Comaneci, Korbut, Biles, Scherbo. Those names are as engrained into Olympic legend as Bolt, Beamon, Griffith-Joyner and Owens.

Gymnastics might pass under many radars outside Games time, but television chiefs have it down as a ratings-winning banker.

There is no other sport that combines quite the same level of athleticism, artistry and acrobatic magnificence, and pairs those factors with a stack of glamour and more than a hint of danger.

Most viewers of the Olympics will know how it feels to casually sprint 100 metres or swim a length or two, but the parallel bars, the pommel horse and the beam were typically last experienced as dreaded apparatus hauled out of school sports equipment vaults.

Anybody who avoided making a muggins of themselves deserved immediate respect, with these implements of humiliation ripe for dishing out a torturing.

On the Olympic stage, we see the human species at its most agile, yet vulnerable too, and that is why gymnastics has been the most viewed sport in the Games on American networks for many years.

Here, Stats Perform looks at three of the great Olympic gymnasts of the last 50 years, and considers who might emerge as a star at the Ariake venue in Tokyo this year.


GAMES GREATS

Nadia Comaneci: The Perfect 10

When Romanian Comaneci scored the first 'Perfect 10' in Olympic history at the Montreal Games of 1976, famously even the scoreboards were unprepared for her fabulous feat. They showed 1.00, with the Omega technology not built to display top marks. Comaneci was 14 years old, and she had made history on the uneven bars in the team competition. It was incredibly just the start of a run of 10s from Comaneci, who produced six more during her heady time in Canada, winning gold medals in the all-around event, the uneven bars and the balance beam.

 

Olga Korbut: Flipping brilliant

The young Comaneci would have watched Korbut dazzle at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where the 17-year-old brought daring new routines to the Games stage. Her backflip to catch on the uneven bars drew gasps from the crowd and media alike. Television footage from the time shows Korbut produce her mesmerising routine, with one commentator questioning: "Has that been done before by a girl?". His colleague responds: "Never, not by any human I know of!"

The Korbut flip was born, a backward somersault on the beam followed, and millions across the globe watched in astonishment at her audacity and execution. The teenager from the Soviet Union won gold medals in the team, floor and balance beam disciplines, pushing gymnastics to new heights.

Vitaly Scherbo: Barcelona bounty

It has often been the case that women gymnasts have attracted more admiration than the men, but in 1992 it was Scherbo who stole the show. The 20-year-old Belarusian was a colossus, winning six gold medals for the Unified Team of former Soviet states with a revelatory exhibition of physical strength, craft and control.

Scherbo became champion at the parallel bars, vault, rings, pommel horse, team event and the all-around event. His haul of golds has only ever been surpassed in a single Olympics by swimmers: Michael Phelps (eight gold medals at Beijing 2008) and Mark Spitz (seven golds at Munich).


TOKYO CALLING

Simone Biles: Great already, and now back for more

What does Biles have in store for a Tokyo encore to her spectacular Rio performance? It was well known before the 2016 Olympics was that Biles was rather special, and the American delivered on the biggest stage, with four gold medals and a solitary bronze, becoming the first quadruple Olympic gymnastic champion since 1984 when the great Romanian Ecaterina Szabo also achieved success on that scale. Biles, a formidable character and sensational competitor, is stretching the limits of athletic achievement every time she competes, taking her beloved sport to new audiences and inspiring generations of youngsters to try the sport.

Now 24 years old, Biles appears to be in great shape for more success in Japan, but watch out for her team-mate Suni Lee too. The 18-year-old outscored Biles on day two of the US Olympic trials

Tang Xijing: China's great hope

Could Chinese teenager Tang be in the picture to deny Biles the all-around title in Tokyo? The 18-year-old took a surprise silver behind Biles at the 2019 World Championship, and it remains to be seen whether that was a one-off or if she can limit the errors that have at times impeded her success and strike again for a medal.

She seems sure to be somewhere in the frame, but the Olympics demands perfection or at least somewhere close to it. Tang has abundant talent, and how she competes against the world's best again, after being limited lately to domestic competition, will be one of many matters of intrigue under the spotlight in the Ariake gymnastics hall.

