Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
How would the Denver Nuggets fare physically after a nine-day break between games? Refreshed and racing out of the blocks, as Aaron Gordon had 12 points in the first quarter and that infectious energy set the tone en route to a welcome series-opening win at home against a Miami Heat side struggling quite badly with their three-point shooting but defiantly still lingered dangerously late on.
Continue reading “Nuggets 104-93 Heat: Jokic’s triple-double on Finals debut sees Denver win Game 1”
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and world no. 3 Jessica Pegula experienced contrasting victories to secure their R3 berths, while six more seeds fell across both draws on Day 4. Despite a gripping 89-minute first set, Novak Djokovic ensured there was no repeat of the previous night’s electricity on Philippe-Chatrier – winning in straight-sets against a fearless Marton Fucsovics. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Sabalenka, Pegula win before Djokovic handles Fucsovics test”
After consecutive night sessions fell flat, Gael Monfils relished his role as the party starter on home soil and recovered from a seemingly improbable position to beat Sebastian Baez in a near four-hour thriller on Philippe-Chatrier. Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev both won clean while world no. 2 Daniil Medvedev was stunned by Brazil’s 23-year-old Thiago Seyboth Wild. Read on, for more… Continue reading “French Open 2023: Monfils-Baez exceeds expectations as Day 3 full of surprises”
Conference Finals MVP Jimmy Butler posted 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a trio of steals – but small forward Caleb Martin shone with his third 20-plus point showing in the series. Erik Spoelstra’s Miami Heat ended Boston’s hopes of an improbable comeback, in TD Garden no less, setting up their second NBA Finals trip in four seasons as the Nuggets finally found out their opponent. Continue reading “Miami set up Denver showdown in the Finals after Game 7 drubbing of Celtics”
Monday was busy as the R1 ties in this year’s French Open continued. There were predictably a few surprising results – including early exits for Felix Auger-Aliassime, Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and two-time semifinalist Petra Kvitova. As for the Brits, Jack Draper’s injury woes sadly continued before Cameron Norrie was composed to fend off a motivated Benoit Paire in five sets. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Auger-Aliassime axed, Bencic bounced, Norrie edges it on Day 2”
40 singles’ matches were played – 20 on each tour – as the French Open main draw kicked off across a busy Sunday of sport worldwide – especially in Europe. The biggest headline featured Maria Sakkari, a tournament semi-finalist two years ago, being stunned in two tight sets 7-6, 7-5 against the same woman who knocked her out prematurely twelve months ago: Karolina Muchova. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Sakkari highest seed to fall on Day 1, while Kokkinakis KOs Evans”
It was a slow start, very messy for sustained periods and physically gruelling as expected. Yet that all paled into insignificance for Chris Billam-Smith, who scored three knockdowns en route to a stunning world championship win over twelve rounds against now-former titlist Lawrence Okolie – his former stablemate – as 15,000 cheered their local hero on at the Vitality Stadium.
Continue reading “Billam-Smith beats Okolie via MD12, is new WBO world cruiserweight champion”
England were second best early on and did well enough defensively to survive multiple waves of France pressure as the scoreline remained goalless. Despite fashioning a few promising opportunities which fell to Justin Oboavwoduo and substitute Zak Lovelace, Ryan Garry’s side were beaten late after Mathis Lambourde’s 89th-minute penalty strike – sending them into the semifinals. Continue reading “France 1-0 England – U17 Euros: Lambourde’s late penalty stings Young Lions in quarter-final”
So, we’re here now. The wait is over, a jam-packed Saturday schedule with three UK boxing shows featuring world title fights, but only one in a stadium. Chris Billam-Smith on home soil at Bournemouth’s Vitality in-front of 15,000, looking to dethrone unbeaten WBO cruiserweight champion and former stablemate Lawrence Okolie, achieving a dream many wouldn’t have thought possible.
Continue reading “Chris Billam-Smith interview: Riakporhe, visualisation, retirement plans and more before tonight’s world title fight”
Eyebrows were raised after Carlos Alcaraz’s straight-sets defeat by Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in Rome last week. However, given just how much the world no. 1 has played recently worldwide to make up for lost time after injury, that early Masters 1000 exit might have served him well before bigger things await, starting this Sunday as one of the clear French Open favourites. Continue reading “Alex Corretja calls Rome upset loss the best thing to happen to Alcaraz – he’s right”
Two goals in eight first-half minutes by in-form forward Lautaro Martinez saw Inter recover from an early setback to topple Fiorentina in yesterday’s Coppa Italia Final. Naturally, their chairman Steven Zhang has publicly praised their growing big-game mentality though head coach Simone Inzaghi stressed a desire for his side to maintain this red-hot form before Istanbul on June 10. Continue reading “Inzaghi insists Inter must keep going after Lautaro’s Coppa Italia-winning brace”
2021 Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev, who quietly enjoyed a resurgence in Madrid this past month, is among the top-ranked players currently vying for a main draw berth at this year’s French Open, kicking off on Sunday. As for the women, Camila Osorio vs. Mirra Andreeva is a compelling final round clash while Tamara Zidansek is also in the qualifying competition. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Karatsev, Osorio and Zidansek headline final round qualifiers”
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