Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs have agreed on a new five-year contract extension, the team announced Saturday.

The 74-year-old Popovich is already the oldest coach in NBA history and will see the record extended with the new deal.

Details of the contract were not released as part of the team’s policy.

Popovich is the winingest coach of the all-time and recently completed his 27th season as the Spurs’ coach.

He has guided San Antonio to five NBA titles (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) and has been named the NBA’s Coach of the Year three times (2003, 2012, 2014).

Popovich ranks third all-time in playoff wins with 170, trailing only Phil Jackson (229) and Pat Riley (171), and will enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next month.

Popovich’s decision to remain as head coach and President of Basketball Operations with the Spurs comes not long after the team landed the No. 1 pick in the draft and selected French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama made his official NBA Summer League debut on the court on Friday against the Charlotte Hornets in Las Vegas.

Popovich also won an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games that were played in 2021.

Katie Boulter conceded she was beaten by the “much better player” as her Wimbledon run came to an end with a crushing loss to defending champion Elena Rybakina.

Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last-32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.

Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering that ends home singles hopes at Wimbledon.

“Obviously a really tough match against a tough competitor,” said the 26-year-old. “I gave it my best today. I wouldn’t say I really felt like I got into the match fully.

“She’s clearly the defending champion for a reason, and I learned a lot today and that’s what I’m going to have to take from today’s match.”

After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.

Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.

Rybakina had not been convincing in the first two rounds after coming into the tournament under-cooked because of illness but she hit her stride straight away and the match quickly got away from Boulter.

The Kazakh possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she lost only nine points on serve throughout the match while hitting 20 winners.

Boulter admitted she has never faced a ball-strike quite like Rybakina’s before, saying: “Obviously it’s a lot quicker and the majority of girls, they don’t quite hit the ball like that. It’s quite flat. You don’t really see where she’s going. She disguises it very well.

“I struggled with it a lot today. It felt like I got into it a little bit at times and I started to pick up her ball but she was relentless at the end of the day. She was the much better player.”

Having to wait until so late to go on court after two long matches and a rain delay probably did not help Boulter, who nevertheless insisted she enjoyed the occasion.

“It was quite late,” she said. “Obviously it was my first match playing under lights. It was a little bit different and it took time for me to adjust on serve especially. I don’t think I quite found it.

“I will always reflect back on something positive. The crowd are incredible. I wanted to give them a bit more today, but unfortunately I couldn’t do that. But I appreciated them every single second I was out there.”

There are certainly positives to take from the grass-court season for Boulter, who won her first WTA Tour event in Nottingham last month, while she will be at a career-high ranking just outside the top 70 a week on Monday.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a tough night but I’m going to sit here tomorrow morning and tell you that I’m at a career high,” she said.

“I’ve had some seriously positive weeks. I’ve come off the back of five long weeks with no injuries, no issues.

“I’ve got a great rest of the year ahead of me. I’ve got not many points to defend. It’s a really good opportunity for me to keep pushing my ranking up and really make a statement and play many more matches like today. They’re the matches that I want to be playing.”

It is not the end of Boulter’s Wimbledon, meanwhile, with the Leicestershire player due to contest her second-round mixed doubles match alongside boyfriend Alex De Minaur on Sunday.

“I’m sure tonight Alex will be giving me some words of wisdom,” she said. “I’m going to be ready to go tomorrow and enjoying myself and having fun. It will be a great way to end Wimbledon, for sure.”

Rybakina was delighted with her performance and she moves on to a fourth-round clash against 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

British tennis fans stayed on the Hill into a dark, damp Saturday evening as they supported Katie Boulter as she tried – but ultimately failed – to keep British hopes alive in the Wimbledon singles competition.

Boulter was beaten by last year’s champion Elena Rybakina in the third round after Sir Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady were all knocked out on Friday.

Lucy Garrett, 25, ended her day at Wimbledon by watching Boulter’s defeat from the Hill.

The Leeds resident told the PA news agency: “It has been good that we were able to stay.

“I actually saw Katie on Centre Court last year and I have been following her ever since.

“It was nice to see her win at Nottingham, but obviously not on Centre Court today. It’s great to support the last Brit.

“It’s been a shame (the British men) all got knocked out at the same time.

“They’ve all played really well, it’s just how the draw has fallen for them.”

Gary and Wendy Linnett, from Warwickshire, came to Wimbledon with their two adult sons to watch the tennis.

Mrs Linnett, 53, said it was “predictable” that all the British singles players had been knocked out of Wimbledon in the first week.

She said: “I have been a tennis fan since I was eight years of age and it’s pretty much always been the same, apart from when Andy Murray was around.

“I’m not surprised, I have to say.”

Bryony Holmes-Dixon, 25, watched the last half an hour of Boulter’s match on the Hill after watching the day’s action across different courts.

Ms Holmes-Dixon, from Leeds, said: “(The British players) have been playing against very good players.

“I have never been to Wimbledon before it’s been really good. It hasn’t been as rainy as the other days.”

Inside Centre Court British fans tried to roar Boulter to victory.

Adam Griffin, 45, said he felt “massively disappointed” that all the British singles tennis players were knocked out in the first week.

The Londoner told PA: “I think it was a bit of bad luck.

“We were lucky enough to watch Boulter on Centre Court.”

British interest in the Wimbledon singles is over after Katie Boulter’s chastening defeat to Elena Rybakina.

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev both got through to the fourth round in four sets while Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka were winners in the women’s draw.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day six unfolded.

Alcaraz’s four-hour escape

Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, is generally regarded as the most likely contender to stop Novak Djokovic, but his title credentials came under real scrutiny in his third-round match with Nicolas Jarry.

The Chilean is currently enjoying a career-best ranking, but had only won one match at Wimbledon before this year, so it is perhaps no surprise that he did not know which side of Centre Court the players’ chairs were when walking out.

However, Jarry made Alcaraz work hard as he levelled at one set all and then was a break up in the fourth set, looking primed to take it to a decider.

But the Spaniard showed all of his battling skills as he won five of the last six games to seal a 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-5 success in just short of four hours.

Celebrity cornerFokina’s late gift

When Alejandro Davidovich Fokina goes to bed tonight he will probably have nightmares.

Only he knows what possessed him to produce an underarm serve at 8-8 in his match-deciding tie-break against Holger Rune, which the Dane gleefully ran on to with ease and despatched a winner that gave him match point.

The sixth seed, who described the Spaniard’s serve as “crazy” and “unexpected”, duly obliged to book his fourth-round spot.

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Home interest in the singles is over for another year after Katie Boulter’s Centre Court demise.

The British number one was the last Briton standing after Cameron Norrie, Andy Murray and Liam Broady all went out within 90 minutes of each other on Friday, but she was dismantled by defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina on Saturday night.

Boulter, who won at Nottingham in the build-up, matched her best performance at this tournament but was outclassed by Rybakina, who won 6-1 6-1.

Katie Boulter was blown away by defending champion Elena Rybakina as British singles interest at Wimbledon came to an end in the third round.

Boulter cemented her new-found status as British number one by reaching the last 32 for a second successive year, and there were high hopes she could at least give third seed Rybakina a match.

Boulter has shown many times that she loves the big stage but, having waited until nearly 9pm to walk out on Centre Court following two lengthy matches and a rain delay, she managed to detain Rybakina for only 56 minutes in a 6-1 6-1 hammering.

After some positive results earlier in the week it has been a chastening two days for British tennis, with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady all falling on Friday.

Boulter pulled off the best win of her career in the second round here last year, defeating former finalist Karolina Pliskova, and in seven previous matches against top-10 players had only failed to win at least a set on one occasion.

She handled her status as favourite well to see off Daria Saville and Viktoriya Tomova in the first two rounds and was looking forward to having a crack at the defending champion.

Rybakina was a significant step up but the Kazakh had been shaky at times in her opening two rounds having come into the tournament under prepared because of illness.

