Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are clearly ahead of the rest of the men's singles field, but Marion Bartoli believes both can be caught.
Alcaraz denied Djokovic a fifth straight Wimbledon title last weekend with a stunning five-set victory at SW19, to secure the 20-year-old Spaniard a second grand slam title.
As a pair, Alcaraz and Djokovic have now won the last five grand slams stretching back to last year's Wimbledon, and Bartoli feels they are far ahead of the chasing pack.
The former Wimbledon champion however suggests that gap could motivate others to work on their own game in order to catch up.
"Very much, when you look at the first three grand slams [of 2023], it's clear that there is Novak, Carlos and the rest and there is quite a gap between those two and the rest," she told Stats Perform.
"That's quite obvious with the results. That said, I think that's going to push them to sort of catch back just like Novak did with Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal].
"With [them] having more Grand Slams than him and wanting to be part of the conversation, that just pushed him to elevate his level.
"I think it's going to be the case on the ATP. I don't think the guys are going to look at Carlos and Novak saying 'Oh my god, they're just untouchable, and we're going to lose to them'.
"I think they're going to really try hard. Especially I can see [Holger] Rune, I can see [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, I can see [Daniil] Medvedev, all those and [Jannik] Sinner, being very eager and very hungry to just go and chase.
"I'm sure they can actually push them to work harder on their game to come up with something even better. So I don't see it as a runaway completely and there is no opposition.
"I think maybe it's going to take a little bit of time before they reach that level, but I just don't think it's going to be that easy in a way for Novak and Carlos to just win everything without having a say from the other players."
Bartoli, who won at SW19 in 2013 before retiring in 2018, believes Alcaraz has taken the best qualities of the 'Big Three' of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer and feels he is one of those spearheading a new era in tennis.
"In the eras before, when you look at Pete Sampras, and all those players, it was one way to play and then if you would take that play away it was a lot more difficult for them," she explained.
"If you take Alcaraz for me, what is very interesting is he has almost the best of Novak, Roger and Rafa combined and that is new. I think it's very much sort of total tennis, when you feel there is just not one department that maybe is lacking a little bit.
"There is a lot of players from this or sort of the past generation that are not that complete, who are really going to suffer against those new kids like Alcaraz, Rune and Sinner who are coming in and just having nothing you feel that they could really do better.
"In that sense, I think that's going to be the new sort of tennis we will see for the next 10 to 20 years."
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in three runs and J.D. Martinez added three RBIs to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 11-5 win, ending the Texas Rangers’ six-game winning streak in a matchup of division leaders on Friday night.
Freeman, Will Smith and Martinez each had two hits and the NL West-leading Dodgers won for the ninth time in 11 games.
Los Angeles erased a 5-4 deficit by scoring seven runs over the final three innings, using three walks – one intentional to Freeman - a single and a wild pitch to push across two in the seventh.
Smith delivered a two-run double and Martinez singled home another run in the eighth, and Mookie Betts doubled home a pair in the ninth.
Rangers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager hit his 15th home run in the sixth inning against his former team to give Texas a 5-4 lead but left in the eighth after spraining his right thumb on a headfirst slide on a double.
Nathaniel Lowe also went deep for West-leading Texas, which had been the only team without a loss since the All-Star break.
Ohtani allows four home runs in win
Shohei Ohtani allowed four home runs for the first time in his career, but the Los Angeles Angels hit four homers of their own in their fourth straight win, 8-5 over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pirates rookie Henry Davis became the first player to take Ohtani deep twice and Jack Suwinski and Ji Man Choi also homered, but the Japanese superstar struck out nine and pitched into the seventh inning to rebound from losses in consecutive starts.
The Angles scored five times in the fourth and tacked on two more in the fifth.
After Ohtani led off the fourth with a walk, Mikey Moniak doubled and Taylor Ward walked in front of Mike Moustakas’ three-run homer. Two outs later, rookie Trey Cabbage connected for his first career home run.
Zach Neto and Ward homered in the fifth to extend the Angels’ lead to 8-4.
Tucker hits three home runs in Astros’ win
Kyle Tucker hit three home runs for the first time in his career and Alex Bregman also went deep to lead the Houston Astros to a 6-4 win over the Oakland Athletics.
Tucker homered off starter JP Sears in the first inning, hit a two-run shot off Sears in the fifth and had a solo blast off Tayler Scott in the seventh for his 17th of the season.
Framber Valdez allowed four runs and six hits over five innings to beat lowly Oakland for the third time this season.
The Astros have won nine straight meetings with the A’s.
Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour de France on this day in 2012.
Wiggins finished three minutes and 21 seconds ahead of compatriot and Team Sky colleague Chris Froome to be crowned champion in the 99th edition of the race.
The then 32-year-old was left on the verge of history following his impressive time-trial win on the penultimate day.
And there were no slip-ups during the 20th and final stage, where Wiggins helped another Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish to victory on the Champs-Elysees.
