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Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
WIMBLEDON COURT REPORT: American Amanda Anisimova melts hearts with Court 1 partner, while Alfie Hewett lifts British gloom and it's misery for 16-year-old Cruz
Action at the All England Club always seems to pass in a blur and this year has been no different. As Day 9 concludes, the end of the third Grand Slam is in sight, with half of the semi-final line-ups confirmed after some thrilling play at Wimbledon. In the singles, faint British hopes ended with Cameron Norrie 's straight-sets defeat by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. But there remains real optimism in the men's and mixed doubles. Mail Sport's James Sharpe was on hand to recap some of the things you may have missed. KLAXON FOR YOUNG JAXON! Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova, the Russian at the heart of the Sonay Kartal line-call failure who accused officials of pro-Brit bias crashed out of the quarter-finals in straight sets to Amanda Anisimova. A jubilant Anisimova then melted hearts as she brought her nephew Jaxon on court for her post-match interview. Jaxon, who turns four on Thursday, only flew into England yesterday morning. 'He's more tough than me,' said Anisimova, who faces Aryna Sabalenka in the semis. HEWETT LIFTS GLOOM At least it was not all doom and gloom for the Brits on Tuesday as Alfie Hewett got his wheelchair singles title defence under way in style as the 10-time Grand Slam singles and 22-time doubles champion dispatched Spain's Daniel Caverzaschi 6-1, 6-2 in 54 minutes. His long-term doubles partner Gordon Reid found it less easy-going, needing to come from a set down and win a final-set tie-break to reach the second round. They could face each other in the final. SALISBURY BREAKS LOOSE Joe Salisbury booked his place in the mixed doubles final for the first time since 2021 alongside Brazilian Luisa Stefani as they saw off second seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai in straight sets. Salisbury, a six-time Grand Slam winner, had to come through two hotly-fought tie-breaks to triumph and will face Sem Verbeek and Katerina Siniakova in Thursday's final. 'I felt quite calm, we've played quite a few tie breaks this week,' said Salisbury. MISERY FOR CRUZ It was a day to make us all feel old as Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, and his son Cruz were both in action. The 16-year-old Cruz went out in the second round of the boys singles in an hot-tempered affair on Court 5, as he vented his frustrations in the direction of his dad who sat court-side, before Lleyton took part in the invitational doubles alongside Mark Philipoussis in a far more light-hearted affair.
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Owen Farrell hits the ground running after his shock Lions call-up to replace injured Elliot Daly... as Johnny Sexton jokes: 'He must've had the playbook on the plane!'
It was the Lions' last training session before taking on Australia's top provincial team, but all the cameras were pointing at a player who won't be on duty today. Owen Farrell was out there, joining in, tuning up and striving to show he can be ready when called upon. It was the former England captain's first on-field involvement since arriving as a replacement for Elliot Daly and it was no surprise he was the centre of attention — literally, in fact, as he had a midfield role once the prying lenses left and training ramped up. Later, when the rest of the squad had finished their work, Farrell was doing his extras: sprint drills to top up his fitness levels. Despite an injury-wrecked season, he looked sharp — someone who is here to do much more than offer behind-the-scenes leadership. He looked like a player being prepared for a key role in the remainder of the tour. While a potential Lions Test side are primed for a revenge mission against the Brumbies, this is the fascinating subplot. Farrell's arrival has caused an almighty stir and plenty of criticism, but within the Lions camp they are exuding anticipation and optimism about what the 33-year-old can offer them. He is working closely with good-friend-turned-playmaker mentor Johnny Sexton, and the Irish icon spoke passionately about the belated introduction of the head coach's son. Firstly, he was asked how confident he is about Farrell Jnr's ability to get up to speed before a likely appearance against the Australia-New Zealand Invitational XV in Adelaide on Saturday. 'He's already up to speed,' said Sexton. 'It might take someone else 10 days to fit in, but he's hit the ground running. He must have had the playbook on the plane because he has come in and not missed a beat. The 33-year-old fly-half teamed up with the Lions as a replacement for the injured Elliot Daly 'He has trained really well. We can see the value that he's going to bring for the rest of the tour.' Unprompted, Sexton then delivered such a forceful endorsement of Farrell's call-up that you wondered why he had not been picked in the first place. Sexton said: 'How could you not bring him? I know he's had a bit of injury, but so have Sione (Tuipulotu) and Huw Jones. 'Experience is experience. He's a world-class player. Look at what he's won. He's been fantastic to have in camp and I'm sure he's going to add loads for the rest of the tour.' There is an assumption that adding a Test centurion into such a competitive selection equation — alongside Finn Russell, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith — must cause a degree of tension and doubt. Sexton argued otherwise. 'I know from playing 10 that if he's at 12, it's a dream,' he said. 'It makes your job easier. He's another organiser and another playmaker who can control the game. He's a leader. I could see the excitement on the 10s' faces when he was picked. 'They want to learn from the best. I can see the relationship he has with Finn. They seem to get on really well.' Lions captain Maro Itoje is similarly enthused by the arrival of someone who will be back alongside him at Saracens next season. Asked if the presence of such a senior figure in the ranks might undermine his authority, Itoje responded: 'I've known Owen since I was 11, but he didn't start talking to me until I was 12 or so! I have a very good relationship with him. 'He just wants the squad to do well. Sport is never about ego. I want people to speak, have their voices heard, and contribute in a positive way. Andy Farrell's Lions side are primed for a revenge mission against the Brumbies on Wednesday 'It's never about me having the final say or sticking my chest out. It's about how can we, as a collective, be successful? You can't do it by yourself. And when the team is successful, everyone wins. That's all I care about. And I know Owen's the same.' The Lions need to be better today, after a stuttering 21-10 win over the Waratahs which raised doubts about their strategic approach. They are likely to be far more direct, led by Bundee Aki at inside centre and in-form England prop Ellis Genge, as they strive to avenge a shock 14-12 defeat at the hands of the Brumbies on their last tour of Australia in 2013.
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Box-office Ben Shelton has won the hearts of British tennis fans despite his taunts, writes DAVID COVERDALE... and he's now primed to derail world No 1 Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon
He has described a full English breakfast as 'garbage', complained that our roads are the worst in the world, and even poked fun at Annabel Croft. And yet brash Ben Shelton has won the hearts of British tennis fans on his way to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. When he steps on to No 1 Court to play top seed Jannik Sinner, there is no doubt the crowd will be chiming for Big Ben. In appearance, sleeveless Shelton has evoked memories of another left-hander, Rafa Nadal, the only man to win Wimbledon in a vest. In playing style, he has based his game on another big server, Andy Roddick, the last American man to reach the final here and also to win a Grand Slam. But in personality, box-office Shelton stands alone. You need only listen to his on-court interviews, which have become a must-watch throughout this tournament. Following his third-round win over Marton Fucsovics, the 22-year-old issued a public plea to get his sister Emma more time off work so she could stay at Wimbledon to support him. Her employers Morgan Stanley duly obliged. Then, after beating Lorenzo Sonego in the last 16, he teased interviewer Croft when she asked him about being a 'quarterbacker' as a child. As it goes, Shelton believes the bullet arm he honed throwing American footballs helped him develop his formidable serve, which was clocked at 150mph earlier this year, one of the fastest of all time. Adding to Shelton's story is the fact he is coached by his father Bryan, who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in 1994. But another ever-present in his box here has been doting girlfriend Trinity Rodman. The 23-year-old is a USA footballer and the daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman. She is estranged from her dad and was furious when pundit Andrew Castle mentioned him on BBC commentary. 'My dad's not even in MY life,' Rodman — who Castle also mistakenly called Tiffany — wrote on Instagram. 'No need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don't want him talked about during mine.' Having a celebrity partner, of course, only adds to the stardust of Shelton, who has 1million followers on Instagram and 430,000 on TikTok and is already a hero to youngsters in the US. 'He is a guy kids can relate to,' James Blake, the American former world No 4, told Mail Sport. 'With the TikTok generation, they are all seeing him and looking up to him. Every young player wants to be like him. I was at a junior tournament recently and I saw a kid who had the same hair, the same sleeveless outfit and did everything mimicking Ben. 'He is a really good role model. He's still got a college attitude. He's engaging with the crowd. He's having fun.' Shelton will hope that fun continues today against Sinner. The 10th seed has lost his last five meetings against the Italian world No 1. But there will be no better time for Shelton to play Sinner. who is nursing an elbow injury he sustained in his lucky fourth-round escape against Grigor Dimitrov, who was forced to retire injured when holding a two-set advantage. Sinner had an MRI scan yesterday morning and later cancelled his afternoon practice session, but did hit some balls indoors for 30 minutes. His injury has US fans believing they could be about to see their first men's winner of Wimbledon since Pete Sampras beat Patrick Rafter to win the last of his seven titles 25 years ago, with Taylor Fritz already into the semi-finals. The fifth seed defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 in yesterday's quarter-final to set up a last-four showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. In doing so, 27-year-old Fritz became the first American man to reach a Wimbledon semi since John Isner seven years ago. 'It's an amazing feeling,' said the US Open runner-up. 'I'm feeling great to get through it. The match was going so well for me for two sets. I felt I couldn't miss and then all of sudden I'm making a ton of mistakes. 'I've never had a match just flip so quickly, so I'm happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. 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 happy I'm going to play the semis here.' Before that, though, it is Big Ben's time.
