Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance to win the Canadian Grand Prix and match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories.
The Dutchman led every lap at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to draw level with Senna and extend his championship lead.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished runner-up, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell retired on lap 55 of 70 following an earlier prang with the wall.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari, with Sergio Perez sixth. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams.
Verstappen, who notched up Red Bull’s 100th win in Formula One, now leads Perez by 69 points on his unstoppable march to a hat-trick of titles.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry to emulate Senna and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners.
Verstappen was not even born when Senna won his 41st and final race at the 1993 season-ending Australian Grand Prix. Senna lost his life the following year in Imola following a fatal crash at the Tamburello curve, aged just 34.
Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak.
Indeed, Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel, they have every chance.
Verstappen’s triumph was sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane. Alonso was slow away from his marks, and Hamilton leapfrogged the green Aston Martin machine to take second spot.
Hamilton set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds.
With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9.
Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs.
After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment.
After five laps behind the safety car, Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road.
Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane.
Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind.
A second round of pit stops followed and Hamilton set about reeling Alonso in. But Russell’s race came to an end while running in eighth with 15 laps remaining when he was told to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear.
Alonso was also struggling with a brake problem and Hamilton sensed blood. “Hamilton is 1.9 seconds behind,” Alonso was told with eight laps to run.
“Copy,” replied the 41-year-old. “Leave it to me.” Alonso was true to his word, holding off Hamilton’s advances.
Verstappen ran across the second chicane with a handful of laps to run.
“I nearly knocked myself out on that kerb,” said the Dutchman with a chuckle before taking the flag 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso with Hamilton 4.5 sec further back.
Defending champion Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from next week’s cinch Championships at Queen’s due to an abdominal injury.
The 27-year-old Italian missed the clay court season due to a stomach muscle tear and lost 6-1 6-2 to Lorenzo Sonego last week on his return to action in Stuttgart.
Berrettini joined an elite group of players last summer when beating Filip Krajinovic in the cinch Championships final to become one of eight players in the open era to successfully retain the Queen’s Club crown.
The world number 21 was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2021 – he withdrew last year after testing positive for Covid – and it remains to be seen if the Italian will be fit enough to compete at SW19 next month.
Top seed and world number two Carlos Alcaraz will make his debut at Queen’s and faces qualifier Arthur Fils in the opening round.
Alcaraz, 20, has limited experience on grass and will be hoping for an extended run in his bid to improve on his best result on the surface, which was in reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.
Unseeded record five-time champion Andy Murray faces a tough opening match against Australian world number 18 Alex de Minaur.
The 36-year-old Scot heads to Queen’s in fine fettle after back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass at Surbiton and Nottingham as he continues his build-up to Wimbledon.
British number one Cameron Norrie, Wimbledon semi-finalist last year and the fifth seed at Queen’s, will play Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round.
Second seed Holger Rune, beaten by Norway’s Casper Ruud in the French Open quarter-finals, will bid to win his first tour-level match on grass when he faces American Maxime Cressy.
American third seed Taylor Fritz, a two-time title-winner on grass after victories at Eastbourne in 2019 and 2022, will play Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round.
Hollywood loves a sequel and golf is no different, with Los Angeles Country Club already slated to host the US Open again in 2039.
However, the odds might be against the North Course becoming part of a long-running franchise considering the reviews of the course have not exactly been of the five-star variety.
“I just think the golf course is interesting, to be polite,” was the best review defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick could come up with.
“There’s just too many holes for me where you’ve got blind tee shots and then you’ve got fairways that don’t hold the ball. There’s too much slope.
“I think the greens certainly play better when they’re firmer. They’re rolling really, really well. Some of the tee shots are just a little bit unfair. You hit a good tee shot and end up in the rough by a foot and then you’re hacking it out.
“Meanwhile someone has hit it miles offline the other way and they’ve got a shot. Yeah, not my cup of tea.”
Two-time champion and US PGA winner Brooks Koepka pinpointed some of the problem areas in an interview with GolfWeek.
“On eight, you can hit it where it barely lands on the left side and still miss the fairway right,” he said. “And everybody hits it to the same spot on three. Like why don’t we just play it from the wedge area? It makes no sense.”
The sloping fairway on the 10th caused a similar issue and even players who said they like the course, including world number one Scottie Scheffler, had some issues with the set-up.
“It can be frustrating at times with how firm the greens are and how much softer the fairways are,” Scheffler said.
