Jasmine Paolini outlasted Donna Vekic to win the longest women's semi-final in Wimbledon history, reaching her second grand slam final in just over a month.

Paolini, who was runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the French Open in June, was pushed all the way and had to come through a third-set tie-break, eventually triumphing 2-6 6-4 7-6 (10-8) on Centre Court.

The seventh seed will now face either Elena Rybakina or Barbora Krejcikova in Saturday's final.

An opening game featuring four deuces and a squandered break point for Vekic set the tone as she started confidently, and Paolini was unable to force a single break point in the opening set while conceding six.

The stakes were huge for unseeded Vekic, who was competing in her first grand slam semi-final having exited in the first round of 20 majors, but she found breaks in the fifth and seventh games to go ahead.

A second set featuring a number of long rallies and back-and-forth games saw Paolini fight her way back into the contest, smashing a forehand winner on set point before roaring to the vocal crowd.

Vekic broke early in the decider as she threatened to overpower Paolini, but an eye-catching forehand helped the Italian stave off another break and she clinched one of her own in the eighth game, a Vekic double fault helping her on the way.

The Croatian saved match point at 5-4 and then missed a potentially match-changing break point at 5-5, breaking down in tears and appearing to struggle physically at the change of ends.

Paolini missed another match point at 6-5, Vekic firing a forehand winner down the line to cap a breathtaking rally before closing out the game to ensure a tie-break was required.

The Italian was not about to waste a third opportunity to clinch the win, though, with Vekic sending a forehand wide to finally bring the curtain down on a historic two-hour, 51-minute battle.

"I was trying to think about what to do point by point because it was really difficult, you know there is no place better than here to fight for every ball and every point," Paolini said in her post-match interview.

"I really enjoy playing in front of you guys. For a tennis player this is the best place to play a match like this and thank you for cheering for me!"

Data Debrief: Double delight for Paolini

Paolini fell short of French Open glory when she could not match clay-court specialist Swiatek at Roland Garros last month, but she has joined an exclusive list by making the finals of both major tournaments in the same year.

This century, the only other women to achieve that feat are Justine Henin (2006), Venus Williams (2002) and Serena Williams (2002, 2015 and 2016).

She is also the first Italian woman in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon final, to make finals at any two slams, and to make finals on all three surfaces in a single WTA campaign.

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez slammed Colombia for their "ugly" celebrations following Wednesday's Copa America semi-final, which saw players' families caught up in crowd violence.

Colombia advanced to their third Copa America final with a 1-0 victory in North Carolina, with Jefferson Lerma heading home the only goal in the first half.

However, the game was marred by ugly scenes as the families of some Uruguay players were caught up in violence involving Colombia supporters.

Colombia forward Miguel Borja also celebrated in front of Uruguay's players after the full-time whistle, prompting Suarez to lash out at Los Cafeteros' attitude. 

"There are always squabbles, jokes or whatever, but what is annoying is the way they celebrated," Suarez told reporters after the game.

"It makes no sense to celebrate like that. We eliminated Brazil the other day and none of us passed in front of any Brazil player. 

"It was the opposite. We went to them afterwards because we are colleagues on the pitch and we know what it is like to be knocked out.

"To celebrate in front of a professional colleague like that is ugly. But what goes around comes around." 

Some players – including Liverpool's Darwin Nunez and Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez – climbed into the stands after the game to reach their family members as punches were by fans in Colombia shirts.

Asked about the incident, Suarez said: "You see your partner, kids, parents, elderly people in the stands and you want to know how they are.

"Things had started to fall on them. No one wants to see those images, but obviously if you see that a family member is being attacked, you try and defend them. 

"It does not justify what happened, but you have to realise they were trying to protect their families and their children."

Virgil van Dijk will take time to consider his future at club and international level after the Netherlands suffered Euro 2024 heartbreak against England.

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score a last-minute winner as the Three Lions came from behind to stun Ronald Koeman's team with a 2-1 victory in Dortmund.

The Netherlands have now been eliminated from seven World Cup or European Championship semi-finals, with only Germany (eight) losing more.

After the defeat, Oranje captain Van Dijk – who turned 33 earlier this week – was asked whether he planned to continue representing his country.

