Lewis Hamilton said he held his breath for the 76.6 seconds it took him to capture his first pole position in 595 days for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion held off Red Bull foe Max Verstappen by just three thousandths of a second as he danced his Mercedes to top spot in an exhilarating qualifying session at the Hungaroring.
Lando Norris finished third following another impressive afternoon for the rising McLaren star, one spot ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri. George Russell managed only 18th on a day to forget for the Mercedes man.
Hamilton’s one-lap triumph here – described as a work of art by his old rival Nico Rosberg – is his first since the penultimate fixture of the contentious 2021 season in Saudi Arabia, 33 races ago.
The following round in Abu Dhabi – where Hamilton was denied a record eighth world title by Michael Masi’s controversial refereeing – marked the last time he started a race from the front row. Verstappen began from pole on that contentious evening in the desert. On Sunday, it will be Hamilton’s turn.
Hamilton roared with delight over the team radio before holding his head in his hands and then saluting the raucous crowd as he stood on top of the front-right tyre of the Mercedes machine which carried him to his ninth pole in Hungary and 104th in all. A cursory handshake for Verstappen followed.
“I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car,” said Hamilton, moments after stepping out of his cockpit.
In the official press conference reserved for the top-three drivers, Hamilton added: “I forgot what it feels like to sit in this spot. He (Verstappen) has been hogging it for a while.
“I don’t think I breathed for the whole lap, I held my breath. I was so out of breath at the end. It is an extraordinary feeling.
“I have not been here for such a long time. Even with the success I have had before, and this is my 104th pole, it feels like the first. It is hard to explain how special it feels.”
Hamilton trailed Verstappen by 0.126 sec prior to the concluding runs. But he usurped the Dutch driver, who failed to improve on his last lap, with his final throw of the dice. He was the last man to cross the line.
“I witnessed those special moments and the days he used to have, and today was one of those,” said Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the 2016 title.
“That lap is like perfection, it is art. Only Lewis Hamilton can do that.”
Hamilton has won more times in Hungary than anybody else, and claimed his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago.
“Last year we were nowhere,” said Hamilton. “I have always had belief that if we apply ourselves the right way we would get there, and it was just a question of how long that would be?
“But we started this season with the twin sister or twin brother of the previous year’s car. It felt identical and that was worrying.
“When you lose that confidence you shed a lot of time. I had no confidence in the car. It was so nervous, and it felt like I was treading on eggshells.
“I started out this season with very little confidence, but bit-by-bit I got the thing on the right tracks, so the confidence has finally come back.
“We have been on this journey of undoing the wrong decisions we have taken and it has taken far longer than we hoped, but we are starting to see those benefits.”
Converting his 104th pole into his 104th victory will not be an easy task for Hamilton. Verstappen has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and his Red Bull team are unbeaten this season.
“We tend to have decent race pace,” concluded Hamilton. “Max’s race pace yesterday in practice was quite extraordinary. They were quicker than us.
“But if there is a way to hold position then maybe there is a fighting chance for us. I am as keen as I am to win tomorrow as I did for my first win in Montreal in 2007.”
England’s prospects of levelling the Ashes were just about alive after Joe Root claimed the only wicket of a rain-ruined fourth day at Emirates Old Trafford.
Just 30 overs were possible during a gloomy afternoon, with the morning and evening sessions wiped out by the weather, as Australia finished 61 runs behind on 214 for five.
With the forecast dreadful again for the fifth and final day, England badly needed to make inroads but hit a brick wall as Marnus Labuschagne converted his overnight 44 into a vital 111.
Labuschagne has had a lean series by his own high standards but stepped up for his side to nudge them closer to the draw that would guarantee the urn joins them on the flight back to Australia.
At 2-1 down England need to find a way through the showers to square the ledger and force a decider at the Oval next week.
Labuschagne shared a 103-run stand with Mitch Marsh as the duo threatened to shut the door completely.
Indeed, had he finished not out things would have been even more precarious, but Root made the most of an unexpected role with the ball to land an important blow.
England were only using their part-time spinner due to bad light, with the umpires deciding that the visibility had deteriorated too much for the seamers to operate, but his unpredictable style added a new threat to an attack that had fallen flat in tricky conditions.
England’s pace unit had already been neutralised by the damp outfield, which softened up the ball and wrecked their chances of getting it to swing.
With first-choice spinner Moeen Ali looking out-of-sorts as he struggled to find any rhythm, Root took it upon himself to press the issue.
He served up a variety of different deliveries, getting some to kick and holding others back to gain drift.
He almost had Labuschagne on 93 when he sent one down seam up and shaped it away, but a thick edge sailed hard and fast past Zak Crawley at slip.
Labuschagne landed blows of his own, launching Root for two sixes over wide long-on, and made his way to three figures for just the second time on foreign soil and the 11th overall.
There were just four overs left when Labuschagne stepped back in his crease and shaped to cut Root on a tight line around off stump.
Jonny Bairstow did well to hold the edge, parrying it up initially but gathering safely, with the batter’s unsuccessful call for DRS earning him an extra send-off from a crowd who had waited all day for something to celebrate.
He left Marsh to carry on the fight with 31 from 107 deliveries, a watchful knock that saw him shelve his natural attacking instincts.
Root mustered a half-chance against the all-rounder late on, but Harry Brook was unable to grab a fiercely tricky one-handed catch at short-leg.
With Cameron Green joining Marsh at the crease, Australia will feel they have enough to withstand whatever England can throw at them on day five and perhaps creep into a lead of their own.
England’s seamers had a tough time of it, with the quartet of James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad labouring without luck before being withdrawn by the officials.
With no real demons in the pitch, precious little sign of low bounce and a ball that died a little every time it was stroked into the wet grass, it took Wood’s pace to conjure anything out of the ordinary.
He cranked it up to 93mph in a bid to take conditions out of the equation, but the closest he came to making it tell was a nasty blow to Labuschagne’s finger.
Michael Beale knows Rangers duo Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence will now be desperate for more game time after both returned to action after lengthy spells in a friendly against Hamburg at Ibrox.
First-half goals from attacker Fashion Sakala and captain James Tavernier, with a penalty, had the Light Blues comfortably ahead at the interval and before a slew of substitutions took place.
Amid the replacements, Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers – signed from Cremonese – made his home debut with Roofe coming back to action after a hip injury had kept him out since February, with fellow attacker Lawrence making his first appearance since August 2022, after he had recovered from a knee problem.
Hamburg substitute Jean-Luc Dompe curled in a fantastic free-kick in the last minute to make it 2-1 but the Gers boss was left with only positive vibes.
“Tom has come back after 10 months out,” said Beale, who is “confident enough” of getting in Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes – after an agreement was reached with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles – before the opening cinch Premiership game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 5.
“He (Lawrence) has been training outstandingly but you can see he needs to pick up his fitness. Almost a year out is a long time.
“It was always going to be towards the end of August when he could really put his foot to the floor and be at the maximum of being back, back.
“He’s racing ahead. In training, when we’re doing the smaller, tighter stuff, he looks fantastic and shows his quality.
“We know that there’s a step from that to a real game but it’s wonderful to have him back, similar to Kemar, two players that we were robbed of last season.
“Kemar and Tom are not the easiest people to manage because they want to play games.
“As much as I want to push them along slowly, they’ll have an opinion on that as well.
“But I think we have a real strength in the forward positions. I wanted to end the Hamburg game with Sam (Lammers) in behind Cyriel and Kemar because it’s something I’m looking at.”
Beale was pleased with the cameo appearance of Dessers in the second half as he highlighted the attacking options he had on the pitch by the end of the game.
The former QPR boss said: “You could see with Cyriel and Kemar that they’re very similar. As a partnership, they could be very, very interesting.
“They’ve probably both done about five or six days of pre-season so you’re seeing them at 30 or 40 per cent fit.
“I think Dessers will be one of three or four players who can get us double figures in goals this season.
“If we’re a good team, we’ll share the goals out. But Cyriel has come in and he’s really fresh, energetic. We’re trying to get as many forwards as we can on the pitch.
“We ended the game today with Dessers, Roofe, Lammers, Lawrence and Cantwell so it’s very front foot.”
Beale previously admitted interest in Feyenoord’s Brazilian forward Danilo, with the Ibrox club reported to have offered £5million for the 24-year-old.
The Rangers boss said: “There’s nothing less or more on Danilo. There’s lots of speculation about bids being accepted or rejected – it’s somewhere in between.
“It’ll either come to fruition or it won’t. He’s a good player but we’re not the only team interested. And he’s not the only target we have either.
“Out of respect for Arne Slot and Feyenoord, the negotiations should stay quiet. Where it goes, we’ll wait and see.”
