British duo Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid thrilled a packed Court One by winning their fifth Wimbledon wheelchairs doubles title.

Hewett and Reid reclaimed the trophy, having been runners up last year, with a 3-6 6-0 6-3 victory over Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in three sets.

It was an 18th grand slam win for the pair and a measure of revenge for Scotsman Reid, who was beaten by Oda in the singles semi-final earlier on Saturday.

“That was something else, I’ve got goosebumps,” said Hewett.

“We dream of atmospheres like this, it doesn’t come around often and I’m glad we rose to the occasion.”

Reid added: “It was a great match. I think we’re going to have a lot of battles in the future.

“Me and Alfie, on match point, we were both tearing up a little bit, the atmosphere was electric.

“My first Wimbledon was in 2008 on court 53 or something in front of three men and his dog, my mum and my sister.

“If you’d told me then we’d be on a nearly full Court One with the crowd going berserk, I would never have believed you.

“It’s an incredible atmosphere and an incredible occasion for us and for wheelchair tennis.”

Hewett will look to win his first Wimbledon singles title on Sunday when he takes on 17-year-old Oda in the final.

Neal Skupski became just the second Briton to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles in the open era after he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof triumphed on Centre Court.

Only Jonny Marray had previously won at SW19 back in 2012, but Skupski and Koolhof lived up to their top seed billing with a 6-4 6-4 win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Victory ensured home success at this year’s tournament and also gave Skupski a Wimbledon hat-trick after glory in the 2021 and 2022 mixed doubles.

Skupski, 33 and from Liverpool, said this would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam title in the men’s doubles, having lost in the US Open final last year.

Pre-armed with some tactical analysis sent in from Skupski’s brother Ken from his holiday in Ibiza, the Dutch-British pair looked assured from the off.

And at 3-3 in the first set they made their move, breaking Granollers’ serve when the Spaniard kindly sent down a double fault on break point.

Skupski consolidated the break with an impressive service game and, after missing a set point on Zeballos’ serve in the next game, it was left to Koolhof to serve it out nicely and claim the set 6-4.

They continued to dominate and crucially took Zeballos’ serve to lead 3-2 after a particularly impressive return game.

Skupski immediately held to go 4-2 up before they missed two break points to move within a game of the title as Granollers came good.

But that left the Briton to finish the job and he did not disappoint the home crowd, falling to the floor in celebration after their opponents went long on the first championship point.

Skupski said on court: “I don’t know what to say. Growing up watching this amazing championship, going out there as a small boy, this feeling at the moment doesn’t get better.

“Me and Wesley came together 18 months ago and this year one of our goals was to win a grand slam and now we have done it, it feels very special.”

William Haggas’ Hamish maintained his flawless record at York to land the John Smith’s Silver Cup Stakes.

The seven-year-old was the 4-9 favourite under Tom Marquand and brought to the Knavesmire two wins from two runs and a remarkably consistent record.

A past injury has prevented him from running on quick ground, but rain on Friday and a deluge on Saturday left conditions to his liking.

Throughout the course of the Group Three his chances did come under some doubt, however, as he looked further back than ideal heading into the home straight and had to throw down a challenge two furlongs from home.

Brian Ellison’s Tashkhan and Milton Harris’ Scriptwriter both battled all the way, but it was Hamish who prevailed when passing the post a head before the latter.

Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, said: “He’s a great horse and he got Tom out of a bit of trouble today, they just went too slowly and he likes a fast pace but it all went all right in the end and that’s the main thing!

“We’re restricted to how we campaign him because of the ground, he’s had problems along the way so we need to keep him to slow ground – it’s got to have soft in it really.

“He’s a pretty nice horse, as a four-year-old he ran in the Hardwicke and ran a really nice race.

“That was when he injured himself, he’s a classy horse. We’re lucky that at the age of seven, I suppose because we’ve been restricted, he hasn’t got many miles on the clock and he’s still going strong. Last year he was a good as ever.

“It’s hard when you don’t run them and they stay at home doing the same thing, but we’re lucky that he’s pretty straightforward. We know him so well now that we can gauge what we should and shouldn’t do with him.

“He’s just a lovely horse and we’re lucky to have him.”

