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.
Australia’s Cameron Smith enjoyed the ideal preparation for the defence of his Open Championship title at Royal Liverpool with a second victory in the LIV Golf League.
Smith carded a final round of 68 at the Centurion Club in Hemel Hempstead to finish 15 under par, a shot ahead of Ripper GC team-mate Marc Leishman and former Masters champion Patrick Reed.
“It’s good,” said Smith, who won his first major title at St Andrews last year thanks to a superb closing round of 64 on the Old Course.
“I think it’s more of a confidence thing there. Just winning again I think is nice.
“It really hasn’t been that long, I think. In Australia at the end of the year was my last win, but it feels like forever, and especially the way I’ve been playing the last couple months, I’ve been knocking on the door.
“It’s nice to get one out of the way, and hopefully it opens the floodgates a little bit.
“I wouldn’t say it really takes the pressure off. I think it’s just nice to be playing good golf. There’s nothing worse going into a big golf tournament and you’re playing crappy golf.”
Asked how he will prepare for defending the Claret Jug on a course he has never played before, Smith added: “Probably no golf for me next week.
“I’ll be heading up to Hoylake on Saturday, so I’ll have a bit of a longer prep than usual, but yeah, put the clubs down for three or four days, just hang out in London, see all the sights, and yeah, just have a good time, relax.”
Jamie Murray was forced to do press-ups as a punishment by his hardline partner Taylor Townsend after their mixed doubles win at Wimbledon.
Britain’s Murray and American Townsend needed two tie-breaks, the second a marathon ending 15-13, to beat Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Jan Zielinski.
Murray had earlier won in the men’s doubles with Australian partner Michael Venus in three sets against Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler.
But that gruelling schedule did not stop Townsend from making the Scot do a forfeit alongside her for not serving well enough.
“It was punishment for me to keep bloody serving in the net,” said Murray.
“I was like blowing it all of the time. She was like, ‘oh my God, we should do some press-ups’.
“She did outlast me. I said to her ‘keep going, I don’t want to fail in front of all of these people’. I was happy to bow out after 10. I don’t like them.”
British pair Joe Salisbury and Heather Watson are also through to the third round after beating Nathaniel Lammons and Giuliana Olmos.
But Katie Boulter and her Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur were sunk in three sets by Joran Vliegen and Xu Yifan.
Lando Norris is ready to create his own history after going toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton in a gripping Battle of the Britons at Silverstone on Sunday.
As Max Verstappen raced to a sixth consecutive victory – his eighth from the opening 10 rounds so far to extend his championship lead to a distant 99 points – Norris held off Hamilton to land his first British Grand Prix podium.
A snoozy spectacle in front of a record-breaking 150,000 spectators sprung into life on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt.
Out came the safety car and Hamilton landed an effective free pit stop – bolting on a set of the speediest soft tyres – to move up from a net seventh to third.
Norris was one place up the road in his revamped McLaren. But the 23-year-old was left exposed after his team elected to fit the more durable, but slower, hard rubber on his machine.
As the safety car peeled in at the end of the 38th lap, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly filled with Hamilton’s all-black Mercedes. Norris had 13 laps to keep the seven-time world champion, 38, behind.
The Wellington Straight presented Hamilton with his first opportunity, but Norris jinked to his left in an attempt to break the slipstream.
Hamilton eyed a peak around the outside of Norris’s papaya McLaren at Brooklands, Luffield and into Woodcote but Norris held firm.
Hamilton then moved into Norris’ tow on the run to Copse, but Norris placed his McLaren in the centre of the track to retain the place.
The next lap, Hamilton tried again, this time on Norris’ inside at Luffield and Woodcote and then wheel-to-wheel at 180mph into Copse before he was forced to yield.
That was as close as Hamilton would get with Norris landing his seventh career podium, his maiden on home soil, and first of a troubled season for the talented Glastonbury man.
“This the best podium of my career,” said Norris. “I had never been to a race in Formula One until 2017.
“Until then I had only ever watched it on TV and that started in 2007 and 2008 and seeing Lewis and Fernando (Alonso) at McLaren. Now it is my turn.
“I was seven years old then. Little did I know Lewis would still be here 15 years later, and still going strong. Fair play to him.
“It is an honour to be able to race him, and go up against these guys, who have created history, and have been some of the best that Formula One has ever seen.
“It is special, an honour, and a privilege, and I want to be someone who can join in on those battles and create some of my own history.”
As Verstappen continues to rack up the wins – indeed Sunday’s triumph was the 17th from his last 21 outings – Norris stole the show.
The Monaco-based driver led for the first four-and-a-half laps after he blasted past Verstappen ahead of the opening corner before his late tussle with Hamilton.
Verstappen’s first British Grand Prix win arrives two years after he ended up in the barriers, and then concussed in hospital, following a 180mph collision with Hamilton.
Speaking about Norris, Hamilton said: “Lando is very talented and it is great when you can have close battles like that, and rely on the driver to be hard but fair.
