Category Sports News

Former champions Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk beat Nathaniel Lammons and Alexandra Panova to progress to the mixed doubles quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Briton Skupski and American Krawczyk, who won the title together in 2021 and 2022, took 53 minutes to win 6-4 6-2.

Liverpool fan Skupski wore a black ribbon on his T-shirt in tribute to their forward Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash on Thursday.

Skupski’s men’s doubles partner Joe Salisbury also won in the last 16 as he and Brazilian Luisa Stefani prevailed in two tie breaks to beat Andres Molteni of Argentina and American Asia Muhammad 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5).

After winning the first set 7-6 (7-2), British duo Joshua Paris and Eden Silva secured their passage into the quarter-finals as opponents Robert Galloway of the USA and Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi retired.

London Pulse secured their first Netball Super League title and denied Loughborough Lightning an unprecedented three-peat with a thrilling 53-45 Grand Final win at the O2 Arena in London.

Victory wraps up a magnificent treble for Sam Bird’s side, who topped the regular season table and won the inaugural Netball Super Cup in March.

The final whistle sparked wild celebrations from the majority of the 10,000 fans inside the venue, with the Pulse players embracing before sinking to the floor.

Their victory was based on a solid defensive display by player of the match Funmi Fadoju, who ended with eight deflections, three intercepts and eight gains.

The foundation set by Fadoju allowed Pulse to be aggressive and pushed Lightning back up the court, forcing the champions into uncharacteristic mistakes and restricting them to their lowest score of the season.

Pulse never relinquished the lead after nudging in front inside the opening five minutes and always looked to have another gear if required.

London Pulse defender and player of the match Funmi Fadoju: “It feels so amazing. I am so proud of the girls. We went out there and did what we had to do.

“We knew exactly what our set-ups were, we knew we had to work together, and that’s what we did.

“There’s no words to describe it. I knew we could do it and we did. “

Pulse coach Sam Bird: “I’m so happy for the club, the girls, the sponsors, the fans. It is such a great day. It was such a hard game. It was like a game of chess. The strategy involved was really tough and I’m just really proud we got across the line. “

It’s been all Thunder and Lightning of late, with a Manchester and Loughborough duopoly of the NSL title over the past five seasons, but the clouds have broken and there’s a new champion team in town. Just like this year, Pulse also topped the regular-season standings in 2023, but on that occasion the team from the Copper Box lost out to Loughborough in the Grand Final.

Most feeds: Bethan Dyke (Cardiff Dragons) – 465

Most super shots: Rolene Streutker (Nottingham Forest) – 157

With a dazzling 53-45 victory in the Grand Final at London O2 Arena, London Pulse won their first Netball Super League title and denied Loughborough Lightning a record-breaking three-peat.

Sam Bird’s side, who won the first Netball Super Cup in March and finished the regular season top of the table, will now complete a magnificent treble with Victory.

The majority of the 10,000 fans inside the venue erupted into wild celebrations after the final whistle, with the Pulse players embracing before falling to the ground.

Funmi Fadoju, the match’s player of the match, put together a strong defensive defense that earned them their victory, ending with eight deflections, three interceptions, and eight gains.

The foundation laid by Fadoju allowed Pulse to be aggressive and pushed Lightning back up the court, preventing them from making strange errors and limiting them to their season-lowest score.

Pulse never gave up on the lead after leading within the first five minutes, surviving on the pressure from a patient Lightning, and always looking for a second gear.

We were aware of our setups perfectly well, and we knew we had to collaborate.

There are no words that can adequately describe it. We did it because I was confident in our ability.

Sam Bird, the coach for Pulse, said to Sky Sports, “I’m so happy for the club, the girls, our sponsors, and our supporters. What a wonderful day! Such a challenging game. It resembled chess, exactly. I’m just so happy we made it across the line because of the challenging strategy we used.

The clouds have melted, and there is now a new champion team in town after five years of Manchester and Loughborough duopoly winning the NSL championship. Similar to this year, Pulse also topped the 2023 regular-season standings, but on that occasion Loughborough defeated the Copper Box in the Grand Final.

Most feeds: 465 feeds for Bethan Dyke (Cardiff Dragons).

Most outstanding shots: Rolene Streutker (Nottingham Forest) – 157.

Cameron Norrie held off a spirited fightback from Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals and keep alive British interest in the singles.

British number three Norrie led by two sets – and held a match point in the third-set tie-break – before finally securing a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-9) 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win under the Court One roof.

After missing his first opportunity, the 29-year-old left-hander regrouped admirably to seal his progress – almost two hours later – at the second opportunity.

The piercing roar which greeted victory indicated Norrie’s delight at coming through a bruising battle where he needed all of his characteristic determination and endurance.

Asked how he had come through a scrap lasting four hours and 27 minutes, Norrie said: “Honestly, I don’t know. Nico did an unbelievable job of sticking with me. I had to keep fighting. “

Norrie tumbled to the court in celebration before receiving a few sharp words from his opponent – who had earlier been irritated by the Briton’s prolonged ball-bouncing between first and second serves.

Jarry also tried to fire a forehand at Norrie when he came forward in the decider but hit the net.

Norrie’s win came a couple of hours after fellow Briton Sonay Kartal – the final home player in the women’s singles – was beaten on Centre Court.

Norrie is ranked 61st in the world after a difficult couple of seasons, but is now one more victory away from replicating his run to the SW19 semi-finals in 2022.

To do that, he may have to come through one of the most difficult tasks in the sport – beating reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Going into last month’s French Open, Norrie said he had been playing some of his best tennis during the clay-court swing and believed his level was similar to when he was a top-10 player three years ago.

His comments came after he had dropped towards the bottom of the top 100 – raising eyebrows at the time, but ultimately proving to be right.

