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TOKYO OLYMPICS: ANDY MURRAY FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM MEN’S SINGLES DUE TO THIGH STRAIN

Andy Murray’s bid for a third straight Olympic singles gold medal ended before it began when he withdrew ahead of his first match with a minor thigh strain.

The Scot had been due to take on ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada on Sunday but was replaced on the order of play by Australian Max Purcell.

Murray had been upbeat about his prospects after an excellent doubles victory with Joe Salisbury on Saturday but experienced tightness in his quad muscle and was advised not to try to compete in both events.

Murray and Salisbury’s form on Saturday, when they defeated French Open champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, suggested they could be medal contenders.

The three-time grand slam champion said: “I am really disappointed at having to withdraw but the medical staff have advised me against playing in both events, so I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the singles and focus on playing doubles with Joe.”

Murray is the only tennis player ever to win back-to-back singles gold medals, and it appears highly likely his last chance to add to that haul has now gone.

Speaking after his doubles victory on Saturday, Murray had said: “I do like the conditions here in terms of how the court plays and everything.

“Obviously not an easy one against Felix but I’ve played well in the practice sets and the practice matches that I’ve had and obviously today was a good one for the confidence. I think I’ll be all right.”

But this is yet another physical setback for the Scot, who has been unable to play consistently since his comeback from hip resurfacing surgery two and a half years ago.

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TOKYO 2020: NAOMI OSAKA EASES INTO THIRD ROUND

Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Tennis - Women's Singles - Round 3 - Ariake Tennis Park - Tokyo, Japan - July 27, 2021. Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts during her third round match against Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic REUTERS/Mike Segar

Naomi Osaka continued her pursuit of a historic gold medal by easing into the third round of the Olympic singles competition at the Ariake Tennis Park.

The Japanese star won her first match in eight weeks against Zheng Saisai on Sunday, saying she felt refreshed and happy after stepping away from the court for mental health reasons.

There were a few understandable signs of rust but Osaka, who is hoping to follow up her starring role at the opening ceremony with a first gold medal for Japan in tennis, was very sharp in a 6-3 6-2 victory over Swiss Wimbledon quarter-finalist Viktorija Golubic on Monday.

The 23-year-old, who has only lost one of her last 24 matches on hard courts, said: “It would mean a lot to win gold here but I know it’s a process. I know these are the best players in the world and, honestly, I haven’t played in a while, so I’m trying to take it one notch at a time.

“All in all, I’m just really happy to be here. I haven’t been in Tokyo for a couple of years.”

Osaka did not play a match between the first round of the French Open in May and Sunday’s victory but she has shown before she can find her best tennis straight off the bat, going unbeaten between February 2020 and March this year while playing just four tournaments.

“I put this pressure on myself to do well because I know that I don’t play that many tournaments and I feel like I watched these players playing the tournaments while I was on my break so I just really, really want to do well,” she said.

“I feel like as long as I work hard, relatively keep my head down, then good things will happen. For me, it’s dream to be here, to play the Olympics. This is my first one, so I’m just trying to cherish this experience.”

On her performance against Golubic, Osaka said: “I was a bit more nervous before the match. I felt a lot of butterflies. But I think, as I started playing and feeling more comfortable, I knew that no matter what it would be a great match. I feel like I played better today, I think my movement was better.”

It was a good day for the big names, with Garbine Muguruza beating Wang Qiang 6-3 6-0, French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova seeing off Leylah Fernandez 6-2 6-4 and Maria Sakkari racing past Nina Stojanovic 6-1 6-2.

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OLYMPICS 2020: NETHERLANDS, BRAZIL DRAW IN EPIC SIX-GOAL THRILLER

Dominique Janssen’s 79th-minute goal pulled Netherlands into a 3-3 draw with Brazil on Saturday in women’s football at the Tokyo Olympics.

Vivianne Miedema gave the Dutch the early lead in the third minute but Debinha countered with an equaliser in the 16th. The teams were tied until the 59th, when Miedema scored another.

Marta converted a penalty kick to tie the score 2-2 in the 64th minute, before Ludmila’s goal about four minutes later gave Brazil the temporary lead.

Netherlands, ranked No. 4 in the world, routed Zambia 10-3 in their Olympic opener with Miedema scoring four goals.

Netherlands advanced to the World Cup final two years ago in France but lost to the United States. The Tokyo Games are Netherlands’ first Olympics.

Brazil beat China 5-0 in its opener. Marta had a pair of goals, becoming the first player to score in five straight Olympics.

Marta’s goal brought her to 13 at Olympics, which is one behind the all-time record held by Brazil teammate Christiane, who is not in the 2020 squad, but the Orlando Pride forward said she is only focused on team success.