“There was never a moment when we thought we would come together and that is what motor racing is all about – he wanted to hold on to second and I wanted to get that position.
“We will keep our heads down, keep pushing and hopefully we will have more of this moving forwards.”
Norris’ rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri was unfortunate to lose out under the safety car, dropping from third to fourth, with George Russell taking the chequered flag in fifth. Sergio Perez finished sixth after he started a lowly 15th.
Alonso crossed the line in seventh, with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine drive to eighth for Williams.
Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard overturned a six-shot deficit before beating Nacho Elvira in a play-off to become the first home winner of the Made in HimmerLand event.
Elvira hit his second shot out of bounds on the sixth extra hole to effectively gift a fourth DP World Tour title to Hojgaard, who had holed from nine feet for par on the previous hole to keep his hopes alive.
“I’m speechless,” Hojgaard told Sky Sports after a win which moves him within 100 points of an automatic qualifying place for the Ryder Cup.
“To be fair I did not think I would end up in a play-off today. It’s quite amazing. It’s a dream come true to win our home event.
“This is better than I could ever dream of. We’ve wanted a Danish winner for so long now so to be the first one to do it is amazing.”
Hojgaard, who used to attend the event with his family – including fellow professional and twin brother Nicolai – added: “It isn’t that long ago that I was one of those kids trying to get balls and signed gloves. It’s awesome to see them out here supporting us.”
Hojgaard began the day six shots off the lead but surged through the field with a closing 64, including a birdie on the daunting 18th, to set the target on 13 under par.
Richie Ramsay had the first chance to surpass that target after a birdie on the 16th took him to 14 under, only to find the water with his approach to the last to run up a double bogey and finish a shot outside the play-off.
Overnight leader Elvira, who had bogeyed the 13th and 15th to fall two shots off the pace, birdied the next two holes to catch Ramsay as the Scot played the 18th, but bogeyed the same hole after a long wait on the tee as Ramsay determined where his ball had entered the hazard.
Elvira, who had made just five cuts in 17 previous events this year, had the consolation of securing a place in the Open Championship with his runners-up finish, with former champion Marc Warren and Kalle Samooja taking the other two spots in a tie for fourth.
Ramsay, who also double-bogeyed the 72nd hole of last year’s British Masters when needing a par to claim the clubhouse lead, tweeted: “Today will hurt for a long time but I did play very well.
“Played to win so took that shot on (on 18) just didn’t come out great. My daughter told me she was proud of me, massive cushion for today.”
Compatriot Robert MacIntyre held a two-shot lead at the turn after covering the front nine in 32 to reach 15 under, but ran up a triple-bogey seven on the 13th after failing to move his second shot from waist-high rough.
MacIntyre also bogeyed the 15th to card a closing 71 and finish alongside Warren, Samooja and Alexander Bjork on 11 under par.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff admits the team will soon have no choice but to give up on the development of this season’s car and focus on next year.
Lewis Hamilton claimed a third-placed finish at the British Grand Prix, but was beaten to second by Lando Norris and was well adrift of challenging Max Verstappen – who extended his title lead to 99 points in pursuit of a hat-trick of world championships.
Hamilton was unable to pass McLaren’s Norris following the safety car restart despite being on theoretically faster tyres in the closing stages and the seven-time world champion remains fourth in the drivers’ standings – a whopping 124 points behind Verstappen.
Wolff knows they can not do anything to stop Verstappen and his dominant Red Bull and therefore says the time will soon come to switch focus to next season.
“I think pretty soon,” Wolff said when asked when that time would come. “We have no choice. P2, P3 fundamentally doesn’t impact me and the team.
“It is about coming back to being able to win a world championship.
“That’s not going to happen this year so we need to set our eyes on next year and we will see with all the races to come how we can learn and develop and make sure that we can carry that forward into next year.
“Having said that, the regulations are the same so we are not learning nothing by continuing with this car. So there is a balance to strike.”
The safety car, which was deployed on lap 33, massively benefitted Hamilton, who was able to get a free pit-stop and retain third place after a raft of drivers had already pitted.
With Hamilton, who started seventh, on soft tyres and Norris on hard tyres, it was expected the McLaren man would be a sitting duck but he was able to resist the advances of the Mercedes to clinch a brilliant second place.
It was the same story behind, where Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri comfortably held George Russell at bay to clinch fourth.
Wolff chose to view McLaren’s enormous progress in the last two races as a positive that they can achieve similar, but expected his drivers to be able to secure a double-podium finish.
“To be honest, when the safety car was deployed, I was pretty sure, if not convinced, that we would be eating up the McLarens and finish with a P2 and P3 and maybe even challenge at the front,” Wolff added.
“You see just how strong their car was. They both raced very strong. Their top speed through the corners and the straights, there was no way of passing them. That came as a surprise.
“McLaren were not competitive at the beginning of the season and it is good to see because it shows if you make the right decisions, the car can jump up by a huge amount.
