INDIAN WELLS, California (REUTERS) - Fourth seed Elina Svitolina survived a third-round onslaught from Romanian Sorana Cirstea to win 4-6 6-4 7-6(3) at Indian Wells on Sunday (Oct 10), while Polish second seed Iga Swiatek eased past Veronika Kudermetova 6-1 6-0. Ukraine's Svitolina, who won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, saved 12 of the 16 break point opportunities Cirstea set up in the two-hour-and-32-minute contest, and had to fight back from 4-2 down in the third set to survive. A dominant Swiatek dropped only three of her first serve points and never faced a break, firing off five aces against Russian Kudermetova, who was unable to get a foothold into the match, which lasted 54 minutes. On the men's side, world number seven Matteo Berrettini defeated Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-4 7-5 in their second-round match. Berrettini saved both break points he faced and served 11 aces against Tabilo, and the Italian, who lost to world number one Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final earlier this year, let out a roar as he clinched the match. "Today it wasn't easy. I struggled the past days with my body, so I knew that I wouldn't - I told myself to not expect like the best performance, but I'm pretty sure that when the level is going to be higher I'm going to be ready," he said. Berrettini's compatriot, 10th-seeded Jannik Sinner, took down Australian John Millman 6-2 6-2, while France's Gael Monfils defeated Gianluca Mager 6-4 6-2.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from next month's rescheduled ATP/WTA Indian Wells tournament in California, organisers confirmed on Wednesday (Sept 22). The 23-year-old Japanese star is a former champion at Indian Wells, winning the title in 2018 with victory over Daria Kasatkina. Osaka said earlier this month she planned to take an indefinite break from tennis after an early exit from the US Open. "I honestly don't know when I'm going to play my next tennis match," Osaka said following her third round defeat to Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez. "I think I'm going to take a break from playing for a while." Osaka, who dropped out of the top five in the latest world rankings, has been in the spotlight this year after withdrawing from the French Open and skipping Wimbledon over mental health issues. Osaka said her problems were exacerbated by speaking to the media after matches. Osaka had also made an early exit from Cincinnati last month, and had bowed out of the Tokyo Olympics in the early rounds in July. More on this topic Related Story Tennis: Osaka earns support after announcing break from sport Related Story Tennis: Teen Fernandez stuns Osaka to reach last 16 at US Open
NEW YORK (AFP) - Daniil Medvedev shattered Novak Djokovic's bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam with a straight-sets victory in the US Open final on Sunday (Sept 12), denying the world No. 1 a record-breaking 21st major men's singles title. Djokovic's bid to sweep the US, French and Australian Opens and Wimbledon in the same year for the first time since Rod Laver did it 52 years ago collapsed at the last hurdle, with Russia's second-ranked Medvedev winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. With 83-year-old Australian legend Laver among 23,700 watching at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Medvedev dominated Djokovic, keeping him level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal atop the career Slam title list. Medvedev, the 2019 US Open runner-up, captured his first Grand Slam title in his third Slam final, a rematch of February's Australian Open final, won in straight sets by the 34-year-old Serb as he launched his Slam quest. Djokovic missed out on his fourth US Open title and will enter 2022 tied with "Big Three" rivals Federer and Nadal, both absent with injuries, on an all-time record 20 men's Slam titles. Instead of joining immortals Laver and Don Budge, who completed the first men's Slam in 1938, Djokovic became the third man to fall at the final match attempting to complete the Slam after Australians Jack Crawford in 1933 and Lew Hoad in 1956. Medvedev, 25, became the third Russian man to win a Grand Slam title after Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the 1996 French Open and 1999 Australian Open and Marat Safin at the 2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open. Struggle from the start In the biggest of Djokovic's 1,176 career matches, he made two unforced forehand errors to surrender a break to Medvedev in the first game. Djokovic saved two break points to hold the third game but Medvedev held through to take the first set in 36 minutes, never facing a break point. It was the fifth consecutive match in which Djokovic dropped the first set. Medvedev dropped only three points on his serve in the first set but lost that many to open his first service game in the second. Djokovic, however, squandered his first three break points of the match and Medvedev held to 1-1. Medvedev hit a backhand wide to give Djokovic a break chance in the fourth