Al Kazeem may not have been owner-breeder John Deer’s first Group One winner, but there is little doubt he is the finest to graduate from his Oakgrove Stud.
He won 10 times during an intermittent 23-race career, but it is 10 years since the strapping son of Dubawi was arguably at his peak and went on an imperious winning run, collecting a trio of Group One prizes.
This Saturday marks a decade since the final act of that successful streak as having downed Camelot in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and then bravely landed the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, Al Kazeem was sent off the 15-8 favourite to bring up a big-race hat-trick in the Coral-Eclipse – a mission he completed in fine style.
It was a victory that was not without the odd moment of worry as Al Kazeem hung right-handed just as a dominant charge to the line seemed inevitable. But despite the protestation he badly hampered eventual third Mukhadram, there was no denying the clear-cut nature of the two-length triumph.
“It was a brilliant year, fantastic really,” said Deer. “It was one of those times where you just can’t believe it. You breed a lot of horses and they are good, but nothing like what it takes to win a Group One. So when it happens it is very special.
“I had already won Group Ones with Patavellian and Avonbridge, so I had a flavour of it, but Al Kazeem was different, he was very special.
“He was a gorgeous looking horse who was very strong. I was pleased with the way he got on with Roger Charlton and we had some very exciting days with him.”
It is not just Deer who holds fond memories of Al Kazeem, but also Roger Charlton who trained the bay both before and after his brief interlude at stud.
The Beckhampton handler, who now trains in conjunction with his son Harry, has great memories of that 2013 season and was delighted that Al Kazeem could provide him with the Eclipse victory he always craved adding to his CV.
“He was on a roll that year wasn’t he,” said Charlton.
“It was a very rewarding effort to beat Camelot in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, then his performance at Royal Ascot in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes was good. There was a little bit of controversy in the Eclipse as to whether he interfered with Mukhadram but he battled on up the hill there.
“It was very pleasing and like most people the Eclipse was a race I always wanted to win. It’s a special race and it is normally at the time of the year where the best horses can go there if they want.”
He went on: “If I remember rightly it was always the plan to go there as long as he was OK after Ascot. He was a very tough and very sound horse and he was very suited to going right-handed rather than left-handed.
“As I remember it, he was well on top at the end and he was a pretty classy horse in those days.
“He came back from a broken pelvis to do what he did and as we all know he then went off to stud and then came back to win another Group One so he was a pretty special horse and he would rate pretty highly on my list anyway.”
A third key component of the Al Kazeem story is his big-race pilot James Doyle who partnered the son of Dubawi for all of his major moments on course.
Now one of the leading riders in the weighing room, Doyle was stable jockey to Charlton at the time and had only the one really recognisable success to his name when winning the Dubai Duty Free aboard Cityscape.
However, Al Kazeem would soon change that and helped put Doyle firmly in the spotlight.
“Cityscape was the catalyst when he won the Dubai Duty Free in a course-record time and then it moved on to Al Kazeem,” said Charlton.
“I do slightly remember going to the Curragh with James for the Tattersalls Gold Cup where we were taking on Camelot who was nearly a Triple Crown winner.
“James ran round the course and then won on Al Kazeem and then on the way home I asked him ‘how many times have you ridden at the Curragh?’ and he said only once, as an apprentice over five furlongs. So he had never actually ridden over the trip there at that stage and it just shows how young and inexperienced he was in those days.”
Deer added: “I felt very lucky because he was such a young jockey, but lucky because he was such a good jockey. He was brilliant on the horse really and it kind of shows how lucky I was now doesn’t it, with the way he has developed and his career has progressed.”
After an unsuccessful first attempt at stud duties following the 2013 season, Al Kazeem would return to the track to add a second Tattersalls Gold Cup during his swansong season of 2015.
He now stands at Deer’s Oakgrove Stud in Wales where he is very much part of the family and his legacy lives on having provided the owner-breeder with another Royal Ascot champion in the form of Wokingham hero Saint Lawrence.
Deer said: “He was special in as much as in he coped with being a stallion and when he came back into training you got the impression he had forgotten all about it. He knew his job of racing and settled in and did beautifully.
“It’s lovely to have him back, that is really special. I sold him to the Queen and he wasn’t exactly out of my life because I did have some nominations to him, but to have him back at the stud is really special and everybody loves the horse, it’s amazing. He is a bit of a star and I watch him sometimes being taken out to his paddock and he is full of himself.”
Britain’s Daniel Dubois will fight world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in Poland next month, it has been announced.
