Tag: granted

Naomi Osaka, 3 Grand Slam winners granted Wimbledon wildcard

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Japan’s Naomi Osaka reacts after a point during her women’s singles match against Poland’s Iga Swiatek on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day four of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on May 29, 2024. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

Japan’s Naomi Osaka was one of four Grand Slam champions granted a wildcard on Wednesday into the main draw for next month’s women’s singles at Wimbledon.

The 26-year-old, a former world number one and twice winner of both the Australian and US Opens, will be playing in the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time in five years after becoming a mother.

So too will former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, who also once topped the world rankings, with the 33-year-old Dane another recipient of a wildcard.

READ: Naomi Osaka looking at ‘bigger picture’ on her tennis comeback

Wildcards are given by the All England Club to players who are not ranked high enough to qualify directly into the main draw.

Wozniacki, disappointed to miss out on a wildcard at the French Open, told Britain’s PA news agency: “I have so many special memories.

“I won junior Wimbledon back in 2005, so it’s a long time ago. There’s something so special about playing on Wimbledon’s Centre Court that you can’t replicate anywhere else.”

Germany’s Angelique Kerber, the 2018 Wimbledon champion and another former world number one who took time out from tennis to start a family, has also received a wildcard entry into the tournament, which starts on July 1.

Another wildcard announced Wednesday went to home favorite Emma Raducanu, who made her breakthrough run to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021 — shortly before her stunning triumph in winning that year’s US Open as a qualifier.

It will be the first time in two years that Raducanu, 21, has been on the grass courts of Wimbledon following wrist and ankle surgery in 2023.

Last week, Raducanu lost an all-British semi-final at the Nottingham Open to eventual champion Katie Boulter in what was still an encouraging start to her grass-court campaign.



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Celtics take nothing for granted on brink of crown

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The Boston Celtics bench looks on as Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington attempts a shot during the second half in Game 3 of the NBA basketball finals, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Dallas. The Celtics won 106-99.(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Jayson Tatum has known since he was drafted by the Celtics in 2017 that the measure of success in Boston is an NBA title, but he’s not chalking up championship No. 18 just yet.

“Even now, up 3-0, nobody is celebrating or anything,” Tatum said Thursday, a day after the Celtics thwarted a late Dallas rally to beat the Mavericks 106-99 and take a stranglehold on the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

They’ve piled up 10 straight playoff victories, including a sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals and can close out the Mavericks in Dallas on Friday.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics offer little on Porzingis after leg injury

But even though no team has rallied from 0-3 down to win an NBA playoff series, Tatum said he and his Celtics teammates will remain focused only on playing better in game four.

“We still feel like there’s a lot more that we can do,” Tatum said. “There’s a lot more that we want to do.”

The Celtics are currently tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA titles all-time with 17.

They last lifted the trophy in 2008, and Tatum and teammate Jaylen Brown were on the team that had a chance for No. 18 two years ago but came up short against the Golden State Warriors in a title series that Boston led 2-1 before dropping the last three games.

Vying for redemption last season, the Celtics fell in seven games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.

READ: NBA Finals: Celtics land biggest punches again to move closer to title

“I think from our experiences over the past couple of years, the thing that we’ve really gotten a lot better at is not relaxing, not being complacent,” Tatum said.

Brown said the “embarrassment” of falling in game seven, on their home floor, to Miami last year had fueled him this season.

“It drove me all summer, drove me crazy,” he said.

Tatum called last season “a great learning experience.”

“For one, to not take things for granted,” he said. “You’re never promised to make it back to the Finals.

“I think each and every person this year has came into the season with a different mindset. I think it has truly shown that we don’t take things for granted, and we approach every single day the same.”

That mindset saw the Celtics grab a league-leading 64 victories in the regular season.

They are unbeaten on the road in these playoffs and have a chance to become just the 10th team to fashion a 4-0 sweep in the NBA Finals.

The most recent sweep was Golden State’s 4-0 victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.

The first franchise to do it was Boston against the Lakers in 1959. It was the club’s second title and the first of eight straight championships.



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“Being part of Celtics history entails that you’ve got to win a championship,” Tatum said.