Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...
I Dig Sports

I Dig Sports

Andy Murray saw one of his bids for Wimbledon silverware prove fruitless as the Briton and France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert lost in the men's doubles.

Murray and Herbert were beaten 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2 6-3 by Croatian sixth seeds Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor.

All is not lost for the Scot, however, as he has another chance alongside American great Serena Williams in the mixed doubles.

The illustrious pair face Andreas Mies and Alexa Guarachi later on Saturday.

Murray and Williams, two of the sport's most recognisable players, will meet their German-Chilean opponents on a court to be decided after 17:30 BST.

Regardless of what happens in that match, Murray's overriding emotion of returning to Wimbledon - six months after he had a hip resurfacing operation - will be happiness at being competitive.

The 32-year-old Scot made a triumphant return when he and Herbert earned a comeback win over Romania's Marius Copil and France's Ugo Humbert, recovering from a slow start to enthral a boisterous Court One on Thursday by winning in four sets.

But this time the mood on a packed court two, one of the smaller show courts at the All England Club, faltered as Murray and Herbert's second-round match swung in the opposite direction.

The partnership failed to ignite in the same way that Murray's triumphant pairing with Spain's Feliciano Lopez did at Queens, with an almost innate understanding between doubles specialists Mektic and Skugor proving too much.

Initially it looked like it could be another positive outcome for Murray and Herbert, who edged an even first set after a crisp cross-court backhand winner from Murray swung the tie-break in their favour.

But 28-year-old Herbert, who has won all four Grand Slam doubles titles after success with his previous partner Nicolas Mahut, continued to struggle with his returning game in the second set and then crucially saw his serve taken for their opponents to level.

From that point Mektic and Skugor took control as Murray and Herbert's service game waned, the Croatians breaking three more times in the next two sets to reach the third round.

'Doubt we'll see Murray & Herbert in tandem again' - analysis

Peter Fleming, seven-time Grand Slam champion on BBC TV

Mektic and Skugor were good value for their win, after a sluggish start they did play some superb tennis.

We probably won't see a reprise of the Murray-Herbert tandem anytime soon. They just didn't gel.

Andrew Castle, former British number one on BBC TV

I think Herbert will be disappointed with himself more than Murray, who has done more than enough in this grass court season and will be delighted to be back.

Herbert went a little flat in that second set if truth be told.

British number one Johanna Konta staged a determined comeback to beat American ninth seed Sloane Stephens and reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.

The 2017 semi-finalist had trailed by a set and was under pressure on her serve before regrouping to win 3-6 6-4 6-1.

She is the only home hope left in the women's singles after Harriet Dart's 6-1 6-1 loss to top seed Ashleigh Barty.

Dan Evans, the only British man still in the singles, faces Joao Sousa in the third round later on Saturday.

Konta will face Czech two-time champion Petra Kvitova for a place in the quarter-finals on Monday.

"I just kept plugging away more than anything," Konta told BBC television.

"I was fully prepared to not be coming back in that second set because she really was playing well. I was really pleased I could keep battling, I was pleased I could mix things up and I did a good job in getting her out of that zone."

Konta turns frustration into fightback

Last month Konta had dominated Stephens in a 6-1 6-4 victory in the French Open quarter-finals last month, playing some of the best tennis of her career.

But the 28-year-old struggled to find her rhythm and became frustrated with herself at times against the 26-year-old American on Court One.

After losing the first set when she netted a backhand, Konta found herself under increasing pressure on her serve in the second.

She showed glimpses of the mental negativity that has hampered her in the past, shooting glances at her coach Dimitri Zavialoff and berating herself for her wayward shots.

But she then translated that into fighting spirit in the fifth game of the second set when she was taken to deuce six times and saved three break points before eventually holding.

That proved to be the start of a comeback as she went on to break the American in the 10th game to take the set and force a decider.

From then on she did not look back - the overcooked forehands found the lines and the head-shaking at changeovers became fist pumps as she won five games in a row from late in the second set to surge ahead in the third.

And her victory was complete when Stephens hit long with just over two hours on the clock.