Ukrainian Usyk, 36, will put all his WBA (Super), IBF and WBO titles on the line against mandatory WBA challenger Dubois, 26, at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw on August 26.
Former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk snatched the titles off Anthony Joshua in London in September 2021 and won the rematch in August last year in Saudi Arabia.
Dubois will be Usyk’s second defence of his world heavyweight belts with the match-up announced on Twitter by Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions.
Usyk, whose scheduled showdown with WBC champion Tyson Fury at Wembley in April fell through due to contractual disputes, said simply on Instagram: “See you 26 august”.
Londoner Dubois, nicknamed ‘Dynamite’, has won 19 of his 20 fights since turning professional in 2017, 18 by knockout, with one defeat, against fellow British heavyweight Joe Joyce in 2020.
Dubois suffered a fractured orbital bone and nerve damage to his left eye when stopped in the 10th round by Joyce, but has beaten four opponents since.
In his latest triumph, on the undercard of Fury’s third fight against Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September, Dubois recovered from three first-round knockdowns to defeat South Africa’s Kevin Lerena.
An Animal Rising activist has been spared jail after running on to the track at the Betfred Derby a minute before the horses galloped past.
Ben Newman, 32, was filmed running on to the course at Epsom as the premier Classic began on June 3.
After pleading guilty at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday to causing public nuisance, he was criticised by the judge for “endangering” the lives of police
and security guards who managed to drag him off the track just before the horses ran past.
Newman was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and fined a total of £1,356.
The protest happened after the Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs, was granted an injunction banning the Animal Rising group, which Newman was a part of, from intervening in the event.
He was produced from custody and appeared in court dressed in a grey sweatshirt.
He was one of 31 people arrested on the day of the race, including 12 on the racecourse grounds.
Footage played at court showed Newman running on to the track as police and security guards darted after him before wrestling him to the ground and dragging
him to one side.
About a minute later, the horses sprinted past, prosecutor Wendy Cottee told the court.
She said: “The Derby was due to start at 3.30pm. Horses were let out just after that.
“This defendant then ran across the track. The horses were around a minute away.
“He was apprehended and taken off the track.
“The defendant admits that the public were angry with him – several were jeering at him.”
On Wednesday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman held a summit at Downing Street with police and sports bodies including the Lawn Tennis Association, the Premier
League and the England and Wales Cricket Board to discuss plans to step up security at summer sporting events.
That afternoon, Just Stop Oil protesters threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces on to court 18 at Wimbledon, stopping play twice.
It came after members of the group invaded the pitch at Lord’s last week during the second Ashes test.
Emily Upjohn and Paddington remain on course for a mouthwatering clash at Sandown on Saturday with the pair among just four runners declared for the Coral-Eclipse.
Following a dominant success in last month’s Coronation Cup, John and Thady Gosden’s Emily Upjohn will drop back in trip under William Buick, who takes over in the saddle from the suspended Frankie Dettori.
She has already won over Sandown’s 10 furlongs, but faces a far from straightforward task on her return as she must concede 7lb to a top-class three-year-old colt in Paddington.
Aidan O’Brien’s charge is four from four this season, including a Classic triumph in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, and confirmed himself the best of his generation over a mile with a brilliant victory over Newmarket Guineas winner Chaldean in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The son of Siyouni now tests the water over a mile and a quarter for the first time in a race his trainer has already won on six occasions.
With Anmaat a significant absentee, the small but select field is completed by the William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour and West Wind Blows from Simon and Ed Crisford’s yard.
Dubai Honour has enjoyed a profitable year on foreign soil, winning back-to-back Group Ones in Australia before finishing third in the QEII Cup in Hong Kong.
West Wind Blows is a dual Group Three winner and was runner-up to Hukum in the Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting last month, but will be the outsider of the quartet.
Anmaat has been ruled out of Saturday’s Coral-Eclipse at Sandown due to a foot abscess.
Winner of the John Smith’s Cup last summer, the Owen Burrows-trained five-year-old went on to land the Group Three Rose of Lancaster Stakes and the Group Two Prix Dollar before being given a winter break.
He chased home Adayar on his reappearance in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket before returning to France to break his Group One duck in last month’s Prix d’Ispahan.
Connections had been looking forward to seeing him test his powers at the highest level on home soil this weekend, but he will not line up at the Esher venue.
Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, said: “It looks like a foot abscess and we sort of hoped it was going to burst overnight, but it hasn’t and he’s just not 100 per cent sound this morning.
