Month: July 2023

World No. 24 seed Grigor Dimitrov easily defeated 10th seed Frances Tiafoe in a rain-delayed, third-round match at Wimbledon on Sunday. Dimitrov, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2014, won the match 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 against the American Tiafoe.

Said Dimitrov, who had led Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 1-2 overnight in London: “He’s such a dangerous player, I knew I had to be very focused  He’s a player that has a lot of flare around the court. Great serve, great return, so I was just looking after my game, to be honest. The past weeks have been amazing weeks for me, out here in England. I’m just enjoying every single day.”

The 32-year-old also reached the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round of Roland Garros this year, but is still looking to break his six-year title drought since his win at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. The Bulgarian said: “For me, I’m not looking at any [external factors] right now. I’m just focusing on my side of the net and looking after my game. I really enjoy coming out here and am really enjoying playing at the moment a lot. I think the older I get, the more I enjoy it, which is interesting.”  When asked about facing Danish sixth seed Holger Rune in the fourth round, Dimitrov said: “It’s going to be one of those matches. I have to take it like any other match. Of course he is young, talented and a very dangerous player, but so am I. Minus the young part!”

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Defending champion Max Verstappen won his sixth consecutive race at the British Grand Prix on Sunday, after the Red Bull driver lost the lead to Lando Norris at the start before reclaiming the top spot. Norris landed in second place after battling it out against seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen extended his overall lead to 99 points over teammate Sergio Perez; first place in a race earns 25 points. Verstappen said of the win: “It’s very confusing, to be honest, because every single race it’s someone else.”. Added Norris: “It was an amazing fight.”

From the start, Verstappen was overtaken off the line by McLaren’s Norris, but took back the lead on lap five and held on until the end. Red Bull has won all 10 races this year—11 in a row including the final race of 2022—matching the record of McLaren with 11 consecutive wins in 1988.

Hamilton had started seventh, and said of placing third: “I didn’t do it; the crowd did … I felt the energy. I felt the support. This is the reason we got back up there.” McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri was a career-best fourth ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, George Russell. Perez was off the podium for the fourth time in five races, finishing sixth after starting 15th, with seventh place going to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso and an impressive eighth for Alexander Albon of Williams.

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Veteran forward Patric Hornqvist announced that he will retire from the NHL after 15 seasons. Hornqvist made the announcement in an article posted by Swedish outlet Sportbladet, saying in part: “I’ve been in this bubble since I started to play as a kid, hockey has been a huge part of my life, so of course it’s a difficult decision to make. It will be a big transition, but it feels good now. I’m looking forward to the rest of my life. It’s the most important thing.”

The 36-year-old Hornqvist played his final game with the Florida Panthers on Dec. 3 at Seattle. He suffered his second concussion in a month at the time, and sat out the remainder of the season. He totaled a goal and two assists last season for the Panthers.

Hornqvist entered the NHL as a seventh-round pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2005 NHL Draft. The Predators traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014, where he won 2 Stanley Cup titles — first in 2016, and again in 2017, where he scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 against the Predators. Hornqvist was later traded to the Florida Panthers in 2020, where he remained until the 2022-23 season. In total, Hornqvist totaled 106 goals and 110 assists in 363 games in the NHL.

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LSU gymnast and social media influencer Olivia Dunne has started her own fund with LSU’s official NIL collective, Bayou Traditions. Named after the senior gymnast, The Livvy Fund “will provide LSU female athletes with exclusive industry tips and connections Livvy has built in the NIL industry, and become the place for Tiger fans and supporters to donate to LSU female athletes.”

Th 20-year-old Dunne has over 15 million followers across her social media platforms (Instagram, TikTok and Twitter) and has NIL deals with Vuori, American Eagle and Forever 21, among other name brands. Dunne makes an estimated $3.5 million from name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, according to on3.com’s NIL valuations, and is the highest valued female athlete in the country accounts.

Dunne said in a press release: “As a female student-athlete, I have been fortunate enough to build a strong social media following and establish valuable brand partnerships that have launched my career in ways I couldn’t imagine. I am excited to build on this momentum by leveraging my connections and sharing my knowledge in the NIL space to create more opportunities for LSU female student-athletes, while emphasizing the importance of bringing NIL funds to women in college sports.”

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