Dunlop clinches big bike double at Tandragee 100

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Michael Dunlop won both the Open and the county Armagh circuit victories in his first appearance at the Tandragee 100 road races since 2013 and is now doing so for the first time since 2013.

At the chequered flag, Dunlop rode his MD Racing BMW Superstock machine, finishing 0.4 seconds ahead of Michael Sweeney, with Mike Browne taking third place in the final corner.

The 36-year-old repeated the dose in the Tandragee 100 six-lapper with a new record of 111.584 mph on his final circuit, beating nearest rival Sweeney by eight seconds on that occasion.

Both frontrunners had broken Dan Kneen’s seven-year-old lap record in the Open round and had raised the bar even more during the event’s thrilling conclusion.

After the first lap of the Open race, Sweeney held the lead in terms of speed ahead of Browne, Dunlop, Shaun Anderson, and Cummins, who were all just tenths of a second apart.

By the end of the second lap, Dunlop, a record 33-time winner of the Isle of Man TT, had jumped into second place with 108.933 to reach that time.

The 36-year-old had taken the lead by the end of the following lap, where Sweeney had a 0.03 second lead over Sweeney, and his advantage over the Skerries rider had only marginally diminished as the riders raced out on their final lap thanks to Sweeney’s 109.796.

In the end, Dunlop continued to lead the affairs in front of Sweeney, who was following him.

On the final bend, Cummins, 39, managed to take home the podium positions, with Anderson and Marcus Simpson completing the top six while Browne’s BPE was taken home.

For the first time since making his only previous appearance at Tandragee in 2007, Manx rider Cummins made the event.

Sweeney kept up the pace until the latter stages when Dunlop was forced to give his rival second best in the final stages of the feature race despite having the early lead from Dunlop.

After lap one, Dunlop increased that lead by 0.02 seconds before Sweeney cut the gap by 0.33 seconds with a new lap record of 110.911.

Success of the Browne Supersport Double and the Tweed Twins

Darryl Tweed in action at the Tandragee 100Pacemaker

Browne completed his Supersport double with a dominant start-to-finish victory on Saturday, following up his success on Friday night.

By the third and final lap of five, the Cork rider had a comfortable lead over Dunlop, who finished second behind him by 3.5 seconds to claim the victory.

After having problems with his V2 Ducati in qualifying on Friday, Dunlop had to start from the second wave of riders in 17th place on the grid. However, he came in second place on corrected time with a new lap record of 109.276mph on his final lap, which surpasses his previous best-ever speed in the category from 2011 and finished in 17th place.

The top six included Andy Farrell, Tweed, Anderson, and Cummins.

After a thrilling four-lap battle with Sweeney, Ballymoney’s Tweed defeated Ballymoney’s Tweed in the Supertwins race on Saturday.

After the opening two laps, Tweed held the lead in county Armagh, where Sweeney and the other two ran a further 5.3 miles.

Sweeney, a competitor from the Republic of Ireland, appeared to be in charge going into the final corner, but he ran wide at Bell’s Crossroads, giving Tweed the chance to nip through and win by 1.5 seconds.

The race winner reached 103.25 mph on the fastest lap of the event.

Joe Yeardsley, Simpson, and Neil Kernohan took the final spot on the podium, followed by Barry Furber.

In the classic superbike and lightweight competitions, Anderson won.

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Draper ready to carry post-Murray Wimbledon mantle

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Jack Draper, the British men’s number one, says he can handle the task of leading the home country’s hopes at the first Wimbledon since Sir Andy Murray’s retirement.

Draper, who is currently ranked fourth in the world, has risen to the position of a genuine Wimbledon contender after a stunning increase over the past year.

When the grass-court Grand Slam begins on Monday, the left-handed Englishman will be the fourth seed.

Since Murray, the 2017 world number one and defending champion, no home player has been given a seed as high at the All England Club.

When Andy retired, Draper, who starts against Sebastian Baez from Argentina and must navigate a difficult path to the end, said, “I was the next in line.”

“I’ll keep trying my best to keep trying and improving, to promote my best tennis, and to hopefully present myself as the player and person I want to be.”

Andy has done a fantastic job of that, had incredible success, and won over the nation.

“There must be many, many shoes to fill,” it seems. That is something I am aware of. I’m optimistic about my ability to inspire others like Andy has done, but I’m also confident in myself.

