Laura Muir beaten into third as Melissa Courtney wins women’s race on busy day at Vitality-sponsored event in London
Melissa Courtney finished a superb third in the European Indoor Championships 3000m but could be in for even a better summer over 5000m as she surprisingly outkicked Laura Muir in the Vitality Westminster Mile.
Despite a strong wind along Birdcage Walk, Courtney showed her strength by leading after a slow start and then repelling the challenges of Sarah McDonald and European champion Muir along the finishing straight outside Buckingham Palace as the Commonwealth bronze medallist retained her title.
Courtney was given a time of 4:31 which was the same as McDonald with Muir timed at 4:32.
Courtney said: “I’m delighted but a little shocked. I felt strong but the wind was tough and everyone was sitting behind me but I finished well.”
Muir had only arrived back from altitude in Switzerland the day before and endured a lot of travelling but admitted Courtney and McDonald were better on the day.
“I wanted to win but it’s okay at this time of year with a long season,” she said. “I had a break after the indoors and trained very hard at altitude.”
Scotland fared better in the men’s race as Chris O’Hare used his dependable strong finish that has won him European outdoor and European indoor medals in the past.
The clock was clearly showing 3:59 as he crossed the line and it looked as if he achieved the first sub-four-minutes mile in the event but road times are rounded up to the nearest second and it was officially recorded as 4:00.
“I was not too bothered about the time but to win the race but Tom Marshall set a good pace and I knew it would be fast,” said O’Hare (pictured below).
Also matching that time was the race revelation Jonathan Davies. The former European under-23 cross-country champion showed impressive speed in finishing second with Elliott Giles having his best mile race to date to finish a close third in 4:01 after having made much of the earlier pace.
On a day that saw had world record numbers competing over one mile – a total of 9198 finished – Anthony Whiteman came out of retirement to win the Olympians’ race in just over five minutes while Alyson Dixon (pictured below) was first woman with a time around 30 seconds slower than she had run in winning the masters title 10 minutes earlier.
Both W55 Clare Elms (5:10) and W70 Angela Copson (6:30) not only shattered the UK age group records but set world road bests that are significantly faster than the track world records.
Craig Sharp won the men’s masters race in a tight finish, while Mark Symes set a UK M50 record of 4:37 and Nigel Gates a UK M65 record of 5:20.
Steph Twell and husband Joe Morwood set a world record of 4:50 for a couple holding hands in a separate race, while Daniel Sidbury won the wheelchair race.
All the junior races were closely contested and there were under-20 wins for Sabrina Sinha and Will Stockley.
The under-15 races were won by small margins by Lewis Sullivan and Olivia Martin. The under-13 races, which were not GB championships events, saw success for Will Steadman and Isabelle Martin, the sister of Olivia.
Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas comfortably beat German world number 110 Maximilian Marterer to reach the second round of the French Open.
The Australian Open semi-finalist won 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to set up a second-round meeting with Bolivian world number 92 Hugo Dellien.
Nicolas Mahut, 37, produced an upset, coming from two sets down to beat 16th seed Marco Cecchinato of Italy.
The French wildcard beat the 2018 semi-finalist 2-6 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2 6-4.
Elsewhere, Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori beat French world number 153 Quentin Halys 6-2 6-3 6-4.
The two-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or German Peter Gojowczyk in the second round.
Croatian 11th seed Marin Cilic is also through with a 6-3 7-5 6-1 victory over Italian Thomas Fabbiano.
The former US Open champion will face Bulgarian world number 47 Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Serb Janko Tipsarevic, in the second round.
Tsitsipas has been in good form heading into Roland Garros, reaching the final of the Madrid Open following victories over fourth seed Alexander Zverev and five-time champion Rafael Nadal.
He also captured his third ATP title - and his first on clay - when he beat Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to win the Estoril Open before losing in the semi-finals to Nadal in Rome.
The Greek, who is the rising star on the ATP Tour, also played in clay tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona - winning 13 matches in total on clay before coming to Paris.
"It is quite different to other tournaments I have played. It is slow. It is not too fast, it is fine. I love playing on this court though. It gives you another energy on the big arenas," said Tsitsipas following his win over Marterer.
"These are the moments that we are practising and dreaming of."
Roger Federer made a winning return to the French Open with a dominant first-round victory over Lorenzo Sonego.
The Swiss 20-time Grand Slam winner, playing at Roland Garros for the first time in four years, beat the Italian 6-2 6-4 6-4.
