Arthur Fery is considering turning professional after showing his potential on his Wimbledon debut in a narrow defeat to third seed Daniil Medvedev.
The 20-year-old, ranked 391, matched his illustrious opponent in the first set before a rain delay disrupted things and eventually fell to a 7-5 6-4 6-3 loss.
Fery has followed Cameron Norrie’s route by taking a scholarship to a US college – Stanford in his case – and has to decide soon whether to complete his degree or pursue his sporting dreams immediately.
“I’ve still got a fourth year to do,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet regarding that. I’ll have to choose, decide over the summer what I do.
“But experiences like I had today make me push towards going pro. I think I played well and handled my nerves well. I feel like it could be a pretty standard thing in the coming years to play in these tournaments on the big courts. I feel more and more ready as the years go by to switch to the pro career.”
Fery’s natural touch and willingness to come to the net make him well suited to grass and he looked at home on Court One straight away after a rain shower delayed the start.
Fery, who has French parents but grew up in Wimbledon, won his opening two service games to love and forced a break point on the serve of Medvedev – playing his first match at the All England Club since 2021 after last year’s ban.
It was the Russian who made the first move with a break for 3-2 but Fery delighted the crowd by hitting straight back, prompting his excited father Loic – owner of French top division football club Lorient – to leap from his seat punching the air.
Fery held his own until 5-5 when rain again began to fall, calling into serious question the organisers’ decision not to close the roof.
Still it stayed open, and the delay did not help Fery as he dropped his serve on the resumption before Medvedev, who was returning from metres behind the baseline, clinched the opening set.
Listed at a generous 5ft 8in on the ATP website, Fery was giving away nearly a foot to his opponent and Medvedev began to make his longer levers count, drawing more errors from his young opponent.
Medvedev was not exactly water-tight himself and Fery had some help in recovering from 4-2 to 4-4 down in the second set but he was broken again straight away and his opponent gradually pulled away.
“It was obviously an unbelievable experience,” said Fery, who left the court to loud cheers. “The crowd was great. I enjoyed every moment out there.
“Some of the shots he hit today I hadn’t seen before, didn’t think were possible. It definitely widens the spectrum and the realm of things that you can do on a tennis court.
“Now that I know the top players do that, it’s just a great experience. Lots to take out of it that I can take on to my next performance, and hopefully get back on the big courts here against the big players and feel like it’s more of a normal thing.”
Medvedev admitted he was unsure how he would be received as a Russian but he was touched by the warmth towards him.
“There was zero, let’s say, negative energy that I felt,” he said. “I never had such a good reception at Wimbledon. It’s much better than I had before. So that’s great.”
The 27-year-old vowed to try to keep his own negative emotions in check by way of thanks, saying: “Not getting crazy, not being a selfish kid on the court. Sometimes I can be. I’m going to try to give back to people here in Wimbledon and just try to show some good tennis.”
Son Of Corballis defied odds of 25-1 to land the Coolmore Ten Sovereigns Tipperary Stakes.
The two-year-old won on his debut over course and distance in April, but he was well beaten when seventh of 10 starters in the National Stakes at Sandown last time.
That performance clearly was not a fair reflection of his ability, and under Declan McDonogh he broke quickly from the stalls and made all of the running back on home turf.
He was challenged in the closing stages of the five-furlong affair by Aidan O’Brien’s Alabama, the 11-10 favourite, and Diego Dias’ 28-1 shot Gaenari.
Those two horses finished second in a dead heat, with the winner a neck ahead on the line.
Trainer Kieran Cotter said: “If he hadn’t run in Sandown he’d have been second-favourite today.
“He didn’t travel over well to Sandown, got interfered at the start and dropped back to last.
“He was a bit sick when he came home, but we gave him plenty time to recover and knew we had him 100% today.
“He is in the Weatherbys Super Sprint with just 8st 10lb, so that is a nice pot to be heading for after here, if he isn’t sold.
“He is a good, tough horse and should have a good career ahead of him.”
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 5.
FootballMason Mount made himself at home in Manchester.
View this post on InstagramRio Ferdinand was happy with the signing.
