Category Sports News

After losing in the quarter-finals at Eastbourne, British number five Dan Evans now believes he has “put his name back out there.”

On Wednesday, Evans defeated world number 13 Tommy Paul, but the following day, he lost to American Jenson Brooksby, who was 6-2, 6-3.

The 35-year-old has won two of his top-20 matches in as many weeks, defeating Paul in Eastbourne and world no. 14 Tiafoe at Queen’s at the start of the grasscourt season.

In the first round of Eastbourne, he also defeated Serbia’s No. 49 Miomir Kecmanovic.

Evans, who was in the top 30 two years ago, told BBC Sport, “I’ll look back and think about this week for an hour or so. It’s been great.”

“I’ve a little bit more prominently displayed.” I’m having a fantastic event coming up.

There are no positives to leaving Eastbourne.

In windy conditions, Evans was ably defeated by Brooksby, who lost serve four times and failed to establish a break point of his own.

“It was really challenging,” Evans remarked.

You have to recover and go back to tennis, they say, “but it’s not easy.” Today, everything felt very quickly.

Ugo Humbert will face Brooksby in Friday’s semi-final after beating Billy Harris, the country’s top ranked player, 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 on Thursday.

Harris, who will also play in the Wimbledon main draw next week, was eliminated for the second time in a row at Eastbourne.

Similar to Evans, Harris’ match took place on court one rather than the center court of the tournament, which Evans described as “depressing.”

Evans responded, “I do have questions as to why no British players were playing center court today.

Taylor Fritz, the reigning champion, defeated “crazy” winds at Eastbourne to win two matches in a single day.

After Fritz and Brazilian Joao Fonseca, 18, were suspended on Wednesday for bad light, the pair resumed on Thursday afternoon and won 7-5.

Four hours and 23 minutes later, Fritz and Marcos Giron faced off in the quarter-finals at 12:47 BST.

Fritz defeated his American compatriot 7-5, 6 , 7-5, to reach the final four.

“I adore this competition. Fritz, a three-time champion in Eastbourne, said, “I’ve been very lucky not to play in very windy conditions.”

“It’s difficult for me because I can’t play the tennis I love here.” When the weather is windy, I have to scrap and play crazy tennis.

I’m obviously very relieved to get through it.

One of the favorites for the Wimbledon title is Fritz, who defeated world number three Alexander Zverev in the final of the Stuttgart Open 11 days ago.

Lando Norris says he needs to stop making mistakes to ensure that he has the best chance of winning this year’s Formula 1 drivers’ title.

In the final Canadian race, the McLaren driver slammed into teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri.

Before the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, Briton Norris is 22 points ahead of the Australian.

Norris remarked, “I can’t afford to make some of the mistakes I’ve been making.” That is something I am aware of.

I only want to make the smallest possible error. I can’t afford to make less money, make more, or anything else. I just need to make improvements to my current situation.

For the first time in a row, a McLaren hasn’t finished the season on the podium.

Norris also had a bad luck in Japan in April when he crashed into Max Verstappen while exiting the pits and racing the Dutchman by mistake on the first lap in Miami.

However, Norris has had a lot of trouble with qualifying because the car doesn’t give him the confidence to push himself past his limits without making mistakes.

After ten races, Piastri has won five races, five behind Norris’ two, and has four pole positions behind the Briton.

Norris once said, “I’ve been falling behind and making more mistakes.” That is obvious. We are very close to each other. In that regard, Oscar has definitely been a little more comfortable than I have this year.

It’s also my job to drive any car I’m given, but the team needs to give me a car and other things to try to unlock that ability. Oscar has done a good job, and it has been difficult. How close it is has been exciting to see.

Norris will once more benefit from the front suspension adjustment he first made in Montreal in order to improve feel.

Norris denied that his current problems are a source of concern for him.

He said, “I’m not worried about anything because there is a very long way in the season.” “But of course, I am aware that losing out on points, regardless of race, is never a good thing. I was undoubtedly the only person who lost the points last time out. And I’ve already gotten paid for making false predictions.

Norris claimed that the incident had taken “a little time” for him to heal in Canada and that being with a team-mate had been “the most agonizing part of it.”

He claimed, however, that he had always believed that the team had grown closer because he had admitted to his error in Canada.

He remarked, “That’s a good example for our as a team.” Oscar and I have a strong bond with one another, according to the article.

“I immediately made it clear that I had a mistake and was to blame.” So, yes, conversations that needed to be had, but not the most joyful ones, of course.

This weekend, both Norris and Piastri predicted McLaren’s return to form in Austria.

Norris said, “It’s been one of our better ones in the past. It has also been very positive for Max and Red Bull. Last year, they were on pole by four and a half tenths.

“We anticipate doing well in qualifying, but perhaps we might struggle a little in comparison to some of our rivals.”

Elinor Barker, a four-time Olympian, has announced that her second pregnancy is the end of her 2025 campaign.

After finishing 16th overall in the British National Road Championships in Ceredigion, more than five minutes behind compatriot Zoe Backstedt’s title-winning competitor, the 30-year-old Welsh competitor broke the news to social media.

We are expecting our second child in December, so we had our last race of 2025 today at Nationals TT.

Extremely fortunate to be surrounded by so many experts, support from @unoxteam, and @britishcycling once more, and.

She continued, “Ps. Try to find a job that doesn’t demand that you wear skin-tight Lycra every day if you’re trying to conceal a pregnancy at work.

Barker will miss the time trial and Women’s Road World Championships in September.

After already winning Olympic team pursuit gold in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo in 2021, Barker gave birth to son Nico in 2022.

She added another silver medal in the madison in Paris in 2024, where she also won another silver.

Faith Kipyegon’s attempt to become the first woman to run a distance of less than four minutes failed.

In order to achieve the remarkable feat, the Kenyan, 31, set a time of four minutes 06.42 seconds, which is one second quicker than her world record, at Stade Charlety in Paris.

Because Kipyegon was assisted by a team of male and female pacemakers and participated in the Nike-sponsored “Breaking4,” the time will not be considered an official record.

That sensational performance in Monaco gave Kipyegon the idea that sub-four, once viewed as physiologically impossible for a woman, was within her reach.

However, the three-time Olympic 1500m champion was still forced to run two seconds faster than she had before.

As she ran her sub-60 second laps, which amounted to about 15 miles or 24 kilometers per hour, Kipyegon was outfitted out in an aerodynamic skinsuit and specially designed spikes.

Georgia Hunter Bell, a British Olympic 1500m bronze medalist, and Jemma Reekie, a pacemaker, assisted her in chasing the Wavelights, who were located on the track’s inside curb.

Kipyegon completed the third lap in 3:01.84, but her hopes for the finish line began to wane over the final 400 meters.

Before collapsing to the ground, she continued to run through the finish tape in the fastest time a woman has ever done so.

Eliud Kipchoge, who became the first person to complete a marathon in less than two hours, recorded the recording for the tape.

It’s only a matter of time, I have shown it is possible. Someone else will be the recipient if not me, Kipyegon predicted.

“I will keep going for it, not to lose hope.” I’m hoping to receive it someday.

Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to break the mile-per-minute barrier, has been around for more than 70 years.

That occurred in May 1954, and it was perceived as “as elusive and seemingly unattainable as] reaching the summit of] Everest.”

Since then, many more people have reached the highest point on Earth, surpassing Bannister’s feat.

Diane Leather became the first woman to run a sub-five minute mile on the same month as Bannister’s historic milestone.

Sifan Hassan’s 2019 world record of 4: 12.33, which was previously inconceivable, was obliterated by Kipyegon after decades of incremental increases by women.

Kipyegon would run barefoot from school in her Kenyan village long before she chased history in Nike’s most recent high-tech shoes.