She possesses probably the fiercest strike in the women’s game, though, as well as the best serve following Serena Williams’ retirement, and she hit her stride straight away.

Boulter has been working on adding more variety to her flat-hitting game but with options can come indecision and a couple of ill-advised drop shots cost her a break of serve for 3-1.

First-strike tennis usually favours Boulter but the power coming from Rybakina’s racket, particularly on her serve, was on another level.

The third seed, who remarkably is the first women’s defending champion to reach the fourth round here since Williams back in 2016, broke again for 5-1 and wrapped up the first set in 26 minutes.

Boulter’s support camp, including boyfriend Alex De Minaur, tried to lift her, and she halted the run of games against her at seven by holding for 1-2 in the second set.

That was as good as it got, though, with the score the same as last year’s third round, when Boulter lost to Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.

It has nevertheless been a positive fortnight and a transformative grass-court season for Boulter, who will be ranked just outside the top 70 on Monday and now has the chance to really push on.

Aryna Sabalenka acknowledged there would only be a “little celebration” for making the second week at Wimbledon this time with her eyes firmly set on another grand slam title.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka marched into the fourth round at the All England Club on Saturday with a routine 6-2 6-3 victory over Moscow-born Anna Blinkova, hitting 30 winners in an 81-minute breeze on Court One.

Second seed Sabalenka is at the top of her game having made it to at least the semi-final stage of her last three grand slams, but it was at Wimbledon two summers ago where she made her big breakthrough at a major.

A run to the last four for the current world number two in 2021 was the first time she made the second week at a grand slam and the Belarusian has not looked back since and is focused on lasting the distance on grass this time.

“Yeah, I have really great memories from here. It was my first breakthrough,” Sabalenka said, having missed last year’s tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing due to the war in Ukraine.

“I was very happy two years ago to be able to get to the second week. Yeah, since that I kind of had more belief in myself in the grand slams.

“I don’t think anymore about the second week of the grand slam, you know? I kind of felt a little relief after that breakthrough.

“I’m still happy. It’s still a little celebration because of making the second week, but the goal is to go as far as I can. I’m trying to stay focused.”

Back-to-back aces booked Sabalenka her place in the last-16, after surviving an entertaining 14-minute seventh game of the second set to hold.

The 25-year-old will face another Russian next after Ekaterina Alexandrova, the 21st seed, was the first female winner on day six with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Dalma Galfi on Court 18.

Last year’s Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur survived a scare and a lengthy stoppage due to a wet Centre Court surface to progress into the fourth round with a battling 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over Bianca Andreescu.

After Jabeur hit back from losing the first set to level, the Tunisian found herself 3-1 down in the decider, but crucially broke back against the former US Open winner before heavy rain arrived at 7.36pm.

With the Centre Court roof open, the grass surface briefly took a hammering of rain and a 50-minute delay occurred while it was left to dry.

But once play resumed, Jabeur showed her mettle on her first return to the venue since last year’s final.

Two break points were held by the world number six in her first service game after the resumption before she broke to love in the ninth game and sealed her place in round four with an ace.

“I felt like I didn’t play my best today, I wanted to be more aggressive and play my game but I am playing against a grand slam champion,” Jabeur said before admitting to almost asking spectator Billie Jean King for advice mid-match.

“You have to do what you do and Billie was watching so I was going to ask her what should I do. I swear I was going to turn to her.

“Very emotional coming back here after a great final last year. It is one of, if not my favourite court. I love the grass, love the energy and hopefully I can come back and play more matches here.”

The wet weather disrupted some of the early play on Saturday but Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the rain to down Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 on Court Three before a suspension meant there was no time for an on-court interview.

When play did resume in SW19, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova finished the run of qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in straight sets.

Madison Keys, who won the Rothesay International in Eastbourne last week, continued her fine form with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina insisted he had no regrets despite an ill-advised underarm serve virtually handing victory to Holger Rune in their third-round clash at Wimbledon.

