Category: 6. Sports

The Olympic silver medallist looked far more assured and assertive from his five-set encounter two days earlier, in a result which extends his career-best run to 20 victories on the bounce.

Alcaraz headed to Court 18 after his match to get a look at his next opponent, either fellow Paris 2024 medallist Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada or World number 125 Jan-Lennard Struff, who the Spaniard has defeated in three straight encounters.

Wimbledon 2025 – Oliver Tarvet, the qualifier who went toe-to-toe with defending champion Alcaraz

In the space of nine days, 21-year-old Tarvet has made it through the qualifying rounds at Roehampton, won on his major main drew debut and faced up against five-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz.

“Obviously there were a lot of nerves,” he said post-match. “I’ve said before that I try and treat every match as the same, try and play the ball, not the player or the situation. As much I tried to do that today, I woke up a couple times in the night from the adrenaline. In the car, my heart rate was going quicker than it usually does.

Defending finalist Jasmine Paolini wasn’t able to avoid the upset bug that’s come for many of tennis’ top players in the first two rounds at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

The fourth-seeded Italian was a set up against Kamilla Rakhimova in the second round on Wednesday, but couldn’t close the door in what was eventually a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat. 

Runner-up to Barbora Krejcikova last year, Paolini is the fourth Top 5 seed to lose in the first two rounds at the All England Club this week. No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 5 Zheng Qinwen all lost in the first round on Tuesday — and No. 9 seed Paula Badosa was bundled out by Katie Boulter on Monday.

Fifteen of the 32 seeds lost over the first three days in all.

World No. 62 Rakhimova entered the match 0-7 against Top 10 players in her career, and had won just one set in those matches. But she turned the tide in the match by saving four break points in her first service game of the second set when trailing 6-4, 1-0.

She never lost serve in sets two and three, and made a break of Paolini’s serve to start the decider stand up until the end of the 2 hour, 19-minute affair.

The 23-year-old moves on to the third round of a Grand Slam event for the third time, having previously done so at the US Open in 2021, and Roland Garros in 2023.

Looking to reach the fourth round of a major for the first time, Rakhimova will next face No. 30 seed Linda Noskova, who also won a three-setter in her own second-round match against German Eva Lys 6-2, 2-6, 6-3. While Noskova reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open last year, this is her first time past the second round at Wimbledon.

Wimbledon 2025 – Emma Raducanu powers through into round two

The British Centre Court crowd were craving a positive result for their home favourites, having just seen qualifier Oliver Tarvet beaten in straight sets, while Katie Boulter saw her campaign curtailed over on No. 1 Court.

Up stepped Raducanu, no easy feat against a recent victor of the Venus Rosewater Dish, though in total control throughout the affair. The former major champion returned 81% of Vondroušová’s serves while breaking on four occasions throughout the evening.

“There were some points that I have no idea how I turned around,” Raducanu said post-match. “I knew playing Marketa was going to be an incredibly difficult match. She has won this tournament which is a huge achievement. I’m really pleased with how I played my game the whole way through.”

The Wimbledon faithful were treated to a vintage display from the Briton, Raducanu defending superbly on the baseline to counteract Vondroušová. Her persistence of returning paid off midway through the second set as he countered to take the point with a backhand winner.

Vondroušová had her moments to seize the momentum, but was not able to convert and exits the tournament in round two. The Berlin champion finds herself unable to build on her grass title, defeated at the hands of the British no. 1.

It is a crucial win for Raducanu’s confidence and hopes at her home Slam, where she has not made it past the fourth round. This will be her third appearance in the third round at SW19 and a chance to prove herself against the only remaining top five seed in the draw in Sabalenka.

Tom Brady is spending some quality time with daughter Vivian as they enjoy the summers.

The 47-year-old athlete took to his Instagram account and shared some rare glimpse into his summer getaway with 12-year-old daughter.

In the candid post, he shared a snap of the pre-teen in which she can be seen relaxing in a tube, while soaking up the sun.

For the photo she looked back at Tom and posed giving thumbs up with a smile.

The retired NFL star also posted scenic photo of the water on his Stories along with a flag emoji of Spain indicating they are somewher in the country near beach.

Gushing over his daugther Tom caption the picture “My little mermaid soaking up the sun and the sea,” and ended the text with a red heart emoji.

It is pertinent to mention that Tom shares Vivian along with son Benjamin, 15, with ex wife Gisele Bundchen. He is also father to 17-year-old son Jack whom he shares with ex actress Bridget Moynahan.

This new feature at INDYCAR.com will show special, one-off liveries that teams will race at NTT INDYCAR SERIES events this season.

The first installment focuses on The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Presented by the All-New 2026 Passport on Sunday, July 6 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (1 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network).

Kyle Kirkwood – Andretti Global

Andretti Global will run a special Honda-inspired livery for Kirkwood, who has won three races this season in his Honda-powered No. 27 car.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course holds special meaning for Honda, with the manufacturer’s Marysville Auto Plant under an hour away from the track. With more than 12,000 employee tickets distributed, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is a centerpiece in Honda’s impressive motorsports calendar. The Fourth of July race weekend also marks a major milestone for the Honda organization and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES – the one-year anniversary of the debut of the hybrid unit, a movement Honda has helped lead both on and off the track.

