16 straight wins: Alcaraz powers on at Queen's Club
Carlos Alcaraz has overcome another tricky obstacle at the Queen's Club Championship as the top-seeded Spaniard dispatched France's Arthur Rinderknech with little fuss 7-5 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz toiled for three hours in stifling heat on Thursday to edge past fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar in a titanic scrap and afterwards admitted he did not know how he was still standing.
It was far more straightforward against unseeded Rinderknech, the player he also beat in his opening match two years ago when he went on to win the title at the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The 22-year-old converted each of his two break points on another sweltering Friday as he extended his sequence of match wins to a career-long 16.
"I could be better. Honestly I was thinking I was going to feel much worse than I did today," five-time grand slam champion Alcaraz said on court.
"I'm glad it was only one hour 20 minutes today."
Britain's Jack Draper also continued his Wimbledon build-up successfully as he reached the semi-finals at Queen's for the first time with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat of American Brandon Nakashima.
Draper not only kept himself on track for the prestigious ATP 500 title, but also secured the win that guarantees a top-four seeding at Wimbledon where he will be the big home hope.
The 23-year-old was fully tested by world No.32 Nakashima and his powerful game began to misfire as he lost the second set on the Andy Murray Arena.
But Draper settled back into the groove in the deciding set and broke serve in the seventh game with one of his trademark forehand pile drivers.
The left-hander had to save a break point when serving for the match at 5-4 but recovered to seal victory and set up a clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, the conqueror of Alex de Minaur who had earlier on Friday beaten Britain's Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2.
"It means the world to me to reach the semi-finals here," said Draper, bidding to become the first British player to win the title at the prestigious west London club since Murray won for a record fifth time in 2016.
"I think there's going to be an even bigger buzz at the weekend and that will give me more energy to keep progressing."
While being ranked fourth means Draper will avoid either defending champion Alcaraz or world No.1 Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Draper shrugged off its significance.
"I kept getting asked about that by the journalists but I've got to reach the semi-finals first," he said.
Alcaraz will face either fourth seed Holger Rune or Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final.
Carlos Alcaraz has overcome another tricky obstacle at the Queen's Club Championship as the top-seeded Spaniard dispatched France's Arthur Rinderknech with little fuss 7-5 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz toiled for three hours in stifling heat on Thursday to edge past fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar in a titanic scrap and afterwards admitted he did not know how he was still standing.
It was far more straightforward against unseeded Rinderknech, the player he also beat in his opening match two years ago when he went on to win the title at the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The 22-year-old converted each of his two break points on another sweltering Friday as he extended his sequence of match wins to a career-long 16.
"I could be better. Honestly I was thinking I was going to feel much worse than I did today," five-time grand slam champion Alcaraz said on court.
"I'm glad it was only one hour 20 minutes today."
Britain's Jack Draper also continued his Wimbledon build-up successfully as he reached the semi-finals at Queen's for the first time with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat of American Brandon Nakashima.
Draper not only kept himself on track for the prestigious ATP 500 title, but also secured the win that guarantees a top-four seeding at Wimbledon where he will be the big home hope.
The 23-year-old was fully tested by world No.32 Nakashima and his powerful game began to misfire as he lost the second set on the Andy Murray Arena.
But Draper settled back into the groove in the deciding set and broke serve in the seventh game with one of his trademark forehand pile drivers.
The left-hander had to save a break point when serving for the match at 5-4 but recovered to seal victory and set up a clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, the conqueror of Alex de Minaur who had earlier on Friday beaten Britain's Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2.
"It means the world to me to reach the semi-finals here," said Draper, bidding to become the first British player to win the title at the prestigious west London club since Murray won for a record fifth time in 2016.
"I think there's going to be an even bigger buzz at the weekend and that will give me more energy to keep progressing."
While being ranked fourth means Draper will avoid either defending champion Alcaraz or world No.1 Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Draper shrugged off its significance.
"I kept getting asked about that by the journalists but I've got to reach the semi-finals first," he said.
Alcaraz will face either fourth seed Holger Rune or Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final.
Carlos Alcaraz has overcome another tricky obstacle at the Queen's Club Championship as the top-seeded Spaniard dispatched France's Arthur Rinderknech with little fuss 7-5 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz toiled for three hours in stifling heat on Thursday to edge past fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar in a titanic scrap and afterwards admitted he did not know how he was still standing.
It was far more straightforward against unseeded Rinderknech, the player he also beat in his opening match two years ago when he went on to win the title at the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The 22-year-old converted each of his two break points on another sweltering Friday as he extended his sequence of match wins to a career-long 16.
"I could be better. Honestly I was thinking I was going to feel much worse than I did today," five-time grand slam champion Alcaraz said on court.
"I'm glad it was only one hour 20 minutes today."
Britain's Jack Draper also continued his Wimbledon build-up successfully as he reached the semi-finals at Queen's for the first time with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat of American Brandon Nakashima.
Draper not only kept himself on track for the prestigious ATP 500 title, but also secured the win that guarantees a top-four seeding at Wimbledon where he will be the big home hope.
The 23-year-old was fully tested by world No.32 Nakashima and his powerful game began to misfire as he lost the second set on the Andy Murray Arena.
But Draper settled back into the groove in the deciding set and broke serve in the seventh game with one of his trademark forehand pile drivers.
The left-hander had to save a break point when serving for the match at 5-4 but recovered to seal victory and set up a clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, the conqueror of Alex de Minaur who had earlier on Friday beaten Britain's Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2.
"It means the world to me to reach the semi-finals here," said Draper, bidding to become the first British player to win the title at the prestigious west London club since Murray won for a record fifth time in 2016.
"I think there's going to be an even bigger buzz at the weekend and that will give me more energy to keep progressing."