The Spaniard had let an 8-5 lead slip in the deciding first-to-10-point tie-break when, at 8-8, he decided to pull out an underarm serve, which sixth seed Rune easily put away before clinching a 6-3 4-6 3-6 6-4 7-6 (8) win on the next point.

Davidovich Fokina was unrepentant, though, calling the shot simply “another serve”. Asked if he would make the same decision again, he added: “Why not?”

The 24-year-old, who is ranked 34, insisted he would look back on the match positively, saying: “I won’t regret anything.

“I’m happy for this match that I did because I was struggling on grass and how I played today I convinced myself that I have a lot of things in myself.”

It is the third time in his last five matches at Wimbledon that Davidovich Fokina has shot himself in the foot with highly questionable decisions.

In a first-round meeting with Hubert Hurkacz 12 months ago, he was 40-0 up serving for the match in the third set when he tried an unnecessary tweener.

Davidovich Fokina did eventually come through that one in a deciding fifth-set tie-break only to lose to Jiri Vesely in another tie-break in the second round when he smashed a ball out of the court while match point down and was given a point penalty.

Rune has had plenty of dramatic moments in grand slams himself this season and has now played a match tie-break at each event – losing to Andrey Rublev in Australia before beating Francisco Cerundolo in Paris.

He certainly was not complaining about Davidovich Fokina’s moment of madness, saying: “I was not expecting for sure that that was going to come.

“Actually it was nice because he was serving unbelievable so I was like, ‘OK’, it was a chance to get a match point. I had to be fast with the feet. Wow, what a match.”

Rune next faces either Frances Tiafoe or Grigor Dimitrov, who was leading by two sets to love when rain forced an early end to the day’s play on the outside courts.

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of “ruining everything” after he was denied a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by Formula One’s dominant Dutchman.

For a dozen seconds, Norris sat at qualifying’s summit in front of a sell-out Silverstone crowd only to watch Verstappen – the second-but-last man over the line – knock him off his perch.

Verstappen snatched top spot from Norris by 0.241 seconds, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only sixth and seventh on another sub-par afternoon for the grid’s once dominant team.

Norris, 23, has endured a poor season in his under-performing McLaren machine, but the British team’s first major upgrade of the season worked wonders on home turf.

Norris threatened throughout qualifying – sitting at the top of the timings at various stages in Q1, Q2 and Q3 – before a knockout blow from Verstappen stopped him landing only his second career pole.

“I was so close,” said Norris. He added with a smile: “Max ruins everything for everyone.

“I was watching the TV screens and I was surprised how long I stayed up there for. I did not make a mistake. It was all about when Max crossed the line and if he made a mistake, not if we could beat him.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown celebrated wildly, hugging and high-fiving anyone he could find dressed in the team’s papaya colours.

Norris added: “I could hear Zak on the radio during the in-lap, which was the best thing ever. To be second and third was amazing for the whole team.”

Norris will have his work cut out to claim what would be a maiden win in his 92nd start, with Verstappen in a class of one this year.

The 25-year-old Dutchman will be bidding to take his eighth win from the 10 rounds so far on his unrelenting march to a third straight world championship.

“I have some reason to believe we can do OK but not enough to beat this guy,” added Norris, pointing towards the Red Bull man.

“It is clear we have made some progress and we have made a decent step forward. It is payback for the work that has been done by the team.

“Max and I are very good friends. We grew up at a similar time, and we share the same mentality because we love it.

“But as soon as we put the helmet on, all the respect we have off the track, we forget that. It makes no difference about us being friends.”

No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But the Mercedes driver will be deeply frustrated to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans.

Sergio Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying.

The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of a drying track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end.

It marked the fifth consecutive grand prix in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest the sport has ever seen.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot.

Lando Norris accused Max Verstappen of “ruining everything” after he was denied a shock pole position at the British Grand Prix by Formula One’s dominant Dutchman.

For a dozen seconds, Norris sat at qualifying’s summit in front of a sell-out Silverstone crowd only to watch Verstappen – the second-but-last man over the line – knock him off his perch.

