Watch Kyle Edmund secure a superb straight-sets win over Janko Tipsarevic to give Great Britain a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final tie against Serbia.
MATCH REPORT: Kyle Edmund wins as GB lead Serbia in Belgrade
American star now preparing for Citi Open
It was a very special day as American Taylor Fritz married Raquel Pedraza on Thursday 7 July in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Joined by their family and friends, Taylor and Raquel were married in a ceremony at the The Village Community Presbyterian Church. Fritz was supported by his peers Reilly Opelka, who was the best man, and Tommy Paul, who served as a groomsman. Fellow Americans Steve Johnson and Mardy Fish were also in attendance.
“Raquel and I had an incredible wedding day,” said Fritz. “Thank you to our family and friends for celebrating with us, it truly was the best day of our lives.”
Fritz will return to action at next week’s Citi Open, an ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Washington, D.C. The American is up to No. 64 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after a breakthrough start to the season, including reaching his first ATP World Tour final in Memphis (l. to Nishikori).
“My focus is now on the US summer – continuing to improve and hopefully achieving good results at home,” said Fritz. “Playing in front of an American crowd is so special to me, I appreciate the support of the fans and hope I can make them proud.
“Having the best team around me will ultimately make me the best player. Raquel is an important part of that team and I’m very lucky to have her by my side.”
Romania’s world number five Simona Halep and Canada’s world number seven Milos Raonic have pulled out of next month’s Olympic Games in Rio because of concerns about the Zika virus.
Raonic, 25, was beaten in Sunday’s Wimbledon final by Andy Murray.
“I am making this decision for a variety of health concerns including the uncertainty around Zika,” he said.
Losing Wimbledon quarter finalist Halep, 24, added: “I can’t risk not being able to have one of my own.”
More than 20 male players have withdrawn from the golf competition at Rio 2016, with many concerned about the mosquito-borne virus.
Halep and Raonic become the first tennis players to make themselves unavailable because of Zika, which is linked to brain deformities in newborn babies.
“I do not wish to impact the decision of any other athlete heading to the Games.” Raonic added in a statement on his Facebook page.
“I look forward to cheering on Team Canada this summer.”
The United States’ John Isner has pulled out to focus on his preparations for tour events, while Nick Kyrgios will not be involved because of a dispute with the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC).
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
“Raonic and Halep are the highest-ranked players to pull out of the Olympics, and the first to cite the Zika virus as a reason for their withdrawal.
“If there are other players who share their concerns, it is possible this news will make them feel more comfortable about pulling out.
“A significant number of men have already turned down the opportunity to play in Rio – Nick Kyrgios is in dispute with the Australian Olympic Committee, and others like Dominic Thiem, John Isner and Ernests Gulbis have indicated they would rather play for ranking points on the ATP Tour.
“In Gulbis’ opinion, a trip to Rio is nothing more than ‘tennis tourism’.”
Kyle Edmund, Colin Fleming and Dominic Inglot have been added to Team GB’s tennis squad for next month’s Olympics.
Edmund, 21, Fleming, 31, and 30-year-old Inglot complete a seven-strong team for the Rio Games.
Brothers Andy and Jamie Murray, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson had already been selected.
Both Edmund and Inglot were part of Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup-winning team, while Fleming returns for his second Games having competed at London 2012.
Team GB have won 42 Olympic tennis medals – more than any other nation.
Tennis team leader Iain Bates said the squad has “fantastic strength in depth”.
“The three players we welcome today have all proven their ability at the highest level,” he added.
“We are in a great position heading into these Olympic Games and I am fully confident in our ability to succeed.”
Sport has been paying tribute to the victims of Thursday’s attack in Nice.
At least 84 people died when a lorry struck a crowd marking Bastille Day in the southern French city.
At cycling’s Tour de France, a minute’s silence was held before the first rider went out for stage 13 at 09:05 BST, and another was held at the finish.
The Diamond League meeting in Monaco is to go ahead with a tribute planned, and the French flag was flown at half mast at The Open at Royal Troon, Scotland.
France, which has just finished hosting football’s European Championship, has been on high alert since November’s Paris attacks, in which 130 people died.
A state of emergency in the country has been extended by three months.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls has declared three days of national mourning from Saturday.
At Golf’s Open Championship, players wore black ribbons as a mark of respect for the victims of the attack.
French golfer Thomas Levet told BBC Sport after his round: “It’s difficult to be French today.
“I hold my hat to the British people at The Open – they put our flag at half mast to show we are all friends on earth.
“The best way to respond is the show must go on. We have to show we are going to keep on playing golf, keep on living and enjoy life.”
Compatriot Clement Sordet wore a baseball cap with the message ‘pray for Nice’ written on it.
He said: “I woke up at four this morning and that was the first thing I saw. It was really sad.
“It’s a very sad situation. We feel really bad for all the families. That’s pretty much all I can say about it.”
