Teenager Mirra Andreeva was given a point penalty for throwing her racket and refused to shake the umpire’s hand in a fourth-round loss to Madison Keys at Wimbledon.
The 16-year-old Russian, who has been a crowd favourite on her debut at the All England Club, looked set to become the youngest player since Anna Kournikova in 1997 to make the quarter-finals here when she led by a set and 4-1.
But Keys fought back and Andreeva was given her first warning by umpire Julie Kjendlie after flinging her racket across the grass when she lost the second-set tie-break.
She then appeared to throw her racket again when Keys forced deuce at 2-5 in the deciding set, earning a second warning and an automatic point penalty, which gave her opponent a match point.
Andreeva argued her case with Kjendlie, saying: “Do you understand what you are doing? I didn’t throw the racket. I slid. It’s the wrong decision. I slid and then I fell.”
But the decision stood and Keys won the next point to clinch a 3-6 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory, with Andreeva heading to the net to shake hands with her opponent but walking straight past the umpire.
Andreeva had feared being defaulted after whacking a ball angrily into the crowd at the French Open and teenage petulance is something she will clearly need to grow out of, but there is no doubt she is a special talent.
She had not played on grass until the qualifying tournament two weeks ago but she has learned quickly on the surface and her mix of terrific defence and intelligent point construction will win her a lot of matches.
For nearly an hour she was completely in control, with Keys, who possesses one of the most natural ball strikes in the game but can be very erratic, making error after error.
The American pulled herself together just in time, changing her tactics to follow her big groundstrokes to the net and even breaking serve with a left-handed forehand winner.
By the time the second-set tie-break came around, it was Keys who had the momentum, and Andreeva was unable to shrug off her disappointment at the beginning of the deciding set.
She briefly threatened to turn things around again but Keys kept her composure while Andreeva lost hers and with it the match.
As expected, Royal Ascot winner Khaadem has been supplemented for the Pertemps Network July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday where he will clash with another Ascot hero, Shaquille.
Charlie Hills stated last week the “obvious target” for his surprise Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes scorer was the midsummer highlight on the July course, and the £36,000 supplementary fee was paid on Monday.
Julie Camacho’s Shaquille put up a remarkable display to win the Commonwealth Cup during the same meeting having missed the break, but this time he will have to beat his elders – as well as confirm form with Aidan O’Brien’s Ascot runner-up Little Big Bear.
Another northern raider, the Michael Dods-trained Azure Blue, is also strongly fancied on the back of her win in the Duke of York Stakes over Highfield Princess.
Kinross is in there for Ralph Beckett, but he will have to do without his usual partner Frankie Dettori, who is currently on the sidelines suspended.
Cold Case, Art Power and Run To Freedom are also among the 14 possibles.
Aidan O’Brien’s exciting City Of Troy is one of 12 in the bet365 Superlative Stakes.
The Justify colt won easily on his debut, making even the usual reticent Ryan Moore reach for the superlatives.
Charlie Appleby’s Great Truth and the Richard Hannon-trained duo of Son and Haatem are among his possible rivals.
There are 42 left in the bet365 Bunbury Cup, with Saeed bin Suroor’s Shining Blue at the top of the weights.
Chaldean is set for a break while connections attempt to get to the bottom of his lacklustre performance in the Prix Jean Prat.
Andrew Balding’s 2000 Guineas hero was dropping back in trip for the Deauville Group One having suffered defeat at the hands of Paddington in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
However, despite travelling with what appeared his usual zest close to the pace in the hands of Oisin Murphy, the Classic winner failed to pick up and his challenge faded tamely as Fabrice Chappet’s Good Guess ran out a convincing winner.
The Frankel colt will now be fully checked over to see if there is any physical reason for the below-par display or whether a busy early season has simply caught up with the Juddmonte-owned colt.
“It was obviously not the horse’s true running, but we’ll have to wait until the horse gets home to check him out fully to see if there is something there or whether it was he had a hard race in Ascot and was just flat,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for the owners.
“On all known form it was not his true running and we’ll just have to see if anything comes to light.
“I think he’ll have to have a break now. Whether there is something underlying or it just turns out he has run flat, we’ll have to wait and see, but I think he will need a break now to freshen up for the back-end of the year.”
There are still plenty of big-race options on the table for Chaldean when he does return, with a trip to the Breeders’ Cup a possibility for later in the season.
Mahon added: “There’s lots of races for him. There’s the Prix Jacques le Marois (August 13), the race at Ascot on Champions Day (Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, October 21) and the Breeders’ Cup Mile (November 4), so there will be plenty of opportunities for him.
“I always felt the Breeders’ Cup would suit him, especially this year at Santa Anita, but we’ll have to see. We’ll get him checked out first and we know that wasn’t his true running.”
However, there was some joy for the owners this weekend as Ralph Beckett’s Westover enjoyed a more successful venture to France to pick up his second Group One in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Last year’s Irish Derby winner had run fine races in defeat to finish second in both the Dubai Sheema Classic and Coronation Cup so far this term, but produced a brilliant display to open his four-year-old account.
“To start the season behind Equinox was a good run and he ran a great race in the Coronation and it’s now nice to get the Group One at Saint-Cloud and make him a dual Group One winner,” said Mahon.
“To break the track record was a special feat when you consider so many great champions have won that race over the years.”