Tadej Pogacar outsprinted Jonas Vingegaard to victory on stage 20 of the Tour de France in Le Markstein, but it was the Dane who could begin celebrating the defence of his title ahead of Sunday’s procession into Paris.
Pogacar proved unable to challenge Vingegaard for yellow in the final week of this race as his hopes evaporated in the Alps, but he made a point on the final mountain test as he beat Vingegaard in a five-man sprint at the end of the 133km stage from Belfort.
Felix Gall snuck ahead of Vingegaard for second place on the day, while Simon Yates and Adam Yates came in fourth and fifth, results that seal third overall for Adam and move Simon up to fourth after an early crash left Carlos Rodriguez bloodied above his left eye.
Vingegaard will carry a lead of seven minutes and 29 seconds on to the Champs-Elysees on Sunday as he celebrates his second Tour crown at the age of 26.
“The second one is really amazing,” the Jumbo-Visma rider said. “Of course there’s the stage tomorrow into Paris and we have to be careful not to do anything stupid, but to take my second victory in the Tour de France I almost can’t believe it.”
The front five finished 33 seconds ahead of Warren Barguil and Thibaut Pinot, who dared to dream that the final mountain stage of his last Tour de France – raced on his home roads – could end in victory when he went clear from a breakaway with 30 kilometres left.
But Pinot was caught on the last climb as Pogacar, Vingegaard and Gall went away before being joined by the Yates twins, with Adam proving the lead-out for Pogacar in the sprint.
“Today I finally feel like myself again,” Pogacar said. “It was just really good from start to finish, to feel good again after many days suffering and to pull it off in the finish I’m just super, super happy.
“Adam did a super job. I was waiting for him to come back…I know him now well, he led me out really good and thanks to him it was a bit easier to prepare for the final, less nervous and I’m super happy the team did such a great job once again.”
Both Yates twins could celebrate their best overall result in the Tour, with Adam improving on his fourth place from 2016.
“For me personally third is the best result I’ve ever had in a Grand Tour so obviously I’m pretty happy,” the UAE Team Emirates rider said. “We’re a little bit disappointed as our goal was to get yellow, but in the end there was only one guy better than us.”
For the first two weeks it was one of the closest Tours in history, but in the space of two days Vingegaard’s 10-second advantage became seven-and-a-half minutes as Pogacar was beaten by the Alps.
There had been questions over the Slovenian’s form before the Tour given his lack of racing since he broke his wrist in April, but Vingegaard’s dominance goes beyond the struggles of others, as shown by the near 11-minute gap to Adam Yates in the overall standings.
He beat Pogacar by 98 seconds in Tuesday’s time trial, but just as notable was the near three minutes between him and team-mate Wout Van Aert in third place. The way Vingegaard rode then away from the other favourites on the Col de la Loze a day later was the mark of a champion.
“It’s been a crazy battle we had over these last three weeks,” Vingegaard added. “I think it’s been a really really nice ray to watch and also for us.
“I appreciate the battle I’ve had with Tadej. It’s been an amazing fight since Bilbao and hopefully we’ll do it again in the future.”
Jon Rahm felt he had played his best round of links golf after shooting up the Open leaderboard with a stunning 63 on Saturday.
The Spaniard leapt from two over par to six under at Royal Liverpool with a flawless third round featuring eight birdies.
It was the lowest recorded round in an Open at Hoylake and fired the Masters champion into contention for his third major title.
The 28-year-old said: “That’s the best round I’ve played on a links golf course ever.
“It is my lowest round on a links course and it is in the Open championship. It’s the lowest round shot on this course. It feels really good but there is a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
Rahm’s round ignited with a run of four successive birdies from the ninth. He then finished with three more in the final four holes.
After much speculation about difficult weather over the weekend, the conditions were actually quite benign for most of the time Rahm was out on the course.
He said: “It was starting on 11 when everything became downwind and it became a lot easier. The wind conditions are what made the course change a little bit.
“The job today was to come out and give myself the best opportunity I could. Whenever you get a birdie, just thinking about one more. That’s simply all you can do.”
Rahm’s scoring was in contrast to his first two days, when he often cut a frustrated figure as he carded rounds of 74 and 70.
He said: “To be fair, I look frustrated very often! No, I was playing good golf and I knew what I was capable of.
“I was frustrated because, basically, mistakes that I made. That was it. I gave up shots that at major championships are very costly.
“But I don’t need to change anything from today, nothing at all.”