Dart learns 'tough lesson'

Dart exits with her head held high after a tournament that marked her first back-to-back wins at tour level.

The world number 182 had said beforehand that the match against French Open champion Barty would provide her with a good measure of where her tennis was at.

Having lost 6-0 6-0 to Maria Sharapova in her last match against a high-profile player on the main show court of a Grand Slam at January's Australian Open, she can be comforted by the fact she got herself on the scoreboard in the 53-minute defeat by Barty.

Barty - who has been beaten by only one player outside the world's top 10 this year - dropped just three points on serve in the first set, moving a double break up before the world number 182 was finally able to hold.

Dart went a double break down at the start of the second set before showing signs of her form of previous rounds, reaching four break points before allowing Barty to hold.

"It's a good learning curve for me," she said. "She played great. She didn't let me in the match at all.

"It's a tough lesson to learn. It's been a great tournament for me. I should take a lot of positives from it."

Barty, who is the first Australian to reach the women's singles fourth round at Wimbledon since 2010, said the young Briton had a bright future.

"Harriet is going to have a fantastic career. I know she will play out on Centre Court again soon," said the Australian, who will play American Alison Riske in the fourth round.

A winning streak goes bust in Busan

Published in Table Tennis
Saturday, 06 July 2019 03:37

In fact, the decisive battle in mixed doubles was not as fierce as it might have been. On the attack from their first serve, Wong and Doo destabilized the reigning world champions early by shutting down Liu’s topspin, thereby containing Xu’s shut-em-down wellies, and the formidable Chinese duo never quite recovered. 

And when in doubt, call a timeout. The strategic playbreaking manoeuver was used to great effect by Wong and Doo late in the match, stifling the momentum Xu and Liu started to recover towards the end. The 2018 Grand Final winners and no. 2 seeds continued to impose themselves and saw out a controlled 3-1 victory (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 13-11). 

Bringing the heat

By this point, Saturday wasn’t exactly going as planned for Team China. The normally stalwart Fan Zhendong suffered through an unanticipatedly rough quarter-final, playing not only against home favorite Jeong Youngsik but against Jeong’s adoring public as well, and ultimately failing to advance. That was before Xu and Liu went down in the mixed doubles final.

So by the time they got to the men’s doubles final, both players might have been feeling they had something to prove. 

They certainly played like it, stopping the top-seeded Korean veterans Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu in their tracks. Xu and Fan allowed the Koreans no opportunity in their 3-0 win (11-9, 11-7, 11-6) to clinch their second World Tour title so far this year. 

Xu retook the World #1 ranking from Fan this week in men’s singles, but evidently there are no hard feelings; both men certainly looked pleased to come away with a victory in Busan.

A renaissance for Chen and Wang

There were stumbles from Chen Meng and Wang Manyu: the Chinese women’s duo, playing together for the first time since 2017, presented a united front before Korea’s Choi Hyojoo and Yang Haeun for the women’s doubles title. 

The match was something of a cat-and-mouse affair, with Choi and Yang approaching the lead and forcing extra points but never quite being able to overtake their esteemed opponents and top seeds, who prevailed in three games (12-10, 15-13, 11-6).

Follow live updates from Busan and watch the action on itTV!

Busan highlights: Jeoung Youngsik sensational

Published in Table Tennis
Saturday, 06 July 2019 07:15

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem prevented a possible Chinese clean sweep.

Men’s Singles: Quarter-Finals

…………Jeoung Youngsik, the no.13 seed, rose to the occasion; he beat China’s Fan Zhendong, the top seed (11-5, 9-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 12-10).

…………Ma Long, the no.4 seed, was given a fright; he had to recover from a two games to nil deficit to eventually emerge successful against Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson (9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-5, 11-8).

…………Wang Chuqin repeated the success enjoyed in the men’s singles final at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games; a qualifier, he beat Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, the no.3 seed (11-8, 12-10, 11-7, 8-11, 5-11, 11-7).

…………Xu Xin, the no.2 seed, progressed; he accounted for colleague Liang Jingkun, the no.8 seed (11-6, 3-11, 11-3, 14-12, 5-11, 11-9).