“I don’t know what to say, I’ve had 24 hours for it to soak in,” he said following his win.
“I’m still buzzing from the Champs-Elysees, the laps go so quick. I’ve got to get used to that (being in the spotlight), it’s going to take a while.
“I’m just trying to soak it all in. You never imagine it will happen to you but it’s amazing.”
Wiggins, who ended his career as a five-time Olympic gold medallist, had been favourite to win the previous year’s race, only to be sidelined after breaking his collarbone in a crash.
Following three weeks and 2,173 miles raced, wearing the yellow jersey for 13 consecutive stages, he came out on top ahead of Froome and third-placed Italian Vincenzo Nibali.
He was later named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Kenya-born Froome won four of the next five Tours, while Welshman Gerraint Thomas became the third British champion in 2018.
History was firmly on Brian Harman’s side as the American attempted to claim his first major title in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
A stunning second round of 65 meant Harman became the ninth player in the last 40 years to hold a 36-hole lead of five strokes or more in a major, with each of the previous eight going on to win.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was the most recent to do so in last year’s Masters, while Louis Oosthuizen was the last to achieve the feat in the Open; the South African led by five at St Andrews in 2010 and won by seven.
However, nearest challenger Tommy Fleetwood was in no mood to give up the chase in front of his adoring fans, having recently produced rounds of 64 and 67 to force a play-off in the Canadian Open and winning the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge from four behind at halfway.
“I’ve put in chases before in the past,” Fleetwood said after a battling second round of 71.
“At the end of the day, if somebody said you’re going out in the last group on Saturday, I don’t care what the situation was or what anybody had shot, I’d have probably taken it.
“I can’t have asked for any more from anybody with all the support they’re giving me out here and everybody is talking about it.”
Shot of the day
Not much beats a hole-in-one, achieved by Travis Smyth on the short 17th, but fellow Australian and defending champion Cameron Smith managed it with a stunning eagle on the 18th to make the cut with a shot to spare.
Round of the day
Brian Harman had some of his competitors wondering which course he was actually playing after carding four birdies and an eagle in a stunning 65.
Quote of the day
Harman when asked to expand on how he followed a missed cut in the Masters by killing a pig and a turkey on his Georgia farm.
Statistic of the day
Not a good omen for Fleetwood or his thousands of fans.
Easiest hole
The par-five fifth played as the easiest for the second day running, with two eagles and 62 birdies leading to a scoring average of 4.699.
Hardest hole
Fleetwood was one of just 10 players to birdie the 14th, with almost exactly a third of the field (53 players) making bogey and 12 carding a double-bogey six. That resulted in a scoring average of 4.462.
Weather forecast
Cloudy with outbreaks of light to moderate rain, with a chance of drier spells at times. Winds gusting up to 19mph. Heavier bursts of rain are possible overnight Saturday and into Sunday.
Key tee times
0855 Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler
1425 Rory McIlroy, Max Homa
1510 Jason Day, Shubhankar Sharma
1520 Min Woo Lee, Sepp Straka
1530 Tommy Fleetwood, Brian Harman
Lee McGregor suffered defeat in a punishing contest against Mexico’s Erik Robles for the vacant IBO super-bantamweight title in Edinburgh.
Robles claimed a unanimous points victory following a relentless performance in McGregor’s home city.
The previously unbeaten 26-year-old Scot never backed off during a fast start from the Mexican and looked to be gaining control in the middle rounds, but his opponent kept dipping into his resources of energy when he looked like he might struggle.
Robles was the busier fighter in the frantic opening rounds as the pair stood toe to toe at Meadowbank Sports Centre. The Mexican peppered the home fighter with a series of hooks as McGregor kept his hands up and launched occasional upper cuts in response.
Former British, Commonwealth and European champion McGregor took a smarter approach after the halfway stage and used his reach advantage to fight from longer range and work the body. But each time the Mexican looked like he was set to fade, he would find a flurry of punches.
Robles got back on top in the ninth round and the visitor piled on the pressure in the 10th as the pair again engaged in close combat. McGregor hurt his opponent with a body shot but could not follow up.
The Scot could not muster the energy to launch a final onslaught and Robles chased his opponent around the ring in the closing seconds before both boxers claimed victory.
It was no surprise the visitor was awarded victory though with British judge Terry O’Connor scoring the contest 116-113 and the other two judges both giving Robles the win by two rounds.
The Baltimore Ravens added further depth to the running back position Friday by reaching an agreement with veteran Melvin Gordon on a one-year contract.
NFL.com reports that Gordon, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, can earn up to $3.1 million. The deal is pending a physical.
Gordon has rushed for 900 or more yards four times in an eight-year career spent with the Chargers and Denver Broncos, though he managed a career-low 318 with two touchdowns in 2022 and was released by the Broncos in November after fumbling five times in 10 games.
