Page 25 - Tennis

US Open 2023: Venus Williams crashes out in first round; Alcaraz advances

There was a Williams sister out there in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night, much to the delight of spectators who offered a standing ovation at the end of the match. Except this time it was Venus, not Serena, and there was no ceremony, no formal farewell and, unlike a year ago, no indication of what the future might hold. Her younger sister's playing days are done after one last hurrah at Flushing Meadows in 2022, but Venus Williams is still competing, still striving, even if her age, 43, and a bum knee did her no favors on this muggy evening. Williams was eliminated 6-1, 6-1 by Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round of the U.S. Open, her most lopsided loss in 100 career matches at the Grand Slam tournament where she won the trophy in 2000 and 2001. The crowd that seemed thrilled just to get a chance to see Williams play in person sent her toward the locker room with applause and yells. She gave a quick wave and a smile as she walked off, her red racket bag slung over

Mikael Ymer announces retirement from tennis after failing to overturn ban

Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer has abruptly announced his retirement at the age of 24 after an unsuccessful attempt to overturn an anti-doping suspension. I've decided to retire from professional tennis. Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it's been! I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition, Ymer wrote on social media on Friday. Ymer was charged in January 2022 for missing three out-of-competition tests in a 12-month period. He initially fought the charges and said he had been cleared by an independent tribunal in June 2022. But the ITF appealed the decision, after which the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July partially upheld the two-year ban and imposed an 18-month suspension. Having already been cleared once, and wholeheartedly standing by the fact that I do not feel that the third offense was committed, I find their decision to try me again and subsequently find me guilty, unfair, Ymer wrote on Twitter in July. On top of that, I

Infosys announces women tennis top seed Swiatek as global brand ambassador

Infosys said that it will now work closely with Swiatek's team to build an advanced data analytics and video dashboard by leveraging artificial intelligence

Infosys signs women's tennis champ Iga Swiatek as brand ambassador

Infosys has been engaged with tennis for over eight years, serving as the digital innovation partner for prestigious events

US Open 2023: Novak Djokovic to face Alexandre Muller in first round

Novak Djokovic's return to the U.S. Open after missing it last year because he wasn't vaccinated against COVID-19 will come against an opponent who never has played in the tournament, while defending women's champion Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff were drawn Thursday into a possible quarterfinal matchup. Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, the 2022 men's champion at Flushing Meadows, and No. 6 seed Jannik Sinner could meet in the men's quarterfinals again. That was the round in which Alcaraz's thrilling five-set victory over rival Sinner last year ended at 2:50 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history. Instead of a public draw ceremony, the U.S. Tennis Association has set up its women's and men's singles brackets behind closed doors in recent years and did so again Thursday, when The Associated Press was invited to have a reporter present in a room at Arthur Ashe Stadium as an observer. Play in the final Grand Slam event of the season begins Monday. Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia who h

Infosys announces tennis legend Rafael Nadal as global brand ambassador

I'm very happy to work closely with Infosys, as they work to not only evolve the experience of tennis to the times but also empower people in our communities to be part of brighter future, Nadal said

Infosys ropes in Rafael Nadal as ambassador, match analysis tool in works

IT services company Infosys on Thursday announced a three-year partnership with Rafael Nadal, onboarding the global tennis star as ambassador for the brand and Infosys' Digital Innovation. To mark Nadal's first-ever collaboration with a digital services company, Infosys and Nadal's coaching team are developing an AI-powered match analysis tool, the Bengaluru-headquartered company said in a release. This personalised tool will be available in real time to Nadal's coaching team to simultaneously track insights from his live matches, when he is back on tour, along with historical data from his earlier matches. The company release announced the partnership, saying "Infosys onboards tennis icon Rafael Nadal as ambassador for the brand and Infosys' Digital Innovation." According to Infosys, Nadal is a perfect embodiment of what it takes individuals or business leaders to evolve and continually navigate their next. Globally acknowledged as one of the legends in sports, he also has had t

US Open 2023: With Serena-Federer retired, Alcaraz-Djokovic lead transition

Based on the reactions on social media, it seems everyone in the world of tennis was riveted by Novak Djokovic's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the last tournament for both ahead of the U.S. Open. It was a titanic, 3-hour-plus showdown between the two titans of the men's game at the moment the third time they've played each other in Djokovic's past three events, each on a different surface and set the stage for what will be an expected meeting to determine the champion at Flushing Meadows, where play begins Monday and finishes on Sept. 10. Last weekend's contest at the hard-court Cincinnati Masters, in which Djokovic, who is 36, saved a championship point in the second set and Alcaraz, who is 20, saved four in the third before succumbing 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4), also served to symbolize the state of change the sport currently finds itself in, a year removed from Serena Williams' farewell match in New York and Roger Federer's retirement announcement soon ...

Djokovic outlasts Alcaraz in nearly 4-hour battle for title in Cincinnati

Novak Djokovic outlasted Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling rematch of their Wimbledon final, winning 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4) to take the Western & Southern Open. In a match that lasted 3 hours, 49 minutes, the longest best-of-three sets final in ATP Tour history (since 1990), the No. 2-seeded Djokovic avenged his loss last month to the top-ranked Alcaraz and earned his 95th career title, passing Ivan Lendl for third among men in the professional era, dating to 1968. In the women's final, seventh-seeded Coco Gauff became the first teenager in more than 50 years to win the Western & Southern Open with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Karolina Muchova. Djokovic was playing his first tournament on U.S. soil in two years because of COVID-19 restrictions. He secured his third Cincinnati championship in six years on his fifth match point when Alcaraz went wide with a forehand return. The 36-year-old Serbian fell on his back, arms and legs spread, before heading to the net to shake hands with his ...

Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins first singles match in the US since 2021

Novak Djokovic had a short night in his first singles match in the U.S. since 2021, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday in the Western and Southern Open after the Spaniard retired early in the second set with a lower back injury. The second-ranked Djokovic won the first set 6-4, then two points into the second set, Davidovich Fokina hunched over in pain following his return and ended the match after 46 minutes. "Kind of a mixed emotions tonight," Djokovic said. "Really like Alejandro. Get along really well off the court. We train with each other while in Spain. He told me he has a lower back issue that appeared yesterday. It's unfortunate." Djokovic, 36, lost in doubles on Tuesday in his return to the country after missing events because of COVID-19 vaccine restrictions. It's his first appearance in Cincinnati since 2019. The 2020 Western & Southern Open was played in New York due to COVID-19. It was Djokovic's first singles match since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the

US Open 2023: Marin Cilic, Denis Shapovalov out due to knee injuries

Marin Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion, and Denis Shapovalov will miss the tournament this year because of knee injuries. Cilic used his title in Flushing Meadows and runner-up finishes at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018 to reach as high as No. 3 in the ranking. But the Croatian has fallen to No. 121 this week after playing in just two matches none in Grand Slam tournaments this year. Shapovalov hasn't played since a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon to Roman Safiullin on July 9. He had reached the semifinals there two years earlier for his best Grand Slam result. The Canadian wrote in a social media post Wednesday that he had done everything possible to be healthy for the Aug. 28 start of play but that his knee needed more time. "That grand slam energy, especially in NYC, is unlike anything else and I'm really going to miss playing in front of the amazing fans there this year!" he added, along with an emoji of a broken heart. Shapovalov's best U.S. Open finish

WATCH: Messi vs Ronaldo - Rafael Nadal picks the best footballer in world

Nadal has been spending quality with his family after announcing that he would not play any competitive tennis in 2023 ahead of the French Open tournament early this year.

Canadian Open: Novak Djokovic opts for rest after Wimbledon final defeat

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the National Bank Open, opting for additional rest after his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Tennis Canada announced on Sunday that Djokovic pulled out of the only Canadian stop on the ATP Tour schedule due to fatigue. The 36-year-old, 23-time Grand Slam champion was set to begin his hard-court preparations for the U.S. Open after falling to the top-ranked Alcaraz last Sunday in a five-set final at Wimbledon. I have always enjoyed my time in Canada but after speaking with my team, we believe this is the right decision to take, said Djokovic, who has won the National Bank Open four times. I would like to thank Karl Hale, the tournament director, for understanding this decision. I really hope I can return to Canada and Toronto in the coming years to play in front of great fans there. American Christopher Eubanks will gain automatic entry into the main draw as Djokovic's replacement. Eubanks is fresh off a surprising quarterfinal run at ...

Sumit Nagal wins Tampere Open title, grabs 4th career Challenger trophy

Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal beat Dalibor Svrcina of the Czech Republic in straight sets to clinch the Tampere Open title here. Nagal beat Svrcina 6-4 7-5 to emerge victorious. It happens to be Nagal's fourth ATP Challenger title in five outings, with this being his second crown this year, having won the Garden Open in Rome in April. Nagal was off to a wobbly start to the match, losing his first serve game as Svrcina raced to a 3-0 lead and extended it to 4-1. However, the Indian immediately regained his composure and broke back successively on three instances to send the Czech onto the backfoot, as the seventh-seeded Indian seized the opening set 6-4, thanks to some great play from the baseline. Having shown composure in the latter stages of the opening set, Nagal started positively in the following set and broke Svrcina to race to a 4-1 lead. However, the fifth-seed Czech used his smartness and instantly broke back to have things back on serve. Regardless, the break wasn't

Alcaraz wins first match since Wimbledon triumph with win at Hopman Cup

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz won his first match since clinching a dramatic Wimbledon final by rallying to beat David Goffin of Belgium 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in the Hopman Cup. The Spaniard, who beat 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in a five-set Wimbledon thriller last Sunday, had three aces in a match where each player dropped serve twice. The exhibition event is at the Nice Lawn Club in southern France, with mixed teams representing their nation in singles and doubles. Alcaraz was playing later Friday in doubles alongside Rebeka Masarova against Belgian pair Goffin and Elise Mertens. Alcaraz is back in action on Saturday when he takes on No. 15-ranked Borna Coric of Croatia in singles, then teams in doubles against Coric and Donna Vekic. The final is schedule for Sunday.

Djokovic rues his missed chances after losing Wimbledon final in 5 sets

Regrets? Novak Djokovic has two. There was that tiebreaker pretty early in the Wimbledon final on Sunday, when the 36-year-old Serb was one point from taking a two-sets-to-none lead over his 20-year-old opponent, Carlos Alcaraz. And then there was that missed volley on break point early in the fifth set with all the momentum at that stage going the seven-time Wimbledon champion's way. "Some regrets," Djokovic said after losing 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in a high-energy and highly entertaining championship match on Centre Court. "I had my chances. I think I could have closed out that second-set tiebreaker better. But credit to him for fighting and showing some incredible defensive skills, passing shots that got him the break in the fifth. He was a deserved winner today, no doubt. Djokovic has been a deserved winner on so many occasions in the past. Seven times right here at the All England Club, where he was one victory from matching Roger Federer with a men's record eight title

Sachin to Smith: Cricket fraternity lauds Alcaraz for 1st Wimbledon title

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar lauded the "next superstar of tennis" Alcaraz for his victory and lauded both players for their performances.

Carlos Alcaraz, new Wimbledon champion after 4.4 hours battle vs Djokovic

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz beat defending champions Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in over four hours of epic battle in five sets in the men's singles final in Wimbledon 2023

Wimbledon 2023: Djokovic vs Alcaraz live match time, streaming in India

For the first time, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will be up against each other in the final of an event. The Serb will be chasing a record 8th Wimbledon and 24th Grand Slam title

Wimbledon: Vondrousova becomes 1st unseeded women's champion in open era

Wimbledon 2023: Marketa Vondrousovsa defeated Ons Jabauer in the Women's Singles final in straight sets 6-4, 6-4