“On seven yesterday (Friday) it’s just frustrating that my ball lands just short of the green yesterday and barely gets onto the green.
“Max’s (Homa) ball lands a foot on to the green and goes over the green. The only guy who actually got a look for birdie was Collin (Morikawa) and he yelled ‘fore’ because he thought he was going to hit the volunteer in the left rough.”
The layout and topography of the course has also been criticised for contributing to a lack of atmosphere, with the USGA limiting the daily attendance to 22,000, with around 9,000 tickets on general sale.
Grandstand seating around the 18th green is also severely restricted for various reasons, with the first hole running parallel, the ninth green and 10th tee being in close proximity and, perhaps most importantly, no enthusiasm from members to erect a grandstand directly in front of their clubhouse.
Tournament organisers told Golf Digest they are considering allowing spectators to walk down the 18th fairway behind the final group on Sunday, as long as there is no prospect of a play-off.
Of course, whoever lifts the trophy on Sunday evening will probably not care about any issues with the course, with joint leaders Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark seeking a first major title and Rory McIlroy his fifth after a wait of 3,234 days.
The last 24 US Open winners – and 48 of the last 49 – were within four shots of the lead entering the final round, meaning Scheffler and Harris English also come into the equation.
With popcorn in hand it will make for fascinating viewing.
A bit of La Liga glitz and glamour hit Gowran Park on Sunday when Maxux made an impressive debut in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies & Mares Maiden.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained three-year-old is owned by Real Madrid player Álvaro Odriozola who recently tasted Copa del Rey glory with the Spanish giants but takes a keen interest in both racing and breeding in his spare time.
The daughter of Frankel is a sister to Cunco, the Group Three winner who was the first of the sire’s progeny to make the racecourse – and she went someway to justifying the 200,000 guineas she commanded at the sales, making good headway to work her way into the contest before pulling clear in the closing stages to register four-and-three-quarter-length victory at 12-1.
Assistant trainer Brendan Powell said: “She is very relaxed and chilled out at home. She is a typical Frankel. She has got an engine, will stay further and Mikey (Sheehy) said he thinks she could be pretty smart.
“She loved the ground and will stay up to a mile-and-a-half no problem. We will try and get a bit of black type with her and she will be a nice broodmare prospect for her owner down the line. His big passion is breeding so hopefully this is a smart one for him.”
The scuffling New York Mets received a big boost Sunday as slugger Pete Alonso came off the injured list less than two weeks after being diagnosed with a left wrist sprain and bone bruise.
Alonso sustained the injury on a hit by pitch at the Atlanta Braves on June 7 and was expected to be out for at least three-to-four weeks.
Instead, he is in the lineup Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Alonso enters Sunday’s action leading the National League with 22 home runs while ranking second with 49 RBIs in 62 games.
The Mets are in fourth place in the NL East with a 33-37 record after increasing their spending this past offseason to a luxury tax payroll record of roughly $430 million.
Nostrum could return to action in the Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes during Newmarket’s July Festival.
Sir Michael Stoute’s talented colt was unbeaten in his first two starts as a juvenile, including when impressing in the Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket in September, and was last seen finishing third to fellow Juddmonte-owned 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean in the Dewhurst last autumn.
He was likely to return with Classic aspirations in the early part of the season, but any hope of that was scuppered when meeting with a setback in the spring, and having lost the race to be fit in time for a Royal Ascot run, connections are now pencilling in the Listed event Baaeed won in 2021 on July 13 for the Kingman colt’s comeback.
“He’s in good nick and is getting close,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“A loose plan is that he will run in the Henry Cecil at Newmarket’s July Meeting. It’s the one-mile Listed race that Baaeed won a couple of years ago.
“We were probably about two weeks short of being ready for Ascot and Sir Michael said let’s take our time and start off slow. So that looks like the plan as long as everything continues to go OK between now and then.”
Although unable to make an appearance in either the Classics or at Ascot’s summer showpiece, Mahon believes there is plenty to still look forward to and is backing Nostrum to make his mark in the second half of the season.
He continued: “It’s not the be-all and end-all (missing the start of the season). If you are a Group One horse then there are plenty of races in the second half of the season and even next season if he is a Group One horse, he’ll be able to showcase his talent.
“From a commercial point of view, you would love to be there for the Guineas and Ascot etc but I suppose you have to remember that with Chaldean as well, we would probably have been trying to keep them apart anyway.”