…………At the semi-final stage Jeoung Youngsik meets Ma Long; Wang Chuqin opposes Xu Xin.

Women’s Singles: Quarter-Finals

…………Chen Meng, the no.2 seed, set the day in motion; she gave a scintillating display to end the hopes of colleague, Zhu Yuling, the no.5 seed (11-4, 11-7, 11-6, 11-7).

…………Sun Yingsha, the no.16 seed, saved two match points in the deciding seventh game against Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa, the no.6 seed, before emerging successful (10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 11-6, 13-11).

…………Ding Ning, the top seed, ended the hopes of the host nation; she accounted for Jeon Jihee, the no.15 seed (11-7, 11-8, 11-6, 11-3).

…………Wang Manyu, the no.3 seed, overcame Japan’s Mima Ito, the no.7 seed (11-7, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8) and thus repeated the success of late May when she had prevailed in Shenzhen.

…………In the penultimate round Ding Ning meets Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng opposes Wang Manyu.

Men’s Doubles: Final

…………Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin, the no.6 seeds, imposed their authority on proceedings; they beat the host nation’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu, the top seeds, in straight games (11-9, 11-7, 11-6).

…………Victory for Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin meant they repeated their success of last month in Sapporo; overall as a partnership it was their fifth career ITTF World Tour men’s doubles title.

Women’s Doubles: Final

…………A brave effort from Korea Republic’s Choi Hyojoo and Yang Haeun, the no.6 seeds but it was defeat. Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, the top seeds, secured the vital points to clinch the title (12-10, 15-13, 11-6).

…………It was for Chen Meng and Wang Manyu their second such success on the ITTF World Tour; the one previous occasion was in 2017 in Doha when Yang Haeun had also to settle for runners up spot. On that occasion she partnered Jeon Jihee.

Mixed Doubles: Final

…………Hitherto unbeaten, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen, the top seeds, experienced their first ever defeat on the ITTF World Tour as a partnership. The suffered at the hands of Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem, the no.2 seeds (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 13-11).

…………Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem emerged successful at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals but it was their first such success at an ITTF World Tour tournament.

Crusaders have won their third consecutive Super Rugby title and 10th overall as they beat Argentine club Jaguares 19-3.

It was the Jaguares' first appearance in the final - played at the Crusaders' stadium in Christchurch - in just their fourth season in the competition.

Hooker Codie Taylor scored the only try for the home side, while fly-half Richie Mo'unga kicked 14 points.

The match was All Blacks captain Kieran Read's last game for the Crusaders.

Read, a two-time World Cup winner with New Zealand, will retire from international rugby after the competition in Japan later this year and join Japanese side Toyota Verblitz next season.

PHOTOS: Devil’s Bowl Hosts SCONE Sprints

Published in Racing
Saturday, 06 July 2019 07:00

25 Days Left In Priority Aviation Sponsorship Contest

Published in Racing
Saturday, 06 July 2019 08:02

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Teams competing in either the 360 or 410 Nationals at Knoxville Raceway have just 25 days remaining in their opportunity to cash in on the Priority Aviation $20,000 Sponsorship competition.

The cut off for donations/memberships towards your favorite race team/driver end at 6 p.m. CST on Wednesday, July 31.

It is still a very close race and no driver in the running is out of it.  Iowa’s Carson McCarl currently holds the lead in the race over Pennsylvania’s Lance Dewease and Iowa’s McKenna Haase.

The opportunity benefiting the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum for a $20,000 sponsorship from Priority Aviation is available to any driver competing at Knoxville in August at either the 360 Nationals or 410 Nationals.

Currently, 20 drivers have taken advantage of the contest.  McCarl leads the current standings ahead of Dewease, Haase, Bill Balog, Tyler Courtney, Sammy Swindell, Tanner Holmes, Jac Haudenschild, David Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Scott Thiel, Austin McCarl, Parker Price-Miller, Craig Dollansky, Clint Garner, Mason Daniel, Kyle Larson, Chad Kemenah, Joe Beaver and Shane Stewart.

All that sprint car teams and fans need to do is have their prospective members or donors visit www.SprintCarStuff.comand order a membership there, contact the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum and request membership packets or make a donation.