The 13th stage of the Tour de France went ahead as planned, but with added security measurements in place.
“We want this day to be a day of dignity as a tribute to the victims,” said race director Christian Prudhomme.
“We had a crisis meeting with the prefect of the Ardeche department and the gendarmerie. The race must continue.”
The 37.5km (23.3-mile) individual time trial from Bourg-Saint-Andeol to La Caverne du Pont-d’Arc was won by Dutchman Tom Dumoulin.
In addition to the minute’s silences, no PA system announcements were made, or music played, at the start and finish.
Britain’s Chris Froome, a two-time winner of the Tour de France and the current race leader, lives in nearby Monaco. He said: “This is definitely a time for people to stand together. It definitely puts things into perspective for us.
“I’m happy with how it went but everyone’s thoughts are with the people in Nice. It’s a special place for me, close to where I’m based, and I can’t imagine what everyone is going through.”
Read Geraint Thomas’ thoughts here.
The Diamond League athletics meeting in Monaco, just 15 miles from Nice, is to go ahead but with the schedule restricted to “just the sporting events with no festivities”.
The event’s organisers said in a statement: “A tribute will be made to all the innocent victims of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
“The sporting community and the Principality of Monaco would like to express their solidarity and deepest condolences to all families and friends of the victims as well as to the national and regional French authorities.”
Britain’s double Olympic champion Mo Farah is scheduled to compete in the 1500m.
Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka has revealed she is pregnant.
The 26-year-old Belarusian said she planned to return to “the very top” of the sport after giving birth at the end of the year.
Azarenka and her boyfriend learned she was pregnant while she was recovering from a knee injury.
“We couldn’t be happier and feel very blessed to begin this exciting journey,” said the world number six.
“I have been truly inspired by so many strong female athletes who return to the very top of their sport after having children, and I plan to do exactly that.”
Azarenka was Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013 and a beaten US Open finalist in the same years.
She has not played since retiring from a first-round match against Italian Karin Knapp at the French Open in May.
| Davis Cup: Serbia v Great Britain |
|---|
| Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade Dates: 15-17 July |
| Coverage: Live on BBC TV, Red Button, the BBC Sport website, mobile, the BBC Sport app and Connected TV. Click for more details. |
Heavy rain halted play just three games into Great Britain’s Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia in Belgrade.
Britain’s Kyle Edmund – leading the team in the absence of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray – led Janko Tipsarevic in the opening singles rubber when the covers came on.
World number 67 Edmund, 21, held serve twice to lead the two-time US Open quarter-finalist 2-1.
James Ward will play Dusan Lajovic in Friday’s second singles rubber.
Marcus Willis, the qualifier who played Roger Federer in the second round of Wimbledon 2016, is helping to promote the Advantage Tennis Training scheme.
The 25-year-old, with the help of his ‘Will-bombs’ fans, explains how the scheme – which runs sessions across the UK – can help “make you an incredible player”.
READ MORE: Find out how you can get into tennis with our special guide.
Frenchman into quarter-finals
Adrian Mannarino topped big-serving Sam Groth 7-6(6), 6-3 in the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Thursday. The sixth-seeded Frenchman was patient, overcoming a two-break deficit in the first set, then out-waiting a long rain delay before closing out the win in 92 minutes. Groth hit nine aces and won 22 of 25 first-serve points, but only landed 40 per cent of first serves and was broken three times by the consistent left-hander.
“His second serve is faster than my first serve, so you never know what to expect with him,” said Mannarino, who secured the opening tie-break 8-6 before the players were forced off the court due to inclement weather. “I think he got a little bit too relaxed on his serve at 5-1 and they key for me was his service game at 5-3. I was able to return well and then was really consistent in the second set after we came back from the rain delay.”
In the quarter-finals, Mannarino will face another strong server in the form of No. 3 seed Gilles Muller. Muller edged Victor Estrella Burgos 7-6(7), 6-4 to improve to 2-0 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry.
“I was up a break up twice in the [first] set and had many set points in the tie-break. It was frustrating that I couldn’t take those chances, but I told myself to stay calm. If I kept playing the way I was playing, I knew I would get more chances,” said Muller. The left-hander from Luxembourg, who fired 11 aces and went 3-for-10 on break points, has never dropped a set against the Dominican. The win was Muller’s first in Newport (1-3). He improved to 11-4 on grass this season and is into his fourth grass-court quarter-final of the year (‘s-Hertogenbosch, Queen’s and Nottingham).
Skupskis Win In Doubles
Brothers Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski, seeded third, overcame a late challenge from Brian Baker and Rajeev Ram to win 7-6(4), 3-6, 10-6. The Brits will face second seeds Groth and Chris Guccione in the semi-finals.
Adil Shamasdin and Jonathan Marray eased into the semi-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Brydan Klein and Yuichi Sugita. Shamasdin/Marray did not hit an ace, but won 12 of 14 second-serve points and did not drop serve in the 46-minute win.