Saturday
Tennis
Wimbledon – Women’s Final – Vondrousova v Jabeur – 14.00 BBC
Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic is the first unseeded player to reach a Wimbledon final. Currently ranked 42 in the world she was runner-up in both the French Open in 2019 and the Olympics in 2021. She will be playing Ons Jabeur who saw off Aryna Sabalenka in the semis in a gutsy performance. So we will get both a new Wimbledon champion and a new Grand Slam winner. Jabeur was here last year when she lost to Elena Rybakina. Expect her to go one better this year.
Cricket
T20 Blast Finals – Edgbaston – Sky Sports Cricket
Semi-final 1: Essex v Hampshire 11.00
Semi-final 2: Somerset v Surrey 14.30
Final: Essex/Hampshire v Somerset/Surrey 18.45
The best two teams are in the second semi–final so whoever wins that game wins the tournament – Surrey on a roll so take them to win
Racing
Newmarket – July Cup – 16.35 ITV
Short priced favourite Shaquillle unbeaten over 6 furlongs comes to race after a scintillating win in the Commonwealth Cup at Ascot. Difficult to oppose even with third or fourth choice jockey, but try Khaadem surprise winner of the Jubilee Stakes at Ascot, who has been supplemented for this race and trained by Charlie Hills who was responsible for champion sprinter Battaash.
Rugby Union
Rugby Championship – New Zealand v South Africa – 8.05 Sky Sports Action
South Africa beat Australia easily last weekend at home with basically their second XV. This week in New Zealand is a different prospect and maybe we’re seeing a preview of the Rugby World Cup final later this year in France. Hard to oppose New Zealand at home, but South Africa should run them close – New Zealand by one score.
Cycling
Tour de France- Eurosport 1 & ITV4 – 11.00
Two Mountain stages over the weekend Annenasse to Morzine Les Portes du Soleil on Saturday and on to Mont Blanc on Sunday It is a still a battle for the top two, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, and should either slip up then the other is the likely winner in Paris in a week’s time. Pogacar gained six seconds on Friday so Vingegaard’s lead is now only 13 seconds. We’re in for exciting last week of The Tour.
Sunday
Tennis
Wimbledon – Men’s Final – Alcaraz v Djokovic – 14:00 BBC
So we’ve got the final everyone wanted between the two best players in the world. The progress of both of them has seemed inevitable and both have only dropped two sets on their way to the final and neither has had a five set game or looked under particular pressure. Let’s hope the pressure doesn’t get to Alcaraz as seemed to at Roland Garros this year when he cramped up in his semi-final against Djokovic. This is surprisingly only their third meeting and Alcaraz won the first on the Madrid clay in 2022. We keep talking about the changing of the guard at the top of men’s tennis, but it never seems to happen. Now the other two of that dominate triumvirate, Federer and Nadal, have left the court (perhaps on temporary in Nadal’s case), only Djokovic is left. Alcaraz won the US open last year in Djokovic’s absence and I think that here on the grass at Wimbledon he will prove he is the World Number One.
Cycling
Tour de France – Eurosport 1 & ITV4 – 11.00
