Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti claimed Karim Benzema’s choice to leave the club after 14 years was a surprise “last-minute” decision made on the final day of the LaLiga season.
Benzema’s departure was announced by the Spanish outfit hours before the striker netted for the final time in Real’s last game of the season on Sunday night, a penalty equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.
It took Real’s most decorated player to 354 goals in 648 appearances and he leaves as the club’s second all-time top scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ancelotti told a press conference: “His departure was a surprise for everyone, but you have to understand it. It was a last-minute decision. Yesterday he trained normally and today he made this decision.
“We understand it. I spoke to him this morning and he said that he was leaving and I understood it. He has done very well with me in these four years and also at the club. For that all my thanks.
“He has thought it through and his decision is part of the transition of this club, which continues and will continue next year. We have time to think about what we have to do. We will have a competitive squad next year.
“I am sending him off knowing that I have coached one of the best players in the world and one of the best forwards. He is a very kind, humble and serious person.
“We cannot be happy about his farewell, but we have to respect his decision. He has won the right to choose and we all thank him for what he has been able to do at this club. It has been legendary, something unforgettable, and it will remain forever in the memory of this club.”
Oihan Sancet broke the deadlock for the visitors four minutes after the break following a first half which had seen Real keeper Thibaut Courtois keep out Mikel Vesga’s penalty.
The hosts won a spot-kick of their own after Eder Militao was fouled in the box, which Benzema coolly converted after 72 minutes for his final goal with the club.
Two minutes later the 35-year-old was replaced by Luka Modric and was treated to a standing ovation as he left the pitch.
Benzema, the Ballon d’Or holder and current UEFA player of the year joined Real from Lyon in July 2009 for a reported fee of 35 million euros and has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.
The former France international won 25 trophies during his time in Madrid.
He is fifth on Real’s all-time appearance list and his trophy haul in Spain includes five Champions Leagues, five Club World Cups, four European Super Cups, four LaLiga titles, three Copa del Rey victories and four Spanish Super Cups.
Courtois paid tribute to his team-mate, telling the club website: “It’s been a pleasure playing with Benzema. He’s an excellent player and a true legend. It’s a shame he’s leaving, but we understand. He has the right to decide his future. I hope it goes well for him and his family.
“Today and yesterday have been days of goodbyes and it’s sad because important players are leaving. We have to thank them greatly, especially Karim, for his career and the trophies he has won with the club. One of the greatest players in Madrid’s history leaves with the Ballon d’Or.”
Earlier in the day Real Madrid released a statement saying the club and Benzema had “agreed to end his brilliant and unforgettable” stay at the Bernabeu.
It added: “Real Madrid would like to show its gratitude and affection to a player who is already one of our greatest legends.
“Karim Benzema’s career at Real Madrid has been a shining example of conduct and professionalism, and he has represented the values of our club.
“Karim Benzema has earned the right to decide his future.
“Madridistas and all the fans around the world have enjoyed his magical and unique football, which has made him one of the great icons of our club and one of the great legends of world football.
“Real Madrid is and will always be his home, and we wish him and all his family the best in this new stage of his life.”
Real have confirmed they will hold “an institutional act of tribute and farewell” to Benzema in the Spanish capital on Tuesday in the presence of club president Florentino Perez.
Osasuna sealed European qualification for the first time in over a decade-and-a-half, as Real Valladolid were relegated on a gripping final day of the season in LaLiga.
With champions Barcelona, as well as Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad having wrapped up Champions League football, the continental spaces were mostly settled before Sunday.
But a Europa Conference League berth was still at stake, with Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao, Girona and Rayo Vallecano all in contention.
Ultimately, Jagoba Arrasate's Osasuna took the spoils with a 2-1 win over Girona, as Ernesto Valverde's Athletic finished two points adrift following a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid.
A solitary point for Los Blancos was enough for them to secure second ahead of rivals Atleti, who conceded a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal.
