Page 14 - Tennis

Sumit Nagal, Gaston to feature in 6th Tennis Premier League in Mumbai

Ace Indian player Sumit Nagal and France's Hugo Gaston will be the main attractions in the men's category of the sixth Tennis Premier League to be held here from December 3-8. Poland's Magda Linette, who is ranked 41st in the world, and Armenia's world No 52 Elina Avanesyan, will headline the women's category in the tournament which will be held at the Cricket Club of India. The tournament will be played in a 25-point format in which each franchise will play a total of five matches to make the semifinals. The matches between two franchises will include men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles and men's doubles as there will be a total of 100 points at stake with each category carrying 25 points. Each team will play a total of 500 points (100 points x 5 matches) at the league stage and the top four teams in the points table to qualify for the semi-finals, the organisers said in a release on Tuesday. A total of seven franchises, PBG Pune Jaguars, Bengal Wizards, Punjab Patriots

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka lift titles at Cincinnati Open

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and women's No. 2 Ayrna Sabalenka earned straight-set victories in the finals of the Cincinnati Open, the first titles at the tournament for both players. Sabalenka on Monday defeated Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-5 for her first title since the Australian Open in January. Sinner, who turned 23 on Friday, beat American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4) 6-2 to become the youngest Cincinnati champion since 21-year-old Andy Murray won in 2008. "I'm very happy to be in the position where I am," Sinner said. "I'm just trying to keep going this way mentally. It's important to recover to be ready for New York. That's the most important thing." The US Open begins on August 26 in New York. Sinner and Tiafoe were both playing in their first Cincinnati finals with their previous best results being the third round. Tiafoe forced a tiebreak in the first set, but three straight errors led to a 7-6 defeat. Sinner had a 5-1 lead in the second before Tiafoe saved three match points to make

Top-ranked Sinner reaches final in Cincinnati, Swiatek falls to Sabalenka

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner outlasted Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open, while No. 1 Iga Swiatek was defeated in the women's semifinals by No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka will face American Jessica Pegula in Monday's final, while Sinner will play either American Frances Tiafoe or No. 15 seed Holger Rune. Sinner on Sunday emerged with a 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4) victory after 3 hours, 7 minutes, tying Casper Ruud for the ATP Tour lead by reaching his fifth final of the season. Sinner leads the tour with four titles this season. The first set lasted more than an hour and the match also was suspended for 30 minutes by rain. Zverev, the No. 4 seed, had won four straight meetings against Sinner. Sinner finished with a 124-121 edge in total points. "I think we both raised our level when it counted," Sinner said. "The tiebreaker can go both ways. I just tried to stay there mentally. Obviously, I'm happy to be in the final." Sinner, who's been de

Carlos Alcaraz apologizes on social media for destroying tennis racket

Carlos Alcaraz has apologized for his behavior during Friday afternoon's loss to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open. During the third set, Alcaraz destroyed his racket by repeatedly smashing it on the court in a rare show of frustration for the four-time Grand Slam winner. The No. 3 player in the ATP rankings lost 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to the 37-year-old Monfils. Posting in Spanish on X on Saturday, Alcaraz said his attitude was not correct, and his actions should not have been done on the court. The 21-year-old added that it's difficult to control yourself when your heart rate is high, and he will work to ensure it doesn't happen again. Alcaraz was playing his first match since earning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics after losing to Novak Djokovic, who also beat him last year in the Cincinnati final. I felt like it was the worst match that I've ever played on my career, Alcaraz said Friday. I've been practicing really well. I was feeling great. But I couldn't play. I want to .

Cincinnati Open: Carlos Alcaraz smashes racket in 3-set loss to Monfils

Carlos Alcaraz repeatedly smashed his racket on the court in a rare show of frustration, and the four-time Grand Slam winner fell to Gael Monfils 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open. In a match that was suspended by rain on Thursday night with the players in a second-set tiebreaker, the 37-year-old Monfils advanced by taking the last two sets from the second-seeded Alcaraz, who called the loss his worst match. I felt like it was the worst match that I've ever played on my career, Alcaraz said. I've been practicing really well. I was feeling great. But I couldn't play. I want to forget it and try to move on to New York. The U.S. Open begins there on Aug. 26. Trailing 3-1 in the tiebreaker when the match was halted, Alcaraz was hoping for a reset when play resumed Friday. But, the No. 3 player in the ATP rankings wasn't able to control his emotions. It never happened before, because I could control those feelings, Alcaraz said. Today I couldn't. I was feeling that I was not .

