2019 - WIMBLEDON - GREAT BRITAIN Halep ends Gauff's fairytale run to reach Wimbledon QF Simona Halep, Wimbledon 2019 (Getty) No.7 seed Simona Halep ended the run of American qualifier Coco Gauff in straight sets to return to the last eight at Wimbledon. By WTA STAFF LONDON, Great Britain - The fairytale Wimbledon run for 15-year-old American Coco Gauff was ended in straight sets by No.7 seed Simona Halep in the round of 16 on Monday, 6-3, 6-3. The former World No.1 and French Open champion broke serve six times across 74 minutes, as her quality shown through against the American debutant, who did well to hang in early in the match. "I think it was a great match. She has potential to be a very good player soon," said Halep. "12 years ago I was at juniors. It's a huge thing that she's able to play in the fourth round of Wimbledon. It's a great performance. I think if she keeps going, she will be Top 10 soon." Wimbledon ✔ @Wimbledon A step too far for Coco Gauff - but what a memorable ride it's been 🎢@Simona_Halep ends the 15-year-old's run to move into the quarter-finals at #Wimbledon https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/1148243334500167680 After losing serve in the first game, Gauff broke immediately and held serve to lead 2-1, and held two more break points against the Romanian for a third consecutive game the next time Halep served. However, the former World No.1 held on, and broke the teenager in the next game to ultimately take a lead she hardly relinquished in the match. After losing serve to trail 2-0 in the second, Gauff again broke Halep and held to level at 2-2, but surrendered serve for the final time in a key sixth game. "I think she has a very strong backhand. Also, the serve is pretty tough. She's moving very well. She's tall, so is not easy to move that fast," Halep assessed. "She will be a very tough opponent for everybody. If she keeps doing what she did here, she's going to get a lot of confidence and she can win big tournaments soon. "I think it's a good thing, a positive thing, for the tennis because the juniors can see that everything is possible. They can get motivated. They get confident there is a chance for everybody. What she's doing, she's doing great." Halep played a clean match, as she hit 17 winners to 14 unforced errors, and won 70 percent of the points when she came to net, as Gauff's 15 winners were unable to overcome her 28 unforced. The American did not go down without a fight, however, as she saved two match points on serve in the eighth game of the second set, but was unable to pull off a second consecutive comeback to keep her fortnight alive. Added Halep: "Someone told me today this is the fact that I have to see I'm getting older, that I'm playing with juniors more and more. If I keep playing about three more years, I will have non-stop matches like this. So I'm getting used to it. "I try to motivate myself to show myself that I'm still there, I'm still strong to beat these opponents, even if they play without fear, without emotions. They have nothing to lose, of course. It's a nice challenge, honestly." Continue on https://www.wtatennis.com/news/halep-ends-gauffs-fairytale-run-reach-wimbledon-qf

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VIDEO Dirk Nowitzki: Life after basketball By Jörg Strohschein DW It has been two months since Dirk Nowitzki walked away from the basketball court after a glittering 20-year NBA career. The 41-year-old is now spending time with his family and doing things he could never do before. Dirk Nowitzki has jumped over so many opponents and won so many rebounds during his NBA career, but the German had less success finding a way through a closed off section of the motorway near Frankfurt early on Wednesday morning. It wasn't that long ago that Nowitzki would have had help to find another route, or avoided the whole thing by taking a helicopter instead of a private car. Elite players are so important to teams that such annoyances don't feature. However, such luxuries are a thing of the past for Nowitzki. The 41-year-old has been a man of leisure since mid-April. A sporting pensioner, Nowitzki is playing in his annual "Champions for Charity" football game at Leverkusen's stadium on July 21, which means arriving 30 minutes late isn't really a problem. https://twitter.com/dw_sports/status/1146486022013968384 DW Sports ✔ _sports 😉 And you thought 41 had retired! Nowitzki: 'The pressure is gone' This too is a new part of Nowitzki's reality. After 21 years of skill, heart and record-breaking performances, the German is now happy that "the pressure is gone." As a result, he's happy to embrace everyday banalities. Nowitzki now finds himself enjoying a life that he never really knew. He was the "German Wunderkind" who, with the help of his mentor Holger Geschwindner, fine-tuned his basketball skill every hour of the day during his youth. "I'm happy to do things now that I didn't do before," Nowitzki said. The superstar was keen to first put some distance between himself and his glorious sporting past, and to open himself up to a new, unknown life. He has to take a breath and work through his unique and long career. Continue on https://m.dw.com/en/dirk-nowitzki-life-after-basketball/a-49462006

WORLD'S ELITE STORM CHICAGO FOR MEN'S VNL FINALS Lausanne, Switzerland, July 8, 2019 - From Oleg Antonov's very first serve for Italy against Iran that set things in motion in Jiangmen on May 31 to Alan Souza's block on Italy's Alberto Polo that wrapped up pool play in Brasilia on June 30, there's been 20,770 rallies over 200 hours and 35 minutes net of pure volleyball played across the globe in the Preliminary Phase of the 2019 FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League. One hundred and twenty matches and 460 sets after that first Antonov service, the VNL is down to its business end this week as the top teams of the world gather in Chicago for the Finals, with USA hosting reigning Olympic champions Brazil, Finals rookies Iran, defending champions Russia, 2018 silver medallists France and reigning world champions Poland. Continue on https://www.fivb.com/en/about/news/worlds-elite-storm-chicago-for-mens-vnl?id=84814

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