23/07/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JULY 23, 2025

29

Max still a threat: Brown McLaren boss wary of Red Bulls ace but not surprised by Horner’s sacking M CLAREN boss Zak Brown says his team still has to be wary of Max Verstappen despite the turmoil at Red Bull.

TRAMLINES Alcaraz joins list of marquee withdrawals

WORLD NO. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has joined the list of big names skipping next week’s Canadian Open in Toronto with the Spaniard saying he needs to focus on recovering from muscle issues after losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final. The 22-year-old won the Italian Open, French Open and Queen’s Club titles before Sinner brought his 24 match winning streak to a halt at the All England Club earlier this month. “After many consecutive weeks of competition without rest, I will not be able to play in Toronto this year,” the five-times Grand Slam champion wrote on social media on Monday. “I have small muscle issues and need to recover physically and mentally for what comes next. To the tournament and my fans in Canada I am very sorry, I will see you next year.” The US Open tune-up event will now be without four of the world’s top six men’s players after Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper also opted out. Zheng withdraws from US Open OLYMPIC champion Zheng Qinwen has withdrawn from the US Open as she recovers from right elbow surgery, tournament organisers announced yesterday. The world No. 6 revealed last week on Instagram that she has been struggling with“persistent pain”in her right elbow, which affected her performance during both training and matches. After exploring various treatments with little success, Zheng decided to undergo arthroscopic surgery following consultations with elbow specialists and her support team. She has since announced she will be taking a short break from competition to focus on her recovery. The 22-year-old Chinese star enjoyed a remarkable run last year, capturing gold at the Paris Olympics and reaching the final of the 2024 Australian Open. However, her momentum was halted at Wimbledon this year, where she was eliminated in the first round by Czech player Katerina Siniakova earlier in July. With Zheng’s withdrawal, France’s Leolia Jeanjean will move into the main draw, the final Grand Slam of the season, which begins with main draw action on Aug 24 in New York. Winning return for Venus SEVEN-TIME Grand Slam single champion Venus Williams returned to competitive tennis after a 16-month hiatus yesterday with a doubles victory at the WTA and ATP DC Open. The 45-year-old American joined compatriot Hailey Baptiste to defeat Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and US teen Clervie Ngounoue 6-3, 6-1 in a first-round match. “After the match Hailey asked me, ‘How did that feel?’ It’s probably even harder to play the doubles first because I’m not a doubles player,” Williams said. “It’s just nice to be able to play. Where I am at this year is so much different where I was at last year. “It’s night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago.”

unexpected. “I’m maybe surprised by the timing, but not the result,” he told Canadian TV channel TSN . “I think there’s been a lot of drama there the last couple of years, and it doesn’t seem like that drama has been calming down – maybe been getting worse.” However, he said the issue wouldn’t distract McLaren staff from their goal of winning a first F1 title since 2008. And despite Verstappen being 69 points off Piastri in third, Brown warned he could still be a factor in the championship race. “We’re head down on our championship,” he added. “They’ve got Max still knocking on the door, so we’ve got to pay attention to that. But, yeah, tremendous amount of success they’ve had.” Following the summer break, the F1 season resumes this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix. It will be the first since Horner’s departure, with Laurent Mekies having replaced him with immediate effect. Lewis Hamilton won the race at Spa in 2024. Piastri was second, two places ahead of rival Verstappen, with Norris behind him in fifth. – Express Newspapers/Agencies Everybody said it was awesome to watch. It was good fun, I have to admit. It was tiring but it made fielding a lot more enjoyable,” he said on Monday. “I think it put them under a little bit more pressure. The opportunity that arose for us to not be the nice guys was because of what they did. We just thought ‘we’re not standing for that’. “We had a conversation and said ‘it’s time to not be those nice guys that we have been before’. You don’t always have to be nice. Who knows, that might have played into our favour. It was good fun. “We were doing it within the spirit of the game. We weren’t going out there effing and jeffing at them and being nasty people. We were just going about it in the right manner.” India pace bowler Mohammed Siraj was fined 15% of his match fee and given one demerit point for his angry send-off of Duckett during England’s second innings, which ended with the pair brushing shoulders. Brook revealed it was at his urging after some choice words from head coach Brendon McCullum that they decided to fight back. Asked whether that aggressive approach will continue as England look to win the series, Brook said: “God knows. We’ll see whether it happens again and whether it works. “I brought it up the night before the last day: ‘Baz said the other day we’re too nice, I think tomorrow is a perfect opportunity to really get stuck into them’.” – AFP Siraj took heart from India’s lower-order fight as he lasted 30 balls and Nitish Kumar and Jasprit more than 50, with Ravindra Jadeja contributing an unbeaten 61. “It took a long time to get over. That match felt like we could’ve won. I’m very emotional,” he said. “We fought hard. Jadeja did great and even Jasprit batted 54 balls. Still, we lost. But I told myself, it’s 2-1 now, not over yet. That gave me motivation to do better. “At one point it looked like we’d lose by 80 runs but we took it deep and made it close, losing by just 22. That fight meant a lot.” – AFP