Westover holds an entry for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot on July 29 and although that will remain high-up in connections’ thoughts, there is a chance that could come too soon following his heroic exertions in the Paris suburbs.
“I was talking to Ralph last night and we said we will definitely keep it (King George) under consideration,” continued Mahon.
“He’s had a hard race on Saturday – you don’t break the track record without having a hard race – and it’s not a huge amount of time between now and the King George. It will very much depend on the horse’s well-being and we’ll let the horse tell us.
“He is in everything and has options everywhere. He could go to an Irish Leger (September 10), he could go to an Arc (October 1), he could go to a Breeders’ Cup Turf (November 4). He could even go to Hong Kong and he’s in everything. He’s there to be enjoyed and we will see what Prince Khalid’s family would like to do and see as we go along.
“He’s mentally and physically more mature now and he’s a good traveller. In a race he’s adaptable which is great and we think he’s on an upwards curve.”
Chaldean is set for a break while connections attempt to get to the bottom of his lacklustre performance in the Prix Jean Prat.
Andrew Balding’s 2000 Guineas hero was dropping back in trip for the Deauville Group One having suffered defeat at the hands of Paddington in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
However, despite travelling with what appeared his usual zest close to the pace in the hands of Oisin Murphy, the Classic winner failed to pick up and his challenge faded tamely as Fabrice Chappet’s Good Guess ran out a convincing winner.
The Frankel colt will now be fully checked over to see if there is any physical reason for the below-par display or whether a busy early season has simply caught up with the Juddmonte-owned colt.
“It was obviously not the horse’s true running, but we’ll have to wait until the horse gets home to check him out fully to see if there is something there or whether it was he had a hard race in Ascot and was just flat,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for the owners.
“On all known form it was not his true running and we’ll just have to see if anything comes to light.
“I think he’ll have to have a break now. Whether there is something underlying or it just turns out he has run flat, we’ll have to wait and see, but I think he will need a break now to freshen up for the back-end of the year.”
There are still plenty of big-race options on the table for Chaldean when he does return, with a trip to the Breeders’ Cup a possibility for later in the season.
Mahon added: “There’s lots of races for him. There’s the Prix Jacques le Marois (August 13), the race at Ascot on Champions Day (Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, October 21) and the Breeders’ Cup Mile (November 4), so there will be plenty of opportunities for him.
“I always felt the Breeders’ Cup would suit him, especially this year at Santa Anita, but we’ll have to see. We’ll get him checked out first and we know that wasn’t his true running.”
However, there was some joy for the owners this weekend as Ralph Beckett’s Westover enjoyed a more successful venture to France to pick up his second Group One in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud.
Last year’s Irish Derby winner had run fine races in defeat to finish second in both the Dubai Sheema Classic and Coronation Cup so far this term, but produced a brilliant display to open his four-year-old account.
“To start the season behind Equinox was a good run and he ran a great race in the Coronation and it’s now nice to get the Group One at Saint-Cloud and make him a dual Group One winner,” said Mahon.
“To break the track record was a special feat when you consider so many great champions have won that race over the years.”
Westover holds an entry for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot on July 29 and although that will remain high-up in connections’ thoughts, there is a chance that could come too soon following his heroic exertions in the Paris suburbs.
“I was talking to Ralph last night and we said we will definitely keep it (King George) under consideration,” continued Mahon.
“He’s had a hard race on Saturday – you don’t break the track record without having a hard race – and it’s not a huge amount of time between now and the King George. It will very much depend on the horse’s well-being and we’ll let the horse tell us.
“He is in everything and has options everywhere. He could go to an Irish Leger (September 10), he could go to an Arc (October 1), he could go to a Breeders’ Cup Turf (November 4). He could even go to Hong Kong and he’s in everything. He’s there to be enjoyed and we will see what Prince Khalid’s family would like to do and see as we go along.
“He’s mentally and physically more mature now and he’s a good traveller. In a race he’s adaptable which is great and we think he’s on an upwards curve.”
Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton offered no guarantees that an earlier start time will be considered on Centre Court for next year’s tournament.
Matches involving Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have both been forced into a second day because they have not finished before the 11pm curfew while Djokovic’s third-round match against Stan Wawrinka concluded with 14 minutes to spare.
Two years ago organisers cited Covid for the decision to stagger start times on the two main show courts, keeping Court One at 1pm and pushing Centre back to 1.30pm, while also adding breaks between the matches.
This had the consequence of making the final match of the day a prime-time occasion on the BBC and it appears very much that is now the goal, with Bolton reporting record viewing figures.
She did not seem to view the issue of the late finishes as a particular problem, saying: “Historically over many, many decades we’ve always started play on our show courts around early afternoon.
“And that’s very much about ensuring that people have the opportunity to get on court so, as much as is possible the case, we have full courts for when the players walk on, and that’s still absolutely our intention.
“And the other thing we think carefully about is, when people buy a ticket to come to Wimbledon, they want to experience a day at the Championships and that involves going and seeing some play on outside courts, perhaps going to get something to eat, getting some strawberries and cream.
“We understand that our guests want that whole day. Of course every year we look at everything and we get feedback from all of our guest groups, from the player groups and all of our stakeholders.
“We will have a look at that beyond this year’s Championships but that’s the real background to why we have the start time when we do.
“Matches are happening at a time when they’re accessible to people. We’re seeing (TV) viewing figures that are beyond our expectations and beyond previous years so I think they probably speak for themselves.”