He arrived to a standing ovation on Philippe Chatrier court and left with the crowd on their feet in delight.
The 37-year-old will play German lucky loser Oscar Otte, ranked 145th in the world, in the second round.
"I knew I can play very well on clay and I am very happy I did it in straight sets today," Federer said.
"I missed the French crowd so thanks for the warm welcome today."
Four years away - 101 minutes to first victory
The rapturous reception he received was the only clue that Federer had ever been away from the Paris clay-court Grand Slam tournament.
The third seed missed the 2016 event with a back injury and skipped the past two clay-court seasons to preserve his body.
He raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before Italian world number 73 Sonego finally held his serve.
But while Sonego temporarily stemmed the flow, Federer marched on to claim the opening set in just 24 minutes.
"Two breaks in the first set was very important for me and when I was leading 4-0 I could take more risks and play more aggressive," Federer said.
He had looked like he was going to race away with the match until Sonego began to find some form when he was a double break down midway through the second set.
A cross-court forehand winner set up three break points for the Italian, all of which Federer saved before Sonego snatched the break when the Swiss double-faulted.
The 24-year-old celebrated the breakthrough as if he had won the match - and was soon fist-pumping again when a delightful lob had Federer well beaten to seal a hold in the next game.
But the brief glimmer of hope for the Italian was soon stamped out as Federer wasted no time in a hold to love to take the second set.
A closely contested third set was effectively decided by a thundering Federer backhand across the court that gave him a break for 5-4 and he went on to wrap up the match when Sonego sent a service return wide in the next game.
Meanwhile, in an era when the sport becomes ever faster two defenders prevailed, Japan’s Hitomi Sato won the women’s singles title.
Men’s Singles
…………Ruwen Filus, the no.3 seed beat Korea Republic qualifier, Seo Hyundeok in the final (11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8), after at semi-final stage having ousted Frenchman, Andrea Landrieu, the no.10 seed (11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 11-8).
…………It was one step higher for Ruwen Filus who had been the runner up on the ITTF World Tour in Belarus in 2015; for Seo Hyundeok, the same outcome, his one previous final was in 2010 in India when also he lost to a German, on that occasion he was beaten by Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
Women’s Singles
…………Hitomi Sato, the top seed, emerged the winner but she did things the hard way. At the semi-final stage she beat Honoka Hashimoto, the no.3 seed in seven games (8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9), before in an equally testing final against a further Japanese colleague, Saki Shibata, the no.2 seed she repeated the feat (5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7).
…………Success for Hitomi Sato meant she won her fourth ITTF Challenge Series women’s singles title to add to the one success on the ITTF World Tour when she won in Croatia in 2016.
Men’s Doubles
…………Ruwen Filus and Steffen Mengel, the no.5 seeds, beat Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yu-Hsin and Wang Tai-Wei, the no.8 seeds, (11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5) to secure the title. They won in five games (11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5).
…………Previously partnering Ricardo Walther, Ruwen Filus had appeared in three ITTF World Tour men’s doubles finals; always he had been the runner up.
Women’s Doubles
…………Satsuki Odo and Saki Shibata, the no.2 seeds, beat Japanese national team colleagues and qualifiers, Ayane Morita and Yuka Umemura (11-6, 12-10, 11-4) at the final hurdle.
…………Thus they secured their second ITTF Challenge Series women’s doubles title of the year, the third of their career. Earlier this year they won in Oman, last year they succeeded in Belarus and Belgium.
Glasgow Warriors are a more robust team than the one that has previously "flopped" in big games, says centre Pete Horne.
Warriors came up just short in the Pro14 final, losing 18-15 to Leinster.
But having taken a battering in the semi-finals last season, Horne says there is far more "steel" about the team now.
"We're a different side to where we were 12 months ago, even two months ago," he said.
"In big games we've maybe flopped a wee bit in the past. We got pumped off Scarlets this time last year, we got hosed off Saracens in a big Champions Cup [quarter-final] game this season.
"Even though we weren't playing well, we showed a bit of steel and made it difficult for them."
Glasgow took an early lead thanks to Matt Fagerson's try but immediately conceded a score to Leinster centre Garry Ringrose after Stuart Hogg's kick was charged down.
A further try for the Irish side through Cian Healy and the boot of fly-half Johnny Sexton stretched Leinster's lead, before Grant Stewart set up a tense finish.
"It's gutting, it just feels like another one that got away," Horne added.
"We were right in the game, even at the death, but didn't play quite as well as we have the last month. It's just disappointing.