Cincinnati Open: Top seed Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner advance to round 3

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek survived in her return to hard courts in the Cincinnati Open, outlasting Varvara Gracheva 6-0, 6-7 (8), 6-2. Playing for the first time since finishing third for Poland in the Paris Olympics, Swiatek set up a third-round match against Marta Kostyuk a 6-3, 7-5 winner over Lulu Sun. Swiatek won her third straight French Open title in May and has six WTA Tour victories this season. On the men's side in the U.S. Open tuneup event, top-ranked Jannik Sinner got past American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5 in his first match. In the late match, Jiri Lehecka upset fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (2), 6-4. Earlier in women's play, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat 11th seeded Emma Navarro 6-2, 6-2. Andreeva was playing her first match since taking a silver medal in doubles in Paris. I just went out there, tried to show my best level, and tried to win a match, and I think I did it, Andreeva said. Andreeva will face 2016 Cincinnati champion Karolina Pliskova. Toronto ...

Nadal withdraws from US Open, to miss 3rd Grand Slam of the season

Rafael Nadal pulled out of the US Open on Wednesday, making it the third Grand Slam tournament he's missed this season and raising more questions about his future in tennis at age 38. Nadal's announcement on social media was not much of a surprise. Yes, he was on the official entry list released last month for New York, but that was more of a formality than anything and did not preclude the 22-time major champion from withdrawing at any point before competition begins Aug. 26. Plus, Nadal telegraphed this news a week ago after his participation in the 2024 Olympics for Spain ended with a quarterfinal loss in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz. That followed a second-round loss in singles to rival Novak Djokovic, who left Paris with the men's gold medal. When he was asked then about playing at the U.S. Open, Nadal paused for a while before responding. Looks like not. But I'm going to let you know soon, he said. For me, now, I can't give you a clear answer. I need some time, but for me

Olympics 2024: Djokovic wins gold, beats Alcaraz in men's singles Tennis

Novak Djokovic won his first Olympic gold medal by beating Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in an enthralling men's tennis singles final Sunday, giving the 37-year-old from Serbia the last significant accomplishment missing from his glittering resume. Djokovic's impressive career already featured a men's-record 24 Grand Slam titles and the most weeks spent at No. 1 in the rankings by any man or woman. It also already contained a Summer Olympics medal, from 2008, but it was a bronze and he has made clear that simply was not sufficient. Until he got past bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in the semifinals Friday, Djokovic was 0-3 in that round at the Games. He lost to the eventual gold winner each time: Rafael Nadal at Beijing in 2008, Andy Murray at London in 2012, and Alexander Zverev in Tokyo three years ago. In Paris, wearing a gray sleeve over the right knee that required surgery for a torn meniscus two months ago, Djokovic faced Nadal in the second round and eliminated hi

Djokovic wins Gold medal: Full list of players with career Golden Slam

Novak Djokovic became only the fifth player in the history of Tennis to complete a Golden career slam after he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the men's singles final at Paris Olympics 2024 on August 4.

Olympics 2024: Iga Swiatek loses to Zheng Qinwen in tennis semifinal

Iga Swiatek lost to Zheng Qinwen of China 6-2, 7-5 in the Paris Olympics semi-finals Thursday, a surprising setback for the No. 1-ranked woman and champion at the French Open four of the past five years. The result was hard to predict for several reasons. Swiatek entered the day with a 6-0 edge in their head-to-head matchups. She has led the WTA rankings for nearly every week since April 2022, while Zheng is No. 7. Plus, just when Swiatek appeared to be getting back into the match with a 4-0 lead in the second set, she faltered. The stunning part? Swiatek is as good as it gets on red clay and at this particular place. The 23-year-old from Poland has been dominant at Roland Garros, the facility used for the annual French Open and the site for tennis during these Summer Games. The 21-year-old Zheng, the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January, assured China of its first singles medal in Olympic tennis since the sport returned to the Games in 1988. In Saturday'

Paris Olympics: Andy Murray's tennis career extended with doubles win

Andy Murray's tennis career was extended for at least one more match in dramatic style when he and British partner Dan Evans saved five match points during a first-round doubles win at the Paris Olympics. Murray and Evans rallied past the Japanese pair of Taro Daniel and Kei Nishikori 2-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 on Sunday. The Brits trailed 9-4 in the decisive tiebreaker, which is held in place of a third set in doubles. The 37-year-old Murray announced before the Summer Games that it would be the final event of his career, and then pulled out of the singles bracket, leaving him only in doubles. He is a three-time Grand Slam champion and the only tennis player with two Olympic singles golds from London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. His first Wimbledon championship, in 2013, made Murray the first man from Britain to win that trophy in 77 years. Murray has dealt with a series of injuries in the latter stages of his career, including a hip replacement in 2019. Most recently, he needed .

Paris Olympics: Lakshya's win over Cordon deleted as his opponent withdraws

Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen's victory over Kevin Cordon in the opening men's singles Group L match won't be counted as his Guatemalan opponent pulled out of the Paris Olympics due to a left elbow injury. "Guatemalan men's singles player Kevin Cordon has withdrawn from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Badminton Competition due to a left elbow injury," Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in an update. "His remaining Group L matches against Indonesia's Jonatan Christie (Court 2, 2pm local time, 29 July 2024) and Julien Carraggi of Belgium (Court 3, 'Not Before' 9.20am local time, 31 July 2024) will not be played. Matches on these courts in each respective session have been rescheduled. "As per BWF General Competition Regulations for group stage play, the results of all matches played, or yet to be played, involving Cordon in Group L are now considered deleted," the sport's global governing body added. The withdrawal of Cordon, a Tokyo Olympics semifinalist, means Group L will now b

Paris Olympics 2024 highlights, Day 2: HS Prannoy wins opener; Manu Bhaker wins Bronze

Olympics 2024 highlights: HS Prannoy has won his group K opener vs GER. Rafael Nadal's his 1st round match. Manu wins bronze in shooting. Check Paris 2024 highlights here

Olympics 2024: Swiatek, Alcaraz, and Djokovic begin gold chase with wins

Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz got the Paris Olympics tennis competition started with first-round victories under closed roofs at Roland Garros, the site of their French Open titles less than two months ago. Novak Djokovic also won in straight sets as he, like Swiatek and Alcaraz, opened a bid for a first Olympic gold medal. Djokovic's second-round opponent could be longtime rival Rafael Nadal, who was scheduled to play his opening singles match Sunday but said he isn't sure whether he will remain in that event. Tomorrow, I don't know what's going to happen, Nadal said Saturday. I don't know if I'm going to play or not. In Saturday's last match, Angelique Kerber defeated Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 in a contest between two women who have been ranked No. 1 and own multiple Grand Slam titles. Kerber has said she will retire after representing Germany at these Games; Osaka was hoping for a deeper run than her third-round exit at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago after lighting the cauldron

Swiatek starts Olympics tennis event with win at French open truimph site

Iga Swiatek shook off a bit of a dip in the first round of the Paris Olympics tennis competition and grabbed the last four games to beat Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday under a closed roof at Roland Garros, the site of the No. 1-ranked Polish player's four French Open titles. Swiatek, who won a third consecutive championship at Court Philippe Chatrier just seven weeks ago, got broken in that same stadium to trail 5-3 in the second set before getting back to her usual clay-court expertise. She wrapped up the victory by breaking at love when Begu double-faulted on the last point. Day 1 of tennis began with showers that might have contributed to slow lines for umbrella-toting spectators at the facility's security checks near entrances and postponed by hours the start of matches at the 10 courts without retractable roofs. It's a good thing the French tennis federation built a pair of covers recently: 15,000-capacity Chatrier added one in 2020, and the second-largest ..

