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Metro
9 minutes ago
- Metro
Emma Raducanu makes worrying comment ahead of Washington Open semi-final clash
Emma Raducanu has made a worrying admission ahead of her semi-final clash against Anna Kalinskaya at the Washington Open on Saturday. The British tennis star has reached the last four at a WTA Tour event for the first time this year and has been in brilliant form at the American tournament. Raducanu stunned seventh-seed Marta Kostyuk before knocking out four-time major champion Naomi Osaka and former world No.3 Maria Sakkari. Next up is a showdown with Russia's Kalinskaya – and ahead of that match – Raducanu admits she is 'really struggling' with the heat in Washington. Temperatures reached 36 degrees during Raducanu's 6-4 7-5 win over Sakkari on Friday, with the Briton saying the conditions felt like 'you have just opened an oven and it just stayed open and your head is in there'. Raducanu, looking to reach her first WTA Tour final since winning the US Open four years ago, said in her press conference: 'I would like to say I'm pretty good in the heat, for the most part, but I was really struggling today. 'It was one of the toughest matches conditions-wise I have ever played in. Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly. I'm just happy I could close it out and it was two sets.' Raducanu had her vitals checked in a medical timeout late into the second set during her win over Sakkari. The 22-year-old had only just broken Sakkari's serve when the doctor was called onto the court. 'It was brutal today,' Raducanu added. 'Thank you to everyone for coming out and sitting through the heat. 'It's incredibly difficult playing, but actually, when I've sat and watched matches, in the heat when you're not moving, it's even harder. 'It's for sure physical, because if you don't have the abilities then your body will fail you. But at a certain point, it then becomes mental. 'I knew after the first or second game, it was such a long match, the first set was over an hour. 'It is mental and you just have to enjoy suffering as bad as that sounds, you just know you have to leave it all out on the court until you probably drop. More Trending 'I'm not feeling the best right now, so I just need to go and speak to the doctors.' The two players are set to lock horns around 9pm UK time today (Saturday, July 26) with the clash being shown live on Sky Sports Tennis. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the match online via the Sky Sports website and app. MORE: Who's next for Oleksandr Usyk? Joseph Parker could get his shot but a third fight with Tyson Fury cannot be ruled out MORE: 'I'm sorry?' – Cameron Norrie surprised by 'disgusting' Emma Raducanu question during Wimbledon press conference MORE: Wimbledon respond to Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper complaints over key change
Daily Record
9 minutes ago
- Daily Record
The unseen Scot behind Josh Rock's rise as he reveals where Luke Littler friendship started
The Northern Ireland hero is buzzing for a semi-final cracker with his big mate Luke Littler In-form Josh Rock is predicting fireworks in his clash with big mate Luke Littler. And the Northern Irish star has revealed the driving force behind his surge towards the Betfred World Matchplay crown. Rock and Littler are both fighting to become the youngest-ever winners of the Blackpool darts showpiece and meet in a last-four cracker. The 24-year-old can't wait to battle with The Nuke having seen off the likes of Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price on his run to the semis. He said: 'If I want to win this title, I have to win it the hard way. Played Ross Smith, European champion. MVG, three-time world champion, Gezzy, one-time world champion. Now I've got one of my close friends, Luke, one-time world champion. If you want to win this title, you have to beat the best. 'It's our first meeting in any PDC scenario, so I'm expecting him to hit everything and, hopefully, I hit everything and we'll see who the winner is. Me and Littler are very, very close. Not a lot of people know that, but we are. The first time we met was actually in Killarney before I won my Tour card. Everybody heard of him and I actually beat him 4-2 in that scenario, but in the short format, it means nothing. It was in the WDF, where you start from. 'I would say when he won his Your card and because we're in the same age bracket, well I'm six years older, but at the same time, he's matured a lot, and we talk nearly every day. The two of us know how we can play, we can both win any tournament when we're on our day, but when sometimes close friends come into the scenario, it can be difficult, but hopefully tomorrow for the two of us, it doesn't. 'I'm not feeling the pressure and he obviously clearly doesn't feel any pressure at all, so I think between the two of us, it'll be fireworks.' Rock is ready with the World Cup win under his belt and said: 'I think I was a wee bit scared [in the past] of learning how to win, whereas I'm not now, I want to win and I'll feed off winning, whereas back then, I was like: Oh, I'm going in the semi-final of the Grand Slam, whereas now, I've had the UK Open semi-final, won the World Cup and all that. I'm not scared to win now.' Rock's form has rocketed in recent months since his switch to join Target Darts and he also credits much of his rise to Scots manager Rab Bain. He said: 'The best thing that's ever happened to me, as soon as everything was done and dusted, especially Rab, he helped me out so much, mentally. Rab was a part of Target and the call that Gary [Plummer] wanted me from Target, I was like: Happy days. 'When I was a young kid at 12, I always wore a Target shirt anyway and I went: One day I'd love to be sponsored by Target, never knowing that I'd have the career I have now. And then when I got that phone call that Gary wanted me, I was a wee bit emotional.'
