Lamar Jackson is hopeful of having a long-term deal with the Baltimore Ravens before training camp but is not thinking about a possible holdout.

Jackson is entering the final year of his rookie contract, with seemingly little progress made on an extension.

He is due to earn $23million in 2022 and when asked by USA Today if he would agree to a deal before camp, Jackson replied: "Hopefully.

"I'm not going to say 'yeah' right now. Hopefully. But it's God's timing."

On the subject of a potential holdout, Jackson said: "I don't have that on my mind."

The league's pre-eminent dual-threat quarterback, Jackson won the MVP award in his second season in 2019 after throwing for 3,127 yards and 36 touchdowns with just six interceptions. He also ran for 1,206 yards and seven scores.

However, the Ravens suffered a shock Divisional Round loss to the Tennessee Titans to end that season and were eliminated at the same stage of the 2020 campaign by the Buffalo Bills.

Jackson endured an injury-hindered 2021 season, throwing 16 touchdowns to 13 interceptions and adding a career-low two touchdowns on the ground as the Ravens missed the playoffs with an 8-9 record.

No player in the NFL has a higher yards-per-carry average over the course of the last three seasons than Jackson's 6.36.

Veterans are scheduled to report to Ravens training camp on July 26.

Damian Lillard insisted that while he wants to compete for an NBA title, he wants to do it with the Portland Trail Blazers and will be able to "live" with it if he does not achieve that goal.

Lillard confirmed a two-year extension with the Blazers, seeing him through to the 2026-27 season with the team that took him with the sixth pick in 2012 NBA Draft.

The six-time All-Star played only 29 games for Portland this past season, undergoing abdominal surgery in January before being shut down for the rest of the campaign.

Speaking at a news conference to announce the signing at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, the 31-year-old made it clear he is will be loyal to Portland as long as he can compete there.

"I've always said that if I do something that goes against who I am, and say I do end up winning, I know me better than any of y'all know me," Lillard said.

"So I'd be happy with it, because I don't think anybody wouldn't be happy being a champion, but it wouldn't be as fulfilling to me as I would want that moment to be.

"It's going to get done or it's not going to get done. I don't want to go out there with this crazy uphill battle that I'm fighting and we need a miracle times 10 to get it done. I just want a shot at it, and if that happens and it doesn't work out, then I can live with that."

While Lillard was sidelined, the Blazers made pulled off a number of trades before the February deadline, which included sending back-court partner CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.

They have then made moves to build around Lillard this off-season, acquiring Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons as well as signing free agent Gary Payton II, who was a key defensive piece to the Golden State Warriors' title run.

With that in mind, Lillard takes a sense of pride in Portland opting to build around him while he recovered, especially in this era of player power in the NBA.

"I don’t think that you earn something like this just by going out there and scoring a bunch of points," he said.

"Something that’s missing in our league is character, and the fight and the passion and pride about, you know, not just the name on the back, but the name on the front, and how you impact the people that you come in contact with."

Alex Verdugo led the way for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, as they dramatically came from behind to defeat the New York Yankees in extra innings.

Verdugo claimed three hits from five at-bats and sparked his side's fightback, scoring the game-tying single in the eighth inning.

Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead with RBI doubles in the 10th inning, both scoring off Jake Diekman.

However, the Red Sox left-fielder responded, scoring a two-run single in the bottom of the extra inning to cap off a three-run frame and hand his side the win over their old rival.

Boston moved to second in the American League East at 46-39, but the Yankees still hold a 15-game lead with the MLB's best record at 61-24.

Rodon rolls for Giants

Carlos Rodon was in spectacular form to inspire the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in divisional ball.

The Giants had lost eight of their past 10 games and Rodon's last start capped off a five-game losing streak. The 29-year-old pitched a complete game, allowing his only run in the second inning.

The left-hander retired 22 of the Padres' final 23 batters while allowing only three hits for only the third complete game of his career.

Mets make it count in extra innings

The New York Mets overcame injuries to Starling Marte and James McCann to maintain their lead in the National League, defeating the Miami Marlins 5-4 in extra innings.

