Second alternate Alexandrova had sat on the sidelines all week but her patience proved worthwhile on Wednesday when Keys – unable to advance – withdrew just hours before her match with Rybakina.
The 30-year-old, who has enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2025, received the nod after fellow Russian and first option Mirra Andreeva, who is also competing in the doubles, declared she was not fit to play.
Alexandrova started impressively but squandered three break points before returning a forehand wide to hand the first break and a 5-4 lead to Rybakina.
The big-hitting Rybakina, sporting tape on her serving shoulder, served out the first set to love before breaking early in the second courtesy of a backhand error off her opponent’s racquet.
As Alexandrova’s serve faltered, Rybakina stepped up a gear and she doubled her advantage with a brutal forehand winner on break point, only to immediately lose one of her breaks when serving for the match.
Her struggle to get over the finish line continued, forced to save two break points in her next service game, before eventually sealing victory on her second match point as Alexandrova sent a backhand long.
“Each win gives you confidence,” said Rybakina, 26. “Hopefully I can continue.”
In the doubles, 2022 champions Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens confirmed their semi-final berth with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Italian pair Paolini and Sara Errani.
They join Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko in advancing from the Martina Navratilova Group.
It’s the third season of girls’ flag football in California, with athletes and teams getting better and better, which raises expectations for the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals on Saturday. Unbeaten JSerra plays at Dos Pueblos and defending champion Orange Lutheran hosts Huntington Beach.
Dos Pueblos (24-2) faces the most difficult task, trying to defeat a 26-0 JSerra team that owns two wins over No. 2-seeded Orange Lutheran. The good news for Dos Pueblos is that it has already proven it can compete against the best, having taken Orange Lutheran to overtime early in the season before losing.
“We definitely get to say we’ve faced the top,” Dos Pueblos coach Doug Caines said. “They have some crazy athletic girls.”
Dos Pueblos will have to avoid turnovers, relying on quarterback Kacey Hurley to stay away from interceptions. She has 4,603 yards passing and 84 touchdowns. Brooklyn Hendricks is the team’s standout receiver.
The other semifinal matchup involving Orange County teams will determine if Orange Lutheran can repeat as champion behind quarterback Makena Cook. Huntington Beach is 25-1. The Oilers’ only loss was to Newport Harbor. Roxie Shaia has made an impact at quarterback and on defense.
The winners advance to next weekend’s final at Fred Kelly Stadium next to El Modena High.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
Marymount girls volleyball team is peaking at the right time — and that could mean trouble for opponents.
The Sailors had everything working for them in a 25-13, 25-17, 25-15 sweep of visiting Mira Costa in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals on Tuesday night, showing no signs of rust after a first-round bye in the 12-team bracket.
“We couldn’t have been more prepared,” Washington-bound senior hitter Sammy Destler said. “Our energy got us to the finish line. We were on fire. That’s the best we’ve played all season.”
Destler entered the match two kills shy of 1,000 for her career and it didn’t take long for her to reach the milestone, achieving it on a strike to the right side that gave Marymount a 12-6 lead in the first set.
“I had no clue until they announced it, but it feels good,” said Destler, one of seven Sailors who finished with at least five kills. “We’re very familiar with them, they have Audrey [Flanagan] and Simone [Roslon] and they’re always tough but tonight was about everything we did on our side.”
The fifth-seeded Mustangs (24-10), who shared the Bay League crown with No. 2 Redondo Union despite dropping their first league match since 2019, had pushed Marymount to five sets in a nonleague match in September, but this time they could not handle the Sailors’ balanced attack.
Marymount’s serving kept Mira Costa out of system all match. In the first set alone the Sailors served seven aces, including three in a row by Southern Methodist-bound middle blocker Elle Vandeweghe, that put her team up 20-9. She and Destler combined for a stuff block on set point.
Destler opened the second set with another ace, then Frankie Jones ended it with a kill. Destler and Makenna Barnes, a Northwestern commit, each had eight kills apiece while Vandeweghe and the Brown-bound Jones each added six.
