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Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Jonathan Milan sprints to first stage win
Jonathan Milan claimed his first career Tour de France stage win as he beat Wout van Aert and Kaden Groves in an uphill sprint in Laval. Milan, 24, had lost his lead-out men on the technical finish to the 171.4km stage from Saint-Meen-le-Grand but surfed the wheels before holding off the late charge of Van Aert. The Italian won in the green jersey he was wearing on behalf of overall leader Tadej Pogacar, but the victory means he will wear it on Sunday by rights as he moved to the top of the points classification. Pogacar enjoyed a relatively easy day in yellow, content to sit further down in the peloton, as the sprinters had only their third opportunity of the Tour and first since Monday - albeit on a slight uphill drag to the line that made it one for the more powerful among them. 'I don't still understand what we did,' said Milan, remarkably the first Italian stage winner since Vincenzo Nibali in 2019. 'To come with some expectations, some dreams, but then to bring them home is two different things, but I was confident with the team. We were really close in the last (sprint), not the first stage, but on the third one we were pretty close, we know we just went too early, but today we were really focused. I really believed in my guys, they did an amazing job.'(PA Media/DPA)
Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Club World Cup a huge, huge success, says Infantino
PA Media/DPA New York FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared the Club World Cup a huge financial success on Saturday but insisted lessons will be learned for next year's international equivalent. Infantino has revealed the world governing body's revamped tournament - staged in the United States over the past month as a 32-team event for the first time - has generated more than $2 billion in revenue. The competition concludes in New York on Sunday with a final between Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League side Chelsea which will be attended by US President Donald Trump. Infantino told media at an event in Trump Tower: 'The golden era of global club football has started. We can say definitely this FIFA Club World Cup has been a huge, huge, huge success. 'Of course, there are a lot of positives, some negatives. We respect everyone's opinion. It has been successful. 'We heard financially it would not work but I can say we generated over $2 billion in revenues with this competition. 'We earned on average $33 million per match. There is no other cup competition in the world that comes close to $33 million per match. 'It is already the most successful club competition in the world.' Despite that, the tournament has attracted considerable criticism over issues including its scheduling in the calendar, poor attendances, venue choices, kick-off times, standard of pitches and the weather. The elements have been a recurring issue with a number of matches played in extreme heat during the hottest parts of the day and others hit with long delays due to thunderstorms. This has raised concerns, most notably about player welfare, with the US also one of the co-hosts of next year's World Cup along with Canada and Mexico. Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez even said this week conditions during his side's semi-final against Fluminense on Tuesday, when the temperature was 35C, were 'very dangerous'. Infantino says these issues have been noted and better use will be made in 2026 of indoor, air-conditioned venues in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Vancouver. He added: 'Of course, the heat is definitely an issue. It's an issue around the world. 'I remember it was the same in the Olympics in Paris and in other football games. 'But we have stadiums in America that are covered and one in Canada in Vancouver and we will definitely use these stadiums more during the day.' Infantino responded to criticism over poor attendances at some matches by saying 2.5 million tickets were sold, equating to an average of 40,000 per match. He said: 'There is no league in the world with that number, except the Premier League which, of course, has home teams.' Infantino also thanked President Trump for his endorsement of the tournament and decision to attend the final. 'He loves the game,' he said. 'You cannot organise a competition like this without the full support of the Government. 'Great thanks to President Trump - he has been fantastic and he is attending the final tomorrow as well.'
Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
History-makers Cash and Glasspool make plans for Wimbledon windfall
PA Media/DPA London Lloyd Glasspool has a wedding to pay for and Julian Cash is eyeing a new motorbike after the British duo made Wimbledon history by winning the men's doubles title. Cash, 28, and 31-year-old Glasspool beat Australian Rinky Hijikata and David Pel of the Netherlands 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in the final on Centre Court. In doing so they became the first all-British pairing to win the title since Pat Hughes and Raymond Tuckey lifted the trophy in 1936. The pair will split prize money of £680,000 ($920,000) between them, with Glasspool set to tie the knot with fiancee Sophia Maslin before next year's Championships. On court Glasspool thanked his future wife for 'lying in bed', and afterwards he explained: 'I want to make sure I've had my sleep. 'She's obviously got businesses to run, so she can't be waking up at 9.30am on Mondays or Tuesdays. 'So yeah, I'm appreciative that she will just stay in bed and kind of work quietly and let me sleep.' Cash, meanwhile, is weighing up a new set of wheels having been using his old bike to get to Wimbledon as well as Queen's and Eastbourne, where the duo also won titles. 'I've just been looking,' he said. 'I have one. I've had it for a long time, and I've been using it to get to Queen's, Eastbourne, and here a little bit. 'It's been good for the traffic, so I might have a look at that.'
Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Chelsea's Colwill lauds ‘scary good' Palmer
PA Media/dpa New York Defender Levi Colwill believes the branding of Cole Palmer as 'scary good' suits his Chelsea team-mate perfectly. Palmer's face has been displayed on billboards with that slogan around New York this week as part of an advertising campaign for Nike ahead of Sunday's Club World Cup final. It underlines the 23-year-old's rapid rise since he quit his role as squad player at Manchester City to move to Stamford Bridge almost two years ago. 'It's amazing, seeing him everywhere around New York,' Colwill said ahead of this weekend's showpiece clash with Paris Saint-Germain at the MetLife Stadium. 'It's surreal and I'm happy for him.' Asked if he feels Palmer is actually 'scary good', Colwill said: 'To say the least! He's an amazing player. That billboard suits him perfectly well.' Palmer, however, is known as a modest individual and appears to have taken the attention in his stride. Colwill said: 'I think he's seen them but you know Cole - he's not really blown away by much and I think that's what keeps him going.' Colwill insists Chelsea are certainly not scared heading into a match in which they are the clear underdogs. PSG have swept all before them in recent months. Having already won three domestic trophies, including a league and cup double, Luis Enrique's side produced a stunning performance to thrash Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final in May. As if that was not enough, they offered a reminder of their formidable power in a 4-0 rout of Real Madrid in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Colwill said: 'They are an amazing team, but we are not Inter or Real Madrid. We're going to bring something different. We're different players and we're confident in ourselves to win the game. 'It's one game of football. I believe in us and I think we can beat anyone so we're going to take that confidence going into the game. 'We haven't just come here to be in the final, we want to win the competition.' Chelsea have already tasted some success this term having won the Europa Conference League. Colwill said: 'That helps a lot. This will be our second final of the season and it shows how far we've come. We really do believe in ourselves. 'If everyone thinks we're going to lose then we've got nothing to lose. We're going to go out there, play our football, be confident and hopefully surprise everyone.'
Qatar Tribune
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
It's super surreal, says Swiatek
PA Media/DPA London Iga Swiatek crushed Amanda Anisimova in the most one-sided Wimbledon final for 114 years on Saturday. Anisimova, playing in her first grand slam showpiece, failed to win a single game, with Swiatek racing to a 6-0, 6-0 victory on a stunned Centre Court in only 57 minutes. Not since 1911, when Dorothea Lambert Chambers beat Dora Boothby, had a Wimbledon final been decided by such a scoreline, while the only other instance at a grand slam came in the French Open in 1988 when Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva. What should have been the best moment of her career turned into a nightmare for 23-year-old Anisimova, but it signals a return to the top table for Swiatek. The 24-year-old has brilliantly found her best level again on grass after a difficult time on her favoured clay and claimed a sixth major title, with Swiatek now having won slam trophies on every surface. She also becomes the first Polish winner of a Wimbledon singles title in the open era, 13 years after her compatriot Agnieszka Radwanska lost to Serena Williams in the final. 'It seems super surreal,' Swiatek said during the trophy presentation. 'First of all I want to congratulate Amanda for an amazing two weeks no matter what happened today. I hope we're going to play many more finals here and at other tournaments. 'I didn't even dream (about winning Wimbledon) because it was way too far, I feel like I'm already an experienced player after winning the slams before but I never really expected this one.' Anisimova's comeback has been one of the stories of the fortnight, with the former teenage prodigy having stepped away from tennis for eight months in 2023 for mental health reasons. Last year she did not even make the first round having lost in qualifying but at the All England Club she has shown what made her such an exciting talent, upsetting world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals. Anisimova, after taking time to cry, said: 'Iga, you're such an incredible player, obviously showed today. You've been such an inspiration to me, an unbelievable athlete. Congratulations to you and your team. 'Thank you to everyone who's supported me since my first-round match here. It's been an incredible fortnight for me even though I ran out of gas today and I wish I could have put on a better performance for you.' The American thanked her mum for flying to London this morning to see the match, adding: 'It's definitely not why I lost today. I'm so glad I get to share this with you.' A first grand slam final is always a nerve-racking occasion, though, and it was obvious from the start that Anisimova was struggling to get her legs moving and her arms swinging freely. She could not find her first serve and was making error after error, while Swiatek, who had won all five of her previous slam finals, looked right at home. The Pole is one of the best front runners the sport has seen and she did not allow Anisimova any chance to settle as the groans of the crowd grew ever more audible. The breezy conditions did not help, and it took Swiatek just 25 minutes to wrap up the first set, with Anisimova winning only nine points. The American twice screamed in frustration, and probably rising panic, after errors in the opening game of the second set. The eight former champions sat in the Royal Box would have empathised with Anisimova's predicament but she could find no way of getting any kind of foothold in the match. Every half chance was either snuffed out by Swiatek or crushed by another wild mistake - she made 28 unforced errors in the 12 games - and a final Swiatek winner put her out of her misery.
