovic, who almost has won everything in tennis, is only the third player to do so in the Open era after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

The 38-year-old had won all seven of his previous matches against Polish team Hurkacz, but this time he came out on top by beating them 7-5 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2).

After their father’s passing, Djokovic’s children congratulated him on the court, with their wife Jelena keeping watch.

He acknowledged that “I had to work for it,” foregoing all else. The match was “probably closer to victory” than I was.

With the French Open starting on Sunday, Djokovic had some welcome time on the clay.

He didn’t start his tournament in Geneva without winning, having lost his first match in four of his previous five.

With his goal of winning a stand-alone record 25th Grand Slam title on track, Djokovic is relieved to travel to Paris where he will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round.

This is Djokovic’s first title since taking home the gold at the Olympics last year, and it represents a turning point for the tennis legend.

Before Czech teenager Jakub Mensik’s first attempt to win his 100th title in the Miami Open showpiece, his injury-affected run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open was ended.

Djokovic lost his opening matches in Monte Carlo and Madrid in straight sets before deciding against competing in the Italian Open, which has been a particularly challenging situation for the clay.

Following a split with Andy Murray, Djokovic decided to take a wildcard to Geneva, where he has improved throughout the series, with the most notable improvement being in particular in terms of his serving and returning performance.

At 2-2, the Serb had the first break opportunities, and the majority of the packed crowd in Geneva was on his side.

Hurkacz, a big server returning from a serious knee injury at Wimbledon last year, produced aces and service winners in the key moments to keep him at bay.

The first set was ultimately decided by Djokovic’s errors rather than his opponent’s outstanding play. Hurkacz received his first break point of the set thanks to an unfortunate net cord that forced a tie-break, and Djokovic’s terrible double fault gave it to him.

Every second set of Hurkacz service matches appeared to be going deuce, with Djokovic pressed for an opening every time, but his uncharacteristic errors made it possible for his 28-year-old opponent to wiggle free, much to Djokovic’s wry amusement.

Hurkacz broke at the start of the third set after smashing a winner to make it a tie-break.

Before the Pole played a terrible game at 4-3, both players shook off the service games. An error caused Djokovic to get the break when Hurkacz was tight in his body and in full tension, and the six-time world champion celebrated by shaking his racquet.

Djokovic ran away with a tie-break before scoring an ace to make it happen once more when it seemed almost inevitable.

Novak Djokovic, who defeated Hubert Hurkacz to claim his 100th ATP singles title, added another piece of tennis history to his already impressive Geneva victory.

Djokovic, who almost has won everything in tennis, is only the third player to do so in the Open era after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

The 38-year-old had won all seven of his previous matches against Polish team Hurkacz, but this time he came out on top by beating them 7-5 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2).

After their father’s passing, Djokovic’s children congratulated him on the court, with their wife Jelena keeping watch.

He acknowledged that “I had to work for it,” foregoing all else. The match was “probably closer to victory” than I was.

With the French Open starting on Sunday, Djokovic had some welcome time on the clay.

He didn’t start his tournament in Geneva without winning, having lost his first match in four of his previous five.

With his goal of winning a stand-alone record 25th Grand Slam title on track, Djokovic is relieved to travel to Paris where he will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round.

This is Djokovic’s first title since taking home the gold at the Olympics last year, and it represents a turning point for the tennis legend.

Before Czech teenager Jakub Mensik’s first attempt to win his 100th title in the Miami Open showpiece, his injury-affected run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open was ended.

Djokovic lost his opening matches in Monte Carlo and Madrid in straight sets before deciding against competing in the Italian Open, which has been a particularly challenging situation for the clay.

Following a split with Andy Murray, Djokovic decided to take a wildcard to Geneva, where he has improved throughout the series, with the most notable improvement being in particular in terms of his serving and returning performance.

At 2-2, the Serb had the first break opportunities, and the majority of the packed crowd in Geneva was on his side.

Hurkacz, a big server returning from a serious knee injury at Wimbledon last year, produced aces and service winners in the key moments to keep him at bay.

The first set was ultimately decided by Djokovic’s errors rather than his opponent’s outstanding play. Hurkacz received his first break point of the set thanks to an unfortunate net cord that forced a tie-break, and Djokovic’s terrible double fault gave it to him.

Every second set of Hurkacz service matches appeared to be going deuce, with Djokovic pressed for an opening every time, but his uncharacteristic errors made it possible for his 28-year-old opponent to wiggle free, much to Djokovic’s wry amusement.

Hurkacz broke at the start of the third set after smashing a winner to make it a tie-break.

Before the Pole played a terrible game at 4-3, both players shook off the service games. An error caused Djokovic to get the break when Hurkacz was tight in his body and in full tension, and the six-time world champion celebrated by shaking his racquet.

Djokovic ran away with a tie-break before scoring an ace to make it happen once more when it seemed almost inevitable.

Emma Raducanu says getting over her “biggest phobia,” or fear of needles, is helping her prepare for her French Open debut.

The British number two has been “managing” the problem during Roland Garros practice since suffering a back spasm earlier this week at a warm-up tournament in Strasbourg.

“We’re working toward that,” the statement reads. “It feels okay, it feels good, but not entirely.” I have a few days left, Raducanu told BBC Sport.

The 22-year-old, who previously had a similar problem before this year’s Australian Open, claims dry needling and heat therapy have helped to relieve the condition.

“I would say that the one before Australia was worse.” The 43rd-ranked Briton, who made her only previous French Open appearance three years ago, admitted to feeling caught before the situation was completely locked up.

“I was terrified of needles at the beginning of the year. My biggest fear was about it. That would be the only way I could play for Australia.

Raducanu, who recovered from wrist and ankle surgeries in April 2023, has made significant progress this year, regaining her position in the top 50 after falling out of the top 300 the year before.

The 2021 US Open champion has won more matches than he has in the previous five months of the season.

However, Raducanu claimed that clay courts, which require more of a lower back strain because of longer rallies and higher bounced balls, only add to her back issues.

Although she isn’t putting herself in any further danger, her improved this season has been largely due to her greater resilience.

Since returning from missing the majority of the 2023 campaign, she has put more emphasis on listening to her body and not her former coaches.

“I just kept pushing through,” Raducanu continued, “because people were telling me that I wasn’t tough enough, that I needed to just work through it.”

When I realized I was training so hard and that I was feeling fatigued, I thought it was normal, and I realized it was more than just soreness.

With Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal competing for the top spot in the UK, Raducanu now has a three-way tussle with her.

Boulter, who has won a clay-court title last week on the second-tier WTA 125 tour, strengthens her position as the nation’s top women’s player for almost two years.

The victory placed the 28-year-old 38th in the world, five places ahead of Raducanu and 15 ahead of Kartal, who is 23 years old.

“I want to see anyone pushing me up the rankings, including Sonay and Emma,” said Boulter.

“I’m going to concentrate on myself first. Being the first British person to do so is a privilege, but it’s not my goal either.

I don’t want to write “I’ve been that for ten years,” on a piece of paper.

Boulter’s chances of retaining the position would increase if he were to win the French Open main draw for the first time in his career.

After a significant increase last year, Kartal is making her French Open main draw debut.

After recovering from an unnamed illness that raised concerns about her career, she was ranked 278th a year later.

Kartal is currently in the top 50, but a potential second-round matchup with Coco Gauff, who finished in 2022, might hinder Kartal’s ability to earn significant ranking points at Roland Garros.

Kartal, who squares off against Russian Erika Andreeva, said, “I love the clay, I grew up playing on it. On these courts, I feel at ease for me. They seem to work really well for me.

British number seven Jodie Burrage, who is making her main-drawn debut using a protected ranking, joins the trio in the women’s singles.

The 25-year-old ruptured an ankle ligament while chasing down a drop-shot in practice last year, making it impossible for him to play.

Burrage said a photo reminder from this week that showed her wearing a protective boot gave her a welcome boost ahead of her tough matchup with American former world number seven Danielle Collins.