At the other end of the table, it was Valladolid who finished Sunday where they started in the relegation zone, joining Espanyol and Elche in dropping to the second tier.
Their goalless draw with Getafe was not enough as Cadiz, Valencia and Almeria also played out stalemates to secure survival, the latter needing a late equaliser to do so.
Celta Vigo, meanwhile, jumped from 17th to 13th with an impressive 2-1 win over Barcelona, making them the only relegation-threatened side to claim three points on Sunday.
Police have charged an animal rights activist who ran on to the track at the Betfred Derby.
A man was filmed jumping the fence and sprinting on to the course at Epsom as the race – which was won by the Aidan O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin – began on Saturday.
He was pursued by police as the crowd jeered, with some shouting “get him”, before officers tackled him and pulled him away.
Surrey Police confirmed on Sunday that Ben Newman, 32, from Hackney, east London, had been charged with causing public nuisance.
The protest occurred after the Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs, was granted an injunction prohibiting the Animal Rising group from intervening in the event, claiming the organisation had made “explicitly clear” that it intended to breach security.
Newman is one of 31 people arrested on Saturday including 12 on the racecourse grounds.
They included two women who were arrested as they tried to climb the fence and get on to the track.
A police spokesman said: “A total of 39 arrests were made over the course of the two days. Thirty-one of these arrests were made in connection with planned criminal activity at the Epsom Derby Festival, including two women who were quickly detained moments before they were able to get on to the track.
“Thirty have since been released on bail pending further inquiries.”
Chief Superintendent Clive Davies, who was in charge of the policing operation for the Derby, added: “I am incredibly proud of every single officer, staff member and volunteer who worked in the run-up to the event and at the event itself.
“They played a vital role in protecting the public and preventing and responding to criminality.”
After the Derby, the chief executive of the Jockey Club, Nevin Truesdale, praised the “swift and decisive” action of police in putting an end to the “deplorable and mindless actions” of the protesters.
Newman, who was named by Animal Rising on Saturday, has previously appeared on GB News.
He will appear at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
A deal has been agreed in principle for the sale of Wigan Athletic, according to the current ownership group.
The deal will require EFL approval and no details of the prospective buyer were given in a brief statement posted on the club’s website on Sunday evening.
“The prospective new owners have committed to resolving all outstanding liabilities at the earliest opportunity,” the statement read.
“Further updates on this process will follow in due course.”
Wigan, who finished bottom of the Sky Bet Championship this season, were hit with a second four-point penalty over payment of wages at the end of May and will start next season on minus eight points in League One.
The Latics were handed the initial deduction in response to two late payments in March and May, with a further four points suspended.
An independent disciplinary commission required funds equal to 125 per cent of the club’s forecast monthly wage bill to be paid into a nominated account by May 24, but that was not done and the additional sanction therefore enforced.
Latics chair Abdulrahman Al-Jasmi posted a lengthy statement on the club’s website shortly before the second points deduction was announced, addressing the problems with meeting the payroll on time.
“I want to confirm that an eight-figure sum is currently being processed and is due to land in the club account imminently. This funding will also ensure financial stability for June and the 2023/24 season,” he wrote.
“It is important to address the numerous late wage payments. As I have previously stated, I recognise this is totally unacceptable. Since Phoenix 2021 acquired Wigan Athletic in 2021, the ownership group will have invested over £30m into the club to date.
“The inflated wage bill resulted in cash flow issues which meant we could not adhere to the Agreed Decision with the EFL in January. However, everything possible was done to ensure wages were paid.
“Delays are a common occurrence with overseas transactions, but that is not and cannot be an excuse for late payments.”
Juventus missed the chance to finish sixth in Serie A despite Federico Chiesa's strike sealing a 1-0 victory over Udinese at Dacia Arena.
After Paulo Dybala's late penalty helped Roma to a 2-1 victory over Spezia, Massimiliano Allegri's side were unable to leapfrog the Giallorossi and were forced to settle for a seventh-place finish in the league.