If ordering online, specify your driver or race team in the “Notes” section on the final page.

The museum can ship membership and donation information out for the drivers and teams to pass out at their races in July.  The driver or team with the highest amount of donations returned to the museum before July 31 will receive the $20,000 sponsorship funding.

All funds collected will go towards paying off remaining construction costs on the Bryan Clauson Suite Tower. Memberships start at only $25 per year, but any donation amount will be accepted.

Indian’s Bauman Brother Act

Published in Racing
Saturday, 06 July 2019 09:00

At the end of the 2018 season, the Indian Wrecking Crew — the factory’s awesomely talented trio of American Flat Track racers — was down to one.

Brad Baker was seriously injured during the X Games and was out indefinitely, and Bryan Smith and his crew announced they were going to contest the AFT Twins Championship on Kawasakis.

That left the Wrecking Crew with just one member, defending series champion Jared Mees.

Having Mees on board gave Indian officials tremendous leeway. They already had the most talented rider in flat-track racing, who just also happened to have one of the most talented crew chiefs in Kenny Tolbert.

With the luxury of Mees and Tolbert on board, Indian looked to hire a pair of young riders who they could build into future champions and who could potentially be contenders for many years to come.

In what now looks like a stroke of genius, Indian went with a brother act in the form of Briar and Bronson Bauman.

The younger brother, Bronson Bauman, already had experience with the factory Indian squad. As a young, up-and-coming AFT Twins rider, Bronson Bauman showcased his abilities last season and earned his first full-time factory ride for this season. Midway through the 2018 campaign, Bronson Bauman was hand-selected by Baker to fill in on his factory FTR750.

In Bronson Bauman’s first race aboard the FTR750, he secured a fifth-place finish at the Buffalo Chip TT. Bronson Bauman also recorded his first career Twins podium aboard the FTR750 with a second-place finish at Pennsylvania’s Williams Grove Speedway.

To find a third rider, Indian didn’t have to go far. As a privateer, Briar Bauman turned to the Indian Motorcycle FTR750 for the second half of last season. Through nine races, Briar Bauman secured six top-five finishes, including a second-place effort at the Peoria TT and his third AFT Twins victory at Williams Grove. His strong late-season effort rewarded him with a third-place finish in the standings and that was a strong enough résumé to earn him the ride with Indian.

Briar Bauman rides his Indian during the Daytona TT earlier this year. (Indian Photo)

American Flat Track has a long history of talented brother combinations. Before the Baumans there were the Hank and Gary Scott, Mark and Scott Brelford, Chuck, Larry and Dennis Palmgren and Tommy, Nicky and Roger Hayden, to name a few.

Indian definitely went for youth with the Baumans. Briar Bauman is 23 and Bronson Bauman just turned 22. And for the brothers, they couldn’t be in a better position, getting the opportunity to ride for the best factory squad in flat- track racing.

The Baumans, who grew up in the flat-track racing hotbed of Salinas, Calif., started racing at the same time, and surprise of all surprises, it was their mother, Lisa, who suggested they give it a try.

“Our neighbors asked if our parents could bring their bike down to a race at King City,” Bronson Bauman explained. “It was my mom who told my dad, ‘We should let the boys race.’ I think Briar and I both finished dead last, so we wanted to go back because we were kind of mad that we did so badly.”

Obviously, both brothers figured it out and quickly became two of the best amateur racers in the country.

Briar and Bronson Bauman admit they can’t totally deny the stereotype of brothers who were constantly fighting, but now that they are older, both say they couldn’t ask for a better teammate.

“I get along with pretty much everyone, but it’s nice to have Bronson in the pits,” Briar Bauman said. “We share stuff and try to help each other as much as we can. A lot of times when you get to the level where we’re at, teammates sometimes don’t work together that well. We’ve all seen times when there’s friction between teammates and that’s something we don’t have to worry about.”

For Bronson Bauman, simply having a teammate is a new experience.

“I’ve never really had a teammate before,” he admitted. “But it’s nice because we can bounce ideas off each other. We can talk about what lines on the track to run and things like that. That’s great for me, because that’s information he wouldn’t go around sharing with anybody else.”

