Kerry and Kilkenny hit form; Djokovic wins marathon match and title

In a repeat of this year's league football final meeting, Kerry faced Mayo in their first Super 8s match of 2019. But this time they were 10 point winners, punishing Mayo's mistakes in the Killarney sunshine. In the day's earlier football match Donegal were nine point winners over Meath. The surprise result of the day came in the hurling when Cork were beaten 2-27 to 3-18 by Kilkenny in their quarter-final, despite Patrick Horgan's best efforts (he scored 2-10). Laois' fairy-tale was ended by Tipperary in the other quarter-final although they showed plenty of spirit and quality in a 2-25 to 1-18 defeat. Nicky English writes in his column that Kilkenny look fine tuned while Tipp are still off key (Subscriber only): "Cork were massively dependent on Horgan to pull them through and he gave a tour de force, in fairness to him, but on the day Kilkenny looked to be an improving force, with their injuries clearing up among experienced players."

It's British Open week, and ahead of Thursday's first round up in Portrush, Stephen Crowe recalls playing alongside a 16-year-old Rory McIlroy when he shot the course record. Philip Reid recalls the Irish near misses at the British Open, and also talks to Tiger Woods who is among those who arrived early ahead of the final Major of the year. Yesterday, Irish Open runner up Bernd Wiesberger eventually came out on top at the Scottish Open after an error-strewn playoff. McIlroy carded six birdies and four bogeys in a 69 at The Renaissance Club to finish well down the leaderboard at 13 under.

In tennis, Novak Djokovic won his fifth Wimbledon title after beating Roger Federer in the longest final match in Wimbledon history - four hours, 57 minutes. And it was the great Federer who blinked when he had two championship points in his hands - Johnny Watterson explains why he must be ruing what could have been.

Meanwhile Irishman Eoin Morgan captained England to the Cricket World Cup yesterday after the most "astonishing, fortuitous, preposterous climax to any cricket match, let alone a World Cup final." Writing in the TV View column this morning John O'Sullivan thinks that the anodyne BBC should follow Sky's lead, because the Cricket World Cup coverage was far more engaging than the softly, softly approach at Wimbledon.