Sarina Wiegman was “very disappointed” England had not won but insisted the performance was not a concern after they were held to a goalless draw by Portugal in their Women’s World Cup warm-up match at Stadium MK.

The European champions’ last home game before departing for this summer’s showpiece in Australia and New Zealand saw them unable to make a breakthrough despite creating a considerable number of chances.

Georgia Stanway and Lucy Bronze both struck the woodwork and Alessia Russo was denied by a goalline block, while other notable moments included Rachel Daly having a header saved, Lauren Hemp heading over and Russo firing wide.

Lionesses boss Wiegman said: “Of course my first thoughts are that I am, but also the team is, very disappointed that we didn’t win this game.

“But we also take a lot of learnings from it and I think at moments we saw the things we really have been working on, that we wanted to show, a way of creating chances.

“I think the first half we were a little bit too slow, the ball tempo was, and we had too many players behind the ball or very close to it, and then when we did break lines we didn’t have enough numbers higher up the pitch. I think we did that a lot better in the second half.

“We had players higher on the pitch and created more chances, although I think in the first half we created a couple. But we just didn’t score.

“I think we had moments that were really good and moments we could have done a little better.”

Asked specifically about chances that fell to Daly, who started up front, and Russo, who replaced her at half-time, Wiegman said: “I think the first thing is you want to create lots of chances, and then see how we execute that.

“And yes, it’s disappointing of course, they want to be ruthless and score those chances, and today they didn’t. It’s not a worry for me.

“It’s just we want to get into those positions. When you got so much into those positions today – I think that’s pretty good. But of course we want to do the final touch too, and that’s to get the ball in the net. So we all know that.”

The Dutchwoman added: “That was today a little problem, but if you see how many chances we created – I think we had 23 shots on goal – there won’t be many matches where we then don’t score.”

England fly to Australia on Wednesday and face Canada behind closed doors in a final warm-up match on July 14 before opening their World Cup campaign against Haiti in Brisbane eight days later.

When Wiegman, who made a treble change in personnel at the interval and six substitutions in total, was asked if she was closer to knowing her starting XI for the Haiti game than she had been before the Portugal contest, she said: “No. I’m not closer now.

“I’m not sure if we get closer than this though. At the end you have to make decisions. I think in some positions it’s really tight. We have some time now. So, no, I’m not sure, and this is not the time to make the final decision because we still have a couple of weeks to go.”

England were playing a Portugal outfit ranked 17 places below them at 21st and who will be making their first appearance at a World Cup finals this summer.

Boss Francisco Neto said: “Playing in this kind of environment is not easy, and the emotional stability that we had during the game, I’m very happy with that, because it looks like the girls are ready for the environment that they will have in the World Cup.”

Being British number one will not bring extra pressure at Wimbledon, according to Katie Boulter.

The 26-year-old rose to the top of the British standings by winning her first WTA Tour event in Nottingham last month and, in the absence of the injured Emma Raducanu, finds herself as the highest-profile home woman.

Asked if she felt additional weight on her shoulders, Boulter said: “I don’t think I do. I feel very comfortable in my own skin when it comes to that kind of stuff. I can do my best and at the end of the day that’s all I can do.

“I know I’ve put the work in. If it happens to come out this week, then great, it’s a dream come true.

“But I’ve sat here and I’ve watched Wimbledon and there’s been many times that I haven’t played Wimbledon, and I really don’t take anything for granted just being here and playing and being a part of this tournament.

“I haven’t seen any newspapers. Of course it’s nice to feel like people appreciate you, but at the same time it’s about the tennis and I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’ve got to get my job done and keep myself very grounded.”

As well as her Nottingham run, Boulter, ranked 88, will take confidence from last year’s Wimbledon, when she defeated former finalist Karolina Pliskova in the second round on Centre Court.

“The biggest thing for me was getting over the line against Pliskova,” she said. “That was one of the hardest things I think I ever had to do and I’ve taken a lot of confidence from serving out that match especially.

“It’s something I will be using on the court out there. Whatever happens, I’ll be fighting and I’m always going to put my heart on the line.”

Boulter is sharing a large house nearby with her team, long-term boyfriend Alex de Minaur and his team.