“It’s just a matter of timing, he’ll be fine next week hopefully. Like all of these things you can’t fight them, that’s nature’s way and he just isn’t right to run on Saturday.
“It’s a big blow to Owen and the team there and obviously Sheikha Hissa and all at Shadwell. It was going to be interesting to see him against the best mile and a quarter horses in this country and Ireland, but there’s no point making a fuss about it – those are the cards we’ve been dealt.”
Anmaat holds an entry in next month’s Juddmonte International, but Shadwell are targeting that race with Prince of Wales’s Stakes hero Mostahdaf and it seems unlikely both will head for York.
Gold added: “That (Juddmonte International) is the obvious one, except for the fact that if we’re lucky and get there in one piece we have Mostahdaf lined up for that.
“Off the top of my head we could look at something like the Irish Champion Stakes (for Anmaat), but that is obviously a while away yet (September 9).
“The Eclipse was his prime summer target, but there we go. We’re just digesting it, so we haven’t sat down with the programme book yet, but the Irish Champion would certainly be an option.”
Max Verstappen is in the form of his career, but Williams team principal James Vowles is confident other teams are closing in on Red Bull.
Verstappen is well clear in the drivers' championship, having won seven races already in 2023.
Red Bull, with their other driver Sergio Perez occupying second place, are also the runaway leaders in the constructors' championship.
Vowles, though, does think the gap is gradually beginning to close.
Asked how teams can stop the Verstappen-Red Bull juggernaut, he told Stats Perform: "It's a meritocracy. They've done the best job with the same finances available, not the same equipment, the same finances available as everyone else.
"He's on fire at the moment. There's just every race where you think he might struggle. He still pulls one out of the bag and does well.
"I think what you are seeing is people catching up. That's the slight difference. There is a closing of the gap relative to what happened before. It's just going to take time for that to fully kick in."
Before taking charge of Williams, Vowles was the motorsport strategy director at Mercedes, who have endured a difficult time since the start of the 2022 season.
"I think Mercedes lost a year's worth of development simply because the direction they went down was quite different to really the rest of the field," he said.
"And sometimes you have to believe in what you're doing at one point, which is what they've done now, you have to realise that is the wrong direction.
"But that year hasn't been undone. You can't just undo it in the space of one week.
"So what you'll see from this is that now we're going to slowly start, I'm sure, to learn what the package is and how to develop it because they are an incredible organisation and will get back to the front, but it's going to take them I think from here another six months, 12 months to be able to do that."
Asked if F1 was becoming too predictable, Vowles replied: "I think there always is a risk of that. That's like any sport, when you can predict the result, it's less interesting.
"The only thing is I'd go back and say, actually, Austria was one of the most interesting races we've had so far this year, so the gems are still there and this won't last forever.
"[Verstappen] will come back towards everyone else and it just takes a little bit more time than we're expecting. But he will do."
Mark Philippoussis still holds frustrations over his defeat to Roger Federer in the 2003 Wimbledon final.
Thursday, July 6 marks 20 years since Philippoussis went down 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to a then 21-year-old Federer at the All England Club.
That defeat saw Philippoussis' second chance at winning a major title pass by, and also marked the first grand slam success of Federer's incredible career.
Federer would win a further 19 major titles, including another seven at Wimbledon, before he retired last year.
Reflecting on that loss 20 years ago, Philippoussis told Stats Perform that seeing Federer go on to enjoy so much success did not ease the pain.
"No, no, I think a loss is a loss and unfortunately, no one really remembers the runners-up," he said.
"I'm always going to be proud of those couple of weeks, and Wimbledon was always my favourite event of the year and my dream as a kid. I came close but close wasn't good enough."
Philippoussis does have immense pride in his run to that final, though.
He added: "It was a very proud day. It was my dream, one of my dreams as a kid was hopefully one day, not only just play on that Centre Court, but play that last Sunday match and have that walk on that Centre Court.
"I was lucky enough to do that walk. Of course, going all the way and losing in the final hurts, I'm not going to lie, especially where I believe that I had some opportunities in that first set.
"It wasn't meant to be but I'm very proud of that."
Asked if he believed at that moment Federer would ultimately become one of the greatest players of all time, Philippoussis said: "He always had that talent. He was number three in the world at that stage. It's not like he came out of nowhere.
"He was someone that everyone was looking up to, that was capable of being a grand slam champion and number one in the world, but did I think he was going to go ahead and win over 20 grand slams?