legality of the McLaren car behind the scenes. At the Miami Grand Prix, he drank from a bottle labelled “tyre water”, a reference to Horner complaining to the FIA about their belief that McLaren were using water to cool their tyres. Brown considered the allegation spurious, and said it had no foundation in reality. He described the bottle as “poking fun at a serious issue”. Brown said: “Teams have historically made allegations of other teams – most recently one team focuses on that strategy more than others. “And I think that there is a proper way to protest a team at the end of a race, and you have to make it formal, disclose where it comes from, put some money down.” Last year, Verstappen held off Lando Norris’s challenge to win his fourth straight F1 crown, but now the momentum has swung. The British team has been superior in pace in 2025, with Oscar Piastri currently leading the drivers’ standings from team-mate Norris. Brown, 53, has now commented on Horner’s dismissal. He admitted that he was taken aback by the timing of the decision, although he implied that it wasn’t

In a shock development, Christian Horner was axed as the team’s CEO after 20 years at the helm following the team’s difficult start to the 2025 season.

Brown has had a strained relationship with Horner over the past few years. He said Red Bull’s breaching of the budget cap in 2021 “constitutes cheating”, and in an interview with BBC Sport last year Brown said he and Horner “used to get on”. Brown has taken a less provocative approach to Horner this year, but has not hidden his disdain for Red Bull’s sniping about the

England won’t play nice: Brook

ENGLAND batsman Harry Brook has warned India that his team “don’t always have to be nice” as they prepare to resume hostilities at Old Trafford today. After England battled to a fiery 22-run victory in the third Test at Lord’s, the teams will lock horns again with the series on the line in Manchester. England on Monday named just one change to that side with Hampshire’s left-arm spinner Liam Dawson making his first Test appearance in eight years at the expense of the injured Shoaib Bashir, while Jofra Archer remains in an unchanged pace attack. An England win would put them 3-1 up with one game to play, while India must take the last two matches to secure their first Test series triumph on English soil since 2007. It promises to be another fiercely fought encounter after India’s fielders clashed with England batsmen Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in a time wasting row at Lord’s. That lit a fire under England when it was their turn to field, with Archer giving a pumped-up send-off to India’s Rishabh Pant. As the tension mounted in England’s 22-run win, Brydon Carse and India all rounder Ravindra Jadeja were involved in a mid-pitch collision. But Brook is adamant Ben Stokes’ side did not go to far with their spikey approach in pursuit of victory. “I’ve had a lot of compliments.

England’s Harry Brook. – REUTERSPIC

Siraj expects Boom Boom to feature at Old Trafford INDIA’S Mohammed Siraj expects fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah to feature in the vital fourth Test against England at Old Trafford this week. The Oval. “So far, we only know that Jassi (Jasprit) will play,” Siraj said yesterday.

India must make at least one change as Nitish Kumar Reddy will miss the last two Tests because of a knee injury. India are also sweating on the fitness of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a finger injury last week. Siraj was last man out as India fell to an agonising 22-run defeat in the third Test at Lord’s. The pace bowler played Shoaib Bashir’s delivery on to his stumps before slumping to his knees in frustration.

Jasprit, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, is only slated to play three of the five matches against England as he battles a back injury. He has already featured in India’s defeats at Headingley and Lord’s, leaving the tourists 2-1 down in the series. With doubts over the availability of India seam bowler Akash Deep due to a groin injury, Siraj believes Jasprit will feature in Manchester today rather than hold him back for next week’s final Test at