Ireland back row forward Sean O'Brien has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup as he will be sidelined for up to six months recovering from hip surgery.
A statement released by Leinster on Sunday indicated that O'Brien will have surgery "in the next few weeks".
O'Brien lifted the Pro14 trophy on Saturday after Leinster beat Glasgow 18-15 in the final at Celtic Park.
The 32-year-old British and Irish Lions flanker is joining London Irish later in the year.
O'Brien made his Ireland debut in 2009 and has won 56 caps despite struggling with a string of injuries.
Injury denied O'Brien a place in Leinster's squad for the Pro14 decider but he still collected the silverware after the win.
His future involvement in international rugby is in doubt given Ireland's preference to select players who are contracted to play for the Irish provinces.
Manchester United and Barcelona transfer target Matthijs de Ligt has said he will make a decision on his future after the Netherlands' upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign, but added he does like the Premier League.
The Ajax captain, 19, is one of the most sought-after players in this summer's transfer market after an impressive campaign where he led the Amsterdam side to the Dutch league and cup double -- as well as the semifinals of the Champions League.
He is certain to leave Ajax this summer for a huge fee and Old Trafford sources have told ESPN FC they believe De Ligt is going to sign for Barca. However, when asked what his next destination is likely to be, De Ligt would not make a decision until after the Nations League finals.
"Where do I see myself? Well, obviously the Premier League is a big competition -- Spain also -- but you have other competitions," he told AP. "It's not [just] about those two.
"I still don't know anything about where my future is, so I see how it goes."
Sources have told ESPN FC that United have offered De Ligt a deal worth £250,000-a-week to move to Old Trafford -- more than the player will receive at Barcelona.
But despite the prospect of playing in the Premier League with United, De Ligt has made it clear to the club that his preference is a move to Barcelona, who have already completed a €75 million deal for his Ajax teammate, Frenkie de Jong.
While United remain huge admirers of De Ligt, who is not expected to leave Ajax until after his involvement with Netherlands at the Nations League in Portugal next month, there is an acceptance within Old Trafford that Barca have all but tied up a deal for the player.
ESPN FC senior reporter Mark Ogden contributed to this report
Cristiano Ronaldo was presented with Serie A's inaugural MVP award last weekend. The decision to create a new set of prizes -- recognising the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and attacker -- was officially part of the league's latest rebrand but the timing felt like more than a coincidence: Was it an initiative they'd have launched if Ronaldo hadn't moved to Italy last summer? The new prize helped Ronaldo feel the love and appreciation of his new home while also feeling like a stunt, designed to associate the league -- and not just Juventus -- with the 34-year-old and his huge global profile, which as my colleague Sam Borden wrote, has not escaped scrutiny this season amid the serious allegations brought by Kathryn Mayorga.
Unlike the Gran Gala del Calcio, Italy's main awards ceremony that takes place every winter, the winner was not decided by a players' vote. Accounting firm Ernst & Young crunched the numbers using data from Opta, STATs and Netco Sports to settle on a name, and Ronaldo came out on top.
The result ignited little debate in Italy. Ronaldo is the MVP in a literal sense and in absolute terms. No one is more talented than him in Serie A. He's the most expensive signing in the league's history and its highest-paid player, banking more than three times what the guy with the next-biggest salary makes (Gonzalo Higuain). But in terms of his performances over the course of this season, is he a deserving winner of the MVP crown?
This weekend's final game at Marassi throws the question into stark relief. Juventus finish the campaign away at Sampdoria, who have their own Ronaldo -- the England Under-21 midfield player who can speak several languages -- and the player the league named its best attacker, Fabio Quagliarella. Samp fans aren't the only ones to think the veteran had a compelling case for the MVP award, either. Quagliarella matched Gabriel Batistuta's 11-game scoring record, entered his nominee for goal of the season with a volleyed back-heel against Napoli and will win the Capocannoniere title for top scorer unless something crazy happens on Sunday.
Quagliarella is a goal away from equaling the single-season record at Samp (27) and no one in Serie A history has had as prolific a year at his age. The veteran striker combined for a greater share of his team's goals than any other player in Serie A and still prevails over Ronaldo in the scoring charts even when penalty goals are subtracted from both their records: Quagliarella converted nine, the Portuguese put away five.
Rather than expand the MVP debate, which we'll leave for next week's end-of-season review column, it's worth pausing here to consider what we expected of Ronaldo instead.
