Sports
No. 4 seed Ben Shelton stunned by qualifier; No. 2 Alexander Zverev advances
American Ben Shelton reacts during his first round match against Finland’s Otto Virtanen at Wimbledon. Fourth-seeded American Ben Shelton was upset by Finland’s unseeded Otto Virtanen in a five-set marathon in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday.
Shelton, a quarterfinalist at the All England Club last year, rebounded from dropping the first set to take the next two. But Virtanen, ranked 140th in the world, refused to give in and finished with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (9) triumph that required four hours and 21 minutes.
No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev escaped a similar fate in four sets, but he needed nearly three hours and multiple tiebreaks to earn a 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (0) victory over Belgium’s Alexander Blockx.
The German and reigning French Open champion found his groove in the fourth set, rolling off seven consecutive points to close it out. He’ll meet France’s Valentin Royer on Thursday.
No. 5 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz — Zverev’s potential quarterfinal opponent — and 13th-seeded Jiri Lehecka of Czechia recorded straight-set victories.
No. 10 Alexander Bublik of Russia needed three hours, 39 minutes to dispense Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis by a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (10), 6-3, 6-4 count. Twenty-year-old Jakub Mensik of Czechia, the No. 15 seed, also needed five sets to knock out Great Britain’s Toby Samuel, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).
The Shelton-Virtanen match also required a fifth-set tiebreaker — and Shelton had his chances to put Virtanen away. He held a pair of match points at 8-6, but was unable to complete either after attempting to force the issue by coming to the net both times. He had another match point at 9-8, but sent a forehand into the net following a lengthy rally.
Virtanen used a strong serve to set up his own match point and Shelton sent a forehand wide at 10-9 to seal the upset. The 25-year-old Virtanen already has equaled his best result in a Grand Slam event, having also reached the second round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2024.
It was a massive disappointment for the 23-year-old Shelton, who entered Wimbledon as the highest-ranked American and tied for the fourth-shortest title odds in the men’s draw. The highest-seeded potential opponent in his quarter of the draw was Mensik, whom he wouldn’t have faced until the fourth round.
Shelton won the Boss Open earlier this month when he topped Fritz in the final. Fritz returned the favor by beating Shelton in the Wortmann Open quarterfinals during their final tuneup for Wimbledon.
Five seeded players in addition to Shelton were ushered out of the Wimbledon singles draw in the first round.
No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina lost 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 to Spain’s Jaume Munar, No. 27 Ugo Humbert of France fell 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, No. 29 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4) to Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, No. 30 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile fell 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak and No. 32 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy suffered a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 defeat to France’s Quentin Halys.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Mariners CF Julio Rodriguez exits vs. Reds after run-scoring single
Jul 19, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (44) runs the bases after a home run hit by Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young (2) (not pictured) during the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez left Monday’s game after five innings against visiting Cincinnati after appearing to get hit in the left hamstring by a throw from Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
Rodriguez hit a chopper between third and short that De La Cruz backhanded. He double-clutched before making a throw that eluded first baseman Sal Stewart and struck Rodriguez. The Mariners’ star was credited with a run-scoring single to break a scoreless tie.
Rodriguez returned to the lineup Saturday after being on the 7-day concussion list since July 2 when he was hit in the back of the helmet by a throw while sliding into second base.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Remarkable finish helps Mystics snap Valkyries' 9-game win streak
Jul 20, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Washington Mystics guard Alicia Florez (2) controls the ball against Golden State Valkyries guard Kaitlyn Chen (2) during the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin combined for 38 points and 27 rebounds, both recording double-doubles, and the Washington Mystics scored 13 consecutive points down the stretch to end the Golden State Valkyries’ nine-game winning streak with a 90-82 triumph Monday night in San Francisco.
Iriafen finished with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Austin collected a game-high 15 rebounds to complement 15 points for the Mystics (13-12), who trailed 80-73 after a Kayla Thornton three-point play for Golden State with 3:32 remaining.
Cotie McMahon and Sonia Citron ignited the late Mystics flurry with three-point plays, after which Iriafen sandwiched an Austin hoop with four points of her own, with two free throws giving the visitors an 86-80 lead with just 18.8 seconds left.
Citron capped a 17-point night with four late free throws, securing Washington’s first win in three tries against Golden State in the season series.
Michaela Onyenwere chipped in with 12 points and Georgia Amoore nine to go with a game-high eight assists for the Mystics, who had been held to 49 and 69 points in losses to the Valkyries earlier this month.
Washington’s improved scoring total was a direct result of brilliant shooting both from 3-point range (42.9%) and the floor (52.5%). Iriafen dropped in eight of her 12 shots, while Onyenwere and Amoore buried three 3-pointers apiece.
Kaitlyn Chen poured in a career-best 20 points for the Valkyries (19-8), whose last loss had been almost exactly a month ago (June 21) at Las Vegas.
Thornton had 15 points, including four 3-pointers, Veronica Burton added 12 and Janelle Salaun 11 for Golden State, which was outscored 17-8 at the free-throw line.
Burton also found time for a team-high seven assists, while Kaila Charles led Golden State in rebounds with five. Chen added six assists to her team-high point total.
Led by Chen, the Valkyries’ reserves outscored their Mystics counterparts 37-14.
– Field Level Media
Sports
Dillon Dingler homers twice as Tigers beat Cubs in 10
Jul 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler (13) points after he hits a solo home run during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images Dillon Dingler hit two home runs and added the go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning to help the visiting Detroit Tigers survive a comeback by the Chicago Cubs in an 8-6 extra-innings win on Monday night.
Detroit led for essentially the entire game, scoring four times in the first inning, until Ian Happ’s two-run homer off Kyle Finnegan in the eighth knotted the score at 5-5.
With runners on the corners and no one out in the 10th, Dingler hit a chopper deep into the hole at shortstop and beat the throw to first from Dansby Swanson. Spencer Torkelson added on with a two-run single.
Trent Thornton (3-3) took the loss despite only facing one hitter in the frame. He exited the game after Riley Greene’s liner hit him in the left heel, getting replaced by Javier Assad.
Pedro Ramirez got the Cubs one run back after reaching on an RBI fielder’s choice in the bottom of the inning and Swanson singled to bring the winning run to the plate, but Tyler Holton got Carson Kelly to ground out to close out the game.
Dingler — the Tigers’ starting catcher — shined on both sides of the plate, starting an inning-ending pickoff play to go along with a 4-for-5 night which included three RBIs.
Greene also homered for Detroit, opening the scoring with a three-run blast to right-center. Dingler tacked on with a solo shot to dead center the next at-bat.
In the third, it was Chicago’s turn to hit back-to-back homers. First, Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run shot off Jack Flaherty to cut the deficit in half. Michael Busch followed up with his 13th long ball of the season to make it a one-run game.
A baserunning snafu cost Chicago a chance to tie or take the lead in the fifth. Ian Happ was batting with runners on first and second with two out when Dingler successfully backpicked Suzuki at second.
Dingler took Tyler Ferguson deep to lead off the eighth, notching his third multi-homer game since June 1.
After Happ’s heroics, the Cubs had the bases loaded with a chance to walk it off in the ninth, but Kenley Jansen (2-4) struck out Alex Bregman to escape the jam.
Flaherty allowed three runs on four hits over four innings, striking out four and walking two. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up five hits and four runs with two walks and six strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
Mariners CF Julio Rodriguez exits vs. Reds after run-scoring single
Remarkable finish helps Mystics snap Valkyries' 9-game win streak
