London, July 11 (IANS) Italy’s Jasmine Paolini battled from a set down and twice a break down in the decider to outlast Donna Vekic in three sets in the longest semifinal-ever in women’s singles at Wimbledon here on Thursday. Paolini, the No.7 seed, defeated Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in 2 hours and 51 minutes to become the first Italian woman to reach the final at Wimbledon in the Open Era.

The previous longest Wimbledon semifinal had been Serena Williams’s 6-7(4), 7-5, 8-6 defeat of Elena Dementieva in 2009, a contest which lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes.

Around 15 years on, Paolini held her first match point at 5-4 in the third set and her second at 6-5 before edging Vekic on her third in a gripping super-tiebreak. The result was her third win in four meetings with Vekic. The runner-up at Roland Garros a month ago to Iga Swiatek, Paolini has immediately backed up that run with her second major final. The 28-year-old is the first player since Serena in 2016 to reach both the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same season.

Paolini is only the fifth player to accomplish that feat in the past 25 years following Steffi Graf (1999), Serena Williams (2002, 2015, 2016), Venus Williams (2002), and Justine Henin (2006).

The runner-up at Roland Garros a month ago to Iga Swiatek, Paolini has immediately backed up that run with her second major final. The 28-year-old is the first player since Serena in 2016 to reach both the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same season.

Paolini is only the fifth player to accomplish that feat in the past 25 years following Steffi Graf (1999), Serena Williams (2002, 2015, 2016), Venus Williams (2002), and Justine Henin (2006).

In a nerve-wracking clash, Paolini came out on top of the final rally and the Centre Court rose as one to give both competitors a standing ovation at the end of nearly three hours of thrilling tennis.

The closing stages had been the most tense. Vekic had led 3-1 in the third set and broke again for 4-3, but Paolini had pegged her back both times. Vekic managed to find a service winner to stave off one match point down 5-4 but came out on the wrong end of a five-deuce tussle in the subsequent game as Paolini held for 6-5. On the final point of that game, Vekic used up her final Hawkeye challenge and looked devastated as it showed her forehand had gone wide by inches.

But Vekic battled valiantly to the end. She saved another match point down 6-5 by firing a forehand winner to end one of the best rallies of the day and stayed committed to aggression off that wing throughout a tiebreak in which neither player was ever more than two points in front of the other.

As the match went on, though, Paolini was able to find more and more ways to counter Vekic’s pace and was quick to sense an opportunity for herself. Time and again, she tracked down Vekic’s hardest shots, then turned defense into offense as soon as she could set up her forehand. In the end, it was the Vekic forehand that broke down on the two final points.

It was Vekic who set the tone of the first semifinal of the 2024 Wimbledon by winning the first set. Her dominance came on the back of a superb serve. The World No.37 dropped just three points in total on her serve and was remorseless in punishing Paolini’s second serve.

Though Paolini won 11 out of 15 first-serve points, that dropped to just five out of 17 on her second delivery. Unable to get on the front foot consistently, Paolini found only five winners to Vekic’s 12.

But the second set saw Paolini emerge with renewed intensity. She began to read Vekic’s sneak drop shot strategy and responded with pinpoint lobs and brilliant volleys. At 2-2, she fended off two break points with clutch serving.

The turning point came at 4-4. After a desperate defensive lob from Paolini (above), Vekic set up to slam the overhead winner home — only to send it wide of the tramlines. Amid gasps from the crowd, Paolini went on to hold and seized her opportunity in the next game by upping her aggression on return.

–IANS

bsk/

London, July 11 (IANS) England all-rounder and captain Ben Stokes has reached the milestone of 200 Test wickets and in the process became only the third player in the history of the game to achieve the double of 200 wickets and 6000 runs. Stokes reached this milestone by dismissing Kirk McKenzie in the second innings of the first Test match against West Indies at the Lord’s on Thursday.

Stokes thus joined the exclusive club of three cricketers to claim 200 wickets and score 6000 runs in Tests. The other two players who share this unique record are Sri Garfield Sobers of the West Indies and Jacques Kallis of South Africa.

The England captain on Thursday also claimed the wicket of Mikyle Louis, taking his tally to 201 wickets. Earlier, he had scored four runs in England’s first innings of 371 all out, taking his tally to 6320.

Gary Sobers was the first player to reach the milestone, taking 235 wickets and scoring 8032 runs. Jacques Kallis achieved 13289 runs and 292 wickets in his iconic career.

–IANS

bsk/

Madrid (Spain), July 11 (IANS) Athletic Club Bilbao president, Jon Uriarte on Thursday criticised the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for allowing winger Nico Williams to be subjected to a continued bombardment of questions over his future. Williams, who celebrates his 22nd birthday on Friday, has been one of the outstanding players in the ongoing European Championships, with several clubs rumoured to be looking at the player who at the end of last year signed a new contract to keep him at Athletic until 2027.

