‘I feel like a pussy': Thompson's body finally fails him at Wimbledon
Thompson retired while trailing fifth seed Taylor Fritz 6-1, 3-0 – already a double-break down in the second set – and having watched the American flash a forehand winner that he had no hope of chasing down to go 40-0 up.
At that stage, Fritz had won 40 of 52 points, and their fourth-round match had long ago lost any competitiveness as referred issues in Thompson's right leg from an ongoing back injury proved his downfall.
The world No.44 started well enough and had two game points to hold for two-all, only to aggravate the injury a point later, when he had to scurry back to the baseline to chase down a Fritz lob – and his physical problems worsened from there.
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It was a disappointing, but not particularly surprising, finish to Thompson's best-ever run at the All England Club, which matched his two round-of-16 showings at the US Open.
Alex de Minaur, who faces seven-time champion Novak Djokovic on Monday, is the last Australian left in the singles draw.
'I was pretty sore, and I was sore every day, and was waiting for [this] to happen … so I'm glad it happened today, and not in the first round, because, honestly, I was thinking of not playing this tournament,' Thompson said.
'I'm taking the positives. It's my best result here, so it's still a great tournament. [I was] down two sets to love in the first round, down two sets to one in the second round, and then played a good match the other day to make it through the second week.
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Australian onslaught blows away Windies in second Test
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Roston Chase, the home captain, was trapped on the pads from around the wicket by Starc after a brisk 34, and the Australian pacer struck again soon after, having all-rounder Justin Greaves lbw. Alzarri Joseph smashed his first two deliveries over the boundary rope but soon fell to seamer Lyons, who also accounted for Shamar Joseph although not before smacking three sixes. Lyons sealed victory by holding on to a diving catch over his shoulder to remove tailender Jayden Seales. Earlier, resuming their second innings on 7-221, the tourists were able to add 22 runs for the loss of their last three wickets, leaving the match, at that point at least, delicately poised. .Cummins was the first to go, without adding to his overnight four. He took a tentative poke at Shamar Joseph's delivery and the ball took the outside edge to give Hope a relatively straightforward catch. Joseph next claimed Australia's other overnight batter, Carey, a DRS review giving him lbw. 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Josh Hazlewood added further potency to the lethal Aussie attack with 2-33. Earlier, West Indies had cleaned out Australia's last three wickets well before lunch, the innings totalling 243 and leaving the match seemingly intriguingly poised. But the Australian attack quickly set to work. Beau Webster, Hazlewood, Starc and captain Pat Cummins took the wickets that shredded West Indies' top order before lunch. Eight balls in and the West Indies were already feeling the pain at the hands of the Aussie pacers. John Campbell was first to fall, lbw facing his second delivery from Hazlewood. Keacy Carty was next out, edging one from Starc to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. Webster's introduction in the 10th over was swiftly rewarded with the prized wicket of opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who departed for seven in his 100th Test match, Carey again taking the catch.. Brandon King, the saviour of West Indies' first innings, began his second shift on a positive note, scoring three boundaries in his 14, but Cummins managed to sneak one through his defences right on the brink of lunch. There was no let up after the interval. West Indies wicketkeeper Shai Hope came out swinging but was soon gone after top-edging a hopeful slog to give Hazlewood a simple return chance. Roston Chase, the home captain, was trapped on the pads from around the wicket by Starc after a brisk 34, and the Australian pacer struck again soon after, having all-rounder Justin Greaves lbw. Alzarri Joseph smashed his first two deliveries over the boundary rope but soon fell to seamer Lyons, who also accounted for Shamar Joseph although not before smacking three sixes. Lyons sealed victory by holding on to a diving catch over his shoulder to remove tailender Jayden Seales. Earlier, resuming their second innings on 7-221, the tourists were able to add 22 runs for the loss of their last three wickets, leaving the match, at that point at least, delicately poised. .Cummins was the first to go, without adding to his overnight four. He took a tentative poke at Shamar Joseph's delivery and the ball took the outside edge to give Hope a relatively straightforward catch. Joseph next claimed Australia's other overnight batter, Carey, a DRS review giving him lbw. He had lifted his overnight 26 to 30. Last to go was Hazlewood, who made four with a beautiful straight drive to the boundary before being bowled by Azarri Joseph, cousin of Shamar, who took out the middle stick. It was a credible innings from the Aussies, who had made 286 in the first innings, with the highlight a composed 71 from Steve Smith. Shamar Joseph had been their chief tormentor, taking 4-66. Australia are celebrating a stunning victory in the second Test in Grenada, and clinching the