A memorable five-set win over former world number one Daniil Medvedev set the tone, followed by victories against Argentine qualifier Federico Gomez and fellow Briton Jacob Fearnley before coming up short against Novak Djokovic in the last 16.

At Roland Garros he described his level as “vintage Norrie” and the way in which he grinded past Jarry was another example as he went one better here.

Jarry has fallen down the rankings because of an ear condition which affects his balance and vision, but has reminded everyone of his talent in six victories over the past fortnight, including a stunning first-round win from two sets down over eighth seed Holger Rune.

Opportunities against the world number 143’s serve are difficult to obtain and Norrie clinically took his chance in the first set to break for 5-3 before serving out.

A tight second set offered even fewer chances to either man, but it was again Norrie who struck at a crucial time.

Upping the aggression in his return of serve at the start of the tie-break led to a mini-break that he never relinquished, with a pinpoint cross-court winner on set point proving bold and brilliant.

The third and fourth sets were similarly balanced. With Jarry serving big and Norrie scrapping, it always felt likely they would be decided by tie-breaks.

Norrie led 4-2 in both but could not convert his advantage as Jarry roared back, but he reset wonderfully to eventually end his opponent’s resistance after striking early in the decider.

Lando Norris said his first home victory at the British Grand Prix was “pure joy, pure emotion”.

The McLaren driver beat team-mate Oscar Piastri, inheriting the lead after the Australian was given a 10-second penalty for his driving before a safety-car restart.

He has narrowed the gap to leader Piastri in the drivers’ championship to eight points.

Norris said: “It’s a very selfish moment but it is one of the most special because it’s such a rare thing to feel.

“For me, the best win. Maybe not the best way to win. I’m not going to say it was my best-fought win. That’s not true.

“But in terms of what it means to win at home and in front of my own grandstand, the fans, McLaren, HRH [the Duke of Kent] is here and to have a one-two and make amends for last year makes it even more special. Very memorable. “

Norris, 25, suffered an injury to his nose while he was celebrating after the race.

He was climbing on the barriers separating the pit lane from the track, with photographers next to him. One of the photographers slipped and knocked the trophy into his nose.

It is the second nose cut he has suffered in a year – he has a scar from a cut he received from a glass during a party last summer.

Before suffering the injury, Norris said: “No tears. I tried but when I get emotional I don’t cry. I smile. It was just pure joy, pure emotion of the moment you’re in. I wish I’d cried because it looks better.

“This is where it all started for me. I saw my grandstand today and was thinking someone’s got to win today, there is no reason why it can’t be me.

“I sometimes find it difficult to be positive before races but I was surprised today that I had the pace when I needed it.

Norris spent most of the first half of the race in third, but moved up after second-placed Max Verstappen spun his Red Bull at a safety-car restart.

He then took the lead when Piastri served his penalty at his final pit stop in the closing laps.

Although Norris somewhat inherited the win, team principal Andrea Stella said: “Looking at Lando’s enthusiasm and happiness, he definitely got the full experience.

“He knew that he drove very well today and in fairness to Lando, he lost the position because of a problem on the team. He was second at some stage and he ended up from a piece of sequence third.

“So, Lando has done his job, he has done it fair and square, no faults at all of his own.

Coach Brendon McCullum said England “probably” made a mistake in deciding to bowl first during their 336-run defeat by India in the second Test at Edgbaston.

Captain Ben Stokes stuck with his preferred tactic of chasing in the fourth innings but that gave India first chance to bat on the pitch and they piled up 587 in the first innings.

From there, they were in control of the match and completed victory on the final day by dismissing England for 271, having been set an effectively impossible target of 608.

“I think as the game unfolded we probably looked back on that toss and said ‘did we miss an opportunity there? ‘ and it’s probably fair,” McCullum told BBC Test Match Special.

McCullum’s words were a rare admission from this England camp that they have made an error. They usually remain steadfast in their wish to look forward rather than back and find the positives in any situation.

Four of England’s highest 10 fourth-innings chases have come under Stokes and McCullum, including 371 to win the first Test last week and 378 against India at Edgbaston in 2022.

That has influenced Stokes’ decision to bowl first in 10 of the 11 matches he has won the toss in England. This is only their second defeat when doing so.

“We thought this pitch might get better to bat on as we went through the five days but as we saw it didn’t,” McCullum said.

Rather than blame the toss, Stokes pointed to England’s inability to knock over India’s lower order in the first innings, where they recovered from 211-5.

“No-one’s got a crystal ball, no-one really knows what a wicket’s going to do,” Stokes said.

“Having them 211-5, we were happy there – even five down at the end of day one.

“We just weren’t able to bust them open. We had a chance to potentially bowl them out for under 350 on that wicket, which would have been a good effort. “

Stokes said he was not concerned by his bowlers’ toil during the match. England have responded by adding seamer Gus Atkinson, who has missed the first two Tests with a hamstring injury, to an otherwise unchanged squad for the third Test at Lord’s which starts on Thursday.

Jofra Archer might also come in for his first Test in four years after a series of injuries, while Sam Cook and Jamie Overton could also come into contention given the quick turnaround.

India captain Shubman Gill confirmed his star bowler Jasprit Bumrah will “definitely” return at Lord’s, having sat out this match to manage his return from a back injury.

In Bumrah’s place, Akash Deep took a superb 10-187 across the match.

“He bowled with so much heart and skilfully with his lengths,” Gill said.

“He moved it in both directions, which was tough to do. He was magnificent for us. “

In making 269 in the first innings and 161 in the second, Gill scored 430 runs across the Test – the second most across both innings in Test history.

The victory, India’s first at Edgbaston, is also his first as captain.

“I am feeling comfortable with my game and if we can win the series that would be a great achievement for us,” Gill, 25, said.