TRAILBLAZING Tunisian Ons Jabeur reached the last-16 at Wimbledon on Friday (2), coming back from a set down to beat 2017 champion Garbine Muguruza 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in 2hrs 26 minutes.
The 26-year-old Jabeur was so nervous when she moved to two match points she knelt down and was physically sick in the corner of Centre Court at the end where the Duchess of Cambridge was sitting in the Royal Box.
Muguruza saved that one but Jabeur made no mistake when she secured a second one and fell on her back in celebration getting back up to a standing ovation.
Her victory will do wonders for her goal of encouraging more Arab women, especially in North Africa, to take up the sport and eventually join her on the professional circuit.
It was another landmark performance by Jabeur who only last month became the first Arab woman to win a WTA Tour title, winning on grass at Birmingham.
"I am good I could play another match," she laughed.
"I am very happy honestly first time on Centre Court it is amazing. It is the best day of my tennis career."
Jabeur, whose best Grand Slam run is the quarter-finals at the 2020 Australian Open, said she was nervous at the outset but gradually settled into a rhythm.
"I was a little bit nervous at the beginning but by the second I tried to be calmer.
"I lost to her last time so this was kind of my revenge in a nice way!"
Muguruza had taken a tight first set but 26-year-old Jabeur worked her way back into the match and by the third she clearly had the upper hand.
Muguruza's serve was continually under pressure with Jabeur breaking her on her first service game of the deciding set.
The Venezuela-born Spaniard saved several break points on her next service game but Jabeur broke again for 4-1.
The Tunisian was never really under pressure save from herself from then on before sealing a fourth round clash with Poland's 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka into last 16 for first time
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time on Friday (2) with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Colombian qualifier Maria Camila Osorio Serrano.
World number four Sabalenka will face either Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan or Shelby Rogers of the United States for a place in the quarterfinals.
INDIA defeated England by 336 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston on Sunday, levelling the five-match series 1-1. Akash Deep, playing in place of rested pacer Jasprit Bumrah, took 10 wickets in the match — his first 10-wicket haul in Test cricket.
England were bowled out for 271 while chasing a target of 608. Deep took 6-99 in the second innings, ending with match figures of 10-147 — the best of his eight-Test career so far.
Jamie Smith was England’s top scorer in the second innings with 88, following his unbeaten 184 in the first. No other England batter crossed fifty.
The win was India’s first Test victory in nine matches at Edgbaston, where they had previously suffered seven defeats and a draw.
Gill creates Test history
India captain Shubman Gill became the first player in Test cricket to score 250 and 150 in the same match. Gill made 269 in the first innings and followed it up with 161 off 162 balls in the second. He now has three centuries in his first two Tests as captain, including a 147 in the series opener at Headingley, where India lost by five wickets.
India were also much improved in the field in this match. "The way we came back with our bowling and fielding was tremendous," Gill said.
Speaking about Deep, he added, "He bowled with so much heart and skilfully with his lengths. He moved it in both directions, which was tough to do. He was magnificent for us."
Gill confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah will “definitely be back for Lord’s”, where the third Test begins on Thursday.
England struggle in the chase
England resumed day five on 72-3 after a 90-minute rain delay. No team has ever chased more than 418 to win in the fourth innings — a record held by West Indies since 2003.
Ollie Pope was the first to fall on Sunday, failing to add to his overnight 24. He was bowled by Deep after getting a delivery that bounced extra and hit the stumps. His dismissal was cheered by a large Indian crowd.
Ben Stokes, on a king pair after a golden duck in the first innings, managed to avoid a second nought with a legside flick. But England soon slipped to 83-5 when Harry Brook was trapped lbw by Deep for 23. Brook had made 158 in the first innings, sharing a 300-plus stand with Smith.
Stokes and Smith added 70 for the sixth wicket before Stokes was dismissed by Washington Sundar for 33 in the last over before lunch. It was the first wicket in the match taken by someone other than Deep or Siraj. England went to lunch at 153-6.
Smith reached 88 with two successive sixes off Deep. But he was out next ball, caught after misjudging a slower delivery, giving Deep his fifth wicket of the innings.
Deep ended the match by dismissing Brydon Carse, who was caught at cover by Gill.
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Gill's 430 runs in the match made him only the fifth batter to score over 400 in a single Test. (Photo: Getty Images)
INDIA captain Shubman Gill became the first batter in Test history to score 250 and 150 in the same match, before Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep struck early to put India in control of the second Test at Edgbaston on Saturday.
Gill followed his first-innings 267 with 161 off 162 balls in the second innings. India declared at 427-6 after tea on the fourth day, setting England a target of 608 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
The highest fourth-innings chase in Test history remains West Indies’ 418 against Australia at St John's in 2003. England’s record is 378, achieved against India at the same venue three years ago.
At stumps on Saturday, England were 72-3, still needing 536 runs to win on the final day.
“Nothing is impossible,” England batting coach Marcus Trescothick told the BBC. “But 536 is a lot of runs... If we were to chase that down then it would be an epic day's play.”
Harry Brook, who made 158 in England’s first-innings total of 407, was unbeaten on 15.
