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France's Hugo Gaston saved two match points and 12 of 16 break points in upsetting top seed Sebastien Baez of Argentina 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals Thursday at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
Baez fired more winners (49-34) but also had more double faults (7-2) in the match lasting three hours and eight minutes.
Gaston will face Argentina's Facundo Diaz Acosta, who knocked off fourth seed Pedro Martinez of Spain 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 in a three-hour, 32-minute match.
Italy's Matteo Berrettini won his eighth consecutive match in beating American wild card Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the quarterfinals. Berrettini saved all three break points and recorded seven aces on Thursday. He improved to 9-0 in tiebreaks over the past two weeks.
He advances to the semifinals against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann, who ousted Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-6 (2), 6-4.
Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag
Top seed Andrey Rublev of Russia moved closer to his third title of the year with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in Umag, Croatia.
Rublev won earlier in 2024 in Hong Kong and Madrid and has 16 tour-level crowns. He converted six of 15 break points and fired 10 aces to zero double faults.
He moves to the semifinals against fourth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (2) winner over Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
Czech Jakub Mensik eliminated Taiwan lucky loser Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-0, 6-4 and will face second-seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 winner over Dusan Lajovic of Serbia.
Atlanta Open
Third-seeded Frances Tiafoe won 84 percent of his first serve points (46 of 55) in emerging with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Russia's Aslan Karatsev in the second round.
Tiafoe had more aces (18-14) and fewer unforced errors (14-23) in the match lasting two hours and 5 minutes.
Fourth-seeded Jordan Thompson of Australia won in straight sets over French lucky loser Harold Mayot 6-2, 7-5. Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka downed American Mackenze McDonald 6-3, 6-4 and next will face Tiafoe in the quarterfinals.
Three other singles matches were scheduled for later Thursday.
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George Russell Has Two-Word Reaction to Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon Win Over Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner finally got his hands on that Wimbledon trophy just a few hours ago, capping off an incredible run with a gutsy win over his biggest rival, Carlos Alcaraz. The stands were packed not just with die-hard tennis fans but with big names from the world of sports, business and entertainment, too. One familiar face in the crowd? Mercedes F1 driver George Russell, who’s pretty much a Wimbledon regular at this point. And after watching Sinner’s breakthrough moment, Russell kept it short and sweet, dropping just two words for the new champ that said it all. Sinner took to Instagram to share with his 4 million followers the latest grand slam added to his collection. The caption said, “Living in my dream Thank you!!! @wimbledon.” Russell, who was in attendance alongside fellow F1 driver Ollie Bearman, commented on the post saying, “Congrats mate.” Jannik Sinner is officially a Wimbledon champion for the first time and what a way to do it. The No. 1 seed took down Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday’s final, denying Alcaraz a spot alongside legends like Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic with three straight Wimbledon titles. Sinner, who was actually the last guy to beat Alcaraz at Wimbledon back in 2022, did it again, sealing his fourth Grand Slam win. After losing to Alcaraz in that epic Roland Garros final, this rematch was everything fans hoped for. Sinner’s relentless serves, gutsy breaks and even a lucky net cord helped him hold off Alcaraz’s comeback push. When the crowd started chanting “Jannik,” you knew he’d finally done it, a well-deserved, dream Wimbledon win.
Yankees manager provides major update on Aaron Judge's injury
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge missed Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies with an elbow injury, and the slugger is now headed to the injured list. The Yankees fell 9-4 to the Phillies on Saturday at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y., which marked their third consecutive loss. Judge played in Friday night's 12-5 loss to Philadelphia, but Aaron Boone announced before Saturday's game that Judge was dealing with an "elbow issue" and would sit out. Following his team's latest loss, Boone shared some new information about Judge's injury. Judge has been diagnosed with a flexor strain, but the Yankees believe he can return in less than two weeks. When Judge returns to the lineup, Boone said it will initially be as a designated hitter. Judge is having an outstanding season. He entered Saturday batting .342, which is the best mark in baseball. The reigning American League MVP has 37 home runs, 85 RBI and a 1.160 OPS. The Yankees are now six games behind the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays and fighting to remain atop the wild-card race. It goes without saying that they are hopeful Judge will be able to return as soon as possible.