The weather will guide connections as to where Hamish runs next. He holds entries for the King George, the Irish St Leger and the Ebor.

Haggas said: “He’s in the Irish St Leger, he’s in everything in case it rains! He handles really horrible conditions whereas a lot of the classier horses don’t so we will see what the weather does and go where the ground suits him.”

Andrew Balding’s Nymphadora was a ready winner of the John Smith’s City Walls Stakes.

The bay was one of only two fillies in the field for the Listed five-furlong contest, starting at 7-1 under Jason Watson.

She broke quickly from the stalls and ran prominently, leading from a furlong out and then keeping on well to come home a length and three-quarters ahead of Karl Burke’s Silky Wilkie.

“We knew from her recent form that she’d want some cut in the ground and there’s been plenty of rain here today and the last couple of days,” said Watson.

“It’s really got into the ground and she’s got course form, she won the Marygate.

“She’s a classy filly on her day and when conditions suit.

“You can see from the physique she’s got that she’s quite well balanced, she’s not the biggest but she’s very well balanced and nimble on her feet.

“There’s hopefully plenty more to come.”

Blue For You outdid last season’s effort to land the John Smith’s Racing Handicap for Danny Tudhope and David O’Meara.

A 7-2 chance, the chestnut was second in the race when beaten just half a length and is another with a fine record on the Knavesmire, having been in the top two three times from four efforts.

That record was further improved this time when he ran a patient race to pull clear in the final furlong and prevail by a comfortable three lengths.

“It was grand, he’s a really nice horse and he travelled very nicely today,” O’Meara said.

“At Ascot last time he boiled over and probably ran his race before he got to the start, but he likes it here and could come back for the big meeting and go Goodwood in between.”

Specific Times then took the John Smith’s Nursery Handicap at 11-1 for Jason Hart and Charlie Johnston, after which the John Smith’s Stayers’ Handicap went the way of Robert Johnson for Connor Beasley and Phil Kirby as the 11-4 favourite.

Carlos Rodriguez won his first career Tour de France stage to move up to third overall as Jonas Vingegaard fought to keep the yellow jersey out of the clutches of Tadej Pogacar in Morzine.

At the end of a dramatic 152km stage 14 from Annemasse that began with an almost half-hour delay following a huge crash in the peloton, Rodriguez rode away on the descent to the finish to take a second consecutive win for the Ineos Grenadiers, with Vingegaard and Pogacar locked together behind.

There was controversy at the top of the final climb, the Joux Plane, where a motorbike blocked Pogacar’s efforts to race away from Vingegaard and take vital bonus seconds at the top, but the Slovenian did grab a couple back by coming in second ahead of his rival.

Although he was beaten to the finish line, those bonus seconds on top of the mountain meant that Vingegaard picked up a second over Pogacar, his advantage in yellow now 10 seconds.

Pogacar had attacked with 3.7km of the final climb remaining, initially distancing Vingegaard but never able to get more than 20 metres clear.

The defending champion rode back up to him still with 1,700 metres to the summit and when Pogacar attacked again with 500 metres left, he had not noticed two motorbikes struggling to part the huge crowds and was forced to knock it back, allowing Vingegaard to get three more bonus seconds.

As the pair eyed each other Rodriguez, having been left around a minute behind following Pogacar’s acceleration, paced his way back on and then rode by to go clear on the descent.

“It’s incredible,” the Tour debutant said. “I have no words. Being here was a dream and getting a victory is incredible in the best race in the world. It was always something I focused on and to achieve now a victory I’m super happy…

“It was also a goal to gain some time and we accomplished it so I’m very happy on that side. I have to be happy and enjoy this victory but also think and recovery a little bit for tomorrow as that is going to be a big day also.”

Jai Hindley started the day in third place overall but was caught in that early crash and was dropped five kilometres from the top of the final climb.

The Australian came in one minute 46 seconds after Rodriguez took the win, losing third place to the 22-year-old Spaniard by one second.

However, it was not all good news for the Ineos Grenadiers, with Tom Pidcock distanced on the penultimate climb and slipping out of the top 10 overall.

Adam Yates is up to fourth as he stuck with his team-mate Pogacar, but his twin brother Simon dropped down to seventh after also losing contact on the penultimate climb.