Siraj and Deep strike early
Siraj, who took 6-70 in the first innings, dismissed Zak Crawley for a duck with a loose drive to backward point. Deep, playing in place of the rested Jasprit Bumrah, then bowled Ben Duckett for 25 and dismissed Joe Root for six with a full-length delivery that moved late.
"That's a pleasing sign from Akash, he is an attacking bowler that asks questions, bowling at the stumps a lot," said India bowling coach Morne Morkel.
The former South Africa pacer added: "Top-quality player, Joe Root, and to dismiss him in that fashion just shows the quality of Akash."
Gill crosses 400 in a match
Gill's 430 runs in the match made him only the fifth batter to score over 400 in a single Test. The 25-year-old has now scored three centuries in four innings since becoming captain, following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from Test cricket in May.
He was supported on Saturday by Rishabh Pant, who scored 65 after being dropped twice. Crawley missed a chance at mid-off when Pant was on 10. The wicketkeeper-batter hit eight fours and three sixes during his 58-ball knock, adding 110 runs in just 103 balls with Gill for the fourth wicket.
Gill, batting at number four in place of the retired Virat Kohli, hit Josh Tongue for three consecutive boundaries – a hooked six, a lofted four over mid-on, and a pulled four past Ben Stokes.
He later struck another hooked six off Tongue. Pant’s innings ended when he tried to hit Shoaib Bashir and lost control of his bat, which flew towards midwicket while the ball was caught by Duckett at deep mid-off.
India pile on after tea
After tea, Gill hit a straight six and two fours off Chris Woakes, then slog-swept Joe Root for six to reach 150. He was eventually dismissed for 161, giving a return catch to Bashir after hitting 13 fours and eight sixes.
With crowd chants of "Boring, boring India" heard as the visitors continued to bat, Gill eventually declared with Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten on 69.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Lewis Hamilton is optimistic about Ferrari's chances at the 2025 British Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton topped FP1 and finished third in FP2 at Silverstone
Ferrari's pace encouraging despite rivals bringing major upgrades
Hamilton targeting strong weekend, focused on car improvements
Charles Leclerc also positive on Ferrari's race pace ahead of F1 qualifying time
Silverstone qualifying 2025 set to be highly competitive
Hamilton leads strong start for Ferrari at Silverstone
Lewis Hamilton is optimistic about Ferrari's chances at the 2025 British Grand Prix following an encouraging performance during Friday practice at Silverstone. The seven-time World Champion topped the timesheets in Free Practice 1 and secured P3 in the afternoon session, marking one of his best Fridays since joining Ferrari earlier this year.
“It was a really good day,” said Hamilton. “Great to see the crowd. Amazing to be out on track in a Ferrari here at Silverstone.”
Competitive despite rivals’ upgrades
Hamilton noted that both McLaren and Red Bull introduced upgrades ahead of the Silverstone weekend, yet Ferrari remained competitive. “It’s pretty incredible and also with McLaren and Red Bull having upgrades, so for us to be in the mix still is really positive,” he said.
The British driver, who has nine career wins at Silverstone, believes that Ferrari’s pace offers promise ahead of Sunday’s race. “I definitely feel like we can dream of having a strong weekend,” he added. “Executing and putting it all together is another thing but I’ll prepare myself the best I can to make sure we get the best result.”
Lewis Hamilton topped FP1 and finished third in FP2Getty Images
Hamilton finished fourth at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, equalling his best result for Ferrari so far. He stated he is becoming more comfortable in the SF-25 and continues to improve.
“I’m progressing a lot now with the car and much more comfortable knowing where it needs to be,” he said. “We still weren’t quite where we needed to be in FP2, but we know the changes we need to make.”
Leclerc confident in race pace
Charles Leclerc also showed strong form on Friday, finishing fourth in FP1 and second in FP2. While he acknowledged McLaren’s Lando Norris holds the edge in one-lap pace, Leclerc was confident about Ferrari’s race performance.
“McLaren is probably the car to beat at the moment,” he said. “But in race pace I was happy. I think we are very strong for Sunday. We’ve just got to find more in Qualifying.”
The Silverstone qualifying 2025 session is expected to be closely contested as teams aim to convert their practice form into pole position.
MOHAMMED SIRAJ said he "loved the challenge" of leading India's attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah after taking a six-wicket haul in the second Test against England at Edgbaston on Friday (4).
There was widespread criticism when India, who lost last week's series opener at Headingley, omitted outstanding spearhead quick Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, from their team in Birmingham.
But they could yet draw level at 1-1 in a five-match campaign after fellow paceman Siraj took 6-70 on Friday, despite England's Harry Brook and Jamie Smith sharing a mammoth sixth-wicket partnership of 303.
The 31-year-old Siraj dismissed star batsman Joe Root and England captain Ben Stokes with successive balls early in the third day's play to reduce the hosts to 84-5.
And he returned to clean up the tail as England were dismissed for 407 in reply to India's first-innings 587 built upon skipper Shubman Gill's exceptional 269.
By stumps, India had extended their overall lead to 244 runs at 64-1 in their second innings.