David Beckham was at SW19.
Chris Kamara vowed to make a difference.
Mohamed Salah enjoyed the view.
TennisRoger Federer made sure he did not get turned away at the Wimbledon door.
Becks made Ons Jabeur’s day.
CricketStuart Broad was ready for the third Ashes Test.
Motor RacingHi from Lewis Hamilton’s dog.
George Russell took to the sky.
AthleticsInjury woe for Jake Wightman.
View this post on InstagramRichard Wigglesworth insists winning trumps entertainment as he ruled out England adopting a ‘Bazball’ approach to take on the world this autumn.
While Ben Stokes’ cricket team have contributed to a thrilling Ashes series against Australia, adhering to the swashbuckling instincts dubbed ‘Bazball’, Wigglesworth believes pragmatism offers England their best chance of success at the World Cup.
Entrusted with overseeing Steve Borthwick’s attack after being recruited from Leicester at the end of the season, the 40-year-old is devising a gameplan that is “tactically flexible”.
“The beauty about rugby is there is loads of different ways to do it. If we all try to play the same way it wouldn’t be entertaining,” former England scrum-half Wigglesworth said.
“We want to be tactically flexible. Does the word entertainment come into my thinking when I am planning? No. It’s about the best way to play. The best way to play and attack will end up being entertaining.
“There are games you have to go and win in a different way and I want us to be able to do that and make sure that when the time is right, we can move the ball as well as anyone.
“We are aiming to have the best plan for the players we’ve got. I’m not going to say: ‘this is how we want to attack.’ What we have to do is match the right personnel on the field with the best attack for them.
“We will attack well. We don’t want to be passive, we want to go and make sure we cause some problems.”
Wigglesworth has been keeping tabs on the Ashes and while England have fallen 2-0 behind entering the third Test on Thursday, he admires a set-up that provides players with freedom.
“It’s funny because they’ve been lauded, then they lose two games in an Ashes series and there are questions. That’s sport and that’s why you have to try to do what you can to win,” Wigglesworth said.
“Hopefully they can turn it around and win three in a row, so they’re back to being lauded again.
“I’m really interested in the environment they’ve got there – where players can go out and express themselves and be happy. That is certainly something that we want to do.
“We want players to enjoy being part of this England squad. We are really conscious of that.
“I’m definitely interested in the Ashes as a spectator, from afar. Maybe with this rose on my chest now, I might be able to visit a few places and pick their brains.
“They’re pretty busy at the moment but I’ll be sending some messages and seeing if I can. There will be many a sport I try and tap into, to try to learn from.”
Wigglesworth is England’s fourth attack coach since the 2019 World Cup but unlike his predecessors Simon Amor, Martin Gleeson and Nick Evans, he brings with him the experience of having being involved in three previous tournaments.
In 2011 and 2015 he was present as a player while in 2019 he was an assistant coach with Canada.
“There’s an overriding sense of disappointment as both 2011 and 2015 didn’t go well,” Wigglesworth said.
“I want to give the players the best chance to experience something positive they’ll remember for the rest of their lives, not look back like I did with a tinge of regret and disappointment. Our job is to help them as much as we can.”
Lewis Hamilton's Formula One legacy "will live forever" says Logan Sargeant, who does not anticipate the seven-time world champion will bow out just yet.
After a disappointing 2022 season, Hamilton is once again well behind two-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen in the F1 standings.
While Verstappen has seven race wins to his name already this year, Hamilton has zero, and has only managed three podium placings.
The Mercedes driver sits fourth in the drivers' championship, and there has been speculation that this year might be his last in F1.
Williams driver Sargeant, however, feels Hamilton will stay on, though the American is sure that legendary status has been secured for the Briton.
"I personally think he's going to stay," Sargeant told Stats Perform.
"I think he wants to keep going. I could be wrong.
"His legacy will live forever, he's one of the best ever do it, if not the best, and he's a driver I looked up to through my junior career.
"I'll always have a massive amount of respect for him. His legacy will live forever."
Sargeant, though, does not feel Hamilton or anyone else will be able to compete with Verstappen for this year's title.
