Sports quiz of the week: Wimbledon, Euro 2025, Club World Cup and Lions
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Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Emma Raducanu shows that she CAN scale tennis' giddy heights once again... for the first time since her US Open triumph, she looked the player we all thought she could be, writes OLIVER HOLT
The strange and magical alchemy that transformed an 18-year-old qualifier into a US Open champion four years ago, and then was lost, danced and flickered again on the hallowed lawn of Centre Court on Friday night. For two hours dead of a captivating, intoxicating, magnificently enthralling game of tennis against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu was everything we once thought she might be when she won at Flushing Meadows in 2021 without dropping a single set. More importantly, perhaps, Raducanu, the world No 40, played a quality of tennis against the dominant player in the women's game that hinted, for the first time since those surreal three weeks in New York City, at everything she might yet be again. Over two fantastic, roller-coaster, nail-biting sets of the most dramatic and highly-charged match this tournament has seen so far, Raducanu pushed Sabalenka to the limits of her formidable ability in a 7-6, 6-4 defeat. The first set, a 74-minute epic, was one of the best passages of sport anyone will see all year. At its heart was a remarkable game, with Raducanu 5-4 down in the first set, where she saved seven set points and then won the game. In those moments, it felt as if she was reaching down and picking up all the broken dreams that have littered her path since that triumph in New York and casting them away at last. 'I had to fight for every point like crazy,' Sabalenka said after the match. 'I am happy to see her healthy. I'm pretty sure she can reach the top 10 again. My ears are still hurting.' Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam winner, had come into the match as an overwhelming favourite after reaching the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open and cementing her status as the dominant player in the women's game. Most expected that she would overwhelm Raducanu with the sheer power of her hitting, which has helped to establish her ahead of Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek as the woman best placed to be the heir to her heroine, Serena Williams. Any optimism about Raducanu's prospects was tempered by the fact that she has failed to win a set in eight matches against Sabalenka, Gauff and Swiatek, although, if there was a straw to clutch, it was that none of those matches were played on grass. Twilight had fallen when the players walked on to the court just before 8pm and the Centre Court roof had been closed. There was a trill of excitement when the floodlights were switched on and another exaggerated murmur when Raducanu won the first point. There was more encouragement for the crowd when Raducanu pounced on a Sabalenka second serve in that opening game and crunched a forehand winner down the line to earn break point. Sabalenka saved it but it felt like a dent in her aura of invincibility. Raducanu had started well. She served a double fault in her opening service game but she served an ace, too, slicing the serve out wide and leaving the Belarusian flat-footed. She held serve comfortably enough. At 2-2, Raducanu put Sabalenka's serve under pressure again. Another superb forehand winner down the line gave her a second break point. Sabalenka saved it with an ace. An unforced error from the No 1 seed gave Raducanu another break point. Sabalenka saved that, too. Sabalenka showed the first signs of becoming irritated by the crowd's partisan support for her opponent and she gifted Raducanu a third break point. When she hit a shot into the net, the roar from Centre Court was so loud it almost lifted the roof off. Raducanu was alive with confidence. The crowd willed her on. A Sabalenka return landed just out and when the big screen showed its trajectory, there was a huge collective yell of triumph and relief. 'Let's go Emma,' they sang, 'let's go.' Raducanu had a 4-2 lead. Sabalenka's body language was fretful and exasperated. She seemed surprised by the level of Raducanu's resistance. Actually, she seemed more than surprised. She looked bewildered. As if she did not know where this performance had come from. But then the spell wore off. Raducanu seemed irritated by a line call and let her irritation linger. She served and Sabalenka slammed a backhand winner down the line, Raducanu floated a weak backhand long and then hit a forehand wildly long. Her metronomic, nerveless hitting deserted her. Sabalenka broke her serve to love. In the blink of an eye, Raducanu was 5-4 down. Her ground strokes became erratic. One in a series of unforced errors gave