Ryan Hunter-Reay figured the luck had to go his way eventually. Hunter-Reay got the opening he needed to earn his first IndyCar Series victory when Scott Dixon made an uncharacteristic mistake, ending his bid for a fourth straight victory on the road course at Watkins Glen International.
Preparing to make a run at leader Darren Manning after a long caution period, Dixon spun out under yellow and was hit from behind by contender Ryan Briscoe. That gave the runner-up spot to Hunter-Reay, who easily passed Manning on the ensuing restart and drove away with the fourth series win for Rahal Letterman Racing and first since 2004.
Rafael Nadal ended Roger Federer’s five-year reign as king of Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-7 9-7 victory in one of the most dramatic finals seen at the All England Club. The 22-year-old Nadal survived an incredible Federer fightback to become the first Spaniard to win the grasscourt grand slam since Manuel Santana in 1966. He is also the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year. After two rain interruptions the players returned to court for a third time with light fading fast and in a nerve-shredding finale the contest ended with Nadal collapsing to the dusty baseline after a Federer forehand struck the net.
Dopo cinque titoli consecutivi sull’erba inglese, Federer perde contro lo spagnolo Nadal in 4 ore e 48 minuti. Lo svizzero perde i primi due set, rimonta, annulla tre match point ma poi deve arrendersi a uno strepitoso Nadal: 9-7 al quinto. Match più volte sospeso per pioggia.
Tennis Wimbledon 2008 Highlights of the day (Day 13)
Norway’s Thor Hushovd of Credit Agricole underlined his green jersey credentials by sprinting to victory in the second stage of the Tour de France, a 164.5km ride from Auray to Saint Brieuc. The 30-year-old showed fine form to hold off a duel attack by team Colombia pair Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek after a rainy day across the Breton countryside.
Al Tour nella seconda tappa il norvegese Hushovd vince in volata davanti a Kirchen. Il francese Chevanel ripreso dal gruppo all’ultimo chilometro. Pozzato tenta senza successo di anticipare la volata, Cunego cade senza conseguenze. Valverde resta maglia gialla.
Lewis Hamilton streaked to British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone, delivering a masterful drive in wet conditions to delight a vociferous home crowd and reignite his world title challenge. Consistent rain saw nearly all the drivers spin at some stage of the race and though BMW’s Nick Heidfeld produced a good drive to finish second and Rubens Barrichello was third, no one could come close to Hamilton who won his home race by a staggering 68.5 seconds. The McLaren driver produced an excellent start and a superbly aggressive opening stint to take the lead early on, before going on to close the race out maturely.
In un Gp di Gran Bretagna segnato da un tempo a dir poco variabile vince l’inglese della McLaren davanti a Heidfeld (Bmw) e Barrichello (Honda). La Ferrari sbaglia strategia durante il diluvio e rischia di pagare caro, ma Kimi Raikkonen rimonta e trova 5 punti che lo portano alla pari, nella classifica mondiale, con Massa (ultimo a Silverstone) e Hamilton.
