Getty ImagesKatie FalkinghamBBC Sport Senior JournalistPaul BattisonBBC Sport Journalist2 hours agoDefending champion Carlos Alcaraz was forced to fight for his place in the French Open fourth round with a testing victory over a dogged Damir Dzumhur.The second seed had looked to be making light work of his opponent with a two-set lead, before a revival from the Bosnian pushed their encounter into a fourth set under the lights on Court Philippe Chatrier.Spaniard Alcaraz, seeking to becoming the first man since compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2020 to retain the Roland Garros title, eventually ground out a 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 success.”I didn’t enjoy it too much,” said the 22-year-old. “I suffered quite a lot but I’m happy to have played a good match with Damir.”That’s why it’s difficult to win Grand Slams because you have to maintain your focus over three or four hours. “The first two sets were under control and then he decided to play deeper and more aggressive. My energy went down and it was hard to push, but I had to give everything I had inside. I’m proud to get the win in the end.”Alcaraz will face 13th seed Ben Shelton next after the American beat Italy’s Matteo Gigante 6-3 6-3 6-4 earlier on Friday.Alcaraz’s form during his second-round win over Fabian Marozsan had been patchy and Friday’s first meeting at ATP Tour level against Dzumhur looked set to be a much smoother affair.Having shrugged off two early break points, he reeled off five successive games to wrap up the opening set inside 30 minutes, with his opponent looking exasperated at times as he struggled to contain the man seen as the one to beat on the Paris clay this year.The second set followed in much the same fashion, and while Dzumhur, 33, did have his chances with break points in the second and sixth games, he lacked the weapons to cause Alcaraz any concern.A double fault sealed the two-set lead for the Spaniard, but then the errors started to creep into his own game in the third as Dzumhur found another gear on the other side of the net.After a brief pause to receive treatment on a knee injury, the Bosnian – seeking to reach the fourth round of a Slam for the first time – finally got the break he had been fighting for.Alcaraz wasted three immediate chances to break back at 4-3 down, and a further two as his opponent served out the set.Dzumhur’s resurgence continued into the fourth as he broke the frustrated Spaniard at the first time of asking, and Alcaraz was forced to watch more break points of his own come and go unconverted.But Dzumhur was only ever going to hold him off temporarily. Alcaraz, starting to show glimpses of the clinical form on show in the opening two sets, won four successive games, and while he was broken back when serving for the match, he again broke Dzumhur to close the tie as the clock neared midnight in the French capital.Rune to face Musetti next but injured Fils withdrawsDanish 10th seed Holger Rune also reached the fourth round by beating France’s Quentin Halys in five sets.Rune, who stunned Alcaraz in the final to win the Barcelona Open last month, had to come from two-sets-to-one down in a 4-6 6-2 5-7 7-5 6-2 victory.Rune will next face Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti, who beat Argentine Mariano Navone in four sets.Elsewhere, 12th seed Tommy Paul won his second five-set match in a row to set up a fourth-round tie with Australian 25th seed Alexei Popyrin.The American, 28, ousted Russian 24th seed Karen Khachanov 3-6 6-3 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-3, while Popyrin recorded a 6-4 7-6 (13-11) 7-6 (7-5) win over Portugal’s Nuno Borges.American 15th seed Frances Tiafoe beat compatriot and 23rd seed Sebastian Korda 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-4 and will face unseeded German Daniel Altmaier next. Altmaier reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time by defeating Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-2.French 14th seed Arthur Fils, who overcame injury to beat Jaume Munar on Thursday, has pulled out of Saturday’s third-round tie with Russian 17th seed Andrey Rublev.Rublev will face Italian top seed Jannik Sinner or Czech Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round, with the pair due to meet on Saturday.Related topicsTennis

Getty Images10 minutes agoManchester Thunder edged past Cardiff Dragons 59-54 to secure a top-four finish in the Netball Super League.Elmere van der Berg top-scored with 37 goals at Belle Vue Arena on Friday as the hosts joined London Pulse and Loughborough Lightning in reaching the play-offs.Victory for Thunder moved them up to second in the standings on 28 points, but they trail leaders Pulse on goal difference.Goal shooter Georgia Rowe scored 26 for Dragons, who remain bottom after losing all but one of their 12 matches so far. Defending champions Lightning host fifth-placed Nottingham Forest on Saturday, while Pulse face Leeds Rhinos and Birmingham Panthers take on fourth-placed London Mavericks on Sunday.Related topicsNetball

