Sports
Novak Djokovic dismantles Stefanos Tsitsipas; No. 1 Jannik Sinner moves on
Jun 29, 2026; London, United Kingdom; Novak Djokovic (SRB) reaches for a backhand against Yibing Wu (CHN) (not pictured) on day one of The Championships Wimbledon 2026 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images No. 7 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia extended his domination of Stefano Tsitsipas on Wednesday, routing the unseeded Greek 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round of Wimbledon for the 20th time in 21 appearances at the All England Club.
Djokovic, the former World No. 1 currently ranked No. 8, improved to 13-2 against Tsitsipas — whom he beat in the 2021 French Open final — by outplaying his opponent in every facet. The Serbian legend notched 33 winners, committed only seven unforced errors and did not have his serve broken. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas endured 24 unforced errors and had his serve broken four times.
During a key sequence in the second set, Djokovic managed to block a pair of smashes by Tsitsipas and went to break serve for a 5-4 lead en route to winning the set on the next point. After breaking Tsitsipas’ serve to go up 5-2 in the final set, Djokovic produced three winners in the final game to wrap up the easy victory in one hour, 38 minutes.
“You feel very happy, satisfied and joyful on the court when you are playing this way,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “Once you get the momentum going. … That game when I went 5-2 up was one of the best return games I’ve played in a while. I just went for my shots. I was a bit more relaxed, a little less tension in my head.”
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy also won in straight sets, though he had to put in extra effort during a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over unseeded Nuno Borges of Portugal.
In a two-hour, 32-minute triumph, Sinner eclipsed Nicola Pietrangeli for the most main-draw match victories at Grand Slams among Italian players with 95.
Aiming to become the 10th man in the Open Era to win back-to-back titles at Wimbledon, Sinner notched 47 winners against 29 unforced errors and broke his opponent twice early in the final set. The Italian star also posted 22 aces to just six for Borges, No. 48 in the world rankings.
No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada cruised to victory on Canada Day, disposing of unseeded Dino Prizmic of Croatia 7-6 (2), 6-3, 7-5, to earn his second straight-sets victory in as many matches.
Auger-Aliassime amassed 15 aces to just three for his opponent while winning 86% of points on his first serve. The Montreal native converted two of four break points and did not give up a break.
Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 8 seed, dropped the first set but quickly rebounded to take down unseeded Daniel Merida Aguilar of Spain 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2. Medvedev converted five of six break points and totaled 38 winners against Merida Aguilar, who made his Wimbledon debut this week.
In a first-round match that was halted after the third set Tuesday night due to darkness, No. 9 seed Flavio Coballi of Italy eliminated Argentina’s Mariano Navone 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (8). In addition to losing the first set, Coballi trailed 4-2 in the second set before rallying.
No. 16 seed Learner Tien was one of two seeded players to fall as unseeded Marton Fucsovics of Hungary pulled off a hard fought 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory. Fucsovics saved an impressive 14 of 18 break points, posting 41 winners against his American opponent.
Tien’s countryman, No. 21 seed Tommy Paul, advanced to the third round with a straight-sets victory against South Korean qualifier Kwon Soon-woo 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Paul collected 43 winners while converting four of eight break point chances and posting 19 aces to six for Soon-woo, who had just 19 winners and five double faults.
Four other seeded players moved on, including No. 22 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 rout of unseeded Italian Fabian Marozsan. Joao Fonseca of Brazil, the No. 24 seed, took down unseeded Netherlands native Jesper de Jong 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, while No. 25 seed Arthur Rinderknech of France defeated unseeded American Martin Damm 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Unseeded American Jenson Brooksby upset No. 31 seed Ignacio Buse of Peru in impressive fashion, prevailing 6-2, 6-2, 6-3. The 81st-ranked Brooksby will face Sinner next after converting seven of 11 break point chances while Buse converted just one of four.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Argentina survive Cape Verde upset bid with 2 extra-time goals
July 3, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after Lisandro Martinez scores their second goal. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Argentina scored yet another vital World Cup goal with the help of a hand, but this one was completely legal.
In the 111th minute, Cristian Romero headed Lionel Messi’s corner kick off the hand of Cape Verde defender Diney Borges, redirecting it inside the far post to complete a 3-2 victory in extra time of the round of 32 for the defending champions in an all-time great World Cup match Friday in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Messi added his 20th career World Cup goal and tournament-leading seventh early in the contest, and Lisandro Martinez scored early in extra time to give the Argentines a 2-1 advantage.
Cape Verde, the smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup knockout round, answered those first two goals. Deroy Duarte’s 59th-minute leveler was well-deserved after his side’s bright start to the second half. Sidny Lopes Cabral’s world-class strike stunned the crowd and evened it at 2-all in the 103rd minute.
