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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Fritz defies Khachanov fightback and line-call blooper to reach Wimbledon last four
Taylor Fritz survived a mid‑match dip, a bold fightback from his opponent and even another line‑calling malfunction as he beat Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time. The American coasted through the first two sets with some imperious serving, not facing a single break point, only to dip markedly in the third to allow Khachanov back into the match. However, after falling a break behind early in the fourth set, the No 5 seed rediscovered his focus and played a near flawless tie-break to advance to a clash with the defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz. 'It's an amazing feeling,' said Fritz, who hit 16 aces. 'Having played the quarter-finals here twice and lost in five [sets] twice, I don't think I could have taken another one. I'm really happy I'm going to get to play the semis here. I'm feeling great to get through it. The match was going so well for me for two sets, I've never really had a match just flip so quickly, so I'm really happy how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. I think momentum was not going to be on my side in the fifth.' Another malfunction in the electronic line-calling system occurred at the start of the fourth set, when a forehand from Khachanov, which landed four feet inside the baseline, was called 'fault'. The umpire, Louise Azemar-Engzell, stopped the point, got on the phone to reset the system and the point was replayed. Fritz ended up being broken as Khachanov moved ahead. However, the American broke back for 2-2 and from then on the two men raised the level and began to play outstanding tennis. The Russian held serve at 5-5 from 0-30, thanks to a brilliant lunging volley. Fritz was impregnable on serve again, though, and in the tie-break he began with a 138mph ace, hit two more and finished it off with a smash into the open court. Four years ago, after he lost against Alexander Zverev here in the third round, Fritz wrote a note on his girlfriend's phone, saying: 'Nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you, you are so good but 40 in the world, get your shit together.' Now, he is in the top five, reached his first grand slam final at the US Open last year and is one match away from a first Wimbledon final. 'At the time, my ranking was slipping,' he said. 'I was coming back from a surgery and I felt like I was not playing to the level I felt like I should be playing. That note was never supposed to be public. I was ranting to my girlfriend about it, she said: 'Write it down, look at it.' I'm really happy with how I've turned my career around over the last four years or so. I've put in a lot of work and it's good to see the results.' Standing between Fritz and a first Wimbledon final is Alcaraz, who ended British interest with an impressive victory against Cameron Norrie. The pair have played each other twice, both on hard courts, with Alcaraz winning both times. The Spaniard has won the title in each of the past two years here but Fritz believes that if he can find his level, he has a fighting chance. 'I'm happy that we're not playing at the French Open on clay with the French Open balls because that would be an absolute nightmare,' he said, laughing. 'I think grass is very much so an equaliser. So, trust in how I'm playing. I truly know the way that I played the first two sets today, there's not much any opponent on the other side can do.' And as an American, Fritz says he has already experienced the most pressure he is ever likely to face, when beating Frances Tiafoe to reach the US Open final last year. 'It's given me a lot of confidence in those moments and situations, just having been there, that I can do it again,' Fritz said. 'I've played the pressure matches. I don't think anything's going to get more stressful than me playing Frances in New York for a spot in the final.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Life Cycle of a Moth by Rowe Irvin review – captivating story of maternal love and male violence
In the woodland, beyond the fence, inside the old forester's hut, Maya and Daughter live in a world of rituals. The fence is secured with 'Keep-Safes' – fingernails, Daughter's first teeth, the umbilical cord that once joined them – to protect them from intruders. While their days are filled with chores, setting traps for rabbits and gathering firewood, every night they play a game they call 'This-and-That', in which they take it in turns to choose an activity – hair-brushing, dancing, copying – before saying their 'sorrys and thank yous' in the bed they share. From the beginning of British author Rowe Irvin's captivating debut novel, it is clear that Maya has created this life for herself and her daughter – who calls her mother 'Myma' – as a refuge from the brutality of the world beyond the fence's perimeter. Irvin's tale switches between two narrative strands: present-day chapters narrated by Daughter, a naive, spirited girl who is as much woodland creature as she is person; and more distant sections detailing Maya's rural upbringing with an alcoholic father and withdrawn mother, and the acts of male violence that led her to flee. Maya has taught Daughter only the words she needs for their existence, so although Daughter is 15, her language is childlike: 'Sweat dries in the furry unders of my arms.' Later, Daughter is out in the woods: 'Touch finger and thumb together now to make a circle for peering through. Move slow, pointing my seeing-hole at ground and tree and sky.' It's a feat that Irvin maintains this playful, almost incantatory voice in all Daughter's sections across these 300 pages. Maya tells Daughter that their rituals protect them against 'Rotters', people living beyond the fence, who are 'empty on the inside … hollow'. If a Rotter were to intrude on their sanctuary, they would be eaten away like 'gone-bad apples'. 'Shudder with the thought of it,' Daughter thinks. But as the novel progresses, the manner in which Maya controls Daughter's understanding of the world grows more frightening. When Daughter finds a glove in the woods – she thinks it is a 'blue hand blanket', and laughs at 'the way the long fingers flap empty at the ends' – she takes it to show her mother, thinking it will make her laugh too. It doesn't. 'It came from a Rotter,' Maya says. 'One must have got in during the dark and left it as a trick … You shouldn't have touched it.' Later, she is warned against being too inquisitive when she meets Maya in the ash copse, a rope around her neck and a stump beneath her feet. Maya tells her: 'If I step off my neck will snap and I'll be dead … The questions you ask, she says then, they can do damage, Daughter'. Daughter only has more questions when she finds the Rotter who dropped the glove. The intruder, a man named Wyn, is the first human she has ever seen apart from Maya. Her mother rages against Wyn, until a strange force stops her killing him. Once Maya convinces Daughter she has 'cut the Rot' from him, he is invited inside their dwelling, first roped-up and kept on the floor, and then given a seat at the table. More and more, Daughter questions Maya's logic. How did Wyn get over the fence, with all their Keep-Safes? And why is it suddenly OK for them to be around a Rotter? Wyn's outside perspective further reveals the extent to which the belief system they live by is simply Maya's coping mechanism for personal trauma. We know she has created this world out of a desire to protect herself and her kin. But with her love, she has also been deceptive, sometimes cruel. In impish yet tender style, Irvin thoughtfully explores what it means for a mother to care for a daughter in a world where male violence is everywhere. Life Cycle of a Moth is the very best kind of fiction: with the book open, you feel utterly transported; once you close it, you see how cunningly it holds a mirror up to reality. I can't wait to read whatever Irvin writes next. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Life Cycle of a Moth by Rowe Irvin is published by Canongate (£16.99). To support the Guardian buy a copy at Delivery charges may apply.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
BBC MasterChef's Gregg Wallace suffered 'heart attack' as fresh groping claims emerge
Shamed MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has been sacked by the BBC after 50 more people complained about him. The 60-year-old accused the BBC of 'cancelling him' Disgraced MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace has been fired following an additional 50 complaints lodged against him, though he's staunchly determined to clear his name. The 60-year-old attacked BBC News for "peddling gossip" after they reported receiving a surge of new allegations ranging from sexual comments to uninvited touching and exposing himself. While Wallace conceded that his humour on the show was "inappropriate", an insider said that his tirade against "middle-class women of a certain age" in a social media video was deemed grounds for dismissal. Nevertheless, he sees himself as wronged and slammed the fresh accusations as "baseless and sensationalised", vowing: "I will not go quietly. I will not be cancelled for convenience." These developments arose shortly after the television host was rushed away to hospital with a feared heart attack. After suffering two days of intense chest pains, Wallace was released from a medical facility in Ashford, Kent. A confidante told the Sun: "The stress of this betrayal brought on the suspected heart attack. It's been hell." Reports suggest that just two days post-hospital, Wallace was informed that he was being sacked. Banijay, the production company behind MasterChef, is poised to unveil the conclusions from a half-year examination into allegations against Greg Wallace as early as tomorrow or by Friday. The probe, spearheaded by law firm Lewis Silkin, began following accusations of improper sexual behaviour on the set of the BBC culinary programme last year. At that time, Wallace's legal representatives asserted: "It is entirely false that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature." An individual with knowledge of Banijay's inner workings suggested the BBC may have already looked into many of the recent claims throughout their investigation. An informant privy to the 200-page dossier commented that perhaps Wallace's gravest error was his December 2024 video addressing the initial complaints, wherein he remarked: "The complaints [are] from a handful of middle-class women of a certain age." This act itself was cited as grounds for dismissal, they said. In response, yesterday saw Wallace issue a comprehensive five-page explanation across social platforms. In it, Wallace conceded: "I recognise my humour and language, at times, was inappropriate. For that, I apologise." He continued to defend himself stating: "I have now been cleared by the Silkin report of the most serious and sensational accusations. The most damaging claims, including allegations from public figures which have not been upheld, were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation." Wallace announced his decision to break his silence before the report's release, stressing: "I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged." Wallace has made serious allegations against BBC News, claiming they have aired "legally unsafe accusations" that Silkin previously deemed incredible. He believes that publishing these stories before the report's release is a tactic to undermine the process. In response to suggestions that the BBC had "fired" him, a spokesperson clarified that this was not feasible as they were not his employer. Wallace, who is a father to young Sid with autism, feels he deserved better support. He elaborated: "I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges and all. For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. "Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem. My neurodiversity, now formally diagnosed as autism, was suspected and discussed by colleagues across countless seasons of MasterChef. "Yet nothing was done to investigate my disability or protect me from what I now realise was a dangerous environment for over 20 years. That failure is now being quietly buried." He concluded: "I was tried by media and hung out to dry before the facts were established. The full story of this incredible injustice must be told." A source close to Wallace has claimed he's been unfairly scapegoated, stating: "This is about protecting a format, one of the most valuable formats that Banijay and the BBC has. And what they should be doing is having a clean start and not just chucking one bloke under the bus. "Gregg has employed a lawyer and he's going for blood. The report talks about him being odd – the guy has got autism and it was never addressed. It's been a trial by social media and a big pile-on. "All these things, when they're looked at by a lawyer, are not true. Bullying Penny Lancaster? Not true. Vanessa Feltz? No evidence. It's about him having a terrible sense of humour and telling rude jokes." The friend revealed that Wallace, a father of three, is struggling, cautioning: "This guy is fragile. When everything has been taken away like this, it's quite overwhelming." A MasterChef insider reported that discussions regarding Wallace's future on the show have not yet occurred. Recent claims against Wallace include two women alleging he exposed himself to them, a student accusing him of putting his hand up her skirt in 2013, and another woman asserting he groped her the year before. The extent to which the 50 allegations have been probed by the review lawyers, who focused solely on MasterChef-related accusations, remains uncertain. The BBC has stated: "We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings published."
