TENNIS: Three unseeded players who could make waves at the Australian Open

By Steven Oldham

The Australian Open begins on Monday as the race to succeed Stanislas Wawrinka and Li Na as champions in Melbourne begins.

Wawrinka is back to defend his title - his first Grand Slam victory - but the popular Na has retired due to persistent knee injuries and there are many contenders gunning for her crown, including former champions Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

In every Grand Slam however, there are unseeded players who light up the tournament by shocking the big names - who can forget Marcos Baghdatis' memorable run to the 2006 Australian Open final, beating Andy Roddick, Ivan Ljubicic and David Nalbandian on the way?

Similarly, few had heard of Lukas Rosol before he dumped Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon in 2012 - he continued the momentum this victory gave him and has made solid progress up the rankings ever since.

Sports fans are well known for getting behind returning heroes and upcoming talent, and this year should be no different. Here are three players who are coming into Melbourne under the radar.

Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)

World ranking: 41

First round opponent: Sloane Stephens (USA)

Victoria Azarenka is making her comeback in Melbourne (Getty)

Azarenka is no stranger to glory at the Australian Open; she won here twice in both 2012 and 2013. After her 2014 season was ended by a foot injury that hampered her all year in September, she fell down the rankings to 42 and as such is unseeded for the first Grand Slam of the year. The draw could have been kinder to her - should she beat Stephens, her likely second round opponent is Caroline Wozniacki. The stats are in the Belarussian's favour - she has won both previous meetings against Stephens and the American's form drastically declined in the second half of 2014. A narrow defeat to Karolina Pliskova in the Brisbane International earlier this month suggests she is not quite fully at the races yet, but few would disregard a player of her ability.

Borna Coric (Croatia)

World ranking: 91

First round opponent: Jérémy Chardy (France)

The Croatian teenager is a star of the future (Conde Nast)



The Croatian 18-year-old is making his Australian Open debut this year and is a hot tip for the future. Already in the top 100, he made headlines last October by beating Rafael Nadal in the Swiss Indoors in Basel. He qualified for the US Open last year and eliminated the seeded Lukas Rosol in the first round. His impressive list of scalps also includes Ernests Gulbis and Jerzy Janowicz. Named as the ATP Star of Tomorrow, big names including John McEnroe and Mario Ancic have lined up to tip him for big things. He has not played against his first round opponent, the 29th seed Jeremy Chardy, to date, but the Frenchman could come unstuck if Coric turns on the style to add to his growing list of achievements. One to watch. If he progresses to the third round he is likely to meet Roger Federer.

Vasek Pospisil (Canada)

World ranking: 60

First round opponent: Sam Querrey (USA)



2014 Wimbledon doubles champion Vasek Pospisil (The Star)



Vasek Pospisil had his best year to date in 2014. For the first time he competed in all four Grand Slams, albeit going out in the first round on three occasions. He made the third round in Melbourne though before withdrawing through injury ahead of a match against eventual champion Wawrinka. In a twist of fate these two players will meet in round three this year should they progress that far.  He picked up his first Grand Slam title in 2014 by winning the Wimbledon men's doubles with Jack Sock, beating the legendary Bryan brothers in the final.  His achievements in doubles can sometimes overshadow what a capable tennis player he is. The draw sees him up against an out-of-form Sam Querrey, which could be a good match to build momentum and push on through the tournament.

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No Olympics? No problem! Championships galore in minority and developing sports in 2015 as road to Rio continues

By Steven Oldham

Even though there's no Olympic Games this year, there is plenty of action to follow in the sports that make up the biggest show on Earth.

Olympic sports will also benefit from the men's World Cup taking place last year - giving them more opportunity for exposure in 2015 as the months and days tick down to Rio 2016.

Throughout the year lots of sports are holding world and continental championships - here are some highlights.

