Kyrgios Eyes Wimbledon Quarters as Nadal Picks Up the Pace

Eye on the prize: Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Filip Krajinovic Glyn KIRK AFP
Eye on the prize: Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Filip Krajinovic Glyn KIRK AFP
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Kyrgios Eyes Wimbledon Quarters as Nadal Picks Up the Pace

Eye on the prize: Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Filip Krajinovic Glyn KIRK AFP
Eye on the prize: Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Filip Krajinovic Glyn KIRK AFP

Nick Kyrgios is back in action at Wimbledon on Monday after his dramatic victory against Stefanos Tsitispas as he closes in on a mouthwatering semi-final with Rafael Nadal.

The maverick Australian toppled Tsitispas in a heated four-set thriller on Saturday, during which he called for the fourth seed to be kicked out of the tournament for hitting a ball into the crowd, AFP said.

Kyrgios called the umpire a "disgrace" as tempers frayed and the bad feeling spilled over into the post-match press conferences.

The defeated Greek player said his opponent has an "evil side" and described him as a "bully", comments that Kyrgios laughed off.

Kyrgios, 40th in the world, thrives on his bad-boy image and Saturday's outbursts were not even his first of the tournament.

But it will be a different challenge against American Brandon Nakashima, a player he has never faced before, and he may struggle to re-create the big-match intensity on Centre Court.

Kyrgios, who has only reached the quarter-finals of two Grand Slams, believes he has the firepower to win Wimbledon.

"Round by round, if I keep doing my things, I feel good. I'm all right," said the 27-year-old, who had vocal support from the crowd on Saturday despite his antics.

Nadal, chasing the third leg of a calendar Grand Slam, found his rhythm in his third-round match against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego and now faces Dutch 21st seed Botic van de Zandschulp.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, twice a winner at the All England Club, swept into the last 16 in straight sets after needing four sets to progress in his opening two matches.

"My best match, without a doubt, since the tournament started," said Nadal, the only top-10 player left in his side of the draw.

"I made improvements today. Very happy for that.

"I made a lot of things much better than the previous days, the determination, the way that I manage to play more aggressive, going to the net plenty of times."

In the other two last-16 matches, Australia's Alex De Minaur plays Cristian Garin of Chile while Australia's Jason Kubler takes on 11th-seeded American Taylor Fritz.

- Quarters beckon for Tan -
In the women's competition, Harmony Tan, who defeated Serena Williams in the first round, takes on American Amanda Anisimova.

Tan needed more than three hours to see off Williams but on Saturday she hit top form, demolishing Britain's Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 in just 51 minutes.

Tan, ranked 115 in the world, said she was enjoying Wimbledon.

"I think I like grass," she said. "I never play on this court but I like to play with slice and volley and everything with my game so I'm really happy."

The most eye-catching match of the day in the top half of the draw is a contest between fourth seed Paula Badosa of Spain and 2019 champion Simona Halep, who is yet to drop a set.

Romania's Halep, who is the 16th seed this year, said becoming a champion at the All England Club gave her confidence.

Badosa is the only member of the world's top 10 -- along with Tunisia's Ons Jabeur -- left in the women's tournament.

French veteran Alize Cornet, who ended Polish top seed Iga Swiatek's 37-match winning run on Saturday, faces Australian Ajla Tomljanovic while 17th seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan goes up against unseeded Croatian Petra Martic.



Shakhtar Boss Pays Ukrainian Racer $200,000 After Games Disqualification

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds helmet as he meets with a Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych , who was disqualified from the Olympic skeleton competition over his "helmet of remembrance" depicting athletes killed since Russia's invasion and his father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Munich, Germany February 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds helmet as he meets with a Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych , who was disqualified from the Olympic skeleton competition over his "helmet of remembrance" depicting athletes killed since Russia's invasion and his father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Munich, Germany February 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
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Shakhtar Boss Pays Ukrainian Racer $200,000 After Games Disqualification

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds helmet as he meets with a Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych , who was disqualified from the Olympic skeleton competition over his "helmet of remembrance" depicting athletes killed since Russia's invasion and his father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Munich, Germany February 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds helmet as he meets with a Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych , who was disqualified from the Olympic skeleton competition over his "helmet of remembrance" depicting athletes killed since Russia's invasion and his father and coach, Mykhailo Heraskevych, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Munich, Germany February 13, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)

The owner of ‌Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk has donated more than $200,000 to skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych after the athlete was disqualified from the Milano Cortina Winter Games before competing over the use of a helmet depicting Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia, the club said on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Heraskevych was disqualified last week when the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation jury ruled that imagery on the helmet — depicting athletes killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 — breached rules on athletes' expression at ‌the Games.

