Barbora Krejcikova came from a set down to stun Elena Rybakina to reach the Wimbledon final where she will face Jasmine Paolini on Saturday.
Krejcikova extended her unbeaten record against the Kazakh world number four to three matches, emerging a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victor on Centre Court.
The opening two games saw Rybakina assert her dominance, securing a break point early on as she racked up a four-game lead without reply.
Krejcikova would get her first game on the board soon after and would find a break of her own in the eighth game, but her slow start was punished as Rybakina saw out the first set, serving five aces along the way.
Krejcikova found her rhythm, but she made hard work of sealing the second set after serving two double faults in the ninth game, opening the door for her opponent. However, she was able to get the job done to take the game to a decider.
Krejcikova and Rybakina exchanged a number of long rallies in the third set, but it would be the world number 31 who would get the decisive break point.
The seventh game saw Rybakina lead with a service hold to love, but Krejcikova then put three games together on the spin to edge closer to victory.
There was to be no comeback for the 2022 Wimbledon champion, as Krejcikova completed the turnaround on serve as Rybakina sent a forehand long to confirm her remarkable triumph.
"Unbelievable. "It is very tough to explain, but a lot of joy and a lot of emotions. Also there is a lot of relief and I am super proud," Krejcikova said in her post-match interview.
"I am so proud about my game and my fighting spirit today.
"I was trying to fight for every single ball, during the second set I was getting my momentum and when I broke her I started to be in the zone and I didn't want to leave the zone."
Data Debrief: Krejcikova ends wait for grand slam final appearance
It has been a long time coming for Krejcikova, who reached her first grand slam final since Roland-Garros in 2021.
The Czech is the player with the most women’s singles grand slam main draw appearances between their first two Major finals (13, Roland-Garros 2021 and Wimbledon 2024), since Karolina Pliskova (18 between the US 2016 and then Wimbledon 2021).
Her meeting with Paolini on Saturday will be the first women's singles final at a grand slam during the Open Era, where the two opponents previously met in a grand slam qualifier, doing so at the Australian Open 2018.
Jamie Smith starred on his Test debut as he struck a half-cenutry to help England edge closer to a resounding victory against the West Indies at Lord's.
Smith scored 70 runs from 119 deliveries as England followed on from their opening day dominance, ending the day with a 171-run lead over their opponents.
The debutant was one of five players to reach a half-century, with Joe Root (68) and Harry Brook (50) backing up the opening day totals scored by Zak Crawley (76) and Ollie Pope (57).
England led by 250 runs after being bowled out for 371 and continued their dominance with the ball in hand.
Anderson opened England's attack and got the first wicket of the afternoon, bowling West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite before capturing Alick Athanaze late on for his 703rd international wicket.
Ben Stokes also took two wickets (2-25) which included Jason Holder off the final ball of the day to leave the West Indies 79-6 heading into tomorrow's action.
Data Debrief: Stokes and Smith impress at Lord's
Stokes two wickets at Lord's saw him claim his 200th Test wicket. In doing so, he became just the 3rd player to score 6,000 runs and take 200+ wickets in men's test history, after Jacques Kallis & Sir Garry Sobers.
With the bat, Smith's score of 70 is the 5th best on Test debut for an England men's wicketkeeper. Only Matt Prior - 126* v West Indies (Lord's 2007), Ben Foakes - 107 v Sri Lanka (Galle 2018) Jack Russell - 94 v Sri Lanka (Lord's 1988) Jos Buttler - 85 v India (Southampton 2014) have scored more.
And while doing the damage with the ball in hand, Anderson was kept quiet with the bat. It was the seventh time that he has batted in a test innings but not faced a delivery, the first time since 2019.
The West Indies are on the brink of a quick defeat at stumps on day two of the first of three Tests against England at Lord’s.
The tourists ended Thursday 79-6 off 34.5 overs, needing a further 171 runs to force England to bat again.
Similar to the first innings, the West Indian top order failed to impress as Kraigg Brathwaite (4), Kirk McKenzie (0), Mikyle Louis (14) and Kavem Hodge (4) all fell within the first 20 overs of the innings with the West Indies teetering at just 37.
Alick Athanaze was next to go after battling hard for 22 to leave the West Indies 55-5 in the 29th over before Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva looked set to see out the English bowling for the rest of the day.
This proved not to be the case as Holder became Gus Atkinson’s ninth wicket of his magical debut in the day’s last over for 20 to leave the West Indies 79-6 off 34.5 overs at stumps.
Joshua Da Silva was 8* at the close of play.
James Anderson, Atkinson and skipper Ben Stokes have taken two wickets, each, so far.
Earlier, the hosts progressed to 371 all out off 90 overs after beginning day two 189-3.