The 30-year-old finished last season on the Kansas City Chiefs' practice squad but was not elevated to the active roster.
Gordon's 69 total touchdowns are the third-most among active running backs, and he recorded nine or more in six straight seasons before having that streak end in 2022.
The 2015 first-round pick will face plenty of competition to earn a roster spot with the Ravens, who bring back three running backs who rushed for over 250 yards last season in J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill.
Gordon has accumulated 6,462 rushing yards in 108 career regular-season games, along with 309 receptions totalling 2,467 yards. He spent the last three seasons with the Broncos after a five-year tenure with the Chargers from 2015-19.
American Brian Harman responded to missing the cut in the Masters in April by returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey.
Three months later, the left-hander carved out a commanding five-shot lead over home favourite Tommy Fleetwood at the halfway stage of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.
That matched those recorded at Hoylake by Rory McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.
It also made Harman the first player to lead the Open by five shots after 36 holes since Louis Oosthuizen in 2010, the South African going on to win by seven at St Andrews.
Fleetwood, who must have been taken aback to start his second round so far behind after sharing the overnight lead, closed to within four when he birdied the 14th and 15th, but dropped a shot on the next and eventually signed for a hard-fought 71.
That at least got the 32-year-old from Southport into the final group with Harman for Saturday’s third round, with Austria’s Sepp Straka a shot behind Fleetwood following a brilliant 67 which included six birdies and a bogey in his last seven holes.
Nine years after lifting the Claret Jug at Hoylake, McIlroy heads into the weekend nine behind Harman after a closing birdie saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.
Speaking after his stunning 65, Harman happily explained the story behind his unusual reaction to his Masters missed cut, laughing off a query about whether the local livestock would be safe this weekend.
“Sheep don’t taste as good as the turkeys do I would imagine,” Harman said.
“I’ve been a hunter my entire life. I enjoy the strategy of it. Yeah, we eat a lot of wild meat at my house, so I enjoy butchering, and I do a lot of hunting.”
Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), admitted he owed his position to a “hot putter” and would need to work hard on not getting ahead of himself this weekend.
“I’m just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.
“It’s hard for me. I’ve always struggled with trying to predict the future and trying to forecast what’s going to happen. I’ve just tried to get really comfortable just not knowing.
Harman made his Open debut at Hoylake in 2014 and finished 26th, but missed the cut on his next four appearances before finishing 19th in 2021 and sixth last year.
“I came over early for the Scottish Open last year and I think I beat two people; played horrible,” he said. “Then played bad the first day at St Andrews and was like, ‘Golly, I love coming over here but I’m getting my teeth kicked in’.
“I had a really nice back nine in the second round, made the cut by a couple and then played really well on the weekend.
“I’d say it was nice to finally turn the corner last year. This is my eighth Open Championship and before last year I’d never really even been anywhere close to in contention or even doing halfway decent.”
Subjectivist, an impressive winner of the 2021 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, has been retired.
The six-year-old stormed to a five-length victory at the Berkshire track two years ago, supplementing previous successes in the Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp and a Dubai Gold Cup verdict at Meydan.
However, he suffered a career-threatening tendon injury after that success – an issue which kept him on the sidelines for 618 days before returning to action in Saudi Arabia back in February.
After finishing third in the Dubai Gold Cup, Subjectivist went on to fill the same position in the Gold Cup back at Ascot, in what transpired to be his final start after his old issue flared up again.
Initially trained by Mark Johnston before he transferred the licence to his son Charlie, who saddled him this term, Subjectivist retires as a six-times winner with over £890,000 banked in prize money.
Johnston senior, who is now assistant trainer to his son, said: “We have known this was coming, it’s been difficult keeping him going.
“I had slightly mixed feelings about his run at Royal Ascot as while he ran a good race, I didn’t think it was as good as his best of two years ago.
“The objective was to get him to Ascot and then we hoped we might get him to Goodwood, but it has always been there, rumbling away.
“His Gold Cup win was the highlight, but he won three races on the bounce, two at Group One level and one at Group Two, with his win in Dubai being very impressive – you could say that was his purple patch, those seven or eight months.”
Subjectivist is now set to embark on a stallion career and Johnston added: “We hope he will go to stud now.
“There were a couple of people interested after his Gold Cup win and one of those has kept in touch, so we will see what happens.”
Archie Watson has some fine sprinters in his care and Action Point signalled himself as another top prospect, taking the Listed Ire-Incentive – It Pays To Buy Irish Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury.
Hollie Doyle was positive from the start of the six-furlong heat and the son of Blue Point was always happy on the front end, travelling sweetly.
Though the 14-1 shot was tracked by the well-supported Asadna, with the former George Boughey-trained colt making his debut for Alice Haynes, the 5-4 favourite failed to pick up when Oisin Murphy asked the question two furlongs out.