Honda has won all nine races so far this season, with Alex Palou claiming six wins and Kirkwood three.

Alex Palou – Chip Ganassi Racing

OpenAI, one of the world’s leading artificial intelligence organizations, is expanding its partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing to become the primary partner at this event.

Palou has won six races this season and leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.

Felix Rosenqvist – Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb-Agajanian

Rosenqvist’s livery will pay tribute to legendary hard rock front man Ozzy Osbourne and his band, Black Sabbath.

The No. 60 Honda will sport a striking purple livery inspired by primary sponsor SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard (channel 38) channel, which features hard rock and heavy metal classics curated under the influence of Ozzy.

The special livery also celebrates a monumental moment in music history: Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s upcoming “Final Show at the Back to the Beginning” concert on July 5 in Birmingham, England. The concert will feature icons like Metallica, Slayer, Alice in Chains and more.

Estonia’s Johannes Erm and Colombia’s Martha Araujo, winners of Decastar last year, will be up against quality opposition when they defend their titles at the World Athletics Combined Events Tour Gold meeting in Talence this weekend (5-6).

Erm won the decathlon in Talence last year with 8589, capping a memorable season that also included European gold, with a PB of 8764, and a sixth-place finish at the Olympic Games. He has carried that momentum through to 2025, earning world indoor silver with a national heptathlon record of 6437.

The 27-year-old has contested just one outdoor competition so far this year, a three-discipline ‘triathlon’ at the Bislett Games in Oslo, where he clocked 14.54 in the 110m hurdles, long jumped 7.09m and threw 56.29m in the javelin.

He’ll be up against several men who have already put down a strong decathlon marker this season.

Niklas Kaul is one of those. The German finished equal third in Götzis five weeks ago with 8575, the second-best score of his career behind the 8691 PB he set when winning the 2019 world title.

Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme finished a few positions behind Kaul in Götzis, placing seventh with a season’s best of 8486. The 25-year-old, whose PB of 8732 was set last year, will be chasing the World Championships qualifying standard of 8550 with a view to making it to Tokyo in September and improving on the fourth-place finish he achieved at the 2022 World Championships.

Karel Tilga also knows what it’s like to finish just outside of the medals at a World Championships; the Estonian placed fourth in Budapest two years ago, setting a PB of 8681. More recently he placed ninth in Götzis with a season’s best of 8405, making him the top performing Estonian this year.

Several others in the field – including Germany’s Tim Nowak, Belgium’s Jente Hauttekeete and Estonian duo Rasmus Roosleht and Niels Pittomvils – will be chasing either the World Championships qualifying standard or world ranking points.

The same is true of most of the contender in the women’s heptathlon.

Defending Decastar champion Araujo has enjoyed a strong season so far, winning the South American title with 6396 and then finishing third in Götzis with 6475 – a 46-point improvement on the continental record she set in Talence last year.

The 29-year-old, who finished seventh at the Olympics last year, is now looking for a further 25-point improvement so that she can secure the World Championships qualifying standard.

She’ll be pushed all the way by US duo Michelle Atherley and Taliyah Brooks, both of whom should contend for victory this weekend.

Atherley, the overall winner of the World Athletics Combined Events Tour last year, recently finished fourth in Götzis with 6425, just 40 points shy of her PB. After finishing third in Talence last year, she’s targeting a higher place on the podium this time.

Brooks, who represented the USA at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 Olympics, took world indoor bronze earlier this year. Having posted some strong individual marks outdoors, she’ll be keen to improve on her PB of 6408 in what will be her first heptathlon of 2025.

Austria’s also Verena Mayr returns to Talence. The 30-year-old has the best PB of the field (6591), though that was set back in 2019, the year in which she earned world bronze.

Germany’s Vanessa Grimm, who placed fourth at this year’s World Indoor Championships, and world U20 champion Jana Koscak of the Czech Republic are among the other podium contenders.

Leading entries

Women’s heptathlon
Verena Mayr (AUT) 6591
Martha Araujo (COL) 6475
Michelle Atherley (USA) 6465
Taliyah Brooks (USA) 6408
Vanessa Grimm (GER) 6323
Jana Koscak (CRO) 6293
Tori West (AUS) 6245
Esther Conde-Turpin (FRA) 6230
Sarah Lagger (AUT) 6225
Beatrice Juskeviciute (LTU) 6192

Men’s decathlon
Johannes Erm (EST) 8764
Ayden Owens-Delerme (PUR) 8732
Niklas Kaul (GER) 8691
Karel Tilga (EST) 8681
Tim Nowak (GER) 8282
Jente Hauttekeete (BEL) 8268
Rasmus Roosleht (EST) 8241
Niels Pittomvils (EST) 8222
Kendrick Thompson (BAH) 8182
Risto Lillemets (EST) 8156

Emma Raducanu is back in the third round of her home Grand Slam — and her next test will be a battle against the World No. 1.

