World Tennis Discussion @ CG

[cek mek molek]

This is her biggest win since triumphing at the US Open in 2021.

Raducanu reaches Indian Wells third round​

This is her biggest win since triumphing at the US Open in 2021.

12 Mar 2023, 7:15am

Emma Raducanu’s win marks her first back-to-back victories since September. (AP pic)

INDIAN WELLS: Emma Raducanu knocked out Polish 20th seed Magda Linette 7-6(3), 6-2 on Saturday to reach the third round of Indian Wells and notch her biggest win since triumphing at the US Open in 2021.

The 20-year-old Briton fell into a 4-1 first set hole but rallied from there, dictating points with her forehand to push Linette deep into the court.



She sealed the win by whipping a forehand winner down the line to bring the fans to their feet on a warm and windy day in the Southern California desert.



The win marked Raducanu’s first back-to-back victories since September and is a hopeful sign that she may be moving beyond the multiple health issues that have beset her of late.

She suffered an ankle injury in the lead up to January’s Australian Open, tonsillitis that forced her to withdraw ahead of last week’s Austin Open and a flaring up of the wrist injury, which had cut short her 2022 season and required attention from a physiotherapist on Saturday.

“I’d say I feel more positive about my game today,” Raducanu told reporters.

“The first day I didn’t really know what was going on. Today I felt pretty decent out there, especially with the conditions. It was really windy and I did well to overcome it.”

She will next face either Czech Katerina Siniakova or Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Elsewhere, Czech Karolina Muchova scored an impressive 7-6(1), 6-3 win in her tournament debut over two-time champion Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Czech Marketa Vondrousova crushed her compatriot, the 28th-seeded Marie Bouzkova, 6-1, 6-1.



On the men’s side, Italian 11th seed Jannik Sinner beat Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-6(2), eighth seed Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada was a 7-6(5), 6-4 winner over Spain’s Pedro Martinez and Jack Draper won an all-British battle against 24th seed Dan Evans 6-4, 6-2.

 

[cek mek molek]

She will be facing unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

Swiatek powers past Raducanu and into quarterfinals at Indian Wells​

She will be facing unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
15 Mar 2023, 2:08pm

Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning a game against Emma Raducanu. (AP pic)

INDIAN WELLS: World number one Iga Swiatek continued her Indian Wells title defence with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Emma Raducanu on Tuesday to set up a quarterfinal against unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

Swiatek came under pressure early in the opening set but some clean ballstriking helped her hold for a 3-2 lead after two tight service games. She raised her level further to break Raducanu in the next game before pulling away.



Having wrapped up the first set when Raducanu sent a shot long from the baseline, Swiatek grabbed an early break in the second to heap the pressure on the Briton, whose unforced errors began to mount.

Swiatek, bidding to become only the second female player to successfully defend the Indian Wells title after Martina Navratilova in 1990-91, raced to a 5-1 lead playing flawless tennis and running her opponent ragged.

The US Open champion closed out the win when Raducanu struck the net on serve in a tame end to her fine run in the Southern California desert.

Earlier in the day, Coco Gauff rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and reach the quarters for the first time.

After taking the first set, the sixth-seeded American began to struggle with her forehand in the second and an opportunistic Peterson applied the pressure by coming into the net.

But after suffering an early break in the decider, Gauff stepped up her defence, fending off three break points at 4-4 and breaking Peterson for a fourth time on match point to book her spot in the last eight.

Gauff, who turned 19 on Monday, was later serenaded with a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ by the crowd.
“Today, it was just a mental thing, staying in the match,” Gauff said.

“I wasn’t playing my best in some moments and wasn’t serving as well as I’d like to, but I think my mentality kept me in today.”


‘Disaster’
Next up for Gauff is a meeting with Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who survived a second-set scare to beat 16th seed Barbora Krejcikova 6-3 2-6 6-4.

Sabalenka sent down 11 aces in the match to secure victory and get revenge on the Czech, who beat her at last month’s Dubai Tennis Championships.

Elsewhere, seventh seed Maria Sakkari outlasted big-serving Czech Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in a two-hour and 45-minute match to reach the quarters.

With the win the Greek keeps alive her hopes of capturing a first Indian Wells crown after making the final last year.
Sakkari will next face Czech 15th seed Petra Kvitova for a semi-final spot, after the two-times Wimbledon champion saved four match points en route to a 6-2 3-6 7-6(11) win over third-seeded American Jessica Pegula.