Tomas Nido hit the game-tying double with two outs in the 10th inning, before scoring the winning run on a throwing error by Marlins reliever Tanner Scott.

After retiring the number 17 to honour Keith Hernandez, the Mets secured their fourth walk-off win of the season and improved to 7-0 in extra innings, while moving their record to 53-32.

Max McGreevy holds a one-stroke lead at the Barbasol Championship, sitting on 17-under after a rain-interrrupted Saturday caused havoc during the third round.

Heavy rain in Kentucky has meant tournament organisers at Keen Trace have had to work around the conditions, and it only continued on Saturday, with staff even trying to empty the puddle-filled bunkers with buckets at one stage.

The final groups only started their rounds at 7:20pm local time, but were only able to get through three holes before darkness suspended play again.

Leading at the start of the day's play, Matti Schmid sits one stroke from McGreevy, and Adam Svensson moved level with him following a birdie on the par-three second hole.

Ricardo Gouveia remained a further stroke back on 15-under while Sean O'Hair took advantage of the softer conditions, moving to 14-under after three birdies in the opening four holes.

O'Hair is tied with Kevin Streelman and Trey Mulinax, with third-round play scheduled to resume on Sunday morning.

Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic crossed paths on the practice courts and began making plans to party after Sunday's Wimbledon final, on an unconventional day of build-up to the trophy match.

The pair were once grudge rivals, with Kyrgios ripping into Djokovic on the 'No Challenges Remaining' podcast in 2019, saying the Serbian had "a sick obsession" with wanting to be popular, in the way Roger Federer has enjoyed the love of tennis crowds.

More recently, though, Kyrgios sympathised with Djokovic's plight in January when the Serbian was detained and ultimately deported from Australia in a row over his vaccination status.

That served to stem the flow of bad blood, and Kyrgios has gone as far as to suggest there is a budding "bromance" between the pair.

Djokovic is not quite so sure about that, but the needle that once existed is unlikely to be a factor on Sunday, at least initially. Given the volatility both men may bring onto the court, the rapport could be seriously tested as the match goes on.

Even Djokovic has forecast "fireworks", but that does not necessarily mean ill-feeling.

On Centre Court, Djokovic will be aiming for his seventh Wimbledon title, which would see him tie Pete Sampras as the second most prolific winner of the men's singles in the Open Era, behind Federer's haul of eight.

On Saturday, Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo quoted a conversation between the pair at Wimbledon's Aorangi practice courts, where Djokovic is said to have told Kyrgios: "It took you five years to say something nice about me, haha."

According to Ozmo, who reports for Sport Klub, Kyrgios replied: "But I defended you when it mattered."

Djokovic then reportedly said: "You did, I appreciate that."

The conversation continued on social media, with Kyrgios writing on Instagram: "We friends now?"

Djokovic quipped in reply: "If you are inviting me for a drink or dinner, I accept. P.S. Winner of tomorrow pays."

Kyrgios was not satisfied with that level of celebration, proposing instead: "Let's go to a nightclub and go nuts."

Djokovic and Kyrgios have played twice before, and Kyrgios won both times without dropping a set. They came in 2017 though, at Acapulco and Indian Wells, when Djokovic was at a relatively low ebb.

Now the 35-year-old from Belgrade is targeting a title that would take him to a career haul of 21 grand slam titles, one behind men's all-time leader Rafael Nadal.

It will be a 32nd grand slam final for Djokovic, a men's record, and he is chasing a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title, and a seventh in all. His lone defeat in a Wimbledon final came in 2013 when Andy Murray beat him in straight sets.

In contrast, Kyrgios will be contesting his first grand slam singles final. He won the doubles with Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open in January, but this is a massive step up, and he could be coming in slightly cold, after his semi-final against Nadal was cancelled due to the Spaniard's injury withdrawal.

The last Australian men's champion at Wimbledon was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, but Ash Barty delivered in the women's singles last year, before retiring in March.

Kyrgios, at 40th in the ATP rankings, is the lowest-ranked Wimbledon men's singles finalist since 2003 when his fellow Australian Mark Philippoussis was a lowly 48th on the list.