Action Point, who had won on his Kempton all-weather debut in April, but had been drawn on the wrong side when 15th of 23 home in the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, kept finding more and had plenty in the locker to fend off Shagraan, who made late headway to snatch second from Asadna.
Cogitate may have caught trainer Charlie Hills by surprise, yet signalled himself a smart prospect after producing an eyecatching debut, sparking Doyle’s double on the card.
The 14-1 chance took the first division of the R &M Electrical EBF Novice Stakes with some aplomb.
The son of Churchill travelled well throughout and picked up long-time leader and eventual third Maximum Dividend with ease inside the final furlong, and went on to beat the staying-on Boiling Point by two lengths.
Hills will now target the Acomb Stakes at York, a race the Lambourn yard has won three times with Auction House (1998), Dutch Connection (2014) and Phoenix Of Spain (2018).
He told Racing TV: “He took everything well in his stride, in the preliminaries, went down nice, jumped good and it was a little bit muddling, a little bit messy mid-race, a few horses a bit green, but he got into a good rhythm and the gap opened. He was a little bit green for a couple of strides and then he picked up nicely.
“I wasn’t quite expecting him to do that today. He qualifies for races like the Acomb now, so York, that could suit him well and we have won that a couple of times before. That could be a race we have in mind – that’s a nice gap until then. He’s going to make a lovely three-year-old.”
Warm Spell was a warm order to land the second division and the 8-11 favourite duly obliged under a hand-and-heels ride from David Egan.
Runner-up to the smart Thunder Blue at Goodwood on debut, the Roger Varian-trained Mehmas colt had clearly learned plenty for the experience and Egan was keen to settle him in behind early, before producing a withering run to coast past debutant Skukuza, with Thyer staying on nicely for third.
Varian was in two minds about jumping up to seven furlongs so quickly and said: “David did a good job, he settled in straight from the stalls, he travelled nicely through the race and showed a nice turn of foot. Hopefully he’s a nice horse going forward.
“I think now we’ve gone over seven (furlongs), I think we’ll stick to seven.
“We’ve always felt he’s quite a nice horse and there are some nice two-year-old races coming up and he probably is a horse where we can dip our toe into something nicer, but quite what that is, we’ll have to see what fits.”
Irish raider Night Sparkle (9-2) showed plenty of determination under Dylan Browne McMonagle to take victory in the Uhy Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants Fillies’ Handicap for trainer Michael O’Callaghan.
She followed up her cosy Fairyhouse success last month in fine style, fending off the late thrust of Flash Bardot to score by a comfortable neck in the extended 13-furlong contest.
O’Callaghan may look to York for her next run and said: “It was great and a nice pot to win. She is progressive.
“Dylan is a great young rider and gave her a great ride. He picked her up early in the straight as after riding her at Fairyhouse, he knew all she’d do was stay.
“She stays all day – that’s her asset. We might possibly look at big staying handicaps. I thought earlier in the year she might be one for the Irish Cesarewitch, but maybe we might just look at the Ebor consolation race. We’ll see.
“You just don’t know where these improving mares might stop. She’s won that off top weight and is possibly capable of getting a bit of black type.”
Georgina Nicholls sent out her first Flat winner in almost 20 years as Betties Bay took the bet365 British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes under Joshua Bryan, beating Bourgeoisie by a nose.
A drop in grade helped the Sir Michael Stoute-trained grey Fox Journey (11-8 favourite) to victory in the Quickmove Handicap under Jim Crowley, his stamina proving too much for Sovereign Spirit.
George Ford says England’s players have been teasing Marcus Smith about using rumoured interest from Racing 92 as “leverage” to negotiate his new contract at Harlequins.
Smith this week ensured he will remain available for Test selection for the foreseeable future by agreeing an extended deal with the 2021 Gallagher Premiership champions.
French club Racing, who will be coached by former England boss Stuart Lancaster next season, were reportedly lining up the 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Bath-bound Finn Russell.
“There has been a fair bit of joking going on,” Ford said of his fellow fly-half.
“Whatever the rumours were about Racing a few weeks ago, everyone was saying, ‘you were always going to stay at Quins, you were just using that as a bit of leverage’.
“I’ve spoken to him, obviously he’s delighted to be staying, it’s his club and the influence he has on that team is incredible so I’m sure everyone at Quins will be buzzing for him to stay.
“I can only speak for myself but when you’re English and you want to play for England, you’ve got to play for an English club.
“It means a lot to play at club level and international level for us all, it’s no different for Marcus.”
Ford and Smith are currently working together at England’s Surrey training base as part of a 39-man preliminary World Cup squad.
Steve Borthwick is fine tuning plans for the forthcoming tournament in France, with four warm-up matches scheduled next month.
The head coach was given less than nine months to prepare for the game’s greatest competition after replacing Eddie Jones on December 19.
While Australia, who subsequently appointed Jones in January, and Wales have also recently changed coach, Ford warned England must be the “fastest-learning team” in order to be up to speed in time for their Pool D opener fixture against Argentina on September 9.
