Putintseva asks umpire to eject spectator over safety fear
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Wimbledon protocol broken with BBC pundit left in tears over emotional scenes
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova was beaten by American Emma Navarro in her final match at the All England Club before retirement, and it had Martina Navratilova visibly emotional Wimbledon made an exception to its usual protocol as two-time champion Petra Kvitova played her final match at the All England Club. The former world No. 2 had previously announced her retirement plans, set for after the US Open later this summer. Kvitova was granted a wildcard into Wimbledon and faced a challenging draw against No. 10 seed Emma Navarro. Despite an early lead, Kvitova was defeated 6-3 6-1, leaving BBC commentator Martina Navratilova in tears. Following the match, it was confirmed that Kvitova would address the crowd, breaking from the usual practice of only the winner speaking. As Kvitova and Navarro shook hands at the net, fellow Czech-born tennis champion Navratilova was asked to pay tribute to the retiring 35-year-old, leading to an emotional moment on air, reports the Express. "It's hard for me to talk right now, she's just such a nice person on and off the court, a role model everywhere," said the tearful retired icon. Kvitova acknowledged her fans inside Court 1 as she crossed the grass to retrieve her towel. She then remained on Wimbledon's second-largest showcourt for one final interview. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you're all aware, our normal protocol is to interview the winner. But on this special occasion, the last appearance in the main draw for two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, Petra, we'd like to give you the opportunity for a few words," Rishi Prasad announced. As she approached the microphone, the twice Wimbledon champion expressed deep emotion: "Hi everyone, thank you very much for the beautiful atmosphere you made today, it was very special to play on this beautiful court. Congrats Emma on the win, good luck, I wish we could play a little bit longer but okay, whatever! "To have another chance to play one more time here, it means a lot to me. This place holds the best memories I could wish for. I never dreamed of winning Wimbledon, and I won it twice, this is something very, very special. "I will miss Wimbledon for sure, I will miss tennis, I will miss you fans, but I'm ready for the next chapter in my life as well. I can't wait to be back as a member which is still very unreal for me, to come back here and see all you guys again." Kvitova, who recently returned to the sport after a hiatus due to maternity leave, took a moment to honour those behind her successes, too. "I didn't have many tennis coaches through my career. My first one was my dad, who is here today as well, and my last one is my husband," she joked, followed by some heartfelt words in Czech aimed at her nearest and dearest. Having wrapped up her successful career with 31 titles, Kvitova shared her heartfelt thanks to everyone who had been a part of her journey before Navarro's closing remarks to both Kvitova and the audience. The 10th seed paid her respects to Petra, saying: "Petra has had an amazing career and I told her at the net it was a pleasure to play her today. It was a little surreal to look across the court and see her over there serving bombs at me. I don't think you've lost any speed on your serve! "It was a bit intimidating at times and I just want to say congratulations for all you've done in this sport. Good luck for the rest of the year and wherever this life takes you when you're done here, best of luck."
Telegraph
43 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Novak Djokovic vs Alexandre Muller: Score and latest Wimbledon updates
6:30PM Draper dominates opening set British No 1 Jack Draper has cruised through the first set against Sebastian Baez on Court No 1. Draper's power is proving too much for Baez. He has sent down four aces and in truth there's only been one winner of this opening set. My colleague Uche Amako is providing live coverage of the match from Wimbledon, which you can follow here. 6:22PM Highlights from day two so far Dan Evans has booked his place in the second round for the first time in four years with a straights set victory over compatriot Jay Clarke. He joins seven British players from Monday in reaching the second round. Next up for Evans could be a match against Novak Djokovic, who faces Alexander Muller tonight on Centre Court. But there was disappointment for some of his compatriots as former British No 1 Heather Watson was knocked out in the women's singles draw. Watson made a good start against 23rd seed Clara Tauson by taking the first set but the Dane showed her quality to fight back and win 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, Jodie Burrage also went out as she was beaten by American Caty McNally 6-3, 6-1. 6:10PM Zverev forces deciding set Play gets under way once the match between Alexander Zverev and Arthur Rinderknech has ended. Zverev is playing with fire and has managed to clinch the fourth set 7-5 in a tie-break. This one will go the distance and good luck calling a winner from here. Meanwhile, we will have all the build-up to Djokovic-Muller so don't go anywhere. 5:59PM Djokovic says Wimbledon best shot at winning record 25th major Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic takes centre stage with his first-round match against Alexandre Muller on Centre Court. His preparation for the grass courts at Wimbledon as amounted to an exhibition defeat against Karen Khachanov and a practice session with Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court. Djokovic has not won a major title since 2023, albeit he defeated world No 2 Alcaraz to win gold at last year's Olympics. However, the 38-year-old is bidding for what would also be career-equalling eighth Wimbledon title, moving level with his long-time rival Roger Federer. Asking about claiming his 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. 'I get an extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level.' Djokovic, who is seeded sixth at Wimbledon, has said 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. 'I'm trying to play the best tennis in grand slams and trying to win grand slams. That hasn't changed. It still stays the same.' Meanwhile, his opponent Alexander Muller arrives at Wimbledon in high spirits, despite the daunting task of facing the seven-time champion in the first-round. 'Maybe I have had a little bit of bad luck regarding the draws, but I also have luck in my life,' Muller said. 'My wife is here and we are expecting a baby, so I think I am quite lucky on that front. 'It's my third Wimbledon, and the third time I will play on Centre Court… It's not like my house, but a little bit,' Muller said with a smile. 'It's always cool to play on this amazing court. 'There is always a chance [against Djokovic]. He's human like me and I'm going to start by attacking his physique. We will see, he's the greatest player in history and here at Wimbledon, he has some amazing stats. But I will give my best and we will see.'