It has been a successful month for the tennis-playing couple with Australian De Minaur, who is ranked 16, reaching the final at Queen’s Club.

“I feel like we continually both push each other,” said Boulter. “There’s a lot I’ve learned from him as a person and as a player. I’m very lucky to have an insider who knows the emotions that I go through on and off the court.

“He’s an incredible player and, as you can see from his ranking, he does it week in, week out. I’ve got a lot to learn from him. I do my best to watch what he does and emulate it.”

Boulter begins her campaign on Tuesday against Australian Daria Saville.

England’s Andy Sullivan, Oliver Wilson and James Morrison are part of a six-way tie heading into the final round of the Betfred British Masters as tournament favourite Justin Rose battled to stay in contention.

The home trio were joined on seven under par by Holland’s Joost Luiten, Italy’s Guido Migliozzi and Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard as a blustery wind wreaked havoc at The Belfry.

Rose had been seven under following an opening 65, but carded a 73 in round two and was a shot worse on Saturday to fall three off the pace in an event he won in 2002 and hosted in 2018.

Nuneaton-born Sullivan admitted he was “absolutely buzzing” to be in contention for a fifth DP World Tour title in front of a partisan home crowd, birdies on the 17th and 18th completing a third-round 70 in style.

“I wanted to do something like that all day to try and get it going, fortunately it came on the last,” Sullivan said after holing from 40 feet on the last.

“I was just grateful for it to hit the hole because it might actually have gone down the other ridge. I didn’t get anything going all day, very steady, very solid, and then yeah, the last couple of holes it was sweet to finish like that.

“I’m buzzing. I’m absolutely buzzing. I’m not going to lie, I’ll probably go have a little beer right now to calm down.

“It’s been so nice to see so many friendly faces out there. It’s lucky I’ve got quite a few friends on Tour and I managed to scrounge about 120 tickets so it’s fantastic to have all these people come out and watch you.

“I’m very grateful for the support they give, taking the time out of their weekend and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Wilson surged into the lead with four birdies in his first seven holes, but missed from three feet for another on the ninth and then dropped shots on the 10th and 11th before carding seven straight pars.

“It was a massive tale of two halves,” Wilson, who was part of the 2008 Ryder Cup team captained by tournament host Sir Nick Faldo, told the PA news agency.

“I was awesome on the front nine. I’m not good at bigging myself up but that was pretty good. I had a three-footer on nine to go five under for the day, missed that and then started to realise how hard it was.

“I just made a couple of errors on 10 and 11 and then it was a bit of a scramble but I did a lot of good stuff and it was so fiddly out there.

“It’s hard to keep it on the fairways on quite a few of the doglegs and every shot out of the rough is jumping. But I’m in good shape and look forward to seeing what I can do tomorrow.”

France’s Antoine Rozner had holed a bunker shot on the eighth and birdied the ninth to join Wilson in the lead on nine under, only to dump two wedge shots into the water on the 10th and make a quadruple-bogey eight.

Rozner stumbled home in 42 but was still within four of the lead on three under, while Thorbjorn Olesen’s chances of defending his title effectively disappeared when he also made two visits to the water on the par-five third to run up a triple-bogey eight, the Dane carding a 76 to finish the day one under.

Rose was initially put down for a triple bogey of his own on the 12th when he appeared to need multiple attempts to hack his ball out of a muddy lie on the edge of a water hazard, but had actually been taking two practice swings.

“My ball was plugged inside the hazard but fortunately there was a rule officials near me and he clarified you can take practice swings,” Rose explained.

“My thinking was if I just wallop it really, really hard can I kind of take all the earth that my ball is sitting in and just move it forward the three or four yards that I need.

“I took big heaves of a practice swing and felt like I could do it, so the third swing you saw was my attempt at the ball.”

As for his chances of victory, Rose added: “I’m in a position where there’s so many guys ahead of me on seven under that one of those guys is going to go out and play well.

“It means that it’s going to take a pretty low one from myself or the chasing pack to get it done, but maybe something along the lines of (my) round one might have a chance.”

Novak Djokovic remains hungry for more success as he starts the defence of his Wimbledon crown and goes in search of a 24th Grand Slam singles title.

Djokovic’s victory at the French Open saw him pass rival Rafael Nadal to stand alone at the summit of the men’s game.

