Frances Tiafoe after beating Taylor Fritz to win title in Halle:
"I just want to say one of my favorite scriptures, Romans 8:18. 'The pain that you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming.' That proves very very true. A few weeks ago had one of the toughest losses of my career at the French Open. To be able to come back and have a good week here and win my biggest title, beating players that I did. It's a huge testimony to that quote. It's something I've been living by... all glory to god." ❤
🚨 Lionel Messi on the Premier League club he would've loved to play for:
🗣️ Lionel Messi:
“If I had ever left Barcelona for the Premier League, the club that always fascinated me most was Manchester United.
Not just because of the trophies, but because of the history, the culture and what the club represented. In many ways, it felt like Barcelona's equivalent in England. A club where winning wasn't enough. You also had to carry an identity.
I remember the battles we had against them. We knew how difficult they were to face. Back then, we'd sit around talking about players from that United team. Scholes was one we admired enormously. Some of us genuinely wondered what it would've been like to play with him. Then there was Pique, who came through there before returning to Barcelona. There was always a connection between the two clubs.
People assume I would've chosen City because of Pep, and of course I had great respect for him. But if you're asking me purely as a footballer, Manchester United was the club that made me curious. It felt familiar. It felt like a place where football mattered just as much as results.
That's why, if United had ever made a serious push at the right moment, who knows? Maybe football would've given me a different story.”
🚨 Pavel Nedvěd On his Biggest Regret In football, Never Played For Manchester United
🗣️Reporter: Pavel, you’ve won the Ballon d’Or, Serie A titles, and played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe. Looking back, do you have any regrets?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: Yes, one.
🗣️Reporter: Just one?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: That I never played for Manchester United. I’d have liked that.
🗣️Reporter: Manchester United? Even after everything you achieved with Lazio and Juventus?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: Yes. I admired that Manchester United team. Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs were players I really respected.
🗣️Reporter: Were you ever close to joining them?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: No, not really. The transfer was never on the table. There was only Chelsea showing serious interest.
🗣️Reporter: So Chelsea wanted you, but Manchester United never came?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: Exactly. Chelsea were there, but Manchester United wasn’t. That’s football.
🗣️Reporter: Why Manchester United specifically?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: I was a little jealous of Karel Poborský. He played there, experienced Old Trafford, the big matches, Sir Alex Ferguson, everything. I know he still feels that love for the club today.
🗣️Reporter: So despite winning the Ballon d’Or and becoming a Juventus legend, your biggest football regret is never wearing the Manchester United shirt?
🗣️Pavel Nedvěd: Yes. That’s the one thing missing from my career.
Source [@SkySportsPL ]
Insane facts about the Novak Djokovic - Rafa Nadal rivalry.
2008: the last time Nadal beat Djokovic on a grass court
2010: the last time Nadal beat Djokovic on an indoor hard court
2013: the last time Nadal beat Djokovic on an outdoor hard court
2013: 84 different players won a set against Djokovic on a hard court since October 2013. Nadal did not make that list.
2013: the last time Nadal won a set against Djokovic on any hard court
Somali referee Omar Artan, who was set to be the first from his country to officiate at the World Cup finals, has been denied entry to the United States.