“I play for these emotions,” Kvitova said.

“The match was up and down, a disaster at times. I knew Jessica will not miss, but I still had to go for it. I think this might be one of the best matches I played …”

Cirstea bagged her first top-five win since 2017 in Beijing as the 32-year-old battled past fifth seed Caroline Garcia 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina beat Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 6-0 and will next take on Karolina Muchova, who overcame Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4.

 

[cek mek molek]

The Kazakh will be out for revenge against Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her in the Australian Open final.

Rybakina knocks out Swiatek to reach Indian Wells final​

The Kazakh will be out for revenge against Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her in the Australian Open final.

18 Mar 2023, 11:10am

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan reacts after defeating Poland’s Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 6-2 at the BNP Paribas Open. (AP pic)
INDIAN WELLS: Elena Rybakina knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2, 6-2 semifinal victory at Indian Wells on Friday to set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Two months after Rybakina knocked Swiatek out of the Australian Open in the fourth round, the Wimbledon champion once again put in an impressive display against the world number one.



Rybakina was in control from the start, breaking early to take a 2-0 lead, before going on to clinch the first set when Swiatek produced a double fault on set point.

Swiatek tested Rybakina’s serve in the first game of the second set, but the Kazakh held under pressure and then won the next four games to take a 5-0 lead.

The Pole saved a break point to hold and avoid a bagel before breaking to further reduce the arrears, but Rybakina broke back immediately to extinguish the comeback and secure the win.

“I really played well today, it was a really nice atmosphere tonight,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview.
“I didn’t expect I would play that well today. I had nothing to lose, I just wanted to enjoy. I think it was one of my best matches this season.”

Rybakina will be out for revenge when she faces Sabalenka, who defeated her in the Australian Open final in January. The Belarusian leads 4-0 in their head-to-head.

“It was really close, we had so many battles and so far I’m losing, but hopefully that will change,” Rybakina added.

Earlier on Friday, Australian Open champion Sabalenka was not at her best in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Greece’s Maria Sakkari, but maintained her composure even when her old nemesis — the double fault — reared its ugly head on a sunny day in the Southern California desert.

“In the past I lost so many matches like that after a few not super smart mistakes,” said Sabalenka.

“I was reminding myself that it is okay to make mistakes. I’m not a robot, I’m a human. I can miss those shots, and probably that’s why I was able to keep fighting and keep trying.”

After the start of the match was delayed by more than 30 minutes to fix an audio issue related to the electronic line-calling system, Sabalenka cracked an ace out wide to open the match.

She broke Sakkari for a third time on an errant Sakkari forehand to capture the first set but the Belarusian’s frustration began to mount in the second when two double faults gave Sakkari a look at break points at 2-2.

Sabalenka regrouped to hold for 3-2 and broke Sakkari in a lengthy deuce game for a 4-2 advantage she would not relinquish, pouncing on a short return of serve on match point and burying the ball with an emphatic backhand.

 

[cek mek molek]

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has not played since January. #FMTNews #FMTSports

Injured Nadal out of Rome as doubts over future increase​

The 22-time Grand Slam winner has not played since January.

06 May 2023, 9:35am

Rafel Nadal has competed in just four matches in 2023, winning only once. (AP pic)

BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal yesterday withdrew from next week’s Rome tournament, casting serious doubts over his fitness for the French Open as well as potential questions over the rest of his career.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner has not played since suffering a hip injury at the Australian Open in January.



In all, he has competed in just four matches in 2023, winning only once.



The French Open, which the 36-year-old has won on a record 14 occasions, starts in Paris on May 28.

Nadal said his injury situation has improved in the past few days but not sufficiently to be able to compete next week in the Italian capital where he has been champion 10 times.

“You all know how much it hurts me to miss another of the tournaments that have marked my professional and personal career,” wrote Nadal on Instagram.

‘No choice’
“Although I have noticed an improvement in the last few days, it has been many months without being able to train at a high level and the process of readjustment takes a certain amount of time, and I have no choice but to accept that and continue working.”

The 22-time Major winner – he shares the men’s record with Novak Djokovic – had originally thought he would be out for up to two months.



He pulled out of hard-court tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami, with his sights set on a return at the start of the clay-court season, but it did not come to fruition.