In a Centre Court clash between Grand Slam champions on Wednesday, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu of Great Britain thrilled her home fans by posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory over 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

World No. 40 Raducanu needed 1 hour and 22 minutes to breeze past Czech left-hander Vondrousova, who beat Ons Jabeur on this court for her first Grand Slam title just under two years ago.

Vondrousova came into Wednesday’s showdown on a six-match winning streak, having just won the Berlin grass-court title, but Raducanu emphatically ended that run.

With the win, former Top 10 player Raducanu leveled her head-to-head with Vondrousova at 2-2 — and both of Raducanu’s wins in their rivalry have come at Wimbledon.

Raducanu’s career-best Wimbledon results have been Round-of-16 showings in 2021 (her Grand Slam main-draw debut, beating Vondrousova en route) and last year.

Of course, between those appearances, she famously stormed to the 2021 US Open title, in just her second career Grand Slam main draw. Winning 10 straight matches over three weeks without losing a set, Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.

Upcoming task — the world’s top player: Raducanu is a win away from returning to the Wimbledon Round of 16, but to get there again, she will have to upset No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.

In Wednesday’s first match on Centre Court, Sabalenka held off Marie Bouzkova 7-6(4), 6-4 to book her spot in the third round against Raducanu.

Sabalenka has defeated Raducanu in their only previous meeting — a 6-3, 7-5 victory on the hard courts of Indian Wells in 2024.

More to come…

Turns out Rishabh Pant is a dab hand at doing impressions. At Edgbaston he showed off his new one, of the batter his coaches would like him to be. Pant was, by the standards of his own scatterbrained batting, a model of self-control, and restricted himself to just one glorious four and a single crisp, delicious six in the 60 minutes or so he was at the crease. They were good ones, a roly-poly sweep off Shoaib Bashir and a skip down the pitch to punch another of his deliveries over long-on, but otherwise Pant restrained himself to showing off his range of ascetic leaves, blocks and defensive shots.

There was, it’s true, the odd moment or two when he nearly broke character. He couldn’t help himself but come running out to try to belt one of the first balls bowled by Chris Woakes after tea over the road into the botanical gardens. He seemed to change his mind midway through his swing, and ended up scuffing it away for a single, like a kid reaching his hand out to grab a cookie and then yanking it back again as they remember the promise they’d made to their parents.

The crowd in the Hollies Stand actually started booing every time he blocked one, as if they wanted to goad him into playing the hits. Eventually Pant snapped and tried to hit Bashir for another six. But Bashir took a little pace off the ball so Pant didn’t catch it cleanly, and ended up being caught by Zak Crawley five yards in from the boundary. The problem is that Bashir’s bowling is just too damn tempting. He has taken four wickets in this series now, and every one of them has been caught in the deep. His Test career is turning into an advanced course on how to bowl when you’re being battered to all corners.

It all felt very different to the last Test on this ground, back in 2022. Back then, Pant smacked 146 off 111 balls in the first innings, then 57 off 86 in the second, and, even though England were on the wrong end, Ben Stokes enjoyed it all so much that he said afterwards how well he felt Pant would fit into his England team. And in the idle hours of a slow second session, it was easy to wonder exactly what it would be like to watch Pant bat if he was on England’s side rather than his own. Whatever else is hypothetical about it, you can be sure that one thing Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum wouldn’t be telling him to do is to try to play more defensively.

India, though, have retrenched ahead of this game. They have taken on the character of their coach, Gautam Gambhir, a fighting batter who once battled seven hours for 137 runs to save a draw against New Zealand. Their captain, Shubman Gill, scored a fine century off 199 balls, batting like a prefect who had just been on the wrong end of the headmaster’s lecture about leadership. They have left out their two scariest bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, and packed the side with three all-rounders, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja, in an attempt to bolster their batting without compromising on their bowling options.

Reddy turned out to be Unready. He was cleaned up for one trying to leave a ball which hit the top of his off stump. The decision to pick him alongside Sundar was such a strikingly odd decision that Gambhir ought to be under heavy pressure, his team having won only three Tests out of 11 since he took over. But given that he used to be an MP for the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the BCCI are utterly intertwined with the political party, India’s board has given him their full support.

The safety-first style doesn’t especially suit India, and more importantly, it doesn’t especially suit the situation they’re in either. There isn’t a batter in the game who wants to face Bumrah or an English one ever born who enjoys facing the sort of left-arm wrist spin Yadav deals in. If the genie gave England three wishes this week, the first would have been for India to rest Bumrah, the world’s best bowler, the second would have been to leave out Yadav, who has taken 43 wickets at an average of 24 each against them across formats, and the third would have been to encourage India’s top order that they ought to amble along at three runs an over.

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At that rate, they could bat for two days without racking up the sort of score that would make England feel outmatched, and all of the first four before they arrived at a target Stokes felt his side shouldn’t at least try for. In Gambhir’s day, a team who have made 310 for five in a day would have felt themselves well placed. In Stokes’ one, it was hard to avoid the sense that the score left them sitting just where England want them.