series in the process, after demolishing the West Indies with a day to spare. Set a target of 277 runs to win, the West Indies second innings was ripped apart by the tourists. West Indies were all out for 143, Australia doing the damage in 34.3 overs to complete a 133-run victory and retain the Frank Worrell Trophy. Mitchell Starc was the destroyer in chief, taking 3-24 in eight overs. He was ably assisted by Nathan Lyon, who mopped up the Windies tail with 3-42. Josh Hazlewood added further potency to the lethal Aussie attack with 2-33. Earlier, West Indies had cleaned out Australia's last three wickets well before lunch, the innings totalling 243 and leaving the match seemingly intriguingly poised. But the Australian attack quickly set to work. Beau Webster, Hazlewood, Starc and captain Pat Cummins took the wickets that shredded West Indies' top order before lunch. 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He had lifted his overnight 26 to 30. Last to go was Hazlewood, who made four with a beautiful straight drive to the boundary before being bowled by Azarri Joseph, cousin of Shamar, who took out the middle stick. It was a credible innings from the Aussies, who had made 286 in the first innings, with the highlight a composed 71 from Steve Smith. Shamar Joseph had been their chief tormentor, taking 4-66.
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Van der Poel edges out Pogacar to claim yellow jersey
Mathieu van der Poel has pipped Tadej Pogacar to victory on the second stage of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey from his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philipsen. Van der Poel edged an uphill sprint from overall favourites Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard before collapsing to the ground in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the end point of the hard-fought 209km stage from Lauwin-Planque, the longest of this year's Tour. It was the Dutchman's second career Tour stage win, and the second to bring him yellow after his win on the Mur-de-Bretagne in 2021, when he held it for six days. Van der Poel delivered on his status as favourite for a classics-style stage on Sunday that came down to the final three climbs of a rolling day across northern France. A series of attacks split the peloton into pieces and set up a ferocious battle up the short, steep rise to the line. 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Pogacar took the king of the mountains jersey, almost accidentally, as he led the group over the penultimate climb of the Cote de Saint-Etienne-au-Mont. Philipsen had been distanced on the Cote d'Outreau, the last categorised climb of the day, coming home 31 seconds down to hand the jersey to his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate. The start of the stage was held up by 15 minutes as teams were delayed getting to Lauwin-Planque in some miserable weather, but the sun eventually came out as the race heated up. Vingegaard, so active in Saturday's crosswinds, again looked spritely with the two-time Tour winner the first to push on as they came over the Cote d'Outreau to ensure it would be a selective finish. This time Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic stuck with the front group, but the Ineos Grenadiers' Carlos Rodriguez lost 31 seconds. The highest placed Australian was Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig, who was 36th. 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Van der Poel delivered on his status as favourite for a classics-style stage on Sunday that came down to the final three climbs of a rolling day across northern France. A series of attacks split the peloton into pieces and set up a ferocious battle up the short, steep rise to the line. Former world champion Julian Alaphilippe was the first to launch a major dig but Van der Poel and Pogacar were quickly on to his wheel, waiting for the finish line to come into view with a little over 100 metres to go. When Van der Poel opened the taps Pogacar responded but the world champion could not come around the man who wore the rainbows before him. "It was super difficult, the final, harder than I thought," Van der Poel said. "I was really motivated because it's been four years since I won my first stage on the Tour de France so it was about time I won a second one. Of course people put me as a favourite but if you see the riders that were in front on the climbs, I think I did a really good job to be there... "It's a dream for a team, these first two days, and everything that comes now is just a bonus." Van der Poel leads by four seconds from Pogacar, with Vingegaard a further two seconds back after bonus seconds were applied. Pogacar took the king of the mountains jersey, almost accidentally, as he led the group over the penultimate climb of the Cote de Saint-Etienne-au-Mont. Philipsen had been distanced on the Cote d'Outreau, the last categorised climb of the day, coming home 31 seconds down to hand the jersey to his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate. The start of the stage was held up by 15 minutes as teams were delayed getting to Lauwin-Planque in some miserable weather, but the sun eventually came out as the race heated up. Vingegaard, so active in Saturday's crosswinds, again looked spritely with the two-time Tour winner the first to push on as they came over the Cote d'Outreau to ensure it would be a selective finish. This time Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic stuck with the front