Wimbledon: Hurkacz and Tsitsipas fall in round two as Zverev and Fritz surge on

By Sports Desk July 04, 2024

Hubert Hurkacz was the highest-profile casualty on day four of the Wimbledon men's singles, with the seventh seed forced to retire injured during his clash with Arthur Fils.

The Pole beat Roger Federer on the way to reaching the semi-finals in 2021, while he was runner-up to new world number one Jannik Sinner in Halle last month.

However, when trailing by two sets to one against his French opponent, Hurkacz sustained a knee injury during the tie-break in the fourth.

Despite valiantly attempting to battle on, he aggravated the problem further soon after when diving for a return, and was subsequently unable to continue with Fils advancing to round three.

There, he will play Alex de Minaur after the ninth seed enjoyed a straight-sets victory over Jaume Munar.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev also prevailed in three sets as he continued his rich vein of form. The Italian Open champion, who was also runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, was a commanding 6-1 6-2 6-4 winner over Marcos Giron. 

Next up for him is Cameron Norrie after the 2022 semi-finalist ousted compatriot Jack Draper in a battle of the Brits on No.1 Court.

Eastbourne champion Taylor Fritz overcame Arthur Rinderknech in four sets, as did 15th seed Holger Rune against Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov recovered from two sets down to beat Juncheng Shang in a decider. The 2014 semi-finalist will now play Gael Monfils, who completed a straight-sets victory over fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka.

Although, there was no joy for 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. The two-time major finalist was beaten in four sets by world number 87 Emil Ruusuvuori.

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    Carlos Alcaraz continued his defence of the Wimbledon crown with a hard-fought win over Ugo Humbert in the last 16, picking out his "unbelievable" set point in the second set as the highlight. 

    Alcaraz withstood a late push from Humbert to win 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-5 and book his place in the last eight, where he will play Tommy Paul or Roberto Bautista Agut. 

    He was made to work for his two-set advantage on Centre Court, saving four break points in the fifth game of the second then breaking Humbert's resistance.

    He showed remarkable athleticism on set point, recovering from a fall to sprint back to mid-court and tee up Humbert for a missed volley.

    Alcaraz later found a second wind in the fourth set, smashing 17 winners to Humbert's 10 to get over the line.

    Asked how he would describe his efforts on that earlier set point, Alcaraz said: "Unbelievable, I guess! I just try to fight for every ball.

    "It doesn't matter which part of the court I am at, I just try to run to whichever part of the court I am on, giving myself the chance to stay alive in the point.

    "Set point was a really important point for me so I had to show the opponent that whatever shot he hits, I will be there.

    "That's me, I will be there, fighting until the last ball and sometimes it is a good point like this one and sometimes I lose it, but the main thing is just to fight."

    Data Debrief: Alcaraz continues grand slam love story

    Alcaraz's triumph saw him reach a ninth men's singles quarter-final from 14 grand slam draws entered - the most of any player who began their career in the Open Era through their first 14 participations. 

    The Spaniard also maintained his winning streak at grand slams, having now won 11 matches in a row following his French Open triumph last month.

    But there will be room for improvement for Alcaraz, who uncharacteristically served six double faults throughout the contest, compared to Hubert's one. 

  • Deschamps launches defence of Mbappe as France forward aims for history at Euro 2024 Deschamps launches defence of Mbappe as France forward aims for history at Euro 2024

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    The Real Madrid-bound forward has scored just once at the tournament in Germany from 20 attempts, a penalty against Poland in Les Bleus' final group game.

    Mbappe has managed just one goal overall from 34 shots at the European Championships, a contrast to his record at the World Cup, where he has scored 12 goals from 39 efforts.

    Yet in this edition of UEFA's top international tournament, the former Paris Saint-Germain star has been hampered by a broken nose that has forced him to wear a protective mask when playing.

    The 25-year-old has repeatedly cited his frustrations at wearing the protective equipment, which some have suggested explains a downturn in form.

    Deschamps fired back at his critics, however, lauding the France international ahead of Tuesday's semi-final meeting with Spain in Munich.

    "Don't you think he has already made enough history, with what he has done so far? He wants to make even more history," the France boss said, in an interview quoted by Telefoot.

    "We did everything we could with him, with the medical staff, to get him to be here. During the preparation, he had a little back problem, too, but Kylian is here.

    "Even if he's not 100%, I know very well that for the opponent, knowing he's playing makes them think and forces them to adapt."

    Mbappe's form perhaps explains why there have only been four goals scored in France's five Euro 2024 matches (three for, one against), with those either penalties (two) or own goals (two).

    Indeed, none of the 128 non-penalty shots have found the back of the net in those games (86 for France, 42 for opponents).

    France are also the only team on record since 1980 to have more than 50 non-penalty shots at a Euros tournament without scoring with any of those attempts.

    Deschamps and Mbappe will be desperate to end that drab run when Les Bleus face an in-form Spain side, battling for a place in the final against either the Netherlands or England.