Chiesa's second-half strike was the difference for Juve, who were deducted 10 points for violating financial rules earlier in a rollercoaster campaign, but they suffered their lowest finish in Serie A for 12 years.
Meanwhile, Udinese finished 12th in Serie A following their 10th defeat in 12 meetings with the Old Lady.
Udinese had lost their last three but went close after just four minutes when Beto somehow headed Florian Thauvin's cross over from inside the six-yard box.
Federico Chiesa’s deflected effort hit the side-netting before Juve saw a headed opportunity go begging as Leonardo Bonucci nodded against the crossbar from seven yards out following Arkadiusz Milik's flick-on.
Chiesa continued to cause Udinese problems down the left flank, yet the sides headed into half-time goalless after a profligate showing from both teams.
Juve squandered a great chance to break the deadlock just after the hour mark, Adrien Rabiot firing wide despite being found by Milik in acres of space inside the box.
But the visitors eventually opened the scoring in the 68th minute, Chiesa receiving the ball from Manuel Locatelli before bending a brilliant shot into the bottom-right corner.
Locatelli and Angel Di Maria went close to extending the advantage and though the single goal was enough, former Juve forward Dybala was to snatch sixth place for Roma from under his old club's nose.
Milan signed off the Serie A season with a 3-1 victory as Rafael Leao's double condemned Hellas Verona to a relegation play-off with Spezia.
The Rossoneri wrapped up a frustrating campaign on a winning note at San Siro, with a late Leao brace enough to seal three points.
Milan had already secured Champions League football for another term but struggled at times against the visitors, who cancelled out Olivier Giroud's first-half penalty through Marco Faraoni's 72nd-minute strike.
Yet Leao struck in the 85th minute and again seven minutes later, leaving Verona to face a relegation decider with Spezia, who succumbed to a late 2-1 loss at Roma.
Gabri Veiga scored twice as Celta Vigo clinched survival with a surprise 2-1 win over champions Barcelona on a dramatic final day of the season in LaLiga.
Starting the game in 17th, Celta knew a victory would preserve their top-flight status, and Carlos Carvalhal's men took charge as Veiga struck either side of the break.
The 21-year-old drilled into the bottom-left corner to spark wild scenes at the Balaidos shortly before half-time, then saw a fortuitous 65th-minute cross sail in off the far post.
Celta clung on after Barca substitute Ansu Fati nodded home, clinching a 13th-placed finish as Real Valladolid went down, while Barca ended the campaign 10 points clear of runners-up Real Madrid.
Barca thought they had an 11th-minute lead when Franck Kessie latched onto a rebound to beat Ivan Villar, only for a VAR review to show the midfielder was offside.
Oscar Rodriguez skewed a first-time shot just wide as Celta went close, while Robert Lewandowski saw a curling effort clip the outside of Villar's left post.
The offside flag thwarted Rodriguez as he capitalised on Marc-Andre ter Stegen's error to flick home, but Celta did go ahead on the stroke of half-time when Veiga raced onto Haris Seferovic's pass to finish across goal.
With Barca struggling for momentum, Veiga put Celta 2-0 up when his mishit cross from the right swerved over substitute goalkeeper Inaki Pena, clipping the woodwork before nestling in the back of the net.
Fati ensured a nervous finish by heading in Ousmane Dembele's cross 11 minutes from time, but Celta clung on to ensure another season of top-flight football.
Elina Svitolina will take on Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open quarter-finals after continuing her brilliant return to grand slam tennis by beating Daria Kasatkina.
Svitolina will be the second Ukrainian opponent faced by Belarusian Sabalenka, who recovered from losing a 5-0 lead in the first set to beat Sloane Stephens 7-6 (5) 6-4 in the first night session women’s match.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz continued their march towards a probable semi-final meeting with identical 6-3 6-2 6-2 victories – Djokovic over Juan Pablo Varillas and Alcaraz against Lorenzo Musetti.