Without a doubt, the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic 1500m titles, she also won her first global title at the 2011 World Junior Cross Country Championships.

On Thursday night, Kipyegon donned a black aerodynamic skinsuit with arm and leg sleeves, a headband, and a 3D-printed “aeronodes” that were strategically placed. These items were all designed to lessen wind resistance and drag.

She had carbon fiber plates on the sole and air pockets in the forefoot, which increased propulsion, and her shoes were based on the Nike Victory 2 spikes, which she won Olympic gold last summer.

“This Club World Cup is a dream come true for Brazil fans,” says South American football expert Tim Vickery, speaking from Rio de Janeiro.

“Every bus stop, every water cooler… everyone is talking about it. It’s full-on.”

While Britain sleeps, with some games at the newly-expanded tournament in the United States kicking-off at 02:00 BST, Brazil is going wild for it.

And no wonder.

Millions of football fans are glued to television sets following the fortunes of Rio-based teams Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense – as well as Palmeiras, who are based in Sao Paulo.

And it is a case of so far, so good.

All four have progressed from their respective groups to the last-16 after some eye-catching results which have left fans asking if a team from Brazil can win the Club World Cup for the first time since 2012?

Botafogo have beaten newly-crowned champions of Europe Paris St-Germain, Flamengo turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 victory over Chelsea, while Fluminense and Palmeiras have held Borussia Dortmund and Porto respectively.

The United States is hosting most of the games at the 2026 World Cup next summer. Canada and Mexico are also co-hosts.

If a team from Brazil wins the Club World Cup, what will that say about the chances of the Brazil national team winning the World Cup for a sixth time?

“I didn’t expect that, most people in Brazil didn’t expect that,” Brazilian sports journalist Renata Mendonca, speaking to BBC World Service Sport, says about all four Brazilian teams advancing.

“The way they want to show the world… the Brazilian teams are good enough and could be at the top of the world.

Atletico Madrid and Porto have already been sent packing, while both teams from Argentina – Boca Juniors and River Plate – have also been eliminated.

Brazil’s quartet, however, march on.

At least one is guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals.

That’s because Palmeiras and Botafogo have been drawn against one another in an all-Brazil showdown in Philadelphia on Saturday (17:00 BST kick-off).

Meanwhile, Flamengo face Bayern Munich on Sunday (21:00), while Fluminense meet Inter Milan on Monday (20:00).

“This tournament is a priority in the way an Olympic athlete will do all of his training and programming to peak at a specific time,” Vickery tells BBC Sport.

“Certainly for Flamengo and Palmeiras, who really want to win it. This is an absolute priority for them and they have programmed to be at their peak now.”

Is the climate, which the Brazilian teams are used to, helping give them an edge?

Both Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have mentioned the extreme heat since the tournament started.

Chelsea trained in 37C before their 3-0 group win over ES Tunis in Philadelphia.

“It is almost impossible to train or to make a session because of the weather,” said Maresca earlier this week, while Guardiola said before Thursday’s match with Juventus that his players must be prepared to “suffer” in the challenging heat of Orlando.

The soaring temperatures across the United States have led to matches across the competition implementing water breaks during games.

But not all players have struggled in the heat.

“We’re used to it,” Botafogo right-back Vitinho, who spent two years at Burnley, said of the high temperatures. “I hope that it works in our favour.”

Another factor to consider is that all four teams from Brazil have broken away from their domestic season, which runs from March until December, to take part.

While they appear fresh and sharp, teams from Europe went into the Club World Cup on the back of long seasons.

PSG’s first game against Atletico Madrid in Pasadena on 15 June came 15 days after their 5-0 mauling of Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Munich.

Vickery adds: “A few weeks ago the Flamengo president was saying to a mate of mine ‘we’re flying in mid-season’.

“For the European clubs… is it the end of their season? Is it pre-season? The European clubs, their planning hasn’t been to peak now.”

