Norrie’s fitness and stamina have been among his biggest assets during his career – as well as his desire to play as much tennis as possible.
However, after playing in the back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome across April and May, Norrie opted to go to the Geneva Open in the week leading in to Roland Garros.
He lost his opening match to Argentina’s Mario Navone on Wednesday and said afterwards he “probably should have retired” from it.
“I overdid it with the preparation and not listening to my body and my mind,” he told BBC Sport on Saturday.
“I kept pushing because I had never retired before in a match in my career, so I wasn’t sure what to do.”
That run is now over, but former British number one Annabel Croft believes Norrie made the right choice.
“It’s far better not to exacerbate the injury problem and get back to the UK, have rest and treatment on it, and then start building up to Queen’s Club and Wimbledon,” she said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
“We’ve heard from [Novak] Djokovic that his body doesn’t respond as well as it used to and into his thirties it was getting more difficult for his body to respond.
“This sport is so demanding and I can see why Norrie would have overtrained.”
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller added: “It is in Norrie’s DNA – he just can’t really leave it alone.
“That is what’s made him the player he is today. He loves being out there.”
Norrie was the last British singles player standing at 14 Grand Slams over the past five years, including the Australian Open in January.
Fearnley begins his French Open campaign later on Tuesday, while Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones have reached the second round in the women’s singles.
CONCORD, N.C. — When Daniel Suarez was struggling to make his name in auto racing, he would often get phone calls from Kyle Busch offering words of encouragement and urging him to keep working.
That made his crown jewel Cup Series victory Sunday night all the more special.
Suarez benefited from a crucial pit call, then caught a break from Mother Nature to win the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600, capping an emotional day in which the racing world remembered the late Busch.
Suarez became the first Mexican-born driver to win the Coke 600. It was his third Cup Series win and first since 2024.
The victory was especially emotional for Suarez, who previously raced for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
“Kyle, he was special,” Saurez said as he teared up. “I was doing this for Kyle, for [his wife] Samatha, for [his children] Brexton and Lennix and for all of his family.”
A non-factor for most of the race, Suarez gambled and took two tires during a late pit stop, then held off Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin on restarts before the race was called when the sky opened up and rain drenched the track shortly before midnight Eastern time.
NASCAR quickly made the decision to call the race with 27 laps remaining.
Bell finished second; Hamlin was third.
The two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates had a chance to catch Suarez on the two restarts, but couldn’t clear his No. 7 Chevrolet.
“It’s a bummer,” Bell said, who won the rain-shortened 2024 Coca-Cola 600. “It wasn’t meant to be today. That’s 2026 for us.”
Hamlin said he was “just a little unlucky.”
“The 20 car (Bell) and us were just really battling because we knew whoever could clear him (would win the race),” Hamlin said. “We were really good all day. We just didn’t get to see it through.”
The race came just three days after Busch’s death sent shockwaves throughout the motorsports world and beyond. The 41-year-old Busch died after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family.
The two-time Cup Series champion and winner of a record 234 races across NASCAR’s three national series had become unresponsive while practicing in a Chevrolet simulator Wednesday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were released by the family.
Busch’s family attended the race and NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell told them they are part of the NASCAR community and “we got you.”
NASCAR and CMS honored Busch with his No. 8 and signature on the frontstretch grass and a highway billboard near the main entrance of the track. The U.S. Army Golden Knights carried a Busch flag prior to the race and each of the 39 cars in field carried a small, black No. 8 decal.
Kyle Larson won the first stage race. Hamlin won the second stage and Bell the third.
Crashing out
Defending champion Ross Chastain crashed out when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. clipped his car in Turn 2 with 81 laps remaining in the race.
Connor Zilisch and Austin Cindric only made it 52 laps before getting caught up in a crash. Cindric got turned around and Zilisch came crashing in to the side of his No. 2 Ford, ending both drivers’ day.
Chase Elliott, a two-time winner this year, hit the outside wall and ping-ponged into the inside wall on Lap 90. That car was beyond repair and he finished 37th.
“I was trying to make something happen and I stepped over the line,” Elliott said.
Replacing Busch
Austin Hill, a regular driver in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Richard Childress Racing, took Busch’s spot in the race and finished 26th. He drove the No. 33 car after RCR temporarily retired the No. 8 until Busch’s 11-year-old son Brexton is ready to drive.
Austin Dillon, went behind the wall with damage to the front of his car with 56 laps to go, ending any hope of an emotional win for RCR. He finished 32nd.
Having arrived an hour later than the champion to the venue because of Manchester traffic, Dubois made a brisk, business-like ringwalk.
Wardley, in his first appearance since being upgraded to world champion, soaked in the atmosphere with a leisurely entrance. Draped in an Ipswich Town Football Club robe, he was greeted by a warm reception from the 18,000-strong crowd.
With a combined record of 42 wins – 40 coming by knockout – there was palpable anticipation inside the arena, and Wardley stayed true to his promise to bring the action early as Dubois immediately hit the canvas after a flush right hand.
Dubois winked to his corner but looked shell-shocked. He wrestled Wardley to the ground as both fighters swung for the hills.
Many expected Dubois to impose himself early before Wardley could settle. Considered the better technical boxer, he regrouped and landed a right in the second.
Momentum swung again in the third when Wardley, who looked sharp with his overhand right and uppercuts, sent Dubois wobbling. Dubois took a knee and survived the count before firing back with a right hand that rocked Wardley.
The fighters and fans struggled to catch a breath as trainer Don Charles urged Dubois to lean on his jab, and he followed that instruction to take control of proceedings.
Dubois’ left eye was swollen, but Wardley’s face looked a mess as Dubois set up his attacks with a left jab before landing his biggest shots in the fourth and the sixth.
Wardley, who was working in recruitment a decade ago, showed an extraordinary chin and heart as he refused to go down despite his legs trembling and blood pouring down his face.
Most would likely have been withdrawn by their corner, but Wardley has built a reputation on dramatic comebacks. This time, however, it felt different.
The doctor inspected Wardley’s injuries before the eighth round and allowed him to continue.
By the ninth, the referee looked ready to intervene as Wardley continued to absorb heavy punishment and the contest became increasingly difficult to watch.
Doctors again allowed Wardley to continue before the 10th and when the stoppage finally arrived in the 11th, there was almost a sense of relief.
A sensational fight had reached its conclusion.
Warren – a veteran of 45 years in the sport – described it as “the best heavyweight fight” he has ever promoted.
Wiffen said that he was “already planning” on moving to Dublin even before the Irish Open.
He had targeted a time of seven minutes 42 seconds in the 800m, but came in at 7:58.08 on his way to winning gold in Bangor and also said his performance in the 1500m was “confirmation in my head that I wasn’t in the shape I wanted to be in” and that he should switch to Dublin.
“In 1500m I got to the 1000m mark in a second off PB [personal best] pace and I could feel it fading and it was all down to the training,” he added.
“I wasn’t doing the right type of work I used to do, so when it came to the decision, I sat down with Andy Reid [National Performance Director at Swim Ireland] and talked to him. We had talked of the back-up plan if California didn’t work when he was first appointed, so this was already in the thinking.”
Reflecting on his time in California, Wiffen was critical of the training in the US and says he “feels a lot fitter” since he started training in Dublin.
“In California it felt like you kind of didn’t know what you were doing. You were having to push yourself, there wasn’t much guidance or criticising technique.
“They didn’t want to mess up the Olympic champion is what I felt. They were trying to do what they wanted to do, not what’s good for me.”
Wiffen is now gearing up for a big summer with the Commonwealth Games and European Championships on the horizon and hopes a solid block of training in his new surroundings can get him up to speed to break more records.
“I don’t know how fast I’m going to be in the summer, but I have two benchmark meets before that I can compare to other years.
“I need to see how those go and how the training works. I have eyes on the world record in the summer, but if not I need to readjust some things.”
PITTSBURGH — Daniel Jeremiah traces his rise as an NFL draft analyst to two seemingly unrelated events: a prominent football reporter showing up in his living room to visit a televangelist, and randomly bumping into a college roommate of his brother in a press box.
First, understand that Jeremiah is not just one in a sea of people evaluating pro prospects. He’s highly respected in the industry and, in addition to his radio work as a color analyst for Chargers games, has been the NFL Network’s go-to expert when it comes to breaking down the strengths and weaknesses of players and how they fit with a given franchise.
The former college quarterback is glib, quick on his feet and meticulously organized. Reporters turn to him — his pre-draft conference calls with NFL writers from coast to coast have sometimes lasted more than two hours — and super-secretive team scouts trust “DJ” as a peer, an extra set of eyes.
“I like to joke that I can kind of be a cross-checker for these teams,” said Jeremiah, 48, who lives in El Cajon, where he once set San Diego records for passing yards and touchdowns at Christian High. “So they’ll call and say, ‘Hey, where do you have this guy? What do you think of this player?’”
Jeremiah was once part of that world. He was a college scout with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. But his path from quarterback at Northeastern Louisiana and Appalachian State to where he is now was anything but a straight line. It was a more unpredictable and roundabout route than any offensive coordinator would dare draw.
Roll back the clock 40 years, when his father, David Jeremiah, was the senior pastor at a Baptist church in El Cajon. Every Sunday, he would go from pew to pew greeting parishioners. Young Daniel was at his side and doing the same, perfecting a firm handshake, practicing looking people in the eye.
The elder Jeremiah would go on to launch an international radio and television ministry. His son, who remains devout, would eventually carve out a career preaching the gospel of the NFL to an audience of millions. Daniel’s description of player traits are digestible and entertaining, whether it’s his own phraseology or the language he learned after more than two decades in the business.
