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The Guardian
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Jannik Sinner barely breaks sweat to cruise through Martínez mismatch
The most vivid sequence, perhaps the only real piece of content in this 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 third round victory for Jannik Sinner against a semi-fit Pedro Martínez, came midway through the second set on Centre Court. To that point the entire contest had felt like the tennis equivalent of watching an injured lemur being run down, idly, by a slightly bored big cat. Martínez had come into this match with an injured shoulder. Hmm. How's that going to work out? And pretty much from the start each break saw the Spaniard's shirt off, shoulder pounded furiously by medical orderlies, eyes boggled, chest hair damp with sweat, while a few yards away Sinner sat completely still and unmoved, a neat man in a cap, thinking. There was the traditional middle Saturday sports-stars shindig in the royal box, albeit one that dished up pretty much the same approved gallery that seems to have been coming here since 1903. Ainslie. Redgrave. Hurst. Kenny. A certain IT Botham (how many Test wickets have you lot got then?). It was also a day to close the roof on Centre Court as a light drizzle fell outside. The roof really is a magnificent suburban spectacle, the greatest side return conservatory in south-west London. Beneath it Centre Court becomes Kew Gardens, steamy, fragrant, echoey with lunchtime chitter-chatter. Sinner is a slightly strange sight even in the warm-up. Here we have a super athlete, the boy who could have gone with skiing or football but decided instead to become world No 1 at his third-favourite boyhood sport, but who is also gangly and skinny-legged, with the air on court of a slightly hunched and mannered junior actuary. Right up, that is, until he starts stretching his limbs and doing standing jumps and – hang on – suddenly he's floating above the Wimbledon turf like a white-shorted vampire. Sinner is also a fascinating world No 1, in large part because he lacks any really obvious point of fascination. Sinner is very, very good at tennis. How is he good? By being good at tennis. His victories are often described as suffocating. But he isn't exactly relentless or repetitive. There are angles, aggression, power, off-your-seat winners. His tennis is great product, like a meal in a high-end restaurant in an air-conditioned mall where everything is fine, good, top-notch, well done but still somehow hard to think about too much in the abstract. Martínez came out ready to mix it up, his only real chance of making any impact. There were some netted volleys, missed first serves, an early dropped service game. Seven minutes in he already looked surrounded. So he came to the net and volleyed more. He chucked in a 76mph high-kick first serve. Twenty minutes in: 5-0 Sinner. A 6-1 first set felt like a minor salvage job. The second seemed to heading the same way until, at 4-2 down, and with Martínez already serving like a man leaning back in a rocking chair and listening to his neck creak, that brief moment of tension arrived. It looked like a combination of endorphins and what-the-heck professional pride. Either way Martínez managed to muster a couple of games that lasted almost as long as the match to that point. The first extended deuce did feel like like an act of mild torture. Martínez began to groan and breathe heavily. But he took the game to huge cheers, showed heart and skill, punched the air, and even grinned occasionally. Sinner's calm through this was also notable. He aced out break points. He stuck to the processes, still wearing the same shrewd, wary look. His footwork, side to side, never back, is deceptively quick and precise. He has that astonishing way of taking balls bouncing just in front of him on the forehand side, taking balls at full power right by his ankles just by bending his knees and whipping those unusually fast hands. 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 Sinner steered Martínez gently to 5-3, with an injection of precision, finding angles with his backhand drives, then closing the set with a perfect diagonal half-court volley. At times the power of his groundstrokes was startling. Playing against him involves always shuffling backwards. It must be utterly exhausting, There are of course elements of beauty too. The sudden slice, the drop shot when he's pummelled you back, the inside-out forehand winner with no change of body position, just a small shift of the wrist. Martínez was done by now. The final set disappeared in a haze of creaks and groans, with an effortless reassertion of crisp, clean baseline control. And at the end the question of how to beat Sinner, how to ruffle his low-tick intensity, was no closer to being answered, at least for anyone not called Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner has been No 1 for more than a year now, although Alcaraz is favourite to win this tournament, in part because of his excellent head-to-head record. It already feels like a final this Wimbledon is hungry for, a place that has always thrived on rivalries and face-offs. The styles are a good match. Alcaraz's superpower against Sinner is being good enough to change the angles, to come forward and leave the baseline graveyard. But it will also help Sinner that he was able to move through this match without taking anything out of himself. At the end he talked up the quality of the rallies and shrugged at Martínez's physical state, praising his ability to carry on. No Italian player has ever won a Wimbledon singles title. On current form the list of people with a fair shot at preventing that sequence from ending this year still stands at one.