Both overnight batsmen, Joe Root and Harry Brook, went on to bring up their fifties.
Root eventually fell for a 114-ball 68 including seven fours while Brook made an even 50 off 64 balls including five fours and a six.
The top scorer on the day, however, was debutant Jamie Smith who hit eight fours and two sixes on his way to a 119-ball 70.
On his return to the Test arena, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 4-77 from 20 overs.
Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder provided good support for Seales with 2-41 off 16 overs and 2-58 off 18 overs, respectively.
Full Scores:
West Indies 121 all out off 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27, Gus Atkinson 7-45) & 79-6 off 34.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 22, James Anderson 2-11, Ben Stokes 2-25, Gus Atkinson 2-27)
England 371 all out off 90 overs (Zak Crawley 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 50, Jayden Seales 4-77, Gudakesh Motie 2-41, Jason Holder 2-58)
Manchester United have confirmed the arrivals of Rene Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy as assistant managers to Erik ten Hag.
The pair join the Red Devils ahead of the 2024-25 Premier League season, replacing the departing Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy.
Van Nistlerooy returns to the club he spent five years with as a player, scoring 95 times in 150 Premier League appearances.
The Dutchman previously managed PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie, leading them to the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff shield during the 2022-23 season.
Hake also brings a wealth of managerial experience, having previously managed Go Ahead Eagles and Utrecht, leading the former to a ninth place finish in the Dutch top flight - the club's best finish for more than 15 years.
“Together with Erik, we are working to strengthen all areas of our men’s first-team operations, and refreshing the coaching staff is an important part of that," new sporting director Dan Ashworth told the club's official website.
“It’s a particular pleasure to welcome Ruud back to the club where he enjoyed so much success as a player, and I know that he and Rene will help reinforce the winning mentality and high standards we are aiming for.”
Manchester United kickstart their pre-season preparations against Norwegian side Rosenborg next Monday at the Lerkendal Stadion.
Ten Hag's first competitive game of the new season takes place on August 10 against rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield, a repeat fixture of their FA Cup triumph in May.
Manchester United have confirmed the arrivals of Rene Hake and Ruud van Nistelrooy as assistant managers to Erik ten Hag.
The pair join the Red Devils ahead of the 2024-25 Premier League season, replacing the departing Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy.
Van Nistlerooy returns to the club he spent five years with as a player, scoring 95 times in 150 Premier League appearances.
The Dutchman previously managed PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie, leading them to the KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff shield during the 2022-23 season.
Hake also brings a wealth of managerial experience, having previously managed Go Ahead Eagles and Utrecht, leading the former to a ninth place finish in the Dutch top flight - the club's best finish for more than 15 years.
“Together with Erik, we are working to strengthen all areas of our men’s first-team operations, and refreshing the coaching staff is an important part of that," new sporting director Dan Ashworth told the club's official website.
“It’s a particular pleasure to welcome Ruud back to the club where he enjoyed so much success as a player, and I know that he and Rene will help reinforce the winning mentality and high standards we are aiming for.”
Manchester United kickstart their pre-season preparations against Norwegian side Rosenborg next Monday at the Lerkendal Stadion.
Ten Hag's first competitive game of the new season takes place on August 10 against rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield, a repeat fixture of their FA Cup triumph in May.
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."
West Indian opener Andre Fletcher hit a half century but it was not enough to prevent the Kandy Falcons from going down by eight wickets to the Galle Marvels in Lanka Premier League action at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Wednesday.
Fletcher hit a top score of 69 to help the Falcons produce 187-9 from their 20 overs after being put in to bat by the Marvels.
His knock lasted 43 balls and included six fours and four sixes. He got good support from opening partner Dinesh Chandimal who made 32 while Angelo Mathews and Ramesh Mendis chipped in with 29 and 28, respectively.
Prabath Jayasuriya took 3-30 from his four overs for Galle.
The Marvels then took 19.2 overs to reach 188-2 and secure a comfortable victory.
Alex Hales was the catalyst behind the successful chase with 86* off 55 balls including seven fours and four sixes while Bhanuka Rajapaksa finished 46* off 25 balls including five fours and a pair of sixes.
Captain and wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella also chipped in with 25.
Fletcher also took 1-11 from two overs with his part-time leg-spin.
The Marvels are now second in the points table after six games, level on eight points with leaders Jaffna Kings.
The Falcons have two wins from six games and sit last on the six-team table.
Full Scores:
Kandy Falcons 187-9 off 20 overs (Andre Fletcher 69, Dinesh Chandimal 32, Angelo Mathews 29, Ramesh Mendis 28, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-30, Dwayne Pretorius 2-37)
Galle Marvels 188-2 off 19.2 overs (Alex Hales 86*, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 46*, Niroshan Dickwella 25)
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."
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