Flanagan, a Wisconsin commit, paced the Mustangs with eight kills and got a hug afterwards from Destler, one of her best friends.
Marymount’s Makenna Barnes, right, goes on the attack against Mira Costa blockers Liliana Swanson, left, and Milly McGee, center, during Marymount’s victory in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals on Tuesday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“We’ve played so many more matches than other teams,” Marymount coach Cari Klein said. “I didn’t want it, but I think we needed those extra few days rest because of the intensity of our schedule.”
The fourth-seeded Sailors (37-5) advanced to the semifinals to face top-seeded Sierra Canyon (37-3) on Saturday for the fourth time this season. The Sailors won the first meeting, 21-25, 25-15, 25-12 in the finals of the Durango Fall Classic in Las Vegas. The Trailblazers rebounded to take a pair of Mission League meetings over a span of eight days.
Klein, who is hoping to pilot the Sailors to their 11th section title in her 28th season, was so locked in to the task at hand Tuesday that she did not look at the CIF website to see if her team had won the coin flip for the next round: “Please say it’s here!”
Her wish was not granted, as Marymount will have to travel to Chatsworth, where it dropped a five-set thriller on Sept. 29, but Destler is confident they can win on any court.
“If we play like we this, there’s no stopping us,” she said.
Darts is heading to Saudi Arabia for the first time on January 19 and 20 next year.
When the snooker headed to the kingdom, entertainment chief Turki Alalshikh added a golden ball to the table to open up the possibility of a 167 super-maximum and a £1milion reward for players that achieve it.
Littler is hoping a new lucrative concept is added to darts like rewarding a nine-darter with a massive cheque.
Littler a ‘different animal’
Luke Littler’s semi-final opponent Jonny Clayton knows how big his task is tonight.
The Welshman said: “An honest answer is you have to be scared of him.
“The two Lukes, they’re both pushing the bar and the rest of us are following.
“Gezzy’s been putting in some awesome performances, and we’re all trying to keep up.
“But Luke [Littler] is the hottest player on the planet right now.
“He’s class, the world can see it. He’s a different animal.
“But we can all play darts. My first game on stage against Luke, I beat him. So you never know.”
Van Gerwen the inspiration
Danny Noppert is trying to emulate his compatriot Michael van Gerwen.
Ahead of his semi-final against Luke Humphries tonight, the world No13 revealed his admiration for MVG.
He said: “I try to be as good as Michael. But of course he’s the best player there’s ever been. I try to be like him, but not yet.”
Van Gerwen suffered a shock defeat to Dirk van Duijvenbode is round one.
De Decker responds to ‘boring’ claim
Luke Littler was not challenged in his round two victory over Mike De Decker and claimed the clash was “boring”.
The world champion said: “Mike didn’t play his best there and I just had to play along.
“It was a bit boring at times, obviously I expected something from the reigning champion, but he just couldn’t get those doubles to get him going on the scoring most of the time.
De Decker has now responded, saying: “That he found the match ‘boring’? Well, if that’s what he thinks… Good for him. That’s his opinion.”
Littler ‘definitely beatable’
Defending champion Mike De Decker was knocked out in the second round 3-0 by Luke Littler.
The Belgian struggled to land doubles at the start and it allowed The Nuke to cruise to a routine win.
Reflecting on his performance, De Decker said: “I was incredibly disappointed. Look at my average. After the second set, I saw on the screen that I’d thrown 8 out of 42 doubles or something.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against. That way, you’ll have problems against anyone.
“It was just a bad match for me. He wasn’t great either, but it just didn’t fly.
“Those doubles just wouldn’t work. When you do that with this format it becomes difficult.
De Decker went on to add: “So Littler was definitely beatable. Everyone’s always beatable, sometimes it’s just harder than others.”
Rollercoaster of emotions
Luke Littler felt every emotion during last night’s quarter-final clash with Gerwyn Price.
England forward Hannah Botterman speaks to BBC Sport’s Jo Currie as she gets her hair cut before the Rugby World Cup semi-final against France on Saturday.