FC Barcelona are one of Williams’ suitors, with Barca president, Joan Laporta stating publicly last week that despite the club’s debts of over 1,000 million euros, they could afford to sign him, reports Xinhua.

Meanwhile, the winger has been bombarded with a continued series of questions over his future during the Euros 2024, leaving Uriarte unhappy the player has been exposed to unnecessary pressure.

“Nico, a footballer who is very committed to Athletic Club, has been subjected to an excessive and uncontrolled bombardment of questions about his future, while he is at the Euros with the Spanish Football Federation, who have not known how to protect him,” said Uriarte.

The Athletic president also had a veiled criticism of Barcelona’s tactic, saying that the Basque club “does not have the formula of subjecting players with contracts to other clubs to public pressure to try to incorporate them.”

Uriarte was speaking as the club officially presented new signings Alvaro Djalo and Andoni Gorosabal at their Lezama training ground and highlighted that last season’s Copa del Rey winners had “the economic, social and sporting capacity to maintain players of William’s stature.”

–IANS

bsk/

Kadapa (A.P.), July 11 (IANS) Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh triumphed in their respective women’s matches while Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka emerged victorious in the men’s fixtures on Day 2 of the 2nd Hockey India Junior Women and Men South Zone Championship 2024 here on Thursday.

In the first women’s encounter, Hockey Kerala defeated Le Puducherry Hockey 5-0. Aadilakshmi M’s brace (16’, 60’) led the way along with contributions from Sruthi Suresh (7’), Devipriya KS (19’), and captain Piyoosha S. (34’) to wrap up a swift win for Kerala Hockey.

The next women’s clash of the day saw Hockey Karnataka defeat Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu 3-1. Manish Poonamma Cd (44’) gave Hockey Karnataka a lead that was soon nullified by Tamil Nadu’s captain Mumanja R (45’).

However, in the final quarter, Deepika R. (53’) and Rakshitha J. (56’) scored to secure victory for Karnataka.

In the final women’s fixture of the day, Telangana Hockey was downed by Hockey Andhra Pradesh 11-0. Ankitha Bommu (1’, 15’, 54’), Lalitha Kotari (12’, 41’, 53’), Bobbili Jhansi (29’, 44’, 48’) all scored hat-tricks while captain Lomata Harathi (21’) and Yuvarani Thokala (45’).

Tamil Nadu powers past Puducherry

The men’s fixtures began with the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu defeating Le Puducherry Hockey 7-0. Vishal S. (11’, 53’) and Sundarajith M. (54’, 58’) were the top scorers with two goals. P. Kuberan (6’), Alagu Mohana Priyan A (26’), and Manimaran V (28’) chipped in with a goal apiece.

In the second men’s fixture, Telangana Hockey defeated Kerala Hockey 3-0. Pradeep Kodapa (15’, 52’) scored two vital goals, while Captain Manoj Aggu (40’) found the back of the net as well for Telangana Hockey.

In the final men’s encounter of the day, Hockey Karnataka defeated Hockey Andhra Pradesh 4-0. Hrithik Aiyappa (6’) and Kiran Reddy (7’) scored quickly to give Karnataka a comfortable early lead. Following this, Harishit Kumar (42’) and Akhil Aiyappa BN (45’) scored for Hockey Karnataka.

–IANS

bsk/

London, July 11 (IANS) Italy’s Jasmine Paolini battled from a set down and twice a break down in the decider to outlast Donna Vekic in three sets in the longest semifinal-ever in women’s singles at Wimbledon here on Thursday. Paolini, the No.7 seed, defeated Vekic 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(8) in 2 hours and 51 minutes to become the first Italian woman to reach the final at Wimbledon in the Open Era.

The previous longest Wimbledon semifinal had been Serena Williams’s 6-7(4), 7-5, 8-6 defeat of Elena Dementieva in 2009, a contest which lasted 2 hours and 49 minutes.

Around 15 years on, Paolini held her first match point at 5-4 in the third set and her second at 6-5 before edging Vekic on her third in a gripping super-tiebreak. The result was her third win in four meetings with Vekic.

The runner-up at Roland Garros a month ago to Iga Swiatek, Paolini has immediately backed up that run with her second major final. The 28-year-old is the first player since Serena in 2016 to reach both the French Open and Wimbledon finals in the same season.

Paolini is only the fifth player to accomplish that feat in the past 25 years following Steffi Graf (1999), Serena Williams (2002, 2015, 2016), Venus Williams (2002), and Justine Henin (2006).

Having never won a tour-level match on grass before 2024, Paolini’s record on the surface is now 8-1, with her sole loss coming to Daria Kasatkina in the Eastbourne semifinals two weeks ago. Currently, at a career-high ranking of No.7, she is guaranteed to make her Top 5 debut next week.

–IANS

bsk/