The Guardian
44 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Krejcikova navigates tricky Wimbledon start to put supercomputers in their place
Barbora Krejcikova was given her moment stepping out on to Centre Court as reigning women's champion at Wimbledon and went on to seize another in the 'temple of tennis' after holding off the hustle of the rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala to progress to the second round. Opening play on Tuesday was, the 29-year-old said, 'something very beautiful' and, ultimately, her tennis hit the standard too. With her season so far blitzed by injury, Krejcikova was predicted by Wimbledon's in-house supercomputer to lose here, and echo her compatriot Marketa Vondruosava who last year became the first women's champion to exit at the first round since 1994. In the end, an early Czech out was comfortably avoided. 'It's great to be back,' Krejcikova said. 'It's just great to be playing in the temple of tennis. It's a very special place here and I think I was feeling more of the happier emotions today than I did last year.' The 20-year-old Eala did no damage to her growing reputation here. After reaching the final of Eastbourne last weekend, and ending the match distraught at defeat, she set about grabbing this match by the horns and put Krejcikova under severe pressure in a dominant first set. Against a shimmering backdrop, with spectators assiduously beating their fans under the Centre Court sun, Eala launched a bombardment of attacks against the No 17 seed, unleashing punishing strokes off either side. The champion, who pulled out of Eastbourne with a thigh complaint, seemed to lack both the agility and the power to keep up and dropped consecutive service games on the way to losing the first set 6-3. But then came a turn. Krejcikova said she had been caught out by Eala's early approach – 'I didn't expect what she was playing' – but she used the start of the second set to turn the match to her advantage. A clean hold gave her a chance to catch her breath and a lucky forehand winner at 0-15 gave her a platform to build a break in the second game. She took the opportunity with both hands and soon swept to a 5-0 lead. 'I found a way,' Krejcikova said. 'To be honest, I just went point by point, one after another, and tried to put them together. I think that was really the key point, to try to gain some lead in that second set.' Such are the vicissitudes of this sport, that as Krejcikova rose so Eala's level began to drop, the left-hander no longer able to deploy her power as reliably as she had. It wasthe teenager making the errors, and Krejcikova hitting her marks; and the Czech broke Eala's opening service game in the third set to take what proved the vital lead in the match. As Eala tried and failed to fight her way back frustration began to become more visible. The champion, meanwhile, displayed her emotions just once; yelling after sealing a second break to go 5-1 up in the final set. She duly held serve to close out the match. 'At the end of the day she's where she's at for a reason,' said Eala, reflecting on the match. 'It's because of certain aspects of her game that she does very well. There are certain aspects of my game that I need to improve. So obviously with time after calming down and after all the emotions, I think we'll take a look back at it, and we'll identify those things. Then I can focus on moving forward.' Krejcikova goes on to face Caroline Dolehide of the US in the second round. This was only the champion's seventh match of the season following a lengthy back injury, but she says she is a different player mentally to the one who came to SW19 last year. 'The result I achieved last year is definitely helping, she said. 'I feel good. Today was a day where I was really mentally there. I was fighting for every single ball, the match turned around and at the end I was the one lifting up the arms.'
