Rory McIlroy will go into this week’s Open Championship with high hopes of ending his long wait for a fifth major championship.
The 2014 champion has won only one major since but a combination of the return to the same Royal Liverpool course and McIlroy’s recent form, in both majors and tour events, has raised hopes this may finally be his time.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at McIlroy’s record.
Current formMcIlroy cancelled his scheduled Tuesday press conference at Hoylake but will still be the focus of attention as he goes into the Open on the back of a win at the Genesis Scottish Open, his third of the season after the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
He also has runner-up finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the US Open and has finished in the top 10 in 10 of the 15 events he has played.
They include his last six starts, beginning at the US PGA Championship where he finished tied for seventh.
He matched that at both the Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship and was tied ninth at the RBC Canadian Open, in addition to his US Open and Scottish results.
The latter gave him a 32nd career win across the PGA Tour and European Tour, plus the 2013 Australian Open before it became a European Tour event. That tally includes four majors but none since 2014.
Major recordWhen McIlroy won the 2014 US PGA Championship at Valhalla, it was his second successive major and fourth in his last 15 attempts – coming hot on the heels of his Open win and following the 2011 US Open and 2012 US PGA.
He has won none of the 33 he has contested since, with a string of near misses building the frustration.
Aside from missing the cut at this year’s Masters, he has finished in the top eight at the other six majors this season and last – including second place in Los Angeles this year and the 2022 Masters and third in last year’s Open at St Andrews.
In 58 majors in his career he has three second- and four third-place finishes to add to his four wins, with 17 top-five and 29 top-10 placings overall.
The waiting gameShould McIlroy win this or a subsequent major title, it will come after one of the longest waits in golfing history.
Only 10 players have won majors with more time elapsed between them than the eight years and 347 days from McIlroy’s 2014 US PGA win to this Sunday at Hoylake.
Julius Boros holds the record with 11 years and nine days between his US Open wins in 1952 and 1963, with Hale Irwin also winning that event 11 years apart.
Henry Cotton, Ben Crenshaw, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino and Ernie Els won majors after a decade-long wait, with John Henry Taylor and Bob Martin narrowly exceeding nine years.
Should McIlroy not win this week, any subsequent major would take him past the latter pair to the top eight of the list. Victory this week would place him 11th behind Willie Park Sr’s 1866 and 1875 Open wins.
Those victories tended to mark something of a swansong, with only Boros and Taylor going on to add a further grand slam event afterwards. At 34, though, McIlroy is younger than almost all of those players at the time of their win – Martin was 32, with Taylor (38) the only other under 40.
Bristol will host Leicester to kick off the new Gallagher Premiership season on Friday, October 13 before champions Saracens start the defence of their title with a trip to Exeter.
After Wasps, Worcester and London Irish all entered administration while Championship winners Jersey Reds did not meet the minimum standards criteria for promotion, the new top-flight campaign will feature just 10 teams.
The revamped schedule for the 2023-24 campaign gives all clubs one home fixture in the opening two weeks of the season.
After Saturday’s 1.30pm kick-off at Exeter’s Sandy Park, Bath host Newcastle at 3pm while Harlequins will travel to Gloucester.
To complete the opening weekend’s action, Sale – beaten by Saracens in the Premiership final at Twickenham – will welcome Northampton on October 15, which will also be broadcast live on TNT Sports.
The Premiership final is set to take place on June 8 at Twickenham.
There will be a ‘Derby Weekend’ in round six from November 17 to 19, which will see Sale play Newcastle and Bath host Bristol on the Friday night.
The action on the Saturday sees Northampton travel to Leicester with Saracens at London rivals Harlequins. Both matches will be shown live ahead of Exeter playing Gloucester on the Sunday afternoon.
Clubs will also have one home fixture over the Christmas period, which it is hoped will allow families to enjoy games together.
December 30 will see Harlequins’ ‘Big Game’ series back in the festive schedule when they take on Gloucester at Twickenham.
Following a break of league action during the Guinness Six Nations, Saracens play Harlequins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in March before Northampton face Quins back at Twickenham during round 16 in April.
As well as the live schedule on TNT Sports, which has been announced through until January 2024, there will be highlights of all 90 regular-season games on ITV along with seven full free-to-air fixtures and the Premiership final.
Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said: “Today is always an exciting day in the sporting calendar and I know that our dedicated Gallagher Premiership Rugby fans, players and clubs are counting down until the big kick-off.
“It’s great to welcome our new-look broadcast partner TNT Sports in their debut season under their new brand and we look forward to delivering unmissable world-class sporting entertainment together.”
::Opening Premiership fixtures: October 13 – Bristol v Leicester (7.45pm, TNT Sports); October 14 – Exeter v Saracens (1.30pm, TNT Sports), Bath v Newcastle (3pm), Gloucester v Harlequins (3pm); October 15 – Sale v Northampton (1.30pm, TNT Sports)
Chris Taylor's go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning provided the big blow as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped the Baltimore Orioles' eight-game winning streak with a 6-4 comeback victory in Monday's opener of a three-game series between playoff hopefuls.