Katie Boulter reflected on a “special” moment as she won her first WTA Tour title at her home tournament in Nottingham.
Boulter beat Jodie Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977 to cement her position as British number one and surge up to a career-high 77 in the rankings.
The 26-year-old has travelled from her Leicestershire home to the Nottingham tennis centre since she was four years old, so to win here makes it extra special.
“I actually found some photos of me at the beginning of the week where I was training here as a ‘tiny topper’ and I looked so happy and like I was having the time of my life,” she said.
“I tried to remind myself before the final that that little girl still loves playing tennis and just enjoys every single moment she is out on court. I am very proud of myself to be in that position, whatever happened.
“I have so many special feelings, I am staying at home, mum’s cooking makes all the difference. It does feel very special because it is my home tournament.
“I dreamed of this moment, to win this tournament, as a little girl when I was four years old.
“Having come here as a fan and now as a player and somehow finding a way to win it means more than everything to me.”
Victory completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.
Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.
Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.
And Boulter, who said she will celebrate with a meal out at the pub, hopes this can be just the beginning for her.
“I’m at a career high and really happy but not content and have a long way to go,” she said. “My aim is not to be top 100, it’s to be 50, 40, 30 and ever since I broke through the first time I believed I had the game to become that player and that will always be my main focus.
“Hopefully I can find some consistency and make this week in, week out. My challenge is to find consistency and I’m proud to have brought that every week.
“I played lights-out today and went for the title, wanted that trophy, and told myself I had to back myself to win it.
“I will be sleeping with my trophy tonight and it’s nice to have some reward that I can look back on. Next week will be about resetting and I will be ready for Birmingham – that’s my job.”
Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, but she is also taking the positives.
“A bit gutted today, a tough, tough match, Boults played absolutely incredibly so credit to her, for me this has been such a positive week,” she said.
“I have beaten some really good players, proved some things to myself, so I will only take the positives.
“I will take positives from this and confidence from it and hopefully play some good tennis in the coming months.”
Lou Williams, a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner and the most prolific bench scorer in NBA history, announced his retirement Sunday.
Williams spent 17 seasons in the league, with the last coming in 2021-22 when he played for the Atlanta Hawks. He appeared in 1,123 games and started just 122 times.
Williams scored 13,396 of his 15,593 points as a reserve, the most points off the bench in NBA history ahead of Jamal Crawford (11,279).
Williams and Crawford are the only players in league history to win the Sixth Man of the Year award three times.
Williams was a second-round pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2005 (45th overall) after going straight to the NBA from high school.
He also played for the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Blue Rose Cen stormed to her second Classic of the year when landing the Prix de Diane Longines in imperious fashion at Chantilly.
Christopher Head’s stable star had already taken the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches in impressive style at ParisLongchamp last month and having conquered all before her at a mile, was even better on her first attempt at 10 furlongs.
With stablemate Wise Girl setting the fractions on the front end, big-race pilot Aurelien Lemaitre had the daughter of Churchill positioned handily tracking the pace along with French Guineas runner-up Lindy and the previously unbeaten Pensee Du Jour.
However, there was only one winner once the contest entered the business end and upon straightening for home, Lemaitre pushed the button to an almost instantaneous response from his mount, shooting clear of her pursuers and keeping on powerfully to register a clear-cut triumph.
Aidan O’Brien’s Never Ending Story picked up the silver medal with Francis-Henri Graffard’s Tasmania keeping on for third, but the day belonged to Blue Rose Cen who was handed a quote of 12-1 by Coral to tackle an extra two furlongs in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.
She also becomes first filly since Jean-Claude Rouget’s La Cressonniere in 2016 to do the French Guineas/Oaks double and she now joins the likes of Zarkava, Divine Proportions and Allez France to win all three of the Prix Marcel Boussac, Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane.
Andy Murray was given the best Father’s Day present after being surprised by his children following his title win at the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title as he beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the Challenger Tour event to make it 10 wins in a row after also triumphing at Surbiton last week.
The former world number one was hoping to make a quick dash down the M1 to be home in time to see his four children before they went to bed, but was given a nice surprise as his wife Kim and Sophia, Edie, Teddy and Lola made their presence known during the trophy presentation.
Despite their effort to travel to Nottingham to see their dad win a 10th career grass court title, Murray revealed they were actually more interested in going to McDonald’s.
“To be honest, after I had the kids I was motivated to keep playing so they could watch me when I was older, but they are not really that interested,” Murray said.
“I thought they might be but they’re not. It is really nice for them to come, I have loved having them come and watch today, but I realise for them, they are more interested in other things.
“But it was still nice because they haven’t been to Wimbledon, they came to Queen’s when I played doubles there, but they haven’t been around it at all. They are more interested in when we are going to McDonalds after the match.
“I didn’t know they were coming. I was obviously hoping with the early start I would get down the road this evening, I had no idea they were coming.
“They showed up last week, we live quite close to Surbiton, and after I won the first set they decided to come and try and see the end. As they arrived it started raining, they hung around for a couple of hours but then it started getting close to bedtime so they went and as they got home I got back on court.
“They obviously decided to make the effort to come down here and thankfully I managed to win.”
A 10th win in a row renewed hope that Murray will be able to have a good run at Wimbledon, which starts in a fortnight.
This is his best sequence of results since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.
And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where a run to the quarter-finals could see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.
He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week, with world number one Carlos Alcaraz and number two Holger Rune among others in the draw.
However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and match play this week, Murray looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.
Winning the Nottingham Open may not have the prestige of his previous successes, but they are still special to Murray.
“I love winning tournaments. Since all of the injury issues that has been a bit tougher for me,” he said. “All of these trophies I have won since the operation, they mean a lot to me.
“I’m not saying it’s the same as winning at Wimbledon, but I know how hard it is what I’m doing right now, I know how hard I’m working to getting back to trying to win tournaments and they still mean a lot to me.”
Katie Boulter won her first WTA Tour title after beating fellow Briton Jodie Burrage in the Rothesay Nottingham Open final.
Boulter, who is from Leicester and considers this her home tournament, beat Burrage 6-3 6-3 in the first all-British final at this level since 1977.
She had only reached a quarter-final before but now follows Johanna Konta as a British winner here, cementing her position as British number one and surging up the rankings to inside the top 80.
It also completed a British double as Andy Murray won the men’s Challenger Tour event.
Despite defeat, it was also a breakout week for Burrage in reaching her first final, and with three Britons making the last four, it was a strong response to the criticism for the lack of British women in the French Open singles last month.
Indeed, it is their best showing in a tournament since Virginia Wade and Sue Barker were at the top of the women’s game in the 1970s.
Playing at Nottingham has always meant a lot to Boulter, with her mum and granddad able to watch, and she made sure this was going to be her moment from the off as she surged into a 3-0 lead in the first set thanks to an early break.
Burrage has had some long matches this week and after a recent injury said she was “hanging by a thread” physically, and she struggled to match her compatriot throughout.
Boulter broke again but she missed her first chance to serve out the set only to quickly settle any nerves by breaking Burrage for a third time to take the opening set.
Another early break in the second set tightened her grip on the match and it never loosened, claiming victory and her maiden title on her second championship point.
There was a warm embrace between the British pair at the end as Boulter enjoyed her moment.
Craig Kieswetter is dreaming the next stage of the Echoes In Rain journey leads to an Ascot Gold Cup triumph as the former England international cricketer has eyes for only one trophy at Royal Ascot.
Kieswetter was named man of the match in the World Cup Final when England conquered the cricketing world at the 2010 T20 World Cup. But since crossing the boundary for the final time at the tender age of 27, he has gone on to play a major role in Barnane Stud and now stands on the brink of reaching the pinnacle of Flat racing when the standard bearer of his family’s racing operation lines up in Thursday’s main event.
Trained by Willie Mullins, Echoes In Rain has raced 23 times in a dual-purpose career that has seen her win nine times, striking at Grade One level twice – including on her most recent outing at the Punchestown Festival when she arguably produced a career best, romping to an imperious nine-and-a-half-length victory.
Her record could be even more impressive if not racing in the era of Honeysuckle, but it is somewhat fitting that the Barnane stalwart could provide her owners with their biggest triumph on the ultimate stage.
“She’s an incredible horse and all the credit has to go to Peter, Ross and Anna Doyle who purchased her for us and Willie and his team for the way they have looked after her,” said Kieswetter.
“She’s one of those horses that doesn’t come around too often and she has given us so much pleasure over the jumps and on the Flat for a good few years.
“As grateful as we are for the great times and the journey she has taken us on, at times it has been frustrating because she has come up against Honeysuckle. It’s been an amazing journey and it would be great to continue that journey on Thursday.”
Mullins is seeking his own slice of history and he attempts to become the first man to win both the Cheltenham and Ascot versions of the Gold Cup in the same year.
Vincent O’Brien is the only man to win both races, but it was not in the same calendar year – showing just how remarkable Mullins’ achievement would be.
The Closutton handler came close to Gold Cup glory 10 years ago, when Simenon was narrowly denied by the late Queen’s Estimate in the week’s premier staying contest.
Kieswetter continued: “Willie is happy with the mare and hopefully he can create a bit of history for himself and become the first trainer to win both Gold Cups in the same year – that would be one hell of an achievement.
“He’s a genius and he knows what his plan is. He is hungry to give the race a good crack and is sending a good team of horses for the week. It’s extremely exciting, the Gold Cup is the Gold Cup and we’re just hoping the mare gives a good account of herself and if she does, we will be happy with that.
“After chatting to Willie, he did mention a couple of options for her at the Royal meeting and some other Flat races throughout the season, but I think he must be quite chuffed with her and confident after her last performance.
“Willie isn’t going to just enter a horse for the sake of entering it, so he must be confident and that in turn gives us confidence.”
Barnane Stud broke their duck at the Royal meeting when the William Haggas-trained Candleford stormed to success in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes 12 months ago, a result that simply whetted Kieswetter’s appetite to return in search of further glory during one of the biggest weeks of the racing year.
Now, like their horses, the close-knit family operation is ready to make the step up to the highest level and – win, lose or draw – they are determined to enjoy the day to its full potential.
“Last year we had a nice result with Candleford in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes,” added the South African-born owner-breeder.
“Just to have a runner is great, but to have a winner is very special. It’s an incredible week of racing.
“The Gold Cup is steeped in history and tradition. The whole week of racing is amazing, but the Gold Cup is the pinnacle of the week and to have a runner the trainer is confident in is very exciting.
“We have the whole team over from Barnane and South Africa and we will be racing with a lot of friends, so it will be a fun day.
“If she wins the Gold Cup, I’m pretty sure we will open up the local pub to the whole of the town and drink them out of Guinness.”
A Gold Cup victory would make Echoes In Rain a valuable broodmare proposition for Barnane Stud with Kieswetter tentatively mooting they could decide to pull stumps on her racing career there and then in the Ascot winner’s enclosure if big-race success came her way.
There is, of course, plenty of water to cross through Swinley Bottom before a date with the breeding sheds is inked into the diary, but it appears Kieswetter’s mating plans are as aggressive as his exploits with cricket bat in hand as he suggests he would not be shy in pointing Echoes In Rain the way of Frankel amongst others.
He said: “If she does happen to do something special, she will undoubtedly be going to the best Flat stallion. It would make sense being a Gold Cup winner or placed mare, so she would be deserving of the full treatment and we certainly wouldn’t hold back on her.
“Frankel is most probably on the cards. He’s a superstar and his results are outstanding. But that is something we will sit down as a team and no doubt discuss the options. Although it is important we don’t get carried away and we need to get through Thursday first before we can sit and decide anything.
“The fact we are able to even have these dreams is what the sport is all about and we are grateful for.
“We’ve got a beautiful team, both over here and in South Africa, and what we want to do is breed top quality racehorses and that is what the goal is.”
Emma Raducanu has revealed how she has had to deal with “sharks” and people who use her as a “piggy bank” following her US Open success in 2021.
Raducanu became an overnight star when she memorably won at Flushing Meadows as an 18-year-old in only her second grand slam, just three months after finishing her A-Levels.
That victory transformed her into one of the most marketable sportspeople in the world, with a raft of high-end sponsorship deals, but life on the court has been tough for her since then as she has tried to establish herself on the women’s WTA Tour against the backdrop of a glut of injury issues.
The Brit, now 20 and possibly out for the season following wrist and ankle surgery, admitted she was naive following her US Open win and has been taken advantage of.
“When I won I was extremely naïve,” Raducanu told The Sunday Times Style magazine. “What I have realised in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
“You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there. I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.
“It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times. I have learnt, keep your circle as small as possible.”
It remains to be seen whether Raducanu, who has been displaced as British number one by Katie Boulter, will play again this year following her double surgery.
And she admitted her desire not to seem weak to a newly-appointed coach saw her play through the pain and make the injury worse while also revealing how she suffered mentally.
