Sports News July 2 Highlights: Marketa Vondrousova Knocked Out At Wimbledon; Netherlands Rout Romania To Reach Euros QFs

July 2 had lot to offer on the sporting front. In the Euros, Portugal set up a 2016 final rematch against France in the quarterfinals after earning a hard-fought win over Slovenia in penalties. Romania lost 0-3 to the Netherlands as the Oranje qualified to the quarterfinal stage. Copa America 2024 saw USA ousted thanks to their 0-1 defeat to Uruguay. In the tennis world, Wimbledon Day 2 action saw wins for Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina. However, the biggest upset was the defending champion in women's category, Marketa Vondrousova. For all the updates and and scores for today, you can get right here

It was a goalless draw between Portugal and Slovenia in the Euro 2024 Round of 16 match, but the penalty shoot out changed things around in favour of Cristiano Ronaldo's side. With Bernardo Silva's decisive penalty shot Portugal beat Slovenia 3-0 in the penalty shootout to enter the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals match of Copa America, USA faced 0-1 defeat against Uruguay and ended their campaign.

The last moments are always special. And, how special this 'last Euros' for Cristiano Ronaldo is, was visible in his tears rolling down the cheeks when Portugal made its ways to the quarter-finals at the 2024 UEFA European Championship in a penalty shootout after a goalless draw on Tuesday in Frankfurt.

Another frustrating match for Kylian Mbappé. Another underwhelming performance by France at the European Championship.

Didier Deschamps isn't concerned — his team is into the quarterfinals.

“It's beautiful,” the France coach said after Les Bleus relied on the ninth own-goal scored at Euro 2024 to squeeze past Belgium 1-0 in the round of 16 on Monday. (AP)

Naomi Osaka had not won a match at Wimbledon in six years. Hadn't even played there in five. Grass courts never were her favorite surface.

Twelve months ago at this time, Osaka was off the tour while becoming a mother — her daughter, Shai, turns 1 on Tuesday — and recalls flipping on the TV in the hospital and seeing a certain Grand Slam event on the screen.

“I'm just really excited to be here,” Osaka said Monday after pulling out a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Diane Parry in the first round at the All England Club by taking the last two games from 4-all in the third set. “It's funny, because Wimbledon was the first tournament I watched after pregnancy.” (AP)

After leading India to the victory at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, captain Rohit Sharma shared his unbelievable experience while talking the BCCI TV. He said, "It's surreal. It feels like a dream. It feels like it hasn't happened. Although it has happened but it feels like it hasn't happened.

"Last night we had a good time, we had a blast with the teammates till the early morning," he couldn't stop grinning before becoming a touch emotional. I would say I didn't sleep properly but that's absolutely fine by me. There is a lot of time for me to go back and sleep.

India remianed unbeatable also in the 2023 ODI World Cup until the final match against Australia, where they lost the streak, and the trophy in the most cruellest of ways. Head coach Rahul Dravid's heart was shattered and he had decided to leave the job, but then Rohit Sharma called and this happened:

"Rohit, thank you very much for making that call to me November and asking to continue," Dravid said in a video shared by BCCI on Tuesday.

"I think it's been such a privilege and a pleasure to work with each and everyone of you, but Ro, also thanks for the time...there is a lot of time we have to chat, we have to discuss, we have to agree, we have to disagree at times, but thank you so very much," Dravid said as Rohit laughed.

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa will be aiming to improve his game after missing opportunities to win when he faces Deac Bogdan-Daniel of Romania, who is currently in last place, in the sixth round of the Superbet Classic Chess tournament. Although Praggnanandhaa has not performed at his best in favourable positions, World Championship challenger D Gukesh has managed to hold his own despite some risky moments in a couple of games in the tournament, which is part of the Grand Chess Tour.

A young Indian cricket team, led by Shubman Gill, is set to play a five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe starting in Harare on July 6. The team includes promising youngsters like Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma, who have earned their first call-ups to the Indian national team following their performances in the last IPL. Skipper Shubman Gill, who was a reserve opener for the T20 World Cup, will join the squad directly in Harare from the US, where he was on a break.

South Korean prosecutors are currently investigating allegations of verbal and physical abuse by coaches against a young player at the Son Football Academy in Chuncheon. The academy, located in the hometown of Premier League star Son Heung-min, has been attended by hundreds of South Korean children who aspire to follow in the footsteps of Asia's leading football star. The academy, directed by Son's father, former professional player Son Woong-Jung, is situated nearly 50 miles (80 kilometres) east of the capital Seoul.

The trio of Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana were named as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Indian squad for the first two matches of the T20I series against Zimbabwe. India will play five T20 Internationals in Zimbabwe from July 6. Dube, Samson, and Jaiswal, all part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad, were supposed to join the Zimbabwe-bound group but are currently stranded in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has decided to only play doubles at his last appearance at the All England Club. This comes after his withdrawal from the singles competition on Tuesday, just over a week after undergoing back surgery. The 37-year-old Murray pulled out of the singles competition just hours before he was scheduled to play Tomas Machac on Centre Court.

Eintracht Frankfurt has signed 18-year-old Turkish forward Can Uzun to a five-year contract. Uzun, born and raised in Germany, is considered one of the most promising young players in German football. He scored 19 goals in 32 games for second-division Nuremberg last season. Frankfurt stated that Uzun turned down other offers.

The domestic season opener Durand Cup football tournament will be held from July 27 to August 31 across four venues with Indian Super League, I-League and other invitational teams competing in it.

The 133rd edition of Asia's oldest tournament will have 43 matches to be played in a round-robin league-cum-knockout format, with the opening match and the final scheduled at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata. (PTI)

Arsenal has signed Mariona Caldentey, a World Cup-winning forward from Barcelona, on a free transfer following the departure of Vivianne Miedema. The Gunners have aimed to strengthen their attacking options since announcing Miedema's departure – the all-time leading scorer in the Women's Super League. They have now acquired Caldentey after she ended her 10-year tenure with Barcelona, where she made 302 appearances and scored 114 goals.

Domestic season opener Durand Cup football tournament will be held from July 27 to August 31 across four venues with Indian Super League, I-League and other invitational teams competing in it.

The 133rd edition of the Asia's oldest tournament will have 43 matches to be played in a round-robin league-cum-knockout format, with the opening match and the final scheduled at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata. (PTI)

Hockey India on Tuesday announced inaugural Masters Cup, a pioneering tournament which will feature veteran players in men's and women's categories. The event is designed to celebrate the enduring passion and skill of seasoned hockey players. All Hockey India affiliated state member units are eligible to participate in the event and all eligible veteran players, aged around and above 40, who want to participate in the tournament will have to contact their respective member units and register through the Hockey India Member Unit Portal. (PTI)

21-year-old Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beats defending champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2 on Centre Court

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra is a "cool cat" who never takes pressure irrespective of the occasion and inspires other Indian athletes to bring out their best, said Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla on Tuesday.

Chopra, who is also the reigning world champion in men’s javelin throw, will once again be the cynosure of all eyes when the Paris Olympics begins later this month.

“One (side) is Neeraj and one (other side) is the rest of them. As far as Neeraj is concerned, he is a cool cat,” Sumariwalla said while talking about India’s superstar athlete during a panel discussion organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai. (PTI)

Teams:

Romania: Florin Niță, Andrei Rațiu, Radu Drăgușin, Marius Marin, Ianis Hagi, Andrei Burcă, Răzvan Marin, Denis Drăguș Dennis Man, Nicolae Stanciu, Vasile Mogoș.

Netherlands: Bart Verbruggen, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Aké, Stefan De Vrij, Xavi Simons, Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Tijjani Reijnders, Denzel Dumfries, Jerdy Schouten, Steven Bergwijn.

Novak Djokovic returns from a knee surgery with a 6-1 6-2 6-2 win over Vít Kopriva.

Site: Silverstone, England.

Race distance: 52 laps, 190.262 miles (306.198 kilometers).

Last year: Max Verstappen held off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton to win his first British Grand Prix. It was his sixth consecutive series win as he went on to the F1 championship.

Fast facts: Verstappen has won 51 of the past 77 F1 races. He increased his lead to 71 points over Norris and 87 over Charles Leclerc as he looks for his fourth series title. ... Verstappen was comfortably ahead when a four-second delay during a stop tightened things with Norris. The two eventually tangled, letting Russell up front for the victory.

Cody Gakpo and Donyell Malen double helped the Dutch beat Romania 3-0 in the UEFA Euros 2024 Round of 16.

It's goodnight from all of us here!