Simona Halep ended Coco Gauff’s thrilling run at Wimbledon, 6-3, 6-3, but another American was able to pull off a stunner in the fourth round at the All England Club on Monday. Top-ranked Ash Barty’s tournament is over following a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss to Alison Riske.
Riske broke for a 5-3 lead in the deciding set and clinched the win on her first match point when Barty sent a backhand wide. The loss ends a 15-match winning streak for Barty, who was coming off titles at the French Open and Birmingham and was playing her first tournament as No. 1.
Next up for Riske is 11th seed Serena Williams, who eased into the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the 14th time by beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2. Williams won six straight games from 3-2 in the first set to take control of the match. Shuai Zhang earned the right to face Halep with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory over Dayana Yastremska. Other winners on the women’s side were eighth seed Elina Svitolina, Barbora Strycova, Karolina Muchova and Johanna Konta. Muchova narrowly avoided a deciding-set tiebreaker, beating third-seeded Karolina Pliskova 4-6, 7-5, 13-11. Konta will take on Strycova and Mochova will face Svitolina.
Three very familiar faces have advanced to the men’s quarterfinals and will be joined by an unseeded American. Top seed and four-time champion Novak Djokovic is into the Wimbledon quarterfinals again after beating Ugo Humbert in straight sets. Djokovic took advantage of 34 unforced errors to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on No. 1 Court and set up a meeting with David Goffin. No. 2 Roger Federer lost just five games and needed only 74 minutes to oust 17th-seeded Matteo Berrettini, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The 37-year-old Federer is in the quarters for a record 17th time and is the oldest man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Jimmy Connors did it at 39 at the 1991 U.S. Open. Third seed Rafael Nadal reached his 39th career Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Joao Sousa, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. It was the two-time Wimbledon champion's 52nd match win at the All England Club, surpassing Bjorn Borg for eighth place on the all-time list.
Sam Querrey will represent the US in the men’s quarters after winning an All-American matchup against Tennys Sandgren. The match featured four straight tiebreaks before Querrey completed a 6-4, 6-7. 7-6, 7-6 victory. Eighth seed Kei Nishikori, David Goffin, Guido Pella and Roberto Bautista-Agut also won their fourth-round matches. Pella rallied to win the longest match of the day, downing 15th seed Milos Raonic, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 8-6.
MLB
Pete Alonso didn’t have the most round-trippers in the Home Run Derby on Monday, but he hit them when it mattered. The New York Mets rookie first baseman is $1 million richer after defeating Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the final. Needing 23 homers to beat Guerrero, Alonso connected for a homer to left-center before flipping his bat high into the air and hugging his pitcher, cousin Derek Morgan. Guerrero lost the derby despite hitting a record 91 home runs in the three rounds compared to 57 by the winner.
Alonso disappointed the local fans by homering on his final sweep to defeat Indians first baseman Carlos Santana, 14-13. He was booed as he walked away from the plate. Alonso repeated his walk-off magic by going deep on his last swing to beat Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., 20-19. Guerrero advanced to the final by winning a prodigious second-round battle against Dodgers outfielder Joc Pederson. They were tied after regulation and overtime before Guerrero hit two in the second three-swing run-off to beat Pederson, 40-39. Guerrero eliminated Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman in the first round by belting 29 home runs, which was the derby record until the semifinals.
In MLB news, Justin Verlander will start the All-Star Game for the American League for the second time and lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu will make his first start for the National League. Verlander is 10-4 with a 2.98 ERA this year for the Astros, striking out 153 in 126 2/3 innings. Ryu is 10-2 with a major league-leading 1.73 ERA for the Dodgers.
Astros outfielder George Springer will lead off and play right field for the AL. He’s followed in the batting order by Yankees second baseman DJ LeMahieu, Angels outfielder Mike Trout, Indians first baseman Carlos Santana, Red Sox designated hitter J.D. Martinez, Houston third baseman Alex Bregman, Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez, Astros left fielder Michael Brantley and Minnesota shortstop Jorge Polanco.
Milwaukee's Christian Yelich tops the NL order and plays left field. Cubs shortstop Javier Báez hits second, followed by Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, Dodgers right fielder Cody Bellinger, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, Pittsburgh's Josh Bell at designated hitter, Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras, Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte and Atlanta center fielder Ronald Acuña Jr.
SOCCER
The U.S. Women's National Team has arrived home following their World Cup win against the Netherlands. The soccer team, which won its record fourth Women's World Cup title, touched down at Newark Liberty International Airport at about 4:30 p.m. Monday where they were met with cheers and a banner saying "Congratulations Team USA!" The team members gathered on the tarmac for a toast and posed for pictures as they sang "We Are The Champions." The Americans beat the Netherlands 2-0 Sunday when Megan Rapinoe converted a penalty kick in the second half and Rose Lavelle added a goal. On Wednesday, the team will be showered with a ticker-tape parade up lower Manhattan's Canyon of Heroes. It's the city's first ticker-tape parade since the women's team won the 2015 Cup.
NBA
Two people familiar with the situation say the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded forward Jerami Grant to the Denver Nuggets for a 2020 first-round draft pick. Grant is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-high 13.6 points and 5.2 rebounds. It's another first-round selection for the Thunder, who are in line for at least four more assuming the blockbuster deal that sends Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers goes through. The deals would also give Oklahoma City the rights to as many as 13 first-round picks over the next seven drafts.
The Mavericks have finalized a deal to acquire guard Delon Wright from Memphis in a sign-and-trade agreement for the restricted free agent. The Grizzlies get two second-round draft picks and the rights to Satnam Singh.
NHL
The San Jose Sharks have re-signed 23-year-old forward Kevin Labanc to a one-year, $1 million contract. The 23-year-old Labanc set career highs with 17 goals, 39 assists and 56 points last season before helping the Sharks reach the Western Conference final. He became the first player in NHL history to record four points in a single period in a Game 7 of a playoff series.
GOLF
The Royal & Ancient is raising the total prize money to $4.5 million for the Women's British Open, with the winner receiving $675,000. The increase in prize money for the Women's British Open comes in the first year of AIG's five-year deal as the title sponsor. The tournament will be held the first weekend in August. The men’s British Open next week has a $10.75 million purse.
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