“Our objective is to think of the collective,” Marta told Brazil’s Globo TV after the match. “Scoring goals is part of our job, but always while thinking about the collective.

“Records always happen naturally in my life, it’s never been forced. If I have to score one, two goals to help my team, then it’s normal.”

Brazil are coached by former U.S. and Sweden coach Pia Sundhage, who won gold with the Americans at the 2012 London Games.

Earlier, Zambia and China had drawn 4-4 in another epic match in Group F.

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TOKYO OLYMPICS: MEXICO EASES PAST FRANCE IN OPENING GAME

Gold medal favourites Mexico beat France to win their first Olympic group game 4-1 on Thursday.

Alexis Vega and Francisco Cordova gave Mexico a 2-0 lead in the second half before Andre-Pierre Gignac converted a penalty to give France a foothold in the game again.

Uriel Antuna got a third in the final 10 minutes before Eduardo Aguirre scored in added time to wrap up the game for Jaime Lozano’s side.

It was a relatively depleted side which lined up against Mexico on Thursday with Kylian Mbappe, Eduardo Camavinga, Houssem Aouar and Amine Gouiri not given permission by their clubs to travel to the tournament.

Mexico took advantage of their opponent’s lack of star power and took the lead on 47 minutes when Diego Lainez floated a ball into the box and Vega headed it into the net.

The lead was doubled on 54 minutes by Cordova who hit a low shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

A clumsy foul by César Montes on Randal Kolo Muani in the box drew a penalty for France which Gignac confidently dispatched past Guillermo Ochoa.

Vega assisted Lozano on 80 minutes as he struck a shot into the bottom left of the goal.

Aguirre’s goal on 91 minutes was the most impressive of the day. He dinked around the France defence to power a shot into the upper right hand corner of the net.

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TOKYO OLYMPICS: RICHARLISON HITS HATRICK AS BRAZIL BEAT GERMANY 4-2

Richarlison scored a first-half hat trick as defending Olympic champions Brazil kicked off their Tokyo 2020 campaign with a 4-2 win over 10-man Germany at the International Stadium in Yokohama on Thursday.

The Everton striker, who was one of several notable names in the Selecao’s squad alongside Dani Alves, Douglas Luiz and Malcom, opened the scoring on seven minutes, scoring from a rebound after his initial shot was saved by Florian Muller.

On 22 minutes, Richarlison doubled Brazil’s advantage with a header following Bruno’s cross from the left before completing his treble on 30 minutes, again after good work from Bruno, with a curling effort into the far corner of the goal.

Brazil could have made it four just before half-time when Benjamin Henrichs handled in the penalty area, but Matheus Cunha saw his spot-kick saved.

Germany threatened to fight back when Nadiem Amiri’s strike from the edge of the box fortuitously beat Santos in the Brazil goal on 57 minutes.

Maximilian Arnold’s dismissal six minutes later looked to have effectively ended Germany’s hopes of recovering a point but Ragnar Ache’s unlikely header in the 84th minute moved them within touching distance until Paulinho added a fourth goal for Brazil in stoppage time, firing into the top corner following a counter-attack as Germany chased an equaliser.

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OLYMPICS GAMES: NETHERLANDS CRUSH ZAMBIA

Vivianne Miedema scored four goals and Netherlands routed Zambia 10-3 to open the Olympic women’s football tournament on Wednesday — with Barbra Banda netting all three for the African side.

Miedema, the all-time leading scorer in the Women’s Super League, as well as the top career scorer for the Netherlands, scored goals in the ninth, 15th, 29th and 59th minutes.

Lieke Martens added two goals for the fourth-ranked Netherlands, who advanced to the World Cup final two years ago in France but fell to the United States.

Shanice van de Sanden, Jill Roord, Lineth Beerensteyn and Victoria Pelova netted the others for the Dutch. Zambia are the lowest ranked team in the tournament at No. 104.

The Tokyo Games are the Netherlands’ first Olympics and on the eve of the tournament, they received a rousing team talk from former men’s team manager Louis van Gaal.

Netherlands coach Sarina Wiegman is stepping down after the Olympics to lead England in the next World Cup cycle.

Wiegman will be replaced by Portland Thorns coach Mark Parsons at the conclusion of the National Women’s Soccer League season.

This is also Zambia’s first appearance in the Olympics. Known as the Copper Queens, Zambia had played just once this year, a friendly with South Africa. The team’s scheduled tune-up match with Britain ahead of Tokyo was called off because of COVID-19 restrictions.