The 36-year-old Serbian could go on to equal Margaret Court’s all-time singles mark with another triumph at SW19 on July 16.

Despite the focus on his longevity, Djokovic is determined to stay true to himself ahead of opening the tournament against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin on Centre Court on Monday afternoon.

“I don’t feel more relaxed, to be honest. I still feel hungry for success, for more Grand Slams, more achievements in tennis,” Djokovic said at a pre-tournament press conference at Wimbledon on Saturday.

“As long as there’s that drive, I know that I’m able to compete at the highest level. If that goes down, then I guess I’ll have to face probably different circumstances and have a different approach.

“So far there’s still the drive – a few days after Roland Garros, I was already thinking about preparation for grass and what needs to be done.

“The tennis season is such that it doesn’t really give you much time to really reflect or enjoy. Of course, I did enjoy with my family, but not for so long.”

Djokovic, who will bid to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles over the next fortnight, added: “A lot of people are coming up to me and congratulating me, reminding me of the historic success, which is nice of course, it’s very flattering.

“But at the same time my mind was already and is already directed towards Wimbledon, what’s the next slam, what’s the next task. That is the life of the professional tennis player.

“I think that kind of mentality is necessary for I guess maintenance of that intensity. If you really want to have a chance and have a go at more slam titles, you need to maintain that concentration and devotion.

“Part of me is very, very proud and very thrilled to be able to be in this position and have 23 slams.

“I want to try to use every Grand Slam opportunity I have at this stage where I’m feeling good in my body, feeling motivated and playing very good tennis, to try to get more.”

With Djokovic having won the last four singles titles at Wimbledon, the veteran Serbian remains very much the man to beat.

After picking up his maiden grass-court title at Queen’s Club, world number one and top seed Carlos Alcaraz has been tipped as the biggest threat.

“There’s always someone out there. There always has been and always will be,” Djokovic said.

“Carlos is a very nice guy who is carrying himself very I think maturely for a 20-year-old. He already has plenty of accolades to his name, making history of the game so young.

“He is great for the game as a player who brings a lot of intensity, energy on the court, and also being very humble and having a nice personality off the courts.

Djokovic added: “For me, I don’t need to have Carlos or anybody else really to find that extra drive and motivation when I enter slams because I know that I have to win seven matches to win a title.

“Whoever I get to face across the net, it doesn’t make a difference for me. I need to do what I need to do.

“Most of my attention is focused on my body and my mind, my game, trying to I guess bring it to the optimal state where I’m performing my best every match.”

Rather than taking part in a grass-court lead-in tournament, Djokovic made an appearance in the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic exhibition event at Hurlingham.

The world number two, though, is in no doubt he will be ready to meet the challenge of another Wimbledon campaign head on.

“When I enter the Centre Court, I guess it just awakens something in me and I’m able to perform at a very high level,” he said.

Max Verstappen said he was fortunate to avoid a high-speed shunt with Sergio Perez after accusing his Red Bull team-mate of forcing him off the road in Saturday’s sprint race at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen survived the early drama to win a chaotic 24-lap dash in damp conditions at Red Bull’s home race in Spielberg and extend his championship lead from 69 points to 70.

But despite racking up yet another victory on his probable gallop to a hat-trick of world championships, Verstappen expressed his disappointment with the conduct of Perez in the other Red Bull.

“The exit of Turn 1 was not really nice,” said Verstappen on his way back to the pits after he crossed the finish line 21 seconds clear of the Mexican.

“That could have been a big shunt so we need to have a chat about that because it was not OK.”

Verstappen was referencing the flashpoint between the Red Bull drivers which arrived after only a few hundred metres.

The Dutchman started from pole position, but he was unable to prevent a fast-starting Perez from muscling his way past on the run to the opening right hander.

Perez took the lead, but the Mexican then ran wide on the exit of the first bend allowing Verstappen the opportunity of a slingshot back past.

Verstappen drew alongside his team-mate, but he ran out of room, briefly dropping two wheels on the grass.

“He pushed me off, man,” yelled Verstappen over the radio. “What the f***.”

However, on the long drag to the third bend, Verstappen managed to maintain enough momentum to launch an aggressive move down the inside of Perez.