Picture of the dayTweet of the day
Djokovic had some help warming up for his match from his eight-year-old son Stefan.
Stat of the dayGreat Danes
The past and the present of Danish tennis met at Roland Garros on Sunday. Caroline Wozniacki is now a mother of two and is playing in a slam legends event for the first time.
Fallen seeds
Men: Lorenzo Musetti (17)
Women: Daria Kasatkina (9), Elise Mertens (28)
Who’s up next?
View this post on Instagram
Victories for Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff on Monday would set up a rematch of last year’s final.
Swiatek takes on Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko, who will be looking to join Svitolina in the last eight, while Gauff meets Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
In the men’s event, fourth seed Casper Ruud meets Nicolas Jarry and sixth seed Holger Rune plays Francisco Cerundolo, while Alexander Zverev features in the night session again, this time up against Grigor Dimitrov.
Malky Mackay was delighted to repay Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor’s faith by keeping the Staggies in the top flight following the craziest game of his managerial career.
County were 3-0 down on aggregate with 20 minutes left of their cinch Premiership play-off final second leg against Partick Thistle but ended up sealing a sudden-death penalty shoot-out victory three hours after kick-off in Dingwall.
Simon Murray netted 80 seconds after Yan Dhanda’s penalty to transform the complexion of the game and George Harmon put County 3-1 ahead on the day at the start of nine minutes of stoppage time.
There was VAR drama throughout the 90 minutes and chances at either end in extra time before both sides missed penalties in the shoot-out and sudden death. Josh Sims eventually sealed a 5-4 penalties win after Ross Laidlaw had saved Ross Docherty’s spot-kick.
Mackay said: “I actually had the Carling Cup final with Cardiff against Liverpool that went to penalties, and that was a mental game. But this was something else.
“This, being a two-legged play-off and having the responsibility of keeping this club in the Premiership, means a hell of a lot.
“Honestly, I never thought we wouldn’t win. Even at half-time I thought we could score three goals. If we got a goal, I thought they would take a step back and creak, and we would get the momentum, and that’s what happened.”
Mackay added: “As a manager it’s a huge achievement, because we’re a tiny club in the Premiership.
“I’ve read a lot of stuff, and there have been a lot of questions about how brilliant Partick Thistle have been, and they have done terrifically well. It’s quite clear that it would have been lovely for a Glasgow club to go into the Premiership and teams not to have to travel on the A9.
“I get that, but this is a great place and a great club. When players come up they realise what a great place it is and how good the people are running it.”
Mackay held talks with owner MacGregor after a 6-1 defeat by Hearts left County four points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership going into the split.
“My commitment to Roy is as much as his commitment is to me,” he said.
“He could quite easily have decided after the Hearts game that enough was enough, but we had a conversation about how I felt about the run in, and I told him I had the shoulders to carry it. I believed that this group of players could stay in the Premiership, and we’ve done well.”
Thistle had won their previous five play-off games, netting 18 goals in the process, and bounced back from the late blow to produce the better football and the best chance of extra time, which Stuart Bannigan missed.
Manager Kris Doolan said: “I’m devastated as you would imagine. I’m gutted for everyone to be honest because we put so much into the games.
“Half the country was probably behind us, not just Partick Thistle fans. Football is cruel and I know it’s cruel but to go out on penalty-kicks is worse because you feel as if you were so close.”
Three VAR reviews all went against Thistle. They had a penalty claim denied despite Nick Walsh being called to the monitor to view Nohan Kenneh felling Ross Docherty. Brian Graham was penalised after the ball hit his arm, and County captain Keith Watson had a red card rescinded after bringing down Thistle’s goalscorer, Scott Tiffoney.
“The one on Docherty, I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t given,” Doolan said. “From where we were it was blatant penalty.
“When he is brought over to the monitor you assume, it’s pretty blatant because it has been flagged up so I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t given.
“I don’t want to make excuses just on VAR, I feel like you would always be picking on VAR when we lost control of the game at times, five to 10 minutes when they score really quickly. We could have done better.
“Even in extra time we had a couple of chances which we could have scored and I was confident we would have taken one of them. It wasn’t to be, it just wasn’t our day.”
Somerset maintained their 100 per cent Vitality Blast record with victory over Essex, while Sue Redfern became the first female umpire to officiate on-field in the competition in Gloucestershire’s win over Middlesex.
Matt Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset defended a seemingly under-par score to triumph by 11 runs at Taunton.
The hosts could muster only 150 all out in their sixth contest under cloudless skies on a pitch that looked full of runs. Sean Dickson top-scored with 42 on his T20 debut for the club, while Daniel Sams claimed four wickets for 20.
In reply, Essex slumped from 130 for six to 139 all out after Michael Pepper’s 63 off 43 balls, Henry finishing with three for 17 and Green taking his wicket tally in the competition to 14 with three for 24.
Redfern wrote her name into the history books as she stood along with Alex Wharf at Bristol, where all-rounder Ollie Price led the way for Gloucestershire.
The 21-year-old top-scored with 46 and shared in crucial partnerships of 60 with Miles Hammond and 52 with Zafar Gohar as the hosts chased down a target of 140 with 10 balls to spare to register their second triumph in three days.
Surrey beat Kent by five wickets after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury that went all the way to the final ball.
The visitors seemed to be cruising to their target of 174 after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept the Spitfires in contention until Jamie Smith and Sean Abbott took charge.
Michael Hogan was left to defend nine off the final over but Surrey tied the scores with one ball remaining and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a thunderous hit from Smith off the last delivery.
It was a disappointing afternoon for Worcestershire, whose unbeaten start was brought to an end by Northamptonshire, who triumphed by six wickets at New Road.
Worcestershire had been bidding to win their opening five games in the tournament for the first time, but Steelbacks spinner Freddie Heldreich bowled an inspired spell which brought him the wickets of Adam Hose, Brett D’Oliveira and Kashif Ali in the space of three overs.
Then Saif Zaib (70 not out from 35 balls) produced the fireworks with the bat for the visitors, smashing successive sixes in the final over from Pat Brown to see his side home with two balls to spare.
Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen nearly achieved a global milestone but fell six runs short of becoming the first man in T20 history to score six successive fifties as his side were comfortably beaten by seven wickets by a revitalised Yorkshire at Headingley.
Madsen’s 44 off 26 in the Falcons’ 166 for eight batting first meant he remains one of just seven players worldwide to have scored five fifties in a row in this format.
England batter Dawid Malan then starred in the chase with a superb 81 not out off 57 balls, with Yorkshire winning with 10 deliveries to spare.
Leicestershire ended a five-game losing run to secure their first win of the campaign, beating Durham by seven wickets at Seat Unique Riverside.
Josh Hull was the star with the ball in just his second game for the Foxes, claiming three wickets for 35 to help limit the home side to 168 for nine from their 20 overs.
Nottinghamshire put themselves back on course for the quarter-finals with a second win inside 24 hours as Matt Carter’s three wickets set up a five-wicket win over Lancashire.
The off-spinner bounced back from conceding 57 in four wicketless overs in the victory over Birmingham Bears on Saturday evening with figures of three for 26 as the home side won with seven balls to spare at Trent Bridge.
Glamorgan made it four wins out of five as they beat Sussex by 32 runs at the 1st Central County Ground.
The Sharks, chasing a huge victory target of 220, never looked in the contest despite a plucky innings from Tom Alsop, who scored 58 from 41 deliveries, and slumped to a third straight defeat.
The first-place Arizona Diamondbacks have given manager Torey Lovullo a contract extension through the 2024 season.
The deal, which was announced Sunday, is the third straight one-year extension for Lovullo.
A year after finishing in fourth place in the NL West and two years removed from a 110-loss season, the Diamondbacks enter play Sunday with a 35-24 mark to tie the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the league.
It’s the first time Arizona has 35 wins through 59 games since 2007, when the team won the NL West with a 90-72 record and reached the National League championship series.
With their 5-4 walkoff win over the Rockies today, the Diamondbacks ended a streak of 69 consecutive home series of four or more games without a sweep.
That was the longest such streak by an NL team since the Boston Braves (also 69, 1937-1946). pic.twitter.com/nOi9XpTlul
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 1, 2023
Ross County came from three goals down against Partick Thistle to retain their cinch Premiership status with a sudden-death penalty shoot-out victory following an epic play-off final.
Aidan Fitzpatrick put Thistle three ahead on aggregate two minutes before half-time in the second leg in Dingwall and they were in control until the 71st minute when Yan Dhanda’s penalty and Simon Murray’s close-range finish turned the game on its head inside 80 seconds.
County completed their comeback just after the 90-minute mark when George Harmon netted to send the game into extra time.
There were chances and VAR controversy throughout and the penalty shoot-out was just as dramatic as the game before Josh Sims finally settled matters three hours after kick-off to seal a 5-4 shoot-out victory.
Malky Mackay’s side extended their four-year stay in the top flight while Thistle, who went down through the play-offs in 2018 and have been to League One and back to the Championship since, will eventually find encouragement from their form under Kris Doolan once their shock subsides.
It was only a second defeat in 19 games under their manager, who suffered the loss of his father during a play-off campaign which saw Thistle win five matches and score 19 goals.
County made four changes, two of them enforced through suspension, as Ben Purrington came in for his first start since suffering a serious ankle injury in October. Doolan named the same team for a fifth game in a row.
County’s only real first-half pressure came courtesy of Thistle goalkeeper David Mitchell failing to deal with two high balls, Purrington seeing a header cleared off the line after the second blunder.
The home side survived a lengthy VAR review after Greg Aitken called referee Nick Walsh to his monitor after Ross Docherty went down under Nohan Kenneh’s challenge as he ran into the box. Walsh had a long look while County boss Mackay told him “it’s a dive”, and the referee decided against awarding the penalty despite definite contact.
The visitors soon took the lead after Tiffoney reacted quickest to a loose ball and drove it across the box. Fitzpatrick took a touch as David Cancola dived in, and the Thistle wide man reversed a finish past Ross Laidlaw.
The noisy visiting fans chanted “Thistle are back” and Alex Samuel missed an excellent chance to give the home support hope just after the break following a slip in the Jags defence. Mitchell made a good stop and a grounded Aaron Muirhead completed the clearance.
Thistle looked comfortable and Connor Randall cleared off the line from Steven Lawless as they looked to put the game out of sight.
But the complexion of the tie was transformed with 19 minutes of the 90 remaining when Aitken alerted Walsh to the ball hitting Graham’s arm in the Thistle box and Dhanda converted the resulting spot-kick.
Thistle then conceded a throw-in from the restart and Samuel capitalised on some hesitation from Darren Brownlie and drove in a cross which substitute Murray converted.
Jordan White and Brian Graham missed chances at either end before more VAR drama when County captain Keith Watson was shown a straight red card for hacking down Tiffoney from behind as the forward was about to thread a team-mate through. Walsh downgraded to a yellow after being called to the monitor.
The fourth official signalled for nine minutes of stoppage time just as Dhanda crossed for substitute Harmon to volley in off the post to make it 3-3 on aggregate. A VAR check for offside prolonged the tension.
There were further opportunities at either end and Murray missed a glorious chance with the last kick of normal time when he volleyed over from seven yards.
Samuel headed against the bar but Thistle had the better of extra time and Stuart Bannigan blazed over the best chance after being set up by Graham inside the six-yard box.
The shoot-out was just as tense.
