Former champions Skupski and Krawczyk progress
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Metro
20 minutes ago
- Metro
Andrew Castle snaps back at John McEnroe over controversial Wimbledon decision
Andrew Castle snapped back at tennis legend John McEnroe as they debated Wimbledon's decision to ditch line judges on BBC commentary. This year's Championships are the first in 148 years to be played without traditional line judges. The All England Club announced last year that it would be implementing automated electronic line calling from 2025 onwards. ELC and hawk-eye is already used at every ATP event and two other Grand Slams, with the French Open now the only major still using line judges. Most players have welcomed the development in SW19 but several have complained about calls and accused hawk-eye of getting some wrong. ELC even failed during a match on Centre Court on Sunday, with the All England Club blaming the glitch on an 'operator error'. Speaking earlier in the tournament, McEnroe revealed he was in favour of the change if it meant more correct calls while admitting the line judges would be 'missed' by spectators. The seven-time Grand Slam champion was asked for his thoughts on the new system at the halfway point of the Championships and said he was still 'all for it', providing it is definitely accurate. McEnroe was known for his outbursts at line judges and umpires, delivering his iconic 'you cannot be serious' catchphrase at Wimbledon in 1981. 'I'm the perfect guy to ask,' McEnroe said on BBC One. 'My hair is pretty white at this stage and I haven't got much left, I might have a little more if it wasn't for all of those line judges blowing those calls. 'The thing is, it needs to be right. I think they [hawk-eye] have said it's plus or minus 3mm but is that for sure? Who's done the testing?' Castle interjected and pointed out that there were few complaints about the accuracy of hawk-eye under the previous system which allowed players to challenge calls they believed to incorrect. 'Did you like the previous system where players could challenge calls?' Castle asked McEnroe. 'Because this is the exact same system except there's no line judges and it's automatic.' 'I think they — and I wouldn't speak for them individually — probably recognise that with the evolution of the technology and the consistent change across many of the other tournaments that this is probably inevitable. 'So I think for many of them they had expected this change to come along and for those that will be joining us for the Championships in the match assistant role obviously they're delighted still to be part of delivering the Championships. 'The time is right for us to move on.' Sally Bolton, Chief Executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club 'If it's accurate I'm all for it,' McEnroe said before Castle snapped back: 'It is accurate. 'It's only people that lose that say, 'I didn't think that was right.' You know, come on. Maybe on clay it's different and maybe it's still not perfect.' McEnroe then said: 'If you say so.' British number one Emma Raducanu claimed some 'very wrong' decisions were made by hawk-eye following her third-round defeat to Aryna Sabalenka. More Trending Asked about an incident in which she approached the chair umpire to complaint about a call, Raducanu said: 'Yeah, I mean, that call was like, for sure out. 'It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they've been okay. 'It's just like, I've had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. So yeah, I don't know. Hopefully they can kind of fix that.' British men's number one Jack Draper raised similar concerns following his second-round defeat to Marin Cilic. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Wayne Rooney 'lands £800,000 Match of the Day deal' after Gary Lineker's exit MORE: Pat Cash calls for 'emergency solution' after 'absolutely ridiculous' decision at Wimbledon MORE: 'This is unusual' – Cameron Norrie's Wimbledon opponent accuses him of breaking 'rule'
Telegraph
21 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Lewis Hamilton delivers most damning proof of his diminishing powers
Little encapsulated Lewis Hamilton's fading star this season quite like the sight of the seven-time world champion, a conjurer of all manner of miracles around Silverstone, trying and failing for 17 laps to hunt down a Sauber. Here, after all, was the figure who had adorned the history of the British Grand Prix with outrageous highlights. Take his rain dance in 2008, when he won by 68 seconds with water streaming down his visor, or his three-wheeled finish in 2020, when his front-left tyre delaminated rounding the final corner. And yet here his streak of 11 successive podium finishes at his home circuit came to an end at the hands of Nico Hülkenberg, a man who had not stood on the rostrum in 238 previous races. It was, to put it politely, galling. Traditionally, this is the place where Hamilton is immaculate, where the cheers of 140,000 fans inspire him to rediscover the sorcery of old. But he was anything but flawless on this occasion, twice losing control in the final stages on soft rubber as Hülkenberg, driving one of the day-glo green Saubers that had only amassed 29 points in 11 grands prix, disappeared into the distance. While his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, tried to congratulate him on fourth place, Hamilton would have none of it, shooting back: 'Oh mate, that was pretty bad overall. So much opportunity there that was missed.' His