The Dodgers managed just one run off Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez through five innings before breaking through with a five-run sixth. Freddie Freeman began the rally with a leadoff triple and scored on Will Smith's single to trim Baltimore's lead to 4-2, and Rodriguez then walked Max Muncy before giving way to Bryan Baker.
After Baker walked Jayson Heyward to load the bases, Taylor sent an 0-2 fastball over the center-field wall for his sixth career grand slam and a 6-4 Los Angeles lead.
Four Dodger relievers aided the comeback by keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard over the final four innings, with Ryan Brasier working a scoreless ninth to close out the National League West leaders' seventh win in eight games.
Freeman finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored.
Adley Rutschman had a solo homer in the fifth to stake Baltimore to a 4-1 advantage, while Ryan Mountcastle had an RBI double among his two hits.
Ohtani's 35th homer helps rally Angels past Yankees
Shohei Ohtani launched a majestic game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Michael Stefanic delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th to send the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 victory over the still-slumping New York Yankees.
The Angels trailed 3-1 when Ohtani took reliever Michael King deep for his major league-leading 35th homer. The two-way superstar has now homered in three consecutive games and finished 3 for 4.
After Aaron Loup held the Yankees scoreless in the top of the 10th, Stefanic ripped a two-out base hit off Nick Ramirez to score automatic runner Chad Wallach from second.
Matt Thaiss had a solo homer earlier in the game for Los Angeles, the only run allowed by Yankees starter Luis Severino in six innings.
Severino scattered six hits and three walks before exiting with a two-run lead New York's bullpen failed to hold as the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games to drop into sole possession of last place in the American League East.
Oswaldo Cabrera put the Yankees ahead 2-0 with a two-run double in the sixth, shortly after Angels starter Griffin Canning was removed after 120 pitches.
Canning struck out a career-high 12 before departing and was charged with two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Rangers edge Rays in clash of AL division leaders
Pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Pete Fairbanks' wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Texas Rangers a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series between American League division leaders.
Josh Jung greeted Fairbanks with a double to begin the bottom of the ninth before being replaced by Smith, who took third on a groundout before racing home with the winning run when the Tampa Bay closer's fastball skidded past catcher Christian Betancourt.
Aroldis Chapman kept the game at 2-2 with a scoreless top of the ninth and recorded his first win in a Texas uniform since the Rangers acquired the seven-time All-Star reliever from the Kansas City Royals on June 30.
The Rangers moved to 4-0 since the All-Star break and increased their lead on the second-place Houston Astros to 3 1/2 games in the AL West.
Rays ace Shane McClanahan, making his first start since missing over two weeks with back tightness, allowed two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in six innings. The All-Star pitcher shut Texas out until surrendering a game-tying two-run homer to Ezequiel Duran in the sixth.
Dane Dunning matched McClanahan by yielding two runs on five hits over seven innings for Texas.
Josh Lowe went 2 for 3 with a solo home run for the slumping Rays, who fell to 3-9 in July but maintained a one-game lead on Baltimore in the AL East with the Orioles' loss to the Dodgers.
Former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton announced his retirement from rugby union on this day in 2018 due to injuries at the age of 29.
Warburton, whose announcement was released jointly by the Welsh Rugby Union and his regional team Cardiff Blues, had undergone knee and neck surgery the previous year.
He said: “Unfortunately, after a long period of rest and rehabilitation, the decision to retire from rugby has been made with my health and well-being as a priority as my body is unable to give me back what I had hoped for on my return to training.”
Warburton is one of only two players to have skippered the Lions on two separate tours, emulating England’s Martin Johnson, and never lost a Test series.
With Warburton as skipper, the Lions beat Australia 2-1 in 2013 and drew the 2017 series against New Zealand. He also led Wales to Six Nations glory twice, including the 2012 Grand Slam.
The Cardiff-born flanker, whose final match was in the drawn third Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in July 2017, also steered Wales to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals.
He captained his country in 49 of his 74 appearances and led the Lions five times.
Despite a long list of injuries throughout his playing career, Warburton was among the world’s best openside flankers, with fearless, critical work at the breakdown proving his major strength.
Current Wales head coach Warren Gatland, who appointed Warburton as Wales skipper in 2011 and to lead both Lions tours that the New Zealander was head coach of, led the tributes to Warburton.
“He is an outstanding rugby player and he has brought so much to the game, on and off the pitch,” Gatland said.
“His leadership, attitude and demeanour, along with his performances, have placed Sam up there as one of the best and most respected players in the world.”
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has said the Victorian state government’s decision to withdraw as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games is “hugely disappointing”.
The CGF said in a statement it was given only eight hours’ notice of the decision, which was announced by Victoria’s state premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday morning.
Mr Andrews told media in Melbourne the original budget for the games was estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) but had ballooned out to nearly triple that.