Vickery believes there is something else to factor into the conversation about Brazilian clubs doing well.

“There is more money in Brazilian football,” he says.

“The standard has risen over the last few seasons. One reason is because of the influx of foreign coaches.

“Of the four Brazilian clubs here – two have Portuguese coaches [Abel Ferreira – Palmeiras and Renato Paiva – Botafogo].

“There’s plenty of Portuguese and Argentine coaches in Brazilian football and it’s brought more ideas. Even Filipe Luis, the Brazilian coaching Flamengo, his backup staff are all Spanish.

“There’s an openness to new ideas that there wasn’t a few years ago.”

Mendonca adds: “The timing of this competition is very good for South American teams. They are in the middle of their season, they are very well prepared physically.

“They have better conditions now to keep their talented players and even bring back some players. Flamengo, for example, signed Jorginho after leaving Arsenal, while Danilo and Alex Sandro have come from Juventus.

“Also Botafogo, they have kept Igor Jesus for this competition. After this he will go to Nottingham Forest.

Tens of thousands of fans have travelled from Brazil to cheer their respective clubs at the Club World Cup.

And they have proved one of the highlights of the tournament so far, with vibrant atmospheres at all of their games.

Brazil have already qualified for next summer’s World Cup, but Vickery does not believe the performance of the club teams will have any bearing on how Carlo Ancelotti’s side perform next year.

“What the performances of the Brazilian clubs highlight is the strength of national teams like Colombia and Uruguay,” he adds.

“Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense…a lot of their best players are not Brazilians.

“The way that European football treats Brazil, Brazilian football now treats the rest of South America. You have got two of the midfielders for Colombia – Richard Rios of Palmeiras and Jhon Arias of Fluminense.

“Gustavo Gomez, a centre-back for Paraguay, plays for Palmeiras and Jefferson Savarino, who plays for Venezuela, made the goal for Botafogo against PSG.

Flamengo: Brazil’s form team going in the tournament, topping this season’s domestic league.

They earned their place in the tournament by winning the Copa Liberatodores in 2022, their third triumph.

They stunned Chelsea with a 3-1 win to finish top of their group unbeaten.

Fluminense: It has been a rollercoaster few years for Fluminense, having won the Copa Libertadores in 2023 for the first time.

They followed that up by almost being relegated from Brazil’s top flight last season – just avoiding the embarrassment of being in the Club World Cup and the country’s second tier.

Palmeiras: One of South America’s most popular club, they are no stranger to success during their 115-year history.

They have won 57 trophies, including three Copa Libertadores – the South American equivalent of the Champions League. They were the champions of Brazil most recently in 2023.

Their star player is 18-year-old forward Estevao, who will be joining Chelsea after the tournament, having previously sold Endrick to Real Madrid.

Botafogo: The big surprise team in the tournament so far after beating European champions PSG to win their group.

They dominated South America in 2024, winning both the Copa Libertadores and the Brazilian championship. This season has been a struggle though after the departure of key players.

Their rise, under the ownership of John Textor, has been remarkable going from debt ridden to top of the South American game.

On Friday, Uefa executives will meet to decide whether Crystal Palace will be allowed to compete in the Europa League for the first time.

The Eagles won the FA Cup for the first time in their history, but Uefa must decide whether they broke the club’s multi-club ownership laws.

By Friday evening, the hearing’s outcome is anticipated to be announced.

Woody Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets’ 43% stake in Crystal Palace, announced on Monday that the deal, thought to be worth close to £190 million, has been “legally binding.”

Textor’s involvement at the club has led to Palace fearing losing their place in Europe.

Uefa has been looking into whether Palace broke the multi-club ownership regulations, which forbid linked clubs from competing in the same European competition.

Textor is a shareholder in French side Lyon, which also qualified for the Europa League.

Despite his shareholding in the club, Textor insists he has no significant influence over Palace.