Nadal had to withdraw from Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, before eventually adding Rome, the final French Open warm-up event, to the list.

World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz said he hoped his compatriot would return to compete at Ronald Garros at his best level.

“It’s a shame to see Rafa miss the tournaments and the clay court tour, which is the most special to him,” Alcaraz told a news conference yesterday, after reaching the Madrid Open final.

“Health comes first and if he’s decided not to go to Rome, he will have seen that he was not ready.

“I hope to see him at Roland Garros 100%. The world wants to see him at 100%.”



Nadal has been plagued by a succession of problems with his ankles, knees, elbow, wrists and now his hip which has also contributed to him losing his spot in the world top 10 for the first time in 18 years.

In his career, which has stretched over 20 years, the Spaniard has missed 11 Grand Slams and withdrew mid-tournament at the Majors five times.

When Nadal claimed a 14th French Open by thrashing Casper Ruud in the 2022 final, he revealed he had required daily pain-killing injections in his foot just to see out the two-week event.

He then underwent a radical surgical procedure, having the nerves burned in his foot to eradicate the pain.
Nadal then swept into the Wimbledon semifinals but an eagerly-anticipated showdown with Nick Kyrgios was shelved after the Spaniard failed to recover from an abdominal strain.

Fast forward to this year’s Australian Open where he was hampered by a hip problem during his shock second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald.



It was his earliest exit from a Slam since 2016.

For Nadal, it was familiar territory.

A left foot problem caused him to miss Wimbledon, the US Open and the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and Nadal did not return until the build-up to the 2022 Australian Open, which he went on to win for the second time, 13 years after his first.

But after losing to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final, the Spaniard had to skip the start of the clay-court season in Monte Carlo and Barcelona with a rib stress fracture.

‘It hurts always’
Many pundits consistently predicted Nadal would struggle to enjoy a long career due to his gruelling style of play but he proved them wrong time and again.



His first injury-enforced absence came as a 16-year-old in 2003 when he hurt his elbow in a fall during training and had to miss the French Open.

He has been forced to sit out at least one tournament in every year of his career.

Despite missing so many events, Nadal’s will to win has still seen him lift 92 titles and win 1,068 matches on tour.
“It hurts as always,” said Nadal after his defeat to McDonald in Australia.

“But in the end, the glass is getting fuller,” he added in Spanish, a phrase that means getting fed up or reaching your limit.

 

[cek mek molek]

The French Open
May 22–Jun 11, 2023

View attachment French-Open-Sponsors-French-Open-Brand-Partners-French-Open-Advertisers-French-Open-Investors...webp

 

[cek mek molek]

#NSTsports Novak Djokovic swept into the French Open quarter-finals for the 14th straight year on Sunday as world number one Carlos Alcaraz breezed past Lorenzo Musetti.
#FrenchOpen #CarlosAlcaraz #NovakDjokovic

Djokovic, Alcaraz into French Open quarters as showdown looms​

By AFP - June 5, 2023 @ 8:23am

Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts after his celebrates his victory over Peru's Juan Pablo Varillas during their men's singles match on day eight of the Roland-Garros Open tennis tournament at the Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

PARIS: Novak Djokovic swept into the French Open quarter-finals for the 14th straight year on Sunday as world number one Carlos Alcaraz breezed past Lorenzo Musetti to stay on a collision course with the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

Third seed Djokovic ended the surprise run of Peruvian outsider Juan Pablo Varillas, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, and has yet to drop a set through four matches.

The Serb, chasing a third Roland Garros crown, is into a record 17th French Open quarter-final after making the last eight at a major for the 55th time.

"I'm proud of it, but my attention is already in the next match," said Djokovic, who faces Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-finals, where Alcaraz could await.



"I know what my goal is here. I'm trying to stay mentally the course and of course not look too far.

"Obviously the performance of today gives me a great deal of confidence about how I felt, about how I played."

Varillas, 27, was the first player from Peru to reach the second week of a Grand Slam since Jaime Yzaga made the US Open quarter-finals 29 years ago.

Djokovic raced 4-0 ahead in the opening set only for Varillas to break in the next game and then have a chance to get back on serve in the seventh game.

But once Djokovic held for a 5-2 lead it was plain sailing for him as he closed out victory in just under two hours.
Khachanov made his third successive Grand Slam quarter-final after he recovered from a bad start to overcome Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), 6-1.