Handball World Championships
Qatar
January 15-February 1

Will Spain be celebrating again in Doha on February 1?
(beforeitsnews.com)

Handball is the latest sport holding a prestigious tournament in Qatar, with the men's  world championships one of the first events of the year for Olympic sports fans.
Teams from 24 nations will contest the title, including current champions Spain, who made the most of home advantage two years ago and will be looking to seal their position as top dog with Rio 2016 now just 18 months away.
Reigning Olympic and European champions France will also surely be a force to reckoned with, having reclaimed their continental title last year in Denmark.
Having won the Asian Championship for the first time last year, the hosting Qataris should be quietly confident of achieving their best result to date.
The women's tournament takes place in Denmark in December and the majority of places are still to be determined via qualifiers.


FIFA Women's World Cup
Canada
June 6-July 5

Japan's Azusa Iwashimizu, who scored the goal
that sealed her country's first Asian Cup win
(zimbio.com)

The rise in interest in women's football should continue in 2015 with what is likely to be the most watched and talked about World Cup to date.  The tournament has grown to 24 teams for the first time, and as such will follow an awkward route to get to the neat 16/8/4/2 system that works best, with the best four third placed teams in the group stages advancing to the knockout rounds.
Host nation Canada start the proceedings against China on June 6, and all four previous winners (most recent champions Japan, Germany, USA and Norway) have qualified again. The expansion of the tournament will see one third of the teams making their World Cup debuts.
Holders Japan go into the tournament with high hopes following an inaugural Asian Cup win last year, finally winning after being the bridesmaids on four occasions.
Two-times winners Germany qualified for the tournament with ease, winning all 10 games and finishing with an impressive goal difference of +58, while fellow double champions USA will be looking to win a first title since 1999.
 

World Table Tennis Championships
China
April 26-May 3

China's Zhang Jike will be looking to retain his world title on home turf

'Odd' years see table tennis players aiming for individual and doubles titles at the world championships, as opposed to 'even' years which now play host to the team event.
This year the tournament returns to China for a fifth time, this time in the eastern city of Suzhou.  It's hard to look past a highly successful tournament for players from the host nation, and indeed from Asia. At the last edition in Paris two years ago, not one medal escaped to another continent.
Home advantage is likely to play into Chinese hands, who boast the current Olympic and World champions Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia in the men's and women's events respectively. Competition for the holders is likely to come from within; Jike had a poor year by his standards in 2014 and is below countrymen Xu Xin, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in the ITTF rankings following successive early exits in big competitions.
Beaten in the final two years ago, Liu Shiwen is now higher than Xiaoxia in the world rankings and won the Asian Games last year. They both trail Ding Ning however, who took victory in both the World Cup and Asian Cup in a successful 2014.

World Weightlifting Championships
USA
November 20-29

Albania's Daniel Godelli on his way to gold in Kazakhstan last year

This year's World Weightlifting Championships - to be held in Houston - is also doubling up as a qualifier for Rio 2016. Performance in this tournament - and the 2014 event - are the most important for the various National Olympic Committees as the majority of places for the Games will be decided by lifters' performance in these tournaments. Athletes' performance will directly influence the number of places available to their NOC, and the likelihood of them being selected for Rio. There are further chances to qualify individually, but a strong showing on the world stage will surely give them an advantage. At last year's Worlds in Kazakhstan, Asian nations proved to be the teams to beat with China, North Korea and the host nation winning 11 of the 15 gold medals available between them. Russia's performance dramatically dropped off compared to the year before - winning just one gold compared to six in 2013 - it will be interesting to see which nations' lifters will build momentum heading into the final months before Rio.

IPC Swimming World Championships
Scotland
July 13-19

Will Great Britain's Ellie Simmonds repeat her London 2012 success?

Glasgow is again set to welcome swimmers from across the globe one year on from the Commonwealth Games as the biggest Paralympic swimming meet outside the Games lands in Scotland this summer.
Around 650 swimmers from over 50 countries will take part in the Championships and a good performance here could prove a launch pad for these athletes for next year's Paralympic Games.
Great Britain's golden girl Ellie Simmonds will provide the star attraction for a partisan crowd, and the seven time world and four time Paralympic champion will be keen to add to her medal haul on home turf.

There are too many world and continental championships to mention in one blog - ice hockey, judo, fencing, gymnastics and pentathlon to name but five are all searching for new world champions this year. Keep an eye on my blog nearer to the time for more features on these and other events.