“Do I believe we have upgrades which will fundamentally change the car? I don’t believe so but we have a few small steps to come and we can see if you find a tenth or two or three you can move up the grid.
“Fundamentally I don’t care whether we finish second or third. It is about finding our way back to fighting for victories and the world championship.
“To see that the car has potential fundamentally, all eyes are on the big prize. It is exciting to see that the McLaren was able to find a second in performance.”
Michael Woods charged up the Puy de Dome to beat Matteo Jorgenson to a breakaway victory on stage nine of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar clawed back a few more seconds on race leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Woods took almost two minutes out of Jorgenson on the steep gradients of the dormant volcano, making its first appearance in the Tour in 35 years, rounding the American with 450 metres remaining to take his first career Tour de France stage at the age of 36.
More than eight minutes later, the main contenders made it to the summit of this famous climb, with Pogacar using an attack inside the last 1,500 metres to claw back eight seconds on Vingegaard, whose advantage in yellow is down to 17 seconds going into Monday’s rest day.
“It’s not a victory but a small victory,” Pogacar said. “I’m super happy today, it was super nice. It was quite relaxed until the last climb, then I felt my legs immediately were good so I was just waiting for the final 1.5km.
“I just went and when I started with an attack I could see the shadow of (Vingegaard). I could see he was full gas behind me so I pushed more and the gap opened. Then I had to continue all the way to the top.”
Vingegaard fought to limit his losses, but Pogacar’s form will be a concern after he also picked up time with his victory on stage six.
“I guess it will be quite a battle, the next two weeks,” Vingegaard said. “I didn’t have the best day. I think the rest day will do me good.”
After Vingegaard, British duo Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock were the next riders home, with Yates recovering a little of the losses caused by a late crash on Saturday, and Pidcock putting in an encouraging ride that lifted him to seventh overall.
The Olympic mountain bike champion has the goal of testing himself in the general classification this year, taking patience over the three weeks, but the 23-year-old’s comments after the stage suggest he is wrestling with his racer’s instinct.
“Finishing fourth out of the (general classification) riders is great but no one will remember that in a few days,” Pidcock said.
“I want to try and win a stage, I want to try and get my hands in the air and then I’ll be happy but being close on GC makes it tricky to do that.”
Woods and Jorgenson were among 14 riders who went clear early on the 182.5km stage from Saint Leonard de Noblat, the former hometown of the late, great Raymond Poulidor, who got as close as he ever did to winning the Tour on the Puy de Dome in 1964 by cutting his deficit to Jacques Anquetil to 14 seconds.
The narrow road that spirals its way to the summit has plenty of Tour history but none since 1988, for so long deemed too narrow to safely accommodate the modern race.
With fans barred from the final four kilometres it made for a strange but dramatic finale on its return, but one Jorgenson will not remember fondly.
The 24-year-old American broke clear of his fellow escapees with a little under 50km to go, with marked man Woods caught in a group that ended up third on the road.
Jorgenson started the steepest section of the climb, where screaming hoards of fans gave way to silence and suffering, with 80 seconds advantage over three chasing riders, while Woods and company were another 25 seconds back.
But the Canadian went on a charge as the road went up, eating into the gap and catching Jorgenson within the last 500 metres. At the end of his resources, Jorgenson was passed by both Pierre LaTour and Matej Mohoric to end the day fourth as Woods celebrated.
“I’m still having a pinch myself moment,” the Israel-Premier Tech rider said. “I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself, I’m really proud of my team, it’s special…
“I’m 36, turning 37 this year, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I’ve finally achieved it.”
Canadian Michael Woods charged up the Puy de Dome to beat Matteo Jorgenson to a breakaway victory on stage nine of the Tour de France as Tadej Pogacar clawed back a few more seconds on race leader Jonas Vingegaard.
Woods took almost two minutes out of Jorgenson on the steep gradients of the dormant volcano, making its first appearance in the Tour for 35 years, rounding the American with 450 metres left to take his first career Tour de France stage at the age of 36.
The two were part of a 14-strong group who had gone clear early on the 182.5km stage from Saint Leonard de Noblat, hitting the final climb with an advantage of more than 15 minutes on the peloton.
By the time the main contenders crossed the line, some nine minutes after Woods, Pogacar had put in an attack inside the last 1,500 metres to claw back eight seconds on Vingegaard, whose advantage in yellow is down to 17 seconds going into Monday’s rest day.
British duo Simon Yates and Tom Pidcock were the next riders home, with Yates recovering a little over the losses caused by a late crash on Saturday, and Pidcock putting in an encouraging ride that lifted him to seventh overall as he tests himself in the general classification.
Jorgenson had raced clear of the rest of the breakaway with a little under 50km to go as a series of attacks started. Woods could not follow the move and ended up in a third group on the road, but bided his time.
Jorgenson started the steepest section of the climb, with just over four kilometres with gradients averaging 12 per cent, with 80 seconds over three riders behind and another 25 or so over Woods, but that gradually whittled down.
