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“If Arsenal win the Carabao Cup, the quadruple is seriously on” : Alan Shearer English legend Alan Shearer believes that Arsenal are serious contenders for a quadruple if they manage to win the Carabao Cup finals on Sunday. The Gunners will have the opportunity to win their first title of the season, and end the title drought as they face Manchester City in the finals. Arsenal are 9 points clear at the top of the Premier League, with Manchester City having a game in hand. The Gunners have also managed to reach the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, and the Champions League. Given that they are competing on all four fronts, this could be a golden opportunity to win the quadruple this season, a feat never achieved in English football ever before. Alan Shearer said: “If Arsenal win the Carabao Cup, the quadruple is seriously on. And it’s a big if because it’s a huge game, a huge game for both clubs because this probably is City’s last chance in terms of the silverware. It’s a huge game for both clubs but yeah, If Arsenal win this one, then the talk will intensify of winning four trophies, which clearly has never been done before.” Manchester City have plenty of problems of their own, as they were knocked out of the UCL by their fierce rivals Real Madrid for a third consecutive season. They have also dropped points in two successive EPL games which has more or less put them way behind Arsenal in the title race with only 7-8 games remaining in the season. The pressure will be on both managers in this Sunday’s heavyweight clash, as a loss here for Pep Guardiola means that his only probable chance of winning a silverware this season needs to come from the FA Cup. As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta will be desperate to end the trophy drought once and for all.

“He is a unique player” : Xabi Alonso heaps praise on Lamine Yamal, but states preparations remain the same ahead of the Supercopa final against Barcelona Real Madrid saw off Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa semifinals by a score-line of 2-1, as goals from Federico Valverde and Rodrygo helped them secure a passage into the finals. Xabi Alonso’s men will now face Barcelona in the finals on Sunday, in what promises to be another thrilling encounter. For Barcelona, the passage into the finals was rather comfortable, as they defeated Athletic Club 5-0 in the semifinals. Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso heaped praise on Barcelona star Lamine Yamal, claiming the Spaniard is a unique player. However, Xabi Alonso refused to change his preparations because of just one player, and stated that his side will stick to the plan. “The level he has given is fantastic. He’s a different player. It does not condition the preparation. He is a unique player, but the approach is the same,” said Alonso. Xabi Alonso also provided an update on Kylian Mbappe, who has missed Real Madrid’s last two matches owing to a sprain in his let knee. Alonso stated that the Frenchman will be reassessed before the match, and then a decision will be taken on his involvement in the final. “He is much better. The idea before starting was that he arrived right against Atlético and we decided not to accelerate, but if we reached the final, always according to his feelings, let him come. When I train today we will have all the information to evaluate it and if it is to play at the beginning or play a little less,” said Alonso. Real Madrid broke their streak of consecutive losses against Barcelona in October last year, as they defeated Barcelona 2-1 at the Bernabeu. Xabi Alonso has relieved some pressure on himself, by securing a win over Real Betis and Atletico Madrid at the turn of the year. Xabi Alonso also spoke if he would refer to the first Clasico of the season as the reference point. “The response is similar to before the Atleti match. The Metropolitan game was not a reference, but we did not forget. Now, the same. The context may be different. Tomorrow will be a game with moments for everything. That we feel convinced and with the necessary energy will be very important,” he added. Also Read: “It is better to be six than eight points behind” : Pep Guardiola says his team must start winning as he reacts to Liverpool-Arsenal draw