Paris Olympics: Djokovic and Nadal could could lock horns in 2nd round

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic could meet his longtime rival Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Paris Olympic tennis tournament. Djokovic was drawn Thursday against Australian Matthew Ebden and Nadal faces Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, with the winners of those matches meeting in Round 2. The 38-year-old Nadal won a record 14 of his 22 major trophies at the French Open. He won gold in singles at Beijing in 2008, and in doubles with Marc Lpez at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on Lebanese player Hady Habib. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland faces Irina-Camella Begu of Romania in the opening round of the women's draw with second-seeded American Coco Gauff taking on Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.

Paris Olympics: Murray withdraws from men's singles, to focus on doubles

Two-time Olympic tennis gold medalist Andy Murray pulled out of singles at the Paris Games on Thursday and will only compete in doubles with Dan Evans. Murray, a 37-year-old from Britain, said these Olympics will be the final event of his career. He's dealt with a series of injuries, including a hip replacement in 2019, and most recently needed surgery last month to remove a cyst from his spine. Murray pulled out of singles at Wimbledon this month and played one match in doubles alongside his older brother, Jamie. I've take the decision to withdraw from the singles to concentrate on the doubles with Dan. Our practice has been great and we're playing well together, Murray said Thursday. Really looking forward to getting started and representing GB one more time. His withdrawal announcement came shortly before the draw for the Olympic tennis tournament. The play begins on Saturday. Murray won singles gold medals in London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016, making him the only ten

Legendary players Leander Paes, Amritraj inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame

Legendary Indian tennis players, Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj, the heroes of many a historic triumph transcending generations, on Sunday became the first two exponents of the sport from Asia to be inducted into the International Hall of Fame. Paes, 51, whose list of achievements include the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games men's singles bronze, eight men's doubles and 10 mixed doubles grand slam crowns besides several famed Davis Cup victories, was given the rare honour in the 'Player Category'. Vijay Amritraj, 70, reached the men's singles quarterfinals at the Wimbledon and US Open twice each besides guiding India to the Davis Cup finals twice -- in 1974 and 1987. At his peak, he was ranked No.18 in the world in singles and No. 23 in doubles. He along with Richard Evans was inducted into the Hall of fame in the 'Contributor Category'. "Paes was inducted in the Player Category, while Amritraj and Evans were recognised as a part of the Contributor Category: honoring visionary leaders,

Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray likely to bid adieu to tennis at Olympics 2024

When he first discussed the likelihood that 2024 would be his final season as a professional tennis player, Rafael Nadal made sure to refer to the Paris Olympics as one of the important competitions I would like to be at. If, indeed, this is his last hurrah, and if, indeed, he does make it to the Summer Games a little more than a year after hip surgery neither of which is an absolute certainty it would be fitting that the site of the French Open is also the site of this goodbye. No event, at least in this sport, defines an athlete's legacy the way the clay-court Grand Slam tournament does for Nadal. And, the opposite is true, too, which is why there is a statue of the 38-year-old Spaniard at Roland Garros, the site of a record 14 of his 22 major trophies and where the Olympic tennis matches begin on July 27. Rafael Nadal skipped Wimbledon before the Olympics Nadal skipped Wimbledon to avoid going from clay to grass and back to clay at the Paris Games, where he has been planning t

Had no idea of Wimbledon win, can't say what's next: Barbora Krejcikova

Barbora Krejcikova points out that she couldn't possibly have known she could claim a Grand Slam singles title until, that is, she actually did, three years ago at the French Open. So it stands to reason as Krejcikova mentioned to a small group of reporters at the All England Club on Saturday night while wearing her new purple pin signifying having won a championship at Wimbledon that she couldn't possibly have known she would manage to collect a second major trophy, either. And after she did get No. 2, via a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Jasmine Paolini in the final at Centre Court, Krejcikova explained that no one can predict what comes next for her. Well, who knows what I can do? And what I cannot do? I mean, I don't know, the 28-year-old from the Czech Republic said. Before Roland Garros, I didn't know I can win a Slam. Before here, I didn't know that I can win another Slam. So who knows what I'm capable of? For me, the most important thing is to enjoy the journey. To be happy o