game but he netted a forehand volley then drew back his racket in anger as if to smash the ball. After botching a forehand on the following point, Djokovic shattered his racket and on the next sent a backhand long as Medvedev held to 2-2, pressure clearly affecting the Serb. Novak Djokovic breaks his racket after botching a forehand during the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York, on Sept 12, 2021. PHOTO: EPA-EFE In the fifth game, Djokovic mis-hit a backhand volley to hand Medvedev a break and a 3-2 lead and the Russian held three times to claim the set, Djokovic pushing a backhand wide to surrender the final point. Medvedev broke again to begin the third set when Djokovic sent a backhand long and again in the third game when a botched volley seemed to signal the end of the Slam chase. Djokovic held at love in the fifth game but Medvedev held again to 5-1 and served for the match in the eighth game. Medvedev double faulted on championship point and again, then netted a forehand to surrender a break that kept Djokovic in the match. The crowd cheered his fightback, sensing a momentum swing. Serving again for the match at 5-4, Medvedev double faulted on his second match point but finally got over the line on his third chance with a service winner after 2hr 16min. More on this topic Related Story Tennis: US Open champion Emma Raducanu is a teenage star in vogue Related Story Tennis: Ram and Salisbury pick up US Open men's doubles title
STOCKHOLM (REUTERS) - Midfielder Serge Gnabry scored two early goals as Germany rediscovered their form in front of goal to hammer Armenia 6-0 on Sunday (Sept 5) and go top of World Cup qualifying Group J with 12 points from five games. After Germany's attack struggled in a laboured 2-0 win over Liechtenstein on Thursday, Gnabry netted twice in the opening 15 minutes and Marco Reus and Timo Werner both scored before the break as they dismantled the Armenian defence with clever passing and deft flicks. Jonas Hofmann added a fifth seven minutes after the break with a low bouncing drive, and substitute Karim Adeyemi put the icing on the cake with a goal on his international debut to make it 6-0 in second-half stoppage time. The win means the Germans leap-frog Armenia to the top of the group, with their visitors now two points behind in second spot. Romania are third on nine points, one ahead of North Macedonia. More on this topic Related Story Football: Brazil v Argentina halted after health officials intervene over isolation order Related Story Football: Centurion Lukaku sets Belgium on their way to convincing win over Czechs
SEVILLE (REUTERS) - Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal celebrated his return from a long injury lay off by firing his side to a 1-0 win at Real Betis in LaLiga on Saturday (Aug 28). Carvajal volleyed home a cross from Karim Benzema to break the deadlock in the 61st minute in his first start for Real since April after missing most of last season and the European Championship due to a series of injuries. Carvajal struck immediately after Betis had squandered a glorious chance to take the lead when they won the ball deep in the visitors' half but striker Juanmi misplaced a pass when he had the opportunity to shoot. Betis had a chance to snatch an equaliser deep in added time and Madrid were grateful to keeper Thibaut Courtois for getting across goal to keep out a low drive from Martin Montoya. Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid side provisionally lead the table on seven points after their first three games, all of which have been away, having beaten Alaves 4-1 and drawn 3-3 with Levante. Betis have two points and remain without a win. "The goal meant a lot to me as I've had a long difficult time on a personal level. I've spent so long working hard behind the scenes to get fit again and hopefully this year will be different," Carvajal said. Real were missing key players with Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Ferland Mendy injured while Eden Hazard was dropped to the bench by Ancelotti, who picked Vinicius Jr from the start after the Brazilian scored two goals as a substitute at Levante. The build-up to the game had been dominated by Real's pursuit of Kylian Mbappe and their two colossal bids to Paris St Germain for the France striker. Their first half performance suggested they could certainly do with the dynamism and ruthlessness of Mbappe to liven up their attack. Benzema had their best effort in the first half when he fizzed a shot just wide, while Eder Militao had their only attempt on target before the break with a header straight into the arms of goalkeeper Rui Silva. But they did at least produce a cohesive display contrasting with the anarchy of last week's eventful game at Levante. "We'd been scoring a lot of goals in the last two games but conceded a lot too so it was important to give a balanced performance before the international break," added Carvajal. "We began the game really well then struggled to play together. We showed more intensity after the break and tried to push them higher up the pitch."
