Page 26 - Tennis

French Open 2023: Coco Gauff rallies to beat Andreeva in all-teen showdown

American Coco Gauff rallied from a tough opening set to beat Mirra Andreeva of Russia in an all-teen showdown in the third round of the French Open on Saturday. Experience eventually told as the 19-year-old Gauff, who was the runner-up at Roland Garros last year, prevailed 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1, sealing the result with a cross-court backhand winner. That ended an impressive Grand Slam debut for the 16-year-old Andreeva, who earlier this week became the the youngest player to win a match in the women's main draw at the French Open since 2005. Last year's men's finalist Casper Ruud also had to recover from losing the opening set to beat Zhang Zhizhen, ending a strong run by the Chinese player. The fourth-seeded Ruud, who lost to Rafael Nadal in last year's final, won 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. I'm very happy with being through the first three matches. It's tough, Ruud said. "It's been much more pressure, obviously, playing this year compared to last year. "Last year, I could sort of just do my

French Open: Reigning Wimbledon champ Rybakina pulls out due to sickness

Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina pulled out of the French Open before her third-round match on Saturday because she is sick. The No. 4-seeded Rybakina was supposed to face 132nd-ranked Sara Sorribes Tormo in the day's opening contest on Court Philippe Chatrier. Rybakina was considered among the top contenders for the title at Roland Garros. She has won her past 10 matches, including a tuneup title on red clay at the Italian Open last month.

Nadal has arthroscopic surgery for injury that took him out of French Open

Rafael Nadal had arthroscopic surgery on Friday night for the injured left hip flexor that forced him to sit out the French Open for the first time since he won the first of his record 14 titles there in his 2005 tournament debut. Nadal's spokesman, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, said three doctors were involved in the procedure, which was taking place in Barcelona. Perez-Barbadillo said he expected to be able to pass along information about the operation on Saturday, which is Nadal's 37th birthday. The Spaniard hasn't competed anywhere since he lost to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open on Jan. 18. Nadal's movement clearly was restricted for much of that match and he ended up with his earliest exit at any Grand Slam tournament since 2016. An MRI exam the next day revealed the extent of the injury, and Perez-Barbadillo said at the time that Nadal was expected to need up to two months to fully recover. He initially aimed to enter the Monte Carlo Masters in March

French Open: Novak Djokovic laments fans who boo him after lengthy win

Novak Djokovic makes no secret of the way he loves to feed off negativity during a tennis match. Doesn't really matter whether he's ahead or behind on the scoreboard. The guy simply finds motivation and inspiration from all manner of slights, real and perceived. Maybe it's how a chair umpire is officiating that particular day ... or the way Djokovic's entourage is sitting in place in the stands instead of rising to encourage him ... or the criticism he receives for wading into a political issue all of which already have happened during this French Open. Or maybe it's how he's treated by the spectators who, as they did on Friday during Djokovic's 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over 29th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round at Roland Garros, get on his case and jeer him for seemingly no good reason at all. Which is what happened at Court Philippe Chatrier during the longest three-set Grand Slam match of the 22-time major champion Djokovic's long and distinguished ...

Preparation for Paris Olympics will start with UTT season 4: Sharath Kamal

Ace Indian table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal says preparations for next year's Paris Olympics will begin with the Ultimate Table Tennis' fourth season, which will be played in Pune from July 13-30. Sharath said preparations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, to be held from September 23 to October 8, are in the final stages but the main focus will be on the bigger prize at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Asian Games is the immediate target but the main goal for Team India is the Paris Olympics. When UTT starts, the countdown would be down to 12 months, for me personally that's when the preparation starts, Sharath told reporters here on the sidelines of the player draft for UTT season 4 on Friday. As for the Asian Games, we are already into the final leg, the preparation is done with. We just have to get into the best physical and mental shape. As on the preparation front, UTT will help us start the preparation for the Olympic Games, he added. He said the strong performance by the India

French Open 2023: First time since 2004, Nadal won't play at Roland Garros

The King of Clay has also hinted that if he is able to get fit for the next Roland Garros in 2024, it would be his last