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Glasgow 2014: DAY 8: David Rudisha upstaged by Botswana's Nijel Amos, Daniel Keatings secures individual gold for Scotland, England pull ahead in medal table

Nigel Amos beats favourite David Rudisha (Eurosport)

By Steven Oldham

Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha had to settle for silver today as Botswana's 20-year-old Nijel Amos upstaged his more illustrious rival at Hampden Park.

Amos scored Botswana's first medal of any colour by taking the 800m title, an upgrade of the Olympic silver he won in London two years ago behind Kenya's Rudisha.

This result nicely sets up future clashes between the two, a battle which is sure to continue until the next Olympics in two years time.




Scotland's Daniel Keatings on the way to gold (BBC Sport Scotland)

Scotland again tasted gold with Daniel Keatings taking the men's pommel horse ahead of England's Max Whitlock and Louis Smith.

Eilidh Child took silver in the women's 400m while Alex Gladkov took bronze in wrestling in the 65kg weight class.





Claudia Fragapane, 16, is already a 3x CWG champion (Guardian Sport)

England enjoyed another successful day and continue to lead the medal table past the halfway stage.

Gymnastics continues to be a happy hunting ground and Max Whitlock and Claudia Fragapane both won their third gold medal in the floor and vault events respectively.  

Rebecca Downie's victory in the uneven bars - her second gold - mean the English have locked out every gold medal available in the women's events.

David Weir added a first Commonwealth gold to his Paralympic title in the T54 1500m in Hampden Park, while cyclist Alex Dowsett won the men's time trial after missing out on the Tour de France.

There was also success on the bowling green for the women's triples who took gold by thrashing Australia 22-4.

India's Yogeshwar Dutt celebrates another gold (Economic Times)

India continue to do well in wrestling and also picked up a first gold medal in athletics today.

Yogeshwar Dutt (65kg) has stepped up a weight class since winning Commonwealth gold on home soil, but like compatriot Sushil Kumar the result stayed the same and he won gold today beating Canada's Jevon Dalfour in the final.

Babita Kumari secured a first major international gold by winning the women's 55kg from Brittanee Laverdure of Canada, while discus thrower Vikas Shive Gowda improved his silver to gold four years on.

Meaghan Benefito wins two gold in as many days (BBC Sport)



Canada had another successful day picking up gold in weightlifting, diving and wrestling.

George Kobaladze broke the Games clean and jerk record by lifting 229kg on his way to winning the men's heavyweight weightlifting competition.

Diver Meaghan Benefito won the 10m platform and her team-mate Roseline Filion took bronze a day after they won  gold in synchro at the same height.

The Canadians shared the spoils with India today with both nations winning two gold medals. Tamerlan Tagziev (men's 85kg) and Danielle Lappage (women's 63kg) have helped Canada to seven gold medals in wrestling this time, three more than in Delhi.

DAY 8 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare took a sprint double by taking the women's 200m
• Geraint Thomas took bronze for Wales in the men's time trial ahead of Sunday's road race
• Malaysia's Ooi Tze Liang took the men's 3m springboard ahead of English pair Jack Laugher and Oliver Dingley
• They may only have two medals so far but Northern Ireland are set for a bumper Friday with NINE medals guaranteed in boxing
• Linda Villumsen took gold in the women's time trial for New Zealand; she had previously won silver in Delhi four years ago.

Glasgow 2014: DAY 6: England dominate gymnastics team events, Canada rack up the medals, Kenya lock out long distance podium

England's gold-winning gymnasts (BBC Sport)

By Steven Oldham MISS DAY 5 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

England dominated the gymnastic events today, taking gold in both the men's and women's team events.

A returning Louis Smith helped the men to gold in his first competition since the London 2012 Olympics.

Smith, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock, Nile Wilson and Sam Oldham - who missed two rotations due to an injury sustained in the vault - took England's first gold in this event since 2002 ahead of Scotland and Canada.

Hours later, the women's team matched their male counterparts by beating Australia and Wales to gold.

Rebecca Downie, Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harrold, Hannah Whelan and Kelly Simm kept it clean and made the most of an error-prone display by Australia to take home the title.

In the pool, Ben Proud won his second gold medal of the Games by taking the 50m freestyle competition to add to the butterfly title he won over the same length.