Verstappen snatched top spot from Norris by 0.241 seconds, with Oscar Piastri third on an excellent day for McLaren.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth for Ferrari, with Mercedes’ George Russell and Lewis Hamilton only sixth and seventh on another sub-par afternoon for the grid’s once dominant team.

Norris, 23, has endured a poor season in his under-performing McLaren machine, but the British team’s first major upgrade of the season worked wonders on home turf.

Norris threatened throughout qualifying – sitting at the top of the timings at various stages in Q1, Q2 and Q3 – before a knockout blow from Verstappen stopped him landing only his second career pole.

“I was so close,” said Norris. He added with a smile: “Max ruins everything for everyone.

“I was watching the TV screens and I was surprised how long I stayed up there for. I did not make a mistake. It was all about when Max crossed the line and if he made a mistake, not if we could beat him.”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown celebrated wildly, hugging and high-fiving anyone he could find dressed in the team’s papaya colours.

Norris added: “I could hear Zak on the radio during the in-lap, which was the best thing ever. To be second and third was amazing for the whole team.”

Norris will have his work cut out to claim what would be a maiden win in his 92nd start, with Verstappen in a class of one this year.

The 25-year-old Dutchman will be bidding to take his eighth win from the 10 rounds so far on his unrelenting march to a third straight world championship.

“I have some reason to believe we can do OK but not enough to beat this guy,” added Norris, pointing towards the Red Bull man.

“It is clear we have made some progress and we have made a decent step forward. It is payback for the work that has been done by the team.

“Max and I are very good friends. We grew up at a similar time, and we share the same mentality because we love it.

“But as soon as we put the helmet on, all the respect we have off the track, we forget that. It makes no difference about us being friends.”

No driver has won the British Grand Prix on more occasions than Hamilton, with the 38-year-old winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But the Mercedes driver will be deeply frustrated to start only seventh, half-a-second off the pace, in front of his home fans.

Sergio Perez’s dismal run of form continued after he was eliminated from the opening phase of qualifying.

The Mexican was first out of the pits when the action resumed following a red flag to clear Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.

Perez momentarily headed to the top of the order, but the evolution of a drying track saw him tumble all the way down to 16th when Q1 came to an end.

It marked the fifth consecutive grand prix in which Perez has failed to make it into Q3 in a machine Hamilton described as the fastest the sport has ever seen.

Despite the threat of action from Just Stop Oil protesters, qualifying passed off without incident.

However, F1 bosses, Silverstone and Northamptonshire Police remain on high alert that a protest could yet disrupt Sunday’s 52-lap race where 150,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Security has been beefed up, with facial recognition cameras posted around the 3.66 mile track in a move to foil a potential plot.

Lewis Hamilton said his “disappointing” result in qualifying for the British Grand Prix must serve as a “wake-up call” for Mercedes.

Hamilton will start his home race in front of a 150,000 sell-out crowd at Silverstone only in seventh place, with team-mate George Russell one spot better off on the grid.

As Max Verstappen, perhaps predictably, raced to his fifth consecutive pole position, McLaren stung a surprise with Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri second and third respectively in their upgraded machines.

Informed of his position over the radio, Hamilton said: “We are so slow.”

McLaren’s resurgence means Hamilton is now even further away from the front – qualifying half-a-second off Verstappen – despite Mercedes bringing a new front wing to Silverstone.

“It is not a blow, but it is just a wake-up call for us,” said Hamilton. “Others are overtaking us and we need to do more.

“I will be optimistic and do my best to get on the podium, but realistically I am not sure we can. We have two Ferraris and two McLarens ahead of us so it is going to be a tough race.

“It is always a great feeling to be at the British Grand Prix, but today it was disappointing that we could not deliver for the fans. Hopefully we can tomorrow.”

Hamilton is the most successful driver at the British Grand Prix – winning seven of the last 10 races staged here.

