Latest news with #semifinal
CTV News
2 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Auger-Aliassime advances in Mallorca as fellow Montrealer Diallo exits
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime returns a shot to Taylor Fritz of the USA during their men's singles semifinal tennis match of the Stuttgart Open, in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP) Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Serbia's Hamad Medjedovic in Thursday's quarterfinals at the Mallorca Championships. The Montreal native fired 11 aces and broke Medjedovic three times on six chances. Auger-Aliassime will face Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in Friday's semifinal at the grass-court event. Griekspoor beat Montreal's Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-4 earlier Thursday. Diallo had eight aces but couldn't convert his lone break-point opportunity. The six-foot-eight Diallo, who entered the tournament with a career-high No. 41 ranking, is due to make his main-draw debut at Wimbledon next week. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
England vs Netherlands LIVE RESULT: Harvey Elliott on the double as England power into back-to-back U21 finals
Here we go! Welcome to SunSport's live coverage of a massive semi-final at the European Under-21s Championship! Lee Carsley's team shocked tournament favourites Spain in the quarters, coming away with a brilliant 3-1 win to set up a clash with the Netherlands in the final four. James McAtee, Harvey Elliott and Elliot Anderson scored in an ill-tempered game that saw Rafa Marin sent off deep into added time. The Dutch somehow snuck through against Portugal in the previous round, winning 1-0 with just ten men in a game. Portugal had 74 per cent possession and fired in 17 shots to just four before Ernest Poku stole a win for the Netherlands.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic: ‘I always have a heartbreaker on the grass'
It was one of those Wimbledon matches that took your breath away. The emotional peaks and troughs of elite-level sport, played out in front of an enthralled Centre Court crowd, on a bright afternoon in July. A record-setter, too: at two hours and 51 minutes, the longest semi-final at the All England Club in the 147-year history of the ladies' singles competition. Yet for Donna Vekic, disconsolate after missing out on a first Grand Slam final, her agonising defeat to Jasmine Paolini last year is not a contest she wants to witness again. Particularly now, ahead of another tilt in SW19. Advertisement 'It was very heartbreaking,' Vekic tells The Independent, nearly 12 months on from that loss in a final-set tie-break. The tears are still fresh in the memory. Vekic (right) missed out on last year's Wimbledon final after an agonising defeat to Jasmine Paolini (Getty) 'I still haven't seen the highlights or rewatched the match. It was not easy. I feel like every grass court season, I always have a heartbreaker. Thank God the Olympics [in Paris] were straight after… because I didn't have time to cry too much.' Vekic's journey to the last four at Wimbledon last year, in which she won four out of five matches in three sets before eventually coming a cropper to Italian Paolini, was a career-best performance on the sport's grandest stage, in her 42nd Grand Slam. Given her hard-hitting, low-trajectory groundstrokes, it was perhaps little surprise that she put a run together on the grass. Advertisement But what was a surprise – no more to Vekic herself – was her meritorious response on the slower, tougher clay courts of Paris, a few weeks later. Her spirits buoyed, not dampened, the proud Croat beat second seed Coco Gauff (who won the French Open earlier this month) in the third round, before battling to the semi-finals with two final-set tie-break triumphs, via a hair's breadth 10-8 scoreline. Vekic guaranteed herself a medal with a semi-final obliteration of Slovak player Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the semis, before falling to China's Qinwen Zheng in the final. 'Winning a medal for your country is so tough,' she reflects, now, on the proudest moment of her career. 'It was an incredible experience, which only winning a Slam could beat.' Vekic even acknowledges that, prior to Paris, she thought her best chance of a medal would come in the mixed doubles, which she didn't even play in the end. That being said, the uniqueness of the Olympic setting acted as a natural source of rejuvenation. Advertisement 'I stayed in the Olympic village and just hanging out with athletes from different sports brings your energy levels up,' she adds. 'I definitely surprised myself, particularly on clay, which has never been my friend. But it was always a big goal to win a medal.' Vekic (left) won an impressive Olympic silver medal in Paris last summer (Getty) It marked 2024 as the most prosperous season of a career which, despite still being two years shy of 30, has already stretched to 14 years. That, in itself, is an achievement which should not be overlooked. Vekic is an ambassador for Mackage, the clothing brand launching the second chapter of their 'Protect your Craft' series (Mackage) Vekic emerged, quite suddenly, at 16 years of age when she made the final of the WTA-level Tashkent Open in 2012. By Wimbledon the following year, the British press were already comparing her to Maria Sharapova, who won Wimbledon at the age of 17 in 2004. Advertisement Being thrust into the world of professional tennis as a teenager is no easy environment to grow up. Many teenage stars before her have seen their greatest achievements come in their formative years, largely a result of natural fearlessness on the court. Yet Vekic, who wears her heart on her sleeve week-in, week-out, confesses to never feeling such non-alignment. 