Merlier wins sprint finish as Van der Poel denied epic breakaway triumph
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Aussie Grace Kim wins epic golf major in one of the most stunning comebacks in the sport's history
Grace Kim has produced one of the most astonishing golfing fightbacks in history to join Australia's illustrious group of major champions. Kim recovered from four shots behind in a most dramatic final round to clinch victory over world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul on the second playoff hole at the Evian Championship in France. 'I don't know how it happened, really,' said the incredulous Kim after her astounding eagle-birdie-eagle finish landed her the crown in the fourth major of the year. With three eagles in a crazy final-round 67, Kim prevailed with a 14-under-par 270 winning total to join Karrie Webb, Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Jan Stephenson as only Australia's fifth female major winner. Thitikul appeared on track to herself capture her maiden major after the trio of Aussies, Kim, Lee and Gabriela Ruffels, faltered down the stretch at the Evian Resort Club on Sunday. Ruffels had shared the lead while fellow 24-year-old Kim and triple major-winning great Lee were just one shot behind entering the final round in the beautiful French Alps, near Lake Geneva. Grace Kim gets it done with an eagle on the second playoff hole 💪 She's a major champ! — LPGA (@LPGA) July 13, 2025 But after a crazy day of twists and turns, Kim found herself in a playoff with Thitikul after delivering a contender for shot of the year for a spectacular eagle on the closing par-5 18th hole. Thitikul still had the chance to win but missed a short sliding downhill putt before Kim tapped in for eagle to force the playoff. The Thai then looked certain to win on the first extra hole when Kim hit her second shot into the hazard. But the Sydneysider miraculously chipped in for birdie to extend the playoff, before prevailing on the second extra hole when Thitikul erred again and could not match Kim's eagle. 'I wasn't worried,' said Kim, reflcting on her amazing chip. 'Dropped the ball and it kind of ended up in a pretty decent lie and I just wanted to make sure I got it there. Yeah, just happened to have chipped it in. I don't know if I can do it again. That was great.' But earlier in the day, Kim had felt she had missed the boat after she had double-bogeyed the 12th hole. 'I thought I was out of it,' she said. 'But I just said to myself and to my caddy, 'I've got nothing else to lose'.' It was the cue for her to play almost as if in a trance over the clutch late holes and in the playoff. Grace Kim are you KIDDING?! She chips in on the first playoff hole after hitting her approach in the penalty area 🔥 — LPGA (@LPGA) July 13, 2025 What was she thinking when she stood over the 12ft eagle putt to make history on that second playoff hole? 'Just looked straight at the hole. That's what my caddie told me to do and I did it,' she said. 'Just all happened quickly.' Kim's epic victory secured Australia a second straight major after Lee won the Women's PGA Championship only three weeks ago. After closing with a 67 to post a four-round 14-under-270 total, Kim ultimately only edged out Lee - who closed with a 68 - by one shot. Ruffels' third-round co-leader and fellow former tennis ace, England's Cara Gainer, was quick to fade out of the picture with four bogeys in the first five holes. For Kim, a four-time winner of Karrie Webb's scholarship, which has given her the chance to learn from Australia's greatest champion, it was a potentially life-changing win. 'It's a huge achievement for me,' she said. 'I've had a lot of doubts early this year. I was kind of losing motivation. I kind of had to get some hard conversations done with the team. Yeah, kind of had to wake up a little bit. 'So to be sitting here next to this trophy is definitely surreal.' Completing a stellar championship for Australia's exciting batch of stars, 2024 runner-up Steph Kyriacou had another last-day charge to storm home with a 64 to tie for 14th.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sinner cried like a little boy who had reached for the sweets but came away with the whole jar
As a boy, Jannik Sinner was a champion skier. As he stood on Centre Court match point up against Carlos Alcaraz, perhaps some of the old skills kicked in. Skiing teaches balance, it teaches flexibility and endurance, but most of all it teaches faith. There is a moment in every slide, before friction kicks in, when the body is basically at the mercy of powder and physics. And the greatest skiers learn that this is the moment to hold your nerve. When it feels like you're falling, keep falling. When it feels like the edge of disaster, keep going. Three match points against Alcaraz; take two. You've lost your last five matches against this guy. He's the double defending champion. The last time you played, a few short weeks ago, he came back from two sets and three match points down to win. It was one of the most dramatic comebacks ever seen in a grand slam final, and here we are again. Alcaraz saves the first match point. He saves the second. The noise level is rising to a climax. When it feels like you're falling, keep falling. Sinner's coach, Darren Cahill, tells a lovely story about that defeat at Roland Garros. Afterwards, as he's leaving the players' lounge to get in his car, Sinner stops at a big glass jar of gummy sweets placed by the exit. Most players walk straight past it out of deference to their nutritionist. Some take one or two as a treat or souvenir. Sinner takes the whole jar. Carries it out under his arm. Hands them out gleefully to his team afterwards. That was the moment Cahill knew he was going to be OK. And so perhaps we all took the