
Tennis-Anisimova vows to hit practice courts after reaching last 16
LONDON (Reuters) -American Amanda Anisimova became the first American through to the last-16 of this year's Wimbledon with a 6-3 5-7 6-3 defeat of Hungary's Dalma Galfi on Friday.
Not that the 13th seed was too impressed by her Independence Day display on a sunny Court Three.
"It was an incredibly tough match but I kept fighting," the 23-year-old, one of five American women to reach the third round, said on court. "I think the quality wasn't that great today but I will hit the practice courts tomorrow."
Anisimova, a quarter-finalist in 2022, secured the decisive break of serve in the first set with a stunning lob to lead 5-3.
She had chances near the end of the second set too but was pegged back as 110th-ranked Galfi dug deep to break serve at 5-6 and set up a decider.
Anisimova let out a big scream as she broke serve early in the third set with a wrong-footing forehand and an even louder one when she saved a break point when leading 3-2.
Another break of serve put Anisimova in complete control but at 5-2 she double-faulted on break point down to give Galfi hope. But it did not prove costly for the American who sealed the win a game later to move through.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Chelsea survive Palmeiras scare to reach Club World Cup semi-finals
PHILADELPHIA, July 5 — A late own goal by goalkeeper Weverton sent Chelsea through to the Club World Cup semi-finals on Friday as the Premier League side edged Palmeiras of Brazil 2-1 in a last-eight tie lit up by a moment of brilliance from young star Estevao Willian. The teenage Brazilian forward, who will join Chelsea after the tournament, was eager to impress his future employers and his superb 53rd-minute finish cancelled out Cole Palmer's opener in Philadelphia. But a deflected Malo Gusto cross went in off Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton in the 83rd minute to hand Chelsea the victory and set up a semi-final clash with another Brazilian side, Fluminense. The scoreline repeated Chelsea's triumph when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup under its previous format in 2022. Enzo Maresca's team will now be expected to reach the final of FIFA's newly expanded version of the tournament, with Fluminense standing in their way in the last four at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday. While the competition has yet to convince all football fans, the intensity on the pitch is rising as it enters the decisive stages, and there was a big-match atmosphere in the stands in Philadelphia. Lincoln Financial Field was nearly sold out for the occasion, with 65,782 fans in attendance despite much of the city having emptied out for the 4 July holiday and long weekend. This game unfolded against a backdrop of Independence Day fireworks lighting up the sky over the nearby Delaware River, but there were fireworks on the pitch too. Chelsea lit the spark first, taking the lead in the 16th minute through a moment of quality from England international Palmer. After drifting into space just outside the Palmeiras box, Palmer controlled a Trevoh Chalobah pass on the half-turn, carried on into the area and struck a low shot past Weverton. It was the ideal start for Chelsea, who lost to Flamengo the last time they faced Brazilian opposition in the same stadium during the group stage. Maresca added more Brazilian flavour to the match by giving a first start to talented young midfielder Andrey Santos, who had returned from a successful loan spell at Strasbourg. With Moises Caicedo suspended, Santos filled the holding midfield role for Chelsea while Pedro Neto started on the right wing, opting to play despite mourning the tragic death of his Portugal teammate Diogo Jota on Thursday. Playing on the right for Palmeiras was Estevao, the 18-year-old Brazil prodigy set to join Chelsea in a big-money transfer agreed more than a year ago. He knew this might be his final match for the São Paulo club, and Chelsea probably should have doubled their lead before half-time, only for Christopher Nkunku to blaze over after being set up by Palmer. Instead, Palmeiras equalised eight minutes into the second half, with Estevao the inevitable scorer. Inside the Chelsea box on the right, Estevao controlled a pass from Richard Rios, took a touch to get in front of Levi Colwill, steadied himself and surprised goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with an early shot that went in off the underside of the bar. Chelsea responded by introducing new signing Joao Pedro for his debut, making him the 27th player used by Maresca during the tournament. The Blues pressed for a second goal, but extra time looked increasingly likely until a scrappy winner arrived with seven minutes of normal time to go. Following a short corner, Enzo Fernandez found Malo Gusto, and his low cross from the left side of the box deflected off the toe of Agustin Giay to catch Weverton off guard, with the ball bouncing in to settle the tie. — AFP