Shohei Ohtani hit two home runs to seize the MLB lead, but the Los Angeles Angels still lost 11-5 to the New York Yankees.

After drilling the hardest-hit home run by an Angels player record by Statcast on Monday, two-way star Ohtani was at it again with a two-homer display at Yankee Stadium 24 hours later.

Ohtani homered in the third and fifth innings as he improved his season tally to 28 home runs, ahead of Toronto Blue Jays sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Japanese star's performance on Tuesday drew praise from Yankees counterpart and slugger Aaron Judge, who said: "He's a generational talent.

"To see what he's doing this year is pretty impressive. It feels like any pitch that's over the plate is going to get hit. And it's going to get hit hard."

 

Ohtani (2021 and 2018) is only the third player with multiple 10-strikeout games and multiple two-homer games in a season since 1901 after Rick Wise (1971) and Jack Harshman (1958), according to Stats Perform.

Judge and Gary Sanchez both homered to help the slumping Yankees snap a four-game skid.

 

Marquez flirts with no-hitter

Colorado Rockies pitcher German Marquez flirted with history in the team's 8-0 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Marquez threw eight hitless innings until Ka'ai Tom led off the ninth inning with a single into right field. Marquez completed a one-hitter, while striking out five batters. According to Stats Perform, he is the first pitcher to throw a Maddux while having two extra-base hits himself since pitches started being tracked in 1988 (A Maddux is a complete-game shutout with fewer than 100 pitches).

Robbie Ray tied Roger Clemens (1997) for the most strikeouts by a Blue Jays pitcher in the first 15 starts of a season after reaching 113 on Tuesday. Ray finished with 10 strikeouts, five hits, three runs and a homer in 6.0 innings as Toronto topped the Seattle Mariners 9-3.

World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers extended their winning streak to five games after defeating the high-flying San Francisco Giants 3-1. The Dodgers are now one and a half games adrift in the National League (NL) West.

 

Orioles get on top of Garcia

The Houston Astros were crushed 13-3 by the Baltimore Orioles. Robel Garcia was tagged for four runs on two-run homers in his first career pitching performance in the ninth inning. Ramon Urias and Austin Wynns homered off Garcia, who gave up five hits in 1.0 innings.

 

Schwarber stays hot

Kyler Schwarber celebrated his 12th homer in 10 games to help the Washington Nationals past the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. Schwarber led off the first inning with a home run. He tied Albert Belle (1995) for the most homers over a 10-game span since at least 1901.

 

Tuesday's results

New York Yankees 11-5 Los Angeles Angels
Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 Miami Marlins
Washington Nationals 4-3 Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays 9-3 Seattle Mariners
Boston Red Sox 7-6 Kansas City Royals
San Diego Padres 5-4 Cincinnati Reds
New York Mets 4-3 Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles 13-3 Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox 7-6 Minnesota Twins
St Louis Cardinals 3-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies 8-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Texas Rangers 5-4 Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 San Francisco Giants
Detroit Tigers-Cleveland Indians (postponed)

 

Angels at Yankees

The Angels (38-41) and Yankees (41-38) will continue their battle at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Red-hot Ohtani will start on the mound for the Angels, while the Yankees counter with Domingo German.

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said the franchise are awaiting to discover the severity of Giannis Antetokounmpo's injury after the two-time NBA MVP hyperextended his knee in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bucks' 110-88 loss to the Atlanta Hawks – who levelled the series at 2-2 despite the absence of Trae Young – was compounded by a knee injury to superstar Antetokounmpo on Tuesday.

Antetokounmpo (14 points) landed awkwardly on his left leg with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter in Atlanta, where he jumped up to contest an alley-oop from John Collins to Clint Capela, but his knee buckled before hobbling to the locker room.

The third-seeded Bucks – eyeing their first championship since 1971 – now face an anxious wait regarding the fitness of their best player heading into Thursday's Game 5 in Milwaukee.