Sabalenka set point. Raducanu saved it with an ace. She saved a second set point, too. And a third. And a fourth. And a fifth. And a sixth. And a seventh. And then she held for 5-5. And when Sabalenka's backhand hurtled long, another roar to rent the roof in two rang around the famous old arena. It was compelling theatre. Raducanu started the next game with two brilliant backhand winners down the line. Then, more drama. Chasing a drop shot from Sabalenka, Raducanu fell heavily. She has such a wretched injury history, it was impossible not to worry. But she got up. And then she broke Sabalenka's serve. Raducanu saved a number of set points in the first set before succumbing in a tie break Raducanu served for the set but Sabalenka played a stunning game of crushing winners and top-spin lobs and broke back to force the set into a tie-break. For the first time, it felt as if Raducanu was wilting a little in the face of her opponent's power. The tie-break was a nail-biter. Sabalenka thought she had gone to set-point with a drive-volley winner. She clenched her fist. The replay showed it was out. Raducanu moved to set-point instead. Sabalenka saved it with a beautifully, nervelessly executed drop-shot. Soon, Sabalenka had an eighth set point. And this time, finally, Raducanu's resistance was broken. The first set had lasted 74 minutes. The drama abated for a while but then Sabalenka made a string of unforced errors and handed Raducanu a break and a 3-1 lead in the second set. Raducanu found inspiration again now. She had points for 5-1 and 5-2 but could take neither and Sabalenka cut her lead to 4-3. Sabalenka sensed Raducanu was tiring now and moved up a gear. Raducanu sensed it, too. Sabalenka rattled off five games in a row to seal the match but it did not feel as if Raducanu had lost. She had got up off the floor. She looks as if she is a player reborn. She looks, at last, as if that world of possibility that stretched out before her four years ago may one day be hers to conquer again.
BBC News
42 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Hard to take' but Raducanu draws confidence from defeat
The sense of disappointment on Emma Raducanu's face as she exited Centre Court stemmed only from the knowledge that she had gone so British number one was under no illusion about her task as she stepped out under the roof to a raucous reception before facing the world's best women's player, Aryna Sabalenka, on Friday producing one of her best displays in recent times to sweep aside 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the previous round, Raducanu hit the heights she knew she must was not enough on this the two hours which unfolded proved beyond doubt that Raducanu is ready to take the next step on her road back to the top, and begin challenging the biggest names for the biggest prizes."It's hard to take a loss like that. At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today," reflected a tearful Raducanu."It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top."The former US Open champion went toe-to-toe with - and frequently outplayed - a three-time major winner who has held the number one ranking for the past nine months, and reached five finals in the past six Grand Slams she has a captivating contest, Raducanu had the best part of 15,000 spectators gripped as she ensured the potential for a major shock never quite disappeared until the very said it herself before the match: she needs to bridge the gap to the very was a huge step towards achieving that in her on-court interview, Sabalenka said she expects Raducanu to return to the top 10 "soon".The Belarusian later added: "She's fighting. She's playing much better. She's more consistent. "I can see that mentally she's healthy. I think that's really important. Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's getting there." The sense that Raducanu could push Sabalenka was not founded solely in her impressive start at the All England Club, but also in her increasingly positive demeanour on the joy has returned to the 22-year-old's game, and it is all the more complete for was evident at the Miami Open in March, where former British number one Mark Petchey first joined her coaching team on an informal basis, as she showed immense fight against Emma Navarro to record only her third win over a top-10 has praised Petchey's influence - this week giving him an "11 out of 10" for his work - and said a conversation about their future relationship will take place once "the dust settles" before the start of the hard court recently, in her own words, a "free and expressive" Raducanu competed with a near-permanent smile on her face as she joined forces with Katie Boulter in the doubles at Queen' was another reminder of her new outlook when she raised the microphone to the crowd during her post-match interview on Wednesday, as