Alexander Zverevએ રચ્યો ઇતિહાસ, ફાઇનલમાં પહોંચનાર પ્રથમ જર્મન ખેલાડી …

જર્મન સ્ટાર એલેક્ઝાન્ડર ઝ્વેરેવે વિમ્બલ્ડન 2026 ની પહેલી સેમિફાઇનલમાં ઇતિહાસ રચ્યો. છેલ્લા 10 વર્ષથી ગ્રાન્ડ સ્લેમ રમી રહેલા ઝ્વેરેવે પોતાની કારકિર્દીમાં પહેલી વાર વિમ્બલ્ડનની ફાઇનલમાં પ્રવેશ કર્યો. 1995 પછી આ પહેલી વાર બન્યું છે કે કોઈ જર્મન પુરુષ ખેલાડી વિમ્બલ્ડનની ફાઇનલમાં પહોંચશે. 31 વર્ષમાં આ પહેલી વાર બન્યું છે જ્યારે કોઈ જર્મન ખેલાડી વિમ્બલ્ડનની ફાઇનલમાં રમ્યો છે. અગાઉની ફાઇનલ 1995 માં જર્મનીના બોરિસ બેકર દ્વારા યોજાઈ હતી. ઝ્વેરેવે બ્રિટનના આર્થર ફર્ડીને સતત ત્રણ સેટમાં 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 થી સરળતાથી હરાવીને ફાઇનલમાં પોતાનું સ્થાન સુરક્ષિત કર્યું. wlop.pl

ઝ્વેરેવ સતત બીજી ગ્રાન્ડ સ્લેમ ફાઇનલમાં પહોંચ્યો

કાર્લોસ અલ્કારાઝ જેવા અગ્રણી ખેલાડીઓના પ્રારંભિક આઉટ થવાથી ઝ્વેરેવને ફાયદો થયો. આ વર્ષે (2026) ફ્રેન્ચ ઓપન જીત્યા પછી, ઝ્વેરેવ હવે સતત બીજી ગ્રાન્ડ સ્લેમ ફાઇનલમાં પહોંચ્યો છે. તેણે સેમિફાઇનલમાં પણ શાનદાર પ્રદર્શન કર્યું, જેના કારણે બ્રિટનના આર્થર ફેરીને ટકી રહેવાની કોઈ તક મળી નહીં. ફેરીએ પહેલા સેટમાં ઝ્વેરેવની સર્વિસ તોડી નાખી હતી, પરંતુ જ્યારે ટાઇબ્રેકનો સમય આવ્યો ત્યારે તે એક પણ પોઈન્ટ મેળવી શક્યો નહીં. આમ, ઝ્વેરેવે પહેલો સેટ 7-6થી જીત્યો. ત્યારબાદ તેણે મેચમાં પોતાનું વર્ચસ્વ જાળવી રાખ્યું, તેની શક્તિશાળી સર્વિસ પર આધાર રાખ્યો, જે લગભગ 214 કિલોમીટર પ્રતિ કલાકની ઝડપે પહોંચી હતી, અને બાકીના બે સેટ સરળતાથી 6-2, 6-4થી જીતી લીધા.

https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2075594163060367406?s=20

ઝ્વેરેવ પહેલી વાર વિમ્બલ્ડનની ફાઇનલમાં રમશે

આ જીત સાથે, ઝ્વેરેવ એવા ખેલાડીઓના ચુનંદા જૂથમાં જોડાશે જેમણે પોતાની કારકિર્દીમાં ચારેય ગ્રાન્ડ સ્લેમ ફાઇનલમાં રમી છે. વધુમાં, તે 1968 પછી વિમ્બલ્ડનની ફાઇનલમાં પહોંચનાર ફક્ત ત્રીજો જર્મન ખેલાડી છે. તેમના પહેલા, જર્મનીના બોરિસ બેકર અને માઈકલ સ્ટિચે આ સિદ્ધિ હાંસલ કરી હતી. માઈકલ સ્ટિચે છેલ્લે 1991માં જર્મની માટે વિમ્બલ્ડન જીત્યું હતું. ઝ્વેરેવ પહેલી વાર વિમ્બલ્ડનની ફાઇનલમાં રમશે, જે અગાઉ ક્યારેય ટુર્નામેન્ટના ચોથા રાઉન્ડ (રાઉન્ડ ઓફ 16) થી આગળ વધ્યો નથી. આ 2026 માં તેનો ત્રીજો ગ્રાન્ડ સ્લેમ ફાઇનલ હશે. તે અગાઉ આ વર્ષે ઓસ્ટ્રેલિયન ઓપન અને ફ્રેન્ચ ઓપનની ફાઇનલમાં રમ્યો હતો, જેમાં તેણે ફ્રેન્ચ ઓપનનો ખિતાબ જીત્યો હતો. તે ઓસ્ટ્રેલિયન ઓપનમાં હારી ગયો હતો.

આ પણ વાંચો - FIFA World Cup 2026 : સ્પેને ક્વાર્ટર ફાઇનલમાં બેલ્જિયમને 2-1થી હરાવ્યું,હવે સેમિફાઇનલમાં આ ટીમ સાથે ટક્કર

Perhaps, luck is finite after all. Belgium rode theirs in the Round of 32 victory over Senegal, but there was no such rub of the green against Spain, one of the tournament favourites. The Red Devils were very much in the contest at 1-1 before the wheels started to come off.

Already without Amadou Onana, who suffered an ACL injury in the previous match against the USA, Belgium were also dealt another blow when captain Youri Tielemans was injured during the warm-up. Leandro Trossard was forced off after an hour, and Thibaut Courtois left the pitch in tears after 71 minutes. Kevin De Bruyne was then substituted a minute after picking up a yellow card.

Spain sensed their opportunity and took it. Mikel Merino once again popped up with a late goal to settle a knockout tie. In truth, it was no more than Spain deserved. They had four times as many shots on target and nearly four times as many touches in the opposition penalty area. What was missing for much of the game was the final pass or the finishing touch, with Lamine Yamal particularly culpable as Spain repeatedly carved open the Belgian defence.

Whatever the possession statistics suggested, Luis de la Fuente’s side knew they were in a proper contest. Belgium became the first team to score against Spain in seven World Cup matches when a superb cross from Thomas Castagne was converted by Charles De Ketelaere four minutes before half-time.

One of the few areas of little concern in the Belgian squad was supposed to be goalkeeping. Senne Lammens of Manchester United is widely regarded as the long-term successor to Courtois. It was therefore a disappointing evening for Belgian supporters as both Spanish goals stemmed from goalkeeping errors.

Courtois could certainly have done better from Dani Olmo’s first-half strike, which he could only parry into the path of Fabián Ruiz. Lammens will always be haunted by the Pau Cubarsí hit that he failed to gather, allowing Merino to sweep home as the clock wound down.

Either way, this feels very much like the end of Belgium’s golden generation. It is unlikely that we will see Kevin De Bruyne in international colours again, and attention will now turn to how Belgium rebuild.

For Spain, the unbeaten run stretches to 36 matches, dating back to March 2024. They now face France in a mouth-watering semi-final in Dallas. Spain won 2-1 when the sides met at the same stage of Euro 2024, but this France team appears very different, playing with far greater ambition and purpose. It promises to be a fascinating contest, especially if Spain rediscover the shooting boots they misplaced for much of this match.

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The post Spain Survive Belgium Scare to Set Up Blockbuster Semi-final Against France appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

Former national selectors Salil Ankola and Surendra Bhave believe that the shorter boundaries and flatter pitches in the multi-million dollar franchise-based Indian Premier League are creating a false confidence among Indian batters which is why the reigning T20 world champions have suffered two back-to-back overseas series defeats recently.

Having lost 0-2 to Ireland, the Shreyas Iyer-led India team are 0-3 down to England after four matches with the fifth and final game to be played in Southampton today.

“In the IPL, the boundaries are small and pitches are flat, so our batters are used to these shorter distances and unresponsive pitches. But in overseas conditions, the ball is moving and has a different bounce, so it’s totally different. This is not to criticise the IPL, but it creates a false confidence because it helps the batter a lot. But when you go outside the country you struggle,” Ankola told mid-day on Friday.

Ankola, who represented the country in one Test and 20 ODIs, insists batters should value their wickets like skipper Shreyas Iyer (scored 49-ball 80 not out) did in the fourth game, which the visitors lost by nine wickets at Bristol on Thursday.

“Yesterday [Thursday] I felt that the batters were not interested in protecting their wicket at all. You won’t get to hit every ball and that too on those pitches. Singles and doubles were missing, and everyone was going for big shots, gifting away their wickets. But, see Shreyas was the only batter to graft his innings. You should value your wicket, only then can you score runs. Shreyas is scoring runs because he’s a technically correct batsman. You have to choose the ball wisely [to play shots] and you can’t take the bowler lightly,” added Ankola.

Former Maharashtra skipper Bhave echoed similar feelings. “T20 cricket is a tough format when it comes to playing on different pitches. The conditions make a huge difference. I’ve always believed that we should leave something in the IPL pitches for bowlers. We haven’t got the results in our favour in England, so I’m sure our analysts, coaches and everyone is thinking about this now,” Bhave told mid-day, adding that the series defeat against Ireland was shocking.

Los Angeles Knight Riders defeated San Francisco Unicorns by eleven runs in Dallas. This crucial victory propelled the Knight Riders into the top positions of the standings. Colin Munro and Andre Russell provided strong batting performances for the Knight Riders. Jason Holder and Andre Russell then starred with the ball to secure the win. The Knight Riders are now level on points with San Francisco and MI New York.

Seasoned India cricket all-rounder Deepti Sharma said the first hour of the second day will be crucial, adding that the visitors will look to strike early and put England under pressure in the one-off women’s Test here.

Invited to bat, India posted 285 in their first innings, courtesy half-centuries from senior batters Smriti Mandhana (83), Harmanpreet Kaur (58) and Deepti (57). The visitors then removed opener Tammy Beaumont before stumps, leaving England at 21 for 1.

“Initial one hour is really important," Deepti said after the end of the opening day’s play on Friday.

“I think the total is decent. If there were 20-25 more runs, there would have been an extra margin. But the earlier we take wickets tomorrow, the better it will be for us," she added.

England left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone claimed three wickets, exploiting variable bounce and turn on the surface and Deepti expects the pitch to continue assisting the bowlers.

“The wicket is turning slightly and sometimes keeping low. The wicket is not the same. We have to be prepared when the ball can bounce and when it can stay low. Tomorrow will be a very important day for us.

“We will focus more on our bowling strength. Like today’s wicket, we were getting a slight turn. But sometimes, the ball was staying low and sometime there was bounce. It will help us tomorrow. But we have to focus on our right areas. We have to continue to bowl back-to-back."

Deepti, who shared a crucial partnership in the lower-middle order, credited the top-order batters for laying the platform.

“It feels good that I was able to do this partnership at a crucial time. All credit goes to our 3-4 batters who gave a good start. Jemi (Jemimah), Hari di (Harmanpreet) and Smriti. They built the inning very well."