Mark Cavendish made Tour de France history on Thursday as he won a sprint finish to take his 35th stage victory at the event.

That saw Cavendish, who won four stages in the 2021 edition of the race, surpass the great Eddy Merckx as the outright record holder for stage wins in the Tour de France.

Cavendish came out on top in a bunch sprint at the end of a 177.4km route from Saint Jean De Maurienne to Saint Vulbas.

At 39, he became the second-oldest stage winner at the Tour de France, behind Pino Cerami, who was 41 when he won in 1963.

"We just wanted to get the run-in to do it. I'm in a bit of disbelief," said Cavendish, who now rides for Astana Qazaqstan team and struggled to finish stage one last week.

"It was a big gamble for my boss and the team. You have to go all-in and we have done it. We did exactly what we wanted to do.

"Every little detail has been put towards specifically today. The Tour de France is bigger than cycling."

Geraint Thomas, Cavendish's good friend and former team-mate, said: "It’s unbelievable I am super happy for him

"To continue to do what he does at his age…at 39, everyone says you get slower when you get older but he has proved them wrong.

"It is great he has the record alone and is not sharing it with anyone. I said 'mate if you win this stage just drop your bike and walk away' but 'he was like, if I win the first one, I'll want to win more,' so he’s definitely going to hang around isn’t he."

Tadej Pogacar, who leads the general classification, quipped he cannot envisage himself taking Cavendish's slice of history.

The two-time Tour de France champion said: "Incredible. A 35th victory for Mark. He came to me and said don’t break the record but I don’t think I can."

Daniil Medvedev had to come from behind to get a hard-fought win over Alexandre Muller to reach the third round of Wimbledon.

After losing the first set, the Russian had to dig deep on Centre Court, winning 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 7-5.

Both players failed to break in the first set before Muller came out on top in the tie-break, and they similarly pushed each other in the second, though Medvedev finally found his groove.

He still did not have it all his own way, though he got the all-important break in the final game of the match to edge to a thrilling win in three and a half hours.

Next up for the world number five is Zhizhen Zhang or Jan-Lennard Struff in the next round.

Data Debrief: Medvedev rolls on

Medvedev has only failed to progress from the second round of Wimbledon once before, and after a tight first set, he would have been worried he would be adding to that.

However, he fought back, earning his 231st ATP match win since the start of 2020, the most of any player on the tour this decade.

Despite his strong start, Muller was unable to keep his nose in front and missed the chance to reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time in his career (now lost his last four such second rounds).

Carlos Alcaraz breezed past Aleksandar Vukic in the second round after a nervy start to continue his Wimbledon title defence.

The Spaniard endured a tough opening but soon found his composure to win in straight sets 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-2.

Alcaraz had his serve broken twice late on in the first set but returned the favour in the final game to take Vukic to a tie-break, which he edged.

After that, it was smooth sailing for the world number three, as he only dropped a further four games, none of which he served, with his power leaving the Australian scrambling with no answer.

Into the third round for the third consecutive year, Alcaraz will face Frances Tiafoe next time out.

Data Debrief: Alcaraz races on

In 2020, Vukic defeated a then-17-year-old Alcaraz in Roland Garros qualifying, but he faced a much different test this time around on grass.

Alcaraz's victory on Wednesday stretches his winning run to nine matches at Wimbledon, showing his fine form as he aims to earn the title for the second year running.

The 21-year-old has also achieved his 75th career ATP match win against an opponent ranked outside the top 50, stretching his record to 13-1 in 2024.

Coco Gauff continued her serene start at Wimbledon with an emphatic victory over Anca Todoni in the second round.

Having dropped just three games in her first-round win two days ago, Gauff was similarly dominant as she triumphed 6-2 6-1 on Court One in just 66 minutes.

Gauff did not drop serve in Wednesday's match and was particularly ruthless while closing out victory in the second set.

The second seed's section of the draw opened up nicely after Sorana Cirstea suffered an early exit, and she will play an unseeded opponent again in round three, either Sonay Kartal or Clara Burel.

Data Debrief: Gauff in fine form

Gauff has become an established grand slam performer and is one of only four players on the WTA Tour with more than 50 major wins since the start of 2020. This was her 51st.

The American needs just one more of those wins to match her previous best Wimbledon result, having reached the fourth round twice before, in 2019 and 2021.

