Page 27 - Tennis

Belgian tennis great Justine Henin receives the Philippe Chatrier Award

The International Tennis Federation has awarded Justine Henin its highest honor, the Philippe Chatrier Award. Henin won seven Grand Slam singles titles, an Olympic gold medal, and was part of Belgium's team that won the Fed Cup now called the Billie Jean King Cup in 2001. The award, named after the former ITF president, was introduced in 1996 and recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the sport on and off the court. She was one of the best players of her generation on the court and since retirement has made a significant and ongoing contribution to our sport at all levels, ITF president David Haggerty said Saturday. The 41-year-old Henin has established a successful academy in Belgium and a charitable foundation that helps provide sporting opportunities for children with disabilities. The award will be presented Saturday at the ITF World Champions Awards at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. I always gave my very best throughout my career and achieved a

Wimbledon: Rohan Bopanna, Matthew Ebden make winning start in Men's Doubles

India's Rohan Bopanna and his men's doubles partner Matthew Ebden from Australia survived a scare before prevailing over Argentine duo of Guillermo Duran and Tomas Etcheverry to advance to the second round of the Wimbledon here. The sixth-seeded Indo-Australian duo outwitted the spirited Argentine pair 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (10-8) in their opening match that lasted two hours and 12 minutes. The 43-year-old Bopanna and 35-year-old Ebden, who claimed two doubles titles on the ATP Tour earlier this year, will next face the unseeded British pair of Jacob Fearnley and Johannus Monday on Sunday. Bopanna and Ebden claimed the Qatar Open in February and in March, the Indian became the oldest player to win a Master Series tournament (ATP1000) at Indian Wells in USA. Bopanna had broken the record of Canadian Daniel Nestor, who had won the Cincinnati Masters title when he was 42 in 2015. Bopanna will pair up with Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski in the mixed doubles on Saturday. The sixth seeded pair

Wimbledon 2023: Murray uncertain about the 5-set, 2-day loss to Tsitsipas

Andy Murray didn't know. As he was asked to dissect his loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of Wimbledon a rollicking five-setter that lasted more than 4 1/2 hours spread over two days before a packed Centre Court filled with thousands of his closest and loudest friends Murray started answers to question after question at his news conference Friday with some variation of that theme. It was, likely, a verbal crutch, something used to gather his thoughts before offering a more complete response. It also embodied the uncertainty that seems to surround a former No. 1 player who owns three Grand Slam titles, two at the All England Club, but also is now 36 and with an artificial hip after two operations. Was it harder to accept this 7-6 (3), 6-7 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 defeat, given both how close it was and all he's been through? I don't know, to be honest, Murray's reply began. Did the match change because it was suspended Thursday at 10:40 p.m., right after he'd taken a ..

Wimbledon Day 3: Djokovic, Swiatek, Medvedev, Tsitsipas win; Sakkari loses

The third day at Wimbledon saw big names like Novak Djokovic, Danil Medvedev, Iga Swiatek, and Stefanos Tsitsipas win their matches. On Day 4, Andy Murray and Rybakina and Rublev will be in action

Wimbledon Day 2: Alcaraz, Murray, Sabalenka, Jabeur and Rybakina move ahead

There was no upset today as such as the only seeded player to lose was the local boy Dan Evans. He was seeded 27th and lost to an unseeded French player Quentin Halys

Wimbledon 2023: Andy Murray and Roger Federer at Centre Court on Tuesday

Andy Murray will be back at the site of some of his greatest triumphs on Tuesday: Centre Court at Wimbledon. So will Roger Federer. It's where Murray won his first Olympic gold medal during the 2012 London Games. Where he became, in 2013, the first British man in 77 years to win the title at the All England Club. Where he added another Grand Slam championship three years later. And it's where he will play British wild-card entry Ryan Peniston in the first round on Day 2 of this year's tournament. Before that, 2022 women's champion Elena Rybakina will play against American Shelby Rogers. And before that, Federer will be feted by the All England Club, where he won a men's-record eight of his 20 Grand Slam titles. He announced his retirement last season. WHEN ARE TUESDAY'S MATCHES? Play begins on most courts at 11 a.m. local time, which is 6 a.m. EDT. That's when 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem faces two-time major finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas at No. 2 Court, with the winner m

Wimbledon 2023: Sofia Kenin surprises Coco Gauff in an all-US affair

Sofia Kenin used to be the up-and-coming American, the one who was a Grand Slam champion at age 21, the one who beat a teenage Coco Gauff on the way to that trophy, the one who right afterward broke into the Top 10 in the WTA rankings, then soon made another run to a major final. After all of that came a series of health issues a lingering foot injury, a bout with COVID-19, a right ankle problem and three first-round exits in a row at major tournaments, all of which added up to a slide down the rankings. Coming into Wimbledon, Kenin was ranked 128th, so low she needed to go through three qualifying rounds just to get into the main draw, where she was placed in the bracket against none other than Gauff. It's Gauff who is now in the Top 10 at age 19 and seeded No. 7 at the All England Club, who was a Slam runner-up at last year's French Open, who was a quarterfinalist or better at four of the most recent nine majors. And yet it was Kenin who came out on top in their highlight-filled