LONDON (REUTERS) - Former world number one Karolina Pliskova reached her maiden Wimbledon final after coming back from a set down to beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 5-7 6-4 6-4 on Thursday (July 8). The Czech goes into Saturday’s decider looking to capture her first Grand Slam title, having only ever reached one other final when she finished runner-up to Angelique Kerber at the 2016 US Open. Pliskova will face another Wimbledon final debutant in world number one Ash Barty, who beat Kerber earlier on Thursday. The 29-year-old Pliskova found it hard going against Sabalenka, the first seeded player she had faced in this year’s tournament, and it showed as she dropped her first set on the only break point she faced with a double fault. She made inroads on Sabalenka’s booming serve, which reached speeds of 193 kilometres per hour, to clinch a break to love midway through the second set. It was her ninth break point of the match but the first she converted, giving her the confidence to serve out the set and level the score. The 23-year-old Sabalenka, playing in her first major semi-final, struggled for consistency, sending down 18 aces in the match but making 20 unforced errors including one to give up an early break in the first game of the deciding set. Although the Belarusian rallied, Pliskova never looked in any danger, rarely breaking a sweat on her own serve as she booked her place in Saturday’s showpiece with an ace. “I am in the final so I think it is incredible,” Pliskova said on court. “It was an amazing match from both of us, I got a bit frustrated but she was serving unbelievably – she was in a semi-final so had to play some great tennis. I am super happy I managed to find a way to win.” That will to win meant the Czech became the first player in 10 years in the women’s semi-finals to recover from going a set down to win the match. “It is difficult when you are not doing well to stay positive, but my team is super positive, thanks to them I managed to stay calm and trust in my game,” she added. “I have had success in the past so it is not like I forgot how to play tennis.” More on this topic Related Story Tennis: Australia's Ashleigh Barty into first Wimbledon final Related Story Tennis: Naomi Osaka urges girls to embrace being 'different'
PARIS (REUTERS) - Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat world number two Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on Tuesday (June 8) to advance to the French Open semi-finals for the second straight year and end the Russian's surprise run on the Parisian clay. The Greek got revenge for this year's Australian Open semi-final loss to the Russian, improving his Grand Slam quarter-final record to 4-0 with a 6-3 7-6(3) 7-5 win that teed up a last-four clash against Germany's Alexander Zverev. Medvedev, who squandered two set points in the second set, had not won a single match at the French Open prior to his run to the last eight this year. Yet having finally found his feet on the red dirt, he had few chances against the 22-year-old Tsitsipas, who has had a superb clay season so far. Tsitsipas, a winner in Lyon and Monte Carlo on clay this year, wrongfooted the Russian to convert his first break point for 3-1 lead as he comfortably held serve in the first set. Medvedev saved a Tsitsipas set point at 5-2 but the Greek wrapped it up a game later with a volley. Tsitsipas then won 11 straight points to break the Russian again early in the second set and cruise to a 3-1 lead. Yet his opponent launched a comeback, bagging his own first break en route to a three-game run. Medvedev improved his first-serve percentage and even carved out two set points but his opponent saved them to hold and force a tiebreak. Tsitsipas survived his second set wobble to clinch it with a volley on his first set point. The pair traded breaks in the third before Tsitsipas broke again, winning on his first match point following an underarm serve from Medvedev.
PARIS (REUTERS) - Claycourt king Rafael Nadal overcame a wobbly start to subdue Italian teenager Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0, on Monday (June 7) and book a place in the French Open quarter-finals. The Spanish defending champion, looking to claim a record-extending 14th Roland Garros singles title and become the only man to win 21 Grand Slam singles crowns, has won 35 consecutive sets in Paris. World number 19 Sinner, who at 19 years old has been labelled as the next big thing in tennis, hit a brick wall on court Philippe Chatrier after leading 5-3 in the opening set. Third seed Nadal will face Diego Schwartzman for a place in the semi-finals after beating the Argentine in the last four in the previous edition of the tournament. "I played against a very good player who has a great future and I'm very happy with the win," Nadal said. "I started playing well the first couple of games and then I played too defensive for a few games and gave him the chance to step into the court and play his shots. After that the match changed a lot." Facing the ultimate challenge on clay, Sinner struggled to get into the groove before cancelling out an early break as Nadal experienced problems with his first serve. Sinner, who lost to the claycourt master in the quarter-finals here last year, found himself up a break after two Nadal double faults and a few uncharacteristic errors. Serving for the set, however, Sinner lost the game to love and Nadal levelled at 5-5 on his opponent's 25th unforced error before breaking to love again to seal the opening set. After losing eight games in a row, Sinner stopped the rot with a break, clinching it after rushing to the net to retrieve a drop shot and delivering a stunning crosscourt passing shot. Nadal quickly recovered to break again, however, and he served out to take a two-set lead before securing his 104th match win at Roland Garros. The Spaniard has not lost at the Paris Grand Slam tournament since 2015 when he was knocked out in the last eight by Novak Djokovic, his potential semi-final opponent.