"We'll see how he is tomorrow," Budenholzer said. "We'll take everything as it comes. We'll evaluate it. We've got a heck of a team, a heck of a roster."

"We'll take everything as it comes," Budenholzer continued. "We have a heck of a team, a heck of a roster. The guys will be ready to compete and play. That's what it's about. We got a Game 5."

Antetokounmpo has been averaging a career-high 29.2 points in the playoffs, along with 13.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

The 'Greek Freak' had averaged 28.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and a career best-tying 5.9 assists per game in the regular season.

Budenholzer added: "Obviously, Giannis is a big part of our soul, our fibre. I'm sure there is the human element, the concern, the care for him is real."

"It's not good," Bucks veteran P.J. Tucker told reporters. "But this is the Eastern Conference Finals. There is no excuse. It doesn't matter whoever is playing, not playing.

"They've got guys hurt. Everybody is hurt. Everybody is banged up. Everybody is injured. You've got to fight through it.

"It's not good losing anybody on your team. You lose your best player, it stinks."

Milwaukee had shot 50 per cent or better from the field in each of their last two games after not reaching that mark in any of their first 12 playoff games this year. The Bucks had won nine straight playoff games going back to 2018 when making at least half of their shots.

However, the Bucks were just 39.3 per cent from the field as Jrue Holiday (19 points) and Khris Middleton (16 points) were the only other players aside from Antetokounmpo to finish in double-digits.

Holiday's nine assists took his tally to 121 this postseason – the third most in franchise history behind Oscar Robertson (149 in 1974 and 124 in 1971) after eclipsing Sam Cassell (120 in 2001).

"They had a lot of guys play well tonight, for really the whole game," Budenholzer said. "Credit to Atlanta. They played well from the start. They played well coming off the [Trae Young] injury.

"We've got to be better on both ends. Our group will gather. The character of our group will come through. We are going home. It's 2-2. We are going back to Milwaukee."

Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a hyperextended left knee in the Milwaukee Bucks' 110-88 Game 4 loss as the Atlanta Hawks levelled the Eastern Conference Finals.

Antetokounmpo (14 points) landed awkwardly on his left leg with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter in Atlanta on Tuesday.

The two-time NBA MVP jumped up to contest an alley-oop from John Collins and Clint Capela, but his knee buckled before hobbling to the locker room, with the Bucks trailing 62-52.

Atlanta – already missing star guard Trae Young due to a bone bruise in his foot – made the most of Antetokounmpo's absence as they levelled the series at 2-2.

Young was ruled out of the clash after suffering the freak injury when he stepped on referee Sean Wright's foot in Game 3 at State Farm Arena.

But the Hawks showed they are more than a one-man team as Lou Williams and Bogdan Bogdanovic starred at home to the third-seeded Bucks.

Williams was efficient with 21 points on seven-for-nine shooting in his first ever playoff start as Bogdanovic added 20 points of his own.

The Hawks took control after outscoring the Bucks 26-16 in the second period and 36-24 in the third quarter.

Milwaukee had shot 50 per cent or better from the field in each of their last two games after not reaching that mark in any of their first 12 playoff games this year. The Bucks had won nine straight playoff games going back to 2018 when making at least half of their shots.

However, the Bucks were just 39.3 per cent from the field as Jrue Holiday (19 points) and Khris Middleton (16 points) were the only other players aside from Antetokounmpo to finish in double-digits.

Holiday's nine assists took his tally to 121 this postseason – the third most behind Oscar Robertson (149 in 1974 and 124 in 1971) after eclipsing Sam Cassell (120 in 2001).

 

Suns at Clippers

The Phoenix Suns have another chance to clinch their spot in the NBA Finals when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday. Fuelled by Paul George, the Clippers – trailing 3-2 – will look to force a Game 7.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid became just the second unanimous MVP in the 97-year history of the NHL award.

McDavid received each of the 100 first-place votes to join Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky (1981-82) as the only other unanimous winner of the Hart Trophy.

Oilers star McDavid beat Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) and Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) to his second MVP honour after being crowned the league's best in 2017.