But given her current momentum, Gauff will have bigger ambitions than that. 

While anything other than victories would have been stunning upsets across the first two rounds, the emphatic nature of her wins over Caroline Dolehide and qualifier Todoni will come as a huge boost.

Gauff has only been broken once across her two matches so far, and she won 17 of her 20 first-serve points in this match.

Ecuador head coach Felix Sanchez has likened their Copa America quarter-final to a final, as they prepare to take on defending champions, Argentina, in Houston.

La Tricolor did not make the best start to the tournament with their 2-1 defeat to eventual Group B winners Venezuela.

However, an impressive 3-1 win over Jamaica, coupled with their goalless draw against Mexico, was enough to see them finish second in the group and qualify for the knockout stage.

Ecuador have never won the Copa America, but a statement victory over Argentina would surely make them the ones to watch.

Sanchez is confident his players have what it takes to cause an upset.

"We know it is an unmatched opponent, and we know how tough it's going to be, and we'll see how that unfolds," Sanchez said.

"It is yet another final for us, and we will try to compete against the world's champion and the world's best team. I believe that our team is going to be extremely motivated with a very high morale and trying to play a good match.

"I have full confidence in our players. I know that they are going to give their best as they've done in the three matches. We know how tough it is, and we're going to do whatever we can to win it."

Argentina stayed perfect through the group stage, winning all three games without conceding a single goal, with Lautaro Martinez providing the spark – he has the lead in the Golden Boot race with his four goals.

It also looks like they will be boosted by the return of Lionel Messi, who missed their 2-0 victory over Peru due to a hamstring issue, while head coach Lionel Scaloni will be back on the touchline after serving a one-match ban.

Assistant coach Walter Samuel is still expecting a tough battle though, noting the difficulties that Ecuador's style poses.

"They are different rivals," Samuel said. "We faced Ecuador in the last friendly. We know them and [they] have a capable coach. The physical part is a big deal, but they have a great technical quality, too. They are playing this tournament well, and it'll be difficult.

"We have seen many players who had not had game time [against Peru]. We have now used almost the whole squad. Now comes the next round and we need to be ready."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Argentina – Lautaro Martinez

Only two Argentina players have scored more goals in a single edition of the tournament in the 21st century than Martinez has in this one (four): Juan Roman Riquelme in 2007 and Lionel Messi in 2016, both netting five goals each.

Martinez leads the way in Argentina's squad for shots (nine), despite only starting one of their matches so far.

Ecuador – Kendry Paez

Kendry Paez was an integral player for Ecuador in the group stages as he made the most ball recoveries (19) and attempted the second-most shots (10, behind Salomon Rondon's 13) among all teams in Group B.

The 17-year-old will join Chelsea next year, and is already displaying the quality that attracted the Blues in the first place.

MATCH PREDICTION: ARGENTINA WIN

Unsurprisingly, Opta's model is backing the defending champions to book a place in the semi-final.

Argentina have never lost to Ecuador at the Copa America, with 11 wins and five draws. However, they have only met once in the knockout rounds, with La Albiceleste advancing in 2021 after a 3-0 win in the quarter-finals.

In fact, Ecuador have only ever beaten Argentina five times in their previous 40 meetings in all competitions but have not got the better of them since a World Cup qualifier in October 2015, winning 2-0 (drawn one, lost six since).

Argentina have won their last eight matches, including friendlies, equalling the longest winning streak under Scaloni as head coach; a win in the quarter-finals against Ecuador will set a new record for the Albiceleste since Scaloni's debut in September 2018.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Argentina – 68.1%

Draw – 17.2%

Ecuador – 14.7%

Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will play the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon as a wildcard entry.

Murray has been struggling with a back injury in recent weeks, for which he needed minor surgery, and pulled out of the men's singles on Tuesday.

However, he confirmed he would still be competing in the men's doubles alongside older brother Jamie.

The two-time singles champion is playing at Wimbledon for the final time before retiring later this year.

It will be Murray's fourth appearance in the mixed doubles, most notably pairing up with Serena Williams in 2019, making it to the third round.

2021 US Open champion Raducanu has already advanced to the second round in the women's singles and will play in the mixed doubles for the first time at a grand slam.

