Linette keeps getting better; into Australian Open semis
MELBOURNE, Australia — (AP) — Two days after advancing to her first Grand Slam tournament quarterfinal, unseeded Magda Linette has gone one better and is into the Australian Open semifinals. Linette, who had lost seven of nine previous matches against Pliskova, has defeated Anett Kontaveit, Ekaterina Alexandrova and WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia in successive rounds. Linette will play the winner of the second women's quarterfinal Wednesday between No. The other women's semifinalists were determined on Tuesday. Two-time former Australian champion Victoria Azarenka will play Wimbledon titleholder Elena Rybakina for a chance to play in Saturday night's final.
wftv.comLinette upsets Garcia to reach first Grand Slam QF
4 Caroline Garcia 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Monday to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. “I don't really believe it,” she said. I’m really happy with the level today.”Sabalenka faces Donna Vekic, who defeated Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Djokovic is aiming for this 10th title at the Australian Open and his 22nd Grand Slam title. The Grand Slam mark would tie him with Rafael Nadal for the most by any man.
wftv.comAt Australian Open, some players say they ignore the bracket
“I don’t want to know the draw!” Garcia blurted out, raising her left hand as if to literally deflect the subject. “I don’t know my draw!”She is hardly the only athlete making that claim at Melbourne Park during the year's first Grand Slam tournament, where the second round begins Wednesday. “I only know who I'm playing (in the) first round.”They haven’t glanced at the bracket, they say. “Everyone who says they don’t (know), they’re lying, man,” said Tiafoe, a semifinalist at last year’s U.S. Open. 8 seed Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in the second round if both won their opening matches.
wftv.comCowboy Up: Garcia wins WTA Finals over Sabalenka in Texas
Garcia took a tight first set and went on to a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Aryna Sabalenka to win the championship of the WTA Finals on Monday night. The 29-year-old is the oldest WTA Finals winner since Serena Williams at 33 in 2014. The 24-year-old Sabalenka was trying to become the first from her country to win the WTA Finals. “I just dropped my level for a little bit on the tiebreak and in the first game of the second set,” Sabalenka said. Going into the WTA Finals, Garcia was the only entrant in the eight-player field to beat Swiatek — but was ranked 45th when she did it at the Poland Open in July.
wftv.comGarcia beats Sabalenka in straight sets for WTA Finals title
Garcia converted that break point in the first game of the second set while handing No. The WTA Finals were moved to Texas from China over concerns about the safety of Peng Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion who accused a former government official there of sexual assault. Sabalenka, trying to become the first player from Belarus to win the WTA Finals, reached the title match by beating top-ranked Iga Swiatek. The 29-year-old is the oldest WTA Finals winner since Serena Williams at 33 in 2014. Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens beat defending champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova 6-2, 4-6, 11-9 to win the doubles title in the WTA Finals on Monday night.
wftv.comSabalenka stuns Swiatek, faces Garcia for WTA Finals title
FORT WORTH, Texas — (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka ended top-ranked Iga Swiatek's 15-match winning streak against top-10 opponents, winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on Sunday night for a spot in the championship of the WTA Finals. “Only because of this thinking, I was able to play at this amazing level tonight.”Swiatek fell behind one break in the final set with two wide forehands before another one put her down two breaks. Amelie Mauresmo (2005) is the only woman from France to win the WTA Finals. Garcia closed out that game for a 5-1 lead on the way to a 3-0 career record against Sakkari. “Not taking away anything from her, I played a very average match from my side,” said Sakkari, who didn't qualify for the WTA Finals until the final event of the regular season.
wftv.comSwiatek, Sabalenka play for 2nd final spot | US Open updates
The top-ranked Swiatek is hoping to add a U.S. Open title to her two French Open championships. 6-seeded Sabalenka has never played for a Grand Slam title, losing in the U.S. Open semifinals last year. ___8:25 p.m.Ons Jabeur dominantly advanced to her second straight Grand Slam final, beating Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3. The fifth-seeded Jabeur is trying to reach her second straight Grand Slam final. Seeded 17th, the Frenchwoman's first career Grand Slam appearance will send her back into the top 10 next week.
wftv.comGarcia, 28, tops Gauff, 18, at US Open for 1st Slam semi
NEW YORK — (AP) — Caroline Garcia never really let Coco Gauff — or the crowd — get fully involved in their U.S. Open quarterfinal on Tuesday night. From early on, Garcia played high-stakes tennis and put strokes where she wanted, sometimes right at Gauff’s feet, sometimes well out of reach. In contrast to the early success Gauff, still just 18, has experienced, it’s been a long journey for Garcia, who now gets to play in the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career at age 28. The 17th-seeded Garcia took charge at the start and never relented in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the 12th-seeded Gauff at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I'm looking forward to the next challenge and what I can achieve,” Garcia said.