Back in August, the anticipation was he would set new standards in Serie A. Breaking Juventus' single-season scoring record (32 goals), a milestone many had tried and failed to overtake over the past 85 years, surely wouldn't be a problem. The same went for the league record (36) established by Higuain in his final season with Napoli, the man unceremoniously "kicked out" to make room for CR7.
Ultimately, Ronaldo came up short. In his defence, the last Scudetto winner to boast a Capocannoniere was Inter (and Zlatan Ibrahimovic 10 years ago) and Juve are a team that tend to spread the goals around and share the workload in order to be competitive across all fronts. Still, it does come as a surprise to see Ronaldo fourth in the scoring charts behind a 36-year-old, a no-name Pole who came out of nowhere (Krzysztof Piatek) and a mercurial Colombian (Duvan Zapata) enjoying a career year.
We should bear in mind it's Ronaldo's first campaign in a new country, even though the same goes for Piatek, who swapped Cracovia for Genoa last summer and moved to Milan in January. Ronaldo was coming off a World Cup summer and short preseason, as were a number of other Juventus players. He needed to get to know the league, a different culture, his new teammates. They needed to understand him and figure out what he wanted from them on the pitch. Massimiliano Allegri had to experiment with systems, partnerships and other combinations in order to help put him in a position to do his best work without upsetting the balance of the team.
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Who will secure top 4 in Serie A on the final day?
With the race for Serie A's top four coming down to the final day, ESPN FC's Ross Dyer and Paul Mariner square off in predicting the notable fixtures.
After taking more than five hours to score his first goals in a black-and-white shirt, he went on a tear, ending the first half of the season as the league's top scorer and the most prolific Juventus debutante since John Charles in 1957. But he underwhelmed in the Champions League group stages. Sent off on his debut against Valencia, he did set up Paulo Dybala's winner against Man United at Old Trafford and scored a magnificent volley -- probably his best goal for the club -- in the reverse fixture. But that game, Juventus' most fluent performance of the season in Allegri's opinion, ended in shock defeat.
Also, if Ronaldo hadn't tried to head in Dybala's wonder strike against Young Boys a fortnight later, they would have drawn and not lost in Berne. In hindsight, that episode feels curiously symbolic. Ronaldo getting in the Argentine's way has been a theme of the season.
The second half of the year was the exact opposite. After his hat trick in the comeback against Atletico Madrid -- the highlight of Ronaldo's season -- he said "this is what they bought me for" and he was right. He scored in both legs against Ajax and is entitled to think he kept his side of the bargain. After Juve's elimination, Ronaldo's mother claimed he told her "I can't work miracles" and the gesture he made on the pitch, which some interpreted to mean -- let's put this diplomatically -- that his teammates had lost their nerve, spoke volumes.
Meanwhile, in the league, Ronaldo has scored half as many goals in the second half of the season (seven) as in the first (14). A big part of that is down to resting him for the Atleti games in the Champions League or getting him fit enough to play the Ajax ones after the muscle injury he suffered in March. Watch his goals again and what you'll see, but for the ballistic missile he launched against Empoli and the aforementioned blast against United, that they're mostly scrappy tap-ins or Ronaldo being first to a set-piece delivery. Five of his past seven goals in all competitions have been headers: the one in Amsterdam, admittedly, a beauty.
It's an odd year to assess because, on the one hand, few would quibble with the idea of Ronaldo being Juve's Player of the Season. You can argue that they miss Giorgio Chiellini more when he is out. Mario Mandzukic scored bigger goals in grudge matches -- though he was often set up by Ronaldo -- and Wojciech Szczesny distinguished himself in his first full year as the club's No.1. (Recall, though, that the memorable penalty save he made on Higuain against Milan came about in part because Ronaldo instructed him where to dive.)
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Ronaldo accidentally hits son with Serie A trophy
Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo managed to clip his son's head with the Serie A trophy during the club's title celebrations on Sunday.
Ronaldo came to Juve's rescue in Bergamo against Atalanta in the league, as he did in the Champions League against Atleti. He settled the Turin derby and scored the killer goal against Milan at San Siro and in the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. He was part of a team that went undefeated in the league until mid-March and looked set to break the points record set in Antonio Conte's final year until mid-April.
And yet, there is still a feeling he maybe wasn't as dominant as many people thought he would be in Italy. There was no treble, no Champions League triumph. It was the least successful of Allegri's five years in charge, too, which goes some way to explaining the decision to risk a change of coach.
As Maurizio Crosetti put it in La Repubblica: "If you play worse with Ronaldo than without Ronaldo, if you win less with Ronaldo than without Ronaldo, if you exit the Champions League in a worse way with Ronaldo than without Ronaldo, then you go home. It's as simple as that."
The Champions League is ultimately where Ronaldo should be judged. That was the priority. After all, Juventus didn't sign him to win an eighth consecutive Serie A title. But given that they went out of the cup in January and crashed out of Europe in April, it's understandable that more focus is placed on how he performed in the league.
Still, the song the fans were singing when he arrived was "Portaci la Champions" -- bring us the Champions. Ronaldo has not done that. Not yet, at least.
Wisconsin men's basketball assistant coach Howard Moore is recovering from injuries suffered in a car crash early Saturday that claimed the lives of his wife and daughter.
The school on Sunday released a statement confirming that Moore's wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Jaidyn, both were killed in the collision, which took place around 2 a.m. Saturday near Ann Arbor, Michigan, on State Route 14. Both Howard Moore, 46, and his 13-year-old son, Jerell, were injured but are expected to recover.
Michigan State Police tweeted Sunday that Jaidyn Moore died at the scene while Jennifer Moore was later taken off life support and died. Jaidyn was 9; Jennifer was 46.
Police said Samantha Winchester, of Ann Arbor, was driving west in the eastbound lanes of the highway when she struck the vehicle carrying Moore and his family. Winchester died at the scene. She was 23. Toxicology reports are pending, police said. The Moore family dog also died in the crash. Michigan State Police also tweeted that a third vehicle was involved in the crash.
"There are no words to describe how devastated we are for Howard and his family," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said in a statement. "Our basketball program is an extremely close family and we are all grieving for the Moore and Barnes families. Howard is so much more than a colleague and coach. He and Jen and their children are dear friends to everyone they met. Their positivity and energy lift up those around them. We will miss Jen and Jaidyn dearly and we will put our arms around Howard and Jerell and the entire family, giving them love and support during this unspeakable time."
Gard and the other Wisconsin coaches traveled to Michigan to be with Moore on Saturday before returning to Madison, Wisconsin. Moore, who played at Wisconsin from 1990 to 1995, is in his second stint as an assistant coach with the team. The Chicago native rejoined Wisconsin in 2016 after serving as head coach at Illinois-Chicago from 2010 to 2015.
"I've known Howard ever since he was a student-athlete at Wisconsin and gotten to know his wonderful family through the years," athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a statement. "He has always been an incredible representative of our athletic department and a positive influence on everyone around him. We are truly heart-broken for his family and will be doing everything possible to help him through this tragic time. Our prayers, love and support go out to the Moore and Barnes family."
Several former Wisconsin players voiced their support for Moore on social media.
Thoughts and prayers are with the Moore family. Can't even imagine the pain they are going through. Please everyone take a moment and pray for Coach Moore and his family.
Playing his first match at Roland Garros since 2015, Roger Federer had no problem reaching the second round of the French Open.
Back on the refurbished Court Philippe Chatrier on the opening day of the clay-court event, the 20-time Grand Slam champion defeated French Open debutant Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
Federer missed the French Open in 2016 because of a back injury and then skipped the event in 2017 and 2018 to focus on Wimbledon. He won the title in Paris 10 years ago to complete a career Grand Slam.
"I missed you; thanks very much for the welcome," Federer said to the crowd after concluding his match. "I was quite tense at the start."
In other news, French Open organizers said American player Sam Querrey has withdrawn from the tournament. Querrey, who was set to take on Spanish qualifier Pedro Martinez in the first round, has been replaced in the main draw by lucky loser Henri Laaksonen of Switzerland. A Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017, the 62nd-ranked Querrey cited an abdominal problem as the reason for his withdrawal
Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime also pulled out of the French Open because of an injury. Organizers said the No. 25-seeded player has pain in his left abductor muscle and will be replaced in the main draw by Spanish lucky loser Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Auger-Aliassime is ranked a career-high 28th and reached the Lyon Open final this week.
Among other seeded players in action Sunday, No. 11-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Thomas Fabbiano of Italy 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
A year after upsetting Novak Djokovic in a stunning run to the semifinals, Marco Cecchinato is out after the first round.
French wild card Nicolas Mahut came back from two sets down in a 2-6, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over the 16th-seeded Italian.
It was the first men's match on the new Court Simonne Mathieu and Mahut seemed to thrive off the support from the home fans.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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