Sports News Roundup: Soccer-FIFA lifts Zimbabwe suspension in time for World Cup qualifiers; Tennis-Swiatek continues hunt for maiden grasscourt title in Svitolina clash and more

The American made it into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his first Wimbledon main draw, along the way encountering surreal reminders of his skyrocketting success. Soccer-United States arrive in New Zealand for Women's World Cup defence The United States touched down in Auckland on Tuesday in the lead-up to their bid for a third consecutive Women's World Cup title, hoping to be New Zealand fans' second favourite team after the home Football Ferns.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-FIFA lifts Zimbabwe suspension in time for World Cup qualifiers

FIFA has lifted its 18-month suspension of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) just days before the draw for the African qualification competition for the 2026 World Cup, officials confirmed on Monday. An interim normalisation committee has been appointed to run the affairs of ZIFA until elections for a new management team are held.

Tennis-Swiatek continues hunt for maiden grasscourt title in Svitolina clash

Iga Swiatek's new-found love of grass will face a stern test when she meets Elina Svitolina in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Tuesday as the world number one continues her bid to conquer the final frontier and win her first title on the surface. Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek has gone from strength to strength at Wimbledon this year, reaching the last eight for the first time despite her preparations for the tournament being less than ideal.

Tennis-Eubanks soaks in 'whirlwind' run through Wimbledon

Chris Eubanks earned raves as a television commentator but at Wimbledon has had to come to terms with being a source of media fascination himself, as he toppled Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round on Monday. The American made it into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his first Wimbledon main draw, along the way encountering surreal reminders of his skyrocketting success.

Soccer-United States arrive in New Zealand for Women's World Cup defence

The United States touched down in Auckland on Tuesday in the lead-up to their bid for a third consecutive Women's World Cup title, hoping to be New Zealand fans' second favourite team after the home Football Ferns. Vlatko Andonovski's side were greeted at the airport by fans waving welcome signs before proceeding to their hotel in Auckland's CBD.

Motor racing-Verstappen keeps winning but his rivals keep changing

Max Verstappen is running away with the Formula One championship to such an extent that the Red Bull driver no longer seems sure who his main rival is. Team mate Sergio Perez is mathematically closest, and fighting with the same equipment, but the Mexican is already a whopping 99 points behind the double world champion after 10 of 22 races.

Tennis-Rune's stature keeps growing as he downs Dimitrov to reach Wimbledon quarters

Fearless Dane Holger Rune's stature in world tennis continued to grow on Monday as he stayed calm and collected in the face of adversity to ride out a 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) 6-3 fourth round win over perennial underachiever Grigor Dimitrov at Wimbledon. The Danish sixth seed missed out on converting any of the six break points he earned in the opening set, and then found himself a set and 4-2 down after surrendering his own serve with two successive double faults.

Tennis-Alcaraz and Djokovic still on collision course, Rybakina into Wimbledon quarter-finals

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz remained on collision course at Wimbledon with fourth-round victories on Monday while Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur set up a repeat of last year's final. Defending champion Djokovic conceded his first set of the tournament as he was briefly thrown off balance by Poland's Hubert Hurkacz on the resumption of their contest.

Tennis-Djokovic calls for earlier Centre Court starts

Wimbledon should start matches earlier on Centre Court to avoid players falling foul of the strict 11pm curfew, defending champion Novak Djokovic said on Monday after needing two days two beat Hubert Hurkacz in the fourth round. For the second match in succession the 36-yrear-old Djokovic faced a race against the clock to finish when he stepped on court at around 8.30pm on Sunday to face Hurkacz.

Tennis-Hungry Alcaraz powers past Berrettini into quarter-finals

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz roared into the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a formidable display of firepower to down big-serving Italian dark horse Matteo Berrettini on Monday. The Spaniard was beaten to the punch in the opening set but raised his game to claim a comfortable 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 win to the delight of the Centre Court crowd.

Tennis-American Keys ends Russian teenager Andreeva's dream run to reach quarters

American Madison Keys recovered from a set and a break down to end Mirra Andreeva's fairytale Wimbledon debut as the 16-year-old Russian was beaten 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2 in the fourth round on Monday. World number 102 Andreeva, who was looking to become the youngest player to reach the last eight of the grasscourt Grand Slam since Anna Kournikova in 1997, fought valiantly against Keys but was ultimately overwhelmed by the seasoned 25th seed.