He said: “Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out, but of course not at any price.
“I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them.
“It’s just quite obvious, we are not going to spend six to seven billion dollars on a 12-day sporting event.
“We don’t just make popular decisions, we do what’s right and it would simply be wrong.”
The CGF responded by saying it was taken aback by the announcement.
It said in a statement: “This is hugely disappointing for the Commonwealth Sport Movement, for athletes around the Commonwealth and the Organising Committee who are well advanced in their planning and preparation.
“The reasons given are financial. The numbers quoted to us today of 6 billion dollars are 50% more than those advised to the Organising Committee board at its meeting in June.
“These figures are attributed to price escalation primarily due to the unique regional delivery model that Victoria chose for these Games, and in particular relate to village and venue builds and transport infrastructure.”
The 2026 Commonwealth Games were set to be held in regional Victoria across towns like Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
The CGF statement continued: “Since awarding Victoria the Games, the Government has made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).
“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the Government.
“Up until this point, the Government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.”
Mr Andrews said the estimates were “clearly under the actual cost”, and the state government is instead going to use the money budgeted to improve sporting complexes and housing in regional Victoria.
The CGF said it remains “committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026 that is in the best interest of our athletes and the wider Commonwealth Sport Movement”.
Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games five times, including on the Gold Coast in 2018 and in the Victorian capital of Melbourne in 2006.
While efforts have been made to arrive at a resolution and, by extension, ensure a speedy return of live racing at Caymanas Park, the purse standoff between promoting company Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) and horsemen remains at a deadlock and threatens the cancellation of another race meet.
This, as United Racehorse Trainers' Association of Jamaica (URTAJ) president Patrick Smellie and his counterparts declared intentions to again withhold nominations, if SVREL doesn’t offer a more attractive purse increase instead of the $27 million that was already rejected and resulted in the cancellation of races on July 15 and 16.
“We the trainers have decided that we are still not accepting the $27 million increase in purse money from SVREL because there is an anomaly in the numbers based on why we signed for 49 per cent. So, we are still questioning why that has happened and the trainers have decided that they will not run races for $27 million and so no nomination tomorrow [Tuesday],” the URTAJ president declared.
Though Smellie and members of his group had discussions among themselves, their decision stems from a meeting between representatives of the promoting company, including chairman Solomon Sharpe, and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) of Jamaica on Monday, where the horsemen maintained their stance against the inadequate amount.
In fact, TOBA, represented by directors Andrew Azar, Garwin Tulloch and vice-president Desmond Lewis, accompanied by Chief Executive Officer, Ainsley Walters, made a few recommendations, as they sought to have SVREL consider increasing its offer.
Despite the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) confirming SVREL’s income as $5.3 billion and not the $6.2 billion which sparked the standoff, TOBA in a release on Monday, pointed out that it laid down a few terms as a possible way forward.
The owners group recommended that SVREL’s overpayment of taxes on $6.2 billion in sales initially reported, amounting to what should be approximately $41.7 million in rebates, be put to purse money for 2023, along with the $18 million Quarterly Incentive payments to owners, trainers, jockeys and grooms.
Additionally, TOBA believes a three per cent commission earned from inter-tote wagering on local racing, could also be allotted to purses and they also required a full disclosure of SVREL’s arrangement with BetMakers as it relates to fixed-odds betting, with a view that a percentage of those profits should also put to purses going forward.
Meanwhile, TOBA said it acknowledges SVREL’s request for time to analyze and consider the recommendations tabled.
“Though SVREL acknowledged TOBA’s recommendations, committing to re-engage the association, the promoting company cited circumstances beyond their control as external factors to be considered ahead of resuming discussions. TOBA awaits SVREL’s return to dialogue in order to hasten the resumption of local racing as the hub of the thoroughbred industry,” the release stated.
“SVREL added to the discourse by pointing to funds taken from the racing industry unclaimed winnings, which it believes should be returned to purses annually, suggesting TOBA could lead the lobby for racing’s monies to remain in the industry,” it noted, adding that owners were advised to continue paying the expenses for keep and care of horses.
Australia’s Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to the cost of the event breaching estimates by around 5 billion Australian dollars.
State premier Daniel Andrews fronted media in Melbourne and said he was not prepared to spend up to 7 billion dollars (£3.6 billion) on a “12-day sporting event”.
He said: “Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out, but of course not at any price.
“I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them.
“It’s just quite obvious, we are not going to spend six to seven billion dollars on a 12-day sporting event.
“We don’t just make popular decisions, we do what’s right and it would simply be wrong.”
The original budget for the games was estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) but ballooned out to nearly triple that.
Mr Andrews said they have had “cordiale discussions” with the Commonwealth authorities in London and will continue discussions with them on Tuesday morning.
He added: “It is not appropriate and it is against the interest of taxpayers for me to speculate and conduct a negotiation with people on the other side of the world at a press conference here today.
“In the meantime we are going to let our team that are in London work through these issues.”
