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Graham Caygill offers a review of the five most notable things from the week that was in the world of sport. Click on the arrows to view the next photo or just swipe on your mobile device.
1. Best futile effort: Chelsea
John Terry, the Chelsea captain, seemed to take real pride in helping end Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes of winning the Premier League on Monday. “27 years #notonmyshift,” the defender wrote on social media after Chelsea maintained their unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge over their London rivals, that stretches back to 1990. Admirable as it was seeing Chelsea fight back to draw 2-2 with Tottenham, if Terry and his teammates had shown even a hint of that desire and resolve earlier in the season then they would not have had one of the worst championships defences in recent memory and would not be stuck in ninth place having to get their cheer from other sides’ misfortunes.
2. Best surprise: Leicester City
Even though it had been apparent for many weeks now that the Premier League title was Leicester’s to lose, the enormity of their achievement from going from a side who avoided relegation thanks to a late resurgence to champions of England still did not feel real until it had actually been achieved. In this modern, money dominated era of football, Leicester’s success has been a great surprise.
3. Best random link John Daly and Leicester City
Lots of plaudits have come Leicester’s way, and deservedly so, but the most unlikely one came from American golfer John Daly, who compared their success to his victory, as an unknown rookie at the 1991 US PGA Championship. “Hats off to them for winning it all because they’re like the underdogs, and that’s what I’ve always been all my life. I’m a fan of theirs now, big-time fan,” he told reporters.
4. Best brave face: Lewis Hamilton
Given his past tantrums and bad behaviour in the face of adversity, the triple world champion’s reaction to his chances of winning the Russian Grand Prix last weekend being ruined by engine problems in both qualifying and the race was impressive. He took the setbacks on the chin, put in a great recovery drive and performed damage limitation to finish second in Sochi.
5. Best meltdown: Grigor Dimitrov
Turning a 7-6, 5-2 lead into a three-set loss in the Istanbul Open final, trashing three rackets in the process, was a pretty astonishingeffort by the volatile Dimitrov. The Bulgarian literally snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Diego Schwartzman, losing the final 11 games in a row. Only he will know what was going on in his mind, but it made for vivid viewing.
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