The centre-back, who has also been linked with a Liverpool exit as he enters the final year of his contract, was giving nothing away regarding his future.

"I haven't the slightest idea right now," Van Dijk said. 

"I will think carefully this summer about what I want at club level and as an international player.

"Then we'll go for it again, but first we need to recover from this.

"After a season like this, where all kinds of things have happened, it gets emotional at the end because you know it's over."

Uruguay players clashed with fans in the stands after their Copa America semi-final defeat to Colombia, with captain Jose Gimenez describing the situation as a "disaster".

Marcelo Bielsa's team were beaten 1-0 as Jefferson Lerma's first-half header proved decisive for Colombia, who held on after Daniel Munoz was sent off on the stroke of half-time.

After the match, footage shared on social media showed Uruguay players climbing into the stands at the Bank of America Stadium and clashing with fans wearing Colombia shirts.

Players' family members were caught up in the violence, leading Gimenez to lash out at tournament organisers on the official broadcast. 

"Let me say something before they cut you off because they won't let us speak into the microphone, they don't want me to say anything about what's going on but this is a disaster," Gimenez said.

"Please be careful, our families are in the stands, there are newborn babies. It was a disaster; there was no police and we had to defend our families.

"This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don't know how to drink."

CONMEBOL released a statement condemning the violence after the match, saying: "Our work is based on the conviction that soccer connects and unites us through positive values.

"There is no place for intolerance and violence on or off the field."

The full-time whistle also precipitated an on-pitch altercation involving fans and staff from both teams.

Asked about the incidents in his post-match press conference, Bielsa said: "I thought the incident ended with some arguments on the field and when I saw that happening I went to the locker room.

"I thought that they were thanking the fans for their support. But then I learned that there were some problems over there, unfortunately."

Nestor Lorenzo hailed Colombia's spirit after they survived Daniel Munoz's red card to beat Uruguay at the Copa America, saying overcoming Marcelo Bielsa made the victory more special.

Colombia will face Argentina in their third Copa America final (also 1975 and 2001) after Jefferson Lerma's first-half header downed Uruguay in Wednesday's semi-final.

Lorenzo's team clung on despite playing the second half with 10 men, with Munoz sent off for a second bookable offence on the stroke of half-time.

Bielsa blamed himself for Uruguay's defeat in his post-match press conference, but Lorenzo paid tribute to the former Leeds United boss when assessing Colombia's victory.

"I think that to beat Bielsa, you must walk many miles," Lorenzo told reporters.

"He is a referent coach and I really admire him as a person. It was our turn to win, that's all."

Uruguay had 73% of the possession after Colombia scored in the 39th minute, but Lorenzo's team managed seven shots to their opponents' six during that period.

Lorenzo opted against sacrificing an attacker after Munoz's sending-off, and he was delighted to see that decision pay off. 

"One of the main topics we discuss is that we never want to be one man down. It is impossible to maintain performance with 10 players on the pitch," Lorenzo added.

"Teams that were dominating their opponents when they were one man down were eliminated from the tournament. We really analysed that situation.

"With the formation, we only had options of 5-4, 5-3-1 or to keep it 4-3-2 and create opportunities. We chose that one and God favoured us. 

"Some of their opportunities didn't go in, but we also missed some and we made it.

"Daniel is feeling a bit sad. He's a lion on the pitch and once more he got a bit emotional. I hugged him and I told him that without him we wouldn't be where we are, so he has to hold his head up high."

Marcelo Bielsa believes he is to blame for Uruguay's Copa America exit, claiming Colombia's Nestor Lorenzo showed himself to be the superior coach in Wednesday's semi-final.

Having eliminated Brazil in the quarter-finals, Uruguay crashed out in the last four as Jefferson Lerma's header clinched a 1-0 win for Los Cafeteros in North Carolina.

Uruguay were unable to level despite playing the second half with a man advantage, after Lerma's Crystal Palace team-mate Daniel Munoz was sent off for two bookable offences.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Bielsa outlined his belief that Uruguay had more talent available and it was his failings that cost them.

