Blast from the past: Boks beat Canada in WC group match, huge scuffle steals the show
1951 — Eric Sturgess, who had rallied from 1-4 down in the fifth and final set to win his semifinal against Australian Ken McGregor, goes down to his Czech-born doubles partner Jaroslav Drobny of Egypt 3-6 3-6 3-6 in the final of the French championships in Paris. Drobny, who won an Olympic ice hockey silver playing for Czechoslovakia in 1948, retained the French championship the following year and went on to win a Wimbledon title, the only man with African citizenship to do so. For Sturgess, 31 at the time, it was his last singles final in a grand slam, having lost in Paris in 1947 and at the US Open in 1948. Sturgess, an accountant, was a Spitfire pilot in World War 2 and was captured after bailing out during a sortie. He spent the last seven months of the war in the Stalag Luft III camp made famous by the Steve McQueen movie The Great Escape...
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
2 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Proteas batters get in the necessary reps ahead of WTC final
South Africa's batters were finally able to get to the crease on Wednesday, during the warm-up match with Zimbabwe, where time in the middle was of greater importance than the amount of runs they scored. After the first day's play was washed out on Tuesday, Shukri Conrad adopted a philosophical stance claiming dealing with rain in England is also a crucial part of preparation. The players had enjoyed two days of training in Arundel earlier in the week, and the match with Zimbabwe was more about building some rhythm for the longer format, ahead of next week's World Test Championship final. On a mostly sunny day in the south of England, three SA batters made fifties; Ryan Rickelton (62), Temba Bavuma (58) and Tristan Stubbs (58) — all retired not out, to give their teammates some time in the middle too. 'It was a nice opportunity for all the batters to get out there. I'm sure some of them would have liked to stay out there a little bit longer, but we are keeping an eye on the weather and we wanted most of the guys to get a chance (to bat),' said Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince. 🌤 The sun is finally out at Arundel! Zimbabwe and South Africa are all set to get their four-day warm-up match underway after Day 1 was washed out by rain. Let the action begin! 🇿🇼🇿🇦 — Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) June 4, 2025 Rickelton, who's been in prolific form across all three formats since November last faced 93 deliveries, Bavuma 85 and Stubbs, 120 during their respective stints at the crease. 'This is preparation, we asked Zimbabwe for all 15 (of the SA squad) to participate in the game and with whatever time we have available, because there is some weather around, all the players get as much time out of it as possible,' said Prince. The Proteas bowlers will hope to add to the 11 overs they managed to bowl at Zimbabwe late on Wednesday, should the weather allow in the remaining two days in Arundel. Australia is not following a similar build-up. Unlike SA, the Australians allowed fast bowler Josh Hazlewood to finish the IPL with his side the Royals Challengers Bangalore. He bowled the final over that sealed their victory in Ahmadabad on Tuesday and travelled to England the next day to join the remainder of the Australian squad, who have begun preparation with another training camp before Lord's. Although Australia will start as favourites at Lord's on June 11 their captain Pat Cummins was wary of undermining the Proteas, telling the Grade Cricketer podcast in Australia, that they had some match winners in their side, along with some unknowns for his side to consider. Prenelan Subrayen's impressive 5 for 82 in 30 overs sealed victory for the South Africa 'A' team on Day 4 of the 1st unofficial Test against West Indies 'A', securing an innings and 88-run win. 🏏🇿🇦 #WozaNawe — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 4, 2025 'They have really good fast bowlers, they always seem to have not just one or two main guys but they have got four-six guys they can call,' said Cummins. 'And yeah, some batters, (we) haven't seen much (of them) but they've scored plenty of domestic runs. (We have) played most of the guys in the squad, certainly not everyone. There's always a little bit of mystique around South Africa, because we don't play them as often as say India.' *In St Lucia the SA A side finished off an innings and 88-run victory against West Indies A on Wednesday. Spinner Prenelan Subrayen took 5/82 and rookie fast bowler Tristan Luus 4/86 to bowl the home side out for 272 in their second innings. The SA A team's skipper Marques Ackerman was named player of the match for his 209 off 170 balls.
