Sports

Wright knocks defending champion Humphries out of Worlds

Published

2 weeks ago

December 30, 2024

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Defending champion Luke Humphries is out of the PDC World Darts Championship in the fourth round after an astonishing performance from former winner Peter Wright.

Humphries was far from his fluent best and was eventually beaten 4-1 by the 2020 and 2022 champion.

Scot Wright, who is seeded 17th, has endured a difficult year but said in the build-up that he was confident he could still match the levels of Humphries and teenage prodigy Luke Littler.

And so it proved. He averaged 100.93 – slightly higher than Humphries’ 99.23 – and had a staggering 70% success rate on the checkouts.

Humphries had fought back in the pre-match words – saying if he won this year’s event he would have matched everything Wright had achieved despite being 25 years his junior.

His bare numbers were still at a reasonable level – he was at 56.3% on checkouts himself – but there was a flatness about his performance and he was not able to produce that consistent high-level of scoring that has propelled him to the world’s best player.

His ranking as world number one is safe because the PDC Order of Merit is done over two years and Humphries has won six PDC major finals in that time.

“I probably put too much pressure on myself,” said Humphries.

“I’m still the world number one, and this result won’t deter me from going on to win more.

“I don’t see my career ending as a one-time World Champion. I do feel like I will win more.”

For Wright this is a significant warning to others that he still has plenty of life left in him at 54.

Earlier this year, he endured a torrid Premier League campaign, winning just two of 18 matches, as he finished bottom of the eight-player table.

He will face the winner of eighth-seed Stephen Bunting against unseeded Luke Woodhouse in the last eight.

“Luke gave me a load of chances there, he didn’t play like he can,” Wright told Sky Sports.

“I’ve been struggling for form all year and it’s so annoying because I know I can still play darts.

“I’m a double world champion and I want to win it for a third time. I’m not too old and you only have to play well for two or three weeks the whole year. These three weeks are all that matters and I’m in the quarter-finals.”

Humphries’ exit, in theory, makes Littler’s route to the final easier with Bunting now the highest-seeded player he could play before Friday’s showpiece event.

Sports

Pacers end Cavs’ 12-game winning streak

Published

22 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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The Cleveland Cavaliers’ 12-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday night with a 108-93 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

The Cavaliers have risen to top of the eastern conference thanks to a recent run including wins against rivals Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks.

But Andrew Nembhard, who top scored with 19 points, and Pascal Siakam, who hit 18 points, combined to help the Pacers to victory.

It was the Cavaliers’ first defeat since 8 December and just their fifth from 38 matches this season.

“There was nothing to lose, this is the best team in the league right now,” said Nembhard.

“We had to play hard, play together, and put some more physicality in the game on the defensive side of the ball, and play off of that.”

The Cavaliers, who are 40.3% from three pointers this season, made just 11 (26.8%) of 41 against the Pacers.

Reflecting on the loss, Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said: “What disappointed me was our first half was phenomenal, defensively, and then the second half, we fell off. We couldn’t sustain our defence.”

Sports

Tsitsipas ‘hit by karma’ in Australian Open exit

Published

22 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Stefanos Tsitsipas believes his Australian Open first-round exit was “karma” after he withdrew from playing doubles alongside his brother to focus on singles.

The Greek, runner-up in Melbourne in 2023, lost 7-5 6-3 2-6 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen on the second day’s play.

The 11th seed had been due to play doubles with his brother, Petros, but withdrew before the tournament began to protect his singles chances.

“It’s quite ironic. My whole [idea] was to try to go deep. I knew the first thing I had to consider was not playing doubles,” Tsitsipas, 26, said.

“The whole purpose was just to save up on some energy and be fresher hopefully in the deeper draw of the tournament.

“I guess karma hit me. I was not able to deliver or play the way I was hoping to at this year’s event.”

Tsitsipas has long been tipped as a future Grand Slam champion, having reached the Melbourne showpiece two years ago and the French Open final in 2021, losing both to Novak Djokovic.

However, he lost in the first round at last year’s US Open and in the second round at Wimbledon.

“The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover,” Tsitsipas added.

“It just sucks that I’ll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in.”

Sports

Forest in title race, says Liverpool boss Slot

Published

22 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Nottingham Forest “deserve” to be treated as title contenders before Liverpool’s trip to the City Ground, says Arne Slot.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are the only team to have beaten Liverpool in the Premier League this season following their 1-0 win at Anfield in September.

Table-topping Liverpool travel to the City Ground on Tuesday (20:00 GMT) for the reverse fixture with Forest in third place, six points behind.

After surviving relegation last season, Forest have lost just four times in 20 league matches this season.

“I’ve always said you can judge the table best halfway through the season,” said Liverpool boss Slot.

“That moment is there now, so if Forest is then up there with us, with Arsenal, Chelsea and [Manchester] City and all the others, then they definitely are a team that is in competition with us and with the other teams.

“They deserve to be treated like this if you look at the way they play and if you look at their results.”