Rea Takes Championship Lead With Donington Triumph

Published in Racing
Saturday, 06 July 2019 09:29

LEICESTERSHIRE, England – Jonathan Rea launched himself into the World Superbike championship lead with a victory Saturday at Donington Park.

Kawasaki’s Rea took the lead early on and never look back as he romped to a 76th career win. The victory, combined with a crash by Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista, allowed Rea to move into the championship lead for the first time this season.

A blistering opening lap by Rea allowed him to build a lead of a second over polesitter Tom Sykes, followed by Lean Haslam, Loris Baz and Bautista.

Rea continued to set a scorching pace at the front, essentially making it a race for second behind him. On lap six disaster nearly struck for Bautista, who nearly crashed in turn two only to recover and remain on his bike.

After eight laps Rea had a comfortable lead of seven seconds as Sykes continued in second, followed by Haslam, Baz and Bautista.

The wet conditions soon began claiming victims. The first was Jordi Torres, who crashed on wet grass at the exit of turn six. He was followed closely by Sandro Cortese, who crashed at the entry of turn six.

Finally it was Bautista’s turn. He also crashed in turn six in spectacular fashion, ending his race and effectively handing the championship lead to Rea as long as he finished the race.

Rea held serve and earned the victory, with Sykes finished second from the pole ahead of Haslam in third. Baz settled for fourth, with Alex Lowes taking fifth following Bautista’s crash.

Marquez Counts To 10 In Sachsenring Qualifying

Published in Racing
Saturday, 06 July 2019 10:27

HOHENSTEIN-ERNSTTHAL, Germany – Marc Marquez scored his 57th premier class pole during MotoGP qualifying on Saturday at the Sachsenring.

Marquez eclipsed his own qualifying record at the German track, resetting it with a 1:20.195 lap to earn his 10th-straight pole at the Sachsenring.

“I am riding very well and since FP1 I have felt good here,” Marquez said. “We’ve just been trying different tyres and some different things on the bike to see how it compares. Even in qualifying we tried some different things to keep understanding more. We have everything in place for tomorrow but the Yamaha riders are very fast, (Maverick) Viñales and (Fabio) Quartararo are very fast so we will have to keep an eye on them. The pole was possible today but we will have to see if the win is possible tomorrow.”

Marquez will be joined on the front row two Yamaha riders – Petronas Yamaha SRT’s Fabio Quartararo and Monster Energy Yamaha’s Maverick Viñales. Quartararo was .205 of a second off the pace set by Marquez.

Alex Rins qualified fourth for Suzuki, followed by the Pramac Racing Ducati of Jack Miller and LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow.

The remainder of the top-10 included Franco Morbidelli, Pol Espargaro, Joan Mir and Takaaki Nakagami.

Soccer

Varane retires after knee injury on Como debut

Varane retires after knee injury on Como debut

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFrance World Cup winner Raphaël Varane has announced his retirement...

Mbappé nets in 5th straight as Madrid top Alavés

Mbappé nets in 5th straight as Madrid top Alavés

Real Madrid survived a late scare as goals by Lucas Vazquez, Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo gave them a 3...

Alavés coach on Endrick kick-out: 'It's a red card'

Alavés coach on Endrick kick-out: 'It's a red card'

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsAlavés coach Luis Garcia Plaza said Endrick should have been sent o...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

Clippers to hold Kawhi (knee) out of camp drills

Clippers to hold Kawhi (knee) out of camp drills

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsINGLEWOOD, Calif. -- LA Clippers President Lawrence Frank said Tues...

Griz to retire Allen's 9, joining 'Grit & Grind' stars

Griz to retire Allen's 9, joining 'Grit & Grind' stars

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe Memphis Grizzlies will retire guard Tony Allen's No. 9 jersey o...

Baseball

Pads claim playoff spot on game-ending triple play

Pads claim playoff spot on game-ending triple play

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsLOS ANGELES -- Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres wrote their o...

O's best Yanks, clinch 2nd straight playoff berth

O's best Yanks, clinch 2nd straight playoff berth

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- The Baltimore Orioles clinched their second straight pl...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated