Wimbledon draw: Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff discover first-round opponents
World number one Aryna Sabalenka's quest for her first Wimbledon title will begin against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine while second seed Coco Gauff's opener will be versus Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska.
Friday's draw also pitched defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, the 17th seed, against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
Third seed Jessica Pegula's first-round opponent is Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto, while fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, runner-up last year, faces Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
Belarusian Sabalenka could meet Paolini in the semi-finals while Gauff is in line for a clash with fellow American Pegula.
British number one Emma Raducanu faces an intriguing opening round match against compatriot Mingge Xu, one of three British teenaged wildcards in the draw.
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Test run-in starts as Lions kickstart journey on Fury Road against Western Force
And so begins a tour-shaping fortnight for the British and Irish Lions in Australia. Starting with the Western Force this weekend they will be playing five matches inside 15 days and covering 5,700km across five different states and territories. By the time they relocate from Adelaide back to Brisbane for the first Test they will have crisscrossed the outback more often than Mad Max in his heyday. There are so many variables involved that sticking to rigid plans will be nigh-on impossible. Leaving aside the opposition and the travel for a moment there are more than 90 people attached to this Lions expedition once you add in all the backroom staff, bottle washers and comms types. As plate-spinning exercises go it is a major logistical challenge. The trick, as ever, is to try to locate some order amid the road warrior chaos. On the field that means stress-testing certain combinations with one eye on the Test series kicking off on 19 July, particularly in areas where potential starters have seldom played together. There is no shortage of quasi-religious fervour attached to this tour but precious little time in which to turn water into wine. Which makes the Force game more significant than it might initially appear. In the wake of last week's defeat by Argentina, Andy Farrell will be looking for reassurance on a few fronts, both up front and behind the scrum. Squint into the Aussie sunshine long enough and it is possible to see this fixture influencing the Test destinies of several players, not least those without an Irish postcode. The whole raison d'etre of the Lions, it should be stressed, is the notion of familiar home union biases being set aside for the greater good. But if Farrell has a 50-50 selection call to make without much in the way of compelling fresh evidence the logical choice will be to stick with the green-shirted devil he knows. Particularly if this particular matchday squad containing 11 Irish internationals hits the Australian turf running. Swap in Blair Kinghorn, Jamison Gibson-Park, Maro Itoje and either Tom Curry or Jac Morgan and this might even be somewhere close to the best-balanced starting XV the Lions can field. So if they can click swiftly it will be an appreciable bonus for the management before the entire circus heads east to face the Reds in Brisbane next Wednesday, followed by the Waratahs in Sydney, the Brumbies in Canberra and an Australia and New Zealand invitational XV in Adelaide on 12 July. Looking down that fixture list those two midweek games against the Reds and the Brumbies, currently Australia's two best-performing Super Rugby sides, may just be the toughest. Neither Super Rugby franchise will be absolutely at full strength but, from a Lions perspective, it could help explain why the tour skipper Itoje does not feature this weekend. And maybe the traditional rhythms of a Lions tour are changing. What if it is Canberra, rather than Adelaide, where the Lions will quietly unleash their putative Test team – or at least the guts of it? Might it be the kiss of death for the midweek dirt-trackers, AKA the bin juice and the driftwood? Amid the blur that is modern tour scheduling, that concept may have to be mothballed until the game against the First Nations and Pasifika XV in Melbourne between the first and second Tests. Then again we have not yet factored in injuries, a fact of life when an itinerary becomes this congested. Farrell can only cross his fingers that, in this instance, Finn Russell will dovetail instantly with the fit-again Sione Tuipulotu and the Welsh scrum-half Tomos Williams. And that the Lions lineout, with hooker Dan Sheehan now installed as captain, has a better day. There is already a sense that if the consistently influential Tadhg Beirne has another good game there could well be a slot for him at blindside flanker in the Tests. Stirred into the mix are plenty of other fascinating questions. Can Henry Pollock make the most of the starting opportunity he has been handed? Ditto Scott Cummings and Joe McCarthy in the second row? And with two big left boots in the back three – both James Lowe and Elliot Daly can kick a long ball – might the Lions look to play a more territorial style of game on occasions? Even more instructive, perhaps, will be how well the Lions can refine their offloading game and accrue more reward for the promising attacking shape evident at times against the Pumas in Dublin. If things instantly click with Russell wielding the baton and his disparate orchestra combining sweetly from the off no one will be happier than Farrell: 'If you look at it there are key positions that have not played together before so that makes it interesting for us to see how cohesive it can be as a whole.' If collective harmony initially proves elusive, though, the Force may feel emboldened. While past history is not particularly encouraging – the Lions beat Western Australia 116-10 in 2001 and defeated the Force 69-17 in 2013 – this is a potentially more resilient home squad containing six current Wallaby squad members. According to the injured Kurtley Beale, the fast feet of winger Mac Grealy could also pose problems while the 6ft 7in Darcy Swain poses an obvious lineout threat. But prop Ollie Hoskins, most recently on the roster at Saracens, has had to be plucked out of retirement for this contest while the replacement hooker Nic Dolly, capped once by England in 2021, was released by Leicester last year after an injury-plagued couple of seasons. The slightly sandy base to the pitch may complicate scrummaging life for some but the Lions scrum coach, John Fogarty, is more concerned that visiting players collectively trust their instincts and do not get distracted by murmurs about the Force looking to knock a few lumps out of their visitors. 'Any time you get into a game of rugby you should be expecting to bash someone and get bashed,' responded Fogarty with a knowing smile. 'We're excited about showing the best of ourselves.' He could have added that the Lions have not come all the way to one of the most remote cities in the world to twiddle their thumbs idly. By the time they pack their bags and transfer to the opposite coast of this vast continent the hope will be that Farrell's red-shirted marauders have embarked with real intent down rugby's equivalent of Fury Road. Guardian
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Offer to help ‘wake up' Michael Schumacher rejected by stricken F1 legend's wife Corinna, ex-teammate reveals
MICHAEL Schumacher 's wife Corinna rejected offers to help "wake up" the F1 legend, a former teammate has revealed. Italian F1 star Riccardo Patrese said he offered to help the 5 Schumacher has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious head injury in 2013 Credit: Alamy 5 Michael Schumacher and his wife Corinna before his accident in 2013 Credit: Alamy 5 Riccardo Patrese said he offerd to help with Schuey's recovery 5 Michael Schumacher (left) with teammate Riccardo Patrese (right) Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd World champion Schumacher has not been seen in public since he Pal Patrese said he believed a familiar voice would help the former Ferarri and Mercedes star to recover from his tragic accident. He told : " Then he had the accident. "That is a very sad moment. You know that sometimes if they hear [a familiar voice], some boys wake up, that they recognise a voice. "I asked [Schumacher's wife] Corinna if they wanted me to go there and try to help if I could. "Well, if I could, I would have, but they said, 'No, thank you'. She said it's not the moment. But that moment has never come." Schumacher's wife Corinna has spent the years since creating a private world around Michael as he continues his recovery. Most read in Motorsport Over the last decade, his condition has remained a secret. Schuey Blackmail Plot Patrese added: "I know nothing [about his illness], but from the first moment of course I was in very good connection with Michael, because of the national team of drivers for soccer for charity. "He was the captain of the team. When I left, I gave to him the armband of the captain and he was really very happy to do it." In 2022, Late F1 legend Eddie Jordan told the Irish Mirror he tried to arrange a visit with Schumacher, but his efforts were reportedly rebuffed. Many pals have previously tried to offer help to the F1 legend get back on his feet. But one former teammate is hopeful that the Formula One icon is "on the mend" after his first public act in 12 years. His autograph marks the stricken F1 legend's only public act since his devastating ski accident in the