Watch England v France live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 15:30 BST on Saturday, 20 September.
Olympic silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith finishes outside the automatic qualifying places for the 400m semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships but goes through as a fastest loser, joining team-mates Samuel Reardon and Charlie Dobson.
Callum Makin had to settle for a bronze medal at the World Boxing Championships after a semi-final defeat in the men’s 75kg division.
The 21-year-old middleweight was beaten by Rami Kiwan at the M&S Arena in Liverpool on Friday – the judge scoring all five rounds to his Bulgarian opponent.
Makin’s fellow Liverpudlian Odel Kamara is one of five other British fighters already guaranteed bronze before their semi-finals at the weekend.
Kamara faces Torekhan Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan on Saturday in the men’s 70kg semi-final after his win over Mongolia’s Byamba-Erdene Otgonbaatar.
Teagn Stott is through to the semi-finals in the men’s 85kg following a second-round stoppage against Semion Boldirev of Bulgaria and will now take on Ukrainian Danylo Zhasan.
Elsewhere, Chantelle Reid will square up against Natalya Bogdanova in the semi-finals of the women’s 70kg after beating Mengge Zhang.
Emily Asquith beat Turkey’s Elif Guneri in the women’s 80kg to secure a last-four meeting with India’s Pooja Rani.
World number two Carlos Alcaraz made his youth count as he beat 38-year-old Novak Djokovic to reach another US Open final.
Spain’s Alcaraz, 22, was tested by 24-time major champion Djokovic but had enough quality and energy to win 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in Friday’s first men’s semi-final.
The margins were fine in the first two sets, with Alcaraz rarely near his free-flowing best, but the gap widened as Serbia’s Djokovic faded physically early in the third.
Two weary double faults from Djokovic hurried his opponent into a 3-1 lead and another teed up a first match point for Alcaraz – on which Djokovic batted a volley wide.
Seventh seed Djokovic hung over the net as he waited to congratulate Alcaraz, before waving to all corners of Arthur Ashe Stadium as he departed.
Alcaraz, the 2022 champion, will play either Italian top seed Jannik Sinner and Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s final.
“Being in the final again feels amazing – it means a lot to me,” said Alcaraz.
“It wasn’t the best level of the tournament for me but I kept a cool head from the beginning and the last point.”
Should Osaka defeat Anisimova, she will become the first player to reach a Grand Slam final after becoming a mother since Victoria Azarenka made the 2020 US Open showpiece, which Osaka won.
And if the four-time major winner goes all the way in New York, she will be the first player since Kim Clijsters (in 2009, 2010 and 2011) to have won a Slam after giving birth.
Having struggled to put a dent in Muchova’s serve earlier in the first set, Osaka pounced decisively at 5-4 – going 0-40 up and closing out the opener at the second time of asking.
Muchova, who began grimacing because of an issue with her left leg in the sixth game, called for the trainer and received medical attention off court.
She returned with heavy strapping on her thigh, but it didn’t seem to hinder her tennis as she opened the second set with an early break.
Osaka struck back immediately, however, and there was little to separate the pair until a frustrated Osaka conceded serve at 4-4 with a series of unforced errors.
But, as Muchova stepped up to serve and force a deciding set, Osaka regained her composure and bounced back aggressively, breaking to love to level the set.
She took control in the tie-break, opening up a 4-1 lead which proved enough for her to wrap up the victory with a beaming smile.
“It was an incredibly difficult match,” Osaka added in her on-court interview. “She’s one of the best players in the world – every time I play her it’s so difficult.
She joked: “Last year she beat me here when I had one of my best outfits, so I was really upset.”
The Galaxy, stumbling through the worst season in the franchise’s long history, has looked to the Leagues Cup, a tournament with little pedigree and no real history, to salvage the year.
And for much of the monthlong competition that worked, with the Galaxy cruising into the tournament semifinals unbeaten. But reality and the Seattle Sounders caught up with them Wednesday, when goals from Pedro de la Vega and Osaze De Rosario gave Seattle a 2-0 victory and a spot in Sunday’s Leagues Cup final against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
The Galaxy will play host to Orlando City, a 3-1 loser in the other semifinal, in Sunday’s third-place game, where a berth in next season’s CONCACAF Champions Cup will be on the line.
Qualifying for the confederation’s top club competition would be a considerable accomplishment for the Galaxy, who are last in the MLS table nine months after winning their sixth league title. But they’ve played like another team in the Leagues Cup, emerging unbeaten from group play, where they faced three Liga MX teams, then eliminating Mexico’s Pachuca in the quarterfinals. And through the quarterfinals, they were scoring three goals a game, more than double their average in MLS.
The Sounders wasted little time taking control, going in front on De la Vega’s goal in the seventh minute and never looking back.
The score came on the last of a flurry of shots inside the Galaxy penalty area. The first, from De Rosario, was saved in the center of the goal by Novak Micovic, who dove to push the rebound out to his right. As Micovic scrambled after the loose ball, Jesús Ferreira took a shot, which Micovic, still on his stomach, also saved. But that rebound fell to De la Vega, who would not be denied, putting his right-footed shot into the back of the net.
That was the fifth consecutive goal Seattle has scored in two games at Dignity Health Sports Park since being shut out in last fall’s Western Conference final.
Both keepers made diving one-handed saves — Seattle’s Andrew Thomas on the Galaxy’s Diego Fagundez in the 28th minute and Micovic on Obed Vargas 12 minutes later — to keep the score 1-0 at the intermission.
But the physical De Rosario doubled the Sounders’ lead with a splendid goal 12 minutes into the second half, heading down a pass in the box, lifting it back over his head with his right foot, then bulling his way through Galaxy defenders John Nelson, Zanka and Maya Yoshida before beating Micovic cleanly from the edge of the six-yard box.
Micovic deserved better on a night when he was forced into a season-high six saves and got little help from his defenders. Still his performance was better than that of Mexican referee Adonai Escobedo, who struggled to control the match. Escobedo did make good use of VAR to correct a missed call in the final 10 minutes of regulation, however, expelling Seattle defender Nouhou Tolo for a rough challenge and forcing the Sounders to see out the victory with 10 men.
On the other end, Thomas made four saves to shut the Galaxy out at home for the second time in 17 days.
Jack Draper has spoken following his mixed doubles win over Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, along with partner Jessica Pegula.
I have got a pretty good partner.
What an experience playing out here with Jessica, playing Emma and Carlos, it doesn’t get any better than this.
Just a pleasure to be out here.
Jack Draper
How to watch
The US Open is set to restart tonight.
The event resumed at 7pm ET, which is 12am BST.
Fans can watch it on ESPN and Sky Sports.
Djokovic tippeed for shock win
Novak Djokovic has been backed by iconic tennis coach Rick Macci to win the US Open, but only if a few things go his way.
Maci said of the Serb:”He can win the US Open because he still checks enough boxes.
“He has to make sure that he’s not playing four or five hours the other matches because you’ve got a day or whatever to get back and do it again.
“It’s the physical and mental toll that’s going to be tough on his body, but if the draw breaks the right way, or if Alcaraz or Sinner, something happens to them along the way…
“It changes the whole roadmap, the way you’re looking at this thing. He definitely could win the US Open, but those things have to happen.
“But if he has a lot of tough matches and then he has to go through both those guys, I think that’s kind of rough sledding.”
Novak speaks
Novak Djokovic took to X to express his delight at sharing the court with protege Olga Danilovic in their mixed doubles match with Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva.
He wrote on X: “Always fun playing mix doubles with Olga.
“Thank you@usopen for the WC opportunity to play.”
Womens seedings confirmed
The seedings for the women’s US Open have been confirmed.
Unsurprisingly, World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka is the top seed, with Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff being second and third seeds, respectively.
Check out the full seedings below.
Pegula reacts to mixed doubles win with Draper
She said: “This stadium was packed, so thanks to everyone for showing up.
“That was such a fun atmosphere. Even if it meant a couple of highlight-reel shots by Carlos to get the crowd going, it was really fun.