He ‌then lost an appeal at the Court ‌of ⁠Arbitration for Sport hours ⁠before the final two runs of his competition, having missed the first two runs due to his disqualification.

Heraskevych had been allowed to train with the helmet that displayed the faces of 24 dead Ukrainian athletes for several days in Cortina d'Ampezzo where the sliding center is, but the International Olympic Committee then ⁠warned him a day before his competition ‌started that he could not wear ‌it there.

“Vlad Heraskevych was denied the opportunity to compete for victory ‌at the Olympic Games, yet he returns to Ukraine a ‌true winner," Shakhtar President Rinat Akhmetov said in a club statement.

"The respect and pride he has earned among Ukrainians through his actions are the highest reward. At the same time, I want him to ‌have enough energy and resources to continue his sporting career, as well as to fight ⁠for truth, freedom ⁠and the remembrance of those who gave their lives for Ukraine," he said.

The amount is equal to the prize money Ukraine pays athletes who win a gold medal at the Games.

The case dominated headlines early on at the Olympics, with IOC President Kirsty Coventry meeting Heraskevych on Thursday morning at the sliding venue in a failed last-minute attempt to broker a compromise.

The IOC suggested he wear a black armband and display the helmet before and after the race, but said using it in competition breached rules on keeping politics off fields of play. Heraskevych also earned praise from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.


Speed Skating-Italy Clinch Shock Men’s Team Pursuit Gold, Canada Successfully Defend Women’s Title

 Team Italy with Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, Michele Malfatti, celebrate winning the gold medal on the podium of the men's team pursuit speed skating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)
Team Italy with Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, Michele Malfatti, celebrate winning the gold medal on the podium of the men's team pursuit speed skating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)
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Speed Skating-Italy Clinch Shock Men’s Team Pursuit Gold, Canada Successfully Defend Women’s Title

 Team Italy with Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, Michele Malfatti, celebrate winning the gold medal on the podium of the men's team pursuit speed skating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)
Team Italy with Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini, Michele Malfatti, celebrate winning the gold medal on the podium of the men's team pursuit speed skating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP)

An inspired Italy delighted the home crowd with a stunning victory in the Olympic men's team pursuit final as

Canada's Ivanie Blondin, Valerie Maltais and Isabelle Weidemann delivered another seamless performance to beat the Netherlands in the women's event and retain their title ‌on Tuesday.

Italy's ‌men upset the US who ‌arrived ⁠at the Games ⁠as world champions and gold medal favorites.

Spurred on by double Olympic champion Francesca Lollobrigida, the Italian team of Davide Ghiotto, Andrea Giovannini and Michele Malfatti electrified a frenzied arena as they stormed ⁠to a time of three ‌minutes 39.20 seconds - ‌a commanding 4.51 seconds clear of the ‌Americans with China taking bronze.

The roar inside ‌the venue as Italy powered home was thunderous as the crowd rose to their feet, cheering the host nation to one ‌of their most special golds of a highly successful Games.

Canada's women ⁠crossed ⁠the line 0.96 seconds ahead of the Netherlands, stopping the clock at two minutes 55.81 seconds, and

Japan rounded out the women's podium by beating the US in the Final B.

It was only Canada's third gold medal of the Games, following Mikael Kingsbury's win in men's dual moguls and Megan Oldham's victory in women's freeski big air.


Lindsey Vonn Back in US Following Crash in Olympic Downhill 

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)
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Lindsey Vonn Back in US Following Crash in Olympic Downhill 

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)

Lindsey Vonn is back home in the US following a week of treatment at a hospital in Italy after breaking her left leg in the Olympic downhill at the Milan Cortina Games.

“Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week... been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing,” Vonn posted on X with an American flag emoji. “Huge thank you to everyone in Italy for taking good care of me.”

The 41-year-old Vonn suffered a complex tibia fracture that has already been operated on multiple times following her Feb. 8 crash. She has said she'll need more surgery in the US.

Nine days before her fall in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee in another crash in Switzerland.

Even before then, all eyes had been on her as the feel-good story heading into the Olympics for her comeback after nearly six years of retirement.