‘Most special day of my life’: world No 733 Tarvet enjoys limelight in Alcaraz defeat

As a script it surely would have been rejected by Hollywood for being too outlandish. A 21-year-old British student, who has never played on the main tennis tour before, suddenly finds himself on Centre Court with 15,000 people cheering him on. And on the other side of the net is the Wimbledon champion.Yet that was the situation that Oliver Tarvet, the world No 733 from St Albans, found himself in on Wednesday as he lined up to face the brilliant Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.And while there was no fairytale ending, with Tarvet losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 he left to a standing ovation and warm words from his illustrious opponent, who predicted that he could go on to achieve great things

Emma Raducanu storms past 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova in style

On the eve of another tense fortnight at Wimbledon, Emma Raducanu had every reason to feel overwhelmed by the circumstances she found herself in. As her troublesome back injury continued to restrict her work on the practice court, she has also had to deal with undisclosed personal issues. Her expectations for the tournament were low.It is reflective of Raducanu’s personal growth and maturity that she has taken those difficulties in her stride and found a way to continue to move forward. In one of her most significant matches of the year so far, the British No 1 spectacularly rose to the occasion on Centre Court, producing a brilliant performance to outplay the 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3 and return to the third round

Carlos Alcaraz shakes off Tarvet from his back without inhibitions or regrets | Jonathan Liew

There were negatives, of course. Shall we focus on the negatives? Shall we dwell on the frailties a little? The uncharacteristic errors, the double faults, an occasional scruffiness at the net, the frequent slumps in intensity? Shall we marvel at the fact that the lowest-ranked player in the tournament earned more break points (11) than one of the greatest players of his generation (10)? Shall we warn, in a tone of affected sternness, that the defending champion will have to raise his game on this evidence?Of course we shall, because this is Carlos Alcaraz, and because there is an entire cottage industry built around maintaining the idea that Alcaraz is in a state of crisis at all times, a state of crisis so acute that it is necessary to feign round-the-clock concern for him. We just want to see all that rich talent fulfilled. That’s all it is. Sincerely and genuinely

Katie Boulter crashes out of Wimbledon with misfiring serve as Sonay Kartal advances

Backing up a big win is never an easy thing, but when you hit 14 double faults, it’s almost impossible. After her outstanding win over ninth seed Paula Badosa on the opening day, Katie Boulter harboured genuine hopes of going further than ever before at this year’s Wimbledon, but her serve misfired badly and her 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-1 defeat by world No 101 Solana Sierra, a lucky loser from Argentina, will linger for a while.“Of course it hurts,” Boulter said. “It’s a really tough pill to swallow. It always is here

‘Like a kid in a sweet shop’: Brailsford back calling shots at Ineos Grenadiers

Dave Brailsford has returned to a leading role at Ineos Grenadiers on the eve of the 2025 Tour de France, calling the shots on team selection and performance objectives, barely a month after he stepped back from his role at Manchester United.“Dave’s definitely coming to the Tour,” John Allert, the team CEO, said. “He’s like a kid in a sweet shop, talking about climbs and getting back to the mountains. That’s the battlefield that he knows and loves.”Brailsford, who steered British Cycling to serial Olympic success and Team Sky to Tour de France dominance, will be present for much of this year’s Tour, as Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion, makes his final appearance in the three-week race

Restrained Pant struggles as India’s new safety-first style fails to suit situation | Andy Bull

Turns out Rishabh Pant is a dab hand at doing impressions. At Edgbaston he showed off his new one, of the batter his coaches would like him to be. Pant was, by the standards of his own scatterbrained batting, a model of self-control, and restricted himself to just one glorious four and a single crisp, delicious six in the 60 minutes or so he was at the crease. They were good ones, a roly-poly sweep off Shoaib Bashir and a skip down the pitch to punch another of his deliveries over long-on, but otherwise Pant restrained himself to showing off his range of ascetic leaves, blocks and defensive shots.There was, it’s true, the odd moment or two when he nearly broke character