"I thought that maybe Pete Sampras was going to hold on to that [record of] 14 for a little while, but just the way Federer dominated for years after that was amazing."
Federer's eight titles in the men's singles is a Wimbledon record. Sampras and Novak Djokovic, who is seeded second at the current tournament, are one behind him on seven.
Biarritz have confirmed the signing of former Wales scrum-half Rhys Webb.
Webb, who announced his retirement from international rugby in May, has agreed terms until 2025.
He is the latest recruit for a club that finished 11th in the French second division last season, joining players such as England centre Jonathan Joseph and France prop Mohamed Haouas.
It will be 34-year-old Webb’s second playing stint in France, having featured for Toulon between 2018 and 2020.
He won 40 Wales caps and was recalled to the national set-up by head coach Warren Gatland during last season’s Guinness Six Nations.
But Webb then decided to step away from the Test arena after being named in Wales’ preliminary World Cup training squad, following his fellow former Ospreys colleagues Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric.
Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos homered to back Taijuan Walker’s sixth straight win and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 for their 11th consecutive road win on Wednesday.
The road streak is the second-longest in franchise history, trailing a 13-game run in 1976.
The Phillies are 21-7 since losing five in a row from May 28-June 2 and have moved a season-high seven games over .500.
Walker allowed all four of his runs in the first three innings but kept the Rays scoreless over the final four frames to become the fourth 10-game winner in the National League. He walked five and struck out eight.
The Phillies took the lead for good in the fifth inning on Turner’s tying home run and Bryson’s Stott’s RBI single for one of his four hits.
Castellanos connected for a 437-foot homer in the sixth inning and Brandon Marsh’s two-run single in the seventh closed the scoring.
Kyle Schwarber went 0 for 6 and was the only Philadelphia position player without a hit.
Tampa Bay has lost a season-high four straight and 10 of 16 but still owns the AL’s best record.
De La Cruz has big game after bat check
Rookie Elly De Le Cruz homered and added two doubles after a bat mix-up to lead the surging Cincinnati Reds to a 9-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez questioned the use of an empty sensor cover on the knob of De La Cruz’s bat in the second inning. After umpires reviewed the legality of the knob cover with the league office, De La Cruz was allowed to put it back on his bat for his second at-bat an inning later.
The Reds’ star hit a 455-foot shot for his fourth home run in the fifth inning, doubled, stole third and scored on Jake Fraley’s single in the eighth and doubled again in the ninth.
Cincinnati has won seven of eight and homered in 19 straight games for the second-longest streak in franchise history.
Mets stun Diamondbacks with rally in 9th inning
Rookie Francisco Alvarez homered with two outs in the ninth inning and Mark Canha had an RBI triple to lift the New York Mets to an improbable 2-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Trailing 1-0 and down to their last strike, Alvarez homered off Andrew Chafin to tie it. After Brett Baty singled, Canha followed with a drive to the 413-foot sign in centre to put New York on top.
Kodai Senga was in line for the tough-luck loss before the rally after he allowed Christian Walker’s home run over eight innings with 12 strikeouts.
Wimbledon is again playing catch-up on Thursday after protesters and more rain caused delays on Wednesday.
British fans will have hopes for another Andy Murray classic on Centre Court as he plays fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas while three other home players are in singles action.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina headline the day’s action in the women’s tournament as organisers hope for better weather and no more disruption from activists.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at Thursday’s action.
Playing catch-up
The inclement weather over the first three days has caused havoc with the scheduling.
While the likes of Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic are sat comfortably in the third round, there are 17 first-round matches across both the men’s and women’s draw still to be completed going into the fourth day of the tournament – when all second-round matches are usually completed.
That backlog is going to take a couple of days to clear and with the threat of more rain to come at the weekend, tournament officials will be wary of more scheduling headaches.
Match of the day
Murray will meet Tsitsipas in the second round and it has all the hallmarks of another evening thriller under the roof.
The two-time champion has specialised in such occasions over his rich history at the tournament and this will be a good test of where his game really is.
Tsitsipas had to play four sets of his fourth-round match on Wednesday, which could help Murray, but is one of the best players in the world.
If Murray is to win, there are sure to be some nails bitten first.
Stricter security
After there were two separate Just Stop Oil protests on Wednesday, where activists twice got on to Court 18 to throw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces, security looks set to be beefed up to prevent any more incidents.
Jigsaws were removed from sale in the onsite shop on Tuesday, but fans could now have to go through a more vigorous bag check when entering the grounds.
There could also be more security guards and police on show to protect the players and courts.