wftv.comGarcia, 28, tops Gauff, 18, at US Open for 1st Slam semi
Caroline Garcia never really let Coco Gauff — or the crowd — get fully involved in their U.S. Open quarterfinal on Tuesday night. From early on, Garcia played high-stakes tennis and put strokes where she wanted, sometimes right at Gauff’s feet, sometimes well out of reach. In contrast to the early success Gauff, still just 18, has experienced, it’s been a long journey for Garcia, who now gets to play in the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career at age 28.
news.yahoo.comSerena's gone, Open must go on: Kvitova, Pegula set rematch
Much like for so many other folks, Serena Williams’ last match at the U.S. Open was must-see TV for players still in the tournament, so Jessica Pegula and Petra Kvitova tuned in from their hotel rooms the night before their victories led off Saturday’s schedule and set up a fourth-round showdown.
Serena Williams knocked out by Tomljanovic | US Open updates
NEW YORK — (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):10:30 p.m.Serena Williams' U.S. Open — maybe her last one — is over. She didn't specify if it would be after the U.S. Open, where she earned six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles. 17 seed from France continued her strong summer surge with a 6-3, 6-2 victory that moved her into the fourth round. ___5:25 p.m.Martina Navratilova saw a clip of Serena Williams practicing before her second match and noticed her movement appeared to be improved. ___More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comGarcia knocks out 2019 champ Andreescu | US Open updates
NEW YORK — (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):9:50 p.m.Caroline Garcia has knocked 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu out of the U.S. Open. 17 seed from France continued her strong summer surge with a 6-3, 6-2 victory that moved her into the fourth round. ___1:50 p.m.Ons Jabeur made sure there will be at least one top-five woman in the fourth round. 13 Matteo Berrettini, with a victory sending the three-time Grand Slam champion into the fourth round for the first time since 2017 at Wimbledon. ___More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comSerena's opponent, Kovinic, 'honored' to face her at US Open
NEW YORK — (AP) — Someone, of course, will end up in the history books as the last opponent of Serena Williams' stellar career. It could be Danka Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro who is "honored" to be the first-round U.S. Open foe of someone she remembers watching on TV as a child. Kovinic’s reaction when she heard about the matchup from her coach: “I was happy; I won’t lie.”“It’s a privilege to share the court with Serena,” Kovinic said in an interview at Flushing Meadows on Friday. “It’s like: I know what to expect,” said Kovinic, the only woman to win a Grand Slam match while representing Montenegro. So she offered a bit of a scouting report: Like Williams — well, maybe not quite like Williams, Kovinic said with a laugh — she relies on a big first serve.
wftv.comCaroline Garcia, Borna Coric get 1st titles in Cincinnati
MASON, Ohio — (AP) — Caroline Garcia generated momentum going into next week’s U.S. Open, capturing the Western & Southern Open women’s championship with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Petra Kvitova on Sunday. And Borna Coric continued his headlong rush up the men’s rankings, completing an improbable run to the championship with a 7-6 (0), 6-2 win over No. In the women's final, Garcia already was the first qualifier to ever reach the title match and clinched the victory when Kvitova sent a second serve return into the net. Garcia dropped to her knees and lay on her back on the court after the final point. The 28th-ranked Kvitova and 35th-ranked Garcia both shook off first-round losses the previous week in Toronto to make their first appearances in a Cincinnati final.
wftv.comGarcia beats Kvitova to win Western & Southern title
MASON, Ohio — (AP) — Caroline Garcia generated momentum going into next week’s U.S. Open, capturing the Western & Southern Open women’s championship with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Petra Kvitova on Sunday. Garcia, already the first qualifier to reach the tournament final, clinched the victory when Kvitova sent a second serve return into the net. Garcia dropped to her knees and lay on her back on the court after the final point. The 28th-ranked Kvitova and 35th-ranked Garcia both shook off first-round losses the previous week in Toronto to make their first appearances in a Cincinnati final. Kvitova, 32, left the court for treatment of an injury after falling behind 2-0 in the second set.
wftv.comWimbledon crowds down 7% from 2019; 2nd-lowest since 2007
Through the first six days of main-draw competition at the All England Club, official attendance was listed as 237,927. That is a decrease of 7% from the Week 1 total at the last pre-pandemic edition of the tournament in 2019, which was 256,808. On Monday, when asked about prospects for attendance, All England Club CEO Sally Bolton said: “First year of permanent middle Sunday, so we are expecting a record crowd because of that. In 2007, the total daily seating capacity for the tournament was 33,653; it currently is 37,140. ___More AP Wimbledon coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/wimbledon and https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comWimbledon updates | Czech player Bouzkova reaches QF
(AP Photo/Alastair Grant) (Alastair Grant)WIMBLEDON, England — (AP) — The Latest from Wimbledon (all times local):___12:55 p.m.Wimbledon has its first quarterfinalist in women’s singles: Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic. ___12:30 p.m.Roger Federer returned to Wimbledon as the All England Club prepared to celebrate the centenary of Centre Court. The 20-time Grand Slam champion was dressed in a dark suit and white sneakers as he walked the grounds toward Centre Court. A British player, Heather Watson, will be first on Centre Court to mark the occasion. ___More AP Wimbledon coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/wimbledon and https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.