wrong lesson from that epic tussle last month. The very fact that Alcaraz had required a comeback that colossal simply to claim a narrow victory, via a fifth set tie-break, should have been a sign that the hard tangibles still favoured Sinner, if he could just keep his nerve, keep giving himself a chance, keep falling. Most neutral observers backed Alcaraz ahead of this final, albeit with two caveats. One, it was going to be close. Two, Alcaraz would need to pull out every last miracle in his pocket. Because even Sinner's bogstandard, pasta-and-cheese tennis is of such a relentlessly high level that it basically requires a godlike genius like Alcaraz to unravel it. The only players to beat him in the last year are Alcaraz, Alexander Bublik, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, and what they all have in common is a certain unpredictability, verging on the mercurial. Take Sinner out of his comfort zone, and you have a puncher's chance. Because what constitutes Sinner's comfort zone is perhaps the most uncomfortable place it is possible to exist in professional tennis. There's not much mystery there. Sinner is going to hit it clean, and he's going to hit it quick, and he's going to hit it hard, and he's going to do it all afternoon. Sinner takes you into a tunnel of pain, to the point where you start to despair of ever seeing the end, perhaps that there even is an end. Alcaraz's serve collapsed in sets three and four because of the sheer pressure Sinner was putting on it, forcing him to go for a little more every time. The endless drop shots were a desperate attempt to end the points quickly, because staying in them was simply too agonising. And of course Alcaraz has a higher pain threshold than most. He even took the first set in characteristically theatrical style, thrusting a backhand winner into the open court while tumbling to the ground like a cheetah slipping over in the ketchup aisle. This is the best of Alcaraz: tennis on the very edge of the world, tennis that moves people, tennis as dialogue. Part of the reason I think he likes grass so much is that it gives him something back. He treads and it responds, and in a slightly different way every time. Was what followed the worst of Alcaraz? Perhaps instead we should give Sinner his due. From high in the stands, the prevailing motif of the last couple of sets was the constant puffs of chalk dust on Alcaraz's side of the net, as Sinner's strokes kept pinging the lines like sniper's bullets. Tennis as warfare, tennis as intimidation, tennis as the end of an argument. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion And before long, we were at the end. No miracles, no rocks or bumps, just a smooth slide to the bottom of the mountain. The crowd were hot and drunk and satisfied. Someone popped a champagne cork just as Sinner was about to serve. Someone shouted: 'Come on, Tim,' during the fourth set, and frankly what's Yvette Cooper going to do about this particular menace to our nation? Finally Sinner served, and for the last time the ball did not come back. Another twist, then, in this brilliant little rivalry. And this was a good result for the rivalry, good for the lore, good for the narrative as the tour swings towards the hard courts of North America and Alcaraz's bid for New York redemption. Perhaps even good for Alcaraz too in the long run, a champion who could learn a little of Sinner's ruthlessness on the off-beats, who often struggles to find his voice when the dialogue falls silent. As for Sinner, once the celebrations had died away, he did a strange thing. He patted the grass with the palm of his hand, again and again, almost as if thanking it, as if it were a faithful horse. The four-time grand slam champion climbed the steps to his box, clasped his family in his arms and cried like a little boy again, a little boy who had reached for the sweets and come away with the whole damn jar.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Halftime pep talk sparks Cascarino heroics as France storm back to beat Netherlands
July 13 (Reuters) - France forward Delphine Cascarino turned up the heat when it mattered most, scoring twice and creating another goal as her side roared back from a 2-1 deficit to thrash Netherlands 5-2 on Sunday and book a Women's Euro quarter-final clash with Germany. France took an early lead but found themselves trailing at halftime after conceding two goals. Enter Cascarino, who delivered a second-half masterclass that propelled France to victory in Group D ahead of second-placed England, who demolished Wales 6-1 to also advance. "She's a star, and at some point you have to light the fire so she can show her full potential," France coach Laurent Bonadei told reporters. "At halftime I told her she was able to do more and better, that went for the whole team too ... I liked Delphine's reaction." Cascarino took her coach at his word, setting up Marie-Antoinette Katoto to equalise in the 61st minute, and she then scored two quickfire goals herself to sink the Dutch and secure top spot in the group. "Laurent said we lacked aggression, and it was true. We were behind 2-1, we were making less effort in the defence, that was clear," Cascarino told reporters. "The Dutch were able to take advantage of our weakness, but we didn't let go. We showed aggression in the second half, and that really helped to get us over the line." France now face Germany in Basel on July 19, a prospect that does not faze the confident Cascarino despite her team's past struggles against the Germans. "When it comes to Germany, it's a very big nation," she said. "They won several trophies and they have already knocked out others, so we know it's going to be a great game, a big game and a difficult game. And we're going to try to find the cracks and to win the game."
