Caroline Wozniacki fought valiantly at times, saving four match points in the tenth game of the final set against Ekaterina Makarova to complete a comeback from 1-5 down, but in the end she did not have enough gas in the tank to see off her Russian opponent.
Onlookers might question whether Wimbledon came too soon after her Eastbourne Open triumph on Saturday – her opponent in that final, Belarussian hitter Aryna Sabalenka, bowed out in the first round.
Good first serve stats
However, Wozniacki played pretty well, getting an impressive 79 percent of her first serves in. But her opponent really went for her shots, finding the lines on countless occasions.
Makarova, meanwhile, advances thanks to a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 win and her reward is a tie against Lucie Safarova in what has been a frightening competitive segment of the draw.
Strong Danish support for Fuglsang in Tour de France
Astana has confirmed that its captain Jakob Fuglsang will have the backing of three fellow Danes in this year’s Tour de France, which starts on July 7. Magnus Cort, Jesper Hansen and Michael Valgren will all saddle up to support their countryman in the eight-rider team. Following his impressive second-placed finish in the Tour de Suisse, Fuglsang is tenth on most bookmaker lists with odds of 20/1. His best ever finish was seventh in 2013.
DBU report death threats to the police
The DBU football association has formally informed the police that Danish striker Nicolai Jørgensen received death threats after his failure to convert a penalty in the country’s shootout loss to Croatia on Sunday. Some even made homophobic slurs. The DBU has condemned the online comments as “totally unacceptable and indecent”. Jørgensen started in Denmark’s first two games of the tournament, but was relegated to the bench for the last-16 clash, coming onto the field as a second-half substitute.
Endurance event kicking off on Funen
The 2018 ITU World Multisport Championships will begin today on Funen. It is only the second edition of an endurance sports event that made its debut in the Canadian city of Penticton last year. It comprises Sprint Duathlon (5km run, 20km bike, 2.5km run), Standard Duathlon (10km run, 40km bike, 5km run), Cross Triathlon (1km swim, 27km off-road mountain bike, 10km trail run), Aquathlon (1km swim, 5km run), Aquabike WC (3km swim, 120km bike) and Long course (3km swim, 121.5km bike, 30.7km run). A great many competitors are taking part. Canada alone is entering 225 athletes.
Magnussen’s best finish since 2014
Kevin Magnussen achieved his best Formula 1 result for four years on Sunday, finishing fifth in the Austrian Grand Prix, to move up to seventh in the overall standings. However, his Haas team-mate Romain Grosjean finished just ahead of him – an unprecedented 22-point gain for the team that has seen it rise to fifth in the constructors championship. Magnussen finished second in his first ever F1 race, the 2014 Australian GP, but has since then never made the podium again.
DBU encouraging children to read with stories starring football stars
The DBU football association has published a series of books to encourage children to read more. The stories feature famous Danish male and female players as characters, often using their real-life back-stories as inspiration – for example, how Nadia Nadim came to Denmark as a refugee from Afghanistan after her father was killed by the Taliban. The other featured players in the eight-book series are Christian Eriksen, Kasper Schmeichel, Andreas Christensen, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Jannik Vestergaard, Yussuf Poulsen and Pernille Harder.
Schmeichel wanted by both Chelsea and Roma – reports
Kasper Schmeichel is rumoured to be a transfer target of both Chelsea and Roma following his displays for Denmark in the 2018 World Cup. The 31-year-old saved three penalties in his side’s elimination in the last-16 by Croatia, conceding just two goals in four games.
