Fans around the world have witnessed sporting greatness once again after Jan Vertonghen and LeBron James made history, the former reaching 100 caps for Belgium and the latter scoring a record 51 points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
Oh, and the fun isn’t over yet as Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova set up a reunion at Roland Garros where they will hope to add another chapter to their compelling rivalry.
Jan Vertonghen reaches century mark for Belgium
Jan Vertonghen is the first Belgium international to make 100 appearances for the country after starting for the Red Devils in their goalless friendly draw with Portugal.
As mentioned in the Belgium vs Portugal highlights here at SBOBET Blog, Vertonghen is already the nation’s most-capped player after breaking Jan Ceulemans’ record (96) last year. Now, he is also the only player to reach triple digits for Belgium.
Vertonghen achieved the century mark exactly 11 years after he made his debut with the national team. More amazingly, he did it against Portugal as well.
In 2007, during the European Championships qualification, Vertonghen made his debut as a starter for the Belgians that also featured Thomas Vermaelen and Marouane Fellaini. They beat the Portuguese side in the match, 2-1.
With Belgium scheduled to play two more friendlies before the World Cup group stage, Vertonghen will have plenty of chances to add more to his tally. Belgium will battle Egypt and Costa Rica in a friendly in the next two weeks, while they will play Panama, Tunisia and England in the World Cup Group F.
Steve Kerr heaps praise on Cavs’ star LeBron James
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes LeBron James is in a league of his own.
The Warriors were 12-point favourites in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, meaning that the Dubs were expected to blow out the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena. However, LeBron carried his team with 51 points, eight rebounds and eight assists to take the Bay Area team to the wire in regulation.
Cleveland eventually fell to the Warriors in overtime. Nonetheless, Kerr has nothing but admiration to LeBron whom he said is playing at a whole different level.
According to Kerr— who once played with Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls—he’s “not sure” if anyone has ever seen the level that LeBron is playing at. After all, James’ 51-point performance marked the first time a player scored 50 points in the NBA Finals.
Not to mention that the 33-year-old star currently holds plenty of playoff records, leading the league when it comes to postseason points, steals, free throws and field goals made. He’s also third in playoff assists, sixth in rebounds and second in three-pointers made.
And with LeBron looking stronger and hungrier for victory than ever, Kerr admitted they need to step up and guard James better.
“I think we have to continue to explore different ways to defend him, putting different bodies on him,” Kerr said. “I didn’t think we were very good against him (in Game 1). I thought he was spectacular, but I didn’t think we made it that difficult for him.”
“And that’s always the challenge when you play a great player. There is this balance between accepting that he’s going to get his numbers, but making it difficult. I never felt like we got him out of any sort of comfort zone. We’ve got to do a better job of that on Sunday.”
Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova set to renew one-sided rivalry
It’s been two years since Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova played against each other, so it’s no wonder why the upcoming battle between the two former number ones is highly anticipated.
The two female stars will meet in the fourth round of the French Open, their first meeting since the 2016 Australian Open quarter-final.
Sharapova secured her ticket to the Round of 16 with a straight-set win over World No.6 Karolina Pliskova. Meanwhile, Williams, who has only seven matches under her belt since returning from giving birth, set up a reunion with the Russian star after beating World No.11 Julia Goerges.
While Sharapova (30) is ranked higher than the unseeded Williams (451) this time, she admitted that she is still the underdog considering her record against the American hitter.
Sharapova has only won twice out of 21 meetings on tour against Williams, with both of her wins coming back in 2004.
“Any time you play against Serena you know what you’re up against,” Sharapova acknowledged. “You know the challenge that is upon you. You know, despite the record that I have against her, I always look forward to coming out on the court and competing against the best player.”
“I think there is a lot of things in her game that she’s done much better than I have. Numbers don’t lie.”
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