Shaquille shot to the sprinting summit at Newmarket as Julie Camacho’s speedster doubled his big-race tally in the Pertemps Network July Cup Stakes.

The three-year-old was competing in handicap company on the weekend of the opening Classics of the season – but he has since announced himself as a star of the division and having taken the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, he took the sting out of his elders here on Newmarket’s July course.

In scenes reminiscent of Ascot, Shaquille bunny-hopped as the gates opened, giving away plenty of ground.

However, while at Ascot Oisin Murphy had time to creep his way into contention, Shaquille was not hanging around on the wide expansive track at HQ on this occasion and pulled his way to the front to eyeball the front-running Art Power.

With two furlongs to run Rossa Ryan let the 5-2 joint-favourite have his head and the duo soon set about putting the race to bed.

Although Henry Candy’s Run To Freedom and Ralph Beckett’s Kinross were breathing down his neck in the final furlong, Shaquille was never slowing down and kept on strongly in the closing stages to come home a length-and-a-half clear of the runner-up.

Shaquille had given his Yorkshire-based team of Camacho and her husband Steve Brown their first Group One victory at Ascot and after quickly doubling their tally, he provided his jockey with his finest hour, too, with Ryan, who only picked up the ride on Thursday, tasting top-level success for the first time.

It could be the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock next and both Betfair and Paddy Power make the winner their 7-4 favourite.

Brendan Rodgers is “really looking forward” to stepping up Celtic’s pre-season preparations in Japan after ending “a fantastic week” in Portugal with a 4-1 friendly win over Portimonense on Saturday.

The recently-appointed Hoops boss has enjoyed running the rule over his team at their warm-weather training camp in the Algarve over the past week.

And Rodgers, whose side kick off their cinch Premiership title defence at home to Ross County on August 5, is excited about seeing Celtic continue the build-up to the new campaign on their Japanese tour, with matches against J-League sides Yokohama F.Marinos on Wednesday and Gamba Osaka next Saturday.

“It is a tough schedule over the two weeks, here in the heat (in Portugal) and it will be similar heat in Japan, with the humidity,” Rodgers told Celtic’s website on Saturday.

“Obviously the teams we’re playing out there are already halfway through their season, so it will be a step-up again in challenge for us, but that’s what we want.

“We need that challenge at this time of the season to improve our fitness level. We’ll get back today (Saturday), recover tonight and then we’re away tomorrow, and I’m really looking forward to Japan.”

Rodgers was pleased with the way Celtic performed as Reo Hatate, Liel Abada, Ben Summers and Oh Hyeon-gyu scored in a behind-closed doors win over Portuguese top-flight side Portimonense.

“We’ve had a fantastic week, so to finish off with a decent performance and a good result for the guys, even though that is not the most important thing at this stage, I was really pleased,”

“Obviously the heat’s been sweltering here but in terms of the intensity and some of the football was very good. There’s still a long way to go but I’m really pleased.

“You can see with some of the goals we scored, our pressing high up the pitch and looking to win it, and then we took our chances. It was a really good run-out.

“For some of the guys, the international guys, it was their first bit of game-time but overall it’s been a really good week.

“It’s been a tough week for the players and the staff, because there’s been no real time in the schedule for much, but they’ve worked really well in this first part of the tour which was really pleasing.”

Left-back Greg Taylor, who played 45 minutes against Portimonense, knows the value of an intensive pre-season for a Celtic side who will be competing in the Champions League while also trying to defend all three domestic trophies in the campaign ahead.

“We’re a team that wants to score goals, that hasn’t changed, and we’re also a team that wants to try and keep clean sheets, so we’ll be building that in pre-season, but right now it’s all about getting the work in more than results,” he said.

“Getting a full pre-season under your belt, there’s nothing more important for a footballer.

“We’ll have a long, hard season with lots of games, and games – you saw it last season – pushing right to the last minute and getting important goals.

“All that work’s done in pre-season because you’re building your fitness for the long hard slog ahead.

“Every single player has tried to impress and have given their all, and I hope we continue that into Japan because there’s more hard work there to come.”

Biggles was rewarded for his consistency in landing the bet365 Bunbury Cup at Newmarket, with Ryan Moore again superb in the saddle.

The six-year-old showed plenty of distain for his rivals, drawing readily clear in the seven-furlong contest after hitting the front inside the final furlong.

The Ralph Beckett-trained gelding won four times last year on different ground over seven furlongs, with his trainer adding that he had got it wrong when sending him over an extended mile earlier in his career.

Runner-up in the Victoria Cup at Ascot, he returned to the Berkshire track and finished ninth in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal meeting.

However, he never looked in any danger once Moore got into contention on the rain-softened ground and the 5-1 shot had two lengths to spare over Ropey Guest, who was occupying the same position as 12 months ago. Awaal, the 7-2 favourite, was a head back in third.

Beckett said: “He has been a phenomenally consistent horse all his life. I got it wrong a couple of times.

“I was really pleased with the way he was going today. He jumped a bit keen and Ryan had to get him in behind one or two. Ryan thought he would win throughout.

“Rain really helped yesterday and last night. Actually, I’m not sure he needs it now, but he is more effective on it, I was just delighted with the way it worked out. When a horse is as consistent as he is, it is kind of hard to win these sorts of handicaps, isn’t it?

“He’s a model of consistency. I tried a mile and that wasn’t very clever, that didn’t work. He has always been capable of doing this, I just had to place him to do it.

“Maybe he will go to Ascot at the end of the month for the International (Handicap), but that’s quick for him. I don’t know.

“He needs a strong gallop, so do we go up to small fields and stakes races? Will that help? Six or seven (furlongs), really. I’m not going a mile again, but we’ll enjoy today.”

City Of Troy shot to the top of next year’s 2000 Guineas betting after confirming his class with a destructive display in the bet365 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket.

Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the regally-bred son of Triple Crown hero Justify looked a real talent on debut at the Curragh earlier this month and immediately took the jump up to Group Two level in his stride as he dazzled on Newmarket’s July course.

Having travelled like the consummate professional in the early stages of this seven-furlong event, Ryan Moore wasted little time in asking his mount to stride on passing the two-furlong marker, where the response was electric as he soon took lengths out of his rivals.

Moore kept up the momentum inside the final furlong as City Of Troy skipped further and further clear of his pursuers, with six and a half lengths separating the Ballydoyle youngster and Richard Hannon’s Haatem in second at the winning post.

His effort saw him leap over stablemate River Tiber at the head of the Classic market, and already-short post-race prices for the Guineas quickly came under pressure, with Coral’s 7-2 not lasting long before becoming 5-2. Paddy Power quoted 4-1 about the Derby.

O’Brien said: “He’s unusual. Very unusual. It’s unbelievable, really. Dean (Gallagher) rides him out every day and has done a wonderful job. He’s just so natural. He has an unbelievable rhythm and an unbelievable mind. He looks a very special horse.

“He floats effortlessly. He is very happy to get a lead, very happy to go forward. Ryan said it never happened to him before what happened at the Curragh the last day going to the wall. He said he wasn’t going to get him pulled up.

“Even today, crossing the line, he was still heading off. He will be better on top of the ground – he’s a good-ground horse.

“I came here not to run him (because of the easy ground), but the lads said let him run, because we have to find out for the future because if the ground does turn what we can do. So, it was the right decision, I’m delighted for them.

“He’s after travelling now, that’s what we always try to do. He obviously has all the races now as he matures, the Futurity, the National Stakes, the Dewhurst, all those sort of races are open to him now.

“Obviously, as you can see, he has loads of speed, so a mile should be no problem to him. The way he cruises, and with his action and everything. We know about Justifys, they are all Classic-bred horses. It is very exciting, really.”

He added: “He is a lovely looking horse. We have River Tiber and some lovely horses. They are obviously a nice team of horses there, so I’m delighted for the lads.

“He kept going again, didn’t he (after the line)? He is just unusual. Very unusual.”

Pride Of America just held on to prevail in a thrilling finish to the John Smith’s Cup at York.

Trained by Amy Murphy, the six-year-old has always been a solid operator for the Southgate Stables handler and was seen to good effect landing a competitive Chester handicap earlier in the campaign.

Out of luck when tackling Group company in France last month, Pride Of America was sent off at 18-1 to bounce back on the Knavesmire off a career-high rating and pulled out all the stops when it mattered.