Djokovic holds an 8-1 record against Khachanov, winning their only previous meeting at the French Open in 2020.
Alcaraz looked every part the tournament favourite as he dismantled the talented Musetti in straight sets to return to the French Open last eight.

Musetti had not lost a set in three rounds but Alcaraz brushed the Italian 17th seed aside in barely two hours, triumphing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to avenge last year's defeat on clay in the Hamburg final.

"I think I played such a great level, really high quality of shots. I played a really complete match from the first ball until the last and I'm pretty happy to get through this tough round," said Alcaraz.

The 20-year-old faces a tough next assignment in 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, who eased past Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 7-5, 6-3, 6-0.

"The clash we've been all waiting for," said Tsitsipas, the Greek fifth seed who has lost all four meetings with Alcaraz. "I think everyone was expecting it, weren't they? And it's here. It's game on."

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his fourth round match against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti. (REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne)

Aryna Sabalenka beat 2018 finalist Sloane Stephens 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 in a topsy-turvy encounter in the night session – the first women's match to feature in the primetime slot this year.

Australian Open champion Sabalenka surged into a 5-0 lead in the opener but Stephens saved four set points as she reeled off five games on the bounce to level.

Second seed Sabalenka eventually edged the tie-break and again held off Stephens in a tight second set to continue her best run in Paris.

The Belarusian goes into a politically-charged duel with Elina Svitolina who, playing her first Grand Slam since becoming a mother, reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time.

The Ukrainian defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) for a seventh win in seven meetings against the Russian who was a semi-finalist last year.

As with all her matches, Svitolina opted not to shake hands with her Russian opponent in protest at the war in Ukraine. Belarus is also a key military ally of Moscow.

Kasatkina still gave her rival a friendly thumbs-up.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up, rallied from a set and a break down to dump out Belgian 28th seed Elise Mertens 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.

The Russian, whose ranking has plunged to 333 after a serious knee injury, is the lowest-ranked Grand Slam quarter-finalist in the tournament's history.

Pavlyuchenkova will take on Karolina Muchova for a place in the last four after the Czech saw off lucky loser Elina Avanesyan 6-4, 6-3. -- AFP

 

[a b c d e f]

Dia ada minuman rahsia rupanya

 

[cek mek molek]

Men single

 

[cek mek molek]

ladies single

 

[cek mek molek]

Gauff to face Swiatek in last eight at French Open​

Coco Gauff is relishing a rematch with world No 1 Iga Swiatek.
06 Jun 2023, 6:32am

Iga Swiatek reached the French Open quarterfinals when her Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired unwell. (AP pic)

PARIS: Last year’s French Open runner-up Coco Gauff overcame an early wobble in windy conditions to outclass Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 and make the quarterfinals where she will face holder Iga Swiatek in a rematch of the 2022 final.

Poland’s top seed Swiatek set up the blockbuster meeting when her ailing fourth-round opponent Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine retired while down 5-1 in the first set after she called the physiotherapist and had her blood pressure checked.



Gauff won her previous clash with Schmiedlova in Madrid last year, dropping only two games, and the American made a quick start again with a break in the opening game to pull away and leave her 100th-ranked opponent facing an uphill task.

But 28-year-old Schmiedlova, playing in the second week of a major for the first time, mounted a late fightback from 5-2 down in gusty conditions to draw level only to squander her chance and allow sixth seed Gauff to edge a tense first set.

“Today was honestly a difficult match, as every match is. But the wind was something that, I don’t know, I wasn’t really that prepared for it going in,” Gauff said of conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“The one side was gusting like really crazy. Usually, I like to play in the wind, to be honest, but it wasn’t something I was prepared for. Overall I’m happy with how I played.”

The 19-year-old tightened her grip in the second set, working the angles and deploying the drop shot to devastating effect as she closed out the win without any more drama.

Gauff is relishing a rematch with world No 1 Swiatek.

“Since last year, I’ve been wanting to play her especially at this tournament,” the American said shortly before Swiatek went through after just 31 minutes.

“I figured it (a meeting) was going to happen, because I figured I was going to do well and she was going to do well … if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.

“If you want to improve, you have to play the best. The way my career has gone so far, if I see a level and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve. You don’t really know what you have to improve on until you see that level.”