There was also success for the men's 4x100m relay team who beat Australia to win gold in the final event in the pool.

Catherine Pendrel on her way to gold for Canada (@sarahtweetering)

Canada enjoyed their best day at Glasgow 2014 yet, picking up gold in athletics, cycling, weightlifting and wrestling and moved up to third in the medal table ahead of Scotland.

Jim Steacy matched Sultana Frizzell by winning the hammer event ahead of England's Nick Miller and Scotland's Mark Dry.

Damien Warner took the men's decathlon, while Catherine Pendrel won took the women's cross country cycling event ahead of team-mate Emily Batty.

Korey Jarvis also won gold for the Canadians in the 125kg, four years after he took silver in the 96kg event in Delhi. Marie-Ève Beauchemin-Nadeau also took weightlifting gold.

Kenya's dominant 10,000m runners (@VOASonnySports)

Kenya enjoyed another successful day in track and field, including a clean sweep of the podium in the women's 10,000m.

Joyce Chepkirui took the gold ahead of team-mates Florence Kiplagat and Emily Chebet.

Faith Kibiegon took victory in the women's 1500m but Hellen Obiri surprisingly missed out on a medal in the same event.

Sushil Kumar is now a 2x Commonwealth champion (@TheRSSPiyussh)        

India continued their strong pedigree in wrestling today with three gold medals, in the women's 48kg and men's 57kg and 74kg weight classes.

Sushil Kumar (74kg) has stepped up a weight since Delhi but the result remained the same, as he took victory over Pakistan's Qamar Abbas.



New 110m hurdle champion Andrew Riley (@TweetCam2014)



Jamaica are top ten on the medal table mostly due to their performance in athletics, and today they added titles in men's hurdles, and women's triple jump and 400m.

Not to be outdone by Kenya, the Jamaicans dominated the 400m and took all three places on the podium with Stephanie McPherson beating Novolene Williams-Mills and Christine Day to the title.
Kimberley Williams took triple jump gold, while Andrew Riley held off England's William Sharman to take the 110m hurdles.

DAY SIX DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS

• Scotland broke their medal record today with silver in gymnastics, swimming and shooting.
• Georgia Davies handed Wales a second gold in the pool after the country had waited 40 years for one.
  There was a first medal for Fiji, with weightlifter Apolonia Vaivai taking bronze in the women's 75kg weight class.
• Barbados also made their debut on the medal table with a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles for Shane Brathwaite
• Malta are still without a medal but it's not for a lack of effort. They missed out on bronze in wrestling today as David Galea lost to England's Mike Grundy in the 74kg freestyle.

Glasgow 2014: DAY 5: Scotland guarantee best ever Games with bowls success, Jamaica take athletics gold, Malaysia enjoy best day

Scotland's history makers Alex Marshall and Paul Foster (@_dpaj)

MISSED DAY 4 HIGHLIGHTS? CLICK HERE

By Steven Oldham 

It was only a matter of time before Scotland beat their eleven gold medals from Melbourne 2006 given their successful start to Glasgow 2014, and, with six days left, they achieved this today with victory in bowls as Alex Marshall and Paul Foster won the men's pairs.

The pair romped to an easy 20-3 victory over Malaysia and in doing so secured their place in Scottish folklore as the athletes who confirmed a historic best for the country.

Libby Clegg's victory in the T12 100m in para-sport athletics was another milestone matched, as Scotland now have 33 medals from this Games - matching their best ever total haul from a single Commonwealths.

Nicol David playing England's Laura Massaro (@starsport_my)

Malaysia enjoyed their best day of Glasgow 2014 so far, picking up gold in both squash and badminton.

World number one Nicol David beat English challenger Laura Massaro to take the women's squash event while they again outperformed the English in the mixed team badminton event, meaning both David and the badminton team retain the titles they won in Delhi four years ago.

Kemar Bailey Cole wins the 100m ahead of Adam Gemili (@sportsnet)

Jamiacan gold medals are like buses; you wait ages for one then two turn up at once.

Predictably, both came in athletics - Kemar Bailey-Cole won the 100m, and O'Dayne Richards took the shot put.