After Woods passed him, so did Pierre LaTour and Matej Mohoric as Jorgenson came in fourth.
Woods said: “I’m still having a pinch myself moment. I can’t believe I did it. I’m really proud of myself, I’m really proud of my team, it’s special…
“I’m 36, turning 37 this year, I’m not getting any younger. I’ve always talked about winning a stage at the Tour de France and I’ve finally achieved it.”
Behind, Pogacar and Vingegaard kept up a strong pace that gradually dropped rivals one by one. Simon and Adam Yates stuck with them, as did the Ineos Grenadiers pair of Pidcock and Carlos Rodriguez, but when Pogacar put in a dig with 1,500 metres to go, it quickly changed.
Vingegaard briefly followed but when Pogacar looked over his shoulder he saw a short gap opening and redoubled his efforts.
Jai Hindley, third overall, paced his way up after being dropped to minimise his losses and now sits two minutes and 40 seconds off yellow, still more than a minute and a half clear of Rodriguez in the last podium position.
Adam Yates is fifth, four minutes 39 down, just in front of brother Simon and Pidcock in seventh.
“Finishing fourth out of the (general classification) riders is great but no one will remember that in a few days,” said Pidcock.
“I want to try and win a stage, I want to try and get my hands in the air and then I’ll be happy but being close on GC makes it tricky to do that.”
Seventh seed Andrey Rublev dived into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon with an extraordinary shot to bring up match point against Alexander Bublik.
Rublev was in the middle of the baseline when Bublik hit what he, and everyone else on Centre Court, thought was a clean winner down the line.
But the Russian dived forward, got a racket on the ball and somehow floated it over the net.
“That is one of the great shots we’ve seen here in years,” exclaimed John McEnroe on commentary as Bublik scratched his head in disbelief.
Rublev, who had been two sets ahead but was pegged back by his opponent from Kazakhstan, went on to seal a 7-5 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-7 (5) 6-4 win after one of the most entertaining matches of the Championships.
“It was the most lucky shot ever,” said the 25-year-old. “It was luck, nothing else. I don’t think I can do it one more time.”
Rublev, in the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time, was joined by fellow Russian Roman Safiullin, who became the lowest ranked male quarter-finalist here since Nick Kyrgios in 2014.
The world number 92 upset Canada’s 26th seed Dennis Shapovalov 3-6 6-3 6-1 6-3.
He will face Italian sixth seed Jannik Sinner, who beat Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia in straight sets.
A trip to the Breeders’ Cup will come under consideration for 1000 Guineas heroine Mawj, but only if she recovers sufficiently from the issue that ruled her out of Royal Ascot.
Saeed bin Suroor’s charge scooped big-race honours when edging out Tahiyra at Newmarket in May and with Dermot Weld’s filly subsequently claiming the Irish equivalent on her next start the duo were poised for a clash of the Classic winners in the Coronation Stakes at the Royal meeting.
However, an unsatisfactory scope meant Mawj was missing from the final line-up for that contest, with Bin Suroor later revealing she had a bad infection in her chest.
The three-year-old is currently undergoing a quiet time as she continues her recovery, but could make a return later in the campaign ahead of a possible trip to Santa Anita in early November – providing she is showing positive signs she has returned to full health.
Bin Suroor said: “She’s still in treatment for coughing. She was coughing just before Ascot when she was ready to run.
“She had mucus and we scrubbed her and she didn’t look great so now we are giving her a break because we have scrubbed her a few times. We will allow her to get better slowly and we have no plan for her.
“Maybe the plan if she is doing well and is happy will be to have one more race here and then take her to the Breeders’ Cup. Maybe she will have one more race here, but only if she is ready.”
Bin Suroor was speaking after White Moonlight gave the Godolphin handler back-to-back victories in the Champagne Collet Queen Charlotte Fillies’ Stakes at Chelmsford.
The six-year-old was the beneficiary of a fine front-running ride from jockey Kieran Shoemark in the Listed seven-furlong event and will now step up to Group Three level at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, for the Whispering Angel Oak Tree Stakes on August 2.
“She’s done well and has been in good form,” said the trainer of the 9-2 winner.
“Seven furlongs suits her as we’ve tried before and I said to the jockey you have to be there in front, you have to lead. She was in front all the way and she won it well. Kieran is a good jockey and he did really well.
“In the morning when she works she’s very honest and always works well. She’s a tough filly and now we go to the Oak Tree at Goodwood early next month.”
Lando Norris described his second-placed finish at the British Grand Prix as “pretty insane” after he held off Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages at Silverstone.
Max Verstappen cruised to a sixth win in a row to extend his championship lead to 99 points in his pursuit of a hat-trick of world titles.
But the late battle between British pair Norris and Hamilton ignited the home crowd at the Northamptonshire circuit.
A safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put him on the harder, more durable, tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound.
But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two countrymen at a sold-out Silverstone.
“Pretty insane,” Norris said in his post-race interview. “Thanks to the whole team who have done an amazing job.
