07/07/2025

SPORTS MONDAY | JULY 7, 2025

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Djokovic hits century … the Serbian thumps Kecmanovic for Wimbledon ton and spot in last 16 S EVEN-TIMES Wimbledon champion life that I can experience. “I try not to take anything for granted, particularly at this age, still going strong, still trying to compete with the young players. “Wimbledon is a favourite and a dream tournament for not just myself, but probably the majority of players. Growing up, Novak Djokovic roared his way to a rare century at the grasscourt Grand Slam yesterday when he outclassed Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 and reached the fourth round in his quest for a record 25th major. World No. 1 Jannik

BARBORA KREJCIKOVA made a tearful Wimbledon exit as the defending champion crashed to a three-set defeat against Emma Navarro on Saturday. Krejcikova’s run to the Wimbledon third round reminded her how it felt to compete on the biggest stage without being hampered by injuries but in a cruel twist of fate her body let her down and her title defence ended on Saturday. The 29-year-old Czech was knocked out when she was beaten 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 by American 10th seed Emma Navarro in a disjointed display where she led by a set and a break but ended up drained in the final set and needing treatment from the doctor. “It was really tough out here today. Probably neither of us played our best tennis. I know she was dealing with some injuries at times,” Navarro said. Tears flowed as she served to stay in the match at 5-3 and she fought on with a hold but the end came swiftly, continuing a frustrating season in which she has been battling a niggling back injury. “I was enjoying every match that I played here. I was enjoying being on court, being able to play, being pain-free, having some good moments, having some tough situations but overcoming them, enjoying the atmosphere,” Krejcikova said. “I was also really enjoying the position that I was in. Unfortunately, it ended up this way, which is very unfortunate and really sad and disappointing for me.” Krejcikova said that American Navarro was ultimately fitter than her and had more energy when it mattered to take control of the match. “First of all, I thought that it was the food, that I ate too early. “That’s why I started with all the bananas and all the sugars and stuff inside,” Krejcikova said as she looked to pinpoint the reason for her on-court issues. “But I wasn’t really feeling better, I was actually feeling worse and worse with time on court. Krejcikova crashes out in tears

surfaces, different courts. But more than rivals and competitors, we’re friends and teammates. I wish him all the very best.” Croatian veteran Marin Cilic beat spirited Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to book a meeting with Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli who took apart big-serving Czech teenager Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. While Cobolli may not be relishing a meeting with the tricky Cilic, his compatriot Sinner will welcome the chance to test his metronomic hitting against Dimitrov’s e l e g a n t approach in what

Sinner was at his ruthless best yet again as the Italian gathered momentum in his quest for a maiden All England Club title while American Ben Shelton and

Australian Alex de M i n a u r announced themselves

promises to be a classic.

A sublime Sinner booked that clash with a 6-1, 6-3,

6-1 hammering of Pedro Martinez. The top seed, who has lost just 17 games in his first three

Novak Djokovic. – AFPPIC

matches, equalled the professional era record for fewest games dropped to make the Wimbledon fourth round along the way.

most of the kids dream of playing

here and winning here. “I’ve been blessed to do it multiple times. Any history that I make in my favourite tournament, I’m blessed. “I have enjoyed myself very much except maybe the last couple of games,” added Djokovic, who will take on Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur for a place in the quarterfinals. “A bit of tension in the end, I was 5-1 up and 15-30 and then 5-4, 15-30. Things got a bit complicated… It’s never easy playing a friend and compatriot. Miomir is a super nice guy, someone that I have known for many years. “We’ve faced each other on different

as dark horses.

It’s very sad for me, very unfortunate.” Krejcikova said she would now focus on the North American hardcourt swing with tournaments in

Djokovic’s stellar display ensured that he became only the third player to claim 100 match wins on the All England Club lawns after nine-times champion Martina Navratilova and eight times winner Roger Federer. “It’s very historic. It sounds very nice. I’m very grateful, obviously, privileged to be in the position that I am,” the 38-year-old Djokovic said. “I’ve said it many times. Tennis made me who I am, has given me incredible things in

“About the games lost, this is whatever,” Sinner said. “I’m not looking on these kind of records.

Montreal and Cincinnati ahead of the US Open in August. – AFP/Reuters

“I know everything can change very quickly from one round to the other.” Shelton gave Americans something to smile about when the powerful left-hander made quick work of Hungarian lucky loser – Reuters

Dimitrov single-handedly flying flag for old-school backhand FOR tennis purists the sight of a single handed backhand pinging off the centre of a

Swiatek outclasses out-of-sorts Collins POLAND’S Iga Swiatek strode imperiously into the fourth round at Wimbledon on Saturday, with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Danielle Collins and said she felt the balls were listening to her this year.

said she was having much more fun this year. “If the ball is listening to me, I don’t need to do much. “I try to be aggressive and I am moving a lot better here.” Swiatek claimed victory in

membership. “The backhand with one hand is the same thing over and over again. Once you hit it, it feels like jackpot,” Bulgarian Dimitrov, the only man left in the singles with a one-handed backhand, told reporters. “Listen, I think over the course of the next years we will see it less and less. That’s just how it is. The tennis has sped up so much. Everybody is hitting harder, stronger, off both wings. There’s not enough time.” Putting two hands on the racket to drive a backhand enables players to be more stable through the shot and deal with higher balls and for many it is a simpler, more repeatable action. Dimitrov, who will face top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner next, said he would never change. “I’m always forever going to be a one handed guy, whatever I say. I’m so biased that it’s probably the worst question to ask me,” he told reporters. “Everyone keeps saying it’s a lost art of it. But it’s not really that lost because if you manage to navigate that.” – Reuters

racket is a joy to behold but it is becoming rare and Grigor Dimitrov, one of the best exponents of the shot, believes it could soon vanish. The 34-year-old former world No. 3 describes hitting a one-handed backhand as like hitting the jackpot and the shot has helped him to career earnings of more than US$30 million (RM127m). He used it to great effect on Saturday as he beat Austria’s Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(0) in

The former world number one broke the 31 year-old American’s serve in the third game of the Centre Court match to set the tone, adding another break in the fifth and wrapping up the set with a big serve. “I was in the zone and I knew that I had to be brave,” Swiatek said in a courtside interview. She said she had never felt so comfortable playing on grass. “I had practices where the ball was listening to me,” she said. “Today was a good day and it is a new experience feeling good on this surface.” It was Swiatek’s eighth victory over Collins, but the American beat her most recently at the Italian Open in May. “I tried to play fast because you can’t let Danielle play her winners. “I am really happy with my consistency at the moment,” Swiatek, who described herself as “an intense person”, added. Despite winning five Grand Slams, Swiatek, now ranked fourth in the world, has never progressed beyond the quarterfinals here but

confident style after one hour and 15 minutes on Collins’s serve with a forehand winner to set up a clash with Denmark’s Clara Tauson, seeded 23, in the fourth round today. Former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina made a surprise exit, losing to Denmark’s Clara Tauson 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Rybakina, the Kazakh 11th seed, won her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022 and reached the semifinals last year. Teenage Russian seventh seed Mirra Andreeva thrashed American world number 55 Hailey Baptiste 6-1, 6-3 in just 78 minutes. – Reuters

front of an appreciative Court Three crowd, reaching the last 16 of Wimbledon for the fifth time with his 100th Grand Slam match win. But with eight-times Roger Federer, Richard Gasquet and Dominic Thiem all retired and Stan Wawrinka in the twilight of his career, the single-handed backhand club has a shrinking champion

Wimbledon

Iga Swiatek. – AFPPIC