Bolton denied the 1.30pm start time was directly influenced by the BBC, saying: “The broadcasters are one of the stakeholders we consult as we put together all the plans for the Championships but they’re not having a direct input into start time on a court.”
The curfew is imposed by the local council to prevent late-night disruption from people leaving the grounds in what is a quiet, residential area, and Bolton said the club would not look to try to extend it.
There will also be no instruction to umpires to inform crowds not to expect a handshake if a Ukrainian player faces a Russian or Belarusian.
Belarus’ Victoria Azarenka left Court One to deafening boos on Sunday night after acknowledging Svitolina with a raise of the racket, and was clearly furious at the reaction.
There were similar and repeated scenes at the French Open, and Svitolina believes tennis authorities need to act to ensure crowds are aware of the situation.
“We’ve no intention of doing that,” said Bolton. “Historically in tennis the decision on how a player reacts at the end of a match is entirely a personal decision for them and I think we don’t really want to start mandating what happens.
“I think we have an incredibly knowledgeable audience at Wimbledon and I think in the most part they would understand what was going on. I wouldn’t want to speculate on what everybody in the crowd was thinking last night.
“I would echo what Elina and Vika said. Having witnessed one of the most incredible matches on number one court to an absolutely rapt audience, we should be focusing on the tennis and the match we saw, not all of the other stuff that went on.”
The issue is unlikely to come up again, with Svitolina the only remaining Ukrainian and set to take on top seed Iga Swiatek next, while the Russians and Belarusians left are all in the other half of the draw.
It has been a strong showing from Russians and Belarusians following the lifting of last year’s ban, with seven making the fourth round across the men’s and women’s singles.
The prospect of the Princess of Wales giving a trophy to a player from one of the two countries was cited as a factor in last year’s ban, and that is a very real possibility.
“When we made the decision earlier this year to admit Russians and Belarusians, we thought really carefully about all of those things and, having made the decision to admit them, we are comfortable about how that plays out,” added Bolton.
Red Bull equalled a Formula One record in Sunday’s British Grand Prix with their 11th consecutive win as Max Verstappen closes in on a landmark of his own.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how the dominant Dutchman and his team compare to the greats of the grid.
Channelling Prost and Senna
Verstappen has won eight of this season’s 10 races, with team-mate Sergio Perez taking the other two.
Verstappen also won last season’s final race and not since the great McLaren pairing of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost has a single team dominated to such an extent.
The 1988 season began in Brazil and while Senna was disqualified from his home race for an illegal car change, Prost took the chequered flag.
Senna won in San Marino and he and Prost shared the next four races equally before Prost recorded a home win in the French Grand Prix.
Four straight wins for Senna followed before Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger broke the streak in Italy, the only race all season not won by McLaren as they and Senna won a championship double with Prost close behind in second in the drivers’ standings.
That is the case for Verstappen and Perez this season as well, albeit with Verstappen almost 100 points clear of his team-mate.
Verstappen added Bahrain and Australia to last season’s success in Abu Dhabi, alternating at the start of the season with Perez’s wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan before taking sole control.
Mercedes had three separate runs of 10 successive wins during Lewis Hamilton’s period of dominance, with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team also hitting double figures in 2002.
Six of the best
Since the start of May, Verstappen has won the Miami, Monaco, Spanish, Canadian, Austrian and now British Grands Prix to match Schumacher’s run of six straight wins across the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
He already sits joint fifth on the all-time list and has the chance to quickly climb the rankings further.
Of the four names ahead of him on the list, three saw their streak end at seven wins in a row – meaning victory in Hungary later this month would leave only Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins in 2013 for Verstappen to chase.
Alberto Ascari has a claim to matching that record. The Italian won the last six races of the 1952 season and the Argentine Grand Prix at the start of 1953 before not entering the Indianapolis 500, which at the time was part of the drivers’ championship. He went on to win the Dutch and Belgian GPs on his next two starts.
Schumacher won seven in a row in 2004, as did Nico Rosberg at the end of 2015 and the start of his 2016 title-winning season.
Verstappen’s win on Sunday took him clear of Hamilton’s longest run of five wins, set in both 2014 and 2020, and his own previous best from last season.
With eight wins out of 10, his current 80 per cent win rate would be the highest ever if he can sustain it all season – beating Ascari’s 75 per cent in 1952, when there were only eight races in total – and the first over 70 per cent since Schumacher in 2004.
Laurel will miss the rest of the season due to the injury which saw her ruled out of Royal Ascot.
John and Thady Gosden’s lightly-raced daughter of Kingman was due to line-up in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at the summer showcase, but was a late absentee having suffered setback the weekend before her intended engagement.
Connections did have their sights on a quick return in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket later this week.
But it appears the issue is more serious than first envisaged with the Group One-placed filly set to remain on the sidelines for the rest of the current campaign and a decision on her future still to be made.
“Unfortunately she is going to miss the rest of the season,” explained Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“Initially it looked like it was going to be an insignificant thing, but it turned out to be a bit more than we thought.
“She’s on her way back to the farm for a rest, she definitely won’t run again this season and it is to be decided whether she stays in training next year or not.
“She’s a very lightly-raced filly and John and Thady both said to me last week they would love to keep her in training next year.