“I’ve played doubles a lot. I haven’t played that much recently.
“So, it’s always tricky, especially going into a mixed format, playing against other people who don’t play a lot of doubles.
“It was a lot of fun. Jack played great. Excited to be back soon.”
In the men’s event, taking place in Toronto, Alexander Zverev battled back from a set down to beat defending champion Alexei Popyrin 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3.
The 28-year-old German is into his 75th semi-final on the ATP Tour, becoming the only active men’s player to have reached that milestone alongside Novak Djokovic.
He will face Russian Karen Khachanov, who moved past Alex Michelsen of the United States 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
The Cincinnati Open confirmed Djokovic had withdrawn for “non-medical” reasons from the tournament, which begins on Thursday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who is not competing in Toronto because of a groin injury, has not played since losing to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of Wimbledon.
The 38-year-old is unlikely to play before the US Open, which starts on 24 August.
Holders England face Italy while world champions Spain take on Germany as the Women’s Euro enters its final week.
A last-minute winner, two thrilling shootouts, missed penalties and countless saves – the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women’s Euro delivered everything one could ask for.
The drama now rolls on to the final week with four teams left in the hunt for the European crown.
Here’s how the Euro 2025 semifinals line up:
⚽ First semifinal: England vs Italy
When: Tuesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT) Where: Stade de Geneve, Geneva
A long-cherished dream became a reality for Italy on Wednesday when captain Cristiana Girelli’s 90th-minute header ended their 28-year wait for a place in the semifinals of the Women’s European championships.
Coming into the contest as the underdogs, Italy stunned Norway 2-1 as Girelli scored twice while Ada Hegerberg netted once for the Norwegians after missing a penalty for the second time in this year’s tournament.
“I felt something different, something special. I have seen in the eyes of my teammates a special light,” the 35-year-old Girelli said after the game. “If you have a flame, you have to continue to live. We suffered a lot, but we fought until the end.”
Their fairytale run now faces its next test against holders England, who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, winning 3-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout against Sweden on Thursday.
Eleven minutes from full-time the Lionesses – trailing 2-0 and on the brink of elimination – mounted a rapid comeback, scoring two goals in two minutes to send the match into extra time.
In the penalty shootout, which featured 14 attempts, defender Lucy Bronze slammed her spot kick into the roof of the net as the seventh penalty taker, and goalkeeper Hannah Hampton made two saves as England coach Sarina Wiegman breathed a sigh of relief as her side qualified for the final four at Euro 2025.
“It was hard. One of the hardest games I’ve ever watched. Very emotional. We could’ve been out four or five times during the game,” Wiegman said.
England are unbeaten in their last five matches against Italy, all friendlies, with four of those ending in victories. The winner of the first semifinal will face either Spain or Germany in the final.
Cristiana Girelli scored a 90th-minute winner, her second goal of a superb double, as Italy beat Norway 2-1 to book their spot in the semifinals at the UEFA Women’s Euro for the first time since 1997 [Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo]
⚽ Second semifinal: Germany vs Spain
When: Wednesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT) Where: Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich
Spain kept their quest for a maiden Women’s Euro title alive by knocking out hosts Switzerland 2-0 in Friday’s quarterfinal despite failing twice from the penalty spot.
The world champions were made to work hard against a stubborn Swiss defence in the first half before super sub Athenea del Castillo scored the opener shortly after the hour mark, and Claudia Pina doubled the lead with a superb curling effort. Spain’s victory kept their 100 percent winning record at Euro 2025 intact.
“Maybe we’d prefer to face Germany again because of what happened at the Olympics,” del Castillo said after the match, referring to their 1-0 defeat to Germany in the bronze medal match at Paris 2024.
Athenea may just get the revenge she hinted at: Germany are through, and Spain will now meet their Olympic nemesis in the semifinals.
The Germans defeated France 6-5 on penalties in Saturday’s thrilling semifinal, pulling off a superb comeback from a goal down despite playing with 10 players for most of the match. In the 13th minute, German midfielder Kathrin Hendrich was issued a straight red card after she pulled the hair of France captain Griedge Mbock.
With the match tied 1-1 after extra time, the contest was decided on penalties. Germany’s goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was the hero, firing home from a crucial spot kick herself before pulling off a decisive penalty save to seal the upset victory against France.
“There is a very hard and tough opponent [Spain] we have to face [in the final]. Everybody really gave their ultimate effort here, and we need to regenerate. We have to make sure we recover,” said the 34-year-old Berger, who produced a string of outstanding saves throughout the match.
Germany are unbeaten in eight meetings with Spain, winning five and drawing three with a goal count of 18-3.
Germany won the shootout against France 6-5, thanks to the heroics of Ann-Katrin Berger, who saved two shots and converted a penalty kick herself [Martin Meissner/AP Photo]
Nigeria cruised into the semi-finals of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations with a statement 5-0 victory over Zambia in Casablanca.
The Copper Queens had been expected to pose a tough challenge for the record nine-time champions, but were blown away by a stunning performance which was underlined by clinical finishing.
The West Africans never looked back after centre-back Osinachi Ohale was left unmarked at a free-kick in the second minute and headed past Petronella Musole.
Grace Chanda missed a glorious chance to equalise on the half hour mark and three minutes later Nigeria doubled their lead through a fine finish from the impressive Esther Okoronkwo.
Chinwendu Ihezuo capitalised on hesitancy in the Zambia defence to make it 3-0 to the Super Falcons on the stroke of half-time with a composed finish.
Oluwatosin Demehin nodded in the fourth from another pinpoint free-kick delivery midway through the second half at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, and Folashade Ijamilusi rounded off the scoring in the first minute of stoppage time.
Zambia had beaten Nigeria to finish third at the 2022 finals, yet their formidable strike partnership of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji – who had scored three goals apiece in the group stage – failed to register a shot on target between them.
Nigeria, who are still yet to concede a goal at this year’s finals, will face either defending champions South Africa or Senegal in the semi-finals on Tuesday (16:00 GMT).
Those two sides meet in the last eight in Oujda on Saturday at 19:00 GMT.
Djokovic’s fitness has been and will always be extraordinary.
He is aiming to become the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open era. Ken Rosewall was 37 when he won the last of his eight major titles, while the now-retired Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were 36 when they last triumphed.
Djokovic has reached the semi-finals of all three Grand Slams this year. He has beaten players above him in the rankings, players who supposedly have the advantage of youth over him. And he looked superb at times during his Wimbledon run: the serve firing, the feet gliding into the corners.
But he has to contend with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who will leave here having carved up the past sevenGrand Slams between them, and will inevitably recover quicker than Djokovic.
“It’s tough for me to accept because I feel like when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year,” Djokovic said.
“Playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically. The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets.
“I have to play Sinner or Alcaraz. These guys are fit, young, sharp. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half-empty.
“It’s just not possible to win a match like that.”
Djokovic considered withdrawing but did not – and at 3-0 up on Sinner in the third set, with a point for a double break, he would have felt vindicated.
But Sinner increased his intensity, putting more power behind his shots, and Djokovic won just one more game from then on.
Taylor Fritz thought the motivational note he wrote to himself after losing at Wimbledon four years ago would stay private. His girlfriend, influencer Morgan Riddle, later shared it on social media.
“That note was never supposed to be public,” a smiling Fritz said after his 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) win over Karen Khachanov set up a semifinal meeting with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Fritz had written to himself in the note that “nobody in the whole world is underachieving harder than you” and urged himself to get his act together.
Not only does Fritz forgive Riddle, he also credits her for having such a big impact on him rising to No. 5 in the world rankings in pursuit of his first Grand Slam title.
“There’s been a pretty constant results-and-ranking rise since we’ve been together,” Fritz said. “I think I would have to say she’s been a big help to me just kind of keeping me focused, having someone who cares and just pushes you to just do better and do the right things, be healthier.
“Almost like kind of just mother me in a way,” he added, chuckling to himself, “with like, the diet and going to sleep on time.”
A smiling Fritz later added: “Yeah, that maybe wasn’t the best choice of words.”
The 27-year-old American, who was the runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open, didn’t face a break point in the first two sets against No. 17 Khachanov, who rebounded in the third set. It was 4-all in the fourth-set tiebreaker before Fritz claimed the final three points on Court No. 1.
It’s the first time Fritz has reached the last four at Wimbledon. He’s won two grass-court titles this season — Stuttgart and Eastbourne — and was happy he wouldn’t be facing Alcaraz on clay, which would be “an absolute nightmare.”
“Grass is very much so an equalizer. It can be an equalizer. So trust in how I’m playing,” he said. “I truly know the way that I played the first two sets today, there’s not much any opponent on the other side can do.”
Alcaraz: Golf first, then Fritz
The second-seeded Alcaraz is within sight of a Wimbledon three-peat. He extended his winning streak to 23 matches this season by beating Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court.
Alcaraz, who has beaten Novak Djokovic in the past two finals at the All England Club, faced only five break points and saved all of them.
He wants to hit some other greens, though, before he faces Fritz
“For sure I’m going to play some golf, just to switch up my mind a little bit,” Alcaraz said
The 22-year-old Spaniard has been playing golf with Andy Murray during his Wimbledon run.
This time, his opponent could be actor Tom Holland, whom he had run into earlier.
“I would love to play against him in the golf course. For me it would be such an honor. I will try to set it up in these two days that I will have much time to do it. So let’s see if he will be available, and we’ll tee it up.”
Nothing should take away from how brilliant Siegemund was. She stepped forward to the Sabalenka serve, taking it on early, and chopped her way through her opponent’s huge groundstrokes.
Sabalenka held serve just once in the opening set – and even that required three deuce games – and quickly found herself a double break down.
She rescued one as Siegemund served for the first set at 5-2 but slapped a return into the net to concede the opener in 57 minutes.
Sabalenka immediately left the court to reset herself and it seemed to have worked. She broke straight away for a 2-0 lead but, visibly unsettled, conceded it in the next game.
The match could have slipped away in Sabalenka’s next service game as she was taken from 40-0 to deuce – but roared on by the crowd, she held, then won four games in a row to force a decider.
An early break to love in the third set – secured on a brilliant passing winner from Siegemund – looked to have rattled Sabalenka.
She should have broken back in the next game but ended up falling to her knees at the net, arms outstretched as she sent the passing shot wide to go 3-1 down.
A nervy ending saw Sabalenka break back, immediately concede it and then capitalise as Siegemund served to stay in the match, ultimately securing victory with a relieved-looking winner at the net.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a big-hitter or a big server – you have to work, run and earn the victory,” Sabalenka added.
An epic all-European clash and an upstart Brazilian side takes on London’s finest in the final four.
Three European teams and one from South America have their sights set on the FIFA Club World Cup (CWC) 2025 trophy as the tournament enters the semifinal stage on Tuesday.
The final two clubs qualified for the final four on Saturday. UEFA Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) spectacularly defeated Bayern Munich 2-0 in the quarterfinals despite being reduced to nine men. Five-time CWC winners Real Madrid played out a five-goal thriller to beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 to seal their semifinal spot.
Here’s how the Club World Cup semifinals line up:
⚽ First semifinal : Fluminense vs Chelsea
When: Tuesday at 3pm (19:00 GMT) Where: MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
The opening semifinal pitches Brazil’s Fluminense against English Premier League side Chelsea.
Fluminense continue to impress at the CWC with goals from Matheus Martinelli and Hercules securing their place in the last four with a 2-1 win against Al Hilal in Orlando, Florida.
Chelsea scored the go-ahead goal on Malo Gusto’s 83rd-minute shot, which went in after a pair of deflections, beating Palmeiras 2-1 on Friday night to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead in the 16th minute, but Estevao, an 18-year-old who will transfer to Chelsea after the CWC, tied the score against his future club in the 53rd. Gusto’s match-winning shot after a short corner kick that appeared to deflect off defender Agustin Giay and goalkeeper Weverton sent the Chelsea fans among the 65,782 spectators into a frenzy.