“To put me on hard tyres, I don’t know why! It was an amazing fight with Lewis to hold him off.
“I wanted the softs. I feel like it might make a bit more sense, especially with the safety car coming out but I don’t care, I’m P2 so all good!
“Big thanks to all the British fans here supporting us. Oscar (Piastri) did an amazing job and he would have been P3 without the safety car. He deserved it.”
Piastri finished fourth in the second McLaren, ahead of Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell in fifth.
Hamilton labelled the McLaren as a “rocket ship” on his team radio and admitted he had no answer for Norris’ pace.
“Congratulations to Lando and McLaren, my family where I first started,” he said.
“To see them back up there looking so strong. That thing was rapid through the high speed corner, wow. I could not keep up!
“It’s positive for us as a team to know we are not that far away. We just need to keep pushing and we can catch those guys at the front.
“We had a good little battle there. I just didn’t have the grunt on the straights.”
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will not let herself get carried away by comparisons with Emma Raducanu’s US Open win in 2021 after she stormed into the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Qualifier Andreeva, the youngest woman in the main draw at 16-years-old, again showed why she is the talk of the tennis world with an accomplished display in a 6-2 7-5 victory against compatriot Anastasia Potapova in round three.
This victory in 95 minutes bettered her debut grand-slam showing of making the third round at Roland Garros last month and made it six wins in a row on grass after she came through qualifying.
Comparisons are already being drawn to Raducanu’s triumph at Flushing Meadow as a qualifier two years ago.
But Andreeva insisted: “Of course, in 2021 she did amazing job. Everyone was impressed. I think she was impressed also to pass the qualies and to win the slam at 18. It’s amazing but me, I just try to not think about it.
“I think it will disturb me, all these thoughts. I just try to play every match and don’t think how far I have gone already or which round I’m playing, against who I’m playing.
“I just try to play every point. Doesn’t matter against who, doesn’t matter which round. I just play my game. I don’t change anything mental-wise, tennis-wise.
“When I played my first match in qualies, I just didn’t have any expectations because it was my first match on grass. I just tried to give it all on the court.
“Since that first match, I actually found the right rhythm. Now it’s working pretty good, I can say. So, honestly, as I said, I did not have any expectations. I just play.
“I always say that it’s a game. The game will decide who will win the match.”
Andreeva lost the Australian Open juniors final in January before she grabbed headlines at the French Open with a fine run, losing in three sets to fellow teenager Coco Gauff.
In her defeat to Gauff, Andreeva put herself at risk of being defaulted when some youthful petulance saw her swipe a ball angrily into the crowd during a tense moment in the tie.
While she got away with a code violation, it appears to be a moment the Krasnoyarsk-born right-hander has learned from and when 4-1 down in the second set against Potapova, she showed impeccable poise to keep calm and book a fourth-round meeting with Madison Keys.
Andreeva, who did allow herself the odd punch to the leg in tense occasions, revealed: “Honestly, after Paris I just had quite a long talk with myself, just me and myself, and that’s it.
“I talked to myself. I just talked. I don’t know, just in my head I realised some things. I took some decisions that I think are now important for me.
“I think I did a good job because now everything is working so far.”
Andreeva’s Wimbledon debut is taking place the year after Russian and Belarusian players were banned from the event following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Her exploits in SW19 are being cheered on from her home country, with her grandfather Petr – on his birthday – among those cheering her on from afar.
“Today is the birthday of my grandpa,” the world number 102 said.
“They were watching my match, like 50 people that they invited. Today I received much more support, much more kind messages from my family.
“I spoke to my grandparents already. I said happy birthday. Today, yes, I can say that I received a lot of messages from my family.
“I also feel the support from Krasnoyarsk. A lot of people are supporting me.”
Max Verstappen delivered another crushing performance to win the British Grand Prix as Lando Norris held off Lewis Hamilton in a brilliant fight for second place.
A late safety car put Norris’ runner-up spot in doubt after McLaren elected to put the British driver on the harder, more durable tyre, rather than the speedier soft compound.
But Norris, 23, managed to keep Hamilton, 38, at bay in a tantalising battle between the two home favourites at a sold-out Silverstone.
Norris’ McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri finished fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell, with three British drivers finishing in the top five.
Verstappen’s sixth consecutive victory sees the Dutch driver move 99 points clear at the summit of the standings.
“We had a terrible start so we need to look into that,” said Verstappen. “Lando and McLaren were super-quick. It took a few laps to past them and then everything was okay.
“I am very happy that we won again and 11 wins in a row for the team is incredible but it was not straightforward today.”
McLaren have been desperately short of form this season but a major upgrade at the British team’s home race worked wonders.
Indeed, Norris briefly led Sunday’s 52-lap race after he gazumped pole-sitter Verstappen following a supreme start in his McLaren to cheers from the British grandstands.
It marked the first time a McLaren car has led the British Grand Prix since Hamilton led here for the Woking team in 2012.
