Jannik Sinner mauls Novak Djokovic to reach first Wimbledon final
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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Electric Ella Toone lighting up England's title defense at euro 2025
England midfielder Ella Toone is back to her unbelievable best. Toone stole the show in Sunday's 6-1 thrashing of Wales at the Women's European Championship with a sensational first-half performance to propel the defending champion into the quarterfinals. The Manchester United star set up two of England's four goals in the first period and netted one of the others herself for her second goal of the tournament. 'I think she was unbelievable,' said England teammate Beth Mead. Toone also had an incredible 100 percent pass completion against Wales before being substituted off at halftime with the outcome a foregone conclusion and the defending champion's place in the quarterfinals guaranteed. 'Well I mean it might not have been 100 percent if I stayed on the second half but I'll take it' Toone said with a laugh. 'But I'm a number 10 I want to take risks I want to find passes that sometimes might not come off and I always think that it's okay to make a mistake. I feel really good at the minute feel really confident and really enjoying my football. So hopefully I can continue with that in the next games.' England will face Sweden in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Zurich – where the Lionesses played their first two matches of Euro 2025. The 25-year-old Toone is all but assured of a place in the starting lineup especially as England coach Sarina Wiegman normally avoids tinkering with a winning team in tournaments. Wiegman kept the same starting lineup for all six of England's matches in its triumphant Euro 2022 run and made only the one change after England opened its defense with a disappointing defeat to France. That was to bring Toone who had come off the bench against France in for Mead against the Netherlands shifting Lauren James to the right. England won 4-0. Mead herself had a sublime performance against Wales after coming off the bench at halftime with a goal and an assist as England wrapped up the scoring. 'That's the Beth that I saw in 2022 at the Euros when she took an extra touch in the box and sat a few defenders down and got a goal and I'm so happy for her' Toone said. But the 30-year-old Mead who was the Euro 2022 player of the tournament is likely to start again from the bench against Sweden. 'I think Tooney is really coming into her own and sometimes in situations where you feel a little bit low it brings you to the top of your game' Mead said. 'And I have completely felt that and done that before been in a tough place and come back … and she deserves everything she's getting right now because she has worked really hard for it.' Bonding over grief Mead and Toone have both lost parents since England lifted the Euro 2022 trophy. Mead's mother died from ovarian cancer in January 2023 while Toone lost her father to prostate cancer last September. Both players pointed to the sky after scoring on Sunday. 'We both said the first game we really struggled a little bit' Mead said. 'You look to the stands for your person who was standing there and they're not there anymore. I think my mum was the first person I would look for in the stands so I obviously understand what Ella felt in that moment and it's just special to be able to have that moment think about them and dedicate it to them.' Toone says she and Mead have really bonded over such a terrible thing and that her teammate has been a mentor to her as she understands what she is going through. 'I was buzzing for her that she got that tonight and we both could celebrate to the sky' Toone added. 'I am sure they will be up there with a few pints in their hand watching us.'
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Iga Swiatek is at no. 3 after Wimbledon and Amanda Anisimova is in the top 10. Sinner still no. 1
Iga Swiatek's Wimbledon championship moved her up to No. 3 in the WTA rankings Monday, and Amanda Anisimova's runner-up finish allowed the American to break into the top 10 for the first time at No. 7. A year ago, Anisimova was ranked 189th and wasn't able to get into the field at the All England Club automatically. So she tried to qualify but lost. This year, Anisimova was seeded at Wimbledon and made it all the way to her first Grand Slam final, beating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals before losing to Swiatek 6-0, 6-0. 'I look at it and I'm like, 'Oh wow.' It's kind of a shock at first, and I can't really process it. Then it's like, 'Oh yeah, I've played very well so far this year,' so it kind of makes sense. I feel like I kind of look at it from both sides,' Anisimova said. She climbed from No. 12. 'I mean it's super special and a surreal feeling to be in the top 10,' Anisimova said. 