He is the first unseeded man to reach a slam final since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the 2008 Australian Open.

Djokovic beat Tsonga that day to land his first grand slam title, and has enjoyed 14 years of plenty since.

That serves as a reminder of the company Kyrgios will be keeping, potentially out of his depth but maybe just enough of a threat if all aspects of his game come together.

Charles Leclerc does not want a repeat of the tussle he experienced with team-mate Carlos Sainz in the sprint race as he targets victory in the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Ferrari drivers saw Max Verstappen race away from them in the sprint, the championship leader benefiting from the duel between Leclerc and Sainz to take the maximum eight points.

Verstappen eventually claimed triumph by 1.6 seconds from Leclerc, who insisted the Scuderia drivers must not risk losing time and wearing down their tyres by fighting with each other again at the Red Bull Ring.

He said: "I think tomorrow is going to be a long race and tyre management will be quite a bit more important compared to today, so probably tomorrow we cannot afford to do what we did today.

"We lost a little bit of time, but again when Max had the gap he also managed his pace, so we'll never know… but I felt like we were strong towards the end – probably stronger than at the beginning. Whether it [would have been] enough I really don't know."

Verstappen now leads the drivers' championship by 38 points, with Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, who climbed from 13th to fifth in the sprint, his closest challenger. Leclerc is a further six points back.

The Dutchman has won five of the last seven races and has an outstanding record at his team's home circuit.

He has won three of the last four Austrian Grands Prix and also prevailed at the Red Bull Ring in last season's Styrian Grand Prix.

However, Verstappen labelled his tyres "tricky" and is not anticipating a routine success across the 71-lap feature race.

"We had good pace at the beginning and after that we were very closely matched, it was as a sprint should go, it was quite flat out," said Verstappen.

"I do expect tomorrow is going to be a very interesting battle again."

George Russell will start fourth in a Mercedes that appears to lack the straight-line speed to mount a serious challenge for victory in Spielberg.

His team-mate Lewis Hamilton will start eighth having claimed the final points place in the sprint.

The seven-time world champion has experienced an eventful weekend, crashing in qualifying on Friday and being involved in a first-lap collision with Pierre Gasly before fighting back from 11th to eventually get past Mick Schuamcher's Haas for eighth spot.

"I'm grateful I managed to survive out there today," Hamilton said. "The team did such a great job to get the car back together last night and this morning. A big thank you to them, and I'm glad I brought it back mostly in one piece.

"We are slower on the straights, so I had to wait until I was out of the DRS train to overtake the cars in front. That's why it took a few laps to get ahead of Mick. Hopefully we can race stronger tomorrow – fingers crossed!"

There are six world titles split between the two drivers starting 18th and 19th. Sebastian Vettel, who was handed a suspended €25,000 fine for walking out of Friday's drivers' briefing, finished 19th in the sprint following a collision with Alex Albon that sent Vettel's Aston Martin into the gravel.

Fernando Alonso's Alpine failed to start the sprint due to an electrical issue. Valtteri Bottas, a two-time winner of this race, is the only man behind Alonso on the grid after the Alfa Romeo driver incurred a penalty because of his latest engine change.

Xander Schauffele moved 18 holes away from successive tournament wins after snatching the lead with another excellent round at the Scottish Open.

Schauffele, who went into moving day four shots off the pace set by American compatriot Cameron Tringale, followed up his second-round 65 with a four-under 66 to move to seven under through 54 holes at The Renaissance Club.

It would have been even better for Schauffele, who prevailed last time out at the Travelers Championship, if not for successive bogeys at 17 and 18 to end the round.

But his two-over 72 on Thursday must now feel like a distant memory, with Schauffele going into the final 18 holes with a two-stroke lead over Rafa Cabrera Bello, who is in prime position to qualify for the Open Championship at St Andrews next week as the highest-placed player yet to clinch a spot in the final major of the year.

By contrast, Tringale endured a day to forget with a four-over 74 that dropped him back to three under.

It appeared as if he would strengthen his chances of victory when he eagled the par-five third. However, he did not make another gain the rest of the way, carding six bogeys.

