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Alex Eala leaves Toronto and sets focus on US swing

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Alex Eala has nothingbut gratitude for the love Toronto fans showed her. —AFPAlex Eala has nothingbut gratitude for the love Toronto fans showed her. —AFP

Alex Eala has nothing but gratitude for the love Toronto fans showed her. —AFP

There are a couple of things that Alex Eala can find time for now, after watching her sensational run over the last couple of weeks finally came to an end.

“I need to get a haircut,” she told reporters during her post-game press conference on Monday (Manila time).

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“I haven’t gotten a haircut in a while. My nails are grown out. So, yeah, I’ll do a couple of things just to get my mind off tennis,” she said.

Judging by her subdued, yet visibly emotional, march out of the Sobeys Stadium’s center court in Toronto after bowing out of the National Bank Open, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Eala would willingly trade spare days, haircuts and nail trims for one more day in front of a crowd that gave her exit a standing ovation.

“I knew it was my last time, the last time that I was gonna be out on that court for a while,” the Filipino star said after dropping a 6-4, 6-0 decision to Swiss ace Belinda Bencic in their duel for a quarterfinal slot.

Bencic controlled the pace of the match with her first serve and rolled to the victory in just 73 minutes, as Eala dealt with the compounding physical and emotional toll of what had been a strong performance over the last fortnight or so.

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At the end of the match, Eala gazed at the crowd, waved, picked up her bags and walked toward the exit one last time. The fans gave her a roaring ovation and Eala turned to march backwards and waved a few more times before finally walking off center court.

“The atmosphere this whole week has been just incredible,” the world No. 20 said. “It’s hard to describe to other people kind of the feeling of being in that stadium full of fans and all the love.

“I’m super grateful for the experiences that I’ve had here in Toronto. It’s been an amazing debut, so yeah, I’ll carry these memories with me for a really long time.”

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And while the 21-year-old ace finds herself with spare time to forget tennis, the sport will be on the back of her mind as she prepares for two more important tournaments, another 1000 event in Cincinnati in the United States and the US Open, where she will be seeded anew for the hardcourt Grand Slam.

“I’m taking the lessons that I’ve had from these two weeks and hopefully implement them even more and in a better way in Cincinnati and New York,” she said.

While Eala has been credited for putting Filipino culture on the world stage with her brilliant tennis, the sport’s certified crowd-drawer sees herself as just a small part of the movement—crediting instead the community that came out to support her in every tournament.

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“I am kind of just like a drop in the ocean when it comes to Filipinos and their pride for their culture and where they come,” Eala explained. “I do a lot to kind of represent my country and I’m very proud of it, but you see, the stadium was full of people who do the same thing, right?

“So I guess that just shows you what kind of a community we are and what kind of people we are and how supportive we are of each other.”

Bencic scored her 10th straight victory over left-handers, a slice of tennis trivia that had the world No. 14 puzzled.

“I hate to play against lefties so I’m surprised by this statistic,” Bencic said. “Very tricky.”

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Bencic figured out Eala enough, however, to advance.

“Belinda put me in some really tough situations,” Eala said. “I wasn’t able to get myself out of a certain mood.



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“It’s always tough, of course, after a loss. But like I said, I’m looking back at these past maybe two weeks as a really big positive. I think I’ve played really well.” INQ

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Shop Michael Brennan’s polished and sophisticated FootJoy shoes

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“I’m coming back”: Former world champion who beat Amir Khan announces return for ‘massive fight’

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The last fighter to step into the ring with Amir Khan is set to make a return to the sport.

Former world champion Kell Brook is the man in question, who is this time targeting a “massive” professional fight in the UK.

The 40-year-old was set to stage his comeback earlier this year, taking on Eisa Al Dah in a bid to raise money for the Ricky Hatton Foundation.

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Due to conflict in the Middle East, however, their Dubai event was ultimately postponed and supposedly relocated to Manchester, albeit with no mention of a specific date.

This would have been Brook’s first outing since scoring a sixth-round stoppage over Khan, his long-time domestic rival, in 2022.

Prior to that meeting with Khan, the Sheffield man appeared much further removed from his prime against Terence Crawford, who stopped him in round four of their 2020 welterweight encounter.

This version of Brook was, of course, a far cry from the one that dethroned Shawn Porter with an IBF title-winning performance on away soil in 2014.

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But still, ‘Special K’ is determined to rediscover his old magic after claiming to have renewed his licence with the British Boxing Board of Control.

Furthermore, Brook has told talkSPORT that he should soon be involved in a “massive” showdown, this time competing between 160 and 168lbs.