But 580 days have now passed since Hamilton last took to the top step of the podium – a run of 32 races which extends back to the final round of the 2021 season.

Mercedes’ major upgrade arrived at Monaco in May, and Hamilton delivered successive podiums at the ensuing rounds in Spain and Canada to provide him with hope he might soon be back in winning contention.

But he finished only eighth in Austria a week ago, and he is facing a tall order to salvage a respectable result on Sunday.

McLaren have been well off the pace so far this year, but their new package – which Hamilton likened to Verstappen’s dominant Red Bull machine – has propelled them ahead of the Silver Arrows.

“I am not surprised by McLaren because if you look at the car it makes sense,” said Hamilton.

“If you put it alongside a Red Bull, it looks very similar down the sides and it is working. They had the edge on us at the last race so I anticipate tomorrow will be the same.

“McLaren have been on a bad run for so long so I am happy for them. We have another team up in the mix which is what we want to see in the sport.”

Tom Marquand timed his run to perfection aboard Perotto to claim the Coral Challenge and secure a double on the Coral-Eclipse card at Sandown.

He had been undone when making his move a shade early when 10th of 30 in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot 17 days ago, but on this occasion, Marquand’s mount was faultless.

The Roger Varian-trained five-year-old was brought with a decisive effort a furlong out to score by a length and quarter from Ouzo, having had plenty in his favour this time, a fact his rider alluded to.

Marquand said: “I spoke to Roger this morning about the horse and he has a tendency to just be a bit fizzy. They did a bit of work just to get him out the gates at Ascot and he probably broke a little too well and just got left over-racing a touch.

“Today, we had a kind draw, he was racing down into a bend, he had the hood on – everything just pointed in the right direction for him. The plan came easy because he broke nicely and we had that easy tempo early down to the bend.

“They got everything spot on today for him to be able to conserve the energy he needed to get that last couple of furlongs.”

Possible targets include the International Handicap back at Ascot and the Golden Mile.

Marquand added: “I do just wonder about having a bend to race around, because it shuts the race down for him, but I will leave that to Roger to discuss, because he has some solid form at Ascot and if the race is run to suit for him, it is a great place. He had proven he is consistent to a high level and he needs little bits to go his way.”

Pat Dobbs was another who provided a masterclass of jockeyship, timing the run of Classic to perfection to claim the Coral Racing Club Handicap for trainer Richard Hannon.

The Julie Wood-owned three-year-old did not quite live up to expectations in the Greenham, but had run well twice subsequently in handicap company and Dobbs delivered the Dubawi colt in the dying strides to land the seven-furlong heat by a length from Novus.

“He is very tricky at home,” said Dobbs. “He is keen to get on with things and has only just started to settle down.

“He obviously has a very good pedigree so it was important to do it again at three and he is definitely going the right way.

“He had a different bit on today and a cross noseband which was a bit more manageable. He was galloping with his head in the air for the first three furlongs last time. Mentally he is getting better.”

The Ralph Beckett-trained Lord Protector gave Rossa Ryan success when staying on nicely after leading at the furlong pole to down Haunted Dream in the Coral Play ‘Racing-Super-Series’ For Free Handicap Stakes.

Like Tom Marquand, Ryan Moore also recorded a double on the afternoon.

“He’s improving every season”, was Aidan O’Brien’s assessment of the jockey after partnering Paddington to success in the Coral-Eclipse.

Having vanquished the John and Thady Gosden-trained Emily Upjohn, he gave that training duo a measure of compensation when guiding Lisboa to a runaway success in the concluding Coral ‘Get Closer To The Action’ Handicap.

The Galileo colt was making a quick turnaround from a below-par showing at Kempton 10 days ago and equipped with first-time blinkers, was given a positive ride by Moore, who had the nine-furlong contest in hand from the two-furlong pole.

After the runaway success, John Gosden said: “He didn’t pay much attention last time at Kempton, got between horses and decided he wouldn’t be bothered.