wftv.comUpset of Sakkari 'pretty awesome' for veteran player Maria
Tatjana Maria's Wimbledon run appeared to be in trouble when Maria Sakkari was a point away from going up 5-1 in the second set of their third-round match. Then Maria turned it around — in a hurry. The 34-year-old German won the next three points to get to 4-2 and later rattled off five games in a row to beat the fifth-seeded Sakkari 6-3, 7-5 at the All England Club.
news.yahoo.comTsitsipas, with Big Three missing, makes 4th round in Miami
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece returns to Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI – For tennis up-and-comers like Stefanos Tsitsipas, the draw at the Miami Open began to look a lot less daunting even before the tournament began. “It’s a first test to see how it is playing without them,” Tsitsipas said after his third-round victory Saturday. 2-seeded Tsitsipas is among those with the best chance to take advantage, and he looked the part against Damir Dzumhur, winning 6-1, 6-4. “I created a lot of opportunities with my serve — I wasn’t rushing at all, finding the right angles and executing it perfectly,” Tsitsipas said. In women's play, top-ranked Ash Barty and three-time champion Victoria Azarenka advanced to a round of 16 showdown.
Djokovic holds off Tiafoe; Venus hobbles out in Australia
Serbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to United States' Frances Tiafoe during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. 1, had never beaten anyone in the Top 5, and now he'd just won a tiebreaker against Novak Djokovic to level their second-round match at the Australian Open. But it wasn't quite enough to beat the eight-time Australian Open champion, who won the 3 1/2-hour afternoon match 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-3. AdAnother U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, needed only an hour to sweep Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3. 29 Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a rollicking night cap full of turns and twists.
COVID case at Australian Open hotel cancels play at tuneups
An Australian Open courtesy car waits outside the Grand Hyatt hotel in central Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021. All competition at six Australian Open tuneup events scheduled for Thursday was called off after a worker at one of the tournaments' Melbourne quarantine hotels tested positive for COVID-19. The Australian Open is scheduled to begin Monday. Williams won her last major title at the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant with her daughter, Olympia. On the bottom half of the draw, defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin rallied from a set and a break down to fend off Jessica Pegula 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.
Nadal sidelined; team Djokovic wins to open ATP Cup defense
Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Canada's Denis Shapovalov in their ATP Cup match in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE – Rafael Nadal didn't make it for Spain's ATP Cup opener because of a sore back, deciding it wasn't worth the risk a week ahead of the Australian Open. Nadal played more of a hand in that, with Djokovic limiting his time on court because of a blister. Back at Melbourne Park, where he has won a record eight Australian Open titles, he had plenty of energy to consume. Osaka, who won the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open in 2019, will next face No.
Quarantined in New York, Mladenovic wins doubles in Paris
The French player and Hungarian partner Timea Babos defended their Roland Garros doubles title on Sunday, winning their fourth Grand Slam title together. She was placed in quarantine and the U.S. Tennis Association removed the top-seeded team of Mladenovic and Babos from the doubles competition. Seeded second in Paris, Babos and Mladenovic beat the 14th-seeded pairing of Alexa Guarachi from Chile and American Desirae Krawczyk 6-4, 7-5 in Sunday's final. As well as winning at Roland Garros last year, they have also won twice at the Australian Open, in 2018 and 2020. As well as four titles won with Babos, Mladenovic also won in the doubles at Roland Garros in 2016 with French countrywoman Caroline Garcia.
Osaka tosses racket, overcomes test from teenager at US Open
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, serves to Marta Kostyuk, of the Ukraine, during the third round of the US Open tennis championships, Friday, Sept. 4, 2020, in New York. Another past U.S. Open champion moving into the fourth round Friday was 2016 titlist Angelique Kerber, who defeated 20-year-old American Ann Li 6-3, 6-4. Kerbers next opponent is another American, 28th-seeded Jennifer Brady, a 6-3, 6-3 winner against Caroline Garcia. The key moment: Kostyuk held five break points that could have given her a 3-1 lead in the final set. Each time on court during the tournament, Osaka is wearing a different mask in memory of a victim of racial injustice.
'Didn't play good': No. 1 Pliskova won't dissect Open loss
I didnt play good, Pliksova said, so thats it.When another member of the media said this back-and-forth must be boring to Pliskova, she said, Yeah, a little bit. Three Americans turned in upsets of seeded women. Other seeded women who were eliminated: No. Pliskova had chances to take the second set against Garcia, who had been 0-8 against top-five opponents at Grand Slam tournaments. On the second, Garcia smacked a quick-strike forehand to a corner and Pliskova's running reply found the net.