they serenaded her with encouragement as she discussed the prospect of taking on was clear in the intensity and determination with which she continued to compete despite the setbacks that came against the top again when, teary-eyed in her news conference, she joked that her way of dealing with the defeat was to eat a chocolate bar in the locker room."It's going to take me a few days to process. But at the same time it really motivates me," Raducanu said."It could be a good thing that I want to get straight back to work because [my game is] not far [off]. There's still a lot of things that I want to do better, a lot of things I want to improve to really solidify my game so that in the big moments I can back myself a little bit more." It is the positive manner of her defeat that sets Raducanu up for what comes next in her qualifier who stunned the world with her triumph in New York four years ago has proven that she thrives on the biggest was not overawed by this occasion, carrying the weight of the British number one tag at Wimbledon amid an electric atmosphere, with the crowd eager to celebrate her every did not shrink when the tough moments inevitably arrived, withstanding seven set points in the first set and showing the resolve to go again in the second, each further proof that she is moving in the right the years since her fairytale US Open triumph, she has had wrist and ankle operations, endured injury setbacks, contended with increased expectations and tried to compete despite consistent changes to her coaching set time last year, she was ranked 135th as she continued to rebuild her career, climbing back from outside the top 300 to return to the top the next step on her road back to the top of the sport is competing with, and overcoming, opponents like fell to former world number one Iga Swiatek at both the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year - winning just four games across as many sets - to highlight the gulf that this was the acid test of Raducanu 2.0's progress - and the results were encouraging."I think when I look back at my career, I'm really going to remember that match because you play for those moments, to really be competing toe-to-toe with anyone, but especially with the very best," Raducanu said."I think I did make good progress in the last few months, 100%, with the consistency and the work I've been doing. "I need to still keep doing more of the same."
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
France seeking end to years of hurt and internal conflicts at Euro 2025
'I want people to stop asking me: 'Why haven't France won anything when you're one of the best teams in the world?'' Marie-Antoinette Katoto, like all her teammates, has only one dream this summer: to win the Euros. To do that, though, they have to come to terms with a history of tournament failures with the most recent one coming at the home Olympics last year, when they were knocked out by Brazil at the quarter-final stage. 'We have had opportunities and twice failed to win it at home in France. We have to have the humility to admit that,' admits Sakina Karchaoui, one of the team's vice-captains, referring also to the 2019 World Cup on home soil, when they lost to the USA in the quarter-finals. The list of failures is so long that the word 'finally' is added to any question about Les Bleues' chances. France have only managed to reach the semi-finals of a major women's competition on three occasions: the 2011 World Cup, the 2012 Olympic Games and Euro 2021. Repeated disappointments have taken a toll. 'Since we prepare for tournaments a year or two years in advance, when you arrive at the competition and you get eliminated quickly, yes, at some point it also has an impact on the mind,' says Grace Geyoro. 'It can be exhausting, especially when you see the [quality in the] team we have.' On Saturday, they start their latest mission at Euro 2025 against England in Zurich. It could not have been a tougher opening, the Lionesses having the last Euros in 2022 with a coach who also won the previous tournament, in 2019 with the Netherlands. The Dutch are also in France's group in Switzerland, together with Wales. France have always had individual quality. As far as the 2000s there have been players such as Louisa Nécib Cadamuro, Camille Abily, Marie-Laure Delie, Sandrine Soubeyrand and Laura Georges, before the arrival of Eugénie Le Sommer and Wendie Renard. All of which begs the question: Why haven't France triumphed in a major tournament. 'If we knew why France weren't winning, I think we'd have put things right by now,' says Abily, the fifth-most capped player in Les Bleues history with 183 caps between 2001 and 2017. 