Respects paid to first Lions captain Robert Seddon
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh (left) British and Irish Lions chair Ieuan Evans (centre) and chief executive Ben Calveley (right) [Getty Images]
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alcaraz loses at golf - can Norrie beat him on SW19 grass?
Wimbledon 2025 Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full coverage guide. Advertisement As he prepares to face Cameron Norrie in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, Carlos Alcaraz does have one losing record against a British player this fortnight. The Spanish superstar might have been unbeatable on the tennis court - having won the Queen's title before moving confidently into the SW19 last eight - but Sir Andy Murray has been quick to reveal Alcaraz is not as dominant on the golf course. The pair have been playing together in south-west London over the past 10 days, with the recently-retired Scot edging a best-of-three contest at Royal Wimbledon Golf Club. "It's true he beat me. But golf is a sport that is really helpful for me to switch off my mind," Alcaraz said. Advertisement "I'm trying to play as much golf as I can on my days off." On Tuesday, Norrie - a decent golfer himself with a handicap of 13 - is aiming for more British success against two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz on Tuesday. "I'm going to have to play my best to have a chance with him," British number three Norrie, who reached the semi-finals in 2022, told BBC Sport. "[Grass] is probably his best surface. He's untouchable at the moment." Norrie copies Carlitos' way with Ibiza trip Beating 22-year-old Alcaraz is one of the most difficult tasks in the sport right now. Advertisement The five-time major champion is on a 22-match winning streak, having claimed the Rome and French Open titles on the clay before heading to Ibiza for a now traditional pre-Wimbledon break. Norrie, 29, decided to try the same strategy, spending time in Pacha nightclub as well as playing golf and chilling on the beach. "I was telling my team, let's see if the Carlos method can work because he went to Ibiza and he won Wimby," he told British newspapers. "Tennis is super important, but I think it's important to enjoy off the court in your own way. "When you come to the court fresh, and you've had a few days on the beach or a few days in the sun relaxing, you feel ready to compete again." Advertisement Alcaraz, who has won his past 16 grass-court matches, is the perfect example. Taking the time to recharge on the Balearic party island - like he did before each of his Wimbledon titles - is again paying off. But Norrie, who is ranked 61st in the world, is planning to end Alcaraz's hopes of becoming only the fifth man to win three consecutive SW19 titles in the Open era. The left-hander has beaten Alcaraz in two of their past three matches - in Cincinnati and Rio de Janeiro - but this will be their first meeting on grass. "I've played many times against him really tough and great battles, so I'm just really excited," said Alcaraz, who has already beaten one home player at Wimbledon in qualifier Ollie Tarvet. Advertisement "I know he's playing great tennis. He feels really comfortable on grass. "He's going to use the crowd and have the people on his side. I have got to be really focused and not thinking about the support." Norrie 'doesn't care' about being last Brit standing By edging past huge-serving Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry in the fourth round, Norrie became only the fourth British man in the Open era to reach multiple Wimbledon quarter-finals. Norrie's journey began in Johannesburg and, after moving to Auckland as a child and then studying at Texas Christian University in the United States, made a home in London. Advertisement With a Welsh mother and a Scottish father, he was always destined to represent the nation despite retaining a hint of a Kiwi accent. His parents, microbiologists David and Helen, have been a driving force in his life and are proudly sharing more of his finest moments at the All England Club. Along with his long-term partner Louise, they were among the 12,500 fans who cheered Norrie to a gutsy victory over Jarry. Norrie could not convert a match point in the third set but completed victory two hours later in a decider - making him the final Briton left in the singles. "I would have liked to have seen some more guys go deeper," said Norrie, who will be playing his first match on Centre Court this year when he takes on Alcaraz. Advertisement "But I'm not caring too much if I'm the last Brit standing or if they're all here. "I'm just taking care of my business and really enjoying my tennis at the moment." Norrie has endured a difficult time over the past couple of seasons, with a forearm injury last year contributing to his ranking plummeting towards the bottom of the top 100. But he has rediscovered his form over the past couple of months. He reached the French Open fourth round last month before forging another deep run at a Grand Slam. "It is nice to be back and nice to enjoy the tennis, enjoy the moments," he said. Advertisement "Carlos is confident and he's smiling. I'm going to have to enjoy my tennis as much as him and and execute everything to have a chance."