“So we popped the blinkers on and he decided to show what talent he has. He was kept in training this year. I thought he might have gone to the sales last year, but he will be in the July Sales next week.

“He flashed ability last year, then we had to pack in with him as he had a bit of an issue with a knee, but that has come absolutely right now – he’s been in good form.

“It is a pleasant surprise, particularly when Ryan goes that pace early on. He got a breather round the bend, but had the ability to still win comfortably. I thought once he got a lead, he wouldn’t be caught.”

He added: “It has been a great day’s racing and a phenomenal Eclipse. It was like an old-fashioned match-race.”

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka marched into the fourth round at Wimbledon with a routine 6-2 6-3 victory over Anna Blinkova.

Australian Open winner Sabalenka needed three sets to overcome Varvara Gracheva in a trick tie on Friday but 24 hours later remained in total control against her Moscow-born opponent.

Sabalenka, part of the unofficial ‘big three’ in women’s tennis alongside defending champion Elena Rybakina and world number one Iga Swiatek, finished the match with consecutive aces and hit 30 winners to stay on course to reach the last-four of a fourth successive grand slam.

Both players missed Wimbledon last year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned due to the Ukraine war, but Sabalenka had shown her potential on grass in 2021 with a semi-final showing and quickly set about making the last-16.

There were aces and backhand winners aplenty for the world number two during a first set on Court One that lasted 31 minutes and contained three breaks for the right-hander.

Blinkova had struggled with her serve, but the harsh reality was she could not handle Sabalenka’s relentless hitting.

An early break for the Russian in the second was wiped out instantly with a crunching forehand return by Sabalenka, who had to be at her best to hold during a 14-minute seventh game.

Victory in 81 minutes was sealed with back-to-back aces to send the 25-year-old into the second week of Wimbledon once again.

“I think it was definitely better tennis than yesterday the first set,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview.

“It was tough, she played really well, tough end to the match and super happy with this win.

“It was like a nightmare that (seventh) game. Somehow I managed to finish that game with a win, but yeah it was crazy.

“A crazy game. Super happy I was able to handle myself in that situation.”

Sabalenka will face another Russian in round four after 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was the first female winner on day six with a 6-0 6-4 victory over Dalma Galfi on Court 18.

The wet weather disrupted some of the early play on Saturday but Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia beat the rain to down Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 on Court Three before a suspension meant there was no time for an on-court interview.

When play did resume in SW19, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova finished the run of qualifier Natalija Stevanovic in straight sets.

Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to meet Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final – but the seven-time champion will not be having sleepless nights just yet.

World number one Alcaraz, touted as the only realistic challenger to Djokovic this fortnight, joined the Serbian in the fourth round after beating Nicolas Jarry.

But it took the Spaniard four sets and almost four hours to get past a player who had not played at Wimbledon for four years and before this week had only won one match here.

Chilean Jarry is a player on an upward curve, however, having risen from 152 in the world at the start of the year to a career-high 28.

Nevertheless, it looked like being plain sailing when Alcaraz won his 17th consecutive set with a solitary break.

But in the second-set tie-break, Alcaraz dumped a forehand into the net to drop a set for the first time since he played Arthur Rinderknech in the first round at Queen’s last month.

Alcaraz regained the initiative to take the third with a solitary break while Jarry hit the roof – literally – with one particularly wild swing.

Yet the indefatigable Jarry found a second wind and broke again at the start of the fourth, before an incorrect challenge from Alcaraz – who stopped playing only to discover Jarry’s return had clipped the baseline – left him on his haunches in annoyance with himself.

But Alcaraz steadied himself to hit back for 3-4 and then showed why he is the player at the top of the tree with an unstoppable backhand return to break before serving out for a hard-earned 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-5 victory.

“It has been really tough, Nicolas is a really great player, he’s playing really well,” said Alcaraz. “I’m just really happy with the level I played to get through this tough round.

“I had to stay focused. I knew I would have my chances. I would say the key is to believe and stay focused all the time.”

Third seed Daniil Medvedev also dropped a set but hit back to beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.