Having shadowed Andrew Balding’s Nobel to near the head of proceedings entering the home straight, he was soon embroiled in a sustained battle with that unexposed four-year-old and Ed Dunlop’s Haunted Dream.

Entering the final furlong Nobel’s challenge began to falter and although Pride Of America appeared to have Haunted Dream covered, it was Daniel and Claire Kubler’s Astro King who emerged on the scene under with looked a winning run.

There was little to separate the pair as they flashed past the winning post, but it was the mount of 3lb apprentice Frederick Larson who got the nod after a tense wait for the photo-finish, with a nose the official winning distance.

Murphy has won a Grade One over fences thanks to the popular Kalashnikov and has also tasted Listed success in France, but the win marked the biggest Flat success of her career on home soil.

She said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic, there’s no better feeling than when a horse like him, who takes a lot of training and managing, grabs a big prize like that.

“It’s unbelievable and I’m thrilled for the owners and the whole team.

“This has been his target since March, but he does need a bit of cut in the ground. I couldn’t imagine we were going to get cut in the ground in the middle of July, it was a bit of a worry and no one was doing a bigger rain dance than me!”

Of the wait for the photo to be announced, she added: “It was horrific! You can probably tell from my voice that I’ve probably done a lot of screaming in the last five minutes, but thankfully it’s gone our way.

“The owners are my biggest supporters and I’m just thrilled to be able to repay them.

“Today was the target, we’ll just enjoy today and worry about the rest afterwards!”

Rory McIlroy admitted a first victory in Scotland was long overdue as he took a slender lead into the final day of the £7million Genesis Scottish Open.

A third round of 67 ensured halfway leader McIlroy remained the man to catch at The Renaissance Club on 13 under par, with South Korea’s Tom Kim a shot behind and Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman another stroke back.

World number one Scottie Scheffler and former Open champion Shane Lowry are part of a five-way tie for fifth on 10 under, with tee times brought forward several hours on Sunday due to the forecast for winds gusting up to 40mph.

McIlroy threatened to forge a bigger advantage when he covered his first 10 holes in four under, but covered the last eight in one over as the top 17 players ended the day separated by just five shots.

“I felt like I played really good golf for those first 11 holes and made that first bogey on 12 and it was a little scrappy coming in from there,” McIlroy said.

“But overall another solid day’s play and put myself into a great position going into the final day.

“There’s a lot of great players behind me but it’s going to be difficult for everyone. When the wind gets like that there’s a lot of skill involved but it’s also just attitude and trying to stay upbeat when you’re probably going to get bad breaks here and there.

“The guy with the best attitude is going to have the best chance.”

Asked about the prospect of winning on Scottish soil for the first time, McIlroy added: “It would be great. I’ve had a lot of close calls in Opens and Dunhill Links and all sorts of stuff, but it would be fantastic.

“I remember playing my first Scottish Open at Loch Lomond in 2005. It’s nice to reminisce and I’ve come a long way since then, but 18 years is too long for me to not pick up a trophy in this country.”

A month after charging through the field with a closing 63 in the US Open, Fleetwood matched that score thanks to eight birdies and a solitary bogey at a venue where he finished fourth last year and lost out in a play-off in 2020.

“I’m very happy,” said Fleetwood, who started on the 10th and birdied two of his last three holes on the front nine. “Those last three holes are tough so it was great to get on the right side of those and finish strong.

“On Friday when I made that double bogey on eight I was level par for the tournament with 10 holes to play and at that point the first port of call is to make the weekend.

“Played really well from there on in and then today got a bit of momentum going. It was just one of those days where things go more your way than others.”

Lowry would have been alongside Fleetwood but for a bogey on the last, the 36-year-old having earlier carded five birdies and an eagle on the 10th.

“I didn’t play great on Thursday and just found something in the middle of the round yesterday and got it going,” Lowry said.

“I’ve been rolling a few putts in which is always nice. Some lovely stuff over the last few days and plenty of confidence builders to take into The Open next week.

“But obviously first and foremost, tomorrow I’d love to go out and give myself a chance to win this tournament. It’s obviously a huge tournament for us in Europe and one that I would love to add my name to.”