New York Times
20 minutes ago
- New York Times
Wimbledon recap: Unexpected injury retirements all over the All England Club
Follow The Athletic's Wimbledon coverage Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament. On day eight, an unexpected tennis body shot, two games that epitomized the sport's ebbs and flows, and a return for a different kind of Slam. Tennis injuries are usually freak incidents like Grigor Dimitrov's painful exit from a two-sets-to-love lead over Jannik Sinner. This especially applies to ball injuries, when players can get hit by a shot at the net. Sometimes, though, the ultimate act of accidental betrayal occurs instead. The No. 2 seeds in the boys' doubles, Dominick Mosejczuk and Alejandro Arcila, were serving to level their match with Timofei Derapasko and Jacapo Vasami, with Mosejczuk serving and Arcila at the net. The American unleashed a first serve, which found a target it was definitely not supposed to find. After falling to the court and receiving attention from the umpire, Arcila waved things off, hit two winning volleys and helped his partner win the second set 6-3, having lost the first by the same scoreline. But then Arcila had to go through concussion treatment. He failed the tests conducted by the medical staff, and he and Mosejczuk had to retire with the third set still to play. It was that kind of day. James Hansen Things have been ending fairly punctually at Wimbledon the past couple of nights, but with tennis, you never know when things are going to go long. In these cases, the 11 p.m. curfew is not involved. Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur played an 18-minute game with Djokovic serving at 1-0 in the second set, Belinda Bencic and Ekaterina Alexandrova played a 15-minute one with Bencic serving for the match at 7-6, 5-3. Advertisement In the case of Djokovic vs. De Minaur, the game had everything that exemplified Djokovic's play for much of the afternoon, when he struggled with the wind and with the pressure that De Minaur, who is a terrific grass-court player, put on him throughout. Djokovic could have finished it off with a down-the-line backhand into the open court at 40-30. He put a ball he usually puts away into the net. And things got weird from there, with both players missing opportunities to finish things off far more quickly than they did. It all ended with De Minaur coming into net and knifing a forehand volley across the court of the winner. That was some decent drama, but nothing compared with the Bencic vs. Alexandrova marathon with the match on the line. Bencic saved four break points before she started missing on match point chances. A forehand went long. Alexandrova hammered a forehand inside in to save another. A net cord tickled over in Bencic's favor. She yelled at her box to 'calm down.' Was she talking to herself? Possibly. Bencic then ticked the net on a backhand winner to save another break point, but then double-faulted. Alexandrova would miss on that point and then need to earn another with a forehand winner before finally getting the game on a Bencic error on the 22nd point. What did both marathons have in common? The returner won the long game, then lost the next one, and in Alexandrova's case, the match. De Minaur would survive another two and a half hours on Centre Court, but he too would win the battle only to lose the war. Matt Futterman The U.S. Open has the 7 train. The French Open has the 10. Melbourne has its trams. Each Grand Slam has a major artery by which fans arrive. At Wimbledon, it's the District Line. But where the others have direct alternatives — the Long Island Rail Road in New York City, or the 9 in Paris — if London Underground goes down, getting to Wimbledon suddenly appears impossible. Advertisement For most of its first week in 2025, the line has been beset by problems. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is 'extremely frustrated,' a spokesperson for City Hall told The Athletic, and passengers heading in the direction of the All England Club via Southfields, Wimbledon Park or Wimbledon stations feel the same. The latest and most severe disruption happened Monday, when the line was suspended entirely between Wimbledon and Parsons Green, a few stops north of Southfields, which is the most popular station for getting to the tournament. The culprit was a track fault between East Putney and Putney Bridge, on a section jointly managed by Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail. Services were disrupted throughout last week, with around 14,000 fans attempting to travel to Southfields per day. 'We acknowledge that today's disruption comes on the back of a challenging week for District line services last week,' a statement from TfL read. 'We are continuing to work closely with organisers of the Wimbledon Championships and Network Rail to ensure that we deliver a reliable service and share up-to-date travel information with customers.' Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, who led a minute's silence in honor of the 52 victims of the July 7 terror attacks on the 20th anniversary, said that the AELTC has been 'clear' with TfL 'that delivering an event of this scale in this part of London requires the infrastructure to support us in doing that.' 