group, but the Ineos Grenadiers' Carlos Rodriguez lost 31 seconds. The highest placed Australian was Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig, who was 36th. Compatriot Ben O'Connor was 43rd with Harry Sweeney 49th and Kaden Groves just outside the top 50 in 53rd. O'Connor, of Team Jayco AlUla, Australia's main classification hope, is up to 10th in the overall standings. Haig is 32nd. Monday brings a flat stage for sprinters, 178.3km from Valenciennes to the coastal city of Dunkerque. Mathieu van der Poel has pipped Tadej Pogacar to victory on the second stage of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey from his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philipsen. Van der Poel edged an uphill sprint from overall favourites Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard before collapsing to the ground in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the end point of the hard-fought 209km stage from Lauwin-Planque, the longest of this year's Tour. It was the Dutchman's second career Tour stage win, and the second to bring him yellow after his win on the Mur-de-Bretagne in 2021, when he held it for six days. Van der Poel delivered on his status as favourite for a classics-style stage on Sunday that came down to the final three climbs of a rolling day across northern France. A series of attacks split the peloton into pieces and set up a ferocious battle up the short, steep rise to the line. Former world champion Julian Alaphilippe was the first to launch a major dig but Van der Poel and Pogacar were quickly on to his wheel, waiting for the finish line to come into view with a little over 100 metres to go. When Van der Poel opened the taps Pogacar responded but the world champion could not come around the man who wore the rainbows before him. "It was super difficult, the final, harder than I thought," Van der Poel said. "I was really motivated because it's been four years since I won my first stage on the Tour de France so it was about time I won a second one. Of course people put me as a favourite but if you see the riders that were in front on the climbs, I think I did a really good job to be there... "It's a dream for a team, these first two days, and everything that comes now is just a bonus." Van der Poel leads by four seconds from Pogacar, with Vingegaard a further two seconds back after bonus seconds were applied. Pogacar took the king of the mountains jersey, almost accidentally, as he led the group over the penultimate climb of the Cote de Saint-Etienne-au-Mont. Philipsen had been distanced on the Cote d'Outreau, the last categorised climb of the day, coming home 31 seconds down to hand the jersey to his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate. The start of the stage was held up by 15 minutes as teams were delayed getting to Lauwin-Planque in some miserable weather, but the sun eventually came out as the race heated up. Vingegaard, so active in Saturday's crosswinds, again looked spritely with the two-time Tour winner the first to push on as they came over the Cote d'Outreau to ensure it would be a selective finish. This time Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic stuck with the front group, but the Ineos Grenadiers' Carlos Rodriguez lost 31 seconds. The highest placed Australian was Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig, who was 36th. Compatriot Ben O'Connor was 43rd with Harry Sweeney 49th and Kaden Groves just outside the top 50 in 53rd. O'Connor, of Team Jayco AlUla, Australia's main classification hope, is up to 10th in the overall standings. Haig is 32nd. Monday brings a flat stage for sprinters, 178.3km from Valenciennes to the coastal city of Dunkerque. Mathieu van der Poel has pipped Tadej Pogacar to victory on the second stage of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey from his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philipsen. Van der Poel edged an uphill sprint from overall favourites Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard before collapsing to the ground in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the end point of the hard-fought 209km stage from Lauwin-Planque, the longest of this year's Tour. It was the Dutchman's second career Tour stage win, and the second to bring him yellow after his win on the Mur-de-Bretagne in 2021, when he held it for six days. Van der Poel delivered on his status as favourite for a classics-style stage on Sunday that came down to the final three climbs of a rolling day across northern France. A series of attacks split the peloton into pieces and set up a ferocious battle up the short, steep rise to the line. Former world champion Julian Alaphilippe was the first to launch a major dig but Van der Poel and Pogacar were quickly on to his wheel, waiting for the finish line to come into view with a little over 100 metres to go. When Van der Poel opened the taps Pogacar responded but the world champion could not come around the man who wore the rainbows before him. "It was super difficult, the final, harder than I thought," Van der Poel said. "I was really motivated because it's been four years since I won my first stage on the Tour de France so it was about time I won a second one. Of course people put me as a favourite but if you see the riders that were in front on the climbs, I think I did a really good job to be there... "It's a dream for a team, these first two days, and everything that comes now is just a bonus." Van der Poel leads by four seconds from