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TOKYO 2020 OPENING CEREMONY DIRECTOR SACKED ONE DAY BEFORE EVENT

Friday’s opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been plunged into further chaos following the dismissal of its show director.

Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto confirmed to media that Kantaro Kobayashi has been sacked on the eve of the event due to alleged anti-Semitic jokes he made during a comedy routine in 1998.

The show’s composer Keigo Oyamada was forced to resign earlier this week after footage emerged of interviews in which he admitted bullying disabled children during his schooldays.

And its executive creative director Hiroshi Sasaki stepped down in March following criticism of his suggestion that plus-size model Naomi Watanabe dress up as a pig during the ceremony.

No fans and fewer than 1,000 VIPs will be present in the 68,000 capacity Tokyo Olympic Stadium, with a string of heads of major corporations such as Toyota and Panasonic announcing publicly that they would withdraw, citing concerns over the public’s perception of the Games.

Japanese media have reported that Emperor Naruhito will be present at the ceremony, but will pointedly refrain from using the word “celebrate”.

Only around 30 of more than 200 Team GB athletes who are currently in Tokyo are expected to march at the ceremony, with many citing coronavirus concerns.

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KNEE INJURY SETBACK FORCES ROGER FEDERER TO WITHDRAW FROM TOKYO OLYMPICS

Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics because of a setback with his knee problem.

The 39-year-old, who has already had two knee operations, lost to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

Federer, runner-up to Andy Murray in the gold medal match at London 2012, said on Twitter: “During the grass court season, I unfortunately experienced a setback with my knee and have accepted that I must withdraw from the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“I am greatly disappointed, as it has been an honour and highlight of my career each time I have represented Switzerland.

“I have already begun rehabilitation in the hopes of returning to the tour later this summer.

“I wish the entire Swiss team the best of luck and I will be rooting hard from afar.”

Federer, who turns 40 in August, saw his quest for a ninth Wimbledon singles title ended with a straight-sets defeat for the first time in 19 years.

Wimbledon was the only fifth tournament in 17 months for Federer following two knee operations during 2020.

Federer had pulled out of the French Open after winning his third-round match in order to rest his body for the grass.

Speaking after his loss at SW19, Federer confirmed he would take some time before deciding on how to best move forward.Wimbledon was the only fifth tournament in 17 months for Federer following two knee operations during 2020.

“I’ve got to regroup. My goal was always for the last year and more to try to play another Wimbledon,” he said.

“I knew it was going to be really hard, to be honest. Now I’ve just got to talk to the team, take my time, not feel rushed.

“(Then I will) take the right decision, the one decision I want to take and where I feel most comfortable.”

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SIMONA HALEP WITHDRAWS FROM TOKYO OLYMPICS DUE TO INJURY

Simona Halep has become the latest high-profile player to withdraw from the Olympics as she continues to battle a calf injury.

The Romanian was hoping to go for gold in Tokyo next month but will not recover in time having also missed the French Open and Wimbledon because of the problem.

She follows Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal in pulling out of the rearranged Games

The two-time grand slam champion said on Twitter: “Nothing brings me more pride than representing Romania, but sadly the recovery from my calf injury requires more time and I have made the decision to withdraw from the Olympic Games this summer.

After the disappointment of missing the French Open and Wimbledon, having to skip the Olympics is incredibly tough to digest, but I am determined to come back stronger.

“I will be watching and cheering on the Romanian athletes from home.”

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MO SALAH TO PUSH LIVERPOOL FOR OLYMPIC RELEASE – EGYPTIAN FA PRESIDENT

Egyptian Football Association president Ahmed Megahed claims Mohamed Salah will push Liverpool to allow him to play in the Olympics despite the club turning down their request for him to be released.

With the forward set to be on duty at the African Nations Cup in January it is understood the club are unwilling to sanction another absence – especially during such a pivotal period in pre-season.

The Olympics in Tokyo run from July 22 until August 7, a week before the start of the Premier League campaign, and Liverpool do not view it as being in their best interests to allow the 29-year-old to attend.

Under FIFA rules clubs are under no obligation to release their players for the Olympics.

Megahed said Salah would make one last appeal to be allowed to join up as one of their three over-age players allowed in the squad.

“I do not want to say that it is impossible for Salah to participate in the Olympics, but it is difficult,” he told Egyptian broadcaster ONTimeSport.

“Salah agreed to lead the Olympic team during the last camp of the Egyptian team.

“We contacted Liverpool to allow Salah to join the Olympic team, and they said they were waiting for the approval of the technical staff.

“In the end, Liverpool refused the request because they do not want to lose the player at the beginning of the season, as well as next January with the Africa Cup of Nations, which will keep him from participating in the English Premier League matches.