'We've arranged to catch up with them after the Championships, not just to look at what has happened this year, but to look ahead in terms of investment into the District line,' she said. The AELTC is particularly invested in infrastructure improvements due to its plans to expand. It wants to move Wimbledon's qualifying event, played at Roehampton a few miles away, to the tournament site. Plans for 39 new grass courts to be built on the old Wimbledon Park golf course, including an 8,000-capacity stadium, will provide the required space. But the extra seven days of foot traffic and associated revenue will be just as reliant on the same tracks which have erred this week. The Greater London Authority (GLA) approved planning permission last September, but local campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) is opposed to the redevelopment of the 23-acre Grade II* (meaning of particular importance) heritage site, which the AELTC owns. A judicial review of the GLA's approval decision will be heard in the High Court on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Caoimhe O'Neill Iga Świątek has always been a master of defense, but playing a point like this on grass is especially impressive. 🎾 Taylor Fritz (5) vs. Karen Khachanov (17) 8 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ A first meeting since 2020 for two players who feel like they should have played much more frequently. Expect a lot of aces and unreturned serves, baseline battles and probably five sets. 🎾 Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Laura Siegemund 8:30 a.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN+ Sabalenka is the overwhelming favorite, but Siegemund — a master of the grass and of the dark arts — is the type of player who could get under her skin. There is little middle ground here: expect either a routine win for Sabalenka or the makings of a massive upset. Advertisement 🎾 Amanda Anisimova (13) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Follows Fritz vs. Khachanov on ESPN/ESPN+ Anisimova is having the kind of season she threatened to have before having to take a break from tennis for burnout. Pavlyuchenkova is in her second Wimbledon quarterfinal, nine years after her first. A moment for both of them, whatever the result. 🎾 Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs. Cameron Norrie Follows Sabalenka vs. Siegemund Norrie, a 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist, has not enjoyed the cut-through with the British public that his consistency at the All England Club might afford. Alcaraz, having started the tournament scratchily, has said he is in full flight now. Norrie will need that crowd. Tell us what you noticed on the eighth day… (Top photo of a men's doubles match: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic)
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Manchester United Are Eyeing A Move For This Chelsea Forward: What Will He Bring To Old Trafford?
Manchester United Are Eyeing A Move For This Chelsea Forward: What Will He Bring To Old Trafford? In a recent report, The Daily Mirror claimed that Manchester United are eyeing a move for Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku. It has been stated that the Red Devils would have to pay £35m if they want to get the French striker on board this summer. Nkunku served as a useful squad player at the West London club and managed to put in a run of productive displays for them in front of the opponent's goal. The 27-year-old played in 42 matches for the Blues last season, netting 14 goals and securing five assists across various competitions. Advertisement The French talent deserves some credit for averaging 2.44 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League. He was even tidy when distributing possession in the final third, as evidenced by his pass completion rate of 89.5% in the English first division (stats via Nkunku is under contract at the West London club until the summer of 2029 which could make it difficult for Man United to snap him up on a cut-price deal this off-season. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 24: Christopher Nkunku #18 of Chelsea FC looks on during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 group D match between Esperance de Tunis and Chelsea FC at Lincoln Financial Field on June 24, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by) What Will Nkunku Bring To Manchester United? Nkunku is proficient at finding some space for himself to get some strikes in at goal. He has got the eye to play some decisive passes in the final third and is a good dribbler with the ball at his feet. Advertisement The French sensation can be a decent finisher in the final third when he is playing regularly and with confidence on the field. Nkunku is primarily an attacking midfielder but can also fill in as a left-sided wide player or as a centre-forward if needed. He has already got some experience in the Premier League and won't take much time to adjust to life at Man United. We can expect Nkunku to bring more firepower to Ruben Amorim's attack. He is more than capable of securing a regular first-team spot at the Mancunian club next season. At 27, Nkunku has his peak years ahead of him which makes him a good option for the Red Devils to consider in this summer transfer period. He might even help Man United compete for a European spot in the Premier League next season.
