Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Tennis-Australia’s Ebden and Purcell channel Woodies to win Wimbledon doubles crown
Australia’s Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell prevented the Croatian duo of Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic from winning back-to-back men’s doubles titles at Wimbledon with a 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 4-6 6-4 7-6(10-2) victory in the final on Saturday. It was a long and arduous journey to the final for the Australians, with five of their six matches going to five sets while they saved a total of eight match points along the way.
Motor racing-Hamilton slams spectators for cheering when he crashed
Mercedes’ seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Saturday he had been stunned to hear spectators cheer when he crashed hard in qualifying for the Austrian Formula One Grand Prix. The 37-year-old Briton qualified 10th on Friday for the Saturday sprint.
The tennis-Wimbledon ending fails to live up to Jabeur’s fairytale dreams
When Ons Jabeur sat in her courtside chair, head hanging down and staring at the worn-out grass surface, it is easy to guess the anguished thoughts running through her head — after all, this was not how she imagined her Wimbledon run would end. Before Saturday’s final against Russian-born Kazakh rival Elena Rybakina, the bubbly Tunisian had had vivid visions of “giving a good speech, holding the trophy” and seeing her name printed on the green and gold honours board at the entrance to Centre Court.
Tennis-I was super nervous, says Wimbledon champion Rybakina
Under-stated Elena Rybakina barely broke into a smile after winning the Wimbledon title on Saturday but endeared herself to the Centre Court crowd with a stunning display. The 23-year-old became the first player representing Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title as she hit back to overpower favourite One Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2.
Boxing-Heavyweight Chisora beats old foe Pulev on a split decision
Zimbabwean-born British heavyweight Derek Chisora beat Kubrat Pulev on a split decision on Saturday to avenge his 2016 loss to the Bulgarian and revive his career after three straight defeats. The 38-year-old veteran and former WBC title challenger won 116-112 116-114 and 112-116 on the three judges’ scorecards at London’s 02 Arena and in front of a crowd of some 7,000 spectators.
Motor racing-F1 leader Verstappen wins Austrian sprint race
Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen beat his battling Ferrari rivals to win a Saturday sprint race and put Red Bull on pole position for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix at his team’s home track. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc will line up alongside the Dutch driver on the front row after a scrap for second with Spanish teammate and British Grand Prix winner Carlos Sainz, who finished third.
Tennis-‘Winner pays for dinner’ – Djokovic and Kyrgios patch things up before final
A bromance between Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios was the last thing fans expected coming into Wimbledon, but the two players have buried the hatchet and even decided to go for dinner, with Sunday’s final winner footing the bill. Kyrgios, who has in the past labelled Djokovic “boneheaded” and a “tool”, defended the Serb when he was detained and then deported ahead of the Australian Open earlier this year due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
Tennis-Moscow-born Rybakina powers past Jabeur to Wimbledon title
In a year when Russian players were banned from Wimbledon, Moscow-born Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2 on Saturday to become the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title. With Russian and Belarussian players banned from the grasscourt major following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Rybakina would have been excluded had she not switched allegiance from Russia in 2018 for better funding and support.
Tennis-Djokovic set for the unexpected as Kyrgios blocks path to 21st Grand Slam title
Novak Djokovic has contested 31 Grand Slam finals and faced just about every scenario possible in collecting 20 titles but even he will not know what to expect in Sunday’s Wimbledon showdown against Australian showman Nick Kyrgios. The 35-year-old Serbian, bidding for a fourth successive title, will prepare for every eventuality but the likelihood is that world number 40 Kyrgios will still conjure up some surprises.
Cycling-Van Aert wins again as Pogacar consolidates Tour lead
Wout van Aert consolidated his lead in the Tour de France points classification with a late burst of speed on Saturday to win the eighth stage of cycling’s biggest race, a hilly 186.3-km ride from Dole to Lausanne across the border in Switzerland. The Belgian bagged his second stage win in this edition in a reduced bunch sprint at the top of the Cote du Stade Olympique, a 4.8-km effort at an average gradient of 4.6%.
(With inputs from agencies.)