'If I thought to myself last year, if someone told me that I'll be breaking the top 10 by now, I don't know, it would be pretty surprising to me considering where I was last summer.' For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Swiatek was No. 1 for most of the past three seasons, but a year without reaching a tournament final dropped her to No. 8 last month. Making the final at a grass-court tournament before Wimbledon pushed her up to No. 4, and now she's another place higher after collecting her sixth major trophy. Sabalenka remained atop the women's rankings, followed by French Open champion Coco Gauff, who lost in the first round at Wimbledon. Laura Siegemund leaped up 50 spots for the biggest improvement Monday – from 104th to 54th – by getting to the quarterfinals. The biggest fall was by 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who slid 62 places from No. 16 to No. 78 after bowing out in the third round. Jannik Sinner stayed at No. 1 in the ATP after his first Wimbledon title and fourth at a Grand Slam tournament. Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion who lost in Sunday's final, kept his No. 2 ranking. Semifinalist Taylor Fritz went up from No. 5 to No. 4, swapping with Jack Draper. Flavio Cobolli's debut in a Grand Slam quarterfinal – he lost in that round to Novak Djokovic – lifted the 23-year-old Italian into the top 20 for the first time, going from No. 24 to No. 19. Ben Shelton rose one spot to No. 9, and Andre Rublev rose four to No. 10.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Jannik Sinner wanted to win Wimbledon but he really needed to beat Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner needed this victory. He wanted to win Wimbledon, of course, and it would have meant a lot to him no matter who the opponent was in the final. That this championship—his fourth at a Grand Slam tournament—came via a win over Carlos Alcaraz made it all the more significant to Sinner—and to the future of their burgeoning rivalry, the best men's tennis has to offer these days and perhaps for many years to come. 'It is important for sure,' the No. 1-ranked Sinner said Sunday night after prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against No. 2 Alcaraz, 'because when you lose several times against someone, it's not easy.' Sinner had lost five matches in a row against Alcaraz, none more disheartening than the one they played last month in the French Open final. Sinner grabbed a two-set lead in that one, then held a trio of championship points before losing in five sets after 5 hours 29 minutes. 'I keep looking up to Carlos because even today I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did,' Sinner said. 'So that's something … we will work on and prepare ourselves because he's going to come for us again.' Perhaps as soon as at the US Open, which starts in New York on Aug. 24 and where Sinner is the defending champion. They will be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 again, so could only meet there in another final. Alcaraz won the trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2022, beginning a stretch in which he and Sinner have combined to win nine of the past 12 majors. That includes the last seven, leaving zero doubt that these two young guys—Sinner is 23, Alcaraz is 22—have pushed themselves way past everyone else in the game at the moment. 'I'm just really really happy about having this rivalry with him. It's great for us and it is great for tennis. Every time we play against each other our level is really high,' Alcaraz said. 'We don't (see) a level like this if I'm honest with you. I don't see any (other players) playing against each other (and) having the level that we are playing when we face each other.' Both serve well, although Sinner was better at that Sunday. Both return well, although again Sinner was superior over these particular three hours. Both cover the court exceedingly well—Alcaraz is faster, Sinner has a bigger reach and is a better slider. Both hit the ball so so hard—Alcaraz is more prone to the spectacular, Sinner is as pure and consistent a ball-striker as there is. And so on. One other contrast usually is that Alcaraz shows emotion, whether via yells of 'Vamos!' or the sort of point-to-his-ear-then-pump-his-fist celebration he did after winning Sunday's opening set by stretching and reaching low for a cross-court backhand to close a 12-stroke point. Sinner is far more contained. Even his arm-raised victory poses are mild-mannered. Sunday, though, there were more visible displays. He even shouted 'Let's go!' after one point. Later, he shook his racket overhead while the crowd roared after a well-struck backhand. When he took a set with a forehand winner, Sinner held a pose, then lifted a fist. When the match was over, he crouched, lowered his head and pounded his right palm on the grass five times. 'You saw a bit more energy from him in the big moments,' said one of Sinner's coaches, Darren Cahill, 'and a bit more focus to knuckle down and make sure that when he had his nose in front that he kept on closing the door against Carlos.' Both players spoke about their matchup motivating them to work hard to try to improve. 'It gives me the opportunity to just give my 100 percent every practice, every day. Just to be better thanks to that,' said Alcaraz, who won the past two Wimbledon titles and was 5-0 in Grand Slam finals before Sunday. 'The level that I have to maintain and I have to raise if I want to beat Jannik is really high.' Sinner described Alcaraz as someone 'who is young, who wins basically everything. You have to be ready,' Sinner explained, 'if you want to keep up.'
