Andy and Jamie Murray team up in the Davis Cup to great effect while Steve Cummings records a shock Tour de France stage victory. Here’s our review of the last 24 hours.
Andy Murray admitted playing alongside his brother Jamie was one of the most special experiences of his career, after the duo handed Great Britain the lead over France in the Davis Cup quarter-finals. The siblings produced some brilliant tennis after a slow start, to win 4-6 6-3 7-6(5) 6-1 against the French pairing of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Nicolas Mahut in front of a raucous crowd at Queen’s Club. That result puts the British team 2-1 ahead in the best-of-five encounter, and British No.1 Andy – who recovered from a nasty slip in the third set to clinch a thrilling tiebreaker – believes discipline was the key to the win. “We played an unbelievably high-level match against a top team, and the atmosphere was absolutely fantastic,” he said. “To be able to play, and represent your country in a match like that alongside your brother is very, very special.”
Britain’s Steve Cummings produced one of the rides of his career to claim a sensational victory on Stage 14 of the Tour de France, while Chris Froome tightened his grip on the yellow jersey by extending his lead.
The 34-year-old Cummings was part of a 20-man breakaway and seized his chance to rein in Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot with a late surge to the line.
Froome also finished strongly to widen the gap at the top of the overall classification, and now leads Nairo Quintana – who finished just behind the Team Sky rider – by 3:10 minutes, after Tejay Van Garderen struggled on the steep climb to the finish in Mende.
Vicky Holland and Non Stanford led the way for Britain’s Triathletes at the World Series event in Hamburg, claiming two spots on the podium behind world champion Gwen Jorgensen.
Holland got closest to the unbeaten Jorgensen than anyone else so far this year, pushing the American all the way and missing out by just five seconds as she came second with a time of 57:13 minutes.
Stanford was 11 seconds further back in third while Gordon Benson and Mark Buckingham were also in action in the men’s event, finishing 28th and 32nd respectively in the absence of Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee.
© Sportsbeat 2015