Brit watch
Five British players fell on Wednesday as Heather Watson, Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen, Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal all lost, but the home interest remains strong on Thursday.
Murray is not the only Briton on Centre Court as Liam Broady opens up proceedings against fourth seed Casper Ruud, while Katie Boulter will look to equal her best effort at Wimbledon by beating Viktoriya Tomova on Court 12 and reach round three.
Jan Choinski completes the British singles line-up when he takes on his former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz in the opening match on Court 18.
Order of play
Centre Court
Liam Broady v Casper Ruud
Elena Rybakina v Alize Cornet
Andy Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas
Court One
Alexander Zverev v Gijs Brouwer
Sloane Stephens v Donna Vekic
Jessica Pegula v Cristina Bucsa
Other Britons
Katie Boulter v Viktoriya Tomova (Court 12)
Jan Choinski v Hubert Hurkacz (Court 18)
Weather
The Los Angeles Angels have a clearer idea of how long they can expect to be without Mike Trout.
An early August return would be the best case scenario.
Trout is expected to miss four-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a fractured hamate bone on Wednesday.
"I just talked to Mike; he just got out of surgery. He feels great," Angels manager Phil Nevin said. "The surgery went well. We spoke to the doctor a minute ago, but it sounds like everything went great."
The three-time AL Most Valuable Player suffered the injury on a swing while fouling off a pitch in a game against the San Diego Padres on Monday and the team put him on the 10-injured list the next day.
There was no immediate word on how long he would be sidelined, only he was already scratched from next Tuesday's Major League All-Star Game at Seattle.
Trout, who had been selected as a starter in the All-Star Game for a 10th consecutive time, said Tuesday he wasn't sure if he would need surgery or not.
Nevin said Wednesday surgery was the only way for the injury to heal, and the Angels will get a better idea of when he'll return when the 31-year-old gets going with his rehabilitation.
“It just remains to be seen how Mike’s hand responds when he starts doing the treatments and his rehab," Nevin said. "I know he’s anxious to get going. He was happy he could get this done right away so he can get back to the team as quick as possible.”
In 81 games this season, Trout is batting .263 with 18 home runs and 44 RBIs.
A strained right calf limited him to just 36 games in 2021, while left ribcage inflammation forced the 11-time All-Star to miss a month last season.
The Angels (45-43) entered play Wednesday seven games behind the first-place Texas Rangers in the AL West and four games out of a wild-card spot.
World number one Iga Swiatek was enjoying the calmness amid the chaos at Wimbledon after easing past Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.
The Pole was able to book her place in the third round before some first-round matches had even started after rain caused havoc with the scheduling.
There was little danger of her being knocked out of rhythm as she breezed to a 6-2 6-0 victory on Centre Court.
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“For sure it’s really comfortable,” she said. “I’m happy that my matches were scheduled under the roof, so I always was certain that it’s going to actually happen.
“It’s a little bit easier to prepare knowing that. But on the other hand I know I would still be ready anyway if my match was suspended or something.
“For sure it’s more comfortable. I would say you have this normal grand slam rhythm with one day off, one day of playing matches.”
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk revealed a bout of tears during the two rain breaks helped her stage an impressive recovery against eighth seed Maria Sakkari.
Kostyuk looked to be heading home after being bagelled in the first set, but, with the aid of a couple of emotional outbursts when the wet weather came, she turned it around to seal a 0-6 7-5 6-2 victory.
“The rain helped. I think I was very emotional,” she said. “I got more emotional on court after the second rain break, but before that, I was very emotional but I was, like, numb in a way. I was so emotional I couldn’t do anything about it.
“So I had a really good cry both times, that helped, because I was also desperate in a certain way, because I’m playing good, but I don’t know why is it going so bad.”
Kostyuk received good support from the British crowd, having been booed at the French Open for failing to shake Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka’s hand after their match due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“That was questionable behaviour from the fans,” she said. “I mean, they can do whatever they want, honestly, but I just didn’t understand it. I don’t think I ever will.
“Obviously the support here is different, I’m very happy with the support at the end of the match and throughout the match too.”
Two-time champion Petra Kvitova enjoyed an impromptu appearance on Centre Court as her contest with Jasmine Paolini was moved there following three quick matches.
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And she prevailed in a thrilling late-night finish on her old stomping ground, winning 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-1.
Donna Vekic, who was originally scheduled to play on Monday, finally got on court and wrapped up a 6-2 6-3 success over Zhang Shuai while Anett Kontaveit, playing in her final tournament, beat Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4 6-4.