In the men’s and women’s singles draws, Draper leads 23 British players overall, which is the highest total since 1984.

In a year, Draper has advanced to the semi-finals of the US Open, the prestigious Indian Wells title, and two more ATP Tour finals.

Draper will not be the first British player to win at Wimbledon, but he will be subject to more scrutiny given his ascendancy in the men’s game.

Draper claims he is aware of his ability to turn to Murray and Tim Henman, another former British top ten player who helped inspire the nation, for guidance when necessary.

Draper praised Andy for giving me “an amazing amount of feedback and advice over the years.”

He added that he dislikes interfering. He said that he is very reluctant to criticize me because he understands what it’s like to be in this position, as I reported earlier.

“I know Andy will be there for me whenever I need him.”

Raducanu doesn’t “anticipate much” at Wimbledon.

Many British eyes will be trained on Emma Raducanu’s development in addition to Draper.

The 22-year-old claims she “truthfully expects much” from herself over the next two weeks despite losing to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun in the final 16.

Raducanu claims she needed to “get her head in the game” for Wimbledon to begin after losing in Eastbourne earlier this week.

Raducanu reported having been dealing with ongoing back spasms and had received some “pretty bad” personal information that she wanted to keep private.

Raducanu, who is ranked 38th in the world, admitted that “I know I’ve just been dealing with certain things.”

“I just want to be present and enjoy the occasion.”

When Raducanu won the US Open as a qualifier, he first caught the attention of the British public when he led a breakout run to the Wimbledon final 16 as a teenager in 2021. Three months later, he stunned the world by donning the same name.

Mimi Xu, a 17-year-old British player who competed at Wimbledon just weeks after passing A-level exams, will play her on Monday. Xu is a similar player to Raducanu four years ago.

“I think it’s a very difficult and dangerous match,” Raducanu said.

“I believe Mimi has a lot of weapons and is a really, really good player.”

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Wimbledon my best chance to win 25th Slam – Djokovic

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Novak Djokovic believes Wimbledon gives him the best chance of disrupting the dominance of his younger rivals and finally landing an outright record 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic has not won any of the tennis majors since triumphing at the US Open in September 2023, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz splitting the six Grand Slam titles in that time.

The 38-year-old Serb is bidding for what would also be a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon men’s title, moving him level with his long-time rival Roger Federer.

Djokovic, who plays France’s Alexandre Muller in the first round, has lost each of the past two Wimbledon finals to Alcaraz.

Asked about claiming the 25th major that would take him clear of Australia’s Margaret Court, he said: “I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance.

“That’s because of the results I have had, because of how I feel and how I play in Wimbledon.

Italy’s Sinner, 23, and Spain’s Alcaraz, 22, have emerged as the dominant pair on the ATP Tour in what has been a changing of the guard over the past two seasons.

Djokovic’s 2025 season has been patchy by his lofty standards, but he continues to be a threat at the business end of the Grand Slams.

He has continued to defy age – and logic – by producing some extraordinary performances, particularly when he beat Alcaraz in a memorable Australian Open quarter-final in January.

At last month’s French Open, he lost to Sinner in straight sets in their semi-final, but the way he pushed the world number one throughout showed how much he still offers at the top of the game.

Djokovic, who is seeded sixth at the All England Club, says chasing the younger rivals has not changed his mentality.

“In a sense you’re always hunting because you’re always going for the titles – in my also privileged position – the records and more history,” said Djokovic.

“I do feel that I’m always in that position of going for something with the attitude of trying to win rather than trying to defend.

“It is slightly different for me now in terms of I don’t chase the rankings any more.

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Brighton reject two bids for Brazil forward Pedro

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Brighton have rejected two bids by Premier League clubs for forward Joao Pedro.

The clubs have not been revealed, but Chelsea and Newcastle are currently targeting the Brazil striker.

Liverpool are also known to admire the 23-year-old, though are not pursuing a move at the moment.

The bids are reportedly about £50m, as Brighton hold out for at least £60m for Pedro, who was signed from Watford for a then club record £30m in 2023.

Pedro, who has three caps, is known to be keen to move away from the south coast, while Chelsea and Newcastle are able to offer him Champions League football.

Chelsea are targeting two forwards this summer with Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens in ongoing talks with the club.