Pogacar, with Vingegaard a further two seconds back after bonus seconds were applied. Pogacar took the king of the mountains jersey, almost accidentally, as he led the group over the penultimate climb of the Cote de Saint-Etienne-au-Mont. Philipsen had been distanced on the Cote d'Outreau, the last categorised climb of the day, coming home 31 seconds down to hand the jersey to his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate. The start of the stage was held up by 15 minutes as teams were delayed getting to Lauwin-Planque in some miserable weather, but the sun eventually came out as the race heated up. Vingegaard, so active in Saturday's crosswinds, again looked spritely with the two-time Tour winner the first to push on as they came over the Cote d'Outreau to ensure it would be a selective finish. This time Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic stuck with the front group, but the Ineos Grenadiers' Carlos Rodriguez lost 31 seconds. The highest placed Australian was Bahrain Victorious rider Jack Haig, who was 36th. Compatriot Ben O'Connor was 43rd with Harry Sweeney 49th and Kaden Groves just outside the top 50 in 53rd. O'Connor, of Team Jayco AlUla, Australia's main classification hope, is up to 10th in the overall standings. Haig is 32nd. Monday brings a flat stage for sprinters, 178.3km from Valenciennes to the coastal city of Dunkerque.
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Sabalenka avoids it being curtains against Mertens
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"I feel like, with every match I'm playing here, I'm getting better and better mentally and also physically. So I love these tough challenges. I only hope to get better and better in each round." Next up for Sabalenka, who missed last year's event with injury and the 2022 edition due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, will be Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who had caused the shock of the third round with her victory over Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Siegemund had only won two singles matches in her five previous Wimbledons but has now twice that many in this edition alone, as she made it through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra. The German does not lack for self-confidence but even she's a little shocked at how far she's gone as she's become the oldest woman player to reach a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final. "Of course I am surprised. If you would have told me I play quarter-finals here, I would have never believed it," she said. "On the other hand, it's a very simple math always in tennis. You have an opponent, either you find good solutions and you execute well, you go forward, or you don't, and you don't go forward. "As I said after big wins before, I have this game and this maybe boldness to take out big names. I've always had that, just maybe because I don't care who is on the other side. In a positive, respectful way, I don't care." Another veteran, 34-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in nine years, defeating Briton Sonay Kartal 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. Aryna Sabalenka is loving each strident challenge as she moves ever closer to her maiden Wimbledon title, with the world No.1 and big tournament favourite coming through another bracing test on Centre Court to reach the quarter-finals. After breaking local hearts by knocking out home favourite Emma Raducanu in a rare old battle in the previous round, the top seed again had an uncomfortable outing against her old doubles partner and friend Elise Mertens before prevailing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) on Sunday. It meant she had booked a last-eight place without yet dropping a set, even though none of her matches so far have been straightforward affairs. "Roland Garros was also quite challenging," conceded the Belarusian, who's kept up her remarkable run of reaching the quarters in her last 11 grand slams. "I love these challenges. I think every time you go through these tough matches, you kind of bring your game to the next level, and it helps to improve your game as well. "I feel like, with every match I'm playing here, I'm getting better and better mentally and also physically. So I love these tough challenges. I only hope to get better and better in each round." Next up for Sabalenka, who missed last year's event with injury and the 2022 edition due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, will be Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who had caused the shock of the third round with her victory over Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Siegemund had only won two singles matches in her five previous Wimbledons but has now twice that many in this edition alone, as she made it through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra. The German does not lack for self-confidence but even she's a little shocked at how far she's gone as she's become the oldest woman player to reach a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final. "Of course I am surprised. If you would have told me I play quarter-finals here, I would have never believed it," she said. "On the other hand, it's a very simple math always in tennis. You have an opponent, either you find good solutions and you execute well, you go forward, or you don't, and you don't go forward. "As I said after big wins before, I have this game and this maybe boldness to take out big names. I've