The pair are playing together for the first time, with the first round of the event scheduled for Friday and Saturday. They will find out their first opponents on Wednesday.

Manchester City's Julian Alvarez has been named in Argentina's Olympics squad for the Paris games and is likely to miss the start of the 2024-25 Premier League season. 

Alvarez, who is currently at the Copa America, was included in Javier Mascherano's 18-man squad as one of the three overage players, along with Geronimo Rulli and Nicolas Otamendi.

The final of that competition takes place just 10 days before the Olympics begins, with Mascherano’s side playing Morocco, Iraq and Ukraine in the group stage in France.

With the Olympics final to be played on August 9, the day before Manchester City's Community Shield fixture against Manchester United, Alvarez's involvement has almost certainly ruled him out of the start of the new season. 

Last season, the 24-year-old made 54 appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola's side, more than any other player. 

Manchester City's Premier League campaign starts on August 18th against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. 

Claudio Echeverri has also been included in the squad. The teenager joined the Premier League champions in January but immediately returned to River Plate on loan.

Sergio Gomez has also been called up by Spain for the competition, meaning Guardiola has three players competing at this summer’s games in Paris.

Vincenzo Montella praised Turkiye's soul and belief following their victory over Austria in Leipzig on Tuesday. 

Merih Demiral's double ensured Montella's side progressed to the quarter-finals of a European Championships for the first time since 2008. 

"No one gave up," Montella said. "Everyone gave a bit extra in terms of their soul, and for a head coach, you know that there are matches such as these and you can only win matches such as these if there is a soul within the squad.

"There's that belief, that conviction. I could go on all night, but I saw all of those attributes, and that makes me very proud."

However, the result could have been so much different if it was not for the fingertips of Mert Gunok. 

With the game ticking towards the fourth and final minute of injury time, Christoph Baumgartner saw his header brilliantly tipped behind by the Besiktas goalkeeper. 

The triumph was of huge significance to the Turkiye head coach, having seen his side lose 6-1 to Austria in an international friendly back in March. 

"That was a horrible stain on my career," Montella said. "That was the team that I was really waiting for, to try and get this monkey off my back.

"So I respect Austria, I respect their head coach, I respect their game plan, the tactics that they implemented on the pitch. But we head coaches, just like footballers, are competitors. 

"And I had that real competitive instinct deep within me because I wanted to change this result. It was only a friendly, but there's no such thing as a friendly at international level."

Montella's side face the Netherlands in Berlin this Saturday for a place in the semi-finals and set up a potential tie against England. 

"We've got huge following. There's passion and the love is really visceral back home in Turkey, so I'm very happy to have handed Turks a bit of pride," he said.

"So this responsibility, this love and support, we constantly feel it. But you can only really embrace these dreams if you work hard right from day one. We've done that right from the outset. We'll really celebrate tonight, but as of tomorrow, we get down to work."

Paraguay coach Daniel Garnero knows a dismal Copa America campaign may end up costing him his job.

Garnero's team, who were already eliminated before kick-off, lost 2-1 to Costa Rica on Tuesday.

It means they finished bottom of Group D, having lost each of their three matches.

Paraguay had not lost all of their group games at the Copa America since 1925.

And Garnero knows it could spell the end of his tenure.

"It was a bad tournament, a bad performance," he said.

"I am here because the association requested my services and if they don't want me to continue, that is their decision. I'll have to discuss that with them."

Paraguay did at least score in all their group stage matches, a feat they have achieved two other times this century in the Copa America (2015 and 2004), but the group, which also included Colombia and Brazil, proved far too strong.

They had the better of the chances against Costa Rica, who became the first team to score two goals within the first 10 minutes of play in a Copa America match since Argentina did so against Chile in 1995.

Francisco Calvo and Josimar Alcocer put Costa Rica 2-0 up. At 19 years and 362 days old, the latter is the third youngest player from a non-CONMEBOL team to score at the Copa America.

Ramon Sosa lashed in a brilliant effort to get Paraguay back into the contest, but Costa Rica held firm.

They have now gone four consecutive matches without losing to Paraguay in all competitions (W2 D2). This is the second-longest unbeaten streak for the Ticos against a CONMEBOL team, only surpassed by a five-match unbeaten run against Venezuela between 2001 and 2011 (W2, D3).

