Champions On The Rise

She added the Wimbledon title to the Australian and French Open crowns she won on Saturday, defeating Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-3. That marked her sixth Wimbledon singles title, her 21st Grand Slam title and set her sights squarely on the U.S. Open.

The true Grand Slam is the winning of the four major titles in a single year. It has been done only three times before, last by Steffi Graf in 1988.

In the men’s final, Novak Djokavic defeated Roger Federer for the second consecutive year and won his third Wimbledon singles championship. The world’s No. 1 ranked player topped Federer in Sunday’s final 7-6 (7-1,) 6-7 (10,) 6-4, 6-3. Federer was chasing his eighth Wimbledon title.

GOLF: Jordan Spieth beat Tom Gillis on the second playoff hole to win the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. Spieth, who is pursuing golf’s Grand Slam – he’s halfway there with the British Open coming up – earned his fifth PGA Tour victory. The 144th British Open begins Thursday at the Old Course at St. Andrew’s in Fyfe, Scotland. The defending British Open champ, Rory McIlroy, will not play due to an ankle injury. … South Korea’s In Gee Chun birdied four of the last seven holes to win the U.S. Open Women’s Golf tournament in Lancaster, Pa. Chun, 20, shot a 4-under 66 in the final round and finished at 8 under, becoming the first player to win her U.S. Open debut since Birdie Kim in 2005.

BASEBALL: The regular season has reached its midpoint and the All-Star Game takes place on Tuesday night at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Home Run Derby is set for Monday night at 8 p.m. ET. The regular season resumes on Friday.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .