There's an easy trap every manager must avoid: Don't give your idea of play more importance than the players at your disposal. In other words, work with what you've got, don't work around it.

This trap explains the thoroughly predictable disaster of Argentina's World Cup campaign last year. Jorge Sampaoli is one of the most interesting coaches around, but his bold, high-press tactic requires quick defenders and a goalkeeper who is good with his feet. Argentina have neither, and the result was chaos.

Sampaoli was on a fat, long-term contract. To get rid of him, the Argentine football association were forced into making a big-money pay-off. The inexperienced Lionel Scaloni replaced Sampaoli on a long-term-caretaker basis because he had an attractive record in qualification. He was also relatively cheap.

Scaloni promptly fell into a similar trap to Sampaoli. He announced his bold strategy for Argentina: to build a team that was quick on the transitions, using two wingers and playing the ball swiftly into wide spaces. But there was a huge problem, which became apparent when Argentina's best player returned to international duty.

This idea does not fit Lionel Messi.

- Report: Argentina sneak past Qatar
- Copa America 2019: Full results, fixtures and feature coverage

One of the wingers would have to be sacrificed, destroying the overall plan. Scaloni was aware of this. When Messi came back to the fold for a friendly against Venezuela in March, the coach tweaked his system. He played three centre-backs, allowing him to have two attacking wing-backs who would supply the width. The problem was that Argentina's three centre-backs were unable to defend against the strength of Salomon Rondon and the pace of the Venezuelan wingers.

Scaloni returned to his original idea, one he knew would not work with Messi, and the outcome was the opening-day defeat against Colombia. Since then, under the pressure of a major tournament, he has been trying to dig himself out of a hole.

The parts started to fit when Sergio Aguero replaced Roberto Pereyra at half-time in the second game against Paraguay. Argentina started to inch toward something more coherent, and this was repeated in the shape of the side that beat Qatar 2-0 and secured a place in the quarterfinals where they'll take on Venezuela (Friday, June 28, 3 p.m. ET, live on ESPN+).

Aguero plays up front with the young lion Lautaro Martinez, which means they have to put in a defensive shift. Leandro Paredes anchors the midfield, with the right-footed Rodrigo De Paul to his right and left-footed Giovani Lo Celso to his left, leaving Messi free to wander and combine with them. Instead of quick transitions to the flanks, Argentina are aiming to pass their way through the middle instead. There could be a lack of width -- either Messi or one of the strikers needs to move out wide at times -- but crucially, there is now a circuitry of passing. Messi has partners with whom to dialogue.

Of course, all of these changes are much easier to implement when the opponent is as obliging, as Qatar proved at the start of Sunday's match in Porto Alegre. The pressure on Argentina was instantly lifted when they were handed a bizarre early goal, with Martinez latching on to an appalling ball across his own penalty area by Al Rawi.

It's also worth mentioning the circumstances of the clinching second goal. Aguero scored with a memorable solo strike, picking up Paulo Dybala's pass and, in typical fashion, keeping his balance to shoot back across the goalkeeper. But by this stage Qatar had gone for the all or nothing, taking off one of their centre-backs and bringing on an extra striker.

Argentina have not suddenly changed from water to wine. Rather, as tournament football demands of teams that hope to win, they are making progress as the competition goes on. Nothing that Scaloni does, though, can improve the individual quality of his defenders. The defects that scuppered his predecessor, Sampaoli, namely a lack of defensive pace and a goalkeeper who is good with his feet, are still present and incorrect. In the quest to build a circuit of passing, his team is also playing without a specialist defensive midfielder.

Will coach Scaloni tighten things up and be more cautious in Friday's quarterfinal? He's well aware of the attacking threat posed by his opponents, too: the very Venezuela side who gave him a beating in Madrid in March. Or does he trust his own side to impose themselves on the game?

Argentina's travelling army of fans would doubtless prefer the latter. And with humiliation avoided and confidence restored, they can march on to Rio de Janeiro, the city they took over during the 2014 World Cup, and bring their drums and singing to the Maracana stadium for the next round.

South Africa's exit from the World Cup will go down as the lowest point in Faf du Plessis' career as captain. South Africa have lost their fifth game out of seven at this World Cup, to Pakistan at Lord's, leaving them above only Afghanistan - the only side they have beaten - in the points table.

It is the first time they've failed to make it past the first round of a World Cup since the disastrous 2003 campaign, and even then they went into their final game knowing a win would see them through. In 2019, they will play their last two matches knowing they don't matter. Embarrassing, a resigned-looking du Plessis said, after a 49-run loss to opponents who had come in with plenty of their own issues.

"Yes, definitely [it is the lowest point]. I'm a very proud player and captain, and playing for South Africa means a lot for me, and the fact that the results we're dishing out at the moment - you know, it's really, really tough, and borderline... today, it's a little bit embarrassing. We're trying but it's just not good enough. Obviously I'm human as well, so it will keep chipping at me.

"It's important that the coach, myself, the senior players, are the guys that needs to front up to this challenge. That's when your players need you the most. So right now, I need to be there for the other players as well."

The patterns that have emerged over the course of this bedraggled campaign were maintained at Lord's. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi began poorly and so the rest were catching up; the top order got starts but didn't move on, and thereafter the batting felt thin; most notably, the fielding was again ragged, far, far short of the very highest standards South Africa have traditionally set.

Du Plessis didn't think Lord's was the worst performance South Africa have put in, but by now, given the run of results that preceded it, felt it must rank among the most frustrating.

"You know, I feel we keep making the same mistakes over and over again," he said. "Probably started off with the bowling. Our bowling has been the one thing that's been working this tournament, and today, a well-below-par performance, probably bar Immy [Imran Tahir], who was exceptional once again.

"But the rest of the guys, probably, you know, five-out-of-ten performance with the ball, 30 runs too many [given away] and the same thing with the bat once again. We're starting our innings losing wickets again and then we build something nicely, get a partnership going, and then wicket and then wicket."

This World Cup will mark the end of at least two South African careers - both Tahir and JP Duminy will go once the tournament is done. But talk about white-ball futures will now hound the likes of du Plessis himself, Hashim Amla, and Dale Steyn, whose return home with a shoulder injury was one of the early markers in how badly this tournament was going to go for South Africa.

It will, du Plessis was open enough to admit, tarnish the legacy of some of the senior players in the squad.

"Yeah, I'd be lying if I say no. I think, as I said, as a player, I'm very proud. But I've always said that my most enjoyment that I get from the game playing for South Africa is captaining the side. The fact that we are really underperforming, as I said, chips away at me, as well. It's really important for me.

"I love captaining this team, and the fact that we are playing way, way below our potential is not something that sits with me well. There's too much pride for me, and that's why - I mean, I'm trying as much as I can, but unfortunately not everything is in my hands. You know, if I could, I would get my wand out and get some runs on the table for our batters, but I can't, unfortunately.

"So it is a challenge, and my character is one that will try and fix as many problems as I can and try and control the areas that I can, but unfortunately, I can't control everything."

Cameroon manager Alain Djeumfa accused officials of a "miscarriage of justice" in Sunday's Women's World Cup loss to England, citing frustration with multiple video replay decisions while defending his players' protest of the calls.

At times during the incident-filled game, the Cameroon players looked like they might refuse to resume playing, leading England manager Phil Neville to say he was "ashamed" of his opponents' behavior.

Asked whether he thought the calls against Cameroon were racially motivated, Djeumfa reiterated that the officiating "was a miscarriage of justice."

"I won't go anything further than that," Djeumfa said. "It's a game, it's a sport. The referee made a lot of mistakes tonight."

The 3-0 loss was marked by three decisions that Cameroon, who were eliminated from the World Cup, felt aggrieved by with two involving the video assistant referee. The first incident was a call to award England an indirect free kick for a back pass in the 13th minute that led to Steph Houghton's opening goal.

