Sports News Roundup: Garin into Wimbledon quarter-finals after epic battle; War takes heavy toll on Ukrainian sport and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Why are there so many empty seats at Wimbledon this year?

This is the first time since 2019 that Wimbledon has been able to stage matches in front of capacity crowds but, unfortunately for the world's best tennis players, they have often been greeted by rows and rows of empty seats. Millions of desperate local fans usually compete with those living in far-flung places such as the United States, Australia and India to get their hands on Wimbledon tickets which are considered as gold dust.

Tennis-Rybakina powers past Martic into first Wimbledon quarters

Kazakh 17th seed Elena Rybakina hit twice as many winners as unseeded opponent Petra Martic of Croatia on Monday to progress to her maiden Wimbledon quarter-final with a 7-5 6-3 victory. The 23-year-old Rybakina, who switched to playing for Kazakhstan from Russia aged 19, hit 26 winners in the opening contest on Court One while committing five fewer unforced errors than the 80th-ranked Martic to control the match.

Tennis - Sinner, Alcaraz hoping Wimbledon marks start of Grand Slam rivalry

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz showed on Sunday that men's tennis will be in good hands when the 'Big Three' finally step aside and the young guns hoped their thrilling fourth-round clash at Wimbledon marks the start of a Grand Slam rivalry. Italian 20-year-old Sinner reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time with a 6-1 6-4 6-7(8) 6-3 win over 19-year-old Alcaraz as the two youngest players left in the men's draw gave Centre Court a glimpse of the future.

Soccer-Marseille appoint Croatian Tudor to succeed Sampaoli

Olympique de Marseille have appointed Croatian Igor Tudor as their new manager to succeed Jorge Sampaoli, who left the club by mutual consent last week, the Ligue 1 side said on Monday. Marseille said the former Croatia international, who has previously managed Hajduk Split, PAOK, Galatasaray, Udinese and Hellas Verona among other clubs, had signed a two-year contract.

Tennis-Garin into Wimbledon quarter-finals after epic battle

Chile's Cristian Garin showed amazing tenacity to come from two sets and 3-0 down and save two match points as he beat Australian Alex de Minaur in a hugely entertaining five-set slug fest on Monday to reach his first grand slam quarter-final Garin eventually triumphed 2-6 5-7 7-6 (3) 6-4 7-6(6) after four hours 34 minutes of superb tennis that brought a standing ovation from Wimbledon's packed Number Two Court.

War takes heavy toll on Ukrainian sport

Young soccer players in the city of Kharkiv are grieving over the death of their coach, killed by a Russian shell last week in an incident that highlights the heavy toll the war is inflicting on all areas of Ukrainian society, including sport. "It hurt so much, it is as if I had lost a father," said player Danil Kaskov, taking part in a match staged in honour of Andrii Doroshev, who died on June 27 when shells slammed into a residential area of Ukraine's second biggest city.

Tennis-Wimbledon, LTA appeal against WTA fines for Russians' exclusion

Wimbledon organisers and Britain's tennis authorities said on Monday they have appealed against fines handed to them by the women's governing body, WTA, for excluding Russian and Belarussian players from this year's grasscourt events. The All England Club (AELTC), which organises the Grand Slam, and the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) banned players from the two countries at tournaments in Britain following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a 'special operation'.

Tennis-Fritz flies into Wimbledon quarters to earn family stripes

Until Monday, Wimbledon's 11th seed Taylor Fritz was not even the best tennis player in his own family. But with some hefty swipes of a garish coral-coloured racket on Court One, the American finally earned his family stripes by reaching the quarter-finals of the grasscourt grand slam.

Soccer-Home advantage makes England favourites for Women's Euro win

Hosts England are predicted to win the upcoming Women's European Championship due to their home advantage, according to a forecast by data analysts Nielsen's Gracenote. Despite being ranked sixth in Europe (eighth in the world) by governing body FIFA, England are the favourites to prevail ahead of Olympic silver medallists Sweden, the study showed.

Tennis-All quiet on Centre Court as calm Kyrgios beats Nakashima

An angelic Nick Kyrgios reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final for seven years when he recovered from a slow start to beat steady American Brandon Nakashima in five sets on Wimbledon's Centre Court on Monday. With Kyrgios's bad-tempered Court One victory over fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas still the talk of the town, the Australian was on his best behaviour in front of the Royal Box as he ground out a 4-6 6-4 7-6(2) 3-6 6-2 win.

(With inputs from agencies.)