Verstappen, late on the brakes, ran deep into the right-hander, but he managed to make the move stick. And this time, it was Perez who felt aggrieved.

“What is wrong with Max, man?” he said. As Verstappen raced off into the distance, Perez then lost out to Nico Hulkenberg before eventually finding a way past the Haas driver.

The inquest started immediately after the flag dropped with Perez going over to Verstappen, while the world champion still had his crash helmet on.

The debrief continued into the weighing room as the team-mates spoke for a couple of minutes before revealing their verdicts.

“Max was angry that I went into Turn 2 but I did not see him,” said Perez.

“I had a very bad Turn 1 so I tried to protect [the lead] and once I realised he was there, I opened up the door and gave him the place back. It is all fine. We just spoke about it. The visibility was very bad out there.”

Verstappen was up next. “It was a hairy moment out of Turn 1,” he said. “When you get forced on to the grass it is very slippery but I managed to keep my car under control.”

Moments later, Verstappen headed to the official press conference for the top three finishers. Sitting alongside Perez, he moved to downplay the row.

“It might have compromised the result but it didn’t,” said Verstappen. “We don’t need to make this a big story.

“This is what happens sometimes. We talk about it. We clear it. And it is fine. That is how human beings work. Question, answer, solve it, done. You don’t need to write a whole article about it, I hope.”

Behind Verstappen and Perez, Carlos Sainz took third for Ferrari, while George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished eighth and 10th for Mercedes. Lando Norris started third and ended a disappointing ninth.

Hamilton fought back from 18th on the grid after he had three qualifying laps deleted for exceeding track limits.

Russell started 15th but managed to make up seven places and take the final point after his roll of the dice to move to slick tyres – the first driver to do so – with nine laps to run paid off.

Saturday’s result has no bearing on Sunday’s 71-lap Grand Prix, with Verstappen on pole as he bids to land his seventh victory from the nine rounds so far.

William Buick is ever confident he can retain the jockeys’ title he won for the first time last year, following a Newmarket treble on Saturday.

The champion was in fine form, booting home Star of Mystery and debutant Dance Sequence for Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby and completed a hat-trick when coming with a late rattle to get the William Haggas-trained Royal Charter up in the dying strides of the mile fillies’ handicap.

Having run away with the title last season with 157 winners – 66 more than his closest rival – he now has to contend with former champion Oisin Murphy, who missed last term when suspended.

Murphy is neck and neck in the race for the title, having been in double form at Newcastle with Batal Dubai for Harry and Roger Charlton and Nobel for Andrew Balding.

But Buick is relishing the challenge to retain the crown and said: “It will be a ding-dong. Nothing changes.

“It is a long way to go, but you just go and do your best every day and hope you knock a few in.”

Paddy Power make it a two-horse race, with Murphy at 8-11 and Buick even-money, with Tom Marquand next best at 20-1.

Murphy partnered winners for 38 different trainers for his last championship in 2021, but Buick feels he is in pole position and added: “I’d be pretty confident (of winning the title). You have got to be consistent.

“I’m in a very privileged position with Godolphin, obviously, and the jockeys’ championship is something that I am going for.

“It’s always difficult, but I managed to balance it well last year and hopefully I’ll do it again this year.

“It will be a fascinating battle. I think it is what the sport wants. It’s good. It’s going to be good fun.”

Damian Lillard has asked the Portland Trail Blazers to trade him, according to multiple media reports on Saturday.

An explicit trade request is the latest development in a months-long saga between Portland and the seven-time All-Star.

As an accomplished veteran on the Trail Blazers’ recent struggling teams, Lillard has long been considered a potential trade target. Until Saturday, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer insisted that he was focused on winning in Portland.

The Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets are among the teams with serious interest in Lillard, according to multiple media reports.

Portland used the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft on guard Scoot Henderson after Lillard – who will turn 33 later this month – had reportedly lobbied the club to trade the pick for veteran help.

A practice session with his old foe Novak Djokovic showed Andy Murray how far he has come as he prepares for another tilt at Wimbledon.

Ten years after he beat the Serbian to win his first title at the All England Club, Murray took on Djokovic in a training set on Court 14, with many of the army of people putting the final touches to preparations for the tournament crowding round for a glimpse.