Alcaraz wins Italian Open debut to regain No. 1 and secure Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz will reclaim the No. 1 ranking after beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-1 in his Italian Open debut. Alcaraz will pass Novak Djokovic for the top spot when the rankings are next published on May 22 ensuring he will get the No. 1 seeding at the French Open, which starts on May 28. Alcaraz double-faulted to hand Ramos-Vinolas a break of his serve in the opening game of the match but quickly recovered and used his well-disguised drop shot to set up the key break at the end of the first set. Alcaraz produced nearly three times as many winners as Ramos-Vinolas, 28-11, despite slow conditions on a rainy day at the Foro Italico. Coming off titles in Barcelona and Madrid, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 12 matches and improved to 20-1 on clay this year. In other second-round matches, sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4; 2021 semifinalist Lorenzo Sonego defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 7-5, 6-3; J.J. Wolf eliminated 14th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-4; a

Wimbledon allows Russian, Belarusian players to compete under neutral flags

In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Wimbledon barred players from Russia and Belarus last year. In 2022, Wimbledon's ranking points were taken away due to the ban

Sania Mirza to play farewell exhibition tennis match in Hyderabad

Sania Mirza's farewell will occur on March 5 at Hyderabad's Lal Bahadur Stadium. Sania Mirza will participate in a handful of exhibition matches as part of the tournament

Carlos Alcaraz, Cameron Norrie withdraw from Acapulco ATP 500 due to injury

World no 2 Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco with a right hamstring strain while Cameron Norrie pulled out due to fatigue, the tournament organisers said

KSLTA cancels Bjorn Borg's felicitation ceremony without citing reason

The Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association, which had organised a ceremony to felicitate tennis legend Bjorn Borg on Tuesday, cancelled the event without citing any reason. A KSLTA official claimed that the ace tennis player was busy watching his son Leo Borg's match with Taiwanese player Hsu Yu Hsiou and hence it was 'put on hold'. However, some reports claimed that Borg, who won 11 Grand Slam titles in his career, was upset with the delay in arrival of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at the venue. Bommai was supposed to attend the event at 10.30 am, according to the schedule. The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had said in the daily schedule of the programme that Bommai will only interact with Borg and another legendary tennis player from India Vijay Amritraj. Bommai was late by about an hour. The KSLTA official whom PTI spoke to said, "Borg was not unhappy. He was enjoying his son's match. We did plan his felicitation but he was busy watching the match." An official fr

Tennis player Borg declines 'honour' as CM Bommai arrives late by 2 hrs

Borg was to be honoured on February 21 by Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka state in Bengaluru

I still have lots of motivation: Novak Djokovic at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic clearly is not done dominating his sport. He says so. His coach says so. And, most importantly, his performances throughout a draining run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title, plus his return Monday to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, say so. His message Sunday night, essentially, was: Look out. I still have lots of motivation. Let's see how far it takes me. I really don't want to stop here. I don't have intention to stop here, the 35-year-old Djokovic said after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, a man more than a decade his junior, by a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) score in the final at Melbourne Park. I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I'm feeling good physically, (and) mentally present, I have a chance to win any Slam against anybody. Hard to argue. Not only has no man won more major trophies ( Rafael Nadal also has 22; Margaret Court, with 24, and Serena Williams, with 23, are the only players in history with

Title eludes Sania in last Grand Slam; loses to Brazil in mixed doubles

Sania Mirza will end her career with six Grand Slam titles after failing to win the Australian Open mixed doubles trophy with compatriot Rohan Bopanna here on Friday. Unseeded Bopanna and Sania lost 6-7(2) 2-6 to Brazilian pair of Luisa Stefani and Rafael Mataos in the final at Rod Laver Arena. Coming into her final Major tournament, Sania had three women's doubles and as many mixed doubles trophies in her cabinet. The 42-year-old Bopanna has one French Open mixed doubles title to his credit.

