Wimbledon - players.bio

Alcaraz survives, Sabalenka cruises on Wimbledon’s hottest opening day

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in his Wimbledon opener on Monday while Aryna Sabalenka kept her cool to progress on the hottest opening day in the tournament’s history. Temperatures at the All England Club on Monday topped 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record for the start of the tournament of 29.3 Celsius set in 2001. Alcaraz dug dip for a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win over 38-year-old Fabio Fognini in a gruelling clash lasting four hours and 37 minutes on Center Court. It was first time since Roger Federer narrowly beat Alejandro Falla in 2010 that a defending champion had been taken to a fifth set in the Wimbledon first round. Alcaraz shrugged off an inconsistent display including 62 unforced errors as the world number two refused to wilt in the heat. “I don’t know why it is probably Fabio’s last Wimbledon because the level he has shown shows he can still play for three or four more years,” said the Spaniard. “Playing on Center Court for the first match of any tournament is never easy. Wimbledon is special and different.

Coco Gauff targeting rare ‘Channel Slam’ but must figure out a way to conquer the grass

Fresh off of her French Open title run, Coco Gauff has an opportunity to achieve something no woman has in tennis for the past decade – that is pulling off the ‘Channel Slam’.

‘This is My City’: Fighter Abdulaziz bin Moammar eyes success in front of hometown fans in Riyadh

RIYADH: When Abdulaziz bin Moammar steps inside the world-famous Professional Fighters League SmartCage at PFL MENA 2 in Riyadh on July 4, it will not be just another fight for him.

Former runner-up Ons Jabeur retires from Wimbledon first-round match

LONDON: Twice Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur’s tournament lasted only one hour and 25 minutes as the Tunisian retired in her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova on Monday.

Aldrich Potgieter, 20, wins Rocket Classic in five-hole playoff

DETROIT: As a grueling playoff unfolded in the Rocket Classic, South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter was determined to have enough pace on what became the final putt Sunday.

Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a winner of 15 Triple Crown races, dies at 89

NEW YORK: D. Wayne Lukas, the Hall of Famer who became one of the most accomplished trainers in the history of horse racing and a face of the sport for decades, has died. He was 89.

New faces lead US women to familiar result: 4-0 win over Ireland

CINCINNATI: The US women’s national team’s depth was on display Sunday in Cincinnati when the squad’s backups dominated Ireland for a 4-0 victory in a friendly.

Nigerian Dambe boxing goes global — amulets and charms included

ABUJA: The first strikes in Dambe are thrown before the boxers even leave their house. Fighters don charms and amulets, dye their fist or even score their arm with a razor, inserting traditional medicine before it scars over — all guaranteed to protect them in the ring or deliver a knock-out punch. Combined with prayers from “mallams,” or spiritual guides, they are unstoppable — not just in Nigeria, but increasingly around the world. The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s Hausa speakers. “Instead of trying to Westernize it, or instead of trying to make it something else, for us the goal is to professionalize it,” said Maxwell Kalu, founder of the West African Fighting Championship, the group organizing the tournament. At the same time, a key goal is also “opening the door in terms of inviting people to compete in Nigeria.” Held on the ground of the national stadium and broadcast by DAZN, a British sports streaming service, the tournament is a far cry from the social tradition said to have been organized by 10th-century Hausa butchers. “This one is big, I’m very happy,” said Abdullahi “Coronavirus” Ali, a 20-year-old who has been fighting since he was a child. “The audience is growing every day.” As Coronavirus — nicknamed for his ferocious punches — spoke to AFP, two amateur fighters worked the ring behind him, in a pre-tournament exhibition match in Dei Dei, a working-class Abuja exurb. Chickens pecked under the rickety wooden stands while cigarette smoke wafted above the crowd. In Dambe, in lieu of a glove, the fighters each have one fist tightly bound in rope — their striking arm.

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Wimbledon Sport News

Alcaraz survives, Sabalenka cruises on Wimbledon’s hottest opening day

Coco Gauff targeting rare ‘Channel Slam’ but must figure out a way to conquer the grass

‘This is My City’: Fighter Abdulaziz bin Moammar eyes success in front of hometown fans in Riyadh

Former runner-up Ons Jabeur retires from Wimbledon first-round match

Aldrich Potgieter, 20, wins Rocket Classic in five-hole playoff

Hall of Fame horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas, a winner of 15 Triple Crown races, dies at 89

New faces lead US women to familiar result: 4-0 win over Ireland

Nigerian Dambe boxing goes global — amulets and charms included