always had that, just maybe because I don't care who is on the other side. In a positive, respectful way, I don't care." Another veteran, 34-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in nine years, defeating Briton Sonay Kartal 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. Aryna Sabalenka is loving each strident challenge as she moves ever closer to her maiden Wimbledon title, with the world No.1 and big tournament favourite coming through another bracing test on Centre Court to reach the quarter-finals. After breaking local hearts by knocking out home favourite Emma Raducanu in a rare old battle in the previous round, the top seed again had an uncomfortable outing against her old doubles partner and friend Elise Mertens before prevailing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) on Sunday. It meant she had booked a last-eight place without yet dropping a set, even though none of her matches so far have been straightforward affairs. "Roland Garros was also quite challenging," conceded the Belarusian, who's kept up her remarkable run of reaching the quarters in her last 11 grand slams. "I love these challenges. I think every time you go through these tough matches, you kind of bring your game to the next level, and it helps to improve your game as well. "I feel like, with every match I'm playing here, I'm getting better and better mentally and also physically. So I love these tough challenges. I only hope to get better and better in each round." Next up for Sabalenka, who missed last year's event with injury and the 2022 edition due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, will be Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who had caused the shock of the third round with her victory over Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Siegemund had only won two singles matches in her five previous Wimbledons but has now twice that many in this edition alone, as she made it through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra. The German does not lack for self-confidence but even she's a little shocked at how far she's gone as she's become the oldest woman player to reach a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final. "Of course I am surprised. If you would have told me I play quarter-finals here, I would have never believed it," she said. "On the other hand, it's a very simple math always in tennis. You have an opponent, either you find good solutions and you execute well, you go forward, or you don't, and you don't go forward. "As I said after big wins before, I have this game and this maybe boldness to take out big names. I've always had that, just maybe because I don't care who is on the other side. In a positive, respectful way, I don't care." Another veteran, 34-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in nine years, defeating Briton Sonay Kartal 7-6 (7-3) 6-4. Aryna Sabalenka is loving each strident challenge as she moves ever closer to her maiden Wimbledon title, with the world No.1 and big tournament favourite coming through another bracing test on Centre Court to reach the quarter-finals. After breaking local hearts by knocking out home favourite Emma Raducanu in a rare old battle in the previous round, the top seed again had an uncomfortable outing against her old doubles partner and friend Elise Mertens before prevailing 6-4 7-6 (7-4) on Sunday. It meant she had booked a last-eight place without yet dropping a set, even though none of her matches so far have been straightforward affairs. "Roland Garros was also quite challenging," conceded the Belarusian, who's kept up her remarkable run of reaching the quarters in her last 11 grand slams. "I love these challenges. I think every time you go through these tough matches, you kind of bring your game to the next level, and it helps to improve your game as well. "I feel like, with every match I'm playing here, I'm getting better and better mentally and also physically. So I love these tough challenges. I only hope to get better and better in each round." Next up for Sabalenka, who missed last year's event with injury and the 2022 edition due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, will be Laura Siegemund, the 37-year-old German who had caused the shock of the third round with her victory over Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Siegemund had only won two singles matches in her five previous Wimbledons but has now twice that many in this edition alone, as she made it through to the last eight with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Argentinian lucky loser Solana Sierra. The German does not lack for self-confidence but even she's a little shocked at how far she's gone as she's become the oldest woman player to reach a maiden Wimbledon quarter-final. "Of course I am surprised. If you would have told me I play quarter-finals here, I would have never believed it," she said. "On the other hand, it's a very simple math always in tennis. You have an opponent, either you find good solutions and you execute well, you go forward, or you don't, and you don't go forward. "As I said after big wins before, I have this game and this maybe boldness to take out big names. I've always had that, just maybe because I don't care who is on the other side. In a positive, respectful way, I don't care." Another veteran, 34-year-old Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in nine years, defeating Briton Sonay Kartal 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