Wimbledon 2023: Top seeds, Russian entry, prize money and everything else

Wimbledon, also known as the Championships begins on July 03rd, 2023. Here's a look at the must-know details of this year's edition

Wimbledon prize money up more than 11%, winners of singles to get $3M each

The total prize money at Wimbledon this year will rise by more than 11%, with the winners of the singles each getting 2.35 million pounds ($3 million). The total prize fund at the championships will be 44.7 million pounds ($56.5 million), the All England Club said Wednesday. That is an increase of 17.1% compared to 2019, the last Wimbledon before the pandemic. The earnings for the winners of the singles competitions are back to the levels they were in 2019. The prize for the singles champions had dipped to 1.7 million pounds in 2021, after the tournament was canceled in 2020, and was 2 million last year. Officials said a priority was placed on supporting players in the early rounds. Those who lose in the first round will earn 55,000 pounds ($69,500), a 10% increase from last year.

23rd Grand Slam wins the GOAT debate for Djokovic, at least statistically

23 Grand Slam titles (most), most weeks at number one (388), 38 ATP Masters 1000 titles (most), and six ATP World Tour final titles (joint most). Djokovic is clearly the GOAT, statistically

Djoker & the dark arts: Can 23 Grand Slams make him the king of the court?

The question of separating the player from the person continues to confront Djokovic

French Open: Swiatek beats Muchova, wins her third Roland Garros title

World No.1 Iga Swiatek defended her women's singles title at the French Open 2023, capturing a second consecutive Roland Garros. She beat Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 for a hard fought win

History is always hovering over me: Djokovic on reaching French Open final

Novak Djokovic, who moved within one win of a record 23rd major by defeating World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, said that history is always hovering over him and he is thinking about winning the next match

French Open: Casper Ruud races past Zverev, returns to Roland Garros final

Emulating past successes is never easy, but Casper Ruud made it appear so on Friday at Roland Garros.

French Open: World no. 1 Swiatek seeks a 3rd title, faces Muchova in final

A little more than four years ago, in the first round of a tiny clay-court tournament in the Czech Republic, 95th-ranked Iga Swiatek lost in three sets to 106th-ranked Karolina Muchova. That was the only time they've ever played each other, although they are frequent practice partners. On Saturday, the same two players will step into Court Philippe Chatrier for a second matchup on a far grander stage and with far larger stakes: the French Open championship. Swiatek is now ranked No. 1, where she's been for more than a year, and is bidding for her third title at Roland Garros and fourth at a major tournament. Muchova's career has been sidetracked by various injuries, so she is ranked just 43rd and is unseeded, but she has been at her best over the past two weeks, particularly when coming back after facing a match point to eliminate No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals on Thursday. And Muchova did it with the same mix of old-school and new-school tennis that Swiatek remembers see

French Open: Swiatek ends Haddad Maia's dream run to reach her third final

Defending champion Iga Swiatek booked her place in the Roland-Garros final for the third time in four years after she ended the dream run of 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, beating her 6-2, 7-6(7).

French Open: Muchova topples Sabalenka, makes first Grand Slam final

Unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova clinched a spot in the first Grand Slam final of her career at French Open after stunning World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5 in a scintillating semifinal.

French Open: Alcaraz, Djokovic demand attention; Ruud vs Zverev later on

As intriguing as Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic is and it's plenty intriguing there are storylines worth following in the other French Open men's semifinal, too. No, frankly, Casper Ruud vs. Alexander Zverev, which will be played second on Friday, does not deserve the same billing. It's missing the cache and the resumes that the other two guys remaining in the field at Roland Garros will carry into Court Philippe Chatrier. Still, even without Djokovic's 22 Grand Slam titles with a chance to break a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most earned by a man in tennis history or even Alcaraz's lone such trophy, and even without Alcaraz's current No. 1 ranking or Djokovic's current No. 3 with a shot at moving back up (along with the career record for most weeks atop the ATP), No. 4 Ruud and No. 22 Zverev bring terrific games and past close-and-yet-so-far history at major tournaments. Let's examine Ruud first. He is a 24-year-old from Norway who is coached by his father, a former ...

French Open: Haddad Maia first Brazilian woman to enter semis in Open Era

Beatriz Haddad Maia on Wednesday became the first Brazilian woman to reach the Roland Garros semifinals in the Open Era after upsetting No.7 seed Tunisian Ons Jabeur 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1, here

French Open: Djokovic perfect in key tiebreaker, beats Khachanov in last 8

Novak Djokovic has come back after dropping a set for the first time in the tournament to beat Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 at the French Open on Tuesday to reach his 45th career Grand Slam semifinal. Roger Federer holds the men's record of 46 appearances in the final four of a major. The victory over the 11th-seeded Khachanov, a semifinalist at the US Open last September and the Australian Open this January, put Djokovic in that round for the 12th time at Roland Garros. Only Rafael Nadal has done it more often, with 15 semifinals, he had arthroscopic hip surgery last week and is sitting out this edition of the clay-court major. The number 3-seeded Djokovic now waits to see whether he will face number 1 Carlos Alcaraz next. Alcaraz, who beat Djokovic on clay at the Madrid Masters last year in their only previous encounter, was scheduled to meet number 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last men's quarterfinal Tuesday night. Number 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded Karolina ...