He said: "This year, I don't think so. Maybe next year, but it seems like they [Red Bull] have got this year well under control.
"Max is obviously driving amazingly, so I don't think anyone's going to be able to beat them this year unless they have a problem."
Sargeant is experiencing his first season in F1, and conceded it is taking some getting used to.
"It's extremely difficult, as you can imagine, being against 19 of the other best drivers in the world," he said.
"It's so tight from eighth to 20th, and if you put one foot wrong, that can be the difference between getting top 10 or 20th, so that's the biggest challenge just making sure you're at your best every single day, and I feel like it's coming.
"I'm just getting more and more comfortable with it, so the goal is to eventually get to a point where I can extract everything that car has throughout a weekend. That's where I want to get to."
British number one Katie Boulter did not allow another Just Stop Oil protest to get in her way of a place in the second round at Wimbledon after a comfortable victory over Daria Saville.
Boulter was trailing 4-2 in the first-set tie-break when a protester ran on to Court 18 and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just two hours after a first protest on the same court.
But after a small delay, Boulter won the following five points to claim the first set and then raced through the second set to claim a 7-6 (4) 6-2 win against her Australian opponent.
The 26-year-old is enjoying an impressive run, having won her maiden WTA Tour title in Nottingham at the start of the grass-court season, and as the highest ranked Briton she will have designs on a deep run at her home grand slam.
She had to do it the hard way, though, as she had to resume the match – that was suspended 28 hours earlier due to bad rain – serving to stay in the first set, but delivered a service hold to love.
But after just 10 points of the resumption, and trailing 4-2 in the tie-break, a protester ran onto court and play was suspended again.
Along with Saville, she helped the ground staff in the clean-up operation and the mini-break seemed to work wonders for her as she reeled off five successive points in the tie-break to claim the first set.
Four more followed as she won the first game of the second set to love and that set the tone for what turned out to be a comfortable afternoon.
She won four of the next six games before serving out an impressive victory.
A showcourt appearance will probably now lie in wait in her second round match against Bernarda Pera or Viktoriya Tomova.
Jai Hindley ripped up the script for the Tour de France as he took the yellow jersey from Adam Yates with a breakaway victory in the Pyrenees while Jonas Vingegaard left chief rival Tadej Pogacar in his wake when he set off in pursuit.
All the talk in the build-up to this Tour has been on the battle between defending champion Vingegaard and two-time winner Pogacar, but Hindley slipped into a strong breakaway on the road out of Pau and so ensured the general classification had been ripped up 163 kilometres later in Laruns.
The Australian Tour debutant, winner of the 2022 Giro d’Italia, made his own case as a contender ending the day with a 47-second lead over Vingegaard, while Pogacar’s inability to follow the Dane up the final climb might be the answer needed regarding his fitness after a long injury lay-off.
Hindley was scarcely able to believe his luck in having been allowed to join the break and then having the legs to capitalise as he went clear on the Col de Marie Blanque to solo into town, winning by 32 seconds from a group including Vingegaard.
“I’m a bit lost for words to be honest,” the 27-year-old said. “I can’t believe it. I was pretty surprised to find myself in that group.
“I just sort of slipped into it. I was sort of having fun, then looked back and there was no group behind so I thought, ‘I guess we’re in for a bike race’.”
Pogacar won an almost identical stage back in 2020 on his way to his first Tour crown, but this unusually early visit to the mountains just five days into a Tour had a very different ending as he dropped to sixth overall, one minute and 40 seconds down.
Bora-Hansgrohe sports director Rolf Aldag called it an “accident” for Hindley to get into the day’s breakaway, but the mistake belonged to the UAE Team Emirates squad of Pogacar and Yates.
With several teams, including Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma, represented up the road, none of their rivals were willing to help them shut the move down, and the break’s advantage quickly ballooned to four minutes as they scaled the Col de Soudet.
Hindley would have been dreaming of taking a significant lead in yellow at that point but inevitably the peloton did begin to close in when the breakaway splintered on the Marie Blanque.