McDavid posted a league-best 105 points (33 goals and 72 assists) – 21 more than next-closest player and team-mate Leon Draisaitl as the Oilers reached the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The 24-year-old also topped the NHL for assists, power-play assists (28) and power-play points (37), while he recorded a league-leading 1.88 points per game – the most by a player since 1995-96.

"My team-mates are everything," McDavid said. "I really wouldn't be anywhere without them. … We had a special group this year, and obviously we didn't do what we wanted to do, but still so fun to be a part of and get Edmonton and the fans of Edmonton excited again for what's to come.

"Obviously not possible without [my team-mates] and so lucky to be part of a great group."

McDavid become the fifth player in NHL history to claim the award multiple times before his 25th birthday (age as of final day of regular season), after Gretzky (six), Bobby Orr (three), Gordie Howe (two) and Alex Ovechkin (two).

"Our team is just getting better as we go along here," added McDavid, who also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player in voting by the NHL Players' Association.

"We just had so many guys take the next step and I'm just a part of that. Obviously if we're all continuing to do that, we're going to go and do some special things in this league."

The Oilers are the first team with different Hart Trophy winners in consecutive seasons since the Boston Bruins in 1968-69 (Phil Esposito) and 1969-70 (Bobby Orr).

Meanwhile, Ryan Nugent-Hopkin signed an eight-year contract extension with the Oilers on Tuesday.

Philadelphia 76ers veteran Danny Green urged Ben Simmons to take more risks as he provided an honest assessment of the beleaguered star's woes following a disappointing end to the NBA season.

Simmons' future in Philadelphia is up in the air after struggling in the 76ers' shock Eastern Conference semi-final exit at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks.

All-Star Simmons was subjected to boos as the top-seeded 76ers crashed out of the NBA playoffs, Philadelphia fans venting their frustration after the Australian attempted just four shots for five points in the series-deciding Game 7.

Simmons – who will skip the Olympic Games to focus on his shooting – also passed on a wide-open dunk during the closing stages against the Hawks, instead passing to Matisse Thybulle – who was fouled and made just one of the two free throws.

While 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said the franchise have a plan to address Simmons' shooting problems, talk of a trade has intensified.

Green – a three-time NBA champion – discussed team-mate Simmons via his podcast 'Inside the Green Room', saying: "Off the court with his family things back home, and he doesn't necessarily discuss it with us in private, but I knew he was going through a lot.

 

"He had some things going on during the season. It might have come all at once during this time but you can tell, Ben's the type of kid, if he's not encouraged, and he's not pushed or forced to do it, he's not the type to take that risk.

"Obviously, he's a high IQ guy. You can tell, he gets a lot of assists and pushing the pace and he gets paid to do what he does, because he’s so good at it, but he doesn't step outside that box because he knows well enough 'I'm good at this. I don't need to step out. It's not like I'm encouraged to do this, or I'm kind of afraid to do this kind to do this' type of thing."

The debate around Simmons – an elite defender and creator – centres on his offense or lack thereof, with the 76ers often handicapped by his unwillingness to shoot.

Simmons' field-goal percentage has regressed, dropping from 58.0 in 2019-20 to 55.7 this season – he only managed worse in his 2017-18 rookie campaign (54.5).

The 24-year-old only averaged 10.1 field-goal attempts in 2020-21 – a career low, which dropped to 7.9 in the playoffs. It is the same story with his scoring as it dropped to a career low 14.3 points per game and 11.9 in the postseason – both career lows.

From free-throw line, Simmons finished with a career-worst 34.2 per cent average in the playoffs, having made just 25 of 73 in the past postseason.

Green added: "I think they need encouragement and some type of push to do that to not be scared to fail at trying something new because he's one of those guys 'I know what I'm good at and I don't need to do anything else'.

"When the things that he's doing that he's good at isn't working as well even though he played defense as well as he could for us and gave us dynamic of assists in the ball, and finding guys and pushing the pace, we did need him to attack the rim and be more aggressive.