The victory was not enough to send Costa Rica through, though, as they finished third, one point behind Brazil.

"This was a very tough group. We were playing against Brazil and Colombia, two of the four favourites to win the Copa," Costa Rica coach Gustavo Alfaro said.

"We had our strengths, our achievements and our mistakes, but we grew and we're analysing the performance rather than the results.

"The important thing is that we learn."

Brazil head coach Dorival Junior insists his side must learn to play without Vinicius Junior following their 1-1 draw with Colombia in California. 

Junior was shown his second yellow card of the tournament for a challenge on James Rodriguez, and will miss their quarter-final match against Uruguay on Sunday. 

The Real Madrid forward, who has scored twice for Brazil at the Copa America, will be available for their semi-final fixture, should they beat Marcelo Bielsa's side. 

"Unfortunately, we have already lost a key player like Neymar for a long time," he said.

"And we have to learn that in certain moments, we will not have important players in a game. Others will have to step up. And I think that is the way. We will have a difficult game against Uruguay."

For Colombia, their impressive unbeaten run continued, and they have now failed to lose in 26 straight matches (W20 D6), marking the second-longest unbeaten streak in their history. 

Nestor Lorenzo's side will face Panama in the quarter-finals at the State Farm Stadium on Saturday. 

Despite failing to win the match against Brazil, the Colombia head coach was happy with his side's performance against the nine-time Copa America champions. 

"We know that we are in a good moment as a team and we know that we are growing. But it's not easy," Lorenzo said.

"Brazil has great players. They play very well. You can not neglect the team for a second and I think we played a great game.

"We did not win, but whatever the result, my feeling would have been the same. I am satisfied because the team gave a little more and it was difficult to play a rival like Brazil."

Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 32nd home run but Elly De La Cruz and Will Benson each hit two-run shots and the Cincinnati Reds held on for a 5-4 win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.

Judge’s solo shot in the seventh off Sam Moll was his third hit of the game and pulled the Yankees within 5-4, but Fernando Cruz pitched the eighth and Alexis Diaz worked a perfect ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances.

Judge leads the majors in batting average (.321), homers and RBIs (83).

Luis Gil retired nine in a row to open the game before De La Cruz led off the fourth with his sixth triple of the season. He came home on a groundout and the Reds scored four times in the next inning to knock out Gil.

After Stuart Fairchild was hit by a pitch, Benson hit his fifth homer and first since May 28. Jonathan India was then hit near the left elbow and Caleb Ferguson relieved Gil. De La Cruz followed by sending a 2-0 fastball into the visitors' bullpen in left-center for his 15th homer and a 5-0 lead.

Graham Ashcraft held the Yankees scoreless for four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. He allowed three runs and four hits over five innings with two walks and three strikeouts.

New York has lost 11 of its last 15 games.

Ohtani homers as Dodgers rally 

Teoscar Hernandez capped a two-out, ninth-inning rally with an RBI single to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-5 walk-off victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Joc Pederson snapped a ninth-inning tie with a home run to give the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead, but the Dodgers responded with two runs in the bottom half after Paul Sewald struck out Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani.

Will Smith doubled off the wall in center and scored on Freddie Freeman’s double into the right-center field gap. Hernandez then singled home Freeman for the game-winner.

Ohtani fell a triple shy of the cycle and homered for the 10th time in his last 14 games. He is batting .396 (21 for 53) with 20 RBIs during that stretch.

Ohtani, Smith, Freeman and Hernandez combined to go 10 for 20 with six RBIs and five runs as the Dodgers salvaged a game in which they led 2-0 and 4-3.

Christian Walker’s fourth-inning home run was his 15th at Dodger Stadium, with all coming since 2018. That is the most of any visiting player in that time.  

Twins extend home run streak in win

Manny Margot and Carlos Correa went deep and the Minnesota Twins extended their club-record home run streak to 20 games in a 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Byron Buxton led off the seventh with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a head-first dive into home plate.

Minnesota’s bullpen came up big with Jorge Alcala working 1 1/3 scoreless innings and Griffin Jax pitching one inning before Jhoan Duran earned his 13th save of the season.

The Twins moved a season-high 11 games over .500 with their seventh win in nine games.

The news, however, wasn’t all good as third baseman Royce Lewis left after five innings with tightness in his left groin.