MILAN (AFP) - Inter Milan clinched the Italian Serie A title for the first time since 2010 on Sunday (May 2), when nearest rivals Atalanta were held 1-1 at Sassuolo. Atalanta played most of the match a man down after goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini saw red after 22 minutes at the Mapei Stadium. Luis Muriel missed a late penalty that could have given Atalanta a win that would have put Inter's celebrations on hold but the second-placed Bergamo side are now 13 points behind Inter (82) with four games remaining. Inter, who beat Crotone 2-0 on Saturday, denied Juventus a 10th straight league title with Andrea Pirlo's side now fighting for a Champions League spot. Juventus president Andrea Agnelli congratulated his Inter counterpart Steven Zhang on the Chinese-owned club's success. "Well done Steven! Happy for you and proud of being your loyal opponent on the pitch and friend off the pitch. We'll be back," he wrote on Twitter. Atalanta are equal on 69 points with third-placed AC Milan, who beat Benevento 2-0 on Saturday, and two points ahead of Napoli, who were held 1-1 at home against Cagliari. Juventus (66) are fifth before they play later on Sunday at Udinese. In Emilia-Romagna, Robin Gosens scored 10 minutes after Gollini's sending-off for recklessly bringing down Jeremie Boga. Domenico Berardi pulled Sassuolo level from the penalty spot seven minutes after the break, when Hamed Traore went down in the penalty box under pressure from Rafael Toloi. Sassuolo also played the final quarter of an hour a man down after Brazilian defender Marlon was sent off for a second yellow card, but goalkeeper Andrea Consigli saved Muriel's penalty. In Naples, Nahitan Nandez got a late equaliser for Cagliari to cancel out Victor Osimhen's 13th-minute opener. Napoli are still in the running for the Champions League while Cagliari move one point clear of the relegation zone. Lazio also stayed in the Champions League chase with a thrilling 4-3 win over Genoa for a club record 11th consecutive win. Joaquin Correa scored a brace, breaking the deadlock after half an hour and striking again 11 minutes after the break. Ciro Immobile added the second from the penalty spot before half-time after an Ivan Radovanovic foul. Genoa made a triple substitution after the break and got back into the game when under-pressure Lazio defender Adam Marusic turned into his own net. Luis Alberto curled in a third for the hosts just after with Correa then making it 4-1. The hosts survived a late scare as Genoa fought back with Gianluca Scamacca slotting in a penalty with 10 minutes to go and Eldor Shomurodov blasting in another goal almost immediately.
BARCELONA (AFP) - Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 on Sunday (April 25) and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP’s longest match of 2021. The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week. Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win. “It means a lot for me to play the final here and win,” said Nadal. “I improved my level during the week and this trophy means a lot.” Nadal redeemed himself after a surprise quarter-final exit in Monte Carlo, but the three sets dropped en route to the title represented the most in any of his wins here. “It’s an everyday job, accepting the challenge, staying humble when sometimes you don’t play as well and you have to fight to find solutions every day.” No man has won more matches this year than Tsitsipas (26) but the 22-year-old has lost all seven finals at the ATP 500 level. “Rafa, bravo. How many is that, 28? 28 Barcelona titles is not bad,” joked Tsitsipas. “I’m really jealous. But you’ve earned it. You’re one of the biggest competitors in our sport, I’m sure you know that.” Second seed Tsitsipas, a Roland Garros semi-finalist in 2020, had won all 17 sets on clay this season and entered the final unbeaten on the surface in nine matches. The Greek built up a 4-2 lead in the opening set after breaking Nadal in the third game but dropped his serve twice in succession as the 20-time Grand Slam champion hit back to win four games in a row. Fifth-ranked Tsitsipas, who won just three games when the pair met in the 2018 final, again procured an early break in set two but Nadal responded to haul himself level at 3-all. Nadal failed to convert two match points as Tsitsipas clung on to hold when trailing 5-4, with the Spaniard saving three break points in the very next game. Nadal took a 4-2 lead in the tiebreak but the momentum swung back towards Tsitsipas as he won four straight points, blowing two set points before forcing a decider at the third attempt after a double fault from his opponent. In sharp contrast, the third set went on serve without a single break opportunity until Tsitsipas edged to within a point of the title with Nadal on the ropes serving at 4-5. Nadal survived though and finally converted his fourth break chance in the following game, snuffing out a Tsitsipas break point in the final game before clinching his 61st clay-court title. His 12 Barcelona victories are second only to his 13 Roland Garros trophies. More on this topic Related Story Tennis: Rafael Nadal knocked out of Monte Carlo Masters by Andrey Rublev Related Story Tennis: Nadal, Djokovic miss the 'energy' with no fans in stands