“She’s a high-class filly who could win a Group One and she’s only run five times in her life so I can sort of understand their point and maybe that is the right thing to do. But we will speak with Prince Khalid’s family and see what they would like to do and unfortunately she won’t be running again this season.”
Tom Pidcock believes he is learning more about himself and his capabilities on a bike as he tests himself in the general classification at the Tour de France.
The 23-year-old Olympic mountain bike champion went into Monday’s rest day seventh overall, five minutes 26 seconds off yellow having picked up time on a number of rivals as he finished fourth amongst the overall contenders after a breakaway triumphed on Sunday’s stage atop the Puy de Dome.
Pidcock, who memorably won the stage on the Alpe d’Huez on his Tour debut last summer, began this year’s race wanting to see if he had the discipline and consistency to stay high on the general classification, not having a bad day across the full three weeks.
As he sat exhausted at the top of the mountain on Sunday he had said he still wanted a stage win “and then I’ll be happy”, but when he spoke on Monday Pidcock was looking at the bigger picture.
“I’m enjoying it,” the Ineos Grenadiers rider said. “I’m getting a bit better. With each test I’m improving and staying near the front, it’s actually motivating me.
“Before if you’d said racing for top 10 I wouldn’t really be so bothered but actually now I’m really enjoying the challenge and each little win.
“I wouldn’t normally have the patience and focus required for three weeks riding the GC, it’s not really in my characteristics but now I’m kind of enjoying it. It’s my first actual time riding with senior pros in a proper stage race like this, it’s all kind of new and I’m enjoying it…
“I’m growing in confidence and just exploring my limits.”
After Michael Woods won from a breakaway, Sunday’s stage saw Tadej Pogacar take eight seconds out of defending champion and race leader Jonas Vingegaard’s advantage in their battle for yellow.
But Simon Yates and Pidcock were the next riders over the line, a result that moved the Yorkshireman up two places from ninth overall.
“Yesterday was a great day and if I can replicate that again, that’s fantastic,” Pidcock said. “The next two weeks now, there are some pretty tough days ahead, back-to-back days and three days in the Alps and it’s going to be a big test.
“Week two into week three is where cracks start to show. My goal is to be consistent. Personally, in my head, it’s becoming more of a challenge and a target to see where I can go on GC because I’m enjoying it.
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“If that means I don’t get a stage win maybe that’s the case but I feel I can learn a lot about myself if I fully commit to the GC now.”
Pidcock has ambitions to one day challenge for yellow himself in the Tour, but for now the former world cyclo-cross champion continues to compete across different disciplines – and will be back on his mountain bike at next month’s world championships in Scotland.
How these next two weeks go will tell Pidcock a lot about what he might be able to do in the future.
“As soon as we finish this race I’m going to be going to try and win the mountain bike worlds, which is not very normal for all the people I’m racing against, it’s a bit strange,” he said when asked if this Tour was making him change the way he thinks about balancing his goals.
“I don’t know. We’ll see in a week’s time.”
Royal Ascot runner-up Sacred will head to Deauville for her next appearance with the Prix Maurice de Gheest identified by William Haggas as the perfect destination for his versatile mare.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned five-year-old has been a consistent performer for connections throughout her career and won on reappearance at Lingfield in the Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes in May.
However, she was narrowly denied when taking her chance in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes for the second season in a row, having victory snatched from her grasp when headed late in the day by the fast-finishing Khaadem.
The daughter of Exceed And Excel holds entries over a mile closer to home over the next month, but following her fine effort at Ascot, Haggas is keen to keep Sacred to sprinting distances and will send her across the Channel for the six-and-a-half-furlong Group One in early August.
“She’s fine and we’re aiming her at the Prix Maurice de Gheest on August 6 which is a Group One over six and a half furlongs,” said Haggas.
“She likes going to her races relatively fresh, so she will go there and there is nothing overly obvious for her in the meantime.
“She’s in the Sussex, but I think we felt she ran very well over six furlongs at Ascot and six and a half in Deauville, providing the ground isn’t soft, should be fine for her.”
Haggas also revealed that My Prospero will head to York for the Sky Bet York Stakes on July 29 as the four-year-old attempts to tee-up a Knavesmire return for the Juddmonte International Stakes during the Ebor Festival.
“He’ll go for the Sky Bet at York,” added Haggas.
“He didn’t run as well as I hoped at Ascot. He didn’t run badly, but it wasn’t as well as I hoped and he will go to York and if he wins and wins nicely he will go back there for the Juddmonte.”
Novak Djokovic will return to action on day eight at Wimbledon after the curfew curtailed his charge for victory on Sunday while number one seed Carlos Alcaraz will face his toughest test yet.
Elsewhere on a day that used to be called ‘Manic Monday’ – when all the fourth-round singles matches would be scheduled – last year’s beaten finalist Ons Jabeur tackles two-time champion Petra Kvitova while 16-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva tackles Madison Keys.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what day eight has in store.
Match of the Day
Matteo Berrettini has had a tough time of it lately, having missed out on Wimbledon last year due to coronavirus and then injury ruining much of his 2023 campaign.
But the 2021 finalist is back and on the form he has shown so far looks more than capable of heading deep into this second week of the tournament.
However, there is the small matter of the world number one standing in his way.
Carlos Alcaraz, who won at Queen’s, is looking the real deal so far, so this fourth-round contest has the potential to be a classic.
Kvitova will have to be Ons it
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Petra Kvitova is rolling back the years and enjoying a long run in SW19.