However, Norris’ time at the top lasted only four-and-a-half laps after Verstappen, in his superior Red Bull machine, drew alongside the Briton on the Wellington Straight before making the move stick into Brooklands.
Piastri was running in third with Russell trying, but failing, to find a way past Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Hamilton started seventh but dropped to eighth at the end of the first lap before regaining the position when he nailed Fernando Alonso on lap seven.
A tedious race came alive on lap 33 when Kevin Magnussen spluttered to a halt in his Haas. Flames briefly engulfed the rear of his machine before turning to smoke.
With Magnussen’s Haas in a precarious position at the start of the Wellington Straight a full safety car was deployed and Hamilton, who had yet to pit, was the main beneficiary, turning a net seventh into third when the order shuffled out.
Verstappen and Hamilton bolted on the soft rubber, but Norris, despite pleading with his McLaren team to follow suit, was given the hard compound.
When the safety car peeled in at the end of lap 38, Norris’ mirrors were suddenly occupied with Hamilton’s black Mercedes.
Hamilton sensed his opportunity racing around the outside of Norris through Brooklands and then Luffield, only for the McLaren man to hold position.
A third chance arose for Hamilton on the run down Copse but Norris expertly defended the position, leaving Hamilton with nowhere to go.
Hamilton backed out and tried again on the following lap but Norris kept his elbows out and the elder Briton was unable to find a way past.
From there, Norris was able to keep Hamilton at arm’s length, crossing the line 2.9 sec clear of the Mercedes car.
“That McLaren is a rocket ship,” said Hamilton as he crossed the line.
Piastri finished fourth on a fine afternoon for McLaren, one place ahead of Russell, with Sergio Perez sixth after he started a lowly 15th.
Alonso took the flag in seventh with Alex Albon enhancing his reputation with a fine eighth for Williams.
Verstappen crossed the line 3.7 sec clear of Norris to maintain Red Bull’s unbeaten streak this season.
Fozzy Stack’s Aspen Grove is set for a spell in the States after providing her trainer with a landmark success in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes.
The Justify filly was a Pattern-race winner at two, taking the Group Three Newtownanner Stud Stakes at the Curragh in August.
She returned to the same track for the second run of her three-year-old campaign when lining up in the Irish 1,000 Guineas in late May but came home last of the field of 10.
That performance was put down to the filly being in season, but a decision to head to New York for the Grade One Belmont Oaks proved inspired when she teamed up with Oisin Murphy on Saturday.
From a wide draw the bay was ridden patiently to challenge a furlong from home, where she came through to win by three-quarters of a length when relishing the extended 10-furlong trip.
“She was very good. She ran last time in the Guineas when she was in season and she’s hopeless when she’s in season,” Stack explained.
“She was hopeless in her work at home but you can’t run again in the Guineas next year so we thought we’d just roll the dice.
“She did it well last night and Oisin gave her a great ride.
“I was never worried about the trip, I always thought she’d get it. As a two-year-old I thought she was more a 10-furlong filly, she did it well.”
Aspen Grove will remain in America under the care of Mark Enright, who rode her to Newtownanner Stud Stakes victory and will help prepare her for her next outing.
“Either the Del Mar Oaks or the Saratoga Oaks (will be her next run),” said Stack.
“I’ll leave Mark Enright out with her, he’ll look after her. He’s won Group races on her a done a great job with her over the last few days.”
Of the significance of a Grade One win, Stack’s first at the level, he added: “You need everything to go right for these things to happen, all the parts needs to fall into place and they did.”
Claymore, who gave Jane Chapple-Hyam a notable Royal Ascot success in last season’s Hampton Court Stakes, will head to Haydock for the Rose of Lancaster Stakes in a fortnight’s time.
The lightly-raced four-year-old had been off the track since last July when reappearing in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May.
However, he was last of six, beaten some 49 lengths by Hukum, and reportedly bled.
But Chapple-Hyam is confident he is nearing a return to action and said: “Claymore had a little hiccup at Sandown, but he is back in full training now.
“We will look maybe at Haydock. We’ll see how he performs over the next fortnight, but he’s been doing OK.”
While the Newmarket handler has been held up by a bug which has affected her juveniles in particular, the well-touted El Bodon, who was beaten narrowly on debut at Yarmouth, got off the mark at Lingfield and will now face a step up in class at Newmarket.
“El Bodon had the mucky lungs, just like Born To Rock (fifth of seven to Kylian on his return in the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown on Friday), so we went for the penalty kick at Lingfield, because we had a fit horse.
“He will run in the July Stakes at Newmarket on the Thursday. It is a Group race and he is where we think he is.”
Meanwhile Quatre Bras, who was beaten half a length when third to Lightning Leo on his Yarmouth seven-furlong debut, will also face tougher company.
Chapple-Hyam said: “The other one I liked, Quatre Bras, is in the Superlative. He was second-favourite on the Saturday in the seven-furlong race at Royal Ascot (Chesham), but we had to scratch him too, because he had a mucky lung.
