TENNIS
Carlos Alcaraz — not four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic — and Iga Swiatek were seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon on Wednesday, as expected, because the All England Club adhered to the ATP and WTA rankings.
Alcaraz overtook Djokovic atop the men’s standings on Monday. Djokovic has not played since collecting his men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open on June 11 and slid to No. 2, and Alcaraz rose one spot after winning a grass-court tune-up tournament at Queen’s Club on Sunday.
Djokovic has won the championship at Wimbledon each of the past four times it was held — and seven times overall — but he did not benefit from a ranking boost in 2022 because the ATP and WTA withheld all points to protest the All England Club’s decision to ban players from Russia and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.
The draw to set up the singles brackets will be Friday. The tournament begins Monday.
BAD HOMBURG OPEN: Iga Swiatek eased into the quarterfinals at Germany with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Jil Teichmann in the Wimbledon warm-up.
Swiatek will next play Russian Anna Blinkova, who beat 20-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 6-2 in the last second-round match.
Earlier, Katerina Siniakova beat Evgeniya Rodina 6-2, 6-4 to make her first quarterfinal appearance since returning from a wrist injury that kept her out for two months after the Miami Open on March 21.
Siniakova next plays second-seeded Liudmila Samsonova.
Lucia Bronzetti rallied to upset fourth-seeded Egyptian Mayar Sherif 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 and move into her first quarterfinal on grass. The 65th-ranked Italian player next faces Varvara Gracheva of France.
EASTBOURNE INTERNATIONAL: Mackenzie McDonald advanced to the quarterfinals by upsetting top-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8)
Gregoire Barrere also scored an upset by eliminating fifth-seeded Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Also, Michael Ymer beat Liam Broady 6-2, 6-4 and eighth-seeded Miomir Kecmanovi defeated qualifier Aleksandar Vukic 7-4 (4), 6-4.
In the women’s draw, Coco Gauff moved into the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jodie Burrage.
The fifth-seeded Gauff won 10 straight games at one point.
She will next face third-seeded American Jessica Pegula, who beat Camila Osorio 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Also, ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina beat Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Madison Keys defeated Xiyu Wang 6-2, 7-6 (3).
BASEBALL
EASTERN LEAGUE: The Portland Sea Dogs-New Hampshire Fisher Cats game was postponed by rain.
The teams will play a doubleheader starting at 5:05 p.m. Friday at Manchester, New Hampshire.
NECBL: The Sanford Mainers-Mystic Schooners game was rained out at Goodall Park in Sanford.
The game will be made up on July 24.
COLLEGES
BATES: Longtime women’s basketball coach Adrienne Shibles is returning to her alma mater, Bates College, as the associate director of athletics.
Shibles, a member of the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame, coached for 12 years at Bowdoin College, where she had a career record of 281-65 and took the Polar Bears to the NCAA Division III Final Four twice. She coached the past two seasons at Dartmouth College, but resigned in April after posting a 5-49 record.
Shibles is a Maine native and a graduate of Mount View High. At Bates, she was a 1,000-point scorer. Shibles starts her new role at the school on Monday.
BASKETBALL
NBA: New Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin’s staff includes Sidney Dobner as the first female assistant coach in franchise history.
Dobner, who is entering her sixth season with the Bucks, is getting a promotion after working as head video coordinator this past season. Griffin also is keeping Vin Baker and Josh Oppenheimer, who had been assistants on former coach Mike Budenholzer’s staff.
• The Chicago Bulls and center Nikola Vucevic agreed to a $60 million, three-year extension, keeping the two-time All-Star off the free-agent market.
WNBA: Courtney Williams scored a season-high 21 points, Kahleah Copper added 14 points and the Chicago Sky beat the visiting Los Angeles Sparks 80-63 to snap a six-game losing streak.
• Elena Delle Donne scored 25 points, Ariel Atkins added 19 and the Washington Mystics beat the visiting Atlanta Dream, 109-86.
SWIMMING
U.S. NATIONALS: Caeleb Dressel made it to the 50-meter butterfly final but again failed to qualify for the world championships, finishing third at at Indianapolis.
Dressel touched the wall in 23.35 seconds in the non-Olympic event, which he won at the last two worlds in 2019 and 2022. He finished behind winner Michael Andrew (23.11) and runner-up Dare Rose (23.20).
Still, it was an encouraging performance by Dressel, who is swimming in his first major meet since taking a lengthy break.
He has two more shots at making the U.S. team for next month’s world championships at Fukuoka, Japan, having also entered the 100 fly and the 50 freestyle.
SOCCER
MLS: Inter Miami confirmed the hiring of Gerardo “Tata” Martino as coach, setting the stage for him to be reunited with Lionel Messi next month.
Martino coached Messi with Barcelona and Argentina’s national team. Messi has announced that he is coming to Major League Soccer to play for Inter Miami, with his contract set to be signed in time for a planned debut match on July 21.
TOTTENHAM: Tottenham completed the signing of England midfielder James Maddison from Leicester.
Spurs entered advanced talks with the recently relegated Foxes earlier this week and secured Maddison in a deal worth 40 million pounds ($50 million) plus add-ons.
Maddison has agreed to a five-year deal with the club and becomes new Tottenham coach Ange Postecoglou’s third arrival of the summer.
GOLF
PGA: Changes will be made to the TPC River Highlands golf course after record low scoring last week during the PGA Tour’s annual Travelers Championship, tournament officials said.
Andy Bessette, Travelers’ executive vice president and chief administrative officer, told The Associated Press that officials at the club are already looking at modifications to the course to make it more difficult for the professionals next year.
Keegan Bradley won the tournament by shooting a course record 23-under 257, a shot better than Kenny Perry’s previous record from 2009. There were eight rounds of 62 or better during the week, which was marked by some rainy, but not windy days that kept the greens soft.
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