"But he felt like he was not getting his touch right and also the free-throw line, it kind of crept on him mentally to where he wasn't able to get the rhythm you wanted. … At the same time, he still fought, he showed up, he still played, he still worked hard, he still tried to give us his best chance for us to win with doing what he does with screening, rolling, rebounding, defending, and he did to the highest capability could. Just offensively he wasn't the Ben Simmons we needed him to be at the time."

Serena Williams was left "heartbroken" after being forced to retire hurt in her first-round match at Wimbledon as the American great's quest for a record-equalling grand slam title continues.

Williams – seeking a historic 24th slam crown – was in tears after succumbing to an ankle injury during the early stages of Tuesday's clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich at SW19.

Stuck on 23 slams since 2017, Williams hurt her ankle in the fifth game and the 39-year-old eventually called a halt to proceedings with the match level at 3-3 on Centre Court.

"I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg," seven-time Wimbledon champion Williams wrote via Instagram following a possible SW19 farewell.

"My love and gratitude are with the fans and the team who make being on centre court so meaningful.

"Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked on - and off - the court meant the world to me."

Williams had arrived in London amid high expectations in pursuit of matching Margaret Court's record of 24 slams.

Veteran Williams, who lost in the French Open fourth round, has won seven Wimbledon titles (level with Steffi Graf) – only Martina Navratilova has more in the Open Era (nine).

Williams has been a Wimbledon runner-up in 2018 and 2019. Chris Evert is the only player in the Open Era to have lost three consecutive Wimbledon finals (between 1978 and 1980).

She was looking to become only the second woman to win 100 Wimbledon singles matches (currently 98), alongside Navratilova (120), while Williams had been hoping to become the first woman to reach 100-plus wins in two different majors (106 wins at the US Open).

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young will miss Tuesday's Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals due to a right foot bone bruise.

Young hurt his foot in the third quarter of Sunday's 113-102 defeat as the Milwaukee Bucks claimed a 2-1 series lead in the NBA playoffs.

Hawks guard Young suffered the freak injury when he stepped on referee Sean Wright's foot in Game 3 at State Farm Arena.

Young hobbled off and was taken to the locker room to get his injury assessed, but was able to return to the court early in the fourth quarter.

The 22-year-old was able to post 35 points in a losing effort at home to the third-seeded Bucks, who were fuelled by Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Atlanta had been 15-0 this season (regular and playoffs) when Young scored 35-plus points before Sunday as he had a team-high 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting. It was his eighth 30-point game this postseason, second most in a single playoff in team history (Bob Pettit, nine in 1963).

Young began the series last week by scoring 48 points and 11 assists as the Hawks took Game 1 in Milwaukee.

He tied Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James (2007) and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant (2001) for the most points scored in a playoff game in NBA history before turning 23 years old.

The 2020 All-Star (22 years and 277 days) also became the second youngest player in league history to record 45-plus points and 10-plus assists in a postseason game, with Luka Doncic (22 years and 98 days) the youngest to do so.

Young's 48 points were also the third most scored in a playoff game in Hawks history, behind only Bob Pettit (50 in 1958) and Dominique Wilkins (50 in 1986).

In Game 2, Young was held to 15 points but bounced back with 35 in the third game, going six for 14 from three-point range, taking his points per game for the week to 32.67, way up on his already impressive average of 25.3 from the regular season.

Andriy Shevchenko hailed his heroic Ukraine players following their dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over Sweden as he prepares to turn his focus to a Euro 2020 quarter-final showdown against England.

Ukraine progressed to the European Championship last eight for the first time thanks to Artem Dovbyk's last-gasp winner in extra time after Oleksandr Zinchenko had seen his opener cancelled out by Emil Forsberg on Tuesday.

Shevchenko's Ukraine will face England, who beat Germany 2-0 at Wembley earlier in the day, in Rome on Saturday after Dovbyk headed home at the end of 120 minutes.

Ukraine's only previous appearance in the knockout stages of a major competition came at the 2006 World Cup when eliminating Switzerland before losing to Italy in the last eight.

"I thank my team for all their efforts, for the heroism they have shown," head coach Shevchenko told a post-match media conference.

"Both teams played very well. It was an interesting match. Neither side wanted to lose so we got this drama at the end. 

"With this performance and commitment, our team has deserved the love of the whole country."

 

Shevchenko's side are still to keep a clean sheet at a European Championship, conceding at least once in each of their 10 games, but he felt his side's tactics were spot on against Sweden.

He added: "We knew how our team should play from the first minutes. We knew who could strengthen us [during the game]. The plan we had developed has worked well.

"We decided to protect the wide areas more. We asked our midfielders to work harder and changed Andriy Yarmolenko's position. We tried to control the game but it wasn't that way from time to time. But the team has fully fulfilled our plan."

Ukraine defender Zinchenko felt the victory answered some of the negativity which had come their way after an underwhelming group stage, which saw them only beat North Macedonia.

"It was hard for me to concentrate on this game because we had so much criticism for our three group games," he said.

"I felt I could give the team more. I'm very proud that we showed our country and the whole of Europe that we can achieve our goals.

"It's a historical achievement. My advice to everyone – let's celebrate, we only live once and we may never repeat these moments again."

Sweden counterpart Janne Andersson felt his team deserved credit despite exiting the tournament.

Marcus Danielson was sent off in extra time and Ukraine made the extra man count when Zinchenko's cross was headed in from close range by substitute Dovbyk at Hampden Park.

"We'll have to fly home and go our separate ways. Suddenly it all ends, this great thing we've been building together," he said.

"We've come close to achieving something really good. We leave this with flying colours, as Sweden hadn't passed a group stage since 2004."

After Monday saw a shock exit for world champions France and 14 goals across two games, Tuesday's last-16 ties at Euro 2020 had plenty to live up to.

But, while there was not quite as much goalmouth action this time around, there were plenty of intriguing talking points as two more sides booked their place in the quarter-finals.

First up, England claimed their first ever knockout-stage victory inside 90 minutes at a European Championship, vanquishing old rivals Germany at Wembley.

And then Ukraine needed the second-latest goal in the tournament's history to edge out Sweden in a tense battle for a last-eight berth.

Here, Stats Perform looks at the key Opta stats from another thrilling day of Euros action.

 

 

England 2-0 Germany: Three Lions break tournament hoodoo

England came into their last-16 tie knowing they would need to beat Germany in a competitive game at Wembley for the first time since the 1966 World Cup final to seal their place in the next round.

That this dismal three-match run against their rivals was finally ended owes much to Raheem Sterling, who bagged the opener to extend what has been a hugely successful tournament thus far.

The Manchester City forward has now scored 15 goals in his last 20 appearances in all competitions for England having gone 27 games without finding the net prior to this run.

His latest strike also meant he became only the second player to score each of the Three Lions' first three goals of an edition of a major tournament after Gary Lineker did so at the 1986 World Cup.

England are now 15 games unbeaten at Wembley in major tournaments and will hope to earn the chance to extend that run in the semi-finals and final this summer by getting past Ukraine in the quarters in Rome this weekend.

As for Germany, they saw the Joachim Low era end with a fifth winless game from their last six at the European Championships (D2 L3).

 

Ukraine 2-1 Sweden (aet): Shevchenko's men leave it late

Ukraine looked like they might cruise into the quarters when a dominant start was capped by Oleksandr Zinchenko becoming the fifth different City player to net at this year's Euros (a figure only matched by Atalanta).

But they perhaps did not account for Emil Forsberg grabbing his customary goal to become the first Sweden player to score in three consecutive major tournament appearances since Kennet Andersson at the 1994 World Cup.

With neither side able to add to those strikes in regulation, extra time was required for a fourth occasion in this year's last 16 – the most ever in a single knockout round at any European Championship.

However, the match would not reach penalties, with Artem Dovbyk scoring the second-latest goal in European Championship history (120 minutes and 37 seconds) to win it.

Only Turkey's Semih Senturk has managed to score later in a Euros match, doing so after 121 minutes and one second against Croatia in 2008.