Getty ImagesChris HarbyBBC Sport England30 May 202527 CommentsLast season’s beaten finalists Somerset beat Surrey as they made an impressive start to their T20 Blast campaign.Jason Roy hit a blistering 92, but Surrey were restricted to 146-9 at Taunton before the hosts completed a five-wicket win.Holders Gloucestershire started their defence with a narrow four-run defeat to Kent Spitfires, while the returning James Vince stroked 62 as Hampshire Hawks thrashed Essex by 106 runs in the other South Group fixture.Jack Haynes’ unbeaten 89 eclipsed Sam Hain’s 92 as Notts Outlaws chased down Bears’ 226-5 with five balls to spare at Trent Bridge.Sol Budinger smashed a 15-ball 50 as Leicestershire Foxes defeated Derbyshire Falcons.And David Willey smashed 54 and took three wickets as Northamptonshire Steelbacks held off Yorkshire Vikings’ brave chase in a runfest at Headingley.Rex FeaturesSouth Group – Henry gets Somerset off to a flyerUnlike elsewhere, the bowlers held their own at Taunton where 2023 winners Somerset beat Surrey in a low-scoring repeat of last season’s semi-final.Just two Surrey batters reached double figures as New Zealand seam bowler Matt Henry (3-21) and Australian paceman Riley Meredith (3-26) restricted the visitors to 146-9.Former England white-ball destroyer Roy appeared to play on a different pitch to his team-mates as he belted seven maximums in an aggressive 92, with Sam Curran the next best with 22.England all-rounder Curran (2-30) then removed Somerset openers Tom Banton (23) and Will Smeed (35), while Yousef Majid took 2-26 as the hosts wobbled.But Ben Green (23*) and Tom Abell (29*) nursed them home with 13 balls to spare.At Bristol, Daniel Bell-Drummond (60) compiled his 38th T20 half-century and Tawanda Muyeye made 42 to give Kent a good platform against holders Gloucestershire.England red-ball batter Zak Crawley added 37 off just 17 balls – including four sixes – before Joe Denly (48 not out) took Kent up to 208-3.Gloucestershire looked to be falling well short as they reached just 64-3 at the midway point, needing another 145 runs.Ollie Price hit 51 off 26 balls and captain Jack Taylor smacked 23 off just eight balls as the hosts accelerated, and David Payne and Ben Charlesworth (38) took 19 off the final over, but Kent held on for a four-run win.Over in Southampton, Vince looked happy to be back in his first Hampshire appearance of the season following his decision to step back from red-ball cricket this year.Leading the side against Essex, Vince raced to a 25-ball 50 before holing out for 62, while fellow opener Toby Albert added 54 off 34 balls.But it was debutant Dewald Brevis who top scored, plundering six maximums in a 32-ball 68 as the hosts set an imposing 230-7.The chase began disastrously as Dean Elgar was run out for a duck, and although Michael Pepper showed defiance with 51, the Essex batting subsided meakly to 124 all out.Rex FeaturesNorth Group – Outlaws exact revenge on BearsTrent Bridge has been a happy hunting ground for the Bears in recent seasons and proved so again for half of this game.After racking up the highest total in English T20 cricket of 261-2 there in 2022, the West Midlands side skittled Nottinghamshire for 57 last summer as they topped the North Group for a third successive campaign.Sam Hain hit 112 in that record score and was in the mood again, launching six sixes in an unbeaten 92 off 49 balls, supported by a rapid innings of 55 from Ed Barnard as the Bears again made hay, posting 226-5.But the Outlaws responded in kind, racking up 88-0 from their powerplay, led by captain Joe Clarke who set the tone with 58 from 23 balls.The reply looked to be faltering when the Notts skipper fell to Danny Brigg’s second ball and Lyndon James also perished to spin soon after as Jake Lintott struck.However, experienced Aussie all-rounder Moises Henriques hit 34 on debut, while Jack Haynes took charge, smashing an unbeaten 89 from 41 balls to cap a superb chase and a seven-wicket win.The biggest feast of runs on a night of big totals came at Headingley which served up a mammoth aggregate of 461 runs.Northants skipper Willey (54) smashed six sixes in reaching 50 off just 20 balls, adding 85 runs for the third wicket with Justin Broad in just 35 balls.Broad was three balls slower to his 50 on his way to a 32-ball 67 as the Steelbacks piled up 237-4 against Yorkshire – the highest total of the evening.Yorkshire were soon in trouble at 9-3 as Willey (3-42) removed Dawid Malan and Will Luxton and then ran out Adam Lyth.Rapid knocks of 58 from James Wharton and Will Sutherland kept the Vikings up with the rate but the lower order could not pull off an epic chase as they closed just 13 runs short.Leicestershire brought their red-ball momentum into the T20 campaign as they saw off East Midlands rivals Derbyshire by five wickets at Leicester.The County Championship Division Two leaders, led by Logan van Beek’s 3-37, reduced the Falcons to 51-5 before Martin Andersson’s unbeaten 70, from 46 balls, pulled the visitors to 170-6.The total was soon put into context when Foxes opener Budinger plundered 28 runs from a single Pat Brown over to reach 50 in only 15 balls – just two slower than Marcus Trescothick’s record set in 2010.Afghan spinner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar picked up two wickets as the Falcons fought back, but an unbeaten 45 from Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood took the Foxes home with eight balls in hand.Saturday’s fixtures (16:00 BST)North Group:Edgbaston: Bears v DurhamOld Trafford: Lancashire Lightning v Nottinghamshire OutlawsRelated topicsNorthamptonshireEssexGloucestershireHampshireSurreyDerbyshireKentNottinghamshireLeicestershireYorkshireWarwickshireCounty CricketSomersetCricket

Watch Julia Hickelsberger’s goal that gives Austria a 1-0 win at Hampden Park in Melissa Andreatta’s first game as Scotland head coach – a result that relegates the hosts from the top tier of the Women’s Nations League.MATCH REPORT: Scotland 0-1 AustriaAvailable to UK users only, There is no commentary on this video.

Getty ImagesMatthew HenryBBC Sport journalist6 hours agoEngland’s Nat Sciver-Brunt was set to miss the ongoing West Indies series on maternity leave before being made captain, says her wife Katherine.Sciver-Brunt, 32, was named captain in April, a month after her son, Theo, who was carried by former England bowler Katherine, was born. “Nat was entitled to four months’ maternity leave, not being the birth mother,” Katherine Sciver-Brunt told BBC Test Match Special.”She took three weeks of that because England wanted her back for this series. “That was a huge sacrifice because those first eight weeks are so hard. “No-one would usually go back after three weeks, and Nat was pre-arranged to not play in this tournament and come back for the India series [which starts on 28 June].”Theo was with Sciver-Brunt during the T20 series which concluded on Monday and the first one-day international on Friday in Derby, where Katherine was working as a commentator for the BBC.The matches were England’s first under the all-rounder and new coach Charlotte Edwards, who were appointed after Heather Knight and Jon Lewis were sacked amid the fallout from last winter’s Ashes defeat. Katherine travelled alongside England while pregnant throughout the winter but remained at home during the Women’s Premier League in February and March.Had she gone into labour while Nat was at the tournament in India, her wife would not have made it home in time for the birth.Nat is the first mother to play for England since Arran Brindle, who played her last international in 2014.”There were talks of a stand-in captain coming in for this series and that was a hard question for England,” Katherine Sciver-Brunt said.”But ultimately Lottie [Edwards] wanted Nat and I couldn’t deny her that opportunity towards the back end of her career. “If I was unhappy or wasn’t sure, Nat would not have done it. She is selfless in that way and that is why she makes such a good captain.”Sciver-Brunt’s comments come after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an update to its maternity policy on Friday.Previously England players were guaranteed their full salary for the first 13 weeks post-childbirth and a percentage thereafter but they will now receive 12 months’ fully paid leave, plus an automatic contract extension and support with childcare and breastfeeding facilities.County players will get six months’ paid maternity leave plus the contract extension.Nat had egg freezing treatment last summer and said she would like to carry a baby after her cricket career.”When you talk about giving birth, it takes more than a year to get your body back into fitness and revert back to what you were,” Katherine said.”You have worked so hard as a female to get to that point in your career and then you have to question stepping back and having to juggle starting a family. “Even deciding to extract and freeze your eggs, there is time that has to be taken out for that.”If you are an exceptional athlete you often have a long career ahead of you, but not if you want to start a family. “Normalising this conversation and to inspiring people that it can be done, there needs to be more of that and I think it will happen.”Related topicsEngland Women’s Cricket TeamCricket

Swpix.comAndrew AloiaBBC Sport5 minutes ago3 CommentsBetfred Super LeagueHull KR (28) 34Tries: Broadbent 2, Hiku, Lewis 2, Minchella Goals: Mourgue 5St Helens (4) 4Tries: MurphySuper League leaders Hull KR thrashed a stuttering St Helens side to ensure they head into next week’s Challenge Cup final at Wembley on a high.The hosts were cruising at the break with a 28-4 lead, thanks to two tries from Jack Broadbent and finishes from Peta Hiku, Mikey Lewis and Elliot Minchella.Lewis Murphy, who went over for Saints’ only try in the first half, went close to pulling one back after the interval but had his acrobatic effort ruled out just moments before Lewis went in for his second of the night at the other end.Rovers’ commanding display against the long-time Super League powerhouse, who won a record 10th Super League title just three years ago, sets them up well for their cup decider in London against Warrington Wolves next Saturday.Saints’ defeat in east Hull came after Paul Wellens’ side had recorded thumping back-to-back wins against Huddersfield Giants and Catalans Dragons to somewhat revive their season following a run of six losses in nine games between early March and May.More to follow.Hull KR: Mourgue; Davies, Hiku, Broadbent, Burgess; Lewis, May; Sue, Litten, Whitbread, Tanginoa, Batchelor, Minchella.Replacements: Luckley, Brown, Doro, Leyland.St Helens: Welsby; Sailor, Percival, Cross, Murphy; Lomax, Whitby; Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Whitley, Knowles.Replacements: Mbye, Pa’asi, Delaney, Robertson.Sin-bin: Cross (21 mins)Referee: Liam Rush.Related topicsHull Kingston RoversRugby LeagueSt Helens

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFfion WynneBBC Sport journalist in Derby8 hours ago32 CommentsAmy Jones had waited a while for her first international century – 12 years, 225 matches and 190 innings, to be exact. Against a struggling West Indies at Derby, in England’s first one-day international under the new leadership regime of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Charlotte Edwards, the wicketkeeper finally made it out of the 90s. Edwards’ first tactical move in the 50-over format was to promote Jones back up the order after Maia Bouchier’s omission from the side, and she repaid the faith immediately. Jones had opened for England 23 times previously between 2016 and 2019, but said the simplicity of Edwards’ approach helped take the pressure off upon her return to the top.”She said, ‘you’ve scored big runs at county level opening and you did pretty well opening before so have a good go at it’. For it to be an option was really exciting for me,” Jones told BBC Test Match Special. “It feels really special [to make the century]. It feels like it has been a long time, especially with a bit of an opportunity to bat at the top of the order at the start of my career, so it just feels like a lot of relief and a huge amount of pride.”The Ashes drubbing which started the year was one to forget for all of England’s players, but Jones suffered a particularly painful experience in the second ODI at Melbourne which really kickstarted England’s spiral.Tasked with chasing 181 to level the series, Jones was left unbeaten on 47 having failed to marshal the tail and miscounting the balls left in an over. Since that series, Edwards had made her intentions clear regarding England’s “smartness” in 50-over cricket so it is fitting that Jones has immediately answered the call.Jones had made it past 90 three times in an England shirt before, making 94 against India in 2018, 91 v West Indies in 2019 and an unbeaten 92 against New Zealand in 2024 – and the nerves did seem to be kicking in when she was dropped on 92 and 93 in this knock.Tougher opposition will certainly come – in fact, rather soon, with India’s arrival next month, but the smile on Jones’ face as she embraced fellow centurion Tammy Beaumont in celebration indicated the sheer weight lifted from her shoulders. “There would have been a few people scratching their heads on why she would be opening the batting,” said former England seamer Katherine Sciver-Brunt on BBC Test Match Special. “I never thought she lost that spot, so I am massively pleased. She didn’t say to whoever was in charge, ‘I want that spot back’, she just took that she would be four, five or six. “The last two years she has done that well. I am over the moon for her that she has got the first hundred out of the way under some pressure. “I am mega happy for her but the ones that will stand out are the ones that really matter against the best teams in the world.”To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedRelated topicsEngland Women’s Cricket TeamCricket

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFfion WynneBBC Sport journalist in Derby30 May 2025, 20:13 BST28 CommentsUpdated Just nowFirst ODI, Derby England 345-6 (50 overs): Jones 122 (121); Beaumont 107 (104); Matthews 2-49West Indies 237 (48.2 overs): Joseph 62 (74); Smith 5-36England won by 108 runsScorecardCenturies from Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones set up a crushing 108-run win for England over West Indies in the first one-day international at Derby. Jones was promoted to open for the first time since 2019 and made 122, her first international hundred, and Beaumont added 107 in an opening stand of 222. In her first ODI since being appointed permanent captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt added a rapid 52 from 35 balls to propel England to 345-6. In reply, West Indies openers Hayley Matthews and Qiana Joseph started positively with a stand of 91 in 14 overs, before debutante Em Arlott claimed the prized wicket of Matthews for 48. Joseph top-scored with 62 but left-arm spinner Linsey Smith ripped through the middle order on ODI debut, finishing with 5-36 as the tourists were bowled out for 237 in the penultimate over.New coach Charlotte Edwards had called for England to be smarter in 50-over cricket since their Ashes drubbing at the beginning of the year, and they started watchfully in overcast conditions, reaching 