"Uruguay was in a clear condition to win this match if you assess the individual talent in each squad," the former Leeds United boss said.

"I manage the team that, in my opinion, had the stronger individual talent and we weren't able to make the difference that I thought we were going to make.

"I am personally liable for not achieving the result, despite having players that were capable of being superior.

"We were not able to seize our extra man advantage, and when a team wins with less individual talent, logically, the manager that is coaching the weaker team shows that he is superior than the coach that had the best players."

Uruguay only managed 11 shots amounting to 0.76 expected goals (xG) to Colombia's 1.18 despite Munoz's red card, leaving Bielsa to lament the scrappy nature of the game.

"The first half, even if we didn't dominate possession, it was very even, and we should have made the difference," he added.

"With one man down in the second half for Colombia, the match was completely interrupted.

"It was constantly stop-start. We should have created more chances, but we tried every possible way, every possible path."

Ronald Koeman said VAR has broken football after the Netherlands suffered Euro 2024 heartbreak against England in Wednesday's semi-final.

The Oranje looked to be on course for a final meeting with Spain when Xavi Simons fired home after seven minutes, but England levelled through Harry Kane's 18th-minute penalty before Ollie Watkins stepped off the bench to net a 90th-minute winner.

The penalty decision that led to Kane's leveller was a controversial one, with the England captain caught by Denzel Dumfries' high boot having already got his shot off.

Referee Felix Zwayer awarded the spot-kick after being sent to the pitchside monitor, leaving Koeman to rail against VAR's impact.

"In my opinion it should not have been a penalty," said Koeman.

"He [Kane] kicked the ball and the boots touched. I think that we cannot play proper football and this is due to VAR. It really breaks football."

Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk agreed the penalty was a turning point but would not be drawn on Zwayer's performance.

"I think the penalty moment is a big moment, England had some confidence out of it," he said.

"I think so many decisions didn't go our way, but I don't want to speak about the referee."

While the Three Lions enter Sunday's showpiece match against Spain as underdogs, Koeman sees no reason why they cannot lift the trophy, saying: "I think England showed great football in the first half after being 1-0 down.

"It is football. Maybe if you watch all of the matches of the Spanish team, they are playing more offensive, great wingers and ball possession and you need to stop that.

"But England are in the final and have the possibility to win it. Spain are playing on a high level but England can stop them. Why not?"

Gareth Southgate was delighted to prove the doubters wrong as England advanced to the Euro 2024 final with Wednesday's last-gasp win over the Netherlands.

Ollie Watkins came off the bench to fire home as England's semi-final clash with the Oranje ticked into second-half stoppage time, after they had earlier trailed to Xavi Simons' long-range strike.

The Three Lions have now reached the final at two of four major tournaments under Southgate, having only done so at one of their previous 23, at the 1966 World Cup.

Southgate had faced fierce criticism for a perceived negative approach earlier in the tournament, having cups thrown at him by his own supporters after a goalless group-stage draw with Slovenia. 

Speaking at his post-match press conference, he admitted proving his doubters wrong made the victory sweeter.

"We all want to be loved, right?" he said. "When you are doing something for your country and you are a proud Englishman, when all you read is criticism… it is hard. 

"To be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special. We have given people some amazing nights, some of the best nights in 50 years."

Timed at 89 minutes and 59 seconds, Watkins' goal was the latest winner scored in a semi-final at a European Championship or World Cup.

The Aston Villa striker has played just 29 minutes off the bench in Germany, but Southgate praised him for staying patient in search of an opportunity.

"It shows the more modern England way, but also the resilience and character of the group," Southgate said.

"Ollie has trained like that every day. He has trained for his moment, no matter how frustrated he might have been.

"They had each others' backs, they bonded so well and tonight it was an example of that."

Kyle Schwarber hit another leadoff home run and All-Star Matt Strahm struck out Shohei Ohtani in a key spot as the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3 for their major league-leading 60th win on Wednesday night. 

The Phillies have won the first two games of this three-game series between division leaders. At 60-32, only the 1976 team (88 games) reached the 60-win mark faster in a season in franchise history.