Daria Kasatkina needed only an hour to beat an overwhelmed Jodie Burrage on Centre Court while former French Open winner Sloane Stephens kicked off her campaign with a 6-2 6-3 win over Rebecca Peterson.
Katie Boulter was the sole British winner at Wimbledon on a day affected by rain and protesters.
The British number one saw her match disrupted by the second Just Stop Oil incursion of the day on to Court 18 but it did not hamper Boulter, who won five points in a row when play resumed to take the first set against Daria Saville.
The pair had begun their match on Tuesday morning before rain intervened and picked it up again with Boulter 6-5 down in the opening set.
Having come through the tie-break against Australian Saville, who is working her way back from a serious knee injury, Boulter pulled away to win 7-6 (4) 6-2.
She said of the protest, which saw a man run on to the court and scatter confetti and jigsaw pieces: “It was obviously a little bit of a shock to the system. I think we both handled it really well. It’s a really unfortunate situation for everyone.”
Boulter’s good friend Jodie Burrage was the first British player in action in round two but her Centre Court debut ended rather too swiftly in a 6-0 6-2 loss to 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.
“It was a good experience,” she said. “Obviously not the result that I wanted. The first set was pretty brutal. But all in all, you dream to be out on Centre Court.”
Arthur Fery acquitted himself very well on his Wimbledon debut, pushing third seed Daniil Medvedev in an entertaining clash on Court One before going down 7-5 6-4 6-3.
The 20-year-old is likely to skip his final year of studies at Stanford University to turn professional, saying: “Experiences like I had today make me push towards going pro.
“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.”
Fellow wild card George Loffhagen was unable to quite match his first-set efforts on Tuesday as he fell to a 7-6 (4) 6-3 6-2 loss to sixth seed Holger Rune but the 22-year-old’s appetite has also been whetted.
“To just see guys like this, that you see on the TV all the time, it definitely gives you a lot of motivation to work hard and hopefully one day get here without wild cards or anything,” he said.
Heather Watson reached the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time here last year but she was also a first-round faller, beaten 6-2 7-5 by 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova.
“I feel like I was playing much better this year than I was last year,” said Watson. “It just happens with draws sometimes.”
Sonay Kartal was the final home singles player to make it out on to court and she was overpowered by 25th seed Madison Keys in a 6-0 6-3 defeat.
Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted play on the third day of the Championships as Katie Boulter’s straight-sets victory provided the only cheer for British hopefuls at Wimbledon.
Boulter’s victory over Daria Saville was one of two matches on Court 18 targeted by the climate activists, who threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces on the lawn.
There were no such disruptions for Novak Djokovic or Iga Swiatek on Centre Court after they cruised through in quick time to make the third round.
British number one Jodie Burrage had opened up proceedings on the venue but lost emphatically in her second-round match while compatriots Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen, Heather Watson and Sonay Kartal all suffered first-round exits.
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If Wimbledon organisers were left cursing the weather after day two of the Championships, Wednesday brought even more problems with rain and protests.
Light morning rain meant a delay on the outside courts and when play did get under way just after 12.30pm, it barely lasted half an hour before players were forced off again.
Live tennis should still have been on the menu, but the questionable decision to keep the roof open on Court One resulted in a delay to Daniil Medvedev and Fery’s first-round clash starting.
Just Stop Oil protesters then caused havoc on Court 18, with Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov’s match disrupted shortly before another rain delay, and the climate activists also targeted Boulter’s contest later in the day on the same court.
With a number of cancellations and other matches moved, only to subsequently be suspended, it proved to be a challenging day for organisers, who will hope the only orange spotted in SW19 on Thursday is the sun.
Heather Watson was grateful for the support of Sue Barker during her match with 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova but left deflated after suffering a first round exit at Wimbledon.
British number five Watson made the last-16 in 2022, her best run at the All England Club, but came unstuck at the first hurdle this time as she went down 6-2 7-5 to former French Open winner Krejcikova on Court One.
Watson was watched from the stands by Barker, who left her role as lead anchor of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage last summer but promised to return to SW19 to see the 31-year-old in action.
While unaware at that time, Watson was delighted to discover she had been in the presence of a true stalwart of the Championships on her 13th appearance at Wimbledon.
“No, I didn’t know. I only look at my box really and there was one young girl on that opposite side that I just, I don’t know, I kept hearing her, so I started fist pumping to her, using her energy, as well,” Watson said.
“I didn’t know Sue was there, but I absolutely adore her. She’s such an amazing person.