45-0 from the first 10 overs.Beaumont’s fifty came from 74 balls, before a sudden shift in acceleration saw her take just 22 balls to bring up her hundred as she beat Jones to the milestone and was eventually bowled by Cherry-Ann Fraser in the 36th over. Emma Lamb, recalled to the side after impressive domestic form as a Lancashire opener, was put in at number three and was caught behind for two. Jones stuttered as she approached three figures – she was dropped on 91 and 92 by Jahzara Claxton and Karishma Ramharack respectively, both put down in their follow-through, before bringing up a 108-ball ton in her 226th international outing.England comfortably won the preceding T20 series 3-0, and the second ODI takes place at Leicester on 4 June. Batters dominate to begin Edwards eraTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedWhen asked about her coaching style and ambitions after being appointed in April, Edwards often made references to England’s approach to 50-over cricket, calling for a clearer gameplan and moving away from her predecessor Jon Lewis’ mantra of inspiring and entertaining.With the World Cup in this format approaching in the autumn, England do not have long to put this into practice but at the first time of asking, their batters delivered.West Indies’ attack was unthreatening and their fielding average, so it could be argued that Jones and Beaumont could have been a little more aggressive in the first half of the innings as they reached 121-0 after 25 overs.But the plan was clear, as the pair adjusted to the slow bowling attack and made sure they had wickets in hand before accelerating in the final 20 overs.England played 55% attacking shots inside the first 10 overs, which dropped to 45% in the next 10 and once both openers had passed 50, that increased to 77% between overs 21-30.Their opening stand was England’s fifth-highest partnership in women’s ODI history and their highest for any wicket against West Indies in the format, which set the perfect platform for Sciver-Brunt.Lamb was playing an unfamiliar role, coming to the crease in the 36th over, but captain Sciver-Brunt whacked six fours and a six from the wilting Windies bowlers as England passed 300 with ease.Alice Capsey, brought in to replace the injured Heather Knight, added a quickfire 24 from 19 balls and despite a fast outfield and good batting surface, the total felt far beyond the tourists, whose batting line-up relies so heavily on their captain and all-rounder Matthews.Smith shines despite Windies resistanceTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedDespite the positive improvements in the batting department, it was a disappointing start from England in the field as their bowlers struggled for control and the sloppiness that has plagued their fielding for some time continued.Joseph, a familiar face to England after her T20 World Cup heroics last year, batted with much more control than that infamous innings though she still whacked nine fours with her usual leg-side dominance. Matthews, meanwhile, carried her sparkling form from the T20 series before a lapse in concentration saw her edge Arlott behind at the beginning of the 15th over.From there, England’s win felt inevitable as West Indies resisted, but the run-rate completely stalled – between overs 20-30, they scored at just 2.8 runs per over.Zaida James was dropped on nought by Sophia Dunkley but could not capitalise on her chance as she was pinned lbw for seven for Smith’s first breakthrough, before Shemaine Campbelle and Mandy Mangru were bowled by beautiful floating deliveries which turned through their defences.Jahzara Claxton and Fraser were both caught on the boundary by Dunkley, the latter falling to the final ball of Smith’s spell as she became just the second England player to take a five-wicket haul on ODI debut.The hosts were frustrated by the lower order with Aaliyah Alleyne scoring 44, helping West Indies reach their highest ODI total against England. But Smith has given Edwards an interesting selection headache for the upcoming India series regarding world number one Sophie Ecclestone, who was left out of this series to continue her recovery from a knee injury. ‘I am proud of the way we’ve settled in’ – what they saidEngland captain Nat Sciver-Brunt: “The openers read the conditions really well. It was a bit tacky at the start but they did brilliantly and caught up and accelerated really well. It set us up for a great score.”I am most proud of the way we have settled in with so many changes and committing to what we wanted to do which is huge partnerships and strong batting.”West Indies captain Hayley Matthews: “It was pretty hard out there. The [England] openers played really well and were super disciplined. We weren’t able to find a breakthrough until later on when they were set for a pretty big total.”We can still take a lot of positives from today. Getting to the total we got to with so many young girls in the team does say a lot. If we can tighten up a few areas in the bowling it will be a much more competitive game.”Related topicsEngland Women’s Cricket TeamCricket