1. Lewis needs rest ahead of Hungary
Sky Sports reports that Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will clear his diary and rest up ahead of next weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was suffering from a bout of illness at the German GP, where he finished ninth on a nightmare weekend for Mercedes.
The British driver said: “I have cancelled everything I have for the next few days. So I’m going home. I will probably sleep the next few days and try and get over this bug.
“It’s not really improving massively, hopefully the next couple of days it will. I don’t think being in the car helps. Health is just so important so I’m going to make try I can try and be as healthy as I can.”
Yesterday’s action-packed German GP was won by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas crashed out of the race which Mercedes boss Toto Wolff described as “Armageddon”.
F1 2019: standings ahead of the Hungarian GP, calendar, TV
2. Klopp ready for huge week
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp takes his squad to Evian in France this week for their final training camp ahead of the new season. The Reds play Manchester City in the FA Community Shield on Sunday at Wembley and Klopp said of the trip to France: “It’s massively important and we are looking forward to it. It’s always been clear Evian would be the most important week of the season, and we have five days after [Man] City before Norwich.” Liverpool were beaten 3-0 by Napoli in a pre-season friendly at Murrayfield yesterday.
3. 400m hurdles world record smashed
American athlete Dalilah Muhammad smashed the 400m hurdles world record at the US National Championships in Iowa. The Olympic champion, 29, recorded a time of 52.20 to beat Yuliya Pechonkina’s previous record of 52.34, which had stood for 16 years. Muhammad said: “I’m just shocked. I’ve been kind of hitting that time in practice and my coach was like ‘there’s no way you can’t do it’.”
4. Koepka proves he’s the No.1
World No.1 Brooks Koepka hit a bogey-free final round 65 to win the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational by three shots. Overnight leader Rory McIlroy had to settle for tied-fourth, five shots behind Koepka. “It feels really good,” said American golfer Koepka. “I knew I had to make some putts and to catch up with Rory by nine would be big. I played really solid. The goal was to make no bogeys and I came out bogey free so I’m really pleased. To win this title against Rory was pretty special.”
5. Ko Jin-young wins Evian major
South Korea’s Ko Jin-young secured her second women’s golf major of the season after winning by two shots at the Evian Championship. The 24-year-old said: “Last year my game was a little shorter but this year I’m getting a little longer. I had a great week.”
6. Hazlewood warns Roy
The Ashes start on Thursday with the first Test at Edgbaston and Australia have bowled the first psychological bouncer with Jason Roy the target. The England opener has bullied bowling attacks around the world in the white ball game, but he’s a novice at Test cricket and the Aussies aim to exploit his inexperience in the Ashes. “We’ll see how Roy goes,” replied Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood when asked about the Surrey opener. “He has played one Test and it’s a lot different opening the batting in a Test than a one-day game, that’s for sure.”
Ashes 2019: Aussie bowlers will target Test cricket new boy Jason Roy
7. Archer in, Stokes named vice-captain
Australia and England have named their squads ahead of the first Ashes Test. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft are in Australia’s 17-man squad while Jofra Archer is included in England’s 14-man squad. The ECB has also confirmed that Ben Stokes will be England’s vice-captain for the five-Test Ashes series.
Ashes 2019 England vs. Australia: squads, fixtures, dates, odds, TV
8. Emery confirms Pepe chase
Arsenal lost to Lyon in the Emirates Cup yesterday but the questions at the post-match press conference were more to do with the stunning news that the Gunners are on the verge of signing Lille winger Nicolas Pepe in a £72m deal. Head coach Unai Emery was happy to confirm the reports, saying: “We are working, the club, and also thinking about how we can improve. Pepe is a very good player and also we are thinking only of players who can really, really improve this squad and also give us some different conditions to improve.”
Premier League transfer news: Pepe, Zaha, Drinkwater, Matuidi, Sane, Adebayor
9. Real Madrid cancel Bale deal
Gareth Bale won’t be going to China, reports BBC Sport, as the Wales forward is “now set to stay” at Real Madrid. The 30-year-old had appeared close to agreeing terms with Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning on a three-year contract that would net him £1m a week. However, the BBC says that Spanish giants Real have “cancelled the deal”.
10. Thomas praises Tour winner Bernal
Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas has hailed team-mate Egan Bernal as “the future” after the 22-year-old Colombian won the Tour de France. Last year’s champion Thomas finished second behind fellow Team Ineos star Bernal – who becomes the youngest rider in 110 years to win the Tour. Thomas said: “Egan is the future and when I’m 45 and old and fat and sat in the pub watching him win a 10th Tour de France I can say I told him all I know.”
Today’s back pages: Egan Bernal’s ‘champagne moment’