“The pain [in the wrists] escalated last summer after Wimbledon,” she added. “I started with a new coach and I was really motivated to get going. We were overtraining, a lot of repetition, and I carried on even through pain because I didn’t want to be perceived as weak.
“I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me too. I always want to put forward the best version of myself, or strive for that, but I knew I couldn’t.
“I very much attach my self-worth to my achievements. If I lost a match I would be really down, I would have a day of mourning, literally staring at the wall. I feel things so passionately and intensely.
“I was under so much pressure to perform, people had no idea what was going on and I had to have this façade, to keep everything inside. It has been really hard.
“And then to be scrutinised for it when they don’t know what is going on. I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone and everyone has something to say about it. The tour is completely brutal.”
Mick Fitzgerald has paid tribute to Paul Barber following his death at the age of 80, describing his Cheltenham Gold Cup victory aboard the leading owner’s See More Business as “one of my proudest days in the saddle”.
The landlord of 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, Barber was a passionate supporter of jumps racing and enjoyed numerous big-race successes, both in his own name or in partnership with others.
The Nicholls-trained duo See More Business and Denman both landed Cheltenham Gold Cup glory for Barber, while in recent years, he was a joint-owner of dual King George VI Chase hero Clan Des Obeaux.
Barber was also known for the family’s dairy and cheese production business, but it was See More Business who took him to the pinnacle of National Hunt racing in 1999 when Fitzgerald steered the first real staying star of Nicholls’ Ditcheat operation to a one-length success over Go Ballistic.
“I was very lucky to ride a Gold Cup winner for Paul and I know what it meant to him,” said Fitzgerald.
“Being on top of See More Business when Paul was leading him into the winner’s enclosure that day after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a memory that will live forever for me. It’s one of my proudest days in the saddle and I was just privileged to be allowed to ride the horse.
“I know what it meant to him to have a Gold Cup winner and I think that is how I would like to remember Paul Barber.
“He was a man who loved what Paul Nicholls did at Ditcheat, he was very proud of what Paul achieved – I know that. They were very good friends as well as Paul being a tenant and I know it meant an awful lot to him to have Paul as his trainer and he took a lot of pride in Paul being champion trainer so many times as well.
“I feel for (his wife) Marianne and the whole Barber family at this time.”
Sam Thomas was the man aboard Denman when he stormed to the Cheltenham Gold Cup for Barber and co-owner Margaret Findley, mother of pro-punter Harry, in 2008 and remembers a “gentleman” who was “a pleasure to ride for”.
“My thoughts are with his wife and all the immediate family and friends,” said Thomas.
“My association with Mr Barber was obviously through Paul (Nicholls) and you couldn’t wish to meet a nicer gentleman, he was a pleasure to ride for and a real honour to ride for him.
“He had See More Business as well (as Denman) and I’m sure they both would have given Mr Barber an enormous thrill and he was always such a pleasure to ride for.”
Andy Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title.
The former world number one followed up his win at Surbiton last week with a flawless display to lift the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
Murray beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the final to make it 10 wins in a row.
That is his best sequence since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.
And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where another good week will see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.
He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week at Queen’s, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini and Holger Rune all in the draw.
However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and matchplay this week, he looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.
His physicality was tested here as he won his semi-final at 6.30pm on Saturday night but was back on at 11am for the final, which was brought forward owing to the threat of rain on Sunday afternoon.
He hit the ground running, though, breaking the world number 181 in the opening game before eventually seeing the first set out 6-4.
The second set was much tighter, owing to Cazaux’s big serve, but Murray broke at 4-4 and then served it out to get his hands on the trophy.
Rob Burrow and his family completed the Arena Group Leeds Mini and Junior Run together on Father’s Day.
Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in late 2019, was pushed by his daughters Maya and Macy along the course.
The mini and junior routes took place alongside the Leeds 10k that ran through the city on Sunday morning as part of the Jane Tomlinson Run For All Event.
Burrow’s wife Lindsey also took part and the family celebrated with their medals after crossing the finish line.
Last month Kevin Sinfield pushed Burrow at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon and carried his former Rhinos team-mate over the finish line to complete the course together.
There is no disputing a huge week awaits Andrew Balding at Royal Ascot. But equally it is very much a feeling of “good pressure…the pressure you want” for the Kingsclere trainer, as he prepares to send out a team captained by Classic winner Chaldean.
