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British rider pips brother to line Wimbledon round up
WHEN the tournament started on Monday, July 3, last year’s beaten Wimbledon finalist announced that he was pulling out.
Australian star Nick Kyrgios posted on Instagram to inform his fans that a torn wrist ligament had caused him to withdraw.
‘Hey everyone, I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year. I tried my hardest to be ready after my surgery and to be able to step on the Wimbledon courts again’, he wrote.
He concluded: ‘I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon. I’ll be back, and as always, I appreciate the support from all my fans’.
Spain’s 20yearold sensation Carlos Alcaraz went into the competition as the No 1 seed after his recent victory over Alex De Minaur in the final at Queen’s.
Alcaraz has already won the Australian and French Opens this year, but, is yet to fully adapt his game to playing on grass. However, it could be very foolish to bet against him winning his first Wimbledon title this July.
He is undoubtedly lined up to take over from the ‘big three’ of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, of which, the Serb legend is the only one currently remaining.
Djokovic will be defending the title that he won in 2022, with the 36 year old looking to equal Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon men’s crowns.
After landing a recordbreaking 24th Grand Slam title at the French Open in Roland Garros, he will surely be adequately fired up to take on allcomers.
At the age of 43, the legendary Venus Williams will make her 24th appearance in the tournament.
THE opening stage of the 2023 Tour de France got underway on Saturday July 1 and ended in a thrilling two rider finish between two British riders on opposing teams.
Saturday saw an incredible first stage with two British riders, 30 year old twin brothers Adam and Simon Yates, riding for opposing teams and sprinting to the line for the chance to pull on the iconic yellow jersey.
Saturday’s stage was a 182 metre round trip starting and fin ishing in Bilbao, in the Basque Country. It was one of the toughest opening stages for years with over 3,000 metres of climbing.
First across the line was Adam riding for UAE Team Emirates, with Simon (Jayco AlUla) a mere four seconds behind.
With three weeks of racing to go anything can happen, but Satur day’s finish puts Adam in a strong position. Tour favourite, and Adam’s co team leader, Tadej Pogacar came in third and was elat ed to see his teammate claim victo ry, raising his arms as he crossed the finish. After the win, a modest Adam seemed to downplay his position as co leader and insisted he was there to support teammate
Adam said: “Being in the yellow jersey is no problem. It’s an honour and a privilege to have yellow. Over the next few weeks I’m gonna help Tadej try to win, he’s shown he’s the best in the world over the last couple of years in all disciplines and we’re gonna fight for every another tough 209 kilometres from born Yates brothers are the first to achieve such a feat since Luxembourgers Andy and 2 on stage