“I’m coming back! There is big news of a massive fight coming your way. Back in the professional ring, British Boxing Board of Control, coming out of retirement.

“I can’t give anyone a clue over the opponent, but we won’t be waiting much longer. It’ll happen this year; it’s about done. I’ll return at middleweight or super-middleweight, around them divisions.”

While stopping short of naming an opponent, Brook has been linked with a domestic dustup against Chris Eubank Jr, who has not fought since his unanimous decision defeat to Conor Benn in November.

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Billionaire who dropped bombshell Man United takeover claim pulls out of deal

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Manchester United were at the centre of a surprise takeover claim from Turki Al-Sheikh, who has since opted against taking over a Championship club

Turki Al-Sheikh has pulled out of a deal to invest in Championship side Derby Country, nearly 12 months on from dropping a bombshell Manchester United takeover claim. On Monday afternoon, it was confirmed by the businessman and Derby, that he was no longer in the running to acquire what was described as ‘controlling interest’ in the club.

United supporters may also be familiar with the billionaire Saudi Arabian boxing supremo following his shock claim on X that a potential investor was in advanced talks, before later clarifying it was not him

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He said: last year “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor… I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”

The following day, he added: “My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor.

“Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.”

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His major claim was almost immediately dismissed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in an interview with The Business podcast, produced by The Times and The Sunday Times, when he was asked about the Glazers.

He said: “That probably sums it up. We’re local and they’re the other side of the pond.

“That’s a long way away to try and manage a football club as big and complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground. They [the Glazers] get a bad rap… but they are really nice people and they are really passionate about the club.”

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Turki Al-Sheikh has, however, shown an interest in investing in football with talks held over a move for Bristol City but that did not materialise. His potential investment in the Midlands outfit Derby reached a far more advanced stage before he opted out.

Following Derby’s statement, he later revealed his decision to not invest was because of how long it took football’s independent regulator to assess prospective owners that prevented best preparations for the season.

He said: “I would like to thank everyone at Derby County Football Club, and everyone involved in this process for all their hard work over the past few months.

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“We understood that the IFR process takes time and fully respect the importance of that, but unfortunately with the season already started, it would leave us with no time to prepare the team or the club for the season ahead.

“After careful consideration, we don’t feel it is right to proceed at this time without the necessary preparation in place, but we will remain in conversation with the club and see what is possible in the future. I personally wish the team and club every success for the season ahead.”

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Denny Hamlin shares his verdict on his 5th place finish in the Iowa Speedway

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Denny Hamlin had little confidence heading into Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350. Brake problems plagued his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota throughout the weekend and unapproved adjustments forced him to start at the rear of the field. Hamlin still fought through the problems to finish fifth at Iowa Speedway.

The problems started during the practice session after Hamlin’s brake pedal repeatedly went to the floor. The issue returned during the race. By Lap 34, the No. 11 Toyota was still reporting brake trouble over the radio.

Hamlin summed up his exhausting afternoon over the team radio after taking the checkered flag.

“Unbelievable work, that may be my best drive ever,” Denny Hamlin said over the radio.

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Hamlin suffered from brake shake at the 0.875-mile short track. Teams can choose different brake pad brands and compounds but NASCAR does not let teams replace their brake pads during the race weekend before the race starts. This meant the teams had to go with their brake choices until the race began.

Ryan Blaney won the opening stage from the pole and Christopher Bell took Stage 2. Hamlin finished the second stage in the top-10 and moved into the top five during the final stage.


“I switched my goals to needing some cars to wreck” – Denny Hamlin says he would have been happy with a top-25 at Iowa

Denny Hamlin at Iowa Speedway on Aug 9, 2026. - Source: ImagnDenny Hamlin at Iowa Speedway on Aug 9, 2026. - Source: Imagn
Denny Hamlin at Iowa Speedway on Aug 9, 2026. – Source: Imagn

Denny Hamlin, who crossed the finish line at Iowa in fifth place, said the result was better than he had hoped for. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe also battled brake issues but still managed to finish sixth.

“If I would have known it was going to be like this the whole race, I would have said top 25. Honestly, I would have been happy with it. But they kept working on the car and made adjustments around not having any brakes,” he said.

“I knew there was a chance it could be fixed but I knew it was still the same components that couldn’t be fixed so I just felt down. I switched my goals to needing some cars to wreck and maybe I get a top 25.”

Ty Gibbs won the race after taking two tires during the final pit stop. Bell finished second and Blaney third.

Meanwhile, Hamlin increased his lead to 103 points after the Iowa race. He now sits first with Ty Gibbs in second, followed by Blaney. Tyler Reddick has dropped to fourth after retiring early from the race.

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