Daily Mirror
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Tiger Woods' response to 'mind-blowingly enormous' LIV Golf offer sums him up
Three years on from LIV Golf's maiden tournament in the UK, here's a look back on Tiger Woods' stance on the controversial breakaway tour, which ripped the sport in half Tiger Woods showed his true colours by snubbing an 'enormous' offer to defect to LIV Golf. Three years on from its controversial launch, the rebel tour is back in the UK, which hosted the tour's maiden tournament at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead. This weekend, the JCB Golf and Country Club near Uttoxeter will host LIV stars like Bryson DeChambeau, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson. One of the top players who declined to join LIV was Woods. Greg Norman, who was LIV's CEO in 2022, approached the sporting icon about joining the breakaway series. In addition to his 15 major titles, only surpassed by Jack Nicklaus with 18, Woods is renowned for his daring and fearless approach to the game, which has made him a fan favourite. Woods' exceptional talent inspired a generation, including making him Rory McIlroy's childhood hero, so it's no surprise that Norman wanted him at LIV. Norman, a two-time major winner himself, disclosed his offer to Woods when LIV launched three years ago. Norman described his offer to Woods as "mind-blowingly enormous." He revealed: "We're talking about high nine digits." However, Woods showed no interest in joining LIV Golf and emulating Mickelson's move. For a long time, Woods and Mickelson were the top two players in the world, holding the No.1 and No.2 positions in the rankings. Woods, when questioned about joining Mickelson at LIV, said: "He has his opinion on where he sees the game of golf going. "I have my viewpoint, how I see the game of golf. I've supported the Tour, and my foundation has run events on the Tour for a number of years. I just think that what Jack (Nicklaus) and Arnold (Palmer) have done in starting the Tour, breaking away from the PGA of America, and creating our tour in 1968... I just think there's a legacy to that." Highlighting his commitment to the PGA Tour, he added: "I've been playing out here for a couple of decades, and I think there's a legacy to it. I still think that the Tour has so much to offer, so much opportunity. "I understand different viewpoints, but I believe in legacies. I believe in major championships. I believe in big events, comparisons to historical figures of the past. There's plenty of money out here. The Tour is growing. "But it's just like any other sport. It's like tennis. You have to go out there and earn it. You've got to go out there and play for it. We have opportunity to go ahead and do it. It's just not guaranteed up front." Woods has demonstrated his commitment to the PGA Tour following LIV's inception, joining the PGA Tour's Policy Board in 2023 and playing a key role in discussions about a potential merger between the tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV. Talks over the end of golf's civil war remain deadlocked following the "framework agreement" of 2023, which was supposed to pave the way to a peace deal. However, Woods' wish for the divisive Norman to step aside was realised earlier this year.
