Giles Scott tops the World Championship standings in New Zealand as his rivals falter, and Jamie Murray is backing brother Andy to shoulder the hopes of the nation in this weekend’s Davis Cup final. Here’s our review of the last 24 hours.
Giles Scott surged to the top of the World Championship leaderboard on day two of the Finn Gold Cup in Takapuna, New Zealand.
The 28-year-old, who is looking to claim a sensational hat-trick of World Championship golds, won the only race of the two that were originally scheduled to take the yellow jersey and a 16 point lead into Thursday’s third day of competition.
Fellow Brit and former World Champion Ed Wright remains in contention in third place overall after finishing his race in tenth.
With the shifting winds off Takapuna making conditions difficult for the fleet, organisers opted to postpone the second scheduled race, and Scott admitted the first was hugely challenging after several abandonments were caused by boats struggling to stay behind the startline.
“That always puts a bit more pressure on the start,” he said. “I managed to stay reasonably clear and had a half decent lane out to the right side which worked out reasonably well.
“I think I was maybe around tenth at the first mark, but managed to sail reasonably smart from there to the finish. I slowly pulled my way back to the front of the fleet and managed to get the Greek guy just before the bottom gate to win.
“It was quite a tricky race with big tidal gains right and big shifts left halfway through, so there was an awful lot to manage but it came good for me in the end.”
Great Britain bid to end a 79-year wait to lift the Davis Cup this weekend, and with world no.2 Andy Murray in their camp, brother Jamie believes his experience will see them to victory.
The world doubles No.7 is unbeaten in three Davis Cup ties with Andy, and claimed thrilling wins over the French and Australians this year.
After losing the doubles finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, Jamie split with his regular Aussie partner John Peers following the ATP World Tour Finals in London, and he admits playing alongside Andy gives him something extra on the court.
“With our game styles he is the perfect partner for me with his return of serve and his feel for the game,” he said.
“I don’t have to worry about what he is going to do on the court and how he is going to perform because he has been in those situations, real high-pressure matches for the biggest prizes.
“So I am not worrying about him choking the match or being unable to play. That is comforting for me. It gives me the confidence to go out and play my game.
“This is a huge opportunity for us. It is such a unique thing to do. To play high-level sport is one thing. To do that with your brother while representing your country is amazing.”
Eve Muirhead was thrilled with her side’s professional display as Scotland women hammered lowly Estonia 10-1 in just six ends to keep pace in the European Curling Championships in Esbjerg.
The Scots dominated from the off, taking a 3-0 lead in the first end, and had stretched it out to 5-0 after three.
Estonia got on the board in the next end before Muirhead blanked the fifth.
However it was in the sixth end that Scotland cut loose, adding five more to make it 10-1, at which point Estonia conceded.
Muirhead said: “When you have games like that, they’re all banana skins you can slip up on.
“They beat us last year in the round-robin, so we knew we had to be strong and focused and that’s what we did and played great.
“We didn’t give them much chance. That’s another one done.
“We have our last two round-robin games tomorrow, so same again will put us in good shape for the play-offs.”
Captain Dan Fox insists only a podium finish will do for his Great Britain side when they compete at the upcoming Hockey World League Final in Raipur.
World champions Australia and old foes Belgium lie in wait for Fox's team in the pools, but not before they open their campaign against Canada on Saturday.
Head coach Bobby Crutchley has opted to rest a number of players for the tournament with Fox taking on captaincy duties in place of Barry Middleton, while all-time leading scorer Ashley Jackson is also absent.
But Fox is confident there is still enough talent within the squad to trouble the world's best teams.
Performances at the Hockey World League Semi Final earlier in the year cemented the team's place for next year's Olympics and Fox admits thoughts of Rio 2016 will not be far from their minds in India.
“Whenever we go to these tournaments we always want to win a medal and that's no different here,” he said.
“I think the most important thing is that we do ourselves justice. This group has a lot to offer and the players going to India have plenty to prove.
“It's a massive tournament in an Olympic year and everyone will want to play well, both for a medal and to force themselves into the reckoning for the Olympic squad.” Sportsbeat 2015