“I didn’t know, but I love her. I admire her so much. I think she’s absolutely brilliant. She’s someone I really look up to.
“Yeah, she’s so supportive of me. She sends me messages during the year in support. I’m really grateful for that. I will text her now.”
World number 144 Watson had arrived in SW19 in good form after a strong grass-court season that saw her make the semi-finals of the Rothesay Open in Nottingham last month.
The draw was not kind, however, with 2021 Roland Garros winner Krejcikova having makde the Rothesay Classic final in Birmingham two weeks ago.
Krejcikova immediately came out the traps fast and stormed to a one-sided first set in 35 minutes, before Watson fought back.
She pushed the Czech player all the way in the second, forcing two break points in the ninth game, but they could not be taken and the 10th seed later broke to seal a straight-sets victory.
A philosophical Watson admitted: “I feel like I was playing much better this year than I was last year. You know, it just happens with draws sometimes.
“On the day, yeah, she was much better today. She was really, really good. It’s disappointing, because I know how well I’m playing. But I need a little bit of luck along the way.
“I mean initially coming off the court, really upset. I felt deflated, disappointed. I look forward to these moments so much now.
“For it to be over in the first round, this is just not how I envisaged it, not what I want, but it was tough. It was always going to be a tough ask, tough match against, you know, 10th in the world, grand slam champion.”
Watson’s Wimbledon adventure is not over yet, though with the Guernsey ace set to compete in the doubles and mixed doubles.
Andy Murray will take on fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court on Thursday after the fifth seed came through a five-set battle against Dominic Thiem.
A match that started at 11am on Tuesday finally finished just before 8pm on Wednesday with Tsitsipas claiming a 3-6 7-6 (1) 6-2 6-7 (5) 7-6 (8) victory after three hours and 56 minutes of on-court action.
That will certainly have done Murray’s chances no harm given the two-time former champion was able to relax on Wednesday having wrapped up an easy win over Ryan Peniston under the roof 24 hours previously.
Murray and Tsitsipas have met twice previously – a five-set epic at the US Open in 2021 that went the Greek’s way and an encounter on grass in Stuttgart last summer where Murray claimed one of his best wins since his hip surgery.
Tsitsipas said of facing Murray: “I’m not expecting anyone supporting (me). It’s not my first rodeo.”
It is almost exactly 10 years since the Scot first lifted the trophy in SW19, and Tsitsipas said: “I remember witnessing his first Wimbledon title. Thinking about it now gives me goosebumps because I sort of felt what he went through because it was so difficult for him to close that last game.
“Every time I see that again it gives me shivers. He’s someone who’s done so much for the sport and I’ll go into it with a lot of respect for him. He’s such a tough competitor. That (Centre Court) is almost like his living room.”
It has been an up-and-down season for Tsitsipas, who reached his second grand slam final at the Australian Open but was brushed aside by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the French Open and has won only two of his five matches on grass.
He resumed on Wednesday a set down to former US Open champion Thiem, who has now lost in the first round of grand slams six consecutive times as he continues to try to return to his former glories following a wrist injury.
The Austrian is at least getting closer and this match was right in the balance until the end of the deciding tie-break.
Tsitsipas’ girlfriend Paula Badosa came out to support him after winning her opening match and a final forehand pass proved to be the crucial moment.
Novak Djokovic reached yet another milestone as he continued his quest for an eighth Wimbledon title.
Victory for the Serbian over Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the second round meant he became only the third player in history, along with Roger Federer and Serena Williams, to clock up 350 match wins at grand slams.
The 23-time major champion, bidding to equal Federer’s record of eight titles in SW19, was never at full throttle against world number 70 Thompson.
He broke serve just twice but still registered a relatively routine 6-3 7-6 (4) 7-5 victory, extending his record Centre Court winning streak to 41 matches – his last defeat coming to Andy Murray in the 2013 final.
Djokovic, also chasing the calendar grand slam and bidding to become Wimbledon’s oldest men’s singles champion at 36, said: “Centre Court has been the most special court for our tennis history. I truly try to marvel and enjoy every moment I spend on the court.
“It’s a huge privilege at this stage of my career when I’m trying to push the young guns. We have a very special, romantic relationship, me and this court.”
Djokovic will face either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or former grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka in round three.
Federer, who retired last year and visited Wimbledon on Tuesday, has no doubt his mark is about to be equalled by Djokovic.
He told CNN: “I think he’s the big, big favourite. Honestly, I think it’s great for him. I had my moments.