As a result, Ukraine secured their place in the quarter-finals of a major tournament for only the second time (the last coming in the 2006 World Cup), while Sweden made it three knockout-stage defeats from three at the Euros (also against Germany in 1992 and the Netherlands in 2004).

Seattle Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago has been banned for 10 games and fined by MLB for having a foreign substance on his glove during Sunday's clash with the Chicago White Sox.

Santiago is the first player to be suspended amid MLB's crackdown on foreign substances, though the 2015 All-Star is appealing the decision.

The 33-year-old became the first player to be ejected as part of MLB's growing stance after he was tossed in the fifth inning of the Mariners' 3-2 win over the White Sox.

"It was rosin and rosin is behind the pitcher's mound, so it's not foreign. It's not a foreign substance," Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters on Tuesday.

"So I am surprised, to some degree. But I understand what Major League Baseball is trying to do, they're trying to create a level playing field and understand why they decided to do this in the middle of the season."

Since June 21, MLB has enhanced its enforcement of the rules that prohibit applying foreign substances to baseballs, with pitchers subjected to random checks and could face ejections, fines and suspensions of 10 games.

Santiago had his glove inspected and confiscated in the opening game of the doubleheader, though the veteran insisted he only used rosin.

"[Umpire Phil Cuzzi] said he felt some sticky stuff on the inside of the glove," Santiago said after the game. "All I used was rosin. I used it on both sides, trying to keep that sweat from dripping down to the hands."

In his first season with the Mariners, Santiago has a 2.65 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 17 innings over nine relief appearances.

If Tuesday's first knockout game at Euro 2020 was billed as a battle to secure a straightforward run to the final, the late kick-off was all about Ukraine and Sweden seizing an opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.

After overcoming their old rivals Germany at Wembley Stadium, England will be strongly favoured to reach the competition's showpiece by progressing through the kindest side of the draw.

Yet every other nation alongside them will also sense the possibility of making history at a tournament that has already seen its fair share of upsets.

It is Ukraine who will get the chance to shock the Three Lions in Rome on Saturday, having claimed a 2-1 win over Sweden with a goal in stoppage time of extra time.

And, though Andriy Shevchenko's side did not produce the most convincing of performances in winning, they showed enough to prove that they may yet keep a dream run going.

 

Two up top back in fashion

Strike pairings are often considered a relic of a bygone era but both Ukraine and Sweden started this game with two up top.

Swedish duo Alexander Isak and Emil Forsberg were arguably the more threatening throughout, with the latter in particular continuing his remarkable tournament.

The RB Leipzig midfielder took six shots - twice as many as any other player on the pitch managed - across the 120 minutes as he led the way. Those attempts returned one goal - Forsberg's fourth of the competition - but he would have been celebrating a victory had two fine efforts not cannoned back off the post in the second half.

As for Ukraine, they began with captain Andriy Yarmolenko alongside Roman Yaremchuk, and both showed why they might cause problems for opponents deeper into the competition.

The pair laid on a shot apiece for each other across their time on the pitch together, while Yarmolenko picked out a beauty of an assist for Oleksandr Zinchenko's opening goal.

That meant the West Ham man has now been directly involved in five goals for Ukraine at major tournaments (2 goals, 3 assists); the joint-most of any player for the country, along with his current manager Shevchenko (5).

As for Shevchenko the tactician, he was rewarded for sticking to his guns by keeping men in the Swedish box as Yarmolenko's replacement Artem Dovbyk headed home the winner.

England's defenders know they will have their hands full when they come up against Ukraine's forwards this weekend.

 

Lack of experience could hurt Ukraine

Prior to this outing, Ukraine had lost seven of their past eight European Championship games.

The only exception was the victory over minnows North Macedonia in their group that proved just enough to bring them to the knockout stages of this year's tournament.

Never before have the Ukrainians gone this deep at a Euros, nor have they ever done better than reaching the quarter-finals in World Cup history, doing so in 2006 when their manager Shevchenko was part of the squad a player.

That lack of experience and the extra minutes in the legs provided by extra time at Hampden Park will surely encourage England.