Jordan Spieth perhaps looms as Schauffele's most ominous challenger. The 2015 Open champion began the day seven strokes back but closed to just three off the pace following a 66 that included eagles at the 10th and the par-four 15th hole.

Spieth sat in a group of three players on four under, with Ryan Palmer – also in the mix for a place at The Open – and Jordan Smith also firmly in contention. Smith had a hole-in-one on the 17th on Friday and went close to doing the same on Saturday, another fine tee shot leaving him with a tap-in for birdie.

Alex Smalley would be the third and final Open qualifier as it stands after a 67 took him to three under, putting him alongside Tringale and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.

Ons Jabeur said she was simply "not ready" to win a grand slam after losing in three sets to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final.

The Tunisian world number two won the first set of Sunday's title match but then faded and slid to a 3-6 6-2 6-2 defeat.

Russian-born Rybakina, who switched nationality to Kazakh four years ago after being offered financial incentives to do so, was able to celebrate a surprise maiden slam title.

Jabeur was disappointed after the loss and told reporters in a news conference: "I couldn't do more, I really tried deep inside everything that I can.

"I did everything since the beginning of the year to really focus on this tournament, I even have the trophy picture on my phone.

"It wasn't meant to be. I cannot force things. I'm not ready for it probably, to be a grand slam champion."

The 27-year-old was optimistic of her chances of eventually making a breakthrough at the highest level, and perhaps a chance will come at the US Open in September.

She said: "I cannot wait to look forward to the next one.

"If I have another final I will learn more from it. I cannot wait to really improve a lot of things in my game.

"I want to [continue to] be a top-five player, I want to win more titles, I want to win a grand slam."

The Nashville Predators have agreed a deal committing forward Filip Forsberg to an eight-year contract extension, the team announced on Saturday.

According to multiple reports, the contract is worth $68million, carrying an average annual value of $8.5million.

Last season Forsberg registered career-high figures, with 42 goals and 42 assists while playing in 69 games.

Forsberg just completed a six-year, $36million contract, and the 27-year-old would have become a free agent if a deal had not been signed by July 13.

The franchise's all-time leading scorer with 220 goals, Forsberg has only played at the NHL level for Nashville and has become an alternate captain.

He has 29 career goals and 53 career points in Stanley Cup playoff games, both franchise bests.

Forsberg was drafted 11th overall by the Washington Capitals in 2012 but was traded before making his NHL debut to the Predators for Martin Erat and Michael Latta.

The Predators were swept in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last season by the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche. Nashville have made the postseason in four of the last five seasons but have failed to advance to the second round since 2018.

Wout van Aert tightened his hold on the green jersey as he won stage eight of the Tour de France after a dramatic final sprint in Lausanne.

The Dutchman claimed his second stage victory of this year's tour, holding off Michael Matthews and overall race leader Tadej Pogacar to add to his triumph in Calais on Tuesday.

The Jumbo-Visma rider also extended his lead at the top of the points classification, moving 115 points clear of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl's Fabio Jakobsen.

There was drama after just nine kilometres from the start in Dole, with Kevin Vermaerke forced to pull after falling in a crash that also affected Pogacar and 2018 yellow jersey winner Geraint Thomas.

Pogacar – winner of stages six and seven – recovered and eventually put himself in contention heading into the final sprint.

However, the two-time champion appeared to hesitate at the vital moment after Matthews launched the surge, but Van Aert timed his move to perfection to claim victory.

"Today was a big chance to take a lot of points," Van Aert said. "I'm really glad my team put everything in it to chase down the breakaway.

"It was a really tough climb. Everything going uphill was really steep, so I had to fight to stay in the wheel of Pogacar and his team-mates.

"I knew if I could stay at the wheel that the sprint was a little bit flatter, so I was waiting for that moment.

"Winning a stage in the Tour de France – no matter where it is – is nice."

Earlier in the day, Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates team-mate Vegard Stake Laengen and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroen) became the first casualties of this year's race having tested positive for COVID-19.

Dutch delight for Van Aert

Van Aert moved level with Pogacar by claiming his eighth stage victory overall at the Tour de France.