3 hours ago
Jose Riveiro takes firm Orlando Pirates transfer decision
Many Orlando Pirates fans are feeling restless amid talk of Jose Riveiro targeting some of his former players. The Spanish tactician left the club after three glorious years at the helm of the Soweto giants. Riveiro took up arguably the biggest job on the continent in the form of leading Egyptian giants Al Ahly. Many Orlando Pirates players have already been linked with moves up North to join Riveiro. The Spanish tactician however has addressed the speculation directly and offered a firm response that may surprise some fans. READ MORE • Orlando Pirates sign Soweto-born star as Timm replacement! READ MORE • PSL side working on signing Kaizer Chiefs fan-favourite! Jose Riveiro has set the record straight regarding whether he'll try to lure some of his former players to Al Ahly! 'I have not requested the inclusion of any player from Orlando Pirates to Al Ahly out of respect for them, as I respect the club,' Riveiro told Al Ahly TV as quoted by Citizen . 'At the moment, I do not want to rush into looking for new deals. I am focusing on preparing for the Club World Cup, after which we will accurately determine our needs.' First up for Jose Riveiro is the FIFA Club World Cup which gets underway on 15 June. The former Orlando Pirates coach will meet Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the opening match of the tournament. Thereafter they'll face Palmeiras and FC Porto in their respective group stage matches. READ MORE • Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs to star PSL signing! Which Orlando Pirates players do you think can fit in at Al Ahly? Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@ or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. You can also follow @ TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest news.
eNCA
4 hours ago
- eNCA
Sensational Boisson lights up French Open, Sinner reaches semi-finals
An inspired Lois Boisson delighted Roland Garros as the French world number 361 downed Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday to set up a French Open semi-final against Coco Gauff, while Jannik Sinner secured a last-four meeting with either Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev. World number one Sinner romped to a comprehensive 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 win over unseeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik. Boisson, making her debut at a Grand Slam event, powered her way to a thrilling 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory on a raucous Court Philippe Chatrier to become the first Frenchwoman to reach the semis since Marion Bartoli in 2011. The 22-year-old, who was due to play at last year's French Open but suffered a knee injury the week before the tournament, is the lowest-ranked woman to reach a major semi-final in 40 years. "It was incredible to play in front of this crowd and feel support like that," said Boisson, after hitting 24 winners past Russian sixth seed Andreeva to follow up her fourth-round win over world number three Jessica Pegula with an even more surprising victory. A dramatic first set saw Andreeva miss a set point after leading 5-3, before Boisson fought back only to see three chances of her own come and go in a marathon 12th game. But the wildcard fought off another set point in the tie-break, before taking her next opportunity, cupping her ear towards the adoring crowd in celebration. Andreeva gathered herself and quickly built a 3-0 lead in the second set, only to be left jumping up and down in anger after a missed backhand gave Boisson a much-needed hold of serve. The 18-year-old Andreeva started to crumble under the pressure, being given a warning for slamming a ball into the top tier of the stands as the atmosphere heated up under the Chatrier roof. She was roundly booed when she then argued with the umpire over a line call, and was broken later that game after another double-fault to suddenly trail 4-3. Boisson made it six consecutive games to secure a seismic victory as Andreeva, one of the pre-tournament favourites, completely unravelled. Second seed Gauff battled back from a set down to defeat fellow American, and Australian Open champion, Madison Keys in an error-strewn opening match 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1. The former US Open champion upped her level enough after dropping the first set to get through a quarter-final littered with 14 double-faults and a whopping 101 unforced errors. AFP | Dimitar DILKOFF "It means a lot, especially getting through this tough match today, it wasn't an easy match and I'm very happy to get through it," she said. Gauff, the 2022 losing finalist, will be hoping to go at least one better than when she lost to Iga Swiatek in last year's semi-final. Swiatek continues her bid for a fourth consecutive Roland Garros title in a blockbuster match with world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Thursday's other semi-final. - Sinner marches on - Sinner, who only returned from a three-month doping ban last month at the Italian Open, booked his place in a second straight Roland Garros semi-final by swatting aside 62nd-ranked Bublik. AFP | Thibaud MORITZ The top seed is bidding for a third successive Grand Slam title after following his 2024 US Open triumph by successfully defending his Australian Open crown in January. Sinner was far too strong for Bublik, playing in his first major quarter-final, hammering 31 winners in a dominant display and is yet to drop a set in the tournament. "I'm very happy with how I've arrived in the semi-finals, semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I'm looking forward to it," said the 23-year-old, who lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in last year's semis. The Italian is just one win from reaching his first Slam final not on hard courts. Bublik, who enjoyed the "best moment of his life" by defeating Jack Draper in the last 16, has now lost four of his five career meetings with Sinner. - Zverev eyeing Djokovic scalp - Djokovic will compete in a record 19th French Open quarter-final against last year's runner-up Zverev in the night-session match. German third seed Zverev, who lost to Alcaraz in the final 12 months ago, continues his latest bid for a maiden Grand Slam title after three runner-up finishes. The 28-year-old has won five of his 13 career matches with Djokovic, including at the Australian Open when the Serb retired injured from their semi-final. Djokovic, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, is just the second player to record 100 wins at the event after 14-time winner Rafael Nadal (112). The 38-year-old is chasing a record 25th major title.