The last time Murray remembers practising with his former junior rival before a grand slam was a miserable session at the Australian Open back in 2019, a day before he tearfully laid bare the extent of his hip problems.

This was a very different occasion, and the Scot said: “I did well in the practice. Where I am today in comparison to where I was then is night and day, just from a mental perspective, my enjoyment of the game, and how I’m still able to compete with those guys.

“I didn’t feel like I could really back then. I’m happy to be in that position still. I really enjoyed it. We used to practise together quite a lot actually. It was nice to be back on the court with him again.”

Murray is not yet back at the stage where he could be considered one of the likely challengers to Djokovic for the title.

Despite winning successive events on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton and Nottingham, he missed out on a seeding for Wimbledon and will go in ranked 39.

He has not been beyond the third round at a grand slam since 2017 but chose to skip the French Open and prioritise grass-court preparations knowing that, if he is going to make the latter stages of a major event again, this is by far the most likely venue.

“I feel good,” he said. “I’ve obviously played lots of matches. Physically I’ve been feeling good. I’m ready to go.

“I want to go out there and perform at a level that I’m happy with. I do feel like I’m in a really, really good position to do that. I have the experience at this tournament. There’s only one player in the draw that has more experience of playing here than me, which is Novak.

“I certainly will be one of the only players that’s won against him here (he is the only one), as well. I need to use that to my advantage and use my experience to my advantage and take confidence from that.

“I do believe I’m one of the best grass-court players in the world, and I’m physically feeling really good. I prepared well, so there’s no reason why I can’t have a good tournament.”

Murray has been asked to relive his triumph of 2013 many times over the last few weeks and a bit of nostalgia will be inevitable as he prepares to play in the tournament for the 15th time.

He said: “I come here a lot during the year. Fortunately I’m a member here so I sometimes come to train or go to the gym or whatever.

“I feel very comfortable in these surroundings. I love coming to play the tournament here. When I walk out onto Centre Court to play, obviously I’m very nervous but incredibly excited to get the chance to perform here again on one of, if not the, most special court in our sport.

“I always really look forward to it. A couple days out from the tournament, I feel a bit nervous and stuff, which is always a really positive sign to me when I feel that way. Hopefully that bodes well for the event.”

Murray’s deadpan humour was on show as he was asked about playing a British player in the first round for the first time since his second title run in 2016.

“Brilliant,” he said. “Can we start celebrating now?”

On that occasion it was Liam Broady in his way, this time 27-year-old wild card Ryan Peniston.

“I know him pretty well,” said Murray. “We’ve practised together quite a lot. He obviously likes playing on the grass courts. He’s had some good wins on the surface. Lefty, moves very well. I need to be ready for that one.”

The 36-year-old, meanwhile, gave his thoughts on the news the ATP is in talks to forge links with Saudi Arabia, while the WTA is also considering holding tournaments in the country.

Murray has previously turned down the chance to appear in exhibition events in the country and said he would not do so in the future.

“If they become major tournaments on the tour, it becomes a slightly different question, and it’s a difficult one, really, based on how the tour and the rankings and everything work, how important they are to get into other events and stuff,” he said.

“When you start missing them, you obviously get penalised for that. It’s definitely something I would have to think about. Unfortunately it’s the way that a lot of sports seem to be going now.”

Adam Yates beat twin brother Simon to victory on the opening day of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey and his first Grand Tour stage win in Bilbao.

With their parents out on course, the 30-year-old twins relived the countless times they raced each other on training rides around the roads of Lancashire as youngsters before Adam got the better of Simon on the short rise to the finish.

The pair, riding for rival teams, went clear from a select group at the top of the Cote de Pike, 10km from the finish of a testing 182km stage around the Basque Country, as Adam’s UAE Emirates team-mate Tadej Pogacar and his main rival, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, eyed each other up.

The twins opened up a 20-second gap on the chasing group as they descended into Bilbao before, as Jayco-Alula’s Simon said he began to suffer with cramp, Adam opened up several bike lengths to take the win.

Back in 2011, Andy Schleck took a stage win on the Galibier ahead of brother Frank but that was by a margin of more than two minutes. Here there were only four seconds as Simon watched Adam raise his arms in celebration.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say,” Adam said. “We tried to set the climb up for Tadej, he attacked but then it was a headwind on the descent. My brother came across to me and we started to work together.

“At first I didn’t know if I should work with him, I asked on the radio and they said, ‘Go for it’. I’m speechless. I knew he was going good, I speak to him every day. My brother and I are close and to share this experience with him is really nice.”

Adam is back in yellow after enjoying four days as leader in 2020. Simon is a two-time stage winner in the Tour but the 2018 Vuelta a Espana winner has never worn the leader’s jersey in cycling’s biggest race.

“I’m pleased for him of course, his first Grand Tour stage so I’m ecstatic for him but I also wanted to win,” Simon said. “We’re quite competitive…I have a fantastic relationships with my brother. I’m really happy for him but I’ll stick it to him in the coming days.”

This undulating stage through the Basque Country, one of the most difficult opening stages to a Tour in recent history, left itself open to a host of possibilities. Everyone from the general classification contenders to Classics specialists to strong sprinters had been tipped for victory.

It came down to the GC riders on the decisive final climb, with Pogacar and Vingegaard to the fore towards the summit before the Yates twins went away.

Pogacar has played up the doubts about his fitness given he has raced only once – winning last weekend’s Slovenian national road race – since breaking his wrist in April, but the road provided a more definitive answer as he set the fastest time up the Pike.

“I’m really happy with the performance,” said Pogacar, who led home a chasing group 12 seconds after Yates. “I think the engine started running today. The final climb was super happy but I was satisfied with the shape.”

With bonus seconds applied, Adam leads by eight seconds from Simon, with Pogacar 18 seconds down in third. Vingegaard is among a host of riders a further four seconds back.

Adam Yates started the day dismissing suggestions he was co-leader alongside Pogacar given the questions over the latter’s wrist, but whatever happens over the next three weeks Yates has already had a race to remember.

“Really I just want to keep my feet on the ground,” he said. “We’re here for Tadej, he’s the boss, he’s shown before he’s the best in the world and over the next few weeks I’m sure he’s going to show that again.”

England were unable to make the most of their chances as they were held to a goalless draw by Portugal in their send-off warm-up match at Stadium MK ahead of the Women’s World Cup.

Georgia Stanway sent an effort against the bar, Lucy Bronze’s header hit the post and substitute Alessia Russo was denied by a goalline block as the European champions created a number of opportunities to no avail.

Other notable moments included Lauren Hemp heading over and Russo firing wide from fine positions in a somewhat frustrating last home game for the Lionesses before departing the country for this summer’s showpiece in Australia and New Zealand.

Sarina Wiegman’s players fly to Australia on Wednesday and face Canada behind closed doors in another, final warm-up on July 14 before opening their World Cup campaign against Haiti in Brisbane eight days later.

The Dutchwoman made three changes to her starting XI from April’s 2-0 loss to Australia, the team’s first defeat in their 31st outing under her.

That included regular skipper and Milton Keynes native Leah Williamson, ruled out of the World Cup by an ACL injury, being replaced in defence by Alex Greenwood, who started at left-back, with Jess Carter in the centre.

Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner Daly also came in, getting the nod ahead of Russo up front, as did Lauren James for Chloe Kelly.

With Millie Bright, squad captain in the absence of Williamson, unavailable as she continued to build back up after knee surgery, goalkeeper Mary Earps skippered the side.

Taking on a team ranked 17 places below them at 21st and heading to their first World Cup this summer, England made a lively start, with Daly seeing two headers saved by goalkeeper Ines Pereira in quick succession early on.

Daly was subsequently just unable to get a touch on James’ cross into the danger zone just past the quarter hour mark, and Ella Toone struck wide moments later.

The hosts then struggled to build much momentum for the remainder of the half, with an acrobatic 35th-minute attempt over the bar from Daly the only real effort of note, until Stanway, making her 50th England appearance, diverted the ball against the bar from Hemp’s cross shortly before the interval.

Wiegman made a treble change at the break, with Russo, Kelly and Niamh Charles being brought on for Daly, Toone and Greenwood, and the opening stages of the second half saw two Kelly shots saved by Pereira either side of Hemp heading over from a great position.

England’s pressure continued as Russo took the ball around Pereira only to be thwarted by an Ana Borges’ block on the line, Bronze headed against the post and Russo then struck wide when looking certain to score.

Having had little to do, Earps then survived a scare as she misjudged a pass from Hemp and the ball rolled past the post and out for a corner.

England dealt comfortably with that, as Pereira then did with efforts from Russo and Charles.

Russo tried her luck twice more after that but saw the ball go wide again on both occasions as England failed to secure a sign-off victory before heading Down Under.

Aryna Sabalenka admits she was left in tears having to watch Wimbledon last year during a ban on Russian and Belarusian players, but holds no expectations as she heads back to the All England Club.

Following last year’s ban due to the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russian and Belarussian players will be able to play in next week’s showpiece tournament after Wimbledon organisers were heavily fined and threatened with further sanctions by tennis’ governing bodies.

Women’s number two Sabalenka will find herself in the spotlight once again, having opted out of some media obligations at the French Open citing mental health and well-being concerns following some terse exchanges with journalists.

Sabalenka made it clear ahead of a pre-tournament press conference held at Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon that she had no intentions of addressing the issues once again.

“Before we continue I would like to say I’m not going to talk about politics. I’m here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that,” Sabalenka said.

“If you have any kind of political questions, you can ask WTA or the tournament. They can send you the transcript of my answers from the previous tournaments.”

Sabalenka added: “It’s my personal decision.”

The world number two recalled how last year’s ban had been tough to endure.

“I was at home having a little vacation, then practicing, but, no, I didn’t watch Wimbledon a lot,” she said.

“I felt so bad and I just couldn’t watch it. Every time if Wimbledon would be on TV, I would cry, so I decided just to stay away from Wimbledon last year.

“I am always telling myself that the best I can do is focus on things I have control on. That is really helping a lot to not think about anything else on the tennis.”

Having enjoyed a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021, Sabalenka is hoping for another deep run in the tournament, which starts against Hungarian Panna Udvardy on Tuesday.

“I’m super emotional right now. I’m super happy to be back. I really miss this place,” she said.

“When I got here first time, I was just like enjoying (it). I couldn’t believe that I’m here.

“I’m feeling good. I don’t have any kind of expectations. The only one expectation I have is just to bring my best tennis every time I’m on the court, and hopefully I’ll do it.

“I only have hope that they (Wimbledon crowd) will support me as they did last year – hopefully.”

Sabalenka won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January, but suffered a disappointing defeat to unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

“That was really tough, tough end of the tournament,” said Sabalenka, who only made it to the second round in Berlin.

“I was really disappointed with that loss, but then we spoke with my team. It was a good lesson for me.

“I just had few days off, and then start my preparation for the grass season.”

Godolphin may have had limited guns to fire in this season’s Classics, yet Charlie Appleby can start to look ahead to next season with Dance Sequence, who was foot-perfect on her debut in the Blandford Bloodstock Maiden Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket.

The imposing daughter of Dubawi showed immense promise in seven-furlong contest under William Buick, settling the 5-6 favourite at the back of the field before powering home on the far rail to score by half a length from Upscale.

The victory margin did not do justice to her superiority and Paddy Power and Betfair installed her at 33-1 for the next season’s 1000 Guineas.

“The mindset, although she was favourite, sometimes you want to be nearer to the fore than at the back,” said Appleby.

“William and I both were in agreement, she is a filly for the future and ride her to do it the right way round.

“William just rode her with a lot of confidence. She was a bit green early doors anyway, and she wouldn’t have done very much of that at home to be fair to her.

“There will be a marked improvement from that. To come off the pace like that, you can probably mark that performance up a little bit more, so that was a pleasing debut.”

Race The Wind, the other Godolphin runner in the six-strong field, finished fourth in the contest.

Appleby added: “The other filly would have been more forward than this one, but the winner is the classier filly.

“I was pleased with the way she picked up to come off the pace there. She is a filly who will get the mile at the backend of the season, for sure.

“She has an intelligent head on her and plenty of scope.”

Asked whether she would be one of the better ones at Moulton Paddocks, he laughed: “We don’t know how high up she is in the pecking order – we have just started opening the box up!

“But, yes, she is one of the better ones. The attributes are there. She is a Dubawi, she’s got the scope, the pedigree and she has apparently got the engine, to date.

“There is a big step to go to the Guineas, but it’s a good start. She has a lovely attitude. You like them to do it like that – she’s learned plenty today and it is all very well winning by 10 lengths but you don’t learn very much.”

Former jump jockey Robert Thornton sports a beard these days – “It’s so no one can recognise me”, he quipped – and was on hand to see Buick record a treble on the card when Royal Charter took the Racing TV Fillies’ Handicap.

The William Haggas-trained three-year-old had showed up well at Haydock last time and stayed on stoutly to score by a neck from Chealamy as the 2-1 favourite.

Thornton, racing manager for Apple Tree Stud, who own the daughter of Expert Eye, said: “She has won two now and hopefully she is progressive, but we are just going to have to mind her because she is quite hot.

“We will look after her and let her progress. Small steps, with a view to looking at Listed races at the end of the season. Something like that would be Plan A.”

Following Audience’s success in the Group Three Criterion Stakes, John and Thady Gosden completed a double when Spring Fever romped to a five-lengths success in the Mr Adrian Austin Memorial Filles’ Handicap in the hands of Robert Havlin.

A winner on her handicap debut at Redcar, she was a fair runner-up at Salisbury and easily justified 8-15 favouritism.

Havlin said: “She got into a lovely rhythm and there was no pace, so I let her get on with it.

“She has got a good turn of foot and I was able to sit on her to the three (furlong marker) and she quickened up between the three and two and put it to bed.

“She seems to be improving and she likes summer ground as well.”

Adam Yates beat twin brother Simon to victory on the opening stage of the Tour de France to take the yellow jersey in Bilbao.

The pair, riding for rival teams, went clear from a select group at the top of the Cote de Pike towards the end of the lumpy opening 182km stage and opened up a gap on the descent back into town.

Having opened up a gap of 20 seconds on a chasing group, the brothers knew the fight was between themselves on the uphill sprint to the finish line and it was Adam who had the power to ride away at the very end, winning by four seconds to take yellow for the second time in his career.

Adam’s UAE Emirates team-mate Tadej Pogacar then led home a second group, also containing defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, 12 seconds later.

This opening stage through the Basque Country, one of the most difficult opening stages to a Tour in recent history, left itself open to a host of possibilities, with everyone from the general classification contenders to Classics specialists to strong sprinters tipped for victory.

It came down to the GC riders on the Pike, with Pogacar and Vingegaard coming to the fore towards the summit. But with neither wanting to work for the other, Jayco-Alula’s Simon Yates came around with Adam following and the pair slipped away.

Before the stage, Adam had played down suggestions from the team that he is a co-leader alongside Pogacar – whose form is uncertain following injury – but whether it was part of the plan or not, he can now celebrate his first career Tour stage win.

“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say,” Adam said. “We tried to set the climb up for Tadej, he attacked but then it was a headwind on the descent. My brother came across to me and we started to work together.

“At first I didn’t know if I should work with him, I asked on the radio and they said, ‘Go for it’. I’m speechless. I knew he was going good, I speak to him every day. My brother and I are close and to share this experience with him is really nice.

“I wish he would pull a bit easier because he almost dropped me at one moment but I’m just super happy.

“I had yellow a few years ago, the Covid year in 2020, which was also a special moment but really I just want to keep my feet on the ground. We’re here for Tadej, he’s the boss, he’s shown before he’s the best in the world and over the next few weeks I’m sure he’s going to show that again.”

Simon said cramps on the final climb had hampered his efforts to beat Adam to the line.

“There was a bit of cat and mouse over the top, and Adam rolled to the front,” he said. “He gave Pogacar the nod, sort of ‘Can I go? What’s the situation?’ and it was ‘Yeah, sure’ so he’s gone and I’ve gone across to him and that’s all she wrote.

“At first when he saw me coming across I think he was put in a difficult situation. He asked on the radio, ‘Should I wait or roll through?’ At first he wasn’t pulling but I kind of knew that anyway, I knew it was going to be tricky yet at the same time I had to take the opportunity.

“Normally on a finish like that I wouldn’t beat Pogacar or Vingegaard in a real fast sprint so to get away with Adam was maybe a chance. We’re pretty close normally but I had some cramps in the final.

“It was a humid day so unfortunately he got the better of me but I’m sure there are more chances coming.”