Rahm’s 63 eclipsed the best Open round of countryman Seve Ballesteros – 64 at Turnberry in 1986 – but he knows whose record in the tournament he would rather have.
He said: “I’d rather win three times and never shoot 63!”
Novakai could be set for immediate return to Group One level after stamping her class on the Ric And Mary Hambro Aphrodite Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket.
Second to Commissioning in last season’s Fillies’ Mile, Karl Burke’s inmate kicked off her three-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish to subsequent Oaks heroine Soul Sister in the Musidora at York.
Novakai disappointed in her Classic bid in the French Oaks, but was the 5-2 favourite to get back on track in Listed company on the July Course.
Ridden by Sam James, the Lope De Vega filly could be called the winner a long way from home as she moved powerfully to the front.
Cloudbreaker came from the rear to throw down her challenge, but Novakai was away and gone entering the final furlong and had just under five lengths in hand at the line.
“She has won that well and I’m very happy with her. She loved that step up in trip and I think we can go back up to Group class again now,” said Burke.
“Early on in the year Sheikh Obaid was keen for her to try a mile and a quarter and target the Prix de Diane.
“I’m not sure it was the distance why she ran so poorly but she wasn’t on song and it could have been down to the travelling. She is a little bit quirky, but her temperament is lovely.
“After that Sheikh Obaid gave me free rein with her so I decided to step her up in trip. She is out of a stout staying mare and she was always going to improve going up in trip and she has proved that today.”
The winner holds entries in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood and the Yorkshire Oaks, but Burke will not rush into a decision.
He went on: “She is in the Yorkshire Oaks and whether that is too big of a jump I’m not sure but we will get her home and have a chat with Sheikh Obaid.
“I’m hoping I can persuade Sheikh Obaid to leave her in training next year as she will only improve and there are some nice staying races for fillies like her.”
Five-time Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny has announced the birth of her second child.
Kenny and her husband Sir Jason, winner of a British record seven Olympic titles, welcomed son Montgomery on Thursday evening.
In a post on Instagram on Saturday showing Montgomery asleep alongside his brother Albie, Laura Kenny wrote: “Welcome to the world Montgomery George Kenny. Born 20/07/2023 Weighing 9,0lbs at 7.59pm.”
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The Kennys announced in January that they were expecting their second child.
Albie was born in 2017, but in November 2021 they suffered a miscarriage and then an ectopic pregnancy in January 2022.
Kenny became pregnant at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, where she won Madison gold alongside team-mate Katie Archibald, adding to the titles she had taken at London 2012 and Rio 2012.
Jason won the last of his Olympic golds in Tokyo in the keirin. The following January he retired from racing to become coach of the Great Britain men’s sprint team.
Joe Root kept England’s hopes of a series-levelling win alive in the fourth Ashes Test, dismissing centurion Marnus Labuschagne on a rain-affected fourth day.
The worst fears of a washout at Emirates Old Trafford were not realised, with persistent showers finally clearing in time to get play under way at 2.45pm, but a stand of 103 between Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh threatened to shut the door on the hosts.
Labuschagne made a defiant 111 to nudge his side closer to a draw that would see Australia retain the urn but was finally removed when he nicked Root’s occasional off-spin to Jonny Bairstow, who gathered well at the second attempt.
That left the tourists 214 for five, 61 behind having ended day three 167 adrift.
Root was only bowling due to bad light, with the umpires deciding that conditions were too gloomy for the seamers to take part, but his unpredictable offerings provided the biggest threat and he was unlucky not to have Labuschagne caught at slip on 93.
England’s pace unit had already been neutralised by the damp outfield, which wrecked English hopes of getting the ball to move through the air and eventually led to a change after it went soft and lost shape.
Mitchell Marsh was not out on 31 at the tea break, having eaten up 107 deliveries for his side in a knock that forced him to curb most of his attacking instincts.
England began by rotating James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad but the quartet were unable to find a way past Labuschagne and Marsh.
Wood cranked it up to 93mph in a bid to take the placid pitch out of the equation but the closest he came to breaking the partnership was a nasty blow to Labuschagne’s finger.
The number three has endured a modest series by his own high standards but came good at an important time for his team, registering his 11th Test ton and his second overseas.
He accelerated when the umpires insisted on England turning to spin, taking advantage of an out-of-sorts Moeen Ali, who could not get his length right, and plundering two sixes off Root.
But the former captain’s tendency to mix it up with a variety of different deliveries was causing problems. He sent one down with the seam up, drifting it through the air and taking Labuschagne’s edge as he closed in on three figures, but the extra pace on the ball saw it fly past Zak Crawley’s left ear and race away for four.
After getting his man on the cut, Root almost grabbed another when Marsh propped forward and offered a tough chance to Harry Brook at short leg. He thrust a hand out but could not cling on.
The rain began to come down again in the interval, leaving England praying that there is enough time in the game to force a result.
Emily Dickinson kicked in the turbo to get back on the winning trail in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup.
The daughter of Dubawi was the spring favourite for the Gold Cup following an impressive start to her campaign in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan – and while a disappointing run in the Saval Beg dented her claims, she bounced back to finish a creditable fourth in last month’s Royal Ascot showpiece.
Dropping in distance and class for this one-mile-six-furlong Group Two, Emily Dickinson was the 6-4 market leader to complete a quick-fire big-race double for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore after Savethelastdance powered home from an unpromising position to secure the Irish Oaks.
Emily Dickinson looked like she too could have a real fight on her hands when her chief market rival Rosscarbery breezed into contention, but Moore kept pushing on the favourite and in the end she was well on top, passing the post with three lengths in hand.
The winner will now be readied for a tilt at the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup on August 1.
“The original plan was that she would go straight to Goodwood for the two-mile Group One, but when the ground changed we said we’d let her take her chance here,” said O’Brien.
“Everyone was happy with her at home and that’s why she came here. I was a bit worried that she was a couple of pieces of work away but Ryan gave her a beautiful ride and got her very confident.
“She loves the ground and loves being ridden like that. With that ease in the ground she’s a different filly. She goes on the other ground, she’s very genuine and tries very hard, but on that ground she grows another leg.
“The plan was to go to Goodwood, over two miles, and if the ground came up with an ease in it she’ll be right there.”
A bumper Saturday at the Women’s World Cup saw four games played across Australia and New Zealand.
World champions the United States and Euro 2022 winners England started their quest to lift the trophy with wins as Haiti and Vietnam were beaten.
Denmark and Japan also picked up victories over China and Zambia, respectively.
Here the PA news agency takes a look at all of the action.
Holders on form
Two first-half goals from Sophia Smith got the United States’ defence of the Women’s World Cup under way with a 3-0 win over Vietnam in Auckland.
But the tournament favourites were wasteful in front of goal, missing a penalty as they failed to turn their dominance – 28 shots to none – into a bigger win against outclassed but determined opposition.
Rising star Smith fired them ahead after 14 minutes, running on to Alex Morgan’s flick to fire a shot past goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Tranh.
The USA dominated the rest of the first half but failed to add to their lead: Julie Ertz, debutant Savannah DeMelo, Lindsay Horan, Smith and Morgan all having chances before Morgan wasted the best opportunity, Kim Tranh saving her weak spot-kick given for a foul on Trinity Rodman.
Five-star Japan
Japan made light work of World Cup debutants Zambia to start their campaign with a comfortable 5-0 win.
Hinata Miyazawa hit a brace with Mina Tanaka striking between her two goals and Jun Endo adding a fourth to pull Japan well clear.
There was still time for late drama as Zambia goalkeeper Catherine Musonda was sent off for conceding a late penalty.
Substitute stopper Eunice Sakala saved Riko Ueki’s resulting spot-kick but Ueki scored on the second attempt after Sakala was deemed to have come off her line.
Toil for England
Georgia Stanway’s retaken first-half penalty was enough to earn England a nervy 1-0 victory over World Cup debutants Haiti in their Group D opener at Brisbane Stadium.
This was not the decisive victory most had predicted for the European champions and world number-four side against a team 49 places below them in the FIFA rankings.
Haiti came close to levelling more than once, including a late second-half chance repelled at the last by Mary Earps’ outstretched foot.
While the Lionesses ultimately walked away with all three points, it was an underwhelming performance that will leave boss Sarina Wiegman with plenty of questions.
Late Danes
Likely to be England’s fiercest Group D rivals, Denmark sealed a 1-0 win over China courtesy of a late goal from substitute Amalie Vangsgaard.
The Paris St Germain forward came on with five minutes remaining in Perth and broke the stalemate as she headed in Penille Harder’s corner as the clock ticked into the 90th minute.
The goal survived a VAR check as the officials ruled that defender Rikke Sevecke had not prevented Xu Huan in the China goal from keeping out Vansgaard’s effort.
Denmark and England now face off on Friday, with both sides aiming for improvements on their narrow victories.
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Group G: Sweden v South Africa (6am Sunday, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington)
Group E: Netherlands v Portugal (8.30am Sunday, Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin)
Group F: France v Jamaica (11am Sunday, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney)
all times BST
Tadej Pogacar outsprinted Jonas Vingegaard to victory on stage 20 of the Tour de France in Le Markstein, but it was the Dane who could begin celebrating the defence of his title ahead of Sunday’s procession into Paris.
Pogacar proved unable to challenge Vingegaard for the yellow jersey in the final week of this race as his hopes evaporated in the Alps, but he made a point on the final mountain test as he beat Vingegaard in a five-man sprint at the end of the 133km stage from Belfort.
Felix Gall snuck ahead of Vingegaard for second place on the day, while Simon Yates and Adam Yates came in fourth and fifth, results that seal third overall for Adam and see Simon move up to fourth after Carlos Rodriguez was left bloodied above his left eye following a nasty early crash.
Pogacar’s stage win earned him six bonus seconds over Vingegaard, who will carry a lead of seven minutes and 29 seconds on to the Champs-Elysees on Sunday.
The front five came to the line 33 seconds ahead of Warren Barguil and Thibaut Pinot, who had dared to dream that the final mountain stage of his final Tour de France – raced on home roads for the 33-year-old – could end in victory when he went clear from a breakaway with 30 kilometres left.
But he was reeled in first by Tom Pidcock and Barguil on the final climb and then overhauled by those who would go on to contest the stage.
Pogacar, Vingegaard and Gall opened up a small gap before the Yates twins rode back up, with Adam then providing the lead-out for team-mate Pogacar in the sprint.
“Today I finally feel like myself again,” Pogacar said. “It was just really good from start to finish, to feel good again after many days suffering and to pull it off in the finish I’m just super, super happy.
“Adam did a super job. I was waiting for him to come back and his brother again was super good. I know him now well, he led me out really good and thanks to him it was a bit easier to prepare for the final, less nervous and I’m super happy the team did such a great job once again.”
Adam Yates said: “For me personally third (overall) is the best result I’ve ever had in a Grand Tour so obviously I’m pretty happy. We’re a little bit disappointed as our goal was to get yellow, but in the end there was only one guy better than us.”
That one guy was Vingegaard. For the first two weeks it was one of the closest Tours in history, but in the space of two days a 10-second advantage became seven-and-a-half minutes as Pogacar stumbled in Tuesday’s time trial, then fell completely on the Col de la Loze on Wednesday.
There had been questions over Pogacar’s form before the Tour given his lack of racing since he broke his wrist in April, but Vingegaard has not won purely by taking advantage of his rival’s troubles, as shown by the near 11-minute gap to Adam Yates in the overall standings.
The WTA said it would be “evaluating the issue further with the event” after Russian player Vera Zvonareva was blocked from entering Poland for a tournament.
Zvonareva, a former Wimbledon and US Open finalist, had been due to play in next week’s Warsaw Open in singles and doubles but a statement from Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration said she was on a list of “undesirable” visitors.
The statement on gov.pl read: “Yesterday, July 21, the Border Guard prevented a Russian tennis player from entering Poland.
“Vera Zvonareva, using a visa issued by France, tried to get to our country on a flight from Belgrade to Warsaw. After arriving from Serbia, the tennis player stayed in the transit zone of Chopin Airport in Warsaw and today after 12.00pm flew to Podgorica.
“The Russian woman on the list of persons whose stay is undesirable in the territory of the Republic of Poland was not admitted by the Border Guard for reasons of state security and protection of public safety.
“Poland consistently opposes the regimes of (Vladimir) Putin and (Alexander) Lukashenko, refusing to allow people who support the actions of Russia and Belarus to enter our country.”
Wimbledon and the Lawn Tennis Association were penalised by the tours for banning Russian and Belarusian players last summer following the invasion of Ukraine, a position they reversed this year.
The governing body said in a statement: “The WTA is aware of the situation involving Vera Zvonareva in Warsaw.
“The safety and well-being of all players is a top priority of the WTA. Vera has departed Poland and we will be evaluating the issue further with the event.”
Poland has been one of the staunchest allies of Ukraine, while world number one Iga Swiatek, who will be the top seed at the tournament, has publicly sided with players from the stricken country amid locker room tensions.
The country’s Minister of Sport, Kamil Bortniczuk, earlier this week said he would boycott matches featuring Russian or Belarusian players.
Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich does appear to have made it into the country based on her social media posts.
Meanwhile, another Russian player, Anastasia Potapova, said on Instagram that she would be unable to play in the Hamburg European Open because a visa was not granted on time.
“Very sad to announce that I’m not going to participate in Hamburg this year, due to difficulties with visa,” she said. “Me and my team applied for it on time, but unfortunately it was delayed.”
Potapova was warned by the WTA earlier this year after wearing a Spartak Moscow football shirt on court.
Relief Rally sent the large Newbury crowd home happy when justifying favouritism in the featured Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes.
Tom Marquand’s mount was drawn near the stands’ rail and had to race alone for much of the last furlong and a half as the filly attempted to reel in those who had a clear advantage up the middle and towards the far rail.
To her credit, the evens favourite scythed through the good to soft ground and having collared long-time leader Dapperling (33-1) inside the final furlong, drew readily clear for a three-length success.
It was just compensation for Marquand and trainer William Haggas, who saw the daughter of Kodiac touched off by American raider Crimson Advocate in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Haggas said: “She was in front before the line and after the line, but not on the line at Ascot. She ran a good race there. She is a pretty good filly.
“I don’t know where the second on the stands’ side finished, but she won easy and when he asked her, she picked up well.”
Marquand admitted he had plenty of ground to make up in the second part of the valuable five-furlong contest, which was worth just shy of £123,000 to the winner.
Yet he felt confident the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned juvenile would reel in the leaders.
“To be honest, I was getting towed as far as I could while being happy, but whilst never worried that the other side had a bit of an advantage on us.
“I was lucky enough to be on her at Ascot, so I know the turn of foot she has.
“I was confident that this ground was even more to her liking. It was as straightforward as you would have hoped it would be, but it doesn’t always prove straightforward.
“The other side did have a march on, but she is a very good filly and thankfully she has had a decent day in the sun now and I’m sure she will have a few more.”
He added: “She is every bit as exciting as you’d want her to look for the future and I think my heart is still broken (after Ascot), but it is gluing back together a little bit after that.
“She has done it well. She has got bags of speed, she is super-straightforward, I think she is improving, and I think she improved for having a day like she had at Ascot – she had to race that day and it was obviously a frustrating day, but she will have come on for that and I think she showed that today by the way she just raced on by herself on her side.”
Haggas could swerve York’s Nunthorpe, as he potentially eyes the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp.
When asked of a possible Nunthorpe bid, he said: “I don’t think so – I think the Abbaye, but who knows?
“I think the French race is such a draw race. If you get a low draw, it is such an advantage, whereas the Nunthorpe you can win from anywhere.
“In France, you cannot win wide. If our luck is in at the that time of the year, we will get a low draw. We will see.”
Bottom weight Born Famous came from last to first to deny Peter Bowen another success in the Unibet Summer Plate at Market Rasen.
Sent off the 3-1 favourite under Harry Cobden, the rapidly improving six-year-old looked to have no chance at halfway, detached from the main group of runners.
Bowen had two runners in the race, searching for a ninth win and a third in a row with Francky Du Berlais.
It was his other runner Courtland who looked to have been produced to perfection by Gavin Sheehan, though, as he jumped to the lead at the second last.
But as Hang In There weakened, Born Famous was just hitting top gear and the mare extended her unbeaten record to five since joining Iain Jardine.
Jardine said: “That was class and what a cool ride from Harry too. I knew he was going to take his time but I didn’t think he would take as much time as that!
“They obviously went quite quick and the rain has got into the ground and they’ve stopped, so it was a well-judged and a well thought out ride. She’s a grand filly on an upward curve and I’m just really chuffed for her owners. It’s a fantastic result.
“I’m not sure what’s clicked with her, she’s just gained that bit of confidence and is enjoying her races. We’ve been training her away quietly and we’re not too hard on her, so it’s probably a combination of that.
“She can jump. She’s very versatile regarding ground and she can’t half jump. It was some ride from Harry though – Conor O’Farrell, our jockey, had a word with him earlier and he just said it doesn’t really matter how she’s ridden, it’s all about getting her into a rhythm.
“She was in a good rhythm and finished well, so it’s an excellent result. We’ll sit tight with her now, we might have a look at something down the line but she doesn’t owe us anything.”
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