'The most worrying is the complete disconnect with fans'
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The Independent
32 minutes ago
- The Independent
Wimbledon briefing: Day two recap, Wednesday's order of play and Brits to watch
Jack Draper barely broke a sweat as he eased through the first round at Wimbledon, where temperatures soared past 34C on Tuesday. Wednesday's schedule sees British qualifier Oliver Tarvet take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court while Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter are among six other British players in second-round action. Here, the PA news agency looks back at Tuesday's events and previews what is to come on day three of the Championships. Draper's dream start Jack Draper was given the most comfortable of passages through to the second round of Wimbledon when opponent Sebastian Baez pulled out injured. The Argentinian twice consulted medical staff for what appeared to be a right leg issue after slipping early in the second set and called it quits trailing 6-2 6-2 2-1. Draper had been in control from the moment the contest started on Court One and, while a short outing in the heat might have seemed optimal, the 23-year-old said: 'I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty.' Seeds make swift exits Four of the top 10 players in both the men's and women's draw are out the tournament already. Women's second seed Coco Gauff's defeat on Court One on Tuesday night saw her follow Jessica Pegula (seeded three), Zheng Qinwen (five) and Paula Badosa (nine) through the exit door. On the men's side, third seed Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti (seven) were both beaten the day after Holger Rune (eight) and Daniil Medvedev (nine) were sent packing. Brit watch Monday's record-breaking seven British winners all return to the court on Wednesday looking to reach the third round. Emma Raducanu faces a tough test against 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the prime time slot on Centre Court, while British number two Katie Boulter and number three Sonay Kartal both take on unseeded opponents after headline-grabbing first-round wins. Qualifier Oliver Tarvet has the most eye-catching match against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, while Cameron Norrie will play 12th seed Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fery and Billy Harris face Italian Luciano Darderi and Portugal's Nuno Borges respectively. Match of the day Emma Raducanu's second-round clash with Marketa Vondrousova will be a real draw on day three as two former grand slam champions meet at a relatively early stage of the tournament. Raducanu won the US Open aged just 18, prior to which she made her main-draw Wimbledon debut during the same season and beat Vondrousova in a memorable match on her way to the third round. Vondrousova, who won Wimbledon in 2023, comes into the tie in good grass form having won the Berlin Open earlier this month and will be hoping to turn the tables on the British star. Order of play Weather Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime, with a maximum temperature of 27C, according to the Met Office.
The Guardian
42 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Wimbledon umpire takes action after player complains of ‘dangerous' spectator
Security at Wimbledon is 'absolutely critical', the tournament's operations director has said, after a player raised concerns about a spectator during the championship's first day. During her match on Monday, the world No 33, Yulia Putintseva, raised security concerns to the umpire about a spectator whom she described as 'crazy' and 'dangerous' and asked for them to be ejected. 'Take him out, because maybe he has a knife and he will attack after, I don't know,' Putintseva said to the umpire during her match against Amanda Anisimova. Wimbledon's operations director, Michelle Dite, said on Tuesday that if players had any concerns, they 'absolutely' should be brought to light. 'We would rather know about these things, and that is what happened yesterday, and the chair umpire then had some really good communication as planned,' said Dite, adding that it was not a stalking incident. A person present at the match told the Athletic that the spectator at issue had been speaking in Russian about the war in Ukraine. Putintseva, who was born in Russia, changed to represent Kazakhstan in 2012. A Wimbledon spokesperson declined to say if the spectator was ejected. 'Security was in the area. The issue was dealt with,' he said. The incident is the latest surrounding security measures after a man who was given a restraining order in Dubai in February for stalking Emma Raducanu was blocked from buying tickets for the championships this month in the public ballot. Dite said: 'Protocols were followed. The matter was dealt with.' On Tuesday morning, more than 10,000 spectators queued outside the grounds with fans and umbrellas to watch British players including Jack Draper, a top contender for the men's singles championship. On Monday, more than 13,000 people entered the grounds after queueing in the heat, some overnight, as opening-day attendance jumped to 42,756 from 40,514 last year. Protesters on the ground's outskirts called for a boycott of Wimbledon's banking partner, Barclays, over ties to Israel's war on Gaza. Temperatures on Tuesday reached 34.2C (93.6F) by early afternoon, as spectators frequently sought shade and were encouraged to hydrate after a woman collapsed while watching a match on Monday. Dite, discussing the incident on Monday during which Carlos Alcaraz interrupted play to hand a struggling spectator a bottle of water, thanked the returning Wimbledon champion for his support and acknowledged there had been a delay in the medical response. 'Yes, it did take a while, but this lady had fainted, so it needed to be managed very carefully. I know there was a bit of delay but we all work very hard,' said Dite. 'It takes a while sometimes to just assess the situation,' she added. 'And thanks to Carlos for his support for going to get some water.' Daniel Evans was the first British player to go through to the second round of Wimbledon on Tuesday after defeating Jay Clarke in an all-British clash. Draper eased into the second round after his opponent Sebastian Baez retired injured, while wildcard Jack Pinnington Jones completed a straight-sets victory over Tomás Etcheverry. Six Britons – Clarke, Heather Watson, Johannus Monday, Jodie Burrage, George Loffhagen and Francesca Jones – suffered first-round exits.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
F1 chief wants to see record-breaking Silverstone stay on calendar for good
The Formula One chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, has said he would like the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to remain on the F1 calendar for ever, with the event set to host what is expected to be the largest meeting in the sport's history, reaching half a million people over four days this weekend. The British GP, which has been on the calendar since F1 began in 1950, is expected to sell out with record numbers and Domenicali acknowledged it was part of a large and thriving F1 business in Britain, which he hopes can be improved by working closer with the UK government when he meets the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and other government officials at Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon. Last year Silverstone extended its contract with F1 to host the race until 2034, one of many long-term deals the sport has concluded recently, including Austria extending to 2041 last week, but Domenicali said the British GP was such a unique event for the sport in size and interest it could negotiate a deal of even greater longevity. 'Silverstone has the right characteristics to stay for ever in the calendar,' he said. 'There's no other places where you can develop such a huge event in the UK. I don't see any other places, to be honest. 'In the past the relationship with the Silverstone promoters has been intense and they know that. Our approach is to find the best situation. I don't see Silverstone not being able, if they want, to do what others have already done. We've done already last year a big step, never done before.' The meeting on Wednesday, to celebrate F1's 75th anniversary, will include senior figures from F1, including drivers and team principals as well as apprentices and members of the all-female F1 Academy. It is hoped to be part of a developing relationship with the government to work better with the sport, notably in areas including infrastructure and over the effects of Brexit on F1, with seven of the 10 teams based in the UK. F1 is now an increasingly important industrial player in the UK. It is worth £12bn to the economy annually and employs 6,000 people directly, with a further 41,000 in the 4,500 associated supply chain companies. 'I will highlight to the prime minister the technology and the centres of excellence that are in the UK,' Domenicali said. 'Of the fact that with Brexit there are complications for movements, there are complications for the visas. I'm saying that because I think that it's relevant to keep the possibility for people to be attracted to work here. Because if you lose that link, then immediately the centre could be moving other places.' 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 Complications include the carnet system now required for moving equipment into Europe, which has knock-on effects in costs, time and notably sustainability. Visa issues for entry to the UK also still exist for those coming to work here in F1 and Domenicali hoped what is a continuing dialogue would prove fruitful. 'We have already formally presented in order to see if in the agenda of the government there will be a sort of attention to this, it's our duty to present respectfully in the right way to them,' he said. 'Of course, there is the hope for the government to understand if there is a way to have some exceptions or a way to work around the needs that we have. We will not decide the priority on which your government will dictate the agenda for the next step but we're going to do it in the right way.'