Balding arrives in Berkshire with a string in fine form, boasting a near 20 per cent strike-rate in the last two weeks, and with leading chances in two of the real showpiece events of the meeting.
The 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean will head his formidable team, as he takes on Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington and unbeaten Cicero’s Gift in a mouthwatering St James’s Palace Stakes on Tuesday.
“Obviously, we were thrilled with his Guineas win. That was his main objective for the early part of the season and this will be his second target. This, we always hoped, would be the plan,” said Balding.
“He had a little break after Newmarket. He has freshened up well and his work has been as solid as ever and we’re looking forward to it.
“There’s pressure, obviously, he is wearing the crown at the moment and that gives you added pressure.”
Balding will run Berkshire Shadow in the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes, the first of three Group One races on the opening afternoon.
Beaten just under two lengths in a bunched finish in the St James’s Palace last year, he opened his four-year-old campaign with a Listed win at Wolverhampton and another success in the valuable All-Weather Mile Championship at Newcastle.
Bookmakers appear to be overlooking the Dark Angel gelding, making him a general 33-1 chance.
“He ran well when finishing third in the Lockinge next time,” said Balding, as he ran through his team sitting on a bench opposite the weighing room at Newbury, where he waited to saddle a three-year-old. “We think he’d have an each-way chance again.
“It is a tough division, but he is a high-class horse, who won a Coventry a couple of years ago.”
Dante Stakes winner The Foxes, who subsequently failed to see out the Derby trip, will not be among the yard’s runners, although Oaks eighth Sea Of Roses will take her place in the Ribblesdale.
Kempton’s Magnolia Stakes winner Foxes Tales and Notre Belle Bete, who has placed three times this year and landed over £100,000 when scoring in the All-Weather Easter Classic at Newcastle, are Balding’s contenders in the Wolferton Stakes.
“He (Foxes Tales) has a (3lb) penalty. He is in the Wolferton.” said Balding. “We have Notre Belle Bete in that too. He’s had a great season.
“We run some two-year-olds, but we don’t quite know what to expect there,” admitted Balding, before citing two horses who may fly under the radar in Imperial Fighter and Sandrine.
The former was beaten two and a half lengths by Native Trail in the Irish 2,000 Guineas last year, but has not hit the same heights subsequently.
Fifth to Regal Reality in the Diomed at Epsom on his last start, Balding feels he has started to come to hand again.
“Imperial Fighter will go in the Royal Hunt Cup,” he added. “He was third in the Irish Guineas last year but has just taken his time to find a bit of form this year, but I’m happy with him now. I think he’d have an each-way chance.”
Sandrine, owned by Kirsten Rausing, is a dual Group Two winner who landed the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood last July.
She won the six-furlong Albany on heavy ground two years ago and is equally effective on a quicker surface.
Having run over seven furlongs and a mile last season, she dropped back to six furlongs at Salisbury last month and was beaten a length and a half. She is a 16-1 chance for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on Saturday, yet her trainer remains hopeful.
Balding said: “Sandrine could be overlooked in the Jubilee, because she is high class.
“The return to sprinting will suit her. She was a bit disappointing at Salisbury, but I think there were legitimate excuses for that.
“She seems in great nick at home and she goes there, as long as the ground is not too quick, with what we think is a great each-way chance.”
By then, he will know whether it has been a successful Royal meeting or not, particularly since he has another plum chance with Coltrane, who is a general 11-4 chance for the feature on Ladies Day – the Gold Cup.
With Aidan O’Brien’s crack stayer Kyprios unable to defend his crown through injury, Balding feels Mick and Janice Mariscotti’s six-year-old – who won the Ascot Stakes, Esher Stakes and Doncaster Gold Cup last season – has every chance of backing up his recent Sagaro success as he steps back up to two and a half miles.
“It looks an open Gold Cup,” Balding said. “The good thing about Coltrane is we know he stays and we know he loves the track. That has go to be a massive plus.
“He seems in great heart and I couldn’t be more thrilled with his Sarago win. I thought that was his best performance ever.”
Acknowledging what is to come, he said: “Of course there’s pressure. But it is a good pressure. This is the pressure you want.
“You are always happy if you get just one winner at the meeting, so fingers crossed.”
Modern Games will face 11 rivals as he bids for a sixth Group One win in Tuesday’s Queen Anne Stakes, the opening event of Royal Ascot 2023.