Yet the 30-year-old Sale player also believes the situation could prove beneficial.
“I think we’re in a unique place in terms of that,” said Ford, who is preparing for his third successive World Cup. “It’s a great opportunity.
“In terms of the timeframe, we’ve got to be the quickest and fastest-learning team, it’s just the nature of where we’re at.
“At the previous World Cup, we had four years together and it was quite consistent in terms of squad, coaches et cetera but this is a lot different.
“I still think there is a massive opportunity here and one that I don’t think is going to hold us back if we get it right. I think it could be a massive positive for us.
“Sometimes, in a funny way, when you’ve got less time to get somewhere, you’ve got less thinking and less messing around to get there.
“You’ve just got to go and I think that’ll help us as a team.”
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 21.
FootballEngland defender Lotte Wubben-Moy started her Doodle Diary again.
Another nice bit of artwork.
Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe reflected on her country’s World Cup opener.
Nigeria forward Deborah Abiodun apologised for her red card against Canada.
Burnley once again got creative with their transfer announcement.
Tottenham continued their tour.
View this post on InstagramSheffield United’s new man is a dab hand at other sports too.
Happy birthdays.
Liverpool turned the clock back.
CricketA rubbish day for Australia.
GolfMatt Wallace’s shirt in the second round of the Open caused a stir.
Richie Ramsay went for orange and black…
….another one to consider.
Justin Rose was optimistic.
Formula OneDaniel Ricciardo was excited to make a return with a new helmet at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
And his fans were pleased to see him back too.
Boyband credentials for the top three in practice.
Max Verstappen handed his rivals the slimmest of hopes that he could be beaten at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix after he finished only 11th in practice.
The dominant Dutchman, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession to establish a 99-point lead in the standings, has mastered all conditions this season.
But Verstappen unusually ended the sole dry running here six tenths back from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris – fresh from his impressive second place at the British Grand Prix – 0.015 seconds adrift of the scarlet car.
Lewis Hamilton was 16th with Mercedes team-mate George Russell 20th and last on a topsy-turvy day at the Hungaroring.
Despite Verstappen being off the pace, times in practice must be treated with a degree of caution as different setup and fuel loads are trialled.
It is also worth noting that a number of the top teams will have held back fresh rubber following the reduction of tyre allocation from 13 sets to 11 here.
Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez took two wins from the opening four, but the Mexican has been on a torrid run since, and his bad form continued when he crashed out of first practice.
The opening one-hour running of the weekend was dry and barely a few minutes old when Perez – on his first lap – lost control of his Red Bull and ended up in the wall.
The Mexican put two wheels on the grass under braking for the fifth corner, sending him into a pirouette and into the tyre barrier.
Perez was unharmed in the accident but he sustained significant damage to the front of his machine. It also denied the rest of the field any dry running as the heavens opened with the red flags deployed to recover Perez’s wounded machine.
The 33-year-old is under increasing pressure at Red Bull following five-consecutive qualifying sessions in which he has failed to make it into Q3. On each of those occasions, Verstappen has scored pole position in the other Red Bull.
Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri is also likely to be playing on Perez’s mind, with the Australian admitting he is daring to dream about the possibility of a return to the grid’s all-conquering team.
Perez was able to take part in the day’s concluding action but he locked up and flat-spotted his front-right tyre and could manage only 18th, 1.3 sec slower than Leclerc.
Ricciardo, back in the saddle in place of the sacked Nyck De Vries, has a dozen races to prove he still possesses the prowess which carried him to eight wins.
He finished 14th in his first outing since last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, seven tenths back and 10 places behind his new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
Matej Mohoric won stage 19 of the Tour de France in a photo finish at the end of a furious day’s racing in the Jura.
Mohoric and Thursday’s winner Kasper Asgreen came to the line neck and neck, with Ben O’Connor third, after the trio broke away from a 37-strong breakaway when it broke into several pieces on the final climb some 30 kilometres from the end of the 173km stage from Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny.
A stage characterised by non-stop attacking was raced at an average speed of 49.1kmh over rolling terrain, the fastest stage of this year’s Tour and the fifth fastest ever, but after all that effort it came down to a bike throw on the line.
O’Connor launched his sprint first 400 metres from the finish but knew it was a doomed move against two faster men. Asgreen was the first to come around but Mohoric timed it perfectly to take victory by a tyre’s width.
The front three came in just shy of 40 seconds clear of a chasing group, with Jasper Philipsen repeating his fourth place of 24 hours earlier.
There was no change at the top of the general classification, with race leader Jonas Vingegaard finishing safely within the main peloton almost 14 minutes down, needing now only to survive Saturday’s mountain stage to Le Markstein before he can begin celebrations on the road into Paris.
For a second day running the Tour passed through territory ideal for a breakaway, but such was the fight to get into it that 60km had been covered before a nine-strong group went away.
After Nils Politt broke his chain, their advantage of a minute quickly tumbled and a counter move of 29 riders came up to join them.
Victor Campenaerts and Simon Clarke tried to go off the front but after Clarke cramped up the group exploded on the final climb still with nearly 30km to the finish.
That gave Mohoric, Asgreen and O’Connor their chance to go clear as they went over the top first, and a powerful chasing group could not close the gap on the straight descent into town.
Mohoric had to wait for confirmation of his win, but as soon as it came the emotions poured out of the Slovenian, who paid tribute to some of the unsung heroes of cycling – the mechanics and carers working behind the scenes – while also remembering his late team-mate Gino Mader.
It was a third stage win of Mohoric’s career, and also a third of this Tour for the Bahrain-Victorious team – another opportunity for them to pay tribute to Mader after his tragic death at the Tour de Suisse last month.
“It means a lot because it’s hard and cruel to be a professional cyclist, you suffer a lot in your preparations, you sacrifice your life, your family and you give everything you can to get here ready,” Mohoric said.
“After a couple of days you realise everyone is so incredibly strong, it’s so hard to follow the wheels some days…sometimes you feel like you don’t belong…
“When Kasper went I knew it was the decisive attack, he was so incredibly strong to win the stage yesterday but he has the will and determination to do it again today.
“I knew I had to do everything perfect, I tried my best for Gino and for the team and in the end you almost feel like you betray (your rivals) because you beat them to the line but it’s just the way professional sport is and everyone wants to win.
“If I want to win I have to follow the wheel of Kasper and then try to beat him in the last 50 metres. I just feel so many things right now.”
Rory McIlroy believes he still has a chance of winning the 151st Open despite failing to make a serious move in his second round at Royal Liverpool.
The world number two did not build significantly on his level-par opening round as he shot a one-under 70 on Friday.
That left him nine shots off the clubhouse lead held by Brian Harman but, even though he has much ground to make up, he is not writing off his chances.
“I might be nine back, but I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of players between me and the lead going into the weekend,” said the 34-year-old, who is bidding to end a nine-year wait for a fifth major title by winning for a second time at Hoylake.
“It depends what the conditions are tomorrow and obviously depends what Brian does as well.
“Right now it’s not quite out of my hands. I think if I can get to three, four, five under par tomorrow going into Sunday, I’ll have a really good chance.”
McIlroy produced a strong finish on Thursday by saving par on the par-five fifth after hitting bunker trouble.
He looked to have carried some momentum into his second round with two early birdies but they were cancelled out by bogeys on the back nine.
Yet he got a shot back with another birdie on the 18th and, despite his frustrations, was happy enough with his performance.
McIlroy said: “It played really, really tough. Ten under par is unbelievably impressive out there.
“We’ll see what the weekend holds but I’m actually pretty happy with my two days’ work.
“I don’t think I have to do anything differently. I’m hitting the ball well from tee to green.
“I’ve missed a couple of chances on the greens and the wind got me today.”
Epsom runner-up Savethelastdance bids to go one better in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh – in which stablemate and Royal Ascot winner Warm Heart is seen as her main threat.
Savethelastdance, the choice of Ryan Moore, was an unheralded filly through the winter having only finished fifth on her sole start at two.
She reappeared in April on heavy ground at Leopardstown, where she surprised by winning at odds of 20-1 before destroying the opposition in the Cheshire Oaks at Chester by 22 lengths.
On quicker ground in the Oaks at Epsom, she was beaten into second by Soul Sister and trainer Aidan O’Brien expects the more conventional nature of the Curragh to suit her better.
“Obviously the two of them don’t work together, so it’s going to be interesting,” O’Brien said of the clash between his two smart fillies.
“There’s not much between them on the ratings, Savethelastdance is just a little higher.
“We always thought the Curragh would suit her better and the ground was quick enough in Epsom for her, so she’ll probably prefer a bit more of an ease on Saturday.
“She’s been in good form since and she’s had a nice break, too. Everything has gone well since (Epsom).”
Warm Heart stepped up from beating the reopposing Bluestocking by a head in a Newbury Listed heat to extend her superiority over Ralph Beckett’s charge in the Ribblesdale at Ascot.
“We were delighted with Warm Heart in the Ribblesdale because we weren’t exactly sure about her over a mile and a half,” said O’Brien.
“Obviously she got it well and we’ve been happy with her since.
“She definitely improved at Ascot, whether it was the distance or whatever, but she definitely did improve.”
O’Brien also runs Be Happy and Library.
Bluestocking is aiming to give Beckett a second Irish Classic in two years after Westover’s Derby success last year.
She is owned by Juddmonte, who sponsor the race, and their European bloodstock manager Barry Mahon said: “On the formbook she has to improve, but she’s a lightly-raced filly with only three runs, so we feel that there could be some progression there.
“She’s met Warm Heart twice and been beaten twice so she has a bit to find, but she’s in good form, we feel that she’s learning on the job and we’re hopeful of a good run.
“We saw how green she was at Newbury and Frankie (Dettori) felt she was green at Ascot. She got stuck on the rail and when the gap came, she didn’t really know what to do to get through it, but then picked up and finished off well.
“We hope she’ll be a bit more streetwise on Saturday, the track should suit her, it’s not a big field and a bit easier ground should suit as well. We’re hopeful rather than confident.”
Azazat represents Dermot Weld and the Aga Khan. Weld last won the race in 1996 with Dance Design.
Chris Hayes rides the Munster Oaks runner-up and said: “She is a nice filly, who has progressed with every run. She has handled slow ground and she stays quite well. She is bred to possibly get further and I’m looking forward to her.
“She is very straightforward to ride, uncomplicated.
“That form with Rosscarbery (Munster Oaks winner), to come from a maiden and take on a filly like her with that kind of experience, I thought was a good run. Rosscarbery drifted out a little bit on top of her.
“I think she has come forward for that run and hopefully she can put up a good performance.
“She has handled soft ground and circumstance has just led us to run her that way.”
Tyrrell Hatton became the latest victim of the difficult 18th hole at Royal Liverpool on day two of the 151st Open Championship.
Hatton was two under par for his round when he walked on to the tee of the 596-yard par five, but ended the hole two over par following a quadruple-bogey nine.
The world number 13 carved two drives out of bounds before pulling his fifth shot so far left it almost found the fairway on the first hole, which runs in the opposite direction.
From there Hatton took two more shots to find the putting surface and two-putted from 20 feet to finish two over par and 12 shots off the clubhouse target set by American Brian Harman.
Harman had earlier taken six shots fewer than Hatton to play the 18th, holing from 15 feet for an eagle in his flawless 65.
Hatton reacted to his nightmare finish by turning to look back down the fairway and using his putter to mimic shooting three times at the tee.
Two-time major winner Justin Thomas had also recorded a nine on the 18th in an opening 82, while Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho fared even worse with a 10 in his 83.
American Brian Harman set a daunting clubhouse target to leave Rory McIlroy with a mountain to climb to end his major drought in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.
That matched the totals recorded at Hoylake by McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.
Nine years on, McIlroy will head into the weekend nine shots behind Harman after a third birdie of the day on the 18th saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.
Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), said: “I’ve had a hot putter the last couple of days so (will) try to ride it through the weekend.
“I’m delighted with how I’m playing. (I’m) just really focused on getting some rest and getting after it tomorrow.
“(I’m) Just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.”
The 36-year-old’s superb round came after tournament officials took the unorthodox step of changing the way the bunkers were raked between rounds.
Masters champion Jon Rahm described the course’s 82 bunkers as “proper penalty structures” after having to play backwards out of one during his opening 74, while McIlroy needed two shots to escape sand on the 18th.
In response, the R&A instructed greenkeeping staff to build up the edges of the bunkers to allow more balls to roll back into the centre.
“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement.
“We have therefore raked all of the bunkers slightly differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers.
“We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday.
“We will continue to monitor this closely for the remainder of the Championship.”
Even those players who managed to successfully escape from the bunkers on day one had expressed their concerns, with former champion Stewart Cink speaking out following a bogey-free 68.
“Eventually it’ll catch up with you,” the 2009 winner said. “The bottoms of them are so flat that if a ball comes in with any momentum, it’s just going right up to the lip and stop.
“There’s not a little upslope that helps you at all. They are very penal.”
Emily Dickinson bids to get back on the winning trail in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup.
With her esteemed stablemate Kyprios sidelined by injury, the daughter of Dubawi moved to Gold Cup favouritism in the spring following an impressive return in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan.
Her Royal Ascot claims were severely dented as she disappointed in the Saval Beg at Leopardstown the following month, but the four-year-old nevertheless took her chance in the Gold Cup and emerged with credit after finishing fourth.
Emily Dickinson drops back in distance and class on the Irish Oaks undercard and will be a warm order to provide trainer Aidan O’Brien with an eighth Curragh Cup success.
O’Brien said: “It looks a strong race. I think she stayed in the Gold Cup, I don’t think the trip was a problem.
“She likes an ease in the ground so she’ll appreciate that. She’s had a bit of an easy time since Ascot because we didn’t think the ground was going to be as it is, but we are letting her take her chance, obviously.
“The Irish Leger is definitely in the back of our minds for her.”
Emily Dickinson’s rivals in the €150,000 Group Two include her lightly-raced stablemate Gooloogong, the Paddy Twomey-trained Rosscarbery and Joseph O’Brien’s Duke of Edinburgh Stakes winner Okita Soushi.
Aidan O’Brien also houses the hot favourite for the Group Three Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes in Royal Ascot runner-up Pearls And Rubies.
A winner on her Navan introduction in June, the No Nay Never filly was subsequently beaten a head by Snellen in the Listed Chesham Stakes.
O’Brien, who won the Anglesey Stakes for a 12th time with Little Big Bear last season, added: “She was just a little bit green at Ascot, she was only after having her first run not long before it.
“She probably found everything a little bit new and she just got left out a bit on her own on the wing, but she did run well.”
Michael O’Callaghan saddles Kairyu, who impressed on her debut at Naas three and a half weeks ago, while dual winner Buyin Buyin represents trainer Willie Browne.
British raider Art Power bids for a fourth Curragh win in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes.
Tim Easterby’s six-year-old has landed the Group Three Renaissance Stakes in both 2021 and 2022 and maintained his unbeaten course record in the Group Two Greenlands Stakes in May.
He is four from four in Ireland overall, having also won the Group Three Lacken Stakes at Naas in 2020, and returns in fine form following a fourth-placed finish in last weekend’s July Cup.
Alastair Donald, racing manager for owners King Power Racing, said: “Ideally we probably wouldn’t run him back a week later, but his record in Ireland is so good and this looks the perfect race for him.
“He hasn’t run over five furlongs for a while, but it’s a stiff finish and soft ground and it’s not like he’s short of pace. He should have a favourite’s chance.”
Art Power is one of two British-trained runners in the five-furlong Group Two along with Karl Burke’s White Lavender, who was last seen striking gold in a Group Three in France.
The two leading hopes for the home team are Johnny Murtagh’s defending champion Ladies Church and French import Go Athletico, who bids to supplement a successful Irish debut for Ado McGuinness in the Listed Midsummer Sprint Stakes at Cork last month.
“He’s in great form and the ground will help. Unfortunately Ronan Whelan is suspended, but we’ve got a good deputy in Colin Keane,” said McGuinness.
“We’re very hopeful of a huge run. I know the Tim Easterby horse is back over, but he only ran last week in a Group One and our horse is fresh and well. We’re really looking forward to running him.
“I think our horse is even better than what he’s rated, hopefully he can prove it.”
Frankie Dettori has high hopes of making a successful return from suspension aboard Lezoo in the bet365 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.
The 52-year-old incurred a nine-day ban for careless riding aboard Saga in the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, with a subsequent appeal proving unsuccessful, as well as an eight-day suspension for a whip offence aboard Queen Anne second Inspiral.
As a result Dettori missed the ride on Coral-Eclipse runner-up Emily Upjohn and was denied the opportunity to partner the third-placed Kinross in last weekend’s July Cup, the only British Group One to elude him during a glittering riding career that is due to come to an end later this year.
Dettori, though, is keen to move on as he readies himself for what he hopes will be a busy second half of the season.
“I’m back and there is so much to look forward to,” he said.
“There’s the King George, Goodwood, Deauville and York. It’s going to be a packed summer and I’m looking forward to it.”
Like Kinross, Lezoo is trained by Ralph Beckett and carries the colours of Dettori’s long-time friend and supporter Marc Chan.
The magical Italian steered her to two of her four juvenile wins last year before William Buick took over for her Group One win in the Cheveley Park Stakes.
She has failed to trouble the judge in either the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket or the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot so far this term, but Dettori is confident about her chances in Saturday’s Group Three.
He added: “Lezoo was a Group One winner last year and she’s owned by Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen, who are two good friends of mine. It is always extra nice when you ride for your friends.
“I think we can put a line through Ascot, she just didn’t turn up. She’s a Group One winner and a good filly, so let’s hope we can get her going back to winning ways.”
The Michael Dods-trained Commanche Falls returns to Pattern level after a confidence-boosting Listed success at the Curragh three weeks ago.
The six-year-old finished third behind stablemate Azure Blue and Highfield Princess in the Duke of York Stakes on his penultimate start and was beaten just a head by Garrus in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket earlier in the year.
“It’s obviously a tougher race than the one in Ireland, but it’s the only race there is for him really, so we’ll have to see how he gets on,” said Dods.
“He ran well at York before he won in Ireland, so hopefully he’s going there in good form.”
The Charlie Hills-trained Garrus is in opposition once more, while Adam Kirby is looking forward to riding Rohaan for trainer David Evans.
He said: “Rohaan’s last run at Ascot was much more pleasing. He is moving well and hopefully he can show his hand on Saturday.
“He finished off well, but it was a very slowly-run race. We were just pleased he came home and was only beaten a couple of lengths.
“Any rain will do him no harm, but some of his best form is in top-flight races on good to firm, so we’ll see.”
Other contenders include Mick Appleby’s King’s Stand third Annaf, who has since finished fourth in the Coral Charge at Sandown, and the Karl Burke-trained Cold Case, who bids to bounce back from a disappointing showing behind Little Big Bear in the Sandy Lane at Haydock.
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