“He’s in the Superlative on Saturday, as we think he’s good enough to be there.
“I’d say this bug swept through Newmarket. It hasn’t touched my older horses – as you could see, I had a 40-1 shot when Streaky Bay won at Yarmouth (on Thursday) – but it has gone through my two-year-olds.
“I’ve got colts in one yard and fillies and mares in the other. It is just unfortunate that the young ones are getting it and the older ones have have a stronger immune system. That’s all it is.”
There was no joy for either big-race favourite Chaldean or any of the British and Irish raiders at Deauville as Good Guess ran out an ultra-impressive winner of the Haras d’Etreham Prix Jean Prat.
Andrew Balding’s 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean was attempting to get back to winning ways having finished second behind Paddington at Royal Ascot, and Oisin Murphy had the son of Frankel in a handy position tracking the pace of the forward-going Sauterne in the early stages.
Fellow British challengers Indestructible and Shouldvebeenaring were also in a prominent position and looked to have claims heading into the final two furlongs.
However, none were able to match the acceleration shown by the Fabrice Chappet-trained winner, who struck over the course and distance for the second time this term following his win in the Prix Djebel in April.
Although only sixth in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp, Stephane Pasquier’s mount welcomed the return to seven furlongs when second to Breizh Sky last month and turned the tables on that rival here to lead home a one-two-three for the home team in tremendous style.
Karl Burke’s Indestructible finished best of the foreign challenge in fourth, with Chaldean bitterly disappointing as he faded out of contention quickly.
George Duffield has Paddington as the one to beat throughout his future races having shown he has both pace and a will to win in his brilliant victory in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
The 76-year-old famously partnered Giant’s Causeway to win Sandown’s greatest Flat prize for Paddington’s trainer Aidan O’Brien in 2000, and 23 years on comparisons have been drawn between the ‘Iron Horse’ and Ballydoyle’s latest champion.
Although starting his season in handicap company, Paddington has followed a well-trodden path since striking at Listed level on May 1. He subsequently added the Irish 2,000 Guineas, before following in the footsteps of Giant’s Causeway to claim the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot en route to Esher.
At Sandown the similarities kept on coming and the son of Siyouni’s battling success over an Emily Upjohn who refused to lie down brought back plenty of memories of Duffield’s own Eclipse triumph when Giant’s Causeway held off Sir Michael Stoute’s Kalanisi in a thrilling finish.
“I watched it with Ann (Duffield, wife) and I predicted Paddington would win,” said Duffield.
“I said come and watch this race and I said ‘he will win, whatever he has to find he will find’ and I was chuffed when he proved me right.
“I said ‘that was just like Giant’s Causeway’ with the way the race went. When I rode Giant’s Causeway I jumped and found myself in front because the pacemaker got left and then the race was near enough identical for me.
“Paddington won a bit further than Giant’s Causeway, but the race played out like completely the same scenario. It was great stuff.”
Paddington has undertaken a steep rise to become one of the best three-year-olds in training and it was his Irish Guineas success at the Curragh that first alerted Duffield to his potential.
He has since gone on to prove himself a high-class operator and the two-time Classic winning rider feels Paddington has earned the right to be compared to Giant’s Causeway having shown a similar desire for victory at the business end of the Eclipse.
Duffield said: “The first time I took any notice of him was when he won the Irish Guineas.
“He just looked a bit sloppy and when he went to win his race at the Curragh he half hung fire a bit, got a bit lost and wanted to lay on the other horse. Then all of a sudden the penny dropped and ‘boom’ – away he went. It went from ‘he might win this race’ to ‘he will definitely win this race’ and he went and won quite well.
“He clearly improved from that and went to Ascot and showed you the horse he probably really was.
“In the Eclipse, the John Gosden filly is really good and he had to work hard for it and he was always going to outbattle her. He has that mindset, I think, just like Giant’s Causeway.”
Giant’s Causeway would go on to run a further five times after winning the Eclipse, winning three times at the highest level and being narrowly denied in the other two, most notably in his final start against Tiznow in an unforgettable Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Connections will be hoping Paddington will follow suit to become a fitting wearer of the ‘New Iron Horse’ moniker, something he has a chance of achieving in Duffield’s opinion because of his impeccable mindset.
“Ryan (Moore) said we haven’t seen the best of him yet and the race didn’t go to suit and I could both agree and disagree with that,” continued Duffield.
“I thought you couldn’t ask any more of him when you are taking on a filly as good as Emily Upjohn – she is a very good filly.
“I was watching thinking she was travelling quite well, Paddington was probably there sooner than he wants to be and idled a bit in front and then had to find it. And he found it, he buckled down and he found it.
“If you have that winning mindset, and he appears to have it, then they are always hard to beat because they are proper sporting horses that love the competition. If you put them under pressure they will go and find a bit more for you. Giant’s Causeway was the same, he just loved saying ‘come on have a go then, let’s see how good you are’.
