WIMBLEDON
Daniil Medvedev has ended American Chris Eubanks' surprising run at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals, Medvedev came back to beat Eubanks in five sets on Wednesday. The 2021 U.S. Open champion reached his first semifinal at the All England Club. Next up for Medvedev is a matchup against No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who eliminated Holger Rune.
On the women’s side, Ons Jabeur eliminated defending champion Elena Rybakina in a rematch of last year's final to get back to the semifinals. Jabeur now meets Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, a winner against American Madison Keys.
A spot in the Wimbledon semifinals was as good as guaranteed from where Ons Jabeur was sitting on Centre Court. The sixth-seeded Tunisian walked into the main stadium at the All England Club to play Elena Rybakina in a rematch of last year’s final. Jabeur lost that time but not this time. And she joked it was possibly thanks to the seating arrangements. Jabeur says when they entered the court "I made sure I changed seats ... I went for the other seat that she won last year.” Jabeur won 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 and will next face Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals on Thursday. The second-seeded Belarusian beat Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4.
WNBA
Sabrina Ionescu scored eight of her 34 points in overtime and the New York Liberty clinched a berth in the Commissioner’s Cup championship with a 95-87 win over the Indiana Fever, despite blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead. Aliyah Boston hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation for Indiana. That tied the game at 80 but the Liberty pulled away in overtime as Ionescu hit two big 3-pointers. Boston led Indiana with 23 points. Breanna Stewart had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Liberty, who play at Western Conference winner and defending champion Las Vegas for the Commissioner’s Cup on Aug. 15.
Tiffany Hayes scored 22 points, DeWanna Bonner added 21 and the Connecticut Sun defeated the Chicago Sky 84-72. Alyssa Thomas added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun, who would have advanced to the Commissioner’s Cup championship game against Las Vegas if the New York Liberty hadn’t pulled out an overtime win at Indiana. Kahleah Cooper had 22 points for the Sky, who have lost three straight. Bonner scored 10 points in the third quarter when the Sun turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead. The Sky had used an 18-7 run to take a 38-36 halftime edge.
CONCACAF GOLD CUP
Adalberto Carrasquilla converted the decisive penalty kick after Cristian Roldan failed to convert his attempt, and Panama beat the defending champion United States 5-4 in a shootout after a 1-1 tie to reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Mexico. Iván Anderson scored in the ninth minute of extra time. Jesús Ferreira tied the score for the U.S. six minutes later. Panama reached the final for the third time after losing to the U.S. in 2005 and 2013. The U.S. failed to reach the final for the first time since a 2015 semifinal loss.
SOCCER
Matt Polster and Giacomo Vrioni scored in the first nine minutes, Djordje Petrovic made a career-high 10 saves and the New England Revolution defeated Atlanta United 2-1. Polster netted his second goal of the season to give the Revolution (11-4-7) the lead, scoring unassisted in the 4th minute. Vrioni stretched the advantage to 2-0 when he took a pass from Carles Gil and scored his fifth goal this season. Gil returned from a one-match suspension for accumulating five yellow cards. He missed the Revs’ 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. Djordje Petrovic missed his shot at a clean sheet when Machop Chol scored unassisted in the third minute of second-half stoppage time. Brad Guzan had four saves for Atlanta United (9-6-8).
Luciano Acosta scored on a late penalty kick and Obinna Nwobodo found the net in stoppage time to rally FC Cincinnati to a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls. Omir Fernandez scored on a penalty kick in the 28th minute and the Red Bulls took a 1-0 lead into halftime. It was his third goal of the season. Acosta answered with a PK goal of his own in the 80th minute to knot the score. Obinna followed with his second goal of the campaign, scoring unassisted in the third minute of extra time. Acosta’s goal was his 11th of the season, third highest in the league. Cincinnati (14-2-6) improves to 5-1-3 in its last eight matches with the Red Bulls (6-8-8).
Dániel Gazdag scored on a penalty kick in each half and the Philadelphia Union beat Nashville SC 2-0 in a match that saw three players exit in the second half due to red cards. Gazdag gave the Union (11-7-4) a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute after a foul by Nashville’s Daniel Lovitz. He added an insurance goal in the 84th minute after a second yellow card on Lovitz — forcing Nashville (11-7-5) to play a man down. Gazdag has nine goals and nine assists this season. Nashville’s Shaq Moore and Philadelphia’s Julián Carranza both received red cards in the fifth minute of stoppage time for violent conduct. Joe Bendik did not have to make a save to earn the clean sheet for the Union. Joe Willis stopped three shots for Nashville.
A hamburger and drink combination called the Lionel Messi. A huge sketch of the soccer star’s smiling face on a restaurant wall beside a meme that went viral during the 2022 World Cup. A beer with a pink label matching the color of the Inter Miami jersey he will wear. Wherever you turn in Miami these days something reminds you of the imminent arrival of the Argentine soccer legend. There is no hiding the euphoria generated by Messi in Miami as he begins the new Major League Soccer phase of his career in one of the most Latino cities in the United States.
NBA
LeBron James plans to play next season for the Los Angeles Lakers. The 38-year-old superstar announced his intentions at the ESPYS. James accepted the record-breaking performance award for becoming the NBA's career scoring leader. James had said at the end of last season that he wasn't sure if he would be back. He says the day he can't give everything to the game he will retire, but he told the crowd, “Lucky for you guys that day is not today.” The audience in Los Angeles greeted his words with a huge cheer.
The future of a lawsuit accusing Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant of assaulting a teenager during a pickup basketball game hinges on whether Morant will be allowed to say that he was acting in self-defense and can receive immunity under Tennessee law. A judge on Wednesday allowed Morant’s lawyers to proceed with their case that Morant was acting in self-defense when he punched then-17-year-old Joshua Holloway during a game at Morant's Memphis-area home in July 2022. Morant’s lawyers have acknowledged he punched Holloway one time after Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and the ball hit him in the chin. Morant has filed a countersuit against Holloway.
ESPN
Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale says he has been diagnosed with cancer for a third time. Vitale tweeted Wednesday that he had surgery in Boston this week, and tests revealed that he has vocal cord cancer. He said he will undergo six weeks of radiation treatments. He says he will fight to be ready to call games when the college basketball season begins this fall. The 84-year-old Vitale has previously been treated for melanoma and lymphoma. Vitale has been with ESPN since 1979, the year the network launched. He’s also a longtime fundraiser for cancer research.
LARRY NASSAR
A prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match. That's according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Court records show the inmate, identified as Shane McMillan, was previously convicted of assaulting a correctional officer at a federal penitentiary in Louisiana in 2006 and attempting to stab another inmate to death at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado in 2011. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers who’ve represented McMillan in his past cases.
GOLF
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is set to return to work next week. Xander Schauffele says there are tough questions for him to answer about the tour's stunning commercial deal with the Saudis. And he believes Monahan has some trust to earn back from the players because of the secretive nature of the deal with the Saudi Arabia wealth fund behind LIV Golf. Schauffele says Monahan had his trust and now has a lot less of it. Jordan Spieth also said Monahan will have quite a bit of trust issues with players. Scottie Scheffler says he wishes player representatives were kept in the loop.
SARATOGA RACE COURSE
Today is opening day at Saratoga Race Course, where the nation’s top thoroughbreds, jockeys and trainers will compete for 40 days through Labor Day. The first feature race is the Grade III Schuylerville for 2-year-old fillies. Racing begins around 1 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays are dark.
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