The Czech player has got to the last-16 six times and she ended up as champion twice, reached the quarter-finals twice and the semi-final once.
Her run this year is a bit of an anomaly as it is just the second time she has got to this stage since her second title in 2014.
She will have her work cut out to get to the next stage as she is up against Ons Jabeur, who is looking to go one better than her runners-up spot last year.
Andreeva’s emergence continues
Mirra Andreeva is the youngest player to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Coco Gauff in 2019 as her star continues to rise.
At 16 she is the youngest player in the women’s draw and proved her breakout run at the French Open was no fluke, having come through qualifying.
Maddison Keys is up next and the American is playing some nice tennis, having won in Eastbourne in the final warm-up tournament, so a fascinating match awaits.
Order of play
Centre Court
Elena Rybakina v Beatriz Haddad Maia
Novak Djokovic v Hubert Hurkacz (Djokovic leads 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6))
Ons Jabeur v Petra Kvitova
Carlos Alcaraz v Matteo BerrettiniCourt One
Daniil Medvedev v Jiri Lehecka
Aryna Sabalenka v Ekaterina Alexandrova
Grigor Dimitrov v Holger Rune
Weather
Cloudy but generally fine
Allisen Corpuz finished three shots clear of England’s Charley Hull and Jiyai Shin of South Korea to win the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.
The 25-year-old Hawaiian closed out her tournament on nine-under-par, with a fourth round score of 69 enough to clinch her first win on the LPGA Tour.
Speaking after her victory, Corpuz said: “Every few holes I kind of looked out and said, ‘I’m here at Pebble Beach’.
“There’s not many places that are better than this.
“Twenty, 30 years from now, I think just the fact that it’s a US Open means a lot to me. But know that it’s at Pebble makes it even sweeter.”
England’s Hull did well to find herself in the hunt on Sunday, having carded scores of 73, 72 and 71 heading into the fourth round.
She opened her final session with an eagle on the second, before birdieing three of her next four holes.
Hull picked up three more shots on the back nine to keep an element of pressure on Corpuz, but was ultimately left to rue two costly bogeys.
Two weeks after winning the College World Series, LSU achieved a feat never accomplished before by any baseball program.
Tigers pitcher Paul Skenes was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the first overall pick of Sunday's 2023 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, one spot ahead of teammate Dylan Crews' selection by the Washington Nationals.
Skenes and Crews are the first set of teammates to be taken with the first two picks in the draft's history. Skenes also becomes the first college pitcher to go No. 1 overall since the Detroit Tigers took Auburn's Casey Mize in 2018.
The 21-year-old Skenes went 13-2 with a 1.69 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 122 innings this season as the ace of the LSU staff. The hard-throwing right-hander capped his tremendous junior campaign by being named the College World Series most outstanding player during the Tigers' run to the national title.
"He had an incredibly special season this year at LSU," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said of Skenes. "I think we saw a really good pitcher at the end of the College World Series who has all the weapons to go on and succeed in pro ball but may still have more."
Crews, an outfielder, earned the Golden Spikes Award honouring the best amateur player in the United States in 2023. The Florida native hit .426 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs in 71 games as a junior and concluded his college career having reached base safely in 75 straight games.
“He’s got a whole bag full of tools; he does everything well,” Nationals general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo said. “His baseball IQ is terrific. He’s a great baserunner -- he’s a fast runner, but he’s a great baserunner also. He plays both sides of the ball, defensively and offensively. He’s got a propensity to barrel up baseballs. He’s an on-base percentage machine."
Franklin, Indiana outfielder Max Clark, the national high school player of the year, was selected third overall by the Detroit Tigers. The Texas Rangers took University of Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford at No. 4, while North Carolina high school outfielder Walker Jenkins went fifth to the Minnesota Twins.
All-Star Yandy Diaz went 3 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs to help the Tampa Bay Rays end a season-high seven-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Isaac Paredes added a two-run homer as the Rays roughed up Braves All-Star Bryce Elder to prevent a sweep of the three-game series between teams with the two best records in the major leagues. The loss was just Atlanta's third in 23 games since June 14.
Elder entered the contest leading the majors with a 2.45 ERA but lasted only 3 1/3 innings in his shortest start of the season. The young right-hander allowed a career-high seven runs on six hits and walked four without striking out a batter.
Rays starter Zach Eflin issued five walks in five innings, but limited the damage by holding Atlanta to two runs to earn his 10th win of the season, one shy of teammate Shane McClanahan for the American League lead.
Former Rays catcher Travis d'Arnaud had a solo homer to extend Atlanta's streak of consecutive games with at least one home run to a franchise-record 26 games.
Red-hot Orioles blast six home runs to finish sweep of Twins
Anthony Santander had two of six Baltimore home runs as the hot-hitting Orioles rolled to a 15-2 rout of the Minnesota Twins to complete a three-game series sweep.
All-Stars Adley Rutschman and Austin Hays also went deep while knocking in two runs each in Baltimore's fifth consecutive victory. The Orioles also got a three-run homer from Aaron Hicks and a two-run shot from Ramon Urias, who finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs.
Baltimore collected 17 hits for the afternoon and has averaged 8.8 runs per game during the winning streak while batting .309 as a team.
The Orioles also received a strong pitching effort from Kyle Gibson, who tied a season high with 11 strikeouts while holding the Twins to two runs and three hits over seven innings.
Joe Ryan fanned 10 in 4 1/3 innings for Minnesota, but served up Hays and Urias' homers and was tagged for five runs.
In search of their first winning season and playoff appearance since 2016, the Orioles enter the All-Star break with the AL's second-best record at 54-35 and are two games behind Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.
The Twins dropped to 45-46 and missed out on a chance to regain the top spot in the AL Central after Cleveland lost to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. The Guardians maintained a half-game edge on Minnesota.
Miley silences Reds' bats as Brewers gain ground in NL Central
Wade Miley allowed just four hits in six splendid innings as the Milwaukee Brewers closed the gap on the first-place Cincinnati Reds in the NL Central with a 1-0 win.
The Brewers took two of three games from their division rivals and will enter the All-Star break one game back of Cincinnati in the standings.
Milwaukee got the only run it needed in the first inning when Christian Yelich stroked a leadoff double off Ben Lively and scored on Jesse Winker's two-out single.
Miley made the lead stand by tying a season high with eight strikeouts and working around three walks. After Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps each tossed a scoreless inning in relief, All-Star closer Devin Williams fanned two in a perfect ninth to register his 20th save.
Lively yielded four hits and two walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings in a hard-luck loss.
Austria’s Sepp Straka boosted his Ryder Cup chances by claiming a second PGA Tour title in the John Deere Classic, despite a double bogey on the 72nd hole.
Straka needed to birdie the 18th at TPC Deere Run to card a stunning closing 59, but pulled his approach into the water left of the green.
The resulting six meant Straka had to settle for a 62 and setting the clubhouse target at 21 under par, with six groups still to finish.
A birdie on the 14th took Brendon Todd to within a shot of the lead, only for the American to then three-putt the 16th and fail to birdie the par-five 17th.
Todd finished in a tie for second on 19 under with playing partner Alex Smalley, with Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg another stroke back in a tie for fourth with American Adam Schenk.
Straka, who had recorded an eagle and nine birdies in his first 14 holes, said: “The 59 was nowhere in my head really.
“I knew I had a chance but in that situation the only thing that matters is trying to win the golf tournament.
“It was not a good shot [on 18]. I was really just trying to go middle of the green, pulled it early and the wind dragged it over to the water. It was unfortunate but the first bad shot I hit all day so I’ll give myself a bit of slack.”
Novak Djokovic will have to cancel his day off and work overtime after falling foul of Wimbledon’s stubborn scheduling.
The defending champion and title favourite was leading by two sets, 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6), against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz when play was suspended at 10.35pm.
Wimbledon chiefs will again be under scrutiny for their insistence on starting play no earlier than 1.30pm on Centre Court despite knowing it cannot go past the council-imposed 11pm curfew.
Andrey Rublev’s five-set win over Alexander Bublik took three hours and 17 minutes, before Iga Swiatek beat Belinda Bencic in three sets, two of which were tie-breaks, which also took just over three hours.
Therefore seven-time champion Djokovic – who finished his match against Stan Wawrinka at 10.46pm on Friday night – and Hurkacz finally walked on to court at 8.41pm.
By the time the pre-match niceties, the coin toss and the warm-up were complete, Hurkacz hit the first serve of the fourth-round match at 8.49pm, giving Djokovic less than two-and-a-quarter hours to avoid having to come back on Monday.
Not that that would be beyond the 23-time grand slam champion against many players, but Hurkacz is the 17th seed, the man who ended Roger Federer’s Wimbledon career two years ago and who has not dropped serve so far this fortnight.
So, like Andy Murray on Friday, Djokovic will have to return in the afternoon and be crowbarred second into the Centre Court schedule.
Understandably, both players looked like they were in a hurry. There was scarcely a rally of more than four shots as the first set thundered towards a tie-break in just 36 minutes.
Djokovic rarely loses a tie-break. He has won all three he has faced this week, but an uncharacteristic double-fault gave Hurkacz the advantage at 4-3.
The underdog hammered down two aces to earn three set points, but two went by the wayside on the Djokovic serve before three unforced errors gifted Djokovic the set.
Djokovic fashioned three break points at 4-3 in the second but they were snuffed out by 134 and 139 mph aces and a 138 mph serve which Djokovic could only send long.
A fourth break point should have been taken with Hurkacz stranded mid-court having looped a defensive volley into the air, but Djokovic tried to be too cute and pushed it wide, almost toppling over the net as he did so.
In the inevitable tie-break, Djokovic squandered a set point after a rally broke out when he sent a forehand long, but he converted the next one to take a two-set lead before referee Gerry Armstrong came out to give everybody the predictable bad news.
Victoria Azarenka branded Wimbledon fans “drunk” and not “fair” after she was booed off court following a fourth-round loss to Elina Svitolina.
It was the first clash between a Russian or Belarusian player and a Ukrainian at Wimbledon since the lifting of last year’s ban on competitors from the aggressor nations.
The crowd, who had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout, produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.
The former world number three had been booed at the French Open, where she also made the last eight, for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.
It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together in annoyance as she walked off.
“I can’t control the crowd,” she said. “I’m not sure that a lot of people were understanding what’s happening. It’s probably been a lot of Pimm’s throughout the day. It wasn’t fair. What can I do?
“I feel like it’s been pretty consistent for the last 18, 19 months. I haven’t done anything wrong but I keep getting different treatment sometimes.
“She doesn’t want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people. I respected her decision. What should I have done? Stayed and waited? There’s no thing that I could do that would have been right, so I just did what I thought was respectful towards her decision.
“But this conversation about shaking hands is not a life-changing conversation. So if you guys want to keep talking about it, bring it up, make it a big deal, headlines, whatever it is, keep going.
“I thought it was a great tennis match. If people are going to be focusing only on handshakes or a quite drunk crowd, booing in the end, that’s a shame.”
The reaction was even more vociferous than in Paris, and Svitolina believes the situation should be spelled out ahead of such contests.
“I think the tennis organisations, they have to come out with a statement that there will be no handshake between Russian, Belarusian, and Ukrainian players,” she said.
“I already said multiple times that, until Russian troops are out of Ukraine and we take back our territories, I’m not going to shake hands. I don’t know how more clear I can be.”
It did not look like it was going to be Svitolina’s day when she trailed by a set and 2-0 but, spurred on by the crowd, some of whom shouted Slava Ukraini – glory to Ukraine – she mounted a comeback.
It was Azarenka’s turn to fight back from 3-0 down in the deciding set and the light was fading when they entered a tense deciding tie-break.
Belarusian Azarenka, the 19th seed, led 7-4 and looked on course for victory but Svitolina recovered to create two match points, taking the second with an ace to set up a clash against top seed Iga Swiatek.
Svitolina, who had lost all her previous five matches against Azarenka, only returned to the tour in April following the birth of daughter Skai in October, and she beamed as she said in her on-court interview: “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second happiest moment in my life.
“It was a really tough match. When I was 0-2 down in the second set I heard you guys cheering for me and I almost wanted to cry. I was really struggling and I really wanted to win today. You guys gave me so much strength today.”
Svitolina also drew strength from thinking of the plight of her stricken homeland, saying: “I was thinking back home there are lots of people that are watching and cheering for me, I know how much it means for them.
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“Any moments that they can share of happiness. I was thinking there is tough times in Ukraine and I’m here playing in front of you guys. I cannot complain, I just have to fight. And here I am, I won the match.”
She added later: “I feel responsibility, as well. So, if I’m going out to play this match against a Russian, Belarusian, I feel of course more pressure that I need to win. That’s why it means a lot to get these kinds of wins. In my own way, to bring this small victory to Ukraine.
“I heard a lot of Ukrainian people in the crowd. This was really special. And the crowd was amazing, was a really unbelievable feeling. I think one of the best atmospheres that I ever played in.”
On a lighter note, the 28-year-old revealed ahead of the match that her Wimbledon run meant she had to give away tickets to the Harry Styles concert she had planned to attend.
“I hope Harry is watching,” she said. “I’m a big fan of his.”
Styles was clearly aware of her accomplishment as he wrote to her on Instagram: “Congratulations! We have four shows to go, you’re welcome at any of them. Good luck with the rest of the tournament.”
Elina Svitolina’s memorable win over Victoria Azarenka capped a dramatic middle Sunday at Wimbledon.
Svitolina won a deciding tie-break on Court One, while Iga Swiatek saved two match points to survive against Belinda Bencic and Andrey Rublev emerged triumphant in a near three-and-a-half-hour battle with Alexander Bublik.
But the Wimbledon curfew came into play once again as Novak Djokovic was forced off when leading Hubert Hurkacz two sets to love.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how day seven unfolded.
Azarenka boos tarnish classic match
Belarusian Victoria Azarenka left Court One to a chorus of boos after losing a dramatic fourth-round contest to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The crowd had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout and produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.
The former world number three had been booed at the French Open for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.
It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together as she walked off.
Tweet of the dayIga for success after narrow escape
World number one Iga Swiatek outlined her title credentials after she saved two match points to come through a marathon match with Belinda Bencic and reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Swiatek looked down and out at 5-6 in the second set, but she produced her best tennis with two sumptuous winners to turn the tie around.
The four-time grand slam champion continued to be pushed all the way by Olympic gold-medallist Bencic in a tense third set before she eventually prevailed 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2) 6-3 after a three-hour epic on Centre Court.
It sent Swiatek through to the last-eight at SW19 for the first time and having won the junior title here previously, she will march on with renewed belief this could be her year on her least favoured surface.
Shot of the dayQuote of the dayPicture of the dayStat of the day
Belarusian Victoria Azarenka left Court One to a chorus of boos after losing a dramatic fourth-round contest to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
The crowd had been overwhelmingly behind Svitolina throughout and produced a deafening roar when she clinched a 2-6 6-4 7-6 (9) victory.
The former world number three had been booed at the French Open for refusing to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents but here it was Azarenka, who put her hand up to acknowledge Svitolina before leaving the court, that received loud jeers.
It was unclear whether the fans thought it was she who had snubbed her opponent and Azarenka gave a long, lingering stare before banging her fists together as she walked off.
Svitolina only returned to the tour in April following the birth of daughter Skai in October, and she beamed as she said in her on-court interview: “After giving birth to our daughter, this is the second fabulous moment in my life.
“It was a really tough match. When I was 0-2 down in the second set I heard you guys cheering for me and I almost wanted to cry. I was really struggling and I really wanted to win today. You guys gave me so much strength today.”
Svitolina also drew strength from thinking of the plight of her stricken homeland, saying: “I was thinking back home there are lots of people that are watching and cheering for me, I know how much it means for them.
