Eilis O'Hanlon on TV: ‘Wimbledon's machines are certainly more accurate, but there's no tension any more'
Never trust anyone who has no respect for tradition or history. The same goes for Wimbledon, which this year is going ahead without line judges for the first time since the 1870s. The human eye has been replaced instead with AI, as technology takes on the task of deciding whether balls are in or out.
'It's better,' insisted commentator and former player Andrew Castle during seven times champion Novak Djokovic's opening match on Tuesday evening.
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The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Brit Wimbledon star Neal Skupski, 35, finds out his grandmother has died just minutes after leaving court
NEAL SKUPSKI found out his beloved grandmother died minutes after his opening Wimbledon win. Britain's leading doubles star, 35, and partner Joe Salisbury fought hard to beat fellow Brits Joshua Paris and Charles Broom 6-3 5-7 6-4 in round one of the men's doubles competition. Advertisement 3 Neal Skupski won at Wimbledon on Thursday before finding out about his grandmother's passing Credit: Getty Once he stepped off Court 8, the bad news was relayed to him by close family members that his 98-year-old granny Mary – who had been ill for a while and was in hospital – had passed away. It had already been a difficult day for Skupski, a big Liverpool fan, given the Skupski, 2023 Wimbledon men's doubles champion, said: 'I have just found out that my nan passed today. So, it has been a very tough day. 'I found out once I came off court. About 30 minutes ago. She was 98. She was a fighter. Had been ill for a little bit of time. Advertisement READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON 'She didn't die out of the blue. I have been able to come to terms with it. She was coming to the end. It's part of life. It will be a tough few days for my family. 'We had known it was a matter of time for a few days now. It was tough to find out when I'd come off court. But I will be okay. 'She would want me to be here. She would be proud of what happened and how we fought. 'Maybe my mood has changed a bit coming up to these Championships. I'm probably quite bubbly on the practice courts, with good energy. Advertisement Most read in Tennis Live Blog 'Maybe the team had thought and seen I was not myself. People like my brother and coach, he spoke to some of the coaches, he maybe told them the situation. It's Wimbledon now, it's my job. 'She would have wanted me to have fought. We are here and want to win the whole thing. Being on the court will take my mind off it. Jack Draper out of Wimbledon as No4 seed is stunned by veteran former finalist Marin Cilic, 36, in shock early exit 'My nan was a massive supporter of me. I spent the most time growing up with her. She was the closest grandparent I had.' On Thursday, the All England Club announced it would Advertisement Skupski – who had been to the The three-time Wimbledon doubles champion said: 'It's been a tough day for Liverpool fans. I found out this morning that Jota had passed away. 'A bit strange this morning. You're on Twitter and see a headline about Jota in Spanish. But it's along the lines of 'accident' and it's in black-and-white. 'Has he actually died? You think your heroes or sportsmen or people you look up to, they're invincible. Advertisement 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - 'It shows everyone's human. Things come at you. You don't know what is around the corner. 'It was really tough to take. Him and his brother. A tough one for his whole family. He got Advertisement 'My condolences go out to his family. It must be 'When I was at Liverpool, I met the whole team. Diogo was there. I spoke to some people today who are connected to Liverpool and they say, not only was he an 'A great finisher. But also someone who kept the whole dressing room together, making it run so smoothly. 'It will be a big loss for Liverpool. I am sure they will do something in their memory.' Advertisement 3 Liverpool fan Skupski also paid tribute to Diogo Jota Credit: Alamy
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Jack Draper gives worrying update on future Wimbledon prospects as he admits he can't play on grass
HURTING Jack Draper admitted he cannot play on grass and this Wimbledon exit exposed 'many holes' in his game. And though he denied he buckled under the weight of a nation, he praised legendary Andy Murray for how he managed to win the Championship twice in front of home fans. 3 Jack Draper was left hurting and frustrated by his early Wimbledon exit to Marin Cilic Credit: Getty 3 The British No1 admitted he struggles to play his best tennis on grass Credit: Getty The 'I thought Cilic played an incredible match from start to finish. Didn't let up. He deserved the win. But it hurts a lot. 'It's highlighted to me this year that I really struggled on the grass in all honesty. READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON 'I felt great on the hard and clay. There weren't many holes in my game – whereas as soon as I came onto the grass, I felt a big difference. 'It's just something I've got to keep in mind, how I'm going to develop my game for the long-term for next year. Just to get better as a player. 'For sure, it highlighted a lot of weaknesses in my game. 'I mean it makes me think that Most read in Tennis CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS 'It's not the pressure. I just didn't play good enough. I lost to a better player. 'I just wasn't able to find the level I wanted. I came up short. Celebrities arrive for day 4 of Wimbledon - including Sir Cliff Richard 'The hole in my forehand showed up. I wasn't able to deal with his pace of ball into my forehand. I was over-spinning a lot. 'I've still got a lot of areas that I need to improve in my game. 'There's a bit of a misconception, just because I'm a 6ft 4ins lefty, I must be incredible on grass. I haven't had loads of experience on it.' Former US Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up Cilic, 36, said: 'The emotions are just incredible. "Where I was two years ago, I cannot even describe. It's been a long journey. 'I never lost any doubt. It was long and testing. It's incredible to win this. Thanks to the crowd for great sportsmanship.' 3 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE -
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Sinner thrashes Vukic as Djokovic delivers ruthless lesson to Evans
World number one Jannik Sinner demolished Australia's Aleksandar Vukic 6-1 6-1 6-3 in a Centre Court masterclass to move ominously into the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday. The Italian was streets ahead of the 93rd-ranked Vukic who barely laid a glove on the top seed in the opening two sets before saving face with some third-set resistance. Sinner, bidding to win the title for the first time, never loosened his grip on a one-sided contest although he did need six match points to finish off Vukic in a prolonged final game. There was never any chance of a repeat of last month's French Open final when he squandered three match points in a spellbinding clash with Carlos Alcaraz though, and he duly slammed down his 12th ace as the light began to fade. "I struggled a bit to close it out. I'm very happy, Centre Court is such a special occasion," Sinner said. "Yes, I enjoyed (the last game) because I won the game! If not, I don't know. The match can change very, very quickly. If he breaks me there it can go long distance." Apart from a defeat by Alexander Bublik in Halle in the build-up to Wimbledon, Sinner has shown few ill-effects from the heartache of losing to Alcaraz in Paris. He parted ways with his trainer and physiotherapist, Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, days before Wimbledon, but even that strange timing does not seem to have ruffled his feathers. With so many seeds having fallen by the wayside already, his path through to the latter stages looks clear. Dismantled 6-3 6-2 6-0 by Novak Djokovic on Centre Court on Thursday, Britain's Dan Evans found solace in what could be his final bow on tennis's most famous stage. "When you're 35, you've got more perspective than when you're 21," he said. "I wanted to win the match. I believed I could win the match. I felt confident going into the match. It's just such a hard task at hand, and that's it. "I'm not going to say I enjoyed it or didn't enjoy it. I understand the occasion and what a moment it was for myself to go out there and experience everything today." The veteran Briton, who beat Djokovic in the pair's only other meeting but is now ranked outside the top 150 in the world, acknowledged that he had been outclassed from the opening game. "I felt like I was always on the back foot," he said. "I'd say, if I had to sum it up, it felt the tennis balls were back in my pocket very quickly and never stayed in there a long time." Despite the lopsided scoreline, Evans embraced the magnitude of the occasion, particularly in the closing stages. "The last probably four or five games, I really soaked it up, and I did enjoy it, yeah," he reflected. Evans praised Djokovic's tactical brilliance, noting how the seven-times Wimbledon champion served "like a big server" despite his modest 1.85-metre frame. "Today he served spots. I don't think he got over 130 (mph), but every serve was a spot," Evans observed. With his ranking having slipped and his body feeling the toll of professional tennis, Evans faces an uncertain future. "Waking up after playing matches is hard now," he admitted with characteristic honesty. "It's just not as easy as it used to be - without sounding Andy Murray-esque dramatic." Jaume Munar would have found it almost impossible to forgive himself if he had not reached the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday after the unseeded Spaniard wasted 10 matchpoints before finally seeing off Fabian Marozsan. The 28-year-old, who toppled tournament dark horse Alexander Bublik in the opening round, beat Hungarian Marozsan 6-2 6-3 7-6(9) after a dramatic third set where things threatened to spiral out of his control when victory was in his grasp. There were high hopes that Jack Draper would rescue what had been a lousy day for the home nation at Wimbledon when he emerged for his second-round showdown against a rival who was ranked outside the world's Top 1000 just 10 months ago. Add in the fact that his 36-year-old opponent had been hobbled by injuries in recent years, had won back-to-back matches on the main tour only once in the last nine months and had never beaten a Top-5 player on grass in his entire career - and a younger and fitter Draper seemed a shoo-in for victory. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old Briton the opponent he ran into was called Marin Cilic, a man with a proven Grand Slam pedigree who had won the U.S. Open in 2014 and finished runner-up at the All England Club in 2017. Despite now plying his trade mostly on the second-tier Challenger circuit after his ranking went into freefall following knee surgery in 2023, the Croatian felt right at home in front of a packed Court One and produced an inspired performance to topple fourth seed Draper 6-4 6-3 1-6 6-4. Iga Swiatek may not love the grass but relishes a battle whatever the surface and showed all that fight and bullish determination as she recovered to beat American Caty McNally 5-7 6-2 6-1 and reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.