Mr Andrews said the estimates were “clearly under the actual cost”.
The Victorian state government are instead going to use the money budgeted to improve sporting complexes and housing in regional Victoria.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games were set to be held in regional Victoria across towns like Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
Former champion Peter Wright coasted into the second round of the Betfred World Matchplay with a 10-4 win over Andrew Gilding at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
After holder Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock exit to Brendan Dolan, UK Open champion Gilding had threatened another upset when an early break saw him move 2-0 ahead with a 122 checkout.
Wright, though, soon recovered from his slow start to reel off eight straight legs with some heavy finishing as the 2021 World Matchplay champion closed in on an impressive victory which saw him land seven 180s.
Elsewhere, Ryan Searle cut short Raymond van Barneveld’s return to the Winter Gardens with a 10-4 win.
The Dutchman, a five-time world champion across the PDC and BDO versions, last played the event in 2018, but never looked like producing a vintage display as Searle soon built up a 7-3 lead.
Searle remained in control after taking the next two legs, including a 13-dart finish.
Although Van Barneveld reduced the deficit, the English world number 15 got the job done on his next throw, completing an impressive victory with a 105.19 average and landing four 180s.
Searle goes on to play Wright for a place in the quarter-finals.
In the opening match of the evening, Dimitri Van den Bergh threw seven maximums as he edged out Ross Smith 10-8 in a high-quality contest.
The Belgian, who won the World Matchplay title on his debut in 2020, produced an average of just over 101 to edge out last year’s PDC European Championships winner Smith, himself hitting five 180s and an impressive 134 check-out.
Van den Bergh will next play Jonny Clayton after the Welsh World Cup winner held off a late fightback from German number one Gabriel Clemens to win 10-8.
Monday’s deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term contracts passed without three of the NFL’s top running backs unable to work out such deals.
The New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley, Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Pollard will all play the 2023 season under the franchise tag.
With no long-term deals reached prior to the deadline, the three must wait until after the 2023 regular season in January to reach a new agreement.
Barkley never signed the tag he received by the Giants earlier this offseason in hopes of negotiating a long-term contract.
It was reported last week by ESPN that the 26-year-old Barkley would consider sitting out the Giants’ Week 1 Sunday Night opener against the Cowboys if he didn’t have a new deal.
Negotiations reportedly went down to the wire, but he ended up settling to the franchise tag and will be paid $10.091million for the 2023 season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
The former No. 2 overall pick ranked fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards in 2022, while scoring 10 touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl selection - his first since 2018, when he was also named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.
His 57 receptions were tied for the team lead last season and his 1,650 scrimmage yards were seventh most in the league.
Jacobs and Pollard were both tagged by their respective teams back in March.
Jacobs became the first Raider to lead the NFL in rushing yards since Hall of Famer Marcus Allen in 1985 when he compiled 1,653 this past season. The 25-year-old added 12 touchdowns and 400 receiving yards on 53 catches to earn first team All-Pro honours.
The 26-year-old Pollard emerged as the Cowboys’ best running back ahead of three-time Pro Bowler Ezekiel Elliott, who was subsequently released in May in a move to save cap space.
Pollard earned his first Pro Bowl nod with an outstanding 2022 campaign in which he rushed for 1,007 yards and scored 12 total touchdowns. His 5.22 yards per rush attempt ranked second in the NFL among players with at least 175 carries.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 17.
FootballInter Miami unveiled Lionel Messi.
Ilkay Gundogan became a Barca player.
Mohamed Salah trained hard.
Luton were feeling the heat.
A mural for Tottenham.
New one-shoe trend?
Wilfried Zaha was making memories.
Happy birthdays.
TennisA dream realised.
Strike a pose champions.
Neal Skupski was still celebrating.
CricketKP was in awe.
Eoin Morgan enjoyed Wimbledon.
James Anderson was in claret and blue.
Formula OneJules Bianchi was remembered.
Ten years apart.
DartsRaymond Van Barneveld was in Blackpool.
Relief Rally will bid to better her runner-up finish in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot when she goes for the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury.
The William Haggas-trained filly heads 23 confirmations for Saturday’s £250,000 feature, which this year marks 30 years of Weatherbys’ sponsorship
A Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned daughter of Kodiac, should Relief Rally be successful she would be a third Haggas winner of the five-furlong showpiece, after the top-class Superstar Leo in 2000 and Jargelle eight years later.
Relief Rally made her debut at Windsor in April, before taking a conditions race at Salisbury and then heading to the Royal meeting, where only American raider Crimson Advocate was too good, by a nose.
As a 58,000 genuine yearling, carrying a small penalty, Relief Rally will have significantly more weight than Superstar Leo, who was bred in partnership by Haggas’ father-in-law Lester Piggott and Tony Hirschfeld and was bought back for a mere 3,400 guineas by his wife Maureen at the sales.
Haggas said: “Relief Rally got the entry for the Super Sprint because she was bred to be quick and cost less than the ceiling £65,000, so it’s been on our radar for a while. She got a small penalty for her Salisbury win, but it would have been a much bigger one if she had won the Queen Mary, although we would have been happy to have taken one there.
“The American filly was obviously very quick in the Queen Mary, but we were unfortunate not to win, as she was in front a stride before the line and in front again a stride after it, but not on the line.”
He added: “Unlike Superstar Leo, who had no weight despite having won the Norfolk Stakes, Relief Rally has 9st, but if she’s good enough to win on Saturday I think she’ll go for the Lowther, then the Flying Childers, which Superstar Leo also won, and then the Abbaye, where Superstar Leo was second to Namid.”
Superstar Leo ended the year the highest-rated juvenile filly on the classifications, and she has gone on to have major lasting significance for the stable.
Haggas said: “She’s been marvellous. She introduced us to the Jacksons, of Lael Stables, who have been big supporters ever since, and she bred Enticing (winner of the Molecomb and King George Stakes), who was the dam of One Master (three-time winner of the Prix de la Foret). Her sister Starship is the dam of Rivet, who won the Racing Post Trophy for us.
“It’s been a hell of a family for us and a wonderful story, and the Jacksons were so fond of Superstar Leo that when she retired they flew her back to Kentucky so that she could spend the rest of her life in their front paddock.”
Novak Djokovic has been fined 8,000 US dollars after smashing his racket against a net post during Sunday’s men’s singles final at Wimbledon.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club has confirmed the 36-year-old has been hit with the penalty, which amounts to around £6,117, for “racket abuse” during his defeat by Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic allowed his frustration to show after failing to break Alcaraz and then losing his own service game during the decisive fifth set of an enthralling contest on Centre Court.
Umpire Fergus Murphy, who had earlier pulled up the Serbian for a time violation, immediately issued a warning for a code violation.
Djokovic’s disappointment grew as the 20-year-old world number one took full advantage to seal a 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory after four hours and 42 minutes.
In the process, he denied his illustrious opponent a 24th grand slam title and an eighth at Wimbledon.
Wimbledon is over for another year.
The British grand slam brought with it plenty of twists and turns, not least in the men's singles final on Sunday, as Carlos Alcaraz overcame Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller.
A day before Alcaraz sealed his second major title with that 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 success, Marketa Vondrousova won her first grand slam with a surprise 6-4 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks back at the best statistics from the last two weeks at the All England Club.
King Carlos
It looked like it might be a bad day at the office for Alcaraz when Djokovic cruised to a 6-1 win in the first set on Centre Court, but the Spaniard came back with a bang.
Alcaraz is an incredible talent that looks set to take up the mantle left by Rafael Nadal, and while Djokovic was at times at his dominant best, it still wasn't enough to down the world number one.
At 20, Alcaraz is the third-youngest player in the Open Era to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon, after Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg.
And he is now the youngest player in the Open Era to win the singles title at both the US Open and Wimbledon.
Nadal was the only previous Spaniard to win the coveted trophy, as Alcaraz became the first player not called Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray to triumph at the All England Club since 2002 - before he was even born.
He became the first player to defeat three top-10 opponents en route to winning the Wimbledon title since Pete Sampras did so in 1994, while after claiming the title at Queen's, Alcaraz is the second-youngest player to win 12+ consecutive grass-court matches (Boris Becker was the youngest to achieve the feat, with 13 straight wins in 1985 between the Queen's Club and Wimbledon).
No Grand Slam for Novak
Djokovic became the second player in the Open Era to reach multiple men's singles grand slam finals in a single year after turning 36, after Ken Rosewall in 1974. He also overtook Chris Evert (34) as the player with the most appearances in major finals, among both men and women (35).
Only Federer, with 46, can match the Serbian's tally of grand slam semi-final appearances in the Open Era, meanwhile.
The 36-year-old also became just the third player in the Open Era, after Federer and Jimmy Connors, to play in 100 men's singles matches at Wimbledon.
Djokovic had not lost a five-set grand slam final since losing to Andy Murray in the 2012 US Open.
Indeed, Djokovic had not lost at Wimbledon since going down to Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals and the final was his first loss on Centre Court for 10 years, since Murray beat him in the famous 2013 final.
Vondrousova victorious
Vondrousova is the first unseeded player to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the Open Era. It marked only her second career WTA Tour title, following her success at Biel in 2017.
She is the lowest-ranked player to win the singles title in Wimbledon since the WTA Rankings were introduced.
The Czech was playing in her second grand slam final, having previously lost to Ashleigh Barty at the 2019 French Open.
Vondrousova now holds a record of 3-2 head-to-head against Jabeur, with the latter winning their only previous meeting on grass, at Eastbourne in 2021. All the Tunisian's losses Vondrousova have come in 2023.
Vondrousova is the sixth unseeded player to win a grand slam title in the last decade, after Jelena Ostapenko, Sloane Stephens, Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova and Emma Raducanu.
The 24-year-old is the third Czech woman to win the singles title at Wimbledon, after Jana Novotna (1998) and Petra Kvitova (2011, 2014).
Meanwhile, Jabeur became the first player since Simona Halep to lose each of her first three singles finals at grand slams, while the 28-year-old is the third player in the 21st century to lose successive Wimbledon finals after Venus Williams (2002, 2003) and Serena Williams (2018, 2019).
Former Olympic silver medallist Leon Taylor hailed a “coming of age” moment for Team GB’s female divers following their success at the World Championships.
Team GB earned their first ever World Championship diving medal in a women’s event on Sunday when Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix took silver in the 10 metres synchro in Fukuoka.
Their historic success in Japan was replicated just 24 hours later when Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen earned silver in the three metres synchro and Taylor believes it is a “breakthrough moment” for Team GB’s female divers.
“It’s the first ever time our female athletes have won a World Championship medal, then it was backed up today by a wonderful effort in the three metre by Yasmin and Scarlett,” he told the PA news agency.
“The silvers for the girls has been incredible, back-to-back silvers at a World Championships having never stood on the podium before as female athletes for GB.
“For me it’s a coming of age for GB female diving because it’s been on the cards for a while, this is a real breakthrough moment, the statistics speak for themselves.
“It just fills me with excitement ahead of next year, but of course we’ve got to be careful not to get too excited because there’s a process and jobs to be done.
“The team are doing a beautiful job in Fukuoka so we couldn’t have asked for a better start.”
Spendolini-Sirieix, daughter of TV personality Fred Sirieix, earned two gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, while partner Toulson secured two silvers in Birmingham as Team England took 15 medals in total at the competition.
The duo have been competing together for just under a year and have already enjoyed success, claiming a European 10m synchro gold medal in Rome last year.
The World Championship silvers secure a spot at next year’s Olympics in Paris and it comes following a triumphant period for Team GB’s divers.
“Peter (Waterfield) and I, nearly 20 years ago now, we won the first Olympic medal in British diving for 44 years and that was a breakthrough moment,” Taylor added.
“Then you’ve got the Tom Daley effect and Jack (Laugher) and their success, when it comes to major medals, it has been tilted heavily towards the men’s and the boys’ side of the sport.
“But the women have always been there, the potential has always been there and it’s just blossoming now.
“It couldn’t be more exciting with what they’ve achieved, the timing, the fact that we’ve got not quite a home Olympics, but it’s close just over the pond in Paris, a year away.
“The celebration that we had in Birmingham at the Commonwealth Games across men’s and women’s success was magnificent and now it’s being replicated on the world stage.”
Taylor secured silver alongside Waterfield at Athens 2004 in the Men’s 10 metre synchronised platform after narrowly missing out on a podium place at Sydney 2000 and the 45-year-old admitted it was “incredible” to fulfill his ambition.
Taylor said: “I was lucky enough to compete at three and at my third Olympics, 20 years after watching the Olympics on the TV and the start of my dream, I realised that ambition to stand on the podium to win an Olympic medal was incredible.
“For me the reflection is the support I had along the way, because that moment in time even though I was stood next to my team-mate it wasn’t just about me or us, it was about everything that had been contributed.
“All the way back to my parents and all the sacrifices they made, I feel very fortunate I was at the beginning of this wonderful era in sport where the National Lottery funding came in at the beginning of my career.”
National Lottery players raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #TNLAthletes #MakeAmazingHappen
Ascot Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami is likely to bypass the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, with stablemate Gregory poised to be owners Wathnan Racing’s chosen representative in the Sussex Downs marathon.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, both horses carry an unbeaten record and struck gold in the hands of Frankie Dettori for their Qatari-based owners at Royal Ascot last month.
Courage Mon Ami is disputing favouritism with Coltrane for the two-mile Group One during the Qatar Goodwood Festival, but may have to wait for his chance to confirm Ascot form over Andrew Balding’s Gold Cup runner-up, with connections keen to keep the mileage low on the new star of the staying ranks.
Therefore, it is Queen’s Vase hero Gregory who has the chance to fill the void in one of the meeting’s feature events, as he tunes up for a tilt at the St Leger in the autumn.
“They have both come out of Ascot really well, I was in there looking at them last week and I was absolutely delighted with how they look,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for the owners.
“Gregory is a big horse who is only going to get better with age and we won’t overrace him this year. We will probably only run him twice more. His main aim is the Leger and he may well take in the Goodwood Cup on the way because the three-year-old weight allowance is really significant.
“At the moment we’re training both Courage Mon Ami and Gregory for the race, but only one of them will go. We’re favouring Gregory because of the weight allowance and we want to keep the miles low on Courage Mon Ami.”
With Gregory the envisaged Wathnan Goodwood number one, sights for Courage Mon Ami are already being pointed towards a defence of his Gold Cup crown, with a return to Ascot for the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup (October 21) a possible aim for the back-end of the current campaign.
