Category News

Scottish Open Swimming Championships

Dates: 27-29 June at Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh

On day two of the Scottish Swimming Championships, Kara Hanlon, Suzie McNair, and Ciara Schlosshan won additional titles.

Hanlon, a four-time British champion, won the 200-meter breaststroke to add to her 100-meter gold medal on Friday.

Gregor Swinney won the men’s event while McNair won the 200-meter individual medley (IM), having previously won the 400-meter IM, and Schlosshan won the 50-meter butterfly for the first time in her career.

Melissa Mainwaring won the 100-meter backstroke gold, while Andrew Bertoli won the 400-meter IM.

Jamie Ferguson won the 100-meter race while Faye Rogers won the 200-meter IM and 400-meter freestyle.

The world’s number one and countless Grand Slam champion, Aryna Sabalenka, admits to having “lost control” of her emotions when the sport’s biggest prizes are in dispute.

Therefore, Wimbledon gives Sabalenka the opportunity to reclaim her fourth Grand Slam title and the chance to transform a humble encounter into a turning point.

The 27-year-old has reached the Australian Open and French Open finals this year, but she has lost both of their title matches. After being defeated by Coco Gauff in Paris three weeks ago, she described her conqueror in insulting terms that she later acknowledged had been “completely unprofessional.”

She said in her first opinion that Gauff was successful because of Sabalenka’s own errors from “easy balls” rather than because she played incredible.

Gauff’s performance was described as “just a joke” by Sabalenka, who added, “Sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball right out of the frame.” You are somewhat on the back foot because of how magically the ball magically lands in the court.

The comments, which came after the American’s 2023 US Open final, were widely believed to be Gauff’s, did not give the American enough credit for the American’s second Grand Slam title.

Sabalenka remarked, “I’ve always had a great relationship with Coco.”

“I really didn’t want to offend her,” she said. I simply had to let go of my emotions. I completely lost it.

I followed my instructions. I believe that I am given what I deserve. I had a difficult time going through. The lesson has been learned.

“This time, I experienced emotions.” Sometimes I can become overly emotional in the semi-finals or finals. That could be improved, I hope.

I think I should stick to the same mindset I have throughout the tournament because I think I’m overeager in the tournament’s final stages because I want to win.

Sabalenka has lost four of her past six finals, but she is far ahead of the competition in the WTA rankings. She will face Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine in the first round of Wimbledon, which she has not yet won.

Since I learned a lot from Paris, I’m kind of happy, said Sabalenka, “to be honest.” I was able to relax and be open to myself rather than simply ignore some things. I sincerely hope it will never occur again.

She stated that she would enjoy facing “Gauff” in the Wimbledon final. They won’t be able to meet until then because they are the top two seeds. In their first career head-to-head matchup, Gauff leads by 6-5.

When competing sports teams have to switch emotions, especially when the stakes are high.

Novak Djokovic has developed a strong sense of handling the biggest situations, and he can still find the right words even when he’s down.

However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion had no problem with it.

He therefore comprehends Sabalenka’s challenge of remaining calm while the adrenaline is high.

“We are all human beings that have difficult emotions that they have to deal with right away after losing a significant match,” said Djokovic.

“Grand Slam finals,” as she did against Coco, for instance. When your emotions are so high, your blood starts to run high.

Even though I believe it’s important to pay respect and acknowledge the success of your opponent who just beat you, it’s not always easy to suppress that and prioritize diplomacy.

After a practice session, Sabalenka reached out to Djokovic for pre-tournament support.

Betfred Super League

Warrington Wolves (12) 24

Goals: Sneyd 4; Josh Thewlis, Jake Thewlis, Powell, Fitzgibbon

Hull FC (10) 10

With a 24-10 victory over Hull FC, Warrington Wolves increased their chances of placing in the top four of the Super League this year.

Josh Thewlis, Jake Thewlis, Sam Powell, and Lachlan Fitzgibbon scored in their closing contests to close the gap on the sixth-placed Black and Whites.

Following their last-gasp defeat by second-place Huddersfield Giants, Wolves were significantly improved with four goals scored by Marc Sneyd.

After five minutes, Josh Thewlis ducked past two Hull players to run clear from within his own 22 and make a fantastic solo effort. Warrington took the lead.

When Matt Dufty’s catch-and-pass led to Jake, the younger of the Thewlis brothers, scoring, gave them the lead.

When Roderick Tai, a Warrington centre, was found to have fouled the ball in-goal before Jordan Rapana dotted down, the try was declared invalid in the 22nd minute.

On the second half-hour mark, when Sezer’s outstanding line break unselfishly chose Barron to take the visitors off the board, Hull started to ratchet up.

Sezer fought his way past some sluggish Warrington defense eight minutes later to keep his team within two points at half-time.

However, Warrington quickly responded after the break when Powell ran over a gap in the Hull defense to score his first Super League try this year. Sneyd’s straightforward conversion made the game a two-score affair.

Dufty dummied to break past some subpar defending as Hull started to tire, and his inside pass set up Australian second-row Fitzgibbon for the home side.

Sam Burgess, a coach at Warrington, told BBC Radio Merseyside:

“It turned out well today,” I said. I believed we had the upper hand in the majority of the game, so I’m happy for the players that we’re back in the winning circle and can regain some momentum.

The players will take a little time out of it because it has been a while since we’ve led from the beginning, which was pleasant.

On Josh Thewlis’ attempt:

John Cartwright, the coach of Hull FC, told BBC Radio Humberside:

“Too many simple errors, just too many.” We anticipated that they would be very quick and powerful.

We were only two points down on the back of a lot of errors in the second half, but we only became happier in the second half.

Powell, Thomas, Harrison, and Ratchford are the others.

Rapana, Barron, Briscoe, Litten, Martin, Cust, Sezer, Ese ‘ese, Bourouh, Knight, Hardaker, Aydin, Chamberlain, and Hull FC.

Ashworth, Charles, Eseh, and Fash swapped.