Daniel Jeremiah speaks with a reporter ahead of the NFL draft in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
(Ed Rieker / Associated Press)
An unflinching running back might “choose violence,” a team that builds the line before adding skill-position talent is “putting the hardware store before the toy store,” and an edge rusher who passes the “wet paint” test can get around the corner with such lean that “If he played on a field of wet paint, he did not have a drop of paint on him at the end of the game.”
Said Charlie Yook, executive producer of content for NFL Network: “Daniel is hilarious, a funny guy. It’s a different type of humor. He doesn’t swear. He kind of has that schoolish, boyish, sarcastic type of humor, but it’s still something that everyone can relate to.”
Now, for that renown football reporter who showed up in his living room. It was the late Chris Mortensen, who covered the NFL for ESPN and regularly listened on Sunday mornings to the preachings of Dr. David Jeremiah. In 1998, when San Diego played host to the Super Bowl between Denver and Green Bay, Mortensen used the opportunity to meet his favorite radio minister. The elder Jeremiah invited him over to the house for lunch. Daniel was a college freshman home on winter break. He and Mortensen instantly bonded, and the reporter asked if he’d like to attend Super Bowl media day. Later, he invited the young man to join him at the draft in New York, giving him an assignment to work the phones.
Mortensen would give his landline number at the draft to all the team general managers, reporters and other contacts around the league. Jeremiah manned the phone “like a secretary,” took notes and relayed them during commercial breaks. Already showing a knack for organization, Jeremiah kept index cards sorted by division and by tracked receiver and cornerback needs, keeping tabs on which of those players went there.
“That draft was bigger than this draft for me personally,” Jeremiah said, sitting in the stands at an NFL event in Pittsburgh before a cluster of reporters would surround him for final observations on how the first round would unfold.
So a straight line from there to a Mortensen-like role with NFL Network? Hardly. Jeremiah’s next job was with ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football” and a gig that was football-adjacent. He traveled with that crew as a production assistant, but his role was lining up the scenic footage in every city. Say it was a Rams game in St. Louis, he was the one setting up a shoot at a root beer factory so the network had something local to show coming in and out of commercials.
He did that for two years, but eventually his knowledge of the game as a onetime quarterback made him too valuable to waste. The crew put a headset on him and he would be another set of eyes for camera operators and people in the production truck. What cornerback got beat on that play? He knew. Who’s warming up on the sideline? He was watching. How many times has the defense blitzed? He was keeping track. It was a dream job.
“I was a pig in slop,” Jeremiah said.
But it was but one slop stop in his budding career. While walking through a press box at a game, he bumped into his brother’s old college roommate, T.J. McCreight, who was scouting for the Ravens.
“He goes, ‘Hey, do you think you’d ever have any interest in scouting,’” Jeremiah recalled. “I said, ‘I’ve never … I mean, I love the draft and all that stuff. But I’ve never even thought about scouting, but yeah, absolutely I’d have interest in that.’”
Daniel Jeremiah speaks during a news conference at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 25.
(Gregory Payan / Associated Press)
Soon enough, he was meeting with Ravens executives who gave him a volunteer assignment at the combine, very high-level stuff.
“I filled the candy jar every day,” he said. “I helped get the players into the interview rooms and all that.”
But he was on his way to eventually spending four years with Baltimore, then following player-personnel director Phil Savage to his GM job with Cleveland, scouting the entire country out of Southern California. When the Browns went 4-12 in 2008, Savage and his hires, Jeremiah among them, were shown the door.
Jeremiah spent two more years with Philadelphia as a West Coast scout before taking an analyst job with NFL Network. He could do the same type of player evaluation without the zig-zagging travel, much better for a father of four.
“I left scouting,” he said. “Scouting didn’t leave me.”
The draft is his Super Bowl, and he’s aware that it’s usually the biggest day in the lives of NFL hopefuls. He keeps that in mind, especially when he’s delivering an honest critique of a player.
“I’m very cognizant of that,” he said. “I don’t know that there’s a right way to do this job or a wrong way. I just know the way that I’ve approached it, and I feel like you could really eviscerate someone on what’s literally the best day of his life. Yeah, I will never do that.”
It’s a delicate balance, though, because he wants to remain true to his scouting beliefs.
“I might not necessarily have a player going to a team,” he said. “But I can try to explain to you why I think that team did what they did. That keeps me from saying a bunch of negative things about a player. I’m not trying to kill the kid, right?”
Said Yook: “There are 200-something guys getting drafted over these three days. You don’t suck if you get drafted in the NFL. Doesn’t matter if you’re pick No. 1 or the last pick. He understands that there’s a very small percentage of people who actually get to touch grass in the National Football League.”
What’s more, people can follow all sorts of twisting paths to success. Jeremiah needs no reminder. Preaching to the choir.