“Courage Mon Ami is a four-year-old and we have seen in the past that those horses who get to the top of the staying division can go back and win at Ascot again, so his main aim already is next year’s Gold Cup,” added Brown.
“He will probably run twice more this year with obvious back-end targets being Ascot or the Cadran (ParisLongchamp, September 30) and on the way we can go to York (Lonsdale Cup, August 29) or the Doncaster Cup (September 15) if we don’t go to Goodwood.”
The objective is to keep Courage Mon Ami and Gregory apart for as long as possible, but Brown concedes there may come a time when the talented stablemates may have to lock horns.
He continued: “We will be guided John and his team and where they want to go. We will keep them separate because at the end of the day Wathnan have only got nine horses at the moment and running them both in the same Group One is not something we want to do.
“We’re favouring Gregory at the moment for Goodwood, but they are both going to be trained for it in case Gregory couldn’t get there. Then Courage Mon Ami can drop into his spot.
“The St Leger is Gregory’s number one target and then we can worry about what we do next year.
“If we are in the fortunate position that they are both fit, sound, healthy and training well then that is when we might not be able to keep them separate. But at this stage we will try to keep them apart.”
Cameron Smith insists he does not have a point to prove as he returns to defend the Open title he won just weeks before defecting to LIV Golf last year.
The Australian was well on his way to becoming world number one when he saw off Rory McIlroy in the final round at St Andrews to win his first major, but rumours were already circulating about a potential switch of tours.
He dodged the question in his winner’s press conference but less than six weeks later he had signed up with LIV and left the PGA Tour behind.
Smith has had top-10 finishes in two of the three majors this year but defending his title brings with it another level of pressure and he was asked whether returning to play in front of British crowds as a LIV golfer made any difference.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s any added motivation there,” said the 29-year-old, who has won twice on the LIV Tour, most less than a fortnight ago in the London event at the Centurion Club.
“I think we’re all here to win the Claret Jug and basically any one of these guys, if they have their week this week, is going to walk away with it.
“I think LIV aside, I’m determined to try my best every week and just try and be a better golfer than I was last week.”
So had a life-changing 12 months as a major champion and major player on the LIV scene changed him in any way?
“I think the person is the same. I think my old boy would give me a clip around the ears if I was any different,” he added.
“I think as a golfer, I think I’m actually a better golfer now than what I was last year.
“I’ve never tried too much to worry about what people thought of me and I think LIV was really well received in Australia.
“They were probably the two most important things to me. I think when I went down to Australia to play the PGA and the Open, at the end of the year there was no public kind of uproar of me switching tours.
“They were just happy to see me there playing golf. That was awesome.”
Smith was famously less happy with the line of questioning in his press conference a year ago in his moment of triumph.
However, he takes a more rounded view of what happened, being able to look back at events.
“I think it was frustrating at the time, just given the circumstance, but then I guess looking back on it, it’s just a guy just trying to do his job and asked a question that everyone really wanted to know,” he said.
“I don’t have any hard feelings towards anyone there at all.”
His feelings on handing back the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool were markedly different, however, as he got unexpectedly emotional handing back the trophy to R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers at Hoylake.
“I just had to hand back the trophy there. I thought I was going to do all right but I was actually holding back from tears,” he said.
“A bit of a moment, I guess, that crept up on me. It wasn’t hard to hand it back, I wasn’t like not letting it go, but it was just a bit of a moment that I guess you don’t think about and then all of a sudden it’s there.”
Milton Harris’ Scriptwriter has a York return on his agenda before new connections take aim at the Melbourne Cup.
The four-year-old is a Grade Two-winning hurdler who took the Prestbury Juvenile Hurdle in November and went on to place fifth in the Grade One Jewson Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree on the last run of his National Hunt campaign.
He was in action on the level in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot over a mile and three-quarters, finishing seventh of 16 at 40-1.
Last weekend’s John Smith’s Silver Cup at York saw him step out of handicap company and into a Group Three, where he was only narrowly beaten, coming home a neck behind William Haggas’ seasoned Group-race performer Hamish.
Both the course and distance seemed to suit and Scripwrtier will encounter both again as he holds an entry for the Sky Bet Ebor, York’s headline handicap that offers £300,000 to the winner in late August – plus, for the first time, a guaranteed ticket to the ‘race that stops a nation’.
“I was a bit frustrated at first as I think this horse gets to the front and then stops and that’s what he did,” Harris said.
“The jockey didn’t really do much wrong, but a few yards ahead of the line he was ahead and after the line he was ahead again.
“He’ll go back there for the Ebor next, the Group Three was an afterthought really as I saw it and thought he may as well give it a go as he handles any ground.”
After the Ebor connections are hoping there is a date much further afield in the diary.
“He’s been bought from existing owners of mine by Australian owners and the plan for him is to run out there,” Harris said.
“He’ll go for the Ebor now and then into quarantine for Australia on a one-way ticket, I should think. The plan is for him to run once out there and then go for the Melbourne Cup.