“They were all just crossing out my name and putting someone else’s name” : Jack Draper recalls being snubbed as a rookie at the Miami Open Not many tennis players have seen a rise as meteoric as Jack Draper has in the last couple of years. Struggling to break into the top 100, the Briton achieved his career high ranking of world number five in May 2025. Jack Draper has been among the most consistent players on the tour this season, lifting his first Masters title at Indian Wells in March earlier this year. Recently, Jack Draper recalled his earlier days as a rookie at the Miami Open. The Briton was emotional about how he felt sidelined after accepting the wildcard for the Miami Open, when he was ranked 350th in the ATP Rankings. “When I first came onto the tour, I remember being 340 in the world, and I got a wild card into the Miami Open, and I wrote my name down for practice, and no one wanted to hit with me. They were all just crossing out my name and putting someone else’s name,” Jack Draper said. However, Jack Draper stated that all players understand that they are in the same boat, which leads to mutual respect among each other. “But obviously, I think as you play more, as you win more matches, as you get to know the players and get to know that we’re all the same, and we’re all sacrificing our lives and trying to do the right thing in tennis and trying to go after our goals — that gains respect. And so I think, combined with results and just the person, I think that, ultimately leads to more respect,” he added. Jack Draper believes breaking into Top 100 was the hardest things he has ever done Jack Draper also recalled the difficulties and challenges about playing at the Challenger, and Future events whilst trying to make his way up the ATP Rankings. The Briton believes that a player has to compete at unfamiliar places, and has to compete in front of almost no crowds. “People think it’s all glitz and glamour, when actually, coming up through the ranks in the Futures, the Challengers — there’s thousands of players who are hungry to be in this position, inside the world’s Top 100. And you have to go to some not amazing places and compete in front of no people and stay in the same place for a long time,” Jack Draper said. Jack Draper believes that breaking into the top 100 was among the hardest things he has ever done. “Mentally, that’s very challenging. Of course, it has a lot of ups to it as well — the winning and that sort of stuff — but it’s a very lonely road to get to that point. So I’d definitely say breaking the Top 100 was something that, you know, I’ll look back on as — that’s one of the hardest things I’ve done yet,” he added. Jack Draper has had a stellar clay court season so far, where he reached the finals of the Madrid Open, where he lost to Casper Ruud in three sets. He also reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, where he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. Heading into the French Open, he will certainly be expected to reach the latter rounds.

“Ending the year as No.1 is one of my main goals right now” : Carlos Alcaraz sets clear year-end goal Carlos Alcaraz has been in red hot form throughout the year, having already accomplished another grand slam title (Wimbledon) and most recently an Olympics silver medal at Paris. After taking a short break from this ‘loss’, the Spaniard has his eyes set on the ATP rankings. The world No.3 will be participating in the Cincinnati Open, the same tournament where he suffered a loss in the final to rival Novak Djokovic last year. The Spaniard went down fighting in a three set thriller which became an instant classic. The current world No.1 Jannik Sinner has doubts regarding participation in this tournament, as the Italian has not yet fully recovered from his injury. While the world No.2 is on a high after winning the Olympics gold medal and has ruled himself out of the competition in order to get some well-deserved rest. This feels like the perfect opportunity for Alcaraz, who is only 450 points behind the top ranking. “Obviously being No. 1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me, at the end of the year, if you end the race No. 1, in the rankings [it is] quite similar, so you’re going to end the No.1. So I’m really focused on that. I’m focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result just to get better in the race. This year, ending the year as No. 1 is one of my main goals right now. So I’m looking forward to doing it and let’s see,” said the 21-year-old (via Eurosport). Carlos Alcaraz aims to win matches while playing ‘great tennis’ The Spaniard has won 20 out of the 22 matches he has played since the French Open, with his only losses coming against Jack Draper in Queen’s and the most recent Olympics final against the Serbian. But only winning is not enough for the youngster, as the standard which he has set for himself aims that he needs to win while also playing quality tennis, although he is glad to have overcome tough situations during matches even while not living up to his golden standard. “I’ve been playing great tennis, but probably most of the matches I won, I won them without playing great tennis, or I felt like I didn’t play really great tennis, so the way that I approach every match, I stay there strong mentally in some situations, I’m really, really happy about that. [I’m happy] about the way that I [handled] some situations, that I stayed there, even knowing that I didn’t play, or I wasn’t playing great tennis. But [I played] with a positive attitude, with the right face always, and trying to find solutions in some moments that I could do it. I’m really happy about it,” the Spainard added. Carlos Alcaraz will be looking to perform consistently for the rest of the year in order to achieve the world No.1 ranking, and the Cincinnati Open would be the perfect way to start as the Spainard has good memories of the tournament from last year. “I’m excited to play here again. I’m really happy to be back. Obviously great memories from last year, reaching the final, losing a really tight and epic match. This is a tournament that I love playing and yeah, excited to start the tournament.” Alcaraz concluded. Carlos Alcaraz’s opening match in the Cincinnati Open will be against either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin, as he will be hoping for a deep run in order to gain more points and increase confidence ahead of the US Open on August 26. Also Read: “He is the man to beat at the US Open” : Former coach says Novak Djokovic will not stop after Olympic gold

Who has won the most gold medals in singles at the Summer Olympics? Tennis was introduced in the Summer Olympics back in 1896 and it was contested until 1924. After a hiatus of about 64 years, it was brought back as a full medal sport in 1988. Since then Tennis has been played in full swing in this tournament in 4 types: Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles. The 5th type Mixed Doubles was introduced back in 2012.  After this brief period, many records have been made and broken, but there was one record that has stood out since 2016. The record is the highest number of gold medals that has been won in Tennis Singles events at the Summer Olympics, and it was set by Andy Murray. He won a gold medal in both the 2012 and 2016 editions of the men’s tennis singles. Since then Andy Murray is the only men’s player to have won two singles gold medals. Moreover, his winning streak also included a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics alongside Laura Robson for Great Britain. Andy Murray has the most number of gold medals in Singles at Summer Olympics Andy Murray will also participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He will be making his fifth Olympic appearance, and is expected to compete in singles tennis as part of Great Britain’s team. Andy Murray’s presence displays his continued dedication to competitive tennis despite nearing the end of his career. Another prime candidate who is eyeing to equalize the record is Rafael Nadal. He has appeared in the 2008 and 2016 editions of the Olympics. He won the gold medal in men’s singles tennis at the 2004 Beijing Olympics. Though he couldn’t quite manage to continue his winning streak, he will be looking forward to turning this around in the 2024 edition of the Summer Olympics. Now on the female tennis circuit, though gold medals were won many times, no one quite held it more than once. However, the most notable winners among them are the sisters Serena and Venus Williams. They ruled the tennis fields of the Summer Olympics tournament for quite some time as they both acquired a gold medal each in the Summer Olympics, however, it was the doubles side of the tennis where they truly shined by clinching together the gold medal thrice.  Also Read: “I have to keep my mouth shut and just listen to him”: Carlos Alcaraz on teaming up with Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics

“The team asked me to do it, and I did it” : Lando Norris on letting Oscar Piastri through at the Hungarian GP McLaren secured their first 1-2 finish of the season, as Oscar Piastri claimed his first ever F1 race victory in Hungary. Lando Norris finished P2, as McLaren claimed maximum points from the weekend to cut the gap of Red Bull in the Constructors championship. However, there was no shortage of drama at the Hungarian GP, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri swapped positions in final laps of the Hungarian GP. British driver Lando Norris was given the track position with the objective of swapping positions with Oscar Piastri, who was leading the race when the pit stop was made. Lando Norris seemed to initially decline the team orders suggesting to swap positions with the Australian. However, after some serious communication from the McLaren team, the Briton finally gave up his place. After the race, Lando Norris stated that he let the Australian through, as the team instructed him to do so. “The team asked me to do it, and I did it,” said Norris. “A long way clear of the rest” : Lando Norris on McLaren’s success this season Lando Norris put away personal matters on the side, and stated that it was a great day for the team to claim a 1-2 finish. McLaren have been the improved team on the grid, as the season has progressed. They have regularly competed for wins, and look the fastest car on the grid at the moment. “Amazing day for us as a team, that’s the main thing. A long journey to achieving this on merit, and a long way clear of the rest. Oscar got me off the line, it’s been coming and he deserved it today,” added Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri stated that the switch was well managed by the team, even if it was left a little too late. The Australian driver becomes the seventh driver to win a race this season, as he believes that car has been doing wonders for both drivers currently. “The longer you leave it [to switch], the more you get a bit nervous but yeah I think it was the right thing, I put myself in the right position at the start and yes, my pace wasn’t what I wanted in the last stint but well managed by the team,” the Australian added. Also Read: “I was surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s congratulations because he had never written to me” : Carlos Alcaraz on receiving text from seven-time F1 champion Also Read: “No way he would have left” : George Russell says Lewis Hamilton casts doubt on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move