The Herald Scotland
24-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Headingley hits: A look at England's thrilling Test tussles in Yorkshire
Here, the PA news agency looks at some more memorable moments in Leeds. Botham's Ashes Ian Botham, left, led England to a memorable win in 1981 (PA Archive) Arguably England's most famous Test match of all time, the hosts were set for defeat in the 1981 Ashes as they slumped to 135 for seven following on in their second innings. Ian Botham then came to the party, blasting an unbeaten 149 to help set a target of 130, which Australia fell short of thanks to Bob Willis' inspired spell of eight for 43. Stokes on fire 🕞 3:17pm – 268-9🕓 4:17pm – England win by one wicket "The Ashes well and truly alive because of one cricketer!" Ben Stokes wrote his name into #Ashes folklore with an astonishing 💯 as England levelled the series with a historic one-wicket win at Headingley. #AshesBitesize — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 25, 2019 Ben Stokes evoked memories of Botham with a magical performance to help England climb off the canvas in the 2019 Ashes. Chasing an unlikely 359 to keep their Ashes hopes alive, England looked dead and buried at 286 for nine. But Stokes produced one of the finest Test innings to finish 135 not out and guide his side home. England clinch a tight one England's Chris Woakes and Mark Wood, left, celebrate following their victory (Mike Egerton/PA) Four years later there was more drama and, with Australia leading 2-0 in the Ashes series, England came out on top in a much lower-scoring third Test match which ebbed and flowed. Things were again looking dicey when they fell to 171 for six, chasing 251, but Harry Brook's 75 and an unbeaten 32 from Chris Woakes kept alive the series, which eventually ended 2-2.
Powys County Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Headingley hits: A look at England's thrilling Test tussles in Yorkshire
England created some more Headingley magic with an impressive fifth-day run chase to beat India in the first Test. Ben Duckett's 149 helped Ben Stokes' side chase down a massive target of 371, their second-highest pursuit. Here, the PA news agency looks at some more memorable moments in Leeds. Botham's Ashes Arguably England's most famous Test match of all time, the hosts were set for defeat in the 1981 Ashes as they slumped to 135 for seven following on in their second innings. Ian Botham then came to the party, blasting an unbeaten 149 to help set a target of 130, which Australia fell short of thanks to Bob Willis' inspired spell of eight for 43. Stokes on fire 🕞 3:17pm – 268-9🕓 4:17pm – England win by one wicket "The Ashes well and truly alive because of one cricketer!" Ben Stokes wrote his name into #Ashes folklore with an astonishing 💯 as England levelled the series with a historic one-wicket win at Headingley. #AshesBitesize — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 25, 2019 Ben Stokes evoked memories of Botham with a magical performance to help England climb off the canvas in the 2019 Ashes. Chasing an unlikely 359 to keep their Ashes hopes alive, England looked dead and buried at 286 for nine. But Stokes produced one of the finest Test innings to finish 135 not out and guide his side home. England clinch a tight one Four years later there was more drama and, with Australia leading 2-0 in the Ashes series, England came out on top in a much lower-scoring third Test match which ebbed and flowed. Things were again looking dicey when they fell to 171 for six, chasing 251, but Harry Brook's 75 and an unbeaten 32 from Chris Woakes kept alive the series, which eventually ended 2-2.
Glasgow Times
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Headingley hits: A look at England's thrilling Test tussles in Yorkshire
Ben Duckett's 149 helped Ben Stokes' side chase down a massive target of 371, their second-highest pursuit. Here, the PA news agency looks at some more memorable moments in Leeds. Botham's Ashes Ian Botham, left, led England to a memorable win in 1981 (PA Archive) Arguably England's most famous Test match of all time, the hosts were set for defeat in the 1981 Ashes as they slumped to 135 for seven following on in their second innings. Ian Botham then came to the party, blasting an unbeaten 149 to help set a target of 130, which Australia fell short of thanks to Bob Willis' inspired spell of eight for 43. Stokes on fire 🕞 3:17pm – 268-9🕓 4:17pm – England win by one wicket "The Ashes well and truly alive because of one cricketer!" Ben Stokes wrote his name into #Ashes folklore with an astonishing 💯 as England levelled the series with a historic one-wicket win at Headingley. #AshesBitesize — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 25, 2019 Ben Stokes evoked memories of Botham with a magical performance to help England climb off the canvas in the 2019 Ashes. Chasing an unlikely 359 to keep their Ashes hopes alive, England looked dead and buried at 286 for nine. But Stokes produced one of the finest Test innings to finish 135 not out and guide his side home. England clinch a tight one England's Chris Woakes and Mark Wood, left, celebrate following their victory (Mike Egerton/PA) Four years later there was more drama and, with Australia leading 2-0 in the Ashes series, England came out on top in a much lower-scoring third Test match which ebbed and flowed. Things were again looking dicey when they fell to 171 for six, chasing 251, but Harry Brook's 75 and an unbeaten 32 from Chris Woakes kept alive the series, which eventually ended 2-2.