diagnosis was accurate. Although Ferrari deserved their share of blame, dropping him from fourth to eighth after the first round of pit stops, Hamilton was unusually error-prone himself, struggling to stay on track after the late switch to softs and then veering off the road with four laps left to surrender his chance of a maiden grand prix podium in red. There was a temptation to resist criticising too harshly, given the treacherousness of the conditions, with several mid-race downpours playing havoc with both strategy and racecraft. But was this not the type of challenge to make Hamilton come into his own? Had he not proved his enduring Silverstone love affair just 12 months earlier, winning a similar wet-dry race for his first victory in two and a half years? There has been the odd sign that Hamilton's edge could, at the age of 40, be slipping. In qualifying, the ultimate one-lap master suffered a spot of understeer at Club to sacrifice a potential front-row spot. It was in his abortive pursuit of Hülkenberg, though, that the cracks were most visible. At one stage he was within DRS range of the German but still could not produce the overtake, with his uncharacteristic errors leaving him stranded five seconds behind. Plainly, he was unimpressed with Ferrari's management of the race, placing his relationship with Adami under renewed strain. Hamilton has been memorably withering towards him already over the radio, losing patience over the Italian's dithering in Miami as he snapped: 'Have a tea break while you're at it.' Asked here whether he felt the team's important calls were correct, he replied: 'Not all of them. The first one wasn't a good call, because we got undercut by a bunch of people, so I'm not sure exactly what happened there. We'll have to go back and see what happened, but I was P4 and came out P8. I chose to come in close to the right time, but it was super tricky when I came back out, and I lost a ton of time. I went off at turn three, turn nine, turn 11 – it was just one of these days.' The worry is that these days are, increasingly, less the exception that Hamilton suggests. Once the consummate performer in the wet, he is finding that his typically infallible instincts are deserting him. The torrential rain in São Paulo last November, for example, should have been his opportunity to dazzle, bringing his full range of amphibian brilliance to the fore. Instead he was knocked out in the first phase of qualifying, creating such misery that he briefly floated the idea of breaking his Mercedes contract early. At Ferrari, there is no option of repeating this fit of pique. Hamilton is being paid £50 million a year to restore glory to the Prancing Horse, but so far that prospect looks hopelessly distant. He appears deflated, crestfallen, incapable either of carving a path to a record eighth world title or even of seizing his moment at the track he has made his manor. In one sense, you could not help but feel happy for Hülkenberg, a true grafter who had been waiting to savour the podium champagne for 15 years. But as he relished the fulfilment of a lifetime ambition, he acknowledged the weather had come to his aid, that the outcome would have been very different in the dry. The Sauber, after all, is supposed to be a backmarker, not a podium-chaser. What to make, then, of the fact that Hamilton, cheered relentlessly by his disciples at his beloved Silverstone, could still not reel it in? You could only regard it, ultimately, as the most damning evidence yet of his diminishing powers.
The Sun
26 minutes ago
- The Sun
Wimbledon fans BOO when Ben Shelton introduces sister & reveals her job and future tournament plans
BEN SHELTON'S sister Emma was BOOED during the American star's on-court interview yesterday. The 22-year-old booked a place in round four of Wimbledon by beating Marton Fucsovics 6-3 7-6 6-2 on No1 Court. 6 6 During his on-court interview, Shelton thanked his family sat in his player box. Supporting the booming lefty this week have been his father Bryan, himself a former ATP star, mum Lisa, girlfriend Trinity Rodman and sister Emma. Shouting out his family, Shelton said: "I've been playing well this week. It's not just been me here, I have a great team. "My parents are here, my girlfriend's here. Also, my sister's here. She's been here for every match I've played at this tournament so far. "She's been the lucky charm but she has work back in the US starting on Monday. She works for Morgan Stanley..." At this point, the No1 Court crowd incredibly started booing. Stood in the crowd, Emma laughed as she placed her head in her hands. Shelton continued: "Hey! Come on now! She works for Morgan Stanley so if any of you all have any connections, get her a couple of days off so she can (stay) we can keep this rolling that would be great." BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 6 6 Emma played college tennis for the Florida Gators, where dad Bryan was head coach prior to Ben going professional, between 2019 and 2023. Following Shelton's on-court appeal, Emma was successful in securing some time off. Shelton's sister celebrates securing week off work to watch brother at Wimbledon Posting on his his Instagram story, Ben asked his sister: "Did you get the week off?" Beaming, Emma responded by jumping up and down in celebration while laughing. Shelton will next be in action against Lorenzo Sonego tomorrow. The Italian overcame Brandon Nakashima 6-7 7-6 7-6 3-6 7-6 in a gruelling five hours and three minute epic on Court 14 yesterday.