Browns make curious decision with rookie QB Shedeur Sanders
The Cleveland Browns are giving Shedeur Sanders special treatment in training camp, but it's not the type of favoritism the fifth-round pick would necessarily want. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Sanders is the only Browns quarterback who has not been taking reps with the first-team offense during OTAs or the first two practices of training camp. Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel have all split reps with the first team. Despite being asked to throw passes to members of the equipment staff amid a shortage of professional pass-catchers for a four-quarterback roster, Sanders said he's thankful for the opportunity to show the Browns coaching staff his talents. "I feel like that it's not in my control, so I'm not going to think about that or even have that in my thought process of why it is," Sanders said to a question as to why he's not getting first-team reps. "There's a lot of people who want to have the opportunity to be at this level, and I'm here and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. So, whenever that is, that is." Sanders, 23, believes that he can contribute more to the Browns than what the coaching staff is asking of him. "It doesn't make me feel down or left out because I know who I am as a person," Sanders said. "I know who I am as an individual and I know what I could bring to this team. So, I can never feel less than any circumstance." The Browns selected Sanders with the No. 144 pick in April's draft. As a player whom many draft analysts thought was a first-round talent, Cleveland took what could be the steal of the draft in the fifth round. It's curious why the Browns aren't giving Sanders a shot with the first team early in training camp before the quarterback race becomes more serious. Cleveland should absolutely see what Sanders has to offer this summer. Flacco, 40, isn't a long-term solution at the position. Pickett failed in Pittsburgh. The Browns need to gauge what rookies Gabriel and Sanders can do with the first team. Having Sanders throw balls to the equipment staff is a waste of everyone's time. But then again, Cleveland has wasted plenty of quarterbacks.
Steelers' Aaron Rodgers Already Has A New Favorite Target
The Pittsburgh Steelers know that it will take quite a while to get strong chemistry on the offensive side of the ball with new quarterback Aaron Rodgers, as he is in a brand-new system with a bunch of players that he has never played with before. Luckily, it's just the beginning of training camp, so there is still some time to get the kinks worked out and get everyone on the same page. Pittsburgh's new passer, historically, likes to find a couple players and target them specifically, so many weapons have to compete for that attention. Rodgers may have already found one of his favorite targets. So far in training camp, fans and analysts have noticed that he has paid a lot of attention to tight end Darnell Washington all throughout practice. In Arthur Smith's tight end-heavy offense, Washington is expected to see plenty of playing time. The big 6'7" mountain of a man has primarily been a blocker in his two seasons in the NFL, but he has had a few moments as a receiver, including lining up wide and catching the Steelers' first touchdown of the 2024 season. There is definitely potential there, especially since he towers over almost every defensive back in the NFL. Rodgers has connected with Washington multiple times early on in training camp, including during a critical part in Saturday's "Seven Shots" drill. The big tight end may not be much of a route runner, but he can still be useful over the middle as a safety valve, as well as an option out wide to simply out-reach the defensive back. Either way, "Mount" Washington could easily set career highs in pretty much every statistical category. On top of that, Rodgers has thrived in multi-tight end sets in recent years, which perfectly fits with Smith's scheme. Even with Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith already on the roster, the former third-round pick should see an increase in snap count and targets. His frame is perfect for red zone routes, where Pittsburgh struggled in during the 2024 season. Him receiving a handful of touchdowns in 2025 is not out of the question. One man's fortune is another man's misfortune. Jonnu Smith was acquired to be a versatile receiver for Rodgers, but he missed the first two days of training camp for undisclosed reasons. That gave Washington and Freiermuth more time to work with the 41-year-old passer. Freiermuth has seen some attention from his new quarterback as well, but the supposed blocking tight end of the group has been especially highlighted during team drills. Everything is set up for Rodgers and his tight ends to thrive. Even with Washington being the main player at that position receiving targets, there is still over a month of practices and preseason games to go for the whole group to develop that chemistry. Arthur Smith may love the multi-tight end personnel groups, but he may be forced to go to that more than even he is used to just to give Rodgers the best chance to thrive with his targets. Steelers' Game Plan Could Slow Down Top Offenses Obviously, when the tight end group is a featured part of the offense, the plan is not to get splash play after splash play and score in five plays. DK Metcalf may make that happen occasionally, but the plan is to wear out opposing defenses with 10+ play drives. That will also keep opposing offenses off the field. The Cincinnati Bengals will have a tough time putting up 38 points if they only have six offensive possessions.
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