  • Southgate's highs and lows as England manager passes 100 games Southgate's highs and lows as England manager passes 100 games

    Saturday's Euro 2024 quarter-final clash with Switzerland was a memorable one for England fans, as the Three Lions enjoyed a rare penalty shoot-out success to reach the last four.

    For the second successive match in Germany, England were staring at a humiliating exit. After Jude Bellingham took centre-stage against Slovakia, it was Bukayo Saka's turn to produce a rescue act.

    Without Saka's heroics, Gareth Southgate's reign as England manager would surely have ended after exactly 100 games.

    As it is, he'll be hoping he has at least two more to savour.

    Southgate has always had his critics, but three semi-final appearances in four major tournaments under him – one more than England managed in their previous 17 – marks him out as his country's most successful manager in modern times.

    As Southgate celebrates another huge win on a landmark occasion, we run through the highs and lows of his tenure.

    Southgate's record

    Southgate is just the third England boss to bring up three figures, after Walter Winterbottom (139 games between 1946 and 1962) and World Cup winner Alf Ramsey (133 between 1963 and 1974).

    England have won 60 matches under him, drawing 24 and losing 16. His 60% win ratio puts him fifth among all Three Lions managers, after Sam Allardyce, who memorably won his only game in charge, Fabio Capello (66.7%), Ramsey (61.1%) and Glenn Hoddle (60.7%).

    Saturday's shoot-out success was his 24th major tournament match at the helm. His 13 wins in such games are the most by any England manager in history, while only Ramsey (66.7%) has bettered his 54.2% win rate in World Cup/Euros matches. 

    The most common criticism of Southgate relates to his safety-first approach, but only Winterbottom (383) and Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals than his 210. The Three Lions' average of 2.1 goals per game under him tops their average of 1.98 under Ramsey. 

    The highs

    Southgate's first tournament at the helm will always be remembered fondly, as his unfancied side went within a whisker of reaching the 2018 World Cup final, two years on from the nadir of Roy Hodgson's team losing to Iceland at Euro 2016. 

    With Harry Kane winning the Golden Boot and Harry Maguire providing a threat from set-pieces, England made supporters fall back in love with the national team as they reached the semi-finals, ultimately surrendering a 1-0 lead in an extra-time loss to a superior Croatia side.

    The standout moment surely came in the last 16 as Colombia were beaten on penalties – England's first victory in a World Cup shoot-out and just their second in seven attempts at major tournaments at the time.

    Coming after a 1-1 draw with stubborn opponents with the knockout draw opening up, Saturday's victory over Switzerland shared many similarities with the Colombia win.

    Southgate has now overseen three shoot-out victories, with Switzerland also vanquished in 2019 as the Three Lions took bronze in the inaugural edition of the Nations League.

    And while England's only penalty defeat under Southgate came in his biggest game in charge, their run to the Euro 2020 final was another high before heartbreak against Italy.

    Most memorable of all was a 2-0 victory over Germany in the last 16, England's first competitive win over them at Wembley Stadium since the 1966 World Cup final. The semi-final versus Denmark, meanwhile, brought Southgate's only major tournament win to date over a top-10 nation in FIFA's world rankings.

    The lows 

    The Euro 2020 final was, of course, a case of what might have been for England and Southgate. Luke Shaw's early volley sent Wembley into hysterics, but the Three Lions dropped deeper and deeper, inviting Leonardo Bonucci's equaliser and going on to suffer penalty heartache.

    Southgate was fiercely criticised for losing control of the final, with England's 34.4% possession share their lowest at Wembley since a 2016 draw with Spain (34.3%).

    Either side of that final, England went unbeaten in 90 minutes through 22 matches, but they then endured a dismal run midway through 2022, failing to win any of their six games in the 2022-23 edition of the Nations League as they were relegated from the top tier.

    The low point of Southgate's reign came in a crushing 4-0 defeat to Hungary at Molineux that June, where supporters turned on the England boss for the first time after the team's heaviest defeat under him.

    England recovered to impress in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but more penalty agony awaited them in the quarter-finals, albeit not in a shoot-out.

    With England 2-1 down but in the ascendency against France, captain Kane blazed a late spot-kick over the crossbar, becoming the first player to both score and miss a penalty in a World Cup match since Czechoslovakia's Michal Bilek versus the United States in 1990.

    With many believing this tournament will be Southgate's last regardless of the outcome, he will hope the true high point of his tenure is yet to come.

    The players

    Although many players have won Southgate's trust during his eight years at the helm, one man stands clear of the rest.

    Kane has been Southgate's most trusted lieutenant, his 79 appearances under him (69 as captain) putting him clear of Kyle Walker (68), John Stones and Jordan Pickford (both 66).

    The striker's 60 England goals under Southgate, meanwhile, are more than treble the figure managed by his closest rival, Raheem Sterling with 18. Kane (16) also leads Sterling (13) for the most assists under Southgate.

    No Three Lions player has ever scored more goals for the team under a particular manager, with Gary Lineker's 35 strikes for Bobby Robson putting him a distant second.

    Only three players have won more England caps under one manager, with Billy Wright playing under Winterbottom 105 times, Bobby Moore appearing in 100 games for Ramsey, and Peter Shilton 83 for Robson.

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