The Blues see Pedro as a replacement for versatile forward Christopher Nkunku, who is expected to leave Stamford Bridge despite his current involvement in the Club World Cup.

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Deodorant comment controversy affected me – GB’s Dart

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Harriet Dart says the negative reaction she received for aiming a personal jibe at opponent Lois Boisson has taken a toll on her.

During a 6-0 6-3 first-round defeat to Boisson at the Rouen Open in April, Dart asked the umpire to tell her opponent to put on deodorant, saying: “She smells really bad”.

The 28-year-old from West Hampstead later apologised on Instagram, calling it a “heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret”.

Boisson made light of the incident at the time, posting an edited photo of her holding some deodorant and telling toiletries company Dove that they “apparently need a collab”.

Their careers have since gone in significantly directions, with Boisson making a major Grand Slam breakthrough at the French Open and Dart winning just one of seven matches.

Dart, who will face Hungary’s Dalma Galfi in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday, was asked about the comment by reporters at the All England Club on Saturday.

“I’d be lying if]I said] it didn’t affect me a little bit”, said the British number four, who sits 124th in the world rankings.

“I’m human, but also we all make mistakes and I just tried to look forward.

” I’ve gone through some difficulties these weeks. I don’t always share what I go through but I’m just looking forward and preparing the best I can.

“I don’t know why we’re still talking about this. It’s been months now. I feel like I answered a lot of the questions that were asked of me and that’s it. I really just want to put it behind me”.

Dart has been given a wildcard entry into Wimbledon – unlike Boisson, who reached the Roland Garros semi-finals in June by beating three seeded players.

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Mandhana stars as India inflict record loss on England

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First T20, Trent Bridge

India 210-5 (20 overs): Mandhana 112 (62), Deol 43 (23); Bell 3-27

England 113 all out (14.5 overs): Sciver-Brunt 66 (42); Charani 4-12

India won by 97 runs

Smriti Mandhana scored a stunning century as India inflicted England’s heaviest T20 defeat by runs with a comprehensive 97-run triumph at Trent Bridge.

The opener blitzed 112 from 62 balls for her maiden T20 international hundred as India posted 210-5 on a flat surface in the series opener.

It was the second-highest total England have conceded in the format and they had no answer to the class of Mandhana, who struck 15 fours and three sixes in a remarkable innings.

The 28-year-old left-hander put England under pressure from the off and, with number three Harleen Deol contributing a rapid 43 from 23 balls, helped India post their second-highest T20I total.

It was a stark reminder of the work England still have to do following the encouraging T20 and one-day international series sweeps of the West Indies to kick-off the new era under coach Charlotte Edwards.

That feeling was only amplified as the home side lost four wickets in the first seven overs of the chase, captain Nat Sciver-Brunt providing the only resistance.

The game was long gone by the time Sciver-Brunt was eventually dismissed for 66 off 42 balls as England slumped to 113 all out with India left-arm spinner Shree Charani taking 4-12 on debut.

A Mandhana masterclass

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It was clear Mandhana was in the mood from the moment she effortlessly sent her first ball back down the ground for four.

She had added two more boundaries before top-edging a pull shot off Em Arlott in the second over.

The ball looped into the leg side but landed safely as Alice Capsey misjudged it, took her eye off the ball assuming it was going well over her head, only for it to drop just past her left shoulder onto the turf.

By the next time Mandhana offered England a chance, she had reached three figures.

After a productive powerplay, the India star then welcomed Sophie Ecclestone back to international cricket by slog-sweeping the left-arm spinner’s first ball into the stands for six.

Another followed three balls later as 19 came from the over and while Ecclestone eventually dismissed Mandhana in the last over of the innings, there was no suggestion of the England bowler – who finished with figures of 1-43 from three overs – having the last laugh.

In between, Mandhana continued to play a knock of the very highest order. Her strike-rate was 180 but there was no slogging, just a succession of classical cricket shots executed to near-perfection.

Sumptuous drives both down the ground and through the covers, masterful sweeps and some crunching pull shots – whatever England threw at her, Mandhana had the answer.

A false shot percentage of only 10% does not necessarily mean the other 90% came slap bang out of the middle of the bat but it felt that way as ball after ball raced towards the boundary.

It came as something of a shock when she was caught with four balls left in the innings, having scored a run fewer than England’s XI managed combined, but the damage had been done.

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