'I think there's a tendency in France to see football as an individual sport, thinking more about oneself before thinking about the team. That's what's been a bit lacking in the French team.' Grace Geyoro agrees: 'We've relied a lot on individuals, on the fact that one player can make the difference. Now we need to focus more on the collective, because we can only win together.' The team has often been shaken by internal conflicts, whether it be disagreements with the coach Corinne Diacre or players clashing such as Kheira Hamraoui and Aminata Diallo in 2021. Elise Bussaglia, who earned 192 caps between 2003 and 2019, says: 'The group hasn't always coped well, for various reasons. And it's true that at one point it could have had a detrimental effect on our results.' One of the areas of tension was the disconnect between the players from Lyon, who were professionals at the time, and those from Juvisy (later Paris FC) and Paris Saint-Germain, who were still semi-professional. The current Chelsea head coach, Sonia Bompastor, touches on the subject in her book Une vie de foot, which was published this year, writing: 'We weren't on the same wavelength at all, and we didn't have the same conception of what it meant to be a footballer. For me, losing a match was the end of the world; not for them.' Abily, who is Bompastor's assistant at Chelsea, insists that in her day, the team 'didn't realise' the quality it had. 'I remember that when we qualified for the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2011, we said to ourselves: 'Wow! That's great, we're here, we've qualified!' Bussaglia, who finished fourth with France at the 2011 World Cup and the following year's Olympics, adds: 'There are times when the French team should have at least won a medal, if not the title, and it didn't happen. There needs to be a bit more of a winning culture. But it's not just the federation, it's everyone: the players, the staff, the fans, everyone. Around this French team, there's still not enough desire to win.' Bompastor has also spoken about the lack of interest from the French FA in the women's team in the past. 'Nobody gave a damn about the French women's team,' she wrote in her book. 'We used to go and see Noël Le Graët, the president of the federation, to explain to him that the reason Lyon were European champions was because we'd put certain processes in place, and not because we'd gone off to summer camps with a singing coach [referring to Bruno Bini, Les Bleues coach from 2007 to 2013 who wrote songs for the players]. The only thing that mattered to him was our popularity rating and our good image.' There was a feeling by some players that the French FA was using the women's team to restore its reputation after the catastrophic 2010 World Cup when the men's team went on strike and refused to train by staying on the team bus. A lack of ambition is no longer true today, says Eric Blahic, who was assistant coach to Corinne Diacre and then Hervé Renard (2023-24) and was delighted to see the latter end the 'famous semi-final complex'. 'For years, the girls were told that they had to be in the sem-finals,' he says. 'That doesn't mean anything. Third or fourth is not the same thing. You have to say: the objective is the final.' He also rejects the idea that France have failed to go all the way because of a mental block. 'In 1982, when the French men's team played in the semi-final in Seville, when we led 3-1 and ended up being eliminated, people were already saying that it was mental problems. If that's all it was, the federation would have taken action a long time ago.' Laurent Bonadei was appointed as Renard's successor in August 2024 and since then a full-time mental performance coach, Thomas Sammut, has been part of the team 'to break this glass ceiling'. He has made other changes too, dropping three key players – Le Sommer, Renard and Kenza Dali – just before the Euros, saying that 'if it doesn't work you have to try something new'. Bonadei will also have to deal with Les Bleues' misfortune when it comes to penalties in major tournaments. Bussaglia says of the Olympics semi-final defeat to Japan in 2012: 'At the Olympics, in the semi-final, we were 2-1 down and I missed the penalty to make it 2-2. I'd never missed a penalty in my life but I missed that one.' Blahic, meanwhile, recalls the shootout loss to Australia in the 2023 World Cup, when Kenza Dali missed her spot kick against club teammate Mackenzie Arnold not once but twice as it was retaken. 'All the girls had taken lots of penalties in training, in all different forms, against three different goalkeepers,' he explains. Bonadei prefers to refer to France as 'outsiders' rather than favourites, despite having won their eight last games going into the tournament. 'Confidence is good for developing our game, but overconfidence is the trap that awaits us,' warns Bonadei. In Switzerland there is unlikely to be overconfidence as France have to battle against not only their opponents, but their past too.