Ellen White gave England a 2-0 lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time with a goal awarded after an offside call was correctly overruled by VAR. Cameroon vehemently protested the call, having seen it replayed on the video screen.

Rather than immediately restarting play after the goal, the Cameroon players all gathered together in a huddle and spoke to each for a few minutes before finally taking the kickoff.

Cameroon players were angered again at the start of the second half when Ajara Nchout's goal was denied because of another VAR review for offside. Cameroon's players came to the touch line and were visibly upset at the call, and play was temporarily halted again.

"[White] was offside," Cameroon's Raissa Feudjio said. "But the referee did not even go to check the goal. She gave the goal.

"But then our goal was disallowed and we found ourselves in a difficult situation, where most of us do not want to play. We didn't want to play anymore. We just wanted the game to be over. But because we were playing for our country, we decided to go on.

"We were really disappointed. The coach said: 'Don't worry, the referee wants England to win today.' Don't worry about this. Your job is to represent your country. So you have to go back out and play."

- FIFA Women's World Cup: All you need to know
- Full Women's World Cup fixtures schedule

Djeumfa told reporters he felt the game was "slipping away" after the back-pass call went against them.

"The officials wanted something else, but then the girls lost some tempo and we need to take our hat off despite the refereeing mistakes for their performance," he said.

Djeumfa also said his players were not refusing to play over the calls.

"That's your feeling that the players refused to play, but ultimately we didn't stop and refuse to play," he said. "My players were examples, and occasionally when you are in a state of shock, you can lose your cool.

"But the players never really refused to play the game. They showed professionalism, and I take my hat off to them for that."

England's players said they were unsure why the game was twice halted, and Neville was critical of Cameroon's behavior.

"I sat through 90 minutes of football there and completely felt ashamed of the opposition," Neville said. "I did not enjoy the game for that reason apart from the fact we're in the quarterfinal and have momentum. All those young girls and boys watching the game back in England -- we had 5, 6, 7 million people watching England play an international game against Cameroon with that kind of behavior.

"I think it's pretty sad. I can't gloss over it and fudge it, and I've got to tell the truth to everybody."

Neville said he was proud of his players and added that if any of them had behaved like the Cameroon team, he would never pick them again.

Neville also addressed Toni Duggan's reaction after it appeared she was spat on by a Cameroon player in the first half.

"It's pretty clear. It's unacceptable," Neville said. "I will praise Toni Duggan because that's the worst thing you can do on a pitch. There's no place for it. Toni handled it fantastically. She just wiped it off and got on with playing football."

Houghton suffered an ankle injury late in the game on a robust challenge, and her status for England's quarterfinal showdown Thursday with Norway is in doubt.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso hit his 27th home run of the season Sunday to set the franchise rookie record.

Alonso's homer in the top of the fourth inning off the Chicago Cubs' Cole Hamels traveled 454 feet to center at Wrigley Field. The home run is tied for his second-longest this season.

Darryl Strawberry had held the Mets' record for home runs by a rookie since he hit 26 in 1983. He was named the National League Rookie of the Year that season and hit his 26 home runs in 122 games. Alonso hit his 27th home run in just his 77th game.

"Congrats to Pete for breaking my record which has stood for a long time. What he's done in a short period of time is most impressive. No goal seems out of reach. I wish Pete and [the] Mets all the best the rest of [the] year," Strawberry said in a statement released by the team.

Alonso's record-setting home run had an exit velocity of 110.0 mph, his 11th homer of the season with a 110-plus mph exit velocity, according to Statcast data. That's one shy of the New York Yankees' Gary Sanchez, who leads baseball with 12 such home runs this season.

Alonso had set the NL mark for home runs before the All-Star break with his 26th on Saturday. Mark McGwire holds the major league record for homers before the All-Star break with 33 for the Oakland Athletics in 1987.

Alonso's 27 home runs are tied with Dave Kingman (1976) for most in Mets history before July 1.

The Cubs won Sunday's game 5-3 on a milestone three-run home run by Javier Baez in the bottom of the eighth inning. The homer was the 100th of his career.

Baez learned that it was his 100th homer after returning to the dugout and being mobbed my teammates.

"It's really exciting,'' Baez said. "I thought it was going to be a little bit later on in my career.''

Alonso's solo shot to center came on a soft 0-2 pitch from Hamels in the fourth that Hamels said resulted from a "mix-up'' with catcher Victor Caratini.

"Thankfully I saw two of them in the previous at-bat and saw it long enough and put a really good swing on it,'' Alonso said. "I'm proud of it, but I wish we won today. It was a tough loss.''

Baez said he talked to Alonso during the series and tipped his cap to the rookie.

"He doing something amazing,'' Baez said. "He's almost got 30 homers and we've still got two more weeks until the All-Star break. I like the way he's playing the game and the way he's hitting the ball.''

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LOS ANGELES -- A woman at Dodger Stadium was taken to a hospital for precautionary tests Sunday after being struck in the head by a foul ball from Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger during the first inning of a game against the Colorado Rockies.

The young woman was sitting four rows from the field down the first base line, just beyond protective netting that extends to the end of the visiting dugout. She was hit by a sharp line drive by Bellinger, who checked on her between innings. She at first stayed in her seat and was given an ice pack, but she left about 15 minutes later for further attention.

A first-aid worker who treated the woman said she was taken to the hospital for precautionary tests but that she was alert and answering questions. The name of the woman was not released.

A woman died last August after being struck in the head by a foul ball at Dodger Stadium.

All 30 major league stadiums expanded protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugouts at the start of the 2018 season after several fans were injured by foul balls two years ago.

Fan safety has received further scrutiny after a young girl was struck by a foul ball in Houston during a game May 29. The Chicago White Sox and Washington Nationals recently announced that they will extend their netting to the foul poles.

New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway shouted profanities at a Newsday reporter in the clubhouse Sunday and starting pitcher Jason Vargas challenged the reporter to a fight and had to be restrained from going after him.

The incident came after the Mets' bullpen blew a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning of what ended as a 5-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Reporters asked repeatedly after the game about Callaway's decision to stick with reliever Seth Lugo during the eighth inning instead of going to closer Edwin Diaz. Lugo allowed a go-ahead three-run homer to Javier Baez.

After the news conference, Callaway walked past Newsday's Tim Healey in the clubhouse. Healey told Callaway he would "see you tomorrow,'' and Callaway responded by calling him a "m-----f-----."

Callaway instructed members of the team's public relations staff to escort Healey from the clubhouse, telling them to "get this m-----f----- out of here," according to multiple reporters present.

When Healey did not leave, Vargas then stared him down and shouted at him, including saying, "I'll knock you the f--- out, bro," according to a Yahoo Sports account.

Vargas charged at Healey but was held back by teammates, including Carlos Gomez and Noah Syndergaard. No punches were thrown during the incident.

"The Mets sincerely regret the incident that took place with one of our beat writers following today's game in the clubhouse. We do not condone this type of behavior from any employee," the team said in a statement later Sunday. "The organization has reached out and apologized to this reporter and will have further discussions internally with all involved parties."

Callaway, the Mets' embattled second-year manager, received a vote of confidence from first-year general manager Brodie Van Wagenen in late May after the club was swept by the Marlins in a three-game series in Miami. Sunday's loss dropped the Mets to 37-41 on the season, nine games behind first-place Atlanta in the National League East.

The Mets did make a change to their coaching staff Thursday when they fired pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez.

The Mets are set to open a four-game series at Philadelphia on Monday to face the Phillies, who have lost seven consecutive games.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the third consecutive game, a rookie produced a walk-off victory for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Colorado Rockies.

Catcher Will Smith, who was recalled from Triple-A on Sunday, blasted a pinch-hit three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dodgers a 6-3 victory over the visiting Rockies on Sunday.

It's Smith's second walk-off home run of the season. He has three home runs total in 13 games with the Dodgers this season. He became the fourth player in MLB history to have walk-off homers for two of his first three career home runs.

Smith joins the Washington Nationals' Trea Turner and Oakland Athletics' Matt Chapman as the only players with two walk-off home runs this season.

Alex Verdugo produced the heroics Saturday night when he homered against the Rockies in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 5-4 victory. Fellow rookie outfielder Matt Beaty was the hero Friday when he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to give the Dodgers a 4-2 victory over Colorado.

"Three games in a row is pretty remarkable. Just when you think it couldn't get any better, can't get any better, it does," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "Will just got here last night. To come out and play a big role in this game, speaks a lot to his preparation."

The Dodgers had already set a MLB record with the walk-off hits by rookies on Friday and Saturday, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. Smith's game-ending home run adds to that record.

Smith was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier Sunday when infielder David Freese was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring.

ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.

Olympic heptathlon champion achieves 6819 points despite injury, breaking records in the process

Coverage of the England Athletics Under-23 and Under-20 Championships in Bedford, where Max Burgin broke the British under-20 800m record, can be found here, while a report on the JCP Swansea Half Marathon is here.

Other recent highlights are below.

Decastar, Talence, France, June 22-23

Olympic and world heptathlon champion Nafissatou Thiam achieved a world-leading performance despite injury.

En route to her 6819-point score the 24-year-old set a world best for the high jump within a heptathlon, clearing 2.02m to improve her own previous best of 2.01m, and also soared out to a Belgian long jump record of 6.67m (+1.6m/sec).

After five events (13.49 100m hurdles, 2.02m high jump, 15.41m shot put PB, 24.55 200m and 6.67m long jump) her score was 5195 points, compared to the 5083 she achieved at the same stage during her eventual 7013 PB performance in Götzis in 2017.

But an elbow injury prevented her from taking all three throws in the javelin and her best was 47.25m.

With her arm strapped up, Thiam ran 2:20.46 for the 800m to secure the heptathlon title ahead of Xénia Krizsán with 6619 points and Laura Ikauniece with 6518 points.

Thiam’s 4133 points after four events was her best-ever first-day score.

She was contesting her first heptathlon since winning the European title in Berlin and had missed the indoor season due to a leg injury.

Canada’s Pierce LePage won the decathlon title with 8453 points, as Zach Ziemek was second with 8344 and Thomas van der Plaetsen was third with 8214.

LePage’s results included a 10.31 100m, 7.87m long jump, 14.21m shot put, 2.07m high jump, 48.14 400m, 14.40 110m hurdles,  44.46m discus, 5.25m pole vault, 55,22m javelin and 4:59.76 1500m.

World decathlon record-holder Kevin Mayer did not contest all the events but his performances included a 10.60 100m, 7.55m long jump, 15.56m shot put, 13.90 110m hurdles, 50.15m discus and 5.05m pole vault.

Jamaican Championships, Kingston, Jamaica, June 20-21

There were world-leading performances by Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as both clocked 10.73 (+0.6m/sec), with Thompson gaining the title. In third, world under-20 champion Brianna Williams ran a Jamaican junior record and world under-18 all-time best of 10.94.

The men’s 100m was won by Yohan Blake with 9.96 (+0.4m/sec) ahead of Tyquendo Tracey with 10.00 and Rasheed Dwyer with 10.10.

Kuortane Games, Finland, June 22

Magnus Kirt threw an Estonian record and world lead of 90.61m in the javelin for a mark which puts him 17th on the world all-time list.

Britain’s Holly Bradshaw won the pole vault with 4.46m and Nick Miller won the hammer with 75.90m. David King clocked 13.55 (+1.2m/sec) in the 110m hurdles.

Berlin Fliegt international match, Germany, June 22

Britain’s Harry Aikines-Aryeetey clocked 10.11 in the 100m, while Jodie Williams ran 11.20.

Malaika Mihambo leapt 6.89m in the long jump to win ahead of Brittney Reese’s 6.68m. Abigail Irozuru jumped 6.51m.

In the pole vault, Harry Coppell cleared 5.42m.

Germany won the team title ahead of Great Britain, USA and China.

Leverkusen, Germany, June 21

Kyron Duke threw 14.19m to set an official world record in the F41 shot put.

@dukey_devil is a new world record holder! ? He throws a distance of 14:19 in Leverkusen to take the title. ?? @BA_Paralympic | @BritAthletics pic.twitter.com/J7n9dCqJVC

— Para Athletics (@ParaAthletics) June 21, 2019

Agropoli, Italy, June 21-22

At the Italian Under-18 Championships, Larissa Iapichino, who is the daughter of Olympic and world medallist Fiona May, improved to 6.64m (+0.2m/sec) in the long jump to break the Italian under-20 record.

Golden Spike, Ostrava, Czech Republic, June 20

There was a world best in the 300m by Shaunae Miller-Uibo as the Olympic 400m champion stormed to a time of 34.41 to improve the previous mark of 35.30 set by Ana Guevara in 2003.

Magnus Kirt threw a then world-leading and Estonian record 90.34m to win the javelin, while Mariya Lasitskene cleared an impressive 2.06m to win the high jump before attempting a would-be world record height of 2.10m.

An exciting 200m was won by Andre De Grasse as he came through to pip Christian Coleman, 19.91 to 19.97.

Britain’s Charlie Da’Vall Grice won the mile in 3:56.95 ahead of Michael Kibet (3:57.01), Ben Blankenship (3:57.27) and Marcin Lewandowski (3:57.32), while Gudaf Tsegay won the women’s 1500m in 4:02.95 ahead of Sarah McDonald (4:03.79) and Jemma Reekie ran a 4:05.82 PB in seventh for a Doha World Championships standard.

Sam Kendricks cleared 5.93m to win the pole vault.

Meeting Iberoamericano, Huelva, Spain, June 20

World champion Yulimar Rojas set a world lead and PB of 15.06m in the triple jump, while Denia Caballero threw a world lead of 69.20m in the discus.

The Golden Stag Mile, London, June 21

Clare Elms ran 5:12.64 at Finsbury Park to take five seconds off the W55 world record and 27 seconds off the British record.

Clare Elms runs 5:12.64 at Golden Stag Mile at Finsbury Park to take five seconds off W55 world record and 27 seconds off British record pic.twitter.com/LUqtqE4as0

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) June 21, 2019

Alex Leprêtre won the mile in 4:13.9 as Hannah Viner was fastest woman in 4:53.8.

Brian Goodwin Memorial 10km, Scotland, June 21

Callum Hawkins clocked 29:06 and Morag MacLarty 33:51 to take the titles.

The West Highland Way Race, Scotland, June 22-23

The ultra event, which includes 95 miles of trail and 14,000ft of ascent, was won by Rowan Boswood in 15:14:42 and Siobhan Killingbeck in 17:41:09 to place sixth overall.

Belfast Irish Milers Club Meeting, Northern Ireland, June 22

Preston AC’s Matt Wigelsworth was the impressive winner of the feature event at the Belfast Irish Milers Club Meeting, Malcolm McCausland reports.

The overdue arrival of summer meant perfect running conditions as records tumbled at the Mary Peters Track throughout an action-packed afternoon.

For Wigelsworth, it was a worthwhile trip across the Irish Sea from his Preston base as he picked up the £200 bonus for breaking three minutes and 43 seconds in the men’s 1500m. The ice-cool 22-year-old was well back off the pace in third place with 300m to run but stormed to the front on the final straight before stopping the clock at a personal best 3:42.67.

Omagh’s Eilish Flanagan in a class of her own in the women’s 1500m. The Carmen Runners athlete, who had only returned from Arizona where she is on an athletics scholarship on the Wednesday before the race, opened up an unassailable lead on the penultimate circuit before coming home on her own in 4:21.06.

Both 800m races were thrilling affairs with contrasting outcomes. Kieran Kelly took up the running in the men’s race with 300m to go and looked all over the winner as he entered the home straight.

However, his Raheny Shamrock club colleague Cillian Kirwan had other ideas as he overhauled Kelly right on the line to win in 1:50.45. Nadia Power lived up to the favourite’s tag in the women’s two-lapper striking the front on the final back straight to build up a 20 metre lead.

Although fading slightly over the final 100m, the Dubliner still had enough in hand to win easily in 2:04.05.  Surprise here was Irish record holder for the event Rose-Anne Galligan ending up back in ninth with a modest 2:07.70 timing.

Other highlights included comprehensive victories in the respective 5000m races by Tullamore Harrier Liam Brady (14:32.80) and Strabane resident Ann-Marie McGlynn (16:09.35); Finn Valley’s Shane Irwin (47.72) and North Down’s Rachel McCann (56.94) were the winners of the respective 400m races while another Finn Valley athlete Janine Boyle arguably turned in the top sprint performance of the day with a 25.79 clocking in the women’s 200m.

Feliciano Lopez became the first wildcard to win the Queen's singles title since Pete Sampras in 1999 by beating fellow veteran Gilles Simon.

Lopez, who won the 2017 title, triumphed 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-2).

The Spaniard had spent almost five hours on court on Saturday and France's Simon, 34, had come through some long matches - and this was another slog.

Lopez, 37, returns to the court later in the doubles final alongside Andy Murray at the Fever-Tree Championships.

The Scot is playing his first tournament since having hip surgery in January and the pair will meet Joe Salisbury, another Briton, and American Rajeev Ram for the trophy.

For Lopez, lifting the Queen's trophy again has capped an extraordinary week at the west London club.

Now ranked 113th in the world, he had won just three singles matches this year going into the tournament.

The victory - over former world number six Simon, who had also spent more than 10 hours on court in the singles going into the final - was Lopez's eighth at Queen's this week across the singles and doubles.

A ninth, alongside Murray, will make him the first man to lift both trophies at Queen's since Australian Mark Philippoussis in 1997.

"I don't know how I did that," the Spaniard said.

"I thought the best moment of my career was when I held this trophy in 2017 but it's not. It's right now."

'Now my girlfriend knows I'm a decent tennis player!'

The two players, with a combined age of 71, initially showed little movement and variation as they became locked in a baseline battle.

Lopez's strong service game proved the difference in the first set and he broke in the first and fifth games - and held off three break points in the sixth - on his way to the opener.

Simon broke at the first attempt in the second set for a 2-0 lead, only to see that wiped out instantly by the Spanish left-hander.

The pair easily traded holds on the way to the tie-break, although Lopez did plant a straightforward volley into the net for 30-30 at 5-5, which would have given him a glimpse of an opportunity.

Lopez recovered to lead 3-1 and 4-2 in the breaker but then missed another volley for a 5-3 lead as Simon battled back to win and force a decider.

That was also an attritional set as Simon, bidding to become the first Frenchman to win the singles at Queen's, kept finding passing winners when Lopez came forward.

Lopez eventually forced his first match point at 6-5 after a lengthy deuce, sending a tired forehand into the net.

In the deciding tie-break, Lopez moved 5-2 ahead with a stunning volley which left him screaming with delight, then pulled out a service ace out wide for four more match points.

He took the first when, after charging forward to the net again, Simon could only tap a forehand into the net.

Lopez ripped off his bandana after clinching victory, looking over to the stands where his fiancee Sandra Gago - who he is set to marry in September - was crying in celebration.

"When we met, things weren't going too well and I kept losing," Lopez, whose previous tour win was the 2017 Queen's title, told the crowd. "Now she can see I'm a decent tennis player!

"I'm so happy for you; we can share this together."