Gareth Southgate's side are aiming to follow up a World Cup semi-final in 2018 with another deep run at a major competition - know-how could be crucial.

Ukraine are not the only team still left standing who had to work overtime to progress, either. Their clash with Sweden was the fourth Euro 2020 last-16 tie to finish level at the end of 90 minutes (also Italy v Austria, Croatia v Spain and France v Switzerland), the most ever in a single knockout round.

Joachim Low highlighted Thomas Muller's missed chance during the closing stages as a pivotal moment in the 2-0 Euro 2020 defeat to England that brought down the curtain on his 15 years in charge of Germany.

Second-half goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane booked a place in the quarter-finals for Gareth Southgate's side at a raucous Wembley.

But, after Sterling's third goal of the tournament, the Manchester City forward played a wretched pass towards his own half that released Muller.

The experienced Bayern Munich star bore down on Jordan Pickford's area and looked certain to score, only to fire wide.

"We didn't take advantage of the two great opportunities that we had with Muller and [Timo] Werner," Low said.

"It was obvious no team wanted to take too many risks, especially in their defensive work. It was expected that not many opportunities would be created.

"But you need to take advantage and be clinical if you want to succeed. The English side scored on their first opportunity and we didn't, so it was difficult.

"We would have turned the match around with the chance of Muller, but then they got their second and it was not possible to turn the match around.

"The team threw in everything but we were not clinical enough, not effective enough. The team needs to mature as a team to be more successful."

 

Low's announcement before the tournament means that such next steps will occur without him and Tuesday's reverse at Wembley saw a glorious reign limped to a forgettable conclusion.

After taking over from Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006, Low led Germany to the final of Euro 2008, the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 before World Cup glory in 2014.

A youthful Germany team lifted the 2017 Confederations Cup after another semi-final exit at Euro 2016 but they failed to get out of the group stage during their World Cup defence in Russia and Low was unable to regain momentum.

"At the moment I haven't taken any decision yet," he replied when asked about his next move.

"When I took my decision to stop after this tournament, I had different thoughts back then.

"We will see in the next days and weeks. After 15 years in this job, with all the responsibility that is involved, taking a break is necessary.

"There will be a time when you find new energy for something else. At the moment, I do not have any concrete plans." 

Carla Suarez Navarro described herself as the happiest player in the tournament despite her Wimbledon defeat to Ash Barty, who said it was a privilege to share the court with the retiring Spaniard.

Suarez Navarro was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in September last year, just months after announcing her intention to retire.

She delayed her retirement and, after being given the all-clear in April, began a farewell tour at the French Open that will end with the year's final grand slam, the US Open, which starts in August.

Having lost to Sloane Stephens at Roland Garros, Suarez Navarro took a set off world number one Barty on Centre Court, before eventually suffering a 6-1 6-7 (1-7) 6-1 defeat.

Barty and the Wimbledon crowd gave her a standing ovation as Suarez Navarro left the court, ensuring it was a day she will never forget.

"Wimbledon make me a really good gift," Suarez Navarro told a media conference. 

"I cannot ask for anything else better than this day, one of my last match here, against Ash, world number one, Centre Court, with the roof, was amazing.

"Today I am the most happy player in the tournament. The crowd was amazing, was fantastic, I'm in love with this tournament, this court and this crowd."

Barty said of the former world number six: "She's a hell of a competitor, hell of a fighter, it was a privilege to be able to share that moment, share that court with her today.

"I hadn't had the opportunity to play Carla and it was really special to experience what she can bring from the other side of the court.

"All credit goes to her for her resilience and her nature as a competitor to be able to come back from the adversity that she has and to be able to have that moment with her was nothing shy of remarkable.

"I just said to her it was a pleasure to share the court with you, she's an exceptional person, a great fighter, a great competitor and very well respected in the locker room.

"She's going to be sorely missed, I just wanted to give her the appreciation that she thoroughly deserves, I didn't know what else to do, I wanted to give her a hug and just say congratulations on an exceptional, remarkable career."

Barty will face Anna Blinkova in the second round.

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