Reuters Sports News Summary
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Tennis - Old school Mischa leads Zverevs into second round
Alexander Zverev is hailed by German tennis fans as the man most likely to emulate Boris Becker's Wimbledon feats but it is actually his older brother Mischa whose game has more in common with the three-times champion. The siblings -- the first to both be seeded in the Wimbledon men's singles since Americans Gene and Sandy Mayer in 1982 -- eased into round two on Tuesday using vastly different methods.
More records for Federer but no match point glory
There were plenty of records for Roger Federer to savor on Tuesday as he began his pursuit of a record eighth Wimbledon title, but he was denied a chance to celebrate them in style as his first round match ended abruptly midway through the second set. Trailing 3-6 0-3 30-30, Alexandr Dolgopolov drew a chorus of dejected sighs on Centre Court as he walked up to the net to shake hands with Federer.
Ostapenko ready to ratchet up aggression
Having conquered the Paris clay with her wrecking-ball groundstrokes, Jelena Ostapenko plans to up the aggression further as she pursues her Wimbledon campaign. The Latvian, who shook up women's tennis when she won the title at Roland Garros last month, will wield her fearsome forehand against Canadian qualifier Francoise Abanda in the second round on Wednesday.
Canadian Raonic booms through to round two
Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic boomed down the fastest serve of this year's tournament so far at 141 mph as the Canadian beat Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(5) 6-2 7-6(4) in the first round on Tuesday. The sixth seed struck 20 aces and only dropped one game on serve but was made to work hard at times by the world number 53, who had plenty of firepower of his own and claimed second spot on the fast serve list with a 138 mph zinger.
Djokovic into second round as Klizan retires injured
It was a short and sweet introduction to this year's Wimbledon for Novak Djokovic who breezed into the second round when opponent Martin Klizan retired injured after the first set of their match on Tuesday. Djokovic, a three times Wimbledon champion, had taken the first set 6-3 before Klizan called the trainer onto Centre Court to treat a leg injury.
Tennis - Vandeweghe leads American charge on Independence Day
Lacking any actual pyrotechnics, Coco Vandeweghe was at least armed with a booming serve as she led an American contingent into the second round of Wimbledon on Independence Day. The hard-hitting 25-year-old former quarter-finalist cracked down several deliveries near the 120 mph mark as she powered past Germany's Mona Barthel 7-5 6-2.
Cycling - Sagan kicked out of Tour, injured Cavendish withdraws
World champion Peter Sagan was kicked out of the Tour de France on Tuesday after sending Mark Cavendish crashing to the ground in a hectic finale to the fourth stage, sending shockwaves through the three-week cycling extravaganza. Cavendish broke his shoulder blade in the crash and has withdrawn from the Tour, his Dimension Data team told Reuters.
Brits to take center stage on Centre Court
Home fans will be treated to a double-bill of British number ones at Wimbledon on Wednesday when Johanna Konta stars in a revenge play against Croatia's Donna Vekic before defending champion Andy Murray takes to the stage. With world number two Rafa Nadal bringing down the curtain on the scheduled matches, taking on the United States' Donald Young, a few more chapters in the quest for this year's titles will be written by the end of the day.
America's Cup arrives back in New Zealand
Hundreds of fans swarmed to Auckland airport on Wednesday to welcome Team New Zealand home with the America's Cup after their 7-1 victory over Oracle Team USA on the Great Sound in Bermuda last week. The arrival of sport's oldest trophy came two days after New Zealand's government promised NZ$5 million in funding to keep the team together in order to prepare for the title defense, likely to be in 2021.
Heat waive Bosh, plan to retire his jersey number
Chris Bosh, an 11-times All-Star who has been sidelined for over a year with blood-clot issues, has been waived by the Miami Heat, the NBA team said on Tuesday. Bosh was an All-Star in each of his six seasons with Miami, playing a key role in the Heat's two championships in 2012 and 2013 and their four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals from 2011-2014.