"I have been bowling well but not getting wickets, so getting six here is very special," said Siraj after the close. "When you are asked to lead the attack I love responsibility, I love the challenge.
"My mindset was to keep it tight and not give away runs," added Siraj, well-supported by 4-88 from Akash Deep after the paceman was given the unenviable task of standing-in for Bumrah.
Brook and Smith staged a remarkable fightback after they joined forces with England more than 500 runs behind.
The 24-year-old Smith survived Siraj's hat-trick ball with a straight drive for four and went to make a breathtaking 184 not out, the highest Test score by an England wicketkeeper, surpassing Surrey mentor Alec Stewart's 173 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1997.
Brook was alongside Smith for much of this innings as the Yorkshireman made 158 -- his ninth Test century and fifth in excess of 150.
"It was good fun being out there with 'Smudge' (Smith)," Brook told reporters. "He's a phenomenal player and it felt good to be out there, putting on 300 with him.
"The way that he came out of the blocks and put the pressure back on their bowlers was awesome. He tried to change the momentum back in our favour and it worked for a long period of time."
Brook added: "It was so good to watch from the other end, I felt like he could hit four or six every ball and I was just trying to get him on strike. He just leans on it and it goes to the boundary. He has a long England career ahead of him."
England may be behind in this game but having chased down 378 to beat India at Edgbaston three years ago and made light of a target of 371 in the first Test at Headingley, they haven't given up hope of leaving Birmingham with a 2-0 lead.
"I think everybody in the world knows that we're going to try and chase whatever they set us," said Brook.
"We've obviously got a big task at hand but we'll try and get a couple of wickets early on and try and put them under pressure. You never know how this game can go."
Swiatek battles back: Iga Swiatek overcame a shaky start to defeat American Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 and reach the third round at Wimbledon.
Early scare: McNally, ranked 208, came from 1-4 down to take the first set, capitalising on Swiatek’s struggles on grass.
Swift turnaround: Swiatek raised her aggression in the second set, dominating the rest of the match and losing just three more games.
Grand Slam consistency: The 23-year-old became only the third woman this century to reach the third round in 22 consecutive Grand Slams.
Familiar foe: Swiatek and McNally were former junior doubles partners, winning the French Open girls' title together in 2018.
Iga Swiatek may not love the grass but relishes a battle whatever the surface and showed all that fight and bullish determination as she recovered to beat American Caty McNally 5-7 6-2 6-1 and reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.
McNally, the world number 208, looked poised to cause an upset when she clawed her way back from 4-1 down to take the first set against the five-times Grand Slam champion.
At that point Swiatek's mediocre record at the All England Club, where the Pole has never gone past the quarter-finals, seemed to be weighing heavily on her shoulders.
But rather than shy away from the scrap, the former world number one flicked a psychological switch that saw her come out for the second set transformed, upping her aggression and playing with a ferocity McNally simply could not handle.
She broke early in the second set and never looked back, losing only three more games to set up a clash with another American Danielle Collins.
"I started the match well so I knew that my game was there," said Swiatek. "I knew that at the start of the second set I had to be more accurate. I just tried to improve and I'm happy it worked."
The eighth seed may have her sights set far higher than the third round, but by reaching the last 32 she underlined her consistency on the big stage.
The 23-year-old is the third player this century to reach the third round in 22 consecutive women’s singles Grand Slams after Amelie Mauresmo and Serena Williams.
DIFFICULT SURFACE
Whether such milestones are enough to persuade Swiatek she can excel on a surface that has so far proven difficult to master is yet to be determined.
With four French Open titles to her name, another at the U.S. Open and two semi-final appearances in Australia, her unspectacular Wimbledon record stands out like a sore thumb.
A run to the Bad Homburg final in the grasscourt warm-up event showed her game is not entirely unsuited to the surface, though there was a period in the first set against McNally where she may have wondered if this tournament was simply not for her.
Having broken early and raced into a 4-1 lead, the wheels briefly came off as McNally did everything to push Swiatek out of her comfort zone.
The American pushed right up to the baseline to receive serve, trying to give Swiatek less time to react to the return and for a while it worked.
McNally spurned four break points in the seventh game before finally taking her chance at the fifth attempt before breaking again for a 6-5 lead when Swiatek swiped a backhand long.
When the Pole fired a wild forehand off target to hand McNally the opener, everything seemed to be going the American's way. But that was as good as it got.
DOUBLES PARTNERS
Swiatek knows McNally's game well - the pair were doubles partners in their youth, clinching the junior title at Roland Garros in 2018 - and set about dismantling it in double-quick time.
She broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set and again to level the contest at one set each.
Swiatek then did the same at the start of the third set, breaking to go 2-0 ahead, with a forehand swiped cross-court, while another forehand winner saw her break again to move 4-0 up.
It was then straightforward for the Pole, although she did have to save five break points before wrapping up victory with an ace.
As well as earning her spot in the next round, the match against her old playing partner offered a pleasing trip down memory lane.
"It's pretty funny because I remember these matches pretty well," she said of her junior days.
"We know each other pretty well ... She's one of the people who make you feel like you are not only rivals on tour but that you can also respect each other and like each other."