And with the Dutch rider doubling his tally for the season, he has now won multiple stages in each of the last three years.

STAGE RESULTS

1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 4:13:06
2. Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) same time
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) same time
4. Andreas Kron (Lotto-Soudal) same time
5. Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) same time

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 28:56:16
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) +0:39
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +1:14

Points Classification

1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 264
2. Fabio Jakobsen (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 149
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 128

King of the Mountains

1. Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education-EasyPost) 11
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 10
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 8

Josh Adams scored a late try as Wales claimed a dramatic 13-12 victory over South Africa to level the series in Bloemfontein.

Wales secured their first away win over the Springboks in 12 attempts after Adams went over in the corner with Gareth Anscombe converting with just over a minute remaining at the Toyota Stadium.

Wayne Pivac's side had lost their four previous Tests away from home, but they went into the break level at 3-3 following a scrappy first half in which Dan Biggar and Handre Pollard exchanged kicks.

Pollard was captaining the reigning World champions after Jacques Nienaber made 14 changes from the narrow 32-29 win in the first Test last weekend.

The Montpellier fly-half kicked a further nine points as the hosts edged closer to maintaining their record of having never lost a three-Test series on home soil when winning the opener.

But Wales did well to hold their own with a numerical disadvantage after Alun Wyn Jones was controversially sin-binned; the replacement deemed to have been cynical with his hands in the breakdown.

Upon his return, the visitors launched one final surge and following a neat build-up, Anscombe - who had earlier split the uprights with a penalty to keep Wales in striking distance - offloaded for Adams to cross in the corner.

Anscombe subsequently held his nerve under the most intense pressure to convert from a tight angle; his nation recording their first Test victory in South Africa since overcoming Japan at the 1995 World Cup.

Eddie Jones said silencing Australia's supporters was a "great feeling" after England claimed a 25-17 victory in Brisbane to level the three-match series.

England had lost their past four games heading into the second Test at Suncorp Stadium, including a defeat to the Barbarians. They were jolted by last week's 30-28 loss to Australia in Perth but responded in style on Saturday.

Billy Vunipola crossed over early on for England's only try and Owen Farrell kicked four penalties to give the visitors a 19-0 first-half lead.

Taniela Tupou reduced the arrears before the interval and Samu Kerevi walked in a second, either side of a couple more Farrell penalties, but England saw out the victory.

After getting one over on his country of birth and the team he previously managed for four years, Jones admitted he took great joy from leaving the home hordes disappointed.

"I love coaching at Suncorp Stadium, it's a good experience," Jones said. "You've got 48,000 people all full of drink and all they want to see is their team win.

"When you turn them away, it's a great experience. A great feeling. I was coming out from the coaches' box and they all have their scarves on.

"When did Australians start wearing scarves? It's all the rage, isn't it? They are not so smart now.

"Before the game they are coming up saying to me, 'You are going to get belted tonight'. Now they are a little bit more quiet. So that's good. I enjoy that."

England have now won four of their past five games in Oceania, having won just one of the previous 12 away matches against teams from that continent.

Saturday's victory sets up a thrilling decider in Sydney next weekend, and Jones has no doubt it is the home side that will be under more pressure.

"It's 1-1. And the pressure's on the other mob now," he said. "So they've got to deal with that pressure. We'll find ways of getting better.

"It was a good effort by the boys. We just tightened our game up a little bit this week.

"The boys carried out the game-plan really well, and played with a lot of intensity, a lot of passion, and we had three new caps. Incredible.

"It's just time together. We're a very young, inexperienced team. It takes time to put things together, and we'll be more cohesive next week."

There was one big negative to come out of the game for Jones, however, as Maro Itoje failed to return to the field after undergoing a head injury assessment.

Itoje collided with Hunter Paisami shortly before the interval and Jones later confirmed the lock will play no part in the deciding Test.

"The medical situation with Maro is that he will be out next weekend," Jones said.

Prior to this weekend's fixtures, Itoje's 83 line-outs won in Tests since the beginning of 2021 was at least 21 more than any other player from a Tier One nation.

Elena Rybakina produced a breathtaking comeback to win the Wimbledon title as Ons Jabeur fell short in the women's final – a Russian native triumphing in the name of Kazakhstan.

Rybakina, who was born, raised and learned her tennis trade in Moscow, switched to represent Kazakhstan in 2018 after being offered an appealing financial package.

Russians were banned, along with their Belarusian colleagues, from playing at Wimbledon this year by the All England Club, owing to the Kremlin-led invasion of Ukraine.

The decision has cost Wimbledon, and Britain's Lawn Tennis Association, fines totalling $1million, albeit those are being appealed.

And still, somehow, a player with tight Russian ties has prevailed, handed the trophy on Centre Court by the Duchess of Cambridge. This was not, it seems safe to say, the ideal scenario for Wimbledon's blazer brigade.

Yet in Rybakina the tournament has an exciting young champion, and given she turned her back on playing for Russia to represent Kazakhstan, it is hardly a victory that Vladimir Putin can hold up as a great triumph for his country on the global sporting stage.

All the same, some of the power-brokers in SW19 might have been quietly hoping that Jabeur would see this through, the world number two delivering trophy success that would have been celebrated across Africa and the Arab world.

The crowd appeared to be pulling for Jabeur too, after the 27-year-old made herself a favourite thanks to her entertaining, enterprising brand of tennis, matched to a thoroughly charming personality.

The Tunisian, playing the biggest match of her life as the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha got under way, looked like her day in the sun had arrived when on a sizzling London day she took the first set without any particular fuss.

A pre-tournament sally by the seaside with Serena Williams served Jabeur well, their doubles liaison in Eastbourne emboldening the world number two for this fortnight, and yet come crunch point in the final, it all went over the cliff.

There was a skip of satisfaction when Jabeur broke early in that first set, and with the six-foot Rybakina spraying her powerful ground shots often out of court it looked to be a match that could only go one way. There were sizzling winners from Rybakina but too many unforced errors, with 17 in the first set alone.

Perhaps it was the scale of what she was halfway to achieving, but Jabeur's focus then slipped. An ill-advised 'tweener', the between-the-legs party piece favoured by Nick Kyrgios, found the net and pointed to incoming trouble.

Rybakina swept to a 5-1 lead in the second set. Jabeur, known as the "minister of happiness" in Tunisia, soon looked pretty glum as Rybakina levelled the match with an ace on set point.

The winners-to-errors ratio had swung around dramatically from the first set, and when Rybakina sprinted ahead in the decider with an immediate break, dominating the battles of craft as well as the full-power rallies, Jabeur was in the doldrums.

The usually mild-mannered Jabeur lashed out when she was outsmarted at the net by Rybakina, lucky not to make full contact as she swished out at the ball in frustration.

Leading 3-2 and approaching the finish line, Rybakina slipped 0-40 down, as some of Jabeur's great touch returned with drop-shot and lob winners. That could have been a turning point, but Rybakina fended off the danger in terrific style, finishing off the game with a simple volley at the net.

Victory came from the first match point, Jabeur hacking a backhand wide. Rybakina raised her left wrist to her mouth, puffed out her cheeks and jogged up to the net to greet Jabeur, before waving to all corners of Centre Court.

The world number 23, whose age matches her ranking, becomes the second-lowest ranked women's singles champion at Wimbledon since the Open Era began in 1968. Only Venus Williams in 2007, when ranked 31st, triumphed from a lower rung on the ladder.

It was 3-6 6-2 6-2 in the end, and Rybakina became the first women's singles champion since Amelie Mauresmo in 2006 to come back from losing the first set to carry off the Venus Rosewater Dish.

She passed 50 aces in a WTA-level tournament for the first time in the process, with four in this match taking her Wimbledon 2022 total to 53, and becomes the youngest women's champion in these parts since 2011, when a 21-year-old Petra Kvitova saw off Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova was champion for Russia as a 17-year-old in 2004. This, though, was for Kazakhstan, Rybakina effusively thanking the wealthy federation president Bulat Utemuratov who watched on proudly.

As Wimbledon hung on every word, he was emphatically the right president to acknowledge.