Veronica Campbell-Brown had to settle for silver in the 100m sprint, with team-mate Kerron Stewart third. Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare won the race.

Welsh swimmer Jazz Carlin (Getty Images)



Swimmer Jazz Carlin became the first women in 40 years to win a Commonwealth event for Wales as she took the 800m freestyle.

She took her first Games title ahead of New Zealand's Lauren Boyle and Brittany Maclean and now has Commonwealth gold, silver and bronze.

This was Wales' third gold this Games  in three different sports - swimming, judo and rhythmic gymnastics.

English discus thrower Dan Greaves (@spogo)

England had another successful day with titles in the pool, squash and athletics.

Swimmer Ollie Hynd completed the grand slam and added Commonwealth gold to his collection, which already includes Paralympic, European and world titles, by winning the SM8 200m medley. 18-year-old Sophie Taylor took the 100m breaststroke final, having won her semi final and been the fastest in the heats. 

Discus thrower Dan Greaves secured his country's first gold medal in athletics by winning the F42/44 final ahead of Wales' Aled Davies and Nigeria's Richard Okigbazi.

Nick Matthew retained his Delhi 2010 title by winning an all-English final in the men's squash against team-mate James Willstrop. Peter Barker's bronze meant the English completed a clean sweep of the podium, with Laura Massaro also winning silver.

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE

DAY 5 DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Northern Ireland edged closer to the top prize by picking up silver in the men's triples bowls competition
• Cameroon won their first gold medal of the Games, and first since the 2002 Games, as weightlifter Marie Fegue takes victory in the 69kg weight class.
• Singapore continued their dominance in table tennis, adding the men's team event to the women's title they took on day 4
• Medal table leaders Australia continue to add to their medal tally, winning gold in shooting and swimming
• Canada's Sultana Frizzell retained her hammer title from Delhi 2010 and beat her own Games record in the process

Glasgow 2014: DAY 2: More success for England and Scotland, Cyprus win first ever weightlifting gold, Welsh athlete banned for doping violation

England's Chris Walker-Hebborn broke the Games record in 100m backstroke
(@NickHopeBBC)

By Steven Oldham
 
England and Scotland continued to rack up the medals on day two of the Commonwealths, with the hosts already well on their way to their best ever Games.
 
Medal-events in cycling, swimming, judo, gymnastics, shooting and weightlifting were settled today, and preliminary rounds continued in bowls, hockey, netball, squash and boxing.
 
There was more bad news for a Wales team already hit by injury and suspension, with hurdler Rhys Williams banned from the Games after failing a drugs test.

MISS THE ACTION FROM DAY ONE? CLICK HERE

 

Chris Walker-Hebborn broke the Commonwealth record while winning the 100m backstroke for England, just hours after teenager Ben Proud had won the country's first gold in the pool by taking victory in the 50m butterfly earlier in the day. Proud beat Olympic champion Chad le Clos in both the semi and final, with the South African having to settle for third.
 
Judo continues to be a happy hunting ground for Team England, who continue to top the medal table. Three more gold today came in for both male and female judoka, with Owen Livesey beating team-mate and room-mate Tom Reed in the final of the -81kg weight class. Danny Williams (-73kg) and Megan Fletcher (-70kg) also won their respective events to leave England with an impressive six medals in the sport already.
 
Joanna Roswell won the individual pursuit to secure a second English title in track cycling, and set a new Commonwealth record in the qualifiers, and beat her Australian opponent by nearly four seconds in the final.
 

The moment Sarah Clark won judo gold for Scotland (Daily Record)

 
 

Scotland's success in the pool continued with Daniel Wallace securing a stunning breakthrough win in the 400m medley ahead of Thomas Fraser-Holmes (Australia) and Sebastian Rousseau (South Africa).
 
Hometown favourite Michael Jamieson however is out of the 100m breaststroke after being eliminated in the semi finals where he could only place fifth. Compatriot and new 200m champion Ross Murdoch is safely through.
 
The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome also saw it's first homegrown champion in the para-cycling today. Neil Fachie and pilot Craig Maclean won the 1000m tandem time trial for visually impaired riders from teams from Australia and Wales.
 
Judoka Sarah Clark became the third Scottish woman to win gold on the mat by beating Cameroon's Helene Wezeu Dombeu in the -63kg weight class by making her opponent submit via an armlock.
 

CLICK HERE FOR COMMONWEALTH GAMES HOMEPAGE

 

Cyprus won their first gold at these Games in weightlifting, with Dimitris Minasidis taking victory in the -62kg. He raised 276kg ahead of lifters from Sri Lanka and Samoa.  
 
He makes history by becoming the island's first Commonwealth weightlifting champion.
 


Cyprus' Dimitris Minasidis lifting for gold (BBC Sport)
 

DAY TWO DIGEST IN 60 SECONDS...

• Commonwealth powerhouse Australia also continued to pile up the medals, taking more gold in swimming and opening their account in shooting.
• Canada continue to dominate the rhythmic gymnastics, with Patricia Bezzoubenko winning her second gold in as many days in the individual all round event.
• Team Wales also put in a good show in rhythmic gymnastics, with flagbearer Frankie Jones and Laura Halford taking bronze today after team silver yesterday
• Nigeria also scooped a first gold of the Games in women's weightlifting, as Chika Amalaha won the -53kg weight division
• Singapore, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea all opened their medal tallies today.

DAY 3: WHAT'S UP FOR GRABS?

Mixed team triathlon makes it Games debut tomorrow, can England continue their dominace?

There are also medals to be decided in lawn bowls, rhythmic gymastics, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming and weightlifting. 



Glasgow 2014 - Commonwealth Games Sports Guide: Squash

By Steven Oldham

Click HERE for Commonwealth Games homepage

Since debuting at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games in Malaysia, squash has quickly become a core sport at the Commonwealths and receives its highest potential audience at the Friendly Games.

Despite failed attempts to join the Olympic programme, squash remains a viable contender to eventually join the Games and was only denied access to the 2020 edition last year by the reprieve of wrestling.

Fast-paced, energetic and exciting, squash has been described as the ultimate workout - testing and exerting arms, legs and torso all at once.

WHEN?

With five separate competitions to get through, squash is set to be played on every day of competition from July 24-August 2.

WHERE?

Six new permanent courts at the Scotstoun Sports Campus in west Glasgow will host the preliminary matches, while the medal matches will be played on a purpose-built glass show court.

WHO?

England and Australia are the two traditional powers in Commonwealth squash, both taking home seven gold medals each. Could 2014 see either nation taking a lead for the next four years heading into the Gold Coast Games in Australia?

Nick Matthew is the one of the stars of world squash. The Englishman - chosen as his team's flagbearer for Wednesday night's opening ceremony - has won three of the last four World Opens and is currently ranked second in the world behind France's Gregory Gaultier. He already holds two Commonwealth golds from the Delhi Games in singles and doubles.

Pakistan have missed out on many Commonwealth golds due to the sport's late introduction to the Games. Janaghir and Jansher Khan dominated the game in the 1980s, but they have failed to live up to their past in the modern era. Only six countries have won Commonwealth tournaments (England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Malaysia.)

Malaysia were the last country to add their name to this list, with Nicol David taking the women's singles last time out in Delhi. She is well used to silverware - a seven time World Open champion in eight years, and is ranked number one in the world. She is back to defend her title, but may face competition from England's Laura Massaro, who will look to take momentum from winning her first World Open earlier this year.

LET ME SOUND LIKE I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT...

• Five tournaments at Glasgow 2014 - men's and women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles
• Squash courts are encased by four walls, with lines breaking the court into three - two service areas and the front half closest to the wall
• After service, the ball can hit any of the walls,  but cannot touch the floor after being hit before hitting the front wall, otherwise this player loses a point. 
• International squash uses the PARS scoring system - point-a-rally scoring, where the winner of each rally, regardless of serve, scores the point.
• The first to eleven points wins a game, with a two point margin needed, so games can't finish 11-10. Play continues until one player has a two point advantage.

CAN I STILL BUY TICKETS?

Yes. For all the latest ticket updates click here

England flagbearer Nick Matthew in action (telegraph.co.uk)

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