Charlie Appleby’s charge struck at the highest level in France, Canada and America last year and secured his first Group One on home soil when winning the Lockinge at Newbury last month.
He had the Richard Hannon-trained Chindit behind him that day and he reopposes along with the third Berkshire Shadow, fifth Mutasaabeq, sixth-placed Lusail and the seventh Light Infantry.
Modern Games’ main rival appears to be the John and Thady Gosden-trained Inspiral, winner of the Coronation Stakes at this meeting last year and making her seasonal bow here.
Angel Bleu, Cash, Pogo and Triple Time complete the field along with Appleby’s second runner Native Trail.
Chaldean and Paddington provide a mouth-watering clash in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Winners of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Irish equivalent for Andrew Balding and Aidan O’Brien respectively, they are the star names among a nine-strong field.
Isaac Shelby, who was narrowly beaten in the French Guineas, represents Brian Meehan with Charlie Hill’s Cicero’s Gift an interesting contender as he makes the leap to top-class company after winning each of his three career starts.
Hills also runs Galeron, with Charyn, Indestructible, Mostabshir and Royal Scotsman making up the field.
A high-class field of 19 goes to post in the King’s Stand Stakes, with Highfield Princess currently heading the market for John Quinn.
Australian raider Coolangatta, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is also a popular pick for the five-furlong affair, with her compatriot Cannonball another towards the head of the betting for Peter and Paul Snowden.
The Karl Burke-trained pair of Dramatised and Marshman are in the line up along with the likes of Manaccan, Twilight Calls and Twilight Gleaming.
George Boughey’s Asadna is one of 22 for the Coventry Stakes with Willie Mullins holding leading claims in both the 20-runner Ascot Stakes and the Copper Horse Stakes via Bring On The Night and Vauban, with the latter one of a maximum field of 16.
Frankie Dettori will ride Saga for the King and Queen in the Wolferton Stakes, with the Gosden-trained runner having come within a head of victory for the late Queen at last year’s meeting.
The Cincinnati Reds can stake their claim as the hottest team in baseball after Jonathan India and Will Benson led them to a 10-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
It was the seventh straight win for the surprising Reds, their longest streak since June 2018 and the longest active run in the majors.
Cincinnati, which lost 100 games last season, moved one game over .500 for the first time since it was 3-2 in early April.
India opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run homer – his third in seven games - off Brandon Bielak and Benson led off the fourth with a triple and scored on Curt Casali’s sacrifice bunt.
Benson greeted reliever Phil Maton with a two-run single in the fifth inning to make it 5-1.
That was more than enough offense for Hunter Greene, who allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. He won for the second time in four starts after opening the season without a victory in his first 10.
Tyler Stephenson singled home another run in the seventh and pinch-hitter Kevin Newman drove in two in Cincinnati’s four-run ninth.
Jose Altuve matched a career best with four hits, including a homer and two doubles. His 35th career four-hit game moved him past Hall of Famer Craig Biggio for the most in Astros history.
Streaking Giants pound rival Dodgers
J.D. Davis had a pinch-hit grand slam and LaMonte Wade Jr. added a three-run homer to lift the San Francisco Giants to their sixth consecutive win, a 15-0 drubbing of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Alex Wood and rookie Bobby Miller exchanged zeroes until the Giants broke through with four runs off Miller in the fifth inning on Brandon Crawford’s RBI single and Wade’s ninth home run of the season.
San Francisco extended its advantage to 9-0 an inning later. Crawford delivered another RBI single before Davis connected off reliever Alex Vesia with the bases loaded for his second grand slam this season and third of his career.
Davis closed the scoring with his fifth RBI in San Francisco’s three-run ninth.
Royals erase big deficit to snap 10-game losing streak
Samad Taylor delivered a walk-off single in his major league debut and the Kansas City Royals ended a 10-game skid by rallying for a 10-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Faced with an 8-2 deficit in the seventh inning, the Royals scored three runs in the frame and tied it with three more in the eighth. Bobby Witt Jr. had a two-run double in the seventh and singled home another two in the eighth.
The Angels went back on top in the ninth on Mike Trout’s RBI single, but the Royals walked it off in the bottom half as Maikel Garcia singled home a run before scoring on Taylor’s single to deep centre.
Brandon Drury homered twice and Shohei Ohtani took over the major league lead with his 23rd home run, his eighth in his last 12 games.
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