While being ranked fourth means Draper will avoid either defending champion Alcaraz or world No.1 Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Draper shrugged off its significance.
"I kept getting asked about that by the journalists but I've got to reach the semi-finals first," he said.
Alcaraz will face either fourth seed Holger Rune or Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final.
Carlos Alcaraz has overcome another tricky obstacle at the Queen's Club Championship as the top-seeded Spaniard dispatched France's Arthur Rinderknech with little fuss 7-5 6-4 to reach the semi-finals.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz toiled for three hours in stifling heat on Thursday to edge past fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar in a titanic scrap and afterwards admitted he did not know how he was still standing.
It was far more straightforward against unseeded Rinderknech, the player he also beat in his opening match two years ago when he went on to win the title at the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
The 22-year-old converted each of his two break points on another sweltering Friday as he extended his sequence of match wins to a career-long 16.
"I could be better. Honestly I was thinking I was going to feel much worse than I did today," five-time grand slam champion Alcaraz said on court.
"I'm glad it was only one hour 20 minutes today."
Britain's Jack Draper also continued his Wimbledon build-up successfully as he reached the semi-finals at Queen's for the first time with a 6-4 5-7 6-4 defeat of American Brandon Nakashima.
Draper not only kept himself on track for the prestigious ATP 500 title, but also secured the win that guarantees a top-four seeding at Wimbledon where he will be the big home hope.
The 23-year-old was fully tested by world No.32 Nakashima and his powerful game began to misfire as he lost the second set on the Andy Murray Arena.
But Draper settled back into the groove in the deciding set and broke serve in the seventh game with one of his trademark forehand pile drivers.
The left-hander had to save a break point when serving for the match at 5-4 but recovered to seal victory and set up a clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, the conqueror of Alex de Minaur who had earlier on Friday beaten Britain's Jacob Fearnley 7-5 6-2.
"It means the world to me to reach the semi-finals here," said Draper, bidding to become the first British player to win the title at the prestigious west London club since Murray won for a record fifth time in 2016.
"I think there's going to be an even bigger buzz at the weekend and that will give me more energy to keep progressing."
While being ranked fourth means Draper will avoid either defending champion Alcaraz or world No.1 Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Draper shrugged off its significance.
"I kept getting asked about that by the journalists but I've got to reach the semi-finals first," he said.
Alcaraz will face either fourth seed Holger Rune or Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-final.
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Day storms into contention at rich PGA Tour event
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"Everyone probably knows that I've battled some lower-back issues in the past, and I feel like I've had a pretty good handle on it. Then these two things have just come out of the blue and unfortunately just set me back. "I missed five out of six weeks, missed two signature events on top of that. Then I really didn't have a great prep going into the PGA, a limited prep going into the US Open, so it's nice to be in the mix coming into this weekend." Day looks the only Australian chance, with Min Woo Lee (73-69) back in a tie for 49th at two over. Cam Davis (71-73) and Adam Scott, on a come down from his US Open surge, are four over and equal 59th in the 72-player, no-cut field. Jason Day has roared into contention at the PGA Tour's lucrative Travelers Championship despite revealing he is not even firing on all cylinders. 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"Unfortunately I haven't been able to hit it as hard as I'd like to. It's just like a little freak thing that happened, and unfortunately the wrist goes with that as well. "So I had a little TFCC strain and I feel good now, which is great. I'm still trying to manage it all. From here (the neck) down, I feel tremendous. "Everyone probably knows that I've battled some lower-back issues in the past, and I feel like I've had a pretty good handle on it. Then these two things have just come out of the blue and unfortunately just set me back. "I missed five out of six weeks, missed two signature events on top of that. Then I really didn't have a great prep going into the PGA, a limited prep going into the US Open, so it's nice to be in the mix coming into this weekend." Day looks the only Australian chance, with Min Woo Lee (73-69) back in a tie for 49th at two over. 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Geelong's white T-shirt stunt ahead of superstar Patrick Dangerfield's 350th game on Friday night has divided the AFL world. The powerhouse club told fans they would be contributing to a 'slice of history' but the nod to US sports and college football, according to many, missed the mark. In a bid to transform GMHBA Stadium into 'a sea of white', Geelong had 'a free collectable T-shirt' placed on every seat for the blockbuster clash with Brisbane. And fans got in the spirit early, waving and wearing the items as the team ran out on the ground to great fanfare. 'A white-out down here in Geelong ... these are great scenes,' star commentator James Brayshaw said as the broadcast showed the vision of the crowd. But it didn't take long before things fell flat as the Lions sucked the air out of the occasion before powering along to an emphatic 41-point victory. And the club was immediately mocked, with many suggesting the T-shirts were symbolic of 'waving the white flag' or throwing in the white towel (common acts of surrendering). 'The way they played it looked like they were waving white flags of surrender,' one fan said on social media. 'Waving the White Flag before the game even started,' said another. And another: 'White out turning into a whitewash.' And another: 'I didn't have high expectations for the white T-shirt thing but it's looking pretty average.' And another: 'Conceded the first 4 of the game, wave the white flag.' While another raged: 'Cheap tatty cotton on tees in the bin after tonight's pathetic game.' Fans also questioned the Americanisation of the game. 'Why would we want to copy American sports???' one fan asked And another: '(It's part of) the AFL's desperation to Americanise the game.' While another said, 'I pray my club never does this, 'and another called it an 'Absolute cringe ****fest.' But the reviews weren't all negative. Popular sports account Bear said: 'I absolutely love this and it makes me sad Melbourne will never be able to do something like this. Shoutout Geelong.' And another: 'Hate Geelong as much as the next Hawks fan but god damn those white shirts in the crowd look good.' Maybe if the Cats had won the take on the tees would have been more positive.