“Any moments that they can share of happiness. I was thinking there is tough times in Ukraine and I’m here playing in front of you guys. I cannot complain, I just have to fight. And here I am, I won the match.”
These were the final two mothers left in the singles draw but there was certainly no maternal bond here.
Svitolina spoke before the contest about her “big motivation” to beat Azarenka “for my country”, and the pair did not even look at each other at the coin toss ahead of what was the first clash between Ukrainian and Russian or Belarusian players since the beginning of the war and the lifting of last year’s ban.
Svitolina has made a very impressive return to the sport, including a run to the quarter-finals of the French Open, where three times she faced Russian or Belarusian players.
A couple of small Ukraine flags being waved as the players walked out onto Court One were the only initial indication of the political tension behind this contest.
But it quickly became clear the crowd were firmly behind Svitolina and in the fourth game a loud cry of Slava Ukraini – glory to Ukraine – was heard and applauded by sections of fans.
On the court, things were not going so well for Svitolina, who in her time away from the sport took an active role in leading fundraising efforts for Ukraine, including meeting with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
She had lost all five of her previous matches against Azarenka and, although most of the games were close, it was the Belarusian largely coming out on top.
Svitolina was staring at a swift defeat when she trailed 2-0 in the second set but the former world number three has returned to the tour with a much more aggressive mindset and she levelled things up before pushing to try to force a decider.
The 28-year-old has spoken warmly about the support her country has received from the UK, with Wimbledon funding accommodation and training facilities, and she must have felt as if she was playing at home.
A huge roar greeted the arrival of a set point, then an equally big groan when she shanked a forehand, but a second chance arrived and Svitolina, a semi-finalist here back in 2019, converted.
At 3-0 up in the deciding set, the Ukrainian looked to be on her way to victory but back came Azarenka and the light was fading fast as they approached the denouement.
Svitolina then fought back from 4-7 in a tense deciding tie-break, finally clinching it 11-9 on her second match point and dropping to the turf in delight.
On a lighter note, the 28-year-old revealed ahead of the match that her Wimbledon run meant she had to give away tickets to the Harry Styles concert she had planned to attend.
“I hope Harry is watching,” she said. “I’m a big fan of his.”
World number one Iga Swiatek saved two match points to come through a marathon match with Belinda Bencic and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time.
Swiatek looked down and out when the score read 15-40 on her serve at 5-6 in the second set, but she produced her best tennis with two sumptuous winners to turn the tie around.
The four-time grand slam champion continued to be pushed all the way by Olympic gold-medallist Bencic in a tense third set before she eventually prevailed 6-7 (4) 7-6 (2) 6-3 after a three-hour epic on Centre Court.
It sent Swiatek through to the last-eight at the All England Club for the first time and having won the junior title at SW19 previously, she will march on with renewed belief this could be her year on her least favoured surface.
Top seed Swiatek had reached the fourth-round without dropping a set but experienced trouble early on against Bencic, being forced to take a medical time-out after only three games due to a blister.
It did not seem to affect the three-time French Open winner and she remained largely in control until Bencic turned the tables in the tie-break.
Bencic saved two set points in the 10th game before she clinched the first set after 66 minutes.
Swiatek left the court and returned determined to avoid another exit before the second week in England, with a sweet forehand return earning a break after a nine-minute opening game.
There remained a steel about Tokyo 2020 champion Bencic, who broke back to make it 3-3 and then had victory within her grasp when 15-40 up at 6-5.
Faced with losing at Wimbledon in the fourth round again, Swiatek came out swinging, producing equally brilliant forehand and backhand winners before she repeated the trick to take the second tie-break.
If Swiatek thought she had chipped away at Bencic’s armour, she was initially wrong with the Swiss right-hander able to force another break point chance early in the third.
After Swiatek dug deep to hold again, the resistance was finally broken with back-to-back double faults by the 14th seed.
More drama was to follow with Swiatek going 0-30 down when serving for the match, but she responded in style with two passing forehand winners sealing her spot in the last-eight.
Swiatek, who played two tie-breaks in the same match for the first time, said in her on-court interview: “Well, it wasn’t easy obviously.
“She had match point right? So, I don’t know if that ever happen in my career, being back from match point down, but I am really happy.
“I feel I needed that win to believe in myself a little more on this surface.
“Every day my love is getting bigger so hopefully I am going to have as many days as possible to play on this court.”
Earlier, fourth seed Jessica Pegula progressed into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time with a straight-sets win over Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
Pegula raced into a 4-0 lead inside quarter of an hour and wrapped up the first set 6-1.
Tsurenko had come through the longest tie-break in women’s grand slam history on Friday to make the fourth round, but struggled to handle this occasion.
Pegula sealed victory with a superb backhand winner – only awarded after she challenged the out call – and made the last-eight of a grand-slam for the fifth time from her last seven appearances with a 6-1 6-3 win.
“I’m glad I challenged it,” Pegula said on-court. “I was just glad I was able to keep up the momentum.”
Next up for Pegula is a quarter-final clash with Marketa Vondrousova, who dug deep to win the all-Czech encounter with Marie Bouzkova in three sets.
World number 42 Vondrousova had only made it past the fourth round at a major once before, when she won the French Open in 2019, but reached the last-eight with a gusty 2-6 6-4 6-3 victory.
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