“For me, having won my eighth or my fifth in a row or whatever it may be, that was my moment.
“So if somebody equals that or passes that, this is their thing, their moment.”
Ninth seed Taylor Fritz finally won his first-round match, two days after it started.
Bad light, and then Tuesday’s rain, meant the American and Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann resumed on Wednesday at 3-2 in the fifth set, and Fritz took it 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-3.
Former world number three Dominic Thiem was a set up on Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas when the rain forced them off at lunchtime on Tuesday.
But in a late evening thriller on Court Two, Tsitsipas won a deciding match tie-break at 6-6 in the fifth set to set up a second-round meeting with Andy Murray.
American Frances Tiafoe, seeded 10, was a straight-sets winner over Wu Yibing of China.
But while they are through to round two and Djokovic is already safely in round three, spare a thought for Alexander Zverev, the 19th seed who is still yet to play his first-round match against Gijs Brouwer.
Katie Boulter expects Wimbledon to beef up their security after her first-round match with Daria Saville was disrupted by the second Just Stop Oil protest of the day.
The British number one was on Court 18 when an activist ran on and threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces just two hours after two people had done the same thing.
It came at a tricky moment for her as she trailed 4-2 in a first-set tie-break, but, having helped with the clean-up operation on the court, Boulter won the first nine points after the resumption which set up a 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory.
She admitted to being in “shock” at what happened, but thinks the tournament will react accordingly.
Asked if she was worried, the 26-year-old replied: “Definitely, you never know what it is. I think I heard the crowd before I saw anything.
“Then I realised what it was because I saw it in the previous match.
“It was obviously a little bit of a shock to the system. I think we both handled it really well. It’s a really unfortunate situation for everyone.
“I wouldn’t say I felt in danger. I was quite far away from it. I was walking the opposite side.
“I’m pretty sure there will be a reaction to what’s been happening and there will be more security in place or whatever they need to do to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
“I’m not worried about it. I’m just going to be focusing on myself. I’m going to keep playing tennis. That’s where I’m going to be. Yeah, hopefully we roll into a few more days.”
Boulter was followed on to Court 18 later in the day by her boyfriend Alex De Minaur after it was announced the pair would be playing mixed doubles together.
She is hoping to avoid any on-court domestics but thinks their relationship might be tested.
“I was privileged enough to ask him and he said yes,” Boulter said. “I think it’s something we’ve both wanted to do for quite some time.
“I think we’re both going to really enjoy it and cherish it. It’s not often that you get to have that experience together, especially at Wimbledon.
“We’re going to go out there and have a swing. We’ve got nothing to lose, so I’m looking forward to it.
“I think it’s going to be a experience. It’s going to test our relationship. I don’t doubt that for a minute.
“It’s a totally different vibe going on the court with him. I think we bring the best out of each other, in terms of tennis, on and off the court. I think we’re going to have a couple of smiles on our faces, enjoying ourselves.”
British number five Heather Watson exited Wimbledon in round one after a 6-2 7-5 defeat to 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova.
Watson made the fourth round in 2022, her best run at the All England Club, and enjoyed herself on Court One last summer but it was a different story this time.
Former French Open winner Krejcikova showed her growing confidence on grass with a dominant display to send the home favourite packing after one hour and 38 minutes.
Watson’s first-round tie had been scheduled for Court Two on Tuesday evening, but poor weather wiped out the majority of the second day and saw her match bumped up to Court One.
It was familiar territory for the British number five, who won two of her three matches last year on on the court, but opponent Krejcikova was in no mood to offer out freebies and barely dropped a point during the opening exchanges.
Plenty of green seats were visible as Watson quickly found herself 3-0 down and despite being able to get on the board before holding again following an eight-minute game, the 10th seed broke with a sweet backhand winner to clinch a one-sided opener in 35 minutes.
More fans had filtered in and the sun was beginning to break through with Sue Barker, who fronted the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage for 30 years until she left the role last summer, in the stands to offer support for Watson.
A roaring comeback had kick-started Watson’s campaign in 2022 and she made a strong start to the second set against a player who made the Rothesay Classic final in Birmingham last month.
The pivotal moment arrived in the ninth game when Watson forced two break-point opportunities, but neither could be taken.
Krejcikova needed a medical time-out for treatment on her left foot at 6-5 in the second set, which proved to only delay the inevitable.
Three match points came and went on Watson’s serve before finally the stubborn defence of the Briton was breached to send the seeded Czech through to round two.
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