But 40 years and 11 days after Diego Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” goal — which would have certainly been ruled out in the modern era of VAR — the manual intervention this time around was above board because it came from a defender.
The advantage law allows a referee to ignore a foul — including a handball — by a defensive team if it benefits the attack. Had Borges’ handball prevented Romero’s header from going across the goal line, it likely would’ve resulted in an Argentina penalty kick.
Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez made two crucial late interventions, including a denial of another attempt from Cabral, to set up a round of 16 meeting with Egypt in Atlanta on Tuesday.
The match was easily Argentina’s most difficult of the tournament, and will leave Cape Verde as one of the competition’s feel-good stories.
While they become the seventh African side to be eliminated from the competition, they earned worldwide respect with a performance that also included draws against two other World Cup-winning nations, Spain and Uruguay.
After leading 1-0 late in the first half through Messi’s 29th-minute contribution, Argentina regained their lead two minutes into extra time.
Messi struck a corner kick to the near post, where Alexis Mac Allister met it with a flick-on header.
From there the ball bounded across the goalmouth before Lisandro Martinez reached it on the far side of the penalty area, took a touch forward and then powered a left-footed strike seemingly through Vozinha into the roof of his net.
Improbably, Cape Verde leveled again through Lopes Cabral’s world-class strike.
With Mac Allister defending, Lopes Cabral took a pass at the left edge of the box, cut past Mac Allister and then bent a looping strike well beyond the reach of the goalkeeper into the top right corner.
Vozinha, 40, was credited with eight saves after making seven in the tournament-opening scoreless draw with Spain.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thomas Tuchel proud of England’s fight in comeback defeat of DR Congo
July 1, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.; England’s Harry Kane celebrates after the match. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images For England manager Thomas Tuchel, the stress of a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the World Cup round of 32 on Wednesday was actually the best part.
Harry Kane scored the 12th and 13th goals of his World Cup career in the 75th and 86th minutes to lift the Three Lions through to the round of 16. But the German manager, who brought experience from stops at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain to his first international job, left Atlanta most pleased with his squad’s temperament after a poor start and the increasingly exceptional play from Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi.
“Things stayed difficult but this team today did not accept a defeat as an outcome,” Tuchel said. “They just didn’t accept it, and that makes me very proud because they did what was necessary.
“The going got tough, and they showed up, and we got a deserved win, even if it was a late one.”
What Tuchel describes is a trait of most championship-winning teams. It’s also one that often hasn’t been true of the Three Lions, who are seeking their first major tournament title since winning the 1966 World Cup as hosts.
England improved to 2-17-5 in World Cup matches after conceding first. The other victory? None other than their 4-2 triumph over West Germany in extra time in the 1966 final.
And while it took until the late stages to reverse the outcome, Tuchel insisted he did not see a squad wilting under the legacy of previous disappointments amid high English expectations.
“I did not see any of that today and it would be so easy to see it,” Tuchel said. “It would be so easy to give in, and it would be so easy to accept that narrative. I didn’t see any of that, and that is a very, very good sign.”
It will get tougher in the round of 16 against Mexico in Mexico City on Sunday. The short turnaround won’t give England time to acclimate to the altitude above 7,000 feet. And Mexico have been among the tournament’s very best teams, posting a perfect 4-0-0 record and outscoring opponents 8-0.
The setting will also be the same as arguably the most infamous moment in English national team history: Argentine Diego Maradona’s famous and controversial “hand of god” goal against England in a 1986 quarterfinal.
“More and more obstacles will maybe come, but we are ready for that,” Tuchel said. “We need it. Maybe we have the ideal platform now to genuinely believe that we are ready for that.”
As for Kane, his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament pulled him into a third-place tie with Norway’s Erling Haaland for the tournament lead, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe.
It’s a rarity to see so many stars producing big numbers in a big tournament, and doing it in considerably different ways. But Tuchel sees one similarity.
“They’re all sharks,” he said. “If they smell blood, they come and score.”
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
Report: All-Star G Norman Powell agrees to 2-year deal with Bulls
Mar 25, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) looks to pass beside Cleveland Cavaliers guard Keon Ellis (14) in the third quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images The Chicago Bulls and free-agent guard Norman Powell have agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal, ESPN reported Wednesday.
Powell averaged 21.7 points and 3.5 rebounds during an All-Star campaign last season for the Miami Heat.
That was Powell’s lone season in Miami after being obtained from the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the campaign. Powell averaged 21.8 points during his final season with the Clippers. He spent parts of four seasons with the team.
Powell, 33, also played for the Toronto Raptors (2015-21) and Portland Trail Blazers (2021-22) and has career averages of 14.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 675 games (312 starts).
Powell has made 1,215 career 3-pointers at a 39.6% clip.
–Field Level Media
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