MIAMI (AFP) - Poland's Hubert Hurkacz defeated Italian teenager Jannik Sinner in straight sets to win the Miami Open and claim the first ATP Masters title of his career on Sunday (April 4). The 26th-seeded Hurkacz, who had eliminated four higher-ranked players en route to the final, held his nerve at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium to win 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in 1hr 43min. It was a deserved victory for the 24-year-old from Wroclaw, who claimed his second title of the season as Sinner's challenge unravelled with a series of unforced errors. "It feels unreal, so happy that I was able to play a good match today," Hurkacz said. "Jannik is an amazing competitor. I'm so proud of myself that I was able to beat him." Hurkacz, whose win earned him a message of congratulations Polish President Andrzej Duda, said he hoped the tournament win would be a launchpad for more victories. "It gives me extra motivation and extra belief in myself, that I've won a really big title," he said. "It motivates me to be a better player so I can win even more." Sinner meanwhile expressed disappointment that he had been unable to take full advantage of the absence in Miami of the men's "Big Three" - Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - by crowning a successful tournament with victory in the final. "Today is a tough day, to be honest, because losing the final here for me is not easy," Sinner said. "I came here with the mentality to win. We knew that Rafa, Roger, Novak were not playing," he said. "I think it was a big opportunity for many players." Sinner had started slowly, being broken with his first service game to quickly find himself trailing 3-0 in the opening set. However the talented 19-year-old grew in confidence as the set progressed, working Hurkacz around the court with some pinpoint forehands into the corners. The Italian broke back in the fifth game and then held to make it 3-3, before another break of Hurkacz's serve gave him a 6-5 lead and the chance to serve for the set. Sinner appeared to tighten on serve, though, and another unforced error, sending a backhand long, allowed Hurkacz to break back at 6-6 and force the tie break. Hurkacz quickly raced into a 6/2 lead in the decider and although Sinner clawed it back to 6/4, another missed forehand handed Hurkacz the first set. Hurkacz carried that momentum into the second set, sprinting into a 4-0 lead with a double break. With the match slipping away from him, Sinner rallied to pull the score back to 4-3 but was unable to break an increasingly jittery Hurkacz in the eighth game to leave the Pole 5-3 up. After Sinner held for 5-4, Hurkacz once again benefited from unforced errors by his opponent at key times as he served for the championship. An overhit forehand by Sinner set up match point, and on the next point the Italian's attempted forehand down the line drifted wide to seal Hurkacz's win.
MIAMI (AFP) - Naomi Osaka returned to action for the first time since winning the Australian Open with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic in her opening match at the Miami Open. The Japanese star, ranked second in the world and seeded second in the ATP and WTA hardcourt event behind top-ranked Ashleigh Barty, looked a little rusty in her first match since lifting her fourth Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Gusting wind on Grandstand Court at the Hard Rock Stadium made things even more difficult against the 77th-ranked Tomljanovic, who pushed Osaka throughout. Thirteen aces helped Osaka overcome a slew of unforced errors and set up a third-round meeting with either Yulia Putintseva, the 26th seed from Kazakhstan, or Serbian qualifier Nina Stojanovic. After a nervy exchange of breaks in the first two games, Tomljanovic broke in the fifth game of the first set to gain the edge and saved a break point in the eighth to give herself a 5-3 lead. After a strong service game, Osaka played a flawless return game to breaking Tomljanovic at love and level the set at five games apiece. She saved another break point with an ace in the next game as they proceeded to the tiebreaker, Osaka giving herself a set point with an ace and converting on her first opportunity. Tomljanovic had Osaka on the defensive again early in the second set, but the second seed battled back from 0-40 down to hold her first service game. Osaka broke for a 5-4 lead - aided by Tomljanovic's double-fault on break point - but had to save a break point herself in the next game before sealing the match on her first match point when Tomljanovic netted a service return. "It's my first match since Australia and I was feeling a bit nervous so I just wanted to play well," Osaka said. "I'm happy I was able to get it done in two. I'm not sure if it was nerves or just I'm a bit rusty but my decision making on some shots was kind of questionable. "But I think overall I learned as the match was going on." More on this topic Related Story Tennis: Top-ranked Barty saves match point in Miami win while Halep rallies Related Story Tennis: Venus Williams dumped out of Miami Open first round