Belgium's Tim Wellens cruises to maiden Tour de France win on stage 15
In tennis, French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson claimed the first title of her career in Hamburg.
In MotoGP, Marc Marquez moved one step closer to a ninth world championship title by winning the Grand Prix of Czechia.
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France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Raducanu and Fernandez beat the heat to reach DC Open semis
And the woman she defeated four years ago in that Flushing Meadows championship match, Canada's Leylah Fernandez, could be her opponent for the Washington hard court crown. Raducanu, who missed most of 2023 after hand and ankle surgery and part of last year with a left foot injury, reached her first WTA semi-final since last year at Nottingham by dispatching Sakkari in sweltering conditions of 95F (35C). "It was one of the toughest matches conditions-wise I've ever played in," Raducanu said. "Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly I'm just happy I could close it out and it was two sets. "I think the humidity here, as well, it just makes it feel completely like you have just opened an oven and it just stayed open and your head is in there. That's how it feels." Raducanu, in her only tour-level final, won the 2021 US Open as a teen qualifier over teen Fernandez, who advanced to the DC Open semi-finals by battling through leg cramps in the second set and saving a set point to oust American Taylor Townsend 6-4, 7-6 (7/4). Left-hander Fernandez will next face the winner of a later match between third seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and Polish fifth seed Magdalena Frech. In Saturday's other semi-final, Raducanu will face the later winner between Danish fourth seed Clara Tauson and Anna Kalinskaya. Raducanu, Britain's first women's Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade in 1977 at Wimbledon, beat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round before downing Sakkari in the quarter-finals, but not before a medical timeout in the second set. "Brutal conditions. Right in the peak heat of the day. It was incredibly difficult," Raducanu said. "I had to call a doctor on. Wasn't feeling too good in the second set. "When it's at that stage you know you're going to suffer and you have to just go until you physically can't anymore. It could be a little dangerous but you just leave it all out there on the court as an athlete." Raducanu rallied to win the final five games of the match. "You get to a point where you're so tired that you don't really know what you're doing anymore, and I think maybe that helped," Raducanu said. "I just really had to be smooth and conserve energy.... You just have to really be so focused." 'Big benchmark' Raducanu said reaching the semis was a "big benchmark" after years of injury. "I have played three great matches to be here in the semifinals, and it is the first semis in a long time," she said. "I'm really proud of that and just happy that all the hard work I've been doing is starting to pay off." Fernandez surrendered a break with a double fault to trail Townsend 3-4 in the second set and despite leg cramps broke the American on her eighth opportunity in the 10th game to level matters at 5-5 on the way to the tie-breaker. Fernandez has won three WTA titles, the 2021 and 2022 Monterrey Opens and the 2023 Hong Kong Open. Her most recent final was last year at Eastbourne. © 2025 AFP
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Fritz, Medvedev advance at DC Open
World number four Fritz, playing his first match since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals at Wimbledon earlier this month, cruised past Australia's Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2 in 59 minutes. The American dominated Vukic with a powerful service game while producing a slew of superb backhands in a stream of 28 winners to ease into a last 16 clash against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi. "I felt like I played pretty well all around, but the shot that stood out was the backhand line," Fritz told The Tennis Channel after his win. "I don't usually like that shot but it just felt like every single one I tried today was going in." Fritz was always in control of his game against the current world 105 Vukic, breaking to open up an early 3-0 lead before closing out the first set. A similarly dominant start saw him take a 4-0 lead early in the second before he wrapped up a comfortable win. Earlier, Russia's Medvedev was made to grind through a roller-coaster tussle with big-serving US player Reilly Opelka before coming through 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. After battling to square the match in the second set, Medvedev took advantage of Opelka's shaky serve in the decider to move on. "I didn't return well until 6-5 in the second but I always tried to look for solutions," Medvedev said. "Maybe he got a bit tired with the heat and everything. "Happy with the way I played better and better during the match and looking forward."
France 24
3 days ago
- France 24
Sinner reappoints coach he sacked in doping scandal
Since the revelation of Sinner's positive tests for the anabolic steroid clostebol, Sinner has constantly maintained his innocence, laying the blame squarely on his team. Although he quickly dismissed Ferrara and his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, after the revelation of his positive tests, Sinner still described the former as an "excellent coach" on the sidelines of the ATP Finals in Turin in November 2024. "Jannik Sinner has reappointed Umberto Ferrara as his fitness coach with immediate effect," his new management team Avima announced in a brief statement. "The decision has been made in alignment with Jannik's management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments, including the Cincinnati Open and US Open. "Umberto has played an important role in Jannik's development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level." Doping authorities accepted that it was accidental and imposed a three-month ban which Sinner served following his victory in the Australian Open in January. He returned in time for the French Open where he lost an epic final to Carlos Alcaraz before beating the Spaniard in four sets to win his first Wimbledon title earlier this month.