Hindley chose that moment to ride away from Felix Gall and then, as they closed in behind, Vingegaard did the same to Pogacar, putting more than a minute into the Slovenian who is still hampered after breaking his wrist at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April.
“I just felt good,” Vingegaard said. “I just look at myself and if I feel good then I try to attack. You have to ask Tadej (what happened) but I know he never gives up and it will be a fight all the way to Paris…
“We were also thinking if we should put a guy on the front (to chase the break) but we decided not to. Being in the break takes a lot of energy, but of course we have to look at Jai as well. I think I had a super good day.”
Pogacar tried in vain to chase down Vingegaard on the descent, but waited for a group including Adam and Simon Yates so they could work together to limit their losses.
“It was not so difficult a day but Jonas went so fast on the climb and I lost my legs early,” the 24-year-old said.
“It was a bit hectic over the small climbs. Everybody wanted to go in the break and there was a moment where we could not close the gap immediately and the big group went away…
“I think I know my limits now so the motivation is pretty high and I think we can go day-by-day pretty strong.”
Three people have been arrested after two protests disrupted tennis at Wimbledon on the tournament’s third day.
Two men and a woman, all wearing T-shirts with “Just Stop Oil” printed on them, have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage after throwing orange confetti and jigsaw puzzle pieces on to a court.
The two incidents occurred about two hours apart on Wednesday.
The first featured Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, and Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician from Manchester, Just Stop Oil said.
It happened just after 2pm during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro.
The second disrupted play between British number one Katie Boulter and her opponent Daria Saville, both of whom helped clear the court after an activist was escorted away.
The Metropolitan Police tweeted after the latter protest: “We are aware of an incident on Court 18 whereby one male has unlawfully entered the field of play and discharged items onto the playing surface.
“He was immediately removed from the Grounds and arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage.”
Wimbledon said on Twitter after the first stoppage: “Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the Grounds.”
Ajero could head for the John Smith’s Cup at York following his fine run when fourth in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes.
Kim Bailey’s eight-year-old performed with credit at Royal Ascot for a second successive year, having finished second in the 12-furlong handicap in 2022 before being beaten by just shy of three lengths by Okita Soushi off a 7lb higher rating.
Raised a further 1lb to a figure of 97 following that run, he is now unlikely to contest the Charlton Handicap he won at Goodwood last year, opening the door for Ajero to line-up on the Knavesmire on July 15 in the fiercely-competitive £200,000 contest.
“He could be going to York for his next run in the John Smith’s Cup,” said Bailey.
“We’ve had an enormous amount of fun with him. His run at Ascot this year was off 7lb higher than last year, which for an eight-year-old is quite something really.
“Sadly we can’t get to Goodwood this year which is disappointing. He’s now 97 and it’s a 0-95. That would have been the perfect race for him which is annoying. He won it last year and it would have been nice to go back there, but we can’t take the chance he will get in because I’m sure he won’t.
“The John Smith’s Cup is a tough race and a slightly different ball game, but we love the horse, he’s a real character and just great.”
British number one Katie Boulter will play mixed doubles with Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur at Wimbledon.
The pair are one of the highest-profile couples in tennis and, having supported each other court-side on many occasions, they will now be on the same side of the net for the first time.
Boulter and De Minaur, who will face Australian duo Storm Hunter and John Peers in the first round, are not the only off-court couple in the draw.
World number five Stefanos Tsitsipas and Spain’s Paula Badosa, who recently made their relationship public, are also playing together and will take on top seeds Austin Krajicek and Jessica Pegula.
Other notable pairings are all-British duos Heather Watson and Joe Salisbury and Jodie Burrage and Lloyd Glasspool, while Jamie Murray will play with American Taylor Townsend.
Britain’s Neal Skupski and American Desirae Krawczyk, meanwhile, are bidding for their third successive title.
Jai Hindley won stage five of the Tour de France in Laruns to take the yellow jersey from Adam Yates and Jonas Vingegaard rode clear of rival Tadej Pogacar as an early trip to the Pyrenees ripped up the general classification.
Hindley, winner of last year’s Giro d’Italia, marked himself out as a major contender with a breakaway victory but surely more important was the sight of defending champion Vingegaard leaving behind two-time winner Pogacar on the final climb to make his case as the favourite to be in yellow come Paris.
Having gone clear from the last of his fellow escapees on the final climb of the Col de Marie Blanque, Hindley soloed into Laruns to take the win by 32 seconds, with Vingegaard coming home at the back of a four-strong group that was second on the road.
With bonus seconds applied, Hindley now leads overall by 47 seconds from Vingegaard with Giulio Ciccone in third, 63 seconds back.
The Australian may be making his Tour de France debut, but given Hindley has twice stood on the podium of the Giro it was a huge surprise to see how easily he got into the break.
“I’m a bit lost for words to be honest,” the Bora-Hansgrohe rider said. “I can’t believe it. I was pretty surprised to find myself in that group. I just sort of slipped into it. I was sort of having fun, then looked back and there was no group behind so I thought, ‘I guess we’re in for a bike race’.
“The gap grew out initially and I was just trying to maybe get a bit of a buffer on the GC guys and then I started to think about the stage win.”
Pogacar, utterly unable to respond when Vingegaard launched his own move on the Marie Blanque, lost more than a minute to Vingegaard and slipped to sixth, one minute and 40 seconds off yellow. Adam Yates is now fifth and his twin brother Simon seventh.
The first real mountain battle of the Tour turned into a fascinating tactical battle as Hindley slipped into a strong breakaway that got clear during a frantic start to the 163km stage out of Pau.
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates were unable to shut it down and got no help from any of their rivals, watching the advantage balloon to four minutes as they climbed the hors categorie Col de Soudet midway through the stage.
Hindley would have been hoping to gain a bigger lead given the time gaps that had been seen, but when Vingegaard made a late dig of his own he quickly distanced Pogacar and kept himself within reach of the yellow jersey.
Jodie Burrage admitted nerves got the better of her on her Centre Court debut as she tumbled out of Wimbledon in front of David Beckham.
Former England captain Beckham watched from the Royal Box as Britain’s Burrage was routed 6-0 6-2 by Russian 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.
“It was a good experience. Obviously not the result that I wanted. The first set was pretty brutal,” said Burrage, 24.
“But all in all, you dream to be out on Centre Court. When I found out yesterday, it’s so exciting.
“In the same breath, you’ve got to deal with those nerves as well. I wish I could have settled a little bit earlier today. But you’ve got to go through these experiences to feel more comfortable in the next ones.
“So, yeah, it was a tough day, but also one of my dreams come true.”
Burrage arrived on court with high hopes after reaching the Nottingham final last month and then knocking out Caty McNally on Monday for her first win at a grand slam and a likely place in the top 100.
But she found herself staring down the barrel of a humiliating ‘double-bagel’ in the second round after dropping the first set without winning a game in 19 chastening minutes.
Kasatkina held again at the start of the second before Burrage finally got on the board, raising her arms in mock celebration in front of the Royal Box.
Bear Grylls, also watching from the posh seats, would have enjoyed the survival skills on display as Burrage went on to clinch a break of serve to lead 2-1.
But she was unable to hold serve before a rain delay and, despite some admirable resistance upon the resumption, Kasatkina clinically closed out the match in exactly one hour.
“I mean, having the people who were in that box out there watching you. I actually didn’t see who was in there,” added Burrage.
“When you’re on the court, it’s hard to see who is in there. You don’t want to really look and stare.
“Then during the rain delay, they obviously had the cameras around, and in the room we’re in I obviously saw David Beckham was announced. ‘Oh my God, David Beckham is watching me play tennis right now’. And I was at 6-0, 2-2.”
Arthur Fery showed his potential on his Wimbledon debut despite a straight-sets loss to third seed Daniil Medvedev.
The 20-year-old, ranked 391, matched his illustrious opponent in the first set before a rain delay disrupted things and eventually fell to a 7-5 6-4 6-3 loss.
Fery has followed Cameron Norrie’s route to professional tennis by taking a scholarship to a US college – Stanford in his case – and is likely to decide later this year whether to complete his degree or pursue his sporting dreams immediately.
His natural touch and willingness to come to the net make him well suited to grass and he looked at home on Court One straight away after a rain shower delayed the start.
Fery, who has French parents but grew up in Wimbledon, won his opening two service games to love and forced a break point on the serve of Medvedev – playing his first match at the All England Club since 2021 after last year’s ban.
It was the Russian who made the first move with a break for 3-2 but Fery delighted the crowd by hitting straight back, prompting his excited father Loic – owner of French top division football club Lorient – to leap from his seat punching the air.
Fery held his own until 5-5 when rain again began to fall, calling into serious question the organisers’ decision not to close the roof.
Still it stayed open, and the delay did not help Fery as he dropped his serve on the resumption before Medvedev, who was returning from metres behind the baseline, clinched the opening set.
Listed at a generous 5ft 8in on the ATP website, Fery was giving away nearly a foot to his opponent and Medvedev began to make his longer levers count, drawing more errors from his young opponent.
The third seed was by a long way the highest-ranked player Fery, making his tour level debut, had ever faced, and he was bidding to defeat a top-100 player for the first time.
Medvedev saved a break point in a long service game at 1-2 in the second set before breaking Fery again, but back came the young Londoner.
The disappointment for Fery was that, having given himself a chance in the set by pulling back to 4-4, he was then broken again.
The 20-year-old recalled watching Medvedev’s US Open triumph in 2021 on his phone on the Tube while travelling back from a music festival, but he continued to do a good job of narrowing the gulf between them in the third set.
Medvedev was playing his part in that, too, with more errors than he would have liked but he succeeded in finding a way past Fery, who left the court to loud cheers.
Medvedev admitted he was unsure how he would be received, saying: “I was pretty nervous. I didn’t play here for two years.
“I didn’t know which reception I would get and it was unbelievable. I’m not loved everywhere for who I am, sometimes I get crazy on the court.
“It was an amazing feeling to be back here. I’m going to be loving my time here. Hopefully I can prolong it as long as possible.”
Paddy Twomey’s high-class filly Rosscarbery will not make a swift return to action in the bet365 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock on Saturday.
Having made a successful start to her campaign in the Munster Oaks at Cork, the four-year-old stepped up to Group One level for last weekend’s Pretty Polly Stakes.
The daughter of Sea The Stars was beaten five lengths into fourth place and Twomey believes she would have picked up valuable black type but for being hampered by eventual winner Via Sistina.
The Irish trainer has, though, decided against bidding for swift compensation on Merseyside, instead electing to keep his powder dry for major targets later in the summer.
“I made the entry (at Haydock) just to keep my options open. She’s entered in pretty much everything across the board,” said Twomey.
“She’s come out of the Curragh in good form. It was a pity what happened in the race as I think she’d have been in the first three with a clear passage.
“A mile and a quarter is her minimum trip – she stays a mile and a half and a mile and six. She needs everything to go right at 10 furlongs, so to get stopped in her tracks like that wasn’t ideal, but it is what it is and we move on to the next day.”
Considering future plans, he added: “We’ll see what we do, but a race like the Yorkshire Oaks would be very suitable for her – a mile and a half with a long straight.
“I think a mile and a half sees her to best effect, as she showed in Cork in the Munster Oaks.
“We’ll talk with the owners and make a plan, but the aim is to try to win a Group One if we can.”
Twomey also entered Final Gesture for the Lancashire Oaks, but confirmed she will instead be readied for next week’s Stanerra Stakes at Leopardstown.
Two protesters have been arrested after disrupting Wimbledon by throwing orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on Court 18.
Tournament organisers announced on Twitter the pair were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage after running on to the court during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro.
The Metropolitan Police said on Twitter that a man and a woman were in custody after the incident.
Just Stop Oil has named the activists as Deborah Wilde and Simon Milner-Edwards.
Wimbledon tweeted: “Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the Grounds.
“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play is about to resume.”
The crowd jeered them before they were escorted away by security guards and police.
Grounds staff came on to pick the confetti and jigsaw pieces up while one member used a leafblower shortly before the rain started.
The protest happened as Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer held talks with police and sports chiefs to discuss how to prevent Just Stop Oil activists targeting flagship events.
The second Ashes Test at Lord’s, the Gallagher Premiership rugby final at Twickenham and the World Snooker Championship have all been affected in recent months.
In a statement, Just Stop Oil said “we can’t leave it to the next generation to pick up the pieces”.
Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, ran on the court shortly after 2.10pm.
She said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this Government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.
“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree! We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our Government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line-call.
“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war.
“We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.
“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”
The other Just Stop Oil protester who invaded Court 18 was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician, from Manchester.
He revealed he brought the confetti into the grounds in a jigsaw box, but refused to say which gate he entered through.
Via the JSO statement, he said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s. I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.
“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.
“How long are we going to take this before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown?”
The protest did not disrupt proceedings too much as rain started falling shortly after.
The match resumed 45 minutes later.
Ian Poulter believes changes need to be made at the top of golf’s established tours for the proposed peace deal between the game’s rival factions to work.
World number two Jon Rahm admitted players felt a “bit of betrayal” following the shock announcement that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour plan to merge their commercial operations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls the breakaway LIV Golf League.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan conceded he would be labelled a hypocrite for negotiating the framework agreement and was accused of becoming a “Saudi shill” by a group representing families of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Monahan faced calls to resign at a heated players meeting immediately after the deal was announced and is currently recuperating from a “medical situation” which means he will not testify before a Senate committee looking into the deal next week.
DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is also facing questions after it was revealed in court documents filed in Florida that the PGA Tour regarded the European Tour Group as a “borderline distressed asset” during analysis intended to aid a merger between the parties last year.
The tours have pledged to establish a “fair and objective process” for LIV players to re-apply for membership, although resentment over fines and suspensions for playing LIV events without permission remain a bone of contention.
Speaking ahead of this week’s LIV event in Hemel Hempstead, Poulter was therefore asked if it would be easier to start afresh if changes were made.
“It would definitely help,” the former Ryder Cup star said.
“I’m not going to say what those changes have to be, but shall we say there needs to be changes? People need to be accountable for their actions.”
Majesticks team-mate Lee Westwood believes the emergence of LIV has led to more “transparency” in the game and that opinions may be changing as new information comes to light.
“I just think people are better informed now, there’s more transparency in what goes on in all of the golfing organisations,” Westwood said.
“It’s not so much vindication, it’s just that people know the true facts now.
“I didn’t really want to get involved. I’m just a golfer at the end of the day, the politics of it all and the way tours are run is kind of above my pay grade, but it is nice to see it down in black and white what’s been going on.”
Asked if he felt tempted to say ‘I told to you so’ to those who spoke out against LIV when it launched, Westwood added: “No, not really.
“I think we’re happy within the position and the choices we’ve made and then it’s up to everybody else to form an opinion on it. Now it’s an informed opinion.
“There’s a lot of people now looking like hypocrites. You’ve seen what people are saying in the press and now they’re backtracking. He (Monahan) has even admitted himself he’s going to look hypocritical.
“We don’t even have to say it any more. We knew it at the time about sponsors on the PGA Tour.
“He sat in front of the RBC sign when they [RBC] did the deal for Aramco to go public and make all that money from Saudi Arabia and the next minute he’s mentioning 9/11 families and stuff like that. It’s really uncomfortable to watch now.”
Cicero’s Gift could be in line for an outing at the Qatar Goodwood Festival as he bids to bounce back from a first defeat at Royal Ascot.
Charlie Hills’ talented colt created a taking impression when winning his first three starts in great style, earning himself a crack at the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes on the opening day of the Royal meeting.
However, his first foray into deep waters proved unsuccessful and he was unable to showcase his true ability when seeing his challenge constantly hindered from a low draw.
His handler remains confident he has a horse with a progressive profile on his hands and is considering his next move for the 109-rated colt, with Goodwood’s Group Three Thoroughbred Stakes an option as well a further drop in grade to Listed level.
“He’s a really nice horse,” said Hills.
“He was a bit slow away and I think experience counted in the race. They went very fast for the first four furlongs and I think it just caught him out a little bit and then from that low draw, he just couldn’t get a run off that rail.
“We never got to see the full potential of him that day and we will see where we go with him now. I’m keen to give him a little break and then come back for something like the Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood which could be a good spot for him.
“He’s rated 109 and already up to a good rating, but I would love to find him a Listed race or something just to perhaps get him winning again and then work him back up.
“I see no reason why he wouldn’t get a mile and a quarter in time and he’s going to make a lovely four-year-old.”
Also poised for an appearance on the Sussex Downs is stable stalwart Pogo, who could attempt to better than last year’s third in the Lennox Stakes following his brave effort at Newmarket in the Criterion Stakes.
The forward-going seven-year-old was beaten only half a length in the Goodwood Group Two 12 months ago and Hills sees the £180,000 event as the ideal next port of call.
“He ran really well and I was delighted with him,” said Hills.
“I think he deserves a bit of a break now after two quick runs and he’s in the Lennox Stakes which gives us about a month and is good timing.
“He wasn’t beaten too far in the race last year, he ran a huge race there, so that will probably where he goes next and there’s great prize money.”
Britain’s Jodie Burrage endured a nightmare Centre Court debut as she tumbled out of Wimbledon at the hands of Daria Kasatkina.
The 24-year-old arrived with high hopes after reaching the Nottingham final last month and then knocking out Caty McNally on Monday for her first win at a grand slam and a likely place in the top 100.
But she found herself staring down the barrel of a humiliating ‘double-bagel’ in the second round after dropping the first set without winning a game.
Burrage recovered her composure in the second set but Russian Kasatkina, the Eastbourne finalist and 11th seed, proved too strong in a resounding 6-0 6-2 victory.
The British number two was bound to be nervous on her first appearance on Centre Court, and unfortunately it showed.
She won just three points in the opening four games, double-faulting three times to give Kasatkina a 4-0 lead.
Burrage brought up a break point in the next but a slip on the baseline proved costly and before she knew it the first set was over in 19 chastening minutes.
Kasatkina held again at the start of the second before Burrage finally got on the board, raising her arms in mock celebration in front of David Beckham in the Royal Box.
Bear Grylls, also watching from the posh seats, would have enjoyed the survival skills on display as Burrage went on to clinch a break of serve to lead 2-1.
But she was unable to hold serve before a rain delay and, despite some admirable resistance upon the resumption, Kasatkina clinically closed out the match in exactly one hour.
Formula One bosses have announced the longest calendar in the sport’s history with a record-breaking 24 races scheduled for next season.
The campaign will open on a Saturday in Bahrain on March 2 and end more than 10 months later in Abu Dhabi on December 8.
The British Grand Prix will take place at Silverstone on July 7, avoiding a clash with the men’s Wimbledon final, and the concluding day of golf’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.
The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is also pencilled in for its first F1 race since 2019.
F1 races traditionally take place on a Sunday, but next year’s schedule kicks off with back-to-back Saturday night races, first in Bahrain and then in Saudi Arabia, to accommodate Ramadan.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “There is huge interest and continued demand for Formula One, and I believe this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new and existing venues.
“Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment.
“We have plenty of racing to look forward to in 2023, including the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, and our fans can look forward to more excitement next season.”
2024 Formula One CalendarMarch 2 – Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)
March 9 – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah)
March 24 – Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
April 7 – Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
April 21 – Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)
May 5 – Miami Grand Prix (Miami)
May 19 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola)
May 26 – Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
June 9 – Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
June 23 – Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
June 30 – Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
July 7 – British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
July 21 – Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)
July 28 – Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)
August 25 – Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort)
September 1 – Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
September 15 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku)
September 22 – Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay)
October 20 – United States Grand Prix (Austin)
October 27 – Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico City)
November 3 – Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)
November 23 – Las Vegas Grand Prix (Las Vegas)
December 1 – Qatar Grand Prix (Lusail)
December 8 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina)
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