Tennis Australia bans Russian, Belarusian flags at Australian Open

Tennis Australia has banned Russian, Belarusian flags at the Australian Open after a controversy erupted over the Russian flag seen hanging outside the court

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal can only meet in final at Australian Open

Rivals Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed on opposite halves of the Australian Open bracket in the draw Thursday, meaning the owners of a combined 43 Grand Slam singles titles could only meet in the final at Melbourne Park. Djokovic, a nine-time champion in Australia, returns to the hard-court tournament after missing it last year when his visa was revoked and he was deported from the country because he isn't vaccinated against COVID-19. He also couldn't compete at the 2022 U.S. Open. Fourth-seeded Djokovic will open his bid for a 10th Australian Open title against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the tournament which begins Monday. Iga Swiatek, the women's No. 1-ranked player, takes on German Jule Niemeier, who is ranked No.68, in the opening round. The Polish player was a semifinalist at Melbourne Park in 2022, a year in which she won the French and U.S. Open titles. But the main first-round focus will be on Nadal, who faces a potentially challenging match against ...

Two time tennis champion Naomi Osaka withdraws from Australian Open

Two-time champion Naomi Osaka has confirmed she will not play at the Australian Open, adding her name to a growing list of notable withdrawals. Organizers confirmed in a tweet on Sunday that Japan's Osaka, the Open champion in 2019 and 2021, will not be playing in Melbourne. Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023, the tweet said. The 25-year-old Osaka's ranking has slipped to 47 and she hasn't played since September after withdrawing during the second round in Tokyo. She won her first round match at that tournament when Australia's Daria Saville withdrew after one game with a knee injury. Osaka won only one completed match since May and was beaten in the first round of her three previous tournaments, including the US Open at which she also is a two-time champion. Last week she posted pictures on social media of a trip to Europe with her United States rapper boyfriend Cordae and had been considered unlikely to play in the first Grand Slam of

Venus Williams withdraws from Australian Open due to injury during game

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open for an undisclosed injury she sustained while playing in a tournament in Auckland, New Zealand this week. A seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, Williams received a wild-card entry into the Australian Open last month to compete in what would have been her 22nd major at Melbourne Park. But the Australian Open said on Saturday the 42-year-old Williams had withdrawn from the tournament beginning Jan. 16. It did not provide specifics regarding the injury. It continues a run of misfortunes for Williams, who last played at Melbourne Park in 2021. A two-time Australian Open finalist, Williams injured an ankle and knee in that appearance when stumbling awkwardly at the net in a second-round match against Sara Errani. Her best efforts at Melbourne Park came when she was beaten by her sister Serena Williams in finals in 2003 and 2017. Now ranked 1,003, Williams said when granted the wild card in December that she was excited to be ..

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova diagnosed with throat, breast cancer

Tennis great Martina Navratilova said on Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat cancer and breast cancer. In a statement released by her representative, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame said her prognosis is good and she will start treatment this month. "This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I'm hoping for a favourable outcome," the 66-year-old Navratilova said. "It's going to stink for a while but I'll fight with all have I got." She said she noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck while attending the season-ending WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, in November, and a biopsy showed early stage throat cancer. While Navratilova was undergoing tests on her throat, she said, the unrelated breast cancer was discovered. Navratilova was diagnosed with a noninvasive form of breast cancer in 2010 and had a lumpectomy. She won 59 Grand Slam titles overall, including 31 in women's doubles and 10 in mixed dou

Rafael Nadal loses in three sets to Britain's Norrie at United Cup

Rafael Nadal has ended an up-and-down 2022 with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 loss to Britain's Cameron Norrie at the United Cup mixed teams tournament on Saturday. Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open to take his career Grand Slam si ngles total to a leading 22. But foot, rib and abdomen injuries meant he played only four events after Wimbledon in July. Norrie's win gave Britain a 1-0 lead over Spain. Norrie failed to win a set in his four previous matches against Nadal. "It was pretty crazy. I was thinking I'd never won a set before, so I wanted to come out and firstly do that," Norrie said. "It was a super physical match and I enjoyed it. It's a great way to end 2022 for me." In other matches, Top-ranked Iga Swiatek gave Poland an early lead over Kazakhstan when she beat Yulia Putintseva 6-1 6-3 at Brisbane. "First matches of the season are always kind of rusty, so I'm happy that in the important moments I was really composed," Swiatek said. At Perth, Bulgaria and Belgium were leve