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Business Standard
23-06-2025
- Sport
- Business Standard
Top five most interesting Test cricket matches at Headingley, Leeds
India and England currrently are involved in heated Test match at Headingley in Leeds, which has long been a fortress of drama, comebacks and history in the world of Test cricket. Known for its unpredictable pitch and often cloudy skies, the ground has produced some of the most memorable matches in cricketing history. From Stokes's majestic 135 against Australia to hand England a one-wicket win, to India's historic victory over England in 2002, the venue has witnessed multiple iconic moments in white jerseys. Here's a look back at the top five most interesting Test matches played at Headingley, where cricket fans witnessed iconic performances, nerve-wracking finishes and unforgettable moments. 1. England vs Australia – 3rd Ashes Test, 2019: Stokes' miracle at Headingley Arguably the greatest Test match ever played at Headingley—and one of the best in history—came in the 2019 Ashes series when England, against all odds, chased down 359 runs in the fourth innings to win by just one wicket. England were bowled out for a paltry 67 in their first innings, giving Australia a commanding lead. But in the second innings, Ben Stokes produced a legendary knock of 135 not out, single-handedly steering England to victory after they were reduced to 286 for 9. His sensational last-wicket partnership of 76 with Jack Leach, who contributed only 1 run, turned the game on its head. Stokes' brutal stroke play and icy composure under pressure stunned Australia and levelled the series 1–1, giving Headingley its most famous modern-day miracle. 2. England vs Australia – 3rd Test, 1981: Botham's Ashes turnaround The 1981 Headingley Test is etched in cricket folklore as 'Botham's Test'. England were in tatters after being forced to follow on, trailing by 227 runs and then slumping to 92 for 6 in their second innings. But Ian Botham launched a stunning counter-attack, smashing an unbeaten 149 and lifting England to 356, setting Australia a target of 130. What followed was a spell of fast bowling that has become legendary—Bob Willis took 8 for 43 to skittle Australia for 111. England's win by 18 runs not only kept the series alive but also shifted the momentum entirely, eventually leading to an unlikely Ashes victory. Botham's all-round brilliance and Willis's fiery bowling remain among the most iconic performances in Ashes history. 3. England vs West Indies – 2nd Test, 2000: Lara's brilliance and England's fightback The 2000 Headingley Test between England and the West Indies saw a clash of brilliance and collapse. Brian Lara, the West Indian maestro, played a fluent 122 in the first innings, taking his team to 267. England responded strongly, with Alec Stewart scoring 83 and Michael Vaughan contributing 76, building a total of 456. In their second innings, however, the West Indies suffered a complete batting disaster. England's pace trio—Darren Gough, Dominic Cork and Andrew Caddick—ripped through their line-up to bowl them out for just 61, marking one of the lowest totals in their history. England won the match by an innings and 39 runs in a dominant performance that signalled a turning point in their cricketing resurgence at the time. 4. England vs South Africa – 2nd Test, 2003: Kallis and Ntini crush England In the 2003 Test between England and South Africa, Headingley witnessed a showcase of dominance by the visitors. South Africa batted first and scored 342, with crucial contributions from Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs. England faltered in their response, managing only 173, as Makhaya Ntini tore through their batting line-up with a five-wicket haul. In the second innings, Jacques Kallis displayed supreme control and class, remaining unbeaten on 130, while Gary Kirsten also scored 130 to set a mammoth target of 505. England's second innings saw some resistance from Mark Butcher (86), but Ntini returned to complete a 10-wicket match haul and sealed a 191-run victory for South Africa. The match highlighted South Africa's rise in world cricket and Ntini's arrival as a world-class fast bowler. 5. England vs India – 3rd Test, 2002: Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly dominate India's historic win at Headingley in 2002 marked one of their finest overseas Test performances. On a seaming wicket under overcast skies, Sourav Ganguly took the bold decision to bat first. The Indian top order rose to the challenge, with Rahul Dravid scoring a technically sound 148, Sachin Tendulkar playing a majestic innings of 193, and Ganguly himself chipping in with a classy 128. The trio helped India post a massive 628 for 8 declared. England struggled in reply, bowled out for 273 in their first innings. Asked to follow on, they fought back through Nasser Hussain's gritty 110, but India's spin duo of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh ensured the hosts were dismissed for 309. India won the match by an innings and 46 runs, registering only their second Test victory in England and asserting themselves as a formidable force in world cricket.