Philadelphia won without All-Star slugger Bryce Harper, who sat out with a bruised left hand after he returned for Tureday’s10-1 win following a nine-game absence. Harper was hurt at an unspecified point, through he clearly grabbed his hand and hunched over in pain on a second-inning chopper by Miguel Rojas.

Strahm entered with one out in the seventh and the Phillies holding a 4-2 lead. With runners at the corners, he struck out Ohtani and retired Teoscar Hernandez on a fly out to escape the jam.

The Dodgers scored a run in the eighth on Rojas’ RBI single, but Jeff Hoffman tossed a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.

Schwarber’s homer off Gavin Stone was his 39th career leadoff homer and 18th overall this season.

Valdez pitches Astros past Marlins

Framber Valdez struck out a season-high 10 over seven stellar innings and rookie Joey Loperfido homered and tripled to propel the Houston Astros to their eighth straight home win, 9-1 over the Miami Marlins.

Valdez allowed six hits – all singles – and walked one to win his third straight decision.

Loperfido hit a two-run homer to highlight a four-run second off Bryan Hoeing and had his first career triple in the fourth.

Yainer Diaz had three hits and three RBIs for the Astros (48-44), who have won eight of 11 to match a season high at four games over .500.

Perez’s home runs help Royals sweep

Salvador Perez homered in both games and MJ Melendez hit a solo shot in the nightcap as the Kansas City Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-5 for a sweep of their day-night doubleheader.

Garrett Hampson had two-run double to back a strong start by Alec Marsh in the Royals’ 6-4 victory in the early game.

Kyle Isbel homered in the second game and James McArthur pitched the ninth for his second save of the day and 17th of the season.

Kansas City notched its 50th and 51st wins of the season after it totaled just 56 victories all last season.

Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt homered in the opener for the Cardinals, while Lars Nootbaar went deep in the nightcap. St. Louis entered the day having won four of five.

Ronald Koeman is proud of the Netherlands, who he says, "fought like lions", despite missing out on a place in the Euro 2024 final.

The Oranje were minutes away from going to extra time when Ollie Watkins scored England's winner in the 90th minute after Harry Kane had cancelled out Xavi Simons' early opener.

Koeman's side were bidding to reach their first Euros final since they won the tournament back in 1988, but narrowly missed out on the showpiece meeting with Spain in Berlin.

It was their fifth defeat in six semi-finals in the competition, but the Dutch head coach instead chose to focus on the positives from their campaign.

"We should be proud because we've achieved many things in these weeks and there's no criticism after seeing how my player fought until the end," Koeman told reporters after the match.

"We have fought like lions. We just needed a little more balance and the English team did it better than us, so congratulations to them.

"I have to thank my players because they believed in something, and it was good to see that.

"Although now, it's too late. We can't do anything with that feeling, but in the future, we will come back stronger."

The Netherlands have not reached the final of a major tournament since the 2010 World Cup, losing to Spain on that occasion.

Koeman's optimistic outlook stretched to the future, as he turned his attention to what they could accomplish at the 2026 World Cup.

"I believe our team are able to do more and there are also players who will join us in the future," Koeman added. "Some people were not able to play because they were not fit.

"We have worked in a proper way together; it was important, and it gave us a path to follow. We have to improve some aspects as well, but I think we were really close to the finals.

"I wish I could see them playing in the final, but it's not possible. And I feel so sorry about that."

Gregg Berhalter has been relieved of his duties as the USA head coach following their early Copa America exit on home soil.

The USA got off to a promising start in Group C, winning their opening match against Bolivia 2-0.

However, a shock 2-1 defeat to Panama followed by a narrow 1-0 loss to Uruguay meant they finished third, missing out on a spot in the knockout stages.

Those results raised doubts over Berhalter's future with the team, despite it being believed he would lead them out at the 2026 World Cup, which they are co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.

He was the first American to coach the team having played for them in the World Cup and was initially hired in December 2018.

Berhalter led the USA to the knockout stages of the World Cup in 2022, before leaving his role when his contract expired at the end of that year. He was then rehired in June 2023.

Across his two spells, the 50-year-old led the team to three Concacaf Nations League titles in 2020, 2023 and 2024 and won 44 of his 74 games in charge.