“It’s not set in stone, but you’ve got to have a dream, haven’t you?”
Harris also provided an update on Knight Salute, the Grade One-winning hurdler who suffered a serious injury late last year.
The five-year-old is recovering at Harris’ yard and is faring well after a tense time when his life hung in the balance.
“He’s very well, he’s not in any discomfort and he does have a good quality of life,” said Harris.
“The plan is for him to go to one of his owners, who has some land and horses and is a good fellow.
“I don’t think he’ll ever race again, though you never know, but truth be told the vets would probably have had him put down.
“He wasn’t in any pain and he’s very comfortable now, he’s been a wonderful patient.”
Royal Aclaim is likely to be kept at six furlongs following her near-miss in York’s Summer Stakes.
James Tate’s filly has always been held in the highest regard by connections and last year’s City Walls Stakes winner was returning to the scene of her finest hour when trying the trip for the first time on the Knavesmire.
Unsure on whether the daughter of Aclaim would see out the extended yardage, she was ridden with restraint by PJ McDonald in the early stages before making a stylish move to challenge the winner Swingalong at the business end of the contest, failing by just a neck on rain-softened ground in the Group Three contest.
Tate was delighted with how the step up in trip panned out and feels the run signals the end of her time competing at the minimum distance.
He said: “It’s something we had been toying with for a while and we’re pleased that we did and it’s nice to see her run so well.
“We didn’t know how she was going to finish and nor did PJ, but she finished well. That would give you plenty of confidence the next day and I thought she was coping with the rain-softened ground rather than enjoying it.
“I think that is probably the end of five furlongs for her now I would have thought. We were very pleased with the performance.”
The Jamesfield Place trainer now has to decide on a next target for his stable speedster with connections mulling over a tilt at Group One options both home and abroad or whether to stay at Group Three level for the time being.
“We’ve got decisions to make now and the next race is not that obvious,” said Tate.
“If we want to fly (high) then we can talk about the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Deauville, August 6) and the Haydock Park Sprint (Betfair Sprint Cup, Haydock, September 9) probably, but there are various Group Three and Listed options around as well.
“It does look like you either go Group One or you go Group Three, there is not a lot in the middle.
“So we haven’t quite decided on her next target, but she has come out of the race well. Training-wise she had a good prep into that race at York and it is good to see she has come out of it well. We’re very pleased with her.”
Carlos Alcaraz won his second grand slam before turning 21 with Sunday’s Wimbledon triumph.
Alcaraz is outstripping the achievements of runner-up Novak Djokovic and the rest of the modern ‘big three’ at the same age and here, the PA news agency looks at the statistics behind the Spaniard’s rapid rise to prominence.
Double delight
After winning last year’s US Open to become the youngest ever men’s world number one, and the first teenager to top the rankings, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in five hard-fought sets at SW19 to double his grand slam tally.
The win means he has matched compatriot Rafael Nadal’s two majors before turning 21, while Djokovic won only the 2008 Australian Open and Roger Federer had not opened his account by that age.
Alcaraz will have two more chances before his 21st birthday, his US Open defence starting next month and then January’s Australian Open. Winning both would see him equal Mats Wilander’s Open era record of four slams before turning 21, while one success would match Bjorn Borg for second place on that list.
He has also spent 29 weeks at number one in the rankings in four separate spells, including his current four-week run – something neither Djokovic, Federer nor Nadal achieved before turning 21.
Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin are the only other under-21s to top the men’s rankings – Safin for just two weeks in 2000. Hewitt spent 61 weeks at number one before turning 21, with Alcaraz able to overhaul that record if he can retain his status for 32 of the 41 weeks before his next birthday.
Should he hold top spot at the end of the season and through the off-season, that will account for six weeks. However, he would almost certainly need to win the US Open where he is defending last year’s points and Djokovic, who missed out last year due to being unvaccinated against Covid-19, will be gaining points all the way.
Lost generation
Outside of the US Open, Alcaraz is remarkably the first man born after Djokovic to win any of the other three grand slams.
Since Safin’s 2005 Australian Open title, that competition has been won 10 times by Djokovic – born in May 1987 – with five wins for Federer, born in 1981, two for Nadal (1986) and one for Stan Wawrinka (1985).
Nadal has dominated the French Open with 14 wins, with three for Djokovic and one each for Federer and Wawrinka, while the Wimbledon titles had until Sunday been shared by Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Andy Murray – a week older than Djokovic.
Juan Martin Del Potro and Marin Cilic, both born in 1988, Dominic Thiem (1993) and Daniil Medvedev (1996) have all won the US Open in addition to Alcaraz himself, the last three in successive years.
Alcaraz’s two majors and 29 weeks at number one compare to the four US Open titles and 16 weeks with Medvedev at number one for all male players born between himself and Djokovic. By contrast on the women’s side, players born in this period have won 33 grand slams and spent 458 weeks at world number one.
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