The match will take place at the 88,000-seat MetLife Stadium just outside New York City.
Cole Palmer of Chelsea scores the opening goal during the quarterfinal against Palmeiras at Lincoln Financial Field on July 4, 2025, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania [Chris Brunskill/Fantasista via Getty Images]
⚽ Second semifinal: PSG vs Real Madrid
When: Wednesday at 3pm (19:00 GMT) Where: MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
The second semifinal features a mouthwatering European heavyweight matchup between PSG and Real Madrid.
Nine-man Paris Saint-Germain advanced after defeating Bayern Munich 2-0 with goals from Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele keeping the French side on track to achieve a historic quadruple of major titles in one season.
Luis Enrique’s side needed to dig deep in front of 67,000 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, after late red cards for Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernandez.
Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring his team’s second goal in the quarterfinal against Bayern Munich on July 5, 2025 [Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP]
Meanwhile, Gonzalo Garcia scored his fourth goal of the Club World Cup and Kylian Mbappe his first as Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in the final quarterfinal on Saturday.
Garcia put Madrid ahead from close range early on during a hot afternoon at the MetLife Stadium, and Fran Garcia then doubled their lead before the midway point.
Dortmund never seriously threatened a comeback before a remarkable late flurry of activity with Maximilian Beier pulling one back in the 93rd minute and superstar forward Mbappe registering Madrid’s third goal with a stunning overhead kick.
Mbappe, who has battled illness for most of the CWC, will face his previous club PSG for the first time since he departed the Paris-based side for Real Madrid in June 2024.
A map of the 11 host cities staging the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 [Al Jazeera]
The final will be played on Sunday at the MetLife Stadium, which will also the venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.
The winning team in the Club World Cup could pocket as much as $125m in prize money.
MINNEAPOLIS — Damion Downs scored in the sixth round of a shootout after three saves by Matt Freese, sending the U.S. to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 4-3 penalty-kicks win over Costa Rica after a a 2-2 tie on Sunday night.
The U.S. advanced to a Wednesday matchup in St. Louis against Guatemala, which upset Canada on penalty kicks in the opener of the quarterfinal doubleheader.
Mexico plays Honduras in the other semifinal on Wednesday in Santa Clara. The championship is in Houston on July 6.
The U.S. has reached the semifinals in 17 of 18 Gold Cups, including 13 straight since a quarterfinal loss to Colombia on penalty kicks in 2000.
Diego Luna and Max Arfsten scored in regulation for the U.S., which faced its highest-ranked opponent of the tournament in Costa Rica (54th) after breezing through the group stage with an 8-1 goal differential.
Alonso Martinez scored the tying goal for the Ticos in the 71st minute with a left-footed shot after Carlos Mora split Luca de La Torre and Arsten to take a shot on Freese and seize the rebound to set up Martinez.
CONCACAF changed the rules for this edition of the biennial championship for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, eliminating extra time except for the championship game.
John Tolkin had the first chance to win the shootout for the U.S. Keylor Navas knocked down his try in the fifth round. Freese then denied Andy Rojas with a diving hand, climbing to his feet while nodding his head and sticking out his tongue toward his cheering teammates at midfield. That set up the winner by the 20-year-old Downs.
Missing the tournament for the U.S. are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest, due to a variety of reasons from injuries to rest to Club World Cup commitments.
Three of Costa Rica’s six goals during the group stage came by penalty kick, and Francisco Calvo added another one in the 12th minute after a foul by Arsten. Calvo went low to zip the ball just out of reach of a diving Freese.
Malik Tillman, who had three group stage goals, put a 37th-minute penalty kick off a post and Navas knocked away Arfsten’s attempt off the rebound.
Luna picked him up with his first goal in international competition by rocketing a shot off the chest of defender Alexis Gamboa for the equalizer in the 43rd minute.
Tillman made amends for his miss early in the second half by poking a pass ahead for Arfsten, who surged in from the left wing to send the ball into the opposite corner for the lead.