“You don’t actually know what a horse is thinking, but that was the feeling Giant’s Causeway gave me in the Eclipse, ‘come on mate, you’re going to have to try harder than that because I’m not finished yet.”
“Paddington looks to have that mindset and looks a really good horse.”
Paddington appears likely to continue following the Giant’s Causeway route, mixing and matching the best options over a mile and 10 furlongs – something Duffield feels could prove the best option considering the pace he possesses.
“He might now go the Giant’s Causeway route and go for the Sussex Stakes and the Juddmonte and I think he will always be the one to beat wherever he goes,” continued Duffield.
“He’s got pace. Any race you put him in he has the pace to deal with it, whether that is a mile or a mile and a quarter.
“I wouldn’t be looking at a mile and a half right now, I would just concentrate on a mile and a mile and a quarter. If you want to bring him back to a mile then fine, he will have no problem with that. Which way you go doesn’t matter. He has that natural speed.
“Aidan is the man for that though, he’ll know exactly where he will want to be sending him and I reckon he will always be one you have to be frightened of.
“The man is an absolute genius of a trainer and if he thinks he’s a good horse, then he knows the score, he knows his horses inside out and back to front. Ryan is a very good judge of a horse also, and if he thinks there is more to come like he said after the race then this could be a really good horse.
“I think he’ll be hard to beat wherever he goes.”
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg has announced his retirement from rugby union with immediate effect.
Hogg had previously revealed plans to end his career after the World Cup in France later this year.
But the 31-year-old has decided to call time “knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby”.
Hogg tweeted: “It is difficult where to start, but with great sadness and an enormous amount of pride I am announcing my immediate retirement from playing rugby.
“I fought with everything I had to make the Rugby World Cup, but this time my body has not been able to do the things I wanted and needed it to do.
“We knew this day would come eventually. I just never thought it would be this soon.
“It’s hard to put into words just how much of an impact the game has had on my life. I will be retiring knowing that I have given my body and heart to rugby.
“I will be forever grateful to this amazing community and cannot wait to begin my journey as a proud supporter of Scottish Rugby”.
Hogg made his Scotland debut in 2012. He played at two World Cups and went on each of the last three British and Irish Lions tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021.
He moved from Glasgow to Exeter in 2019 and was named Scotland captain the following year. Hogg skippered the national team for just over two years before Jamie Ritchie took over the role after head coach Gregor Townsend opted to make a change.
Hogg was visibly emotional before winning his 100th cap against Ireland earlier this year, although the match ended on a sour note when he was forced off in the closing stages with an ankle injury that ruled him out of the final Six Nations match versus Italy.
Townsend told www.scottishrugby.org: “Following Stuart’s news we would like to wish him all the best in his retirement. He has been an outstanding player for Scotland and has had a career lit up with so many achievements, highlights and special memories.
“I have had the pleasure of coaching Stuart for the majority of his career, and he was a joy to work with and watch on the training field and in games.
“He had a love for so many aspects of the game, and not only got joy from taking on defenders with ball in hand but also putting his team-mates into space.
“His basic skills and speed set him apart from other players, and it has been an amazing effort to play Test rugby for the past 11 years”.
Bucanero Fuerte is set to be campaigned at Group One level following his battling success in the Railway Stakes at the Curragh.
An impressive winner at the Kildare venue on debut, connections kept their powder dry with the precocious son of Wootton Bassett until Royal Ascot, where the Adrian Murray-trained youngster ran a fine race in the Coventry Stakes to finish a gallant third to Aidan O’Brien’s River Tiber.
Sent off 100-30 for the Group Two Railway, he built on that Ascot effort to quickly gain compensation, producing a brave performance off a positive ride from Rossa Ryan to hold off Ballydoyle’s Unquestionable and His Majesty.
The victory continued a golden spell for owners Amo Racing who enjoyed a double at Royal Ascot and also for Westmeath handler Murray who was picking up his second Group Two prize in the space of two weeks following Valiant Force’s Norfolk Stakes success at the big summer showpiece.
“Bucanero Fuerte has come out of the Curragh in great form and the team out in Ireland are really happy with him,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo Racing.
“We were delighted with what he did there and he came forward from his Ascot run so we have to be chuffed with that.
“We’ve always held him in high regard and it’s nice it has come to fruition. We looked after him through the early part of the spring and he’s coming to the boil nicely now which is good to see.”
With Group Two honours secured, the natural next step is to seek top-table glory and both the Keeneland Phoenix Stakes (August 12) and Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (September 10) back at the Curragh will come under consideration, as will Deauville’s Prix Morny on August 20.
“He’s got all the options. He’s in the Phoenix Stakes, he’s in the National and we’ll put him in the Morny,” added Pennington.
“We can’t wait to see him up at seven furlongs, but he showed at the Curragh he’s not slow. It will be a Group One on his next start, we just need to decide which one we go for.
“We would like to run in the Phoenix Stakes, that would be very much on our agenda and the National Stakes. They are the races we want to be competing in and he’s shown that he’s up to that level.”
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