Serena's gone, Open must go on: Kvitova, Pegula set rematch
Much like for so many other folks, Serena Williamsโ 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 Saturdayโs schedule and set up a fourth-round showdown.
Barty goes distance, tops Azarenka to reach Miami quarters
Ashleigh Barty of Australia, returns to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Monday, March 29, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI โ Ash Barty is tough to beat under any circumstances, especially when sheโs on the ropes. The worldโs top-ranked player has reached the Miami Open quarterfinals, getting there by holding off 14th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-1, 1-6, 6-2. This, too, was cool: The match lived up to its showdown potential, with the reigning Miami Open champion and current world No. 1 in Barty facing someone who has won the Miami title three times and a previous world No. Svitolina will play unseeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the quarters; Sevastova was a 6-1, 7-5 winner over wild-card Ana Konjuh of Croatia.
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.
The Latest: Shapovalov edges teenage Sinner in 1st round
The 10th-seeded Frenchman is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, but he can't seem to win anywhere at the moment. ___4:55 p.m.U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem has moved into the second round at the Australian Open, where he was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic a year ago. Thiem had been 0-3 in Grand Slam finals until emerging for the championship at Flushing Meadows in September. The first tournament of this yearโs Grand Slam season began after a three-week delay because of the coronavirus pandemic. Serena Williams begins her latest bid for a 24th Grand Slam singles title in the following match against Laura Siegemund.
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 โ 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.
Zverev beats Auger-Aliassime in Cologne to end title wait
COLOGNE โ Alexander Zverev ended his 17-month wait for a title by drawing on the pain of his U.S. Open final defeat to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 and win the Cologne Indoors on Sunday. Zverev has said he thinks almost constantly about that final, and he credited it with raising his game in Cologne. Zverev's previous title was at the clay-court Geneva Open in May 2019 and he is now 12-8 in career finals. The second Cologne tournament was already holding qualification matches before Sunday's final in the first tournament took place. It will feature Zverev and U.S. Open quarterfinalist Denis Shapovalov, while former top-ranked player Andy Murray has withdrawn citing tendonitis.
The Latest: Dimitrov in French's 4th for 1st time; foe sick
But he had been 0-4 in the third round at the French Open until now. ___4:20 p.m.Fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the fourth round at the French Open for the second year in a row. The 22-year-old has now upset seventh-seeded Matteo Berrettini to storm into the fourth round with a 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win. That many men havenโt gone that far on their debuts at Roland Garros since four debutants made the last 16 in 1994. ___1:10 p.m.Andrey Rublev advanced to the French Open fourth round with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win against the unseeded South African Kevin Anderson.
'17 French Open champ Ostapenko wants more; Shapovalov upset
2 seed Karolina Pliskova at the French Open on Thursday, the conversation quickly turned to 2017. And just, like, the world doesnโt stop with winning only one Grand Slam. Thatโs not very different from where she was three years ago in Paris, ranked 47th and just two days past her 20th birthday when she became an impossible-to-predict Grand Slam champion. Pliskova, who came into the French Open dealing with a leg injury, was not the most gracious foe after Thursdayโs loss. The first time Iโm in the third round in a Grand Slam.
The Latest: Carballes Baena reaches 3rd round for 1st time
Shapovalov committed 106 unforced errors in the match compared to 42 for Carballes Baena and twice served for the match. The Canadian also had more winners than Carballes Baena with 65 to the unseeded Spaniard's 31. Carballes Baena sank to his knees after Shapovalov hit a forehand long and let out a loud shout of delight. Carballes Baena will next play 18th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. Pliskova's twin sister, Kristyna, was also playing a former French Open champion when she faced 2016 winner Garbiรฑe Muguruza.
Zverev erases 2-set deficit at US Open for 1st Slam final
Zverev constructed quite a comeback, getting his game in gear to beat a fading Carreรฑo Busta 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 and reach the title match at Flushing Meadows. It was an inadvisable strategy against a human wall like the 20th-seeded Carreรฑo Busta, who might not do much spectacularly but certainly does everything solidly. Itโs not as if Carreรฑo Busta was impeccable. Before the start of the fifth set, Carreรฑo Busta took a medical timeout and got his back worked on by a strainer, something he did at the same stage of his marathon quarterfinal victory over Denis Shapovalov. This time, it was Zverevโs surge that continued, undeterred when Carreรฑo Busta twice hit balls right at him during points in the fourth set.
The Latest: American Brady advances to US Open semifinals
Jennifer Brady, of the United States, serves to Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, during the quarterfinals of the US Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times EDT):___1:30 p.m.American Jennifer Brady has become this year's first U.S. Open semifinalist by beating Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-2. The quarterfinals at the U.S. Open are underway, with American Jennifer Brady facing No. Brady, seeded 28th, is the first former college player to reach the women's quarterfinals at the Open since Gigi Fernandez in 1994. In the other women's match Tuesday, two-time major champion Naomi Osaka will play American Shelby Rogers, who is ranked 93rd.
Thiem OK with how many of Big 3 are in US Open (hint: zero)
Dominic Thiem, of Austria, returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the fourth round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in New York. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. He is 0-3, losing twice to Nadal at the French Open and to Djokovic at the Australian Open this February. Thats all of his $250,000 prize money for reaching the fourth round, plus $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and an additional $7,500 for skipping his post-match news conference. On Monday, she extended her stay in her comeback event, beating Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the fourth round.
Imperious Djokovic wins 5th Paris Masters and 77th title
Novak Djokovic of Serbia greets Denis Shapovalov of Canada, left, after winning the final match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2019. Still, the odds were heavily stacked against the 20-year-old Canadian, who was appearing in his first Masters final. "It was my best serving performance of the tournament," Djokovic said. "It was tough for me to find a groove just because he was really picking his spots on the serve," Shapovalov said. As Shapovalov's unforced errors resurfaced in the seventh game, Djokovic broke him again for a 4-3 lead.
Injury blights Nadal at Paris Masters; Djokovic into final
Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts as hje making a point against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov during their semifinal match of the Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS Injury blighted Rafael Nadal again as he pulled out of his Paris Masters semifinal on Saturday, meaning top-ranked Novak Djokovic will go for his fifth title at the indoor tournament against Denis Shapovalov. The same injury forced Nadal out just before the start of last year's tournament at Bercy Arena and ended his season. Earlier, Djokovic reached his sixth Paris Masters final beating Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (5), 6-4. His injury last year ensured Djokovic ended as No.