Kevin Holt and Jack Baldwin saw penalties saved for either team before Harmon’s pressure kick took it into sudden death. Bannigan hit the post before Watson blazed over, and Laidlaw saved from Docherty before Sims netted to spark a pitch invasion from the home fans.
New mother Elina Svitolina continued her incredible grand slam return by defeating Daria Kasatkina to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.
The Ukrainian gave birth to daughter Skai in October and played her first tournament in more than a year at the beginning of April.
She arrived in Paris on the back of a WTA title in Strasbourg and, watched by husband Gael Monfils, extended her winning run to eight matches with a 6-4 7-6 (5) success against ninth seed Kasatkina.
“Definitely I wouldn’t dream about this when I was giving birth in October last year,” said Svitolina.
“It’s unbelievable for me to be able to compete here and to get to the quarter-final is special. Hopefully I can push further. I’m really motivated to give my everything for the next matches.”
The former world number three, who can match her best ever grand slam run by making the semi-finals, overcame nerves at the end, twice failing to serve it out, before clinching victory in a tie-break.
Svitolina spent four years in the top 10 and is enjoying being able to play without so much expectation, saying: “I think this is one of the things that I noticed that right now I don’t have that pressure that I used to have before.
“Of course, me personally I put pressure for myself because I want to win a slam. This is the ultimate goal for me.
“But definitely not the pressure from outside. No one expects that I’m going to come into Roland Garros and make quarter-final at the beginning of the tournament.
“That’s why I feel like this really helps me. I feel almost like I’m 17 again coming on the tour fresh. I’m not defending any points. Not here, not next week. I feel more free.”
Kasatkina has been the most outspoken Russian player against the invasion of Ukraine and earned praise from Svitolina ahead of the contest.
View this post on Instagram
She knew Svitolina would stick to the Ukrainians’ policy of not shaking hands with Belarusian and Russian opponents, though, and gave a quick thumbs-up before heading straight to her chair.
One Russian is through to the last eight, with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova arguably even more of a surprise than Svitolina.
The 31-year-old achieved the best result of her career here two years ago by reaching the final but underwent knee surgery last year and is ranked down at 333.
She recently lost 6-0 6-0 to Iga Swiatek in Rome but took out her third seed of the week with a 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over Elise Mertens.
“I had a fear and doubts that maybe I will never win a match again,” said Pavlyuchenkova. “Maybe I will never get my good form back or I will never be fit again. What if I start playing again and the pain comes back and my knee is bad again?
“But I guess this motivation and this desire of coming back and competing again and being on these big stages again and playing three-hour matches like today, there was a lot more weight on that. So that kind of pushed me.
“I believed, I worked so hard and, even with all the failures that I had this year – and there were sometimes ridiculous matches that I lost – still kept on believing, working hard, and just persistence and patience.”
Pavlyuchenkova will next meet Czech Karolina Muchova, who reached her first French Open quarter-final with a 6-4 6-3 win over Elina Avanesyan.
Atletico Madrid missed the chance to leapfrog Real Madrid and finish second in LaLiga on the final day of the season, as Jorge Pascual scored Villarreal's last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw.
Antoine Griezmann laid on two goals for Angel Correa after Nicolas Jackson put Villarreal ahead early on, but Axel Witsel's red card saw Diego Simeone's side come under mounting pressure, which told when Pascual converted two minutes into stoppage time.
That meant Atleti finished the season one point adrift of their city rivals in third, despite Los Blancos labouring to a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Pablo Barrios' error was punished as Villarreal went ahead after nine minutes, the teenager's miscued header teeing up Jackson for a powerful finish across goal.
Atleti levelled when Correa turned Griezmann's clever free-kick home nine minutes later, and the France international teed up Correa again with the latter rounding Filip Jorgensen to put the visitors 2-1 up after the break.
With Atleti seemingly heading for second place, Witsel was dismissed for fouling Giovani Lo Celso as the last man, and Villarreal made their numerical advantage count in the season's dying moments, Pascual converting a rebound to condemn Simeone's side to third.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