French Alps almost 12 years ago. He is said to have signed it with the help of Corinna as an image showed his initials "M.S" on the bottom right of the iconic white helmet. What happened to Michael Schumacher? MICHAEL Schumacher's life was hanging by a thread 12 years ago as medics tried desperately to keep him alive after a tragic skiing crash that left him with horrific brain injuries. The F1 legend was given the best possible treatment as he was put into a medically induced coma, had his body temperature lowered and underwent hours of tricky operations on his brain. Back in 2013, the retired seven-time world champion, and his then Footage from his helmet camera revealed he was He catapulted forward 11.5ft and crashed into a boulder head first that split his helmet into two and left him needing to be airlifted to hospital for At one point his family were told to brace themselves for the worst case scenario as the situation was much worse than originally believed. At the time, medics said But the coma ended up lasting 250 days - more than eight months. After he woke up in June 2014, he was discharged from hospital and sent to his home in Lake Geneva to get further treatment. Since then his wife Corinna and his inner circle of friends have expertly avoided almost anything leaking out about his Only small amounts of information have been released including reports that Schumacher was in a wheelchair but In 2019, it was said that Renowned Following Schumacher's teammate at Benetton between 1994 to 1995, Johnny Herbert, described the signature as an "emotional" moment. He told "We haven't seen something emotional like this in years, and hopefully, it's a sign. "Hopefully, Michael is on the mend. It's been a long, horrible journey for the family, and maybe we'll hopefully see him in the F1 paddock soon." Schumacher now lives at a £50million custom-built property on the shores of Lake Geneva in Only a handful of trusted people are aware of his current health status, including e He recently The legendary Formula One driver is believed to have flown from his family's villa in Majorca to their Swiss mansion in a chopper to Read more on the Irish Sun Gina revealed she was pregnant shortly after There was speculation at the time that her 5
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Max Verstappen set for major race change for first time in F1 career at Austrian Grand Prix
MAX VERSTAPPEN will be without his right-hand man for the first time in his Formula One career at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend. The 27-year-old's long-serving race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase has not made the trip to the team's home race in Spielberg. 4 Max Verstappen must navigate his first F1 race without one of his closest allies in Austria Credit: EPA 4 Verstappen's chief engineer Gianpiero Lambiase will miss his first F1 race since 2016 for personal reasons Credit: Getty It will be the first time that Lambiase won't guide race since the Dutchman stepped up from Toro Rosso to Red Bull Racing in May 2016 . Also known simply as 'GP' in the paddock, Lambiase has been the voice in Verstappen's ear for every single one of his 219 races. Their relationship proved an instant success after Verstappen won on his debut at the Spanish Grand Prix to become the youngest race winner in F1 history. – Verstappen now pushing for what would be a record-equalling fifth successive championship crown. READ MORE F1 NEWS Lambiase was initially race engineer to Daniil Kvyat but, when the Russian was replaced mid-season by an 18-year-old Verstappen , he remained in the role . The Italian-British engineer, 44, will miss the Austrian Grand Prix, the 11th race of the season, for personal reasons , according to ESPN. In 2021, the Independent reported that In Lambiase's place comes Simon Rennie, an experienced Red Bull employee who previously served as a race engineer and is currently Group Leader of Simulation Engineering at the team. Most read in Motorsport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Rennie,45, has plenty of experience in the role, having performed it for the likes of Fernando Alonso , Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen at Renault. H e joined Red Bull in 2013, initially serving as race engineer to Mark Webber and then to before moving to a factory role in 2019. Max Verstappen goes for a spin around the upgraded F1 circuit at Zandvoort He is no stranger to temporary stints back at the track, having served as Alex Albon's race engineer in 2020 for a brief spell. Rennie is expected to fill in for just one weekend with Lambiase expected to return to his trackside duties at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next weekend. Verstappen trails championship leader 4 Lambiase is the engineer in charge of all pit-to-car communication with Verstappen on his earpiece during the races 4