'I've always been the same,' she says, of a time when she first became accustomed to 'suitcase travelling,' as she puts it. 'My emotions can bring out the best in me on court, but sometimes my worst. But I like to have momentum and confidence in my shots, that's the most important thing for my tennis. Advertisement 'I did have an element of surprise [at the start of her career] because no one knows your game. But once people get to know you, then you have to start the grind!' Vekic first appeared in the main draw at Wimbledon in 2013 at the age of 16 (Getty) Vekic's career has rarely fluctuated in the decade or so since: a career-high ranking of 17 was achieved post-Wimbledon last year, while she has not dropped below the top-75 in the rankings since 2016. Perhaps inevitably, though, given the rigours of life on tour, she has come close to calling it quits. Even last summer, in fact, just before Wimbledon. 'I was thinking about it, but I didn't want to miss the Olympics,' she recalls. 'It's always been tough for me mentally. It's always challenged me and with all the travelling, I'm pretty tired. Advertisement 'Even this year, I really wanted to do well and play. I had big expectations but it hasn't worked out so far. But it hasn't affected me as much as last year, that's for sure.' And so back to Wimbledon. Pam Shriver, the 22-time Grand Slam winning doubles player, tennis broadcaster and teenage talent herself, had been a part of Vekic's team as a consultant since 2022. She described the American as 'family' but, last week, Shriver stepped down from her role. There is no bad blood but, undeniably, it is a blow for the Croat. Yet it is not in Vekic's nature – both on and off the court – to wilt. Giving up, per se, is not an option and, back in south-west London, her ambitious, underlying goal remains the Venus Rosewater Dish on 12 July. Advertisement 'A lot of things have to happen for you to win a Slam,' she says, a week after losing in the first round of Queen's. 'I hope I can raise my level. My goal is to win Wimbledon. 'I feel good there. So far in my career, I have given it my absolute all. I want to be known for never giving up and I've never given up so far. 'I want that to be the case until the end of my career. If I'm meant to win a Slam, amazing. If not, it's OK, I still have a motherhood home.'
New York Times
21-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Schnall: ‘Incredible but not unbelievable'
In Wednesday's national semifinal, LSU, the No. 6 seed, won 6-5 in walk-off fashion with three runs in the bottom of the ninth — all with two outs — against third-seeded Arkansas. Jared Jones delivered the game-winning hit against reliever Aiden Jimenez, a line drive that bounced into center field off the glove of leaping second baseman Cam Kozeal to score Luis Hernandez from second base. Four pitches earlier, Hernandez stroked a liner toward Charles Davalan in left field against freshman reliever Cole Gibler. The ball struck Davalan's glove and bounced some 20 feet toward the foul line as Davalan lowered his body to attempt a game-winning catch. Ethan Frey scored from second base, and Steven Milam raced around from first to even the game. 💬 'I would coach this team forever,' LSU coach Jay Johnson said. 'I've been telling them that since March or April.' Arkansas had taken the lead at 5-3 in the top of the ninth on a one-out single by Justin Thomas that scored two runs. The heartbreak is nothing new for the Razorbacks, who have failed to win a championship in 12 trips to the CWS, including eight visits under coach Dave Van Horn. His team in 2018 lost a shot at the title when a foul pop-up dropped between three defenders with two outs in the ninth inning against Oregon State. 'This means more to me,' Johnson said, 'because of the respect I have for them. … What a game. I don't know if ESPN Classic is still around. (But) they should play that game on loop for a week.' GO FURTHER LSU to meet Coastal Carolina in College World Series final after Tigers' walk-off upset
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 for Berlin Open final against Wang
BERLIN (AP) — Marketa Vondrousova upset top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 in their semifinal Saturday to set up a showdown with Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu in the final of the Berlin Open. Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, needed 1 hour and 21 minutes for her first win over a reigning No. 1. Advertisement Sabalenka staged a comeback Friday by saving four match points against Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. She had won all seven semifinals she played in this year but couldn't find a response against the 164th-ranked Vondrousova, who missed three months of the season with a shoulder injury. Sunday's final will be Vondrousova's first since she won at Wimbledon. Wang beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1 in their semifinal earlier Saturday to move into her first final. ___ AP tennis: The Associated Press