New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Chelsea edge Palmeiras to reach Club World Cup semis
PHILADELPHIA: A late own-goal by goalkeeper Weverton took Chelsea through to the Club World Cup semi-finals on Friday as the Premier League side edged Palmeiras of Brazil 2-1 in a last-eight tie that had been lit up by a moment of magic from young star Estevao Willian. The teenage Brazil forward, who will join Chelsea after the tournament, was eager to impress his future employers and his brilliant 53rd-minute finish cancelled out Cole Palmer's opener in Philadelphia. But a deflected Malo Gusto cross went in off Palmeiras goalkeeper Weverton in the 83rd minute to give Chelsea the victory and set up a semi-final showdown with another Brazilian side in Fluminense. The scoreline was a repeat of Chelsea's victory when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup under the tournament's old guise in 2022. Enzo Maresca's team will now be fancied to go on and reach the final of FIFA's new, expanded version of the competition, with Fluminense standing in their way in the last four at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday. If not everyone has yet been won over by the tournament, the intensity levels on the pitch are rising as it reaches the business end and there was a big-game atmosphere in the stands in Philadelphia. Lincoln Financial Field was almost sold out for the occasion, with 65,782 fans in attendance despite much of the city having emptied out for the July 4 holiday and long weekend. This game played out to a backdrop of Independence Day fireworks lighting up the sky over the nearby Delaware River, but there were fireworks on the pitch too. Chelsea lit the spark first, taking the lead in the 16th minute thanks to a moment of class from England international Palmer. After drifting into a pocket of space just outside the Palmeiras box, Palmer controlled a Trevoh Chalobah pass on the half-turn, carried on into the area and dispatched a low shot past Weverton. It was the ideal start for Chelsea, who lost to Flamengo when they last faced Brazilian opposition in the same stadium during the group stage. Maresca added extra Brazilian flavour to the occasion by handing a first start to talented young midfielder Andrey Santos following his return from a successful loan at Strasbourg. With Moises Caicedo suspended, Santos occupied the holding midfield role for Chelsea while Pedro Neto lined up on the right wing, choosing to play despite having to come to terms with the tragic death of his Portugal international teammate Diogo Jota on Thursday. Playing on the right wing for Palmeiras was Estevao, the 18-year-old Brazil prodigy set to join Chelsea in a big-money transfer agreed over a year ago. He knew this could be his last game for the Sao Paulo side, and Chelsea probably should have been two goals ahead before the interval only for Christopher Nkunku to blaze over after being teed up by Palmer. Instead Palmeiras equalised eight minutes into the second half, with Estevao the inevitable scorer. Positioned inside the Chelsea box to the right, Estevao controlled a pass by Richard Rios and took a touch to get in front of Levi Colwill, another to steady himself, and then surprised goalkeeper Robert Sanchez with an early shot that went in off the underside of the bar. Chelsea responded by sending on new signing Joao Pedro for his debut, the Brazilian becoming the 27th player used by Maresca during the tournament. The Blues pushed in search of a second goal but extra time was starting to look likely when the Premier League side grabbed a scrappy winner with seven minutes of the 90 to play. Following a corner played short, Enzo Fernandez found Malo Gusto and his attempted low centre from the left side of the box deflected off the toe of Agustin Giay to surprise Weverton, with the ball striking him on its way in to decide the tie.--AFP


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-Late own goal sends Chelsea past Palmeiras into semi-finals
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -An 83rd-minute Weverton own goal from a deflected Malo Gusto cross gave Chelsea a nervy 2-1 win over a spirited Palmeiras side in the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Friday. Chelsea made most of the running and dominated early on but were reckless with their finishing and went into the break with a one-goal advantage thanks to Cole Palmer's 16th-minute strike. Palmeiras roared back after halftime with teenage winger Estevao, who is soon to join Chelsea, equalising in the 53rd minute with a stunning strike from a tight angle. Seven minutes from time, Gusto's attempted cross deflected off defender Bruno Fuchs and wrongfooted Weverton, the ball bouncing off his back and into the back of the net. Chelsea will now face another Brazilian side in Fluminense in the semi-finals in New York on Tuesday. (Reporting by Fernando Kallas, editing by Nick Mulvenney)