Medvedev books place in ATP Finals semis, Alcaraz back on track

Daniil Medvedev plays a forehand return to Germany's Alexander Zverev during their round-robin match at the ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin on Nov. 15, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 16 November 2023
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Medvedev books place in ATP Finals semis, Alcaraz back on track

  • Medvedev has a long-running rivalry with Zverev, the pair not getting on off-court, and he has now prevailed in five of their six matches this season

TURIN: Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the last four of the ATP Finals on Wednesday after beating Alexander Zverev 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Carlos Alcaraz cruised past troubled Andrey Rublev to get his campaign up and running.

World No. 3 Medvedev had to win in straight sets to claim a spot in the semifinals in Turin with a match to spare and he saw off big-hitting German Zverev in a stodgy Red Group encounter.

He faces Carlos Alcaraz, a 7-5, 6-2 winner earlier in the day, in his final match and has the world No. 2’s last-four hopes in his hands.

“I hope that I feel well tomorrow and ready to fight because this tournament is tricky,” said Medvedev.

“I’m into the semis but you want to keep the rhythm and against Carlos... if we play at night you don’t want to finish 7-6 in the third (set) at midnight. I just hope I can show my best tennis.”

Medvedev has a long-running rivalry with Zverev, the pair not getting on off-court, and he has now prevailed in five of their six matches this season.

One of those wins came on his way to his surprise triumph at the clay-court Italian Open back in May, one of five titles won by Medvedev this year.

The 2020 champion looks in fine form despite Wednesday’s match being his 82nd this year and will cause serious trouble to whoever he faces in the next round.

Zverev, a two-time winner at the season-ending tournament, would have qualified from the Red Group with a win of either sort following Alcaraz’s earlier victory.

The 26-year-old hit more aces and winners than Medvedev but still ended up on the wrong side of the result after throwing away his service game to save the match.

Zverev can still make it through though and in his final match will face a dejected Rublev, who is yet to win a set at the Pala Alpitour.

World No. 2 Alcaraz has had problems with his form and fitness over the past few months and was staring at possible early elimination after losing his first match with Zverev.

But he looked in much better condition on Wednesday and comfortably claimed his first ever win in the season-ending tournament, snapping a three-match losing streak to boot.

“I’m really happy to show this level and realize that my level is still there, giving myself a chance in this tournament,” Alcaraz told reporters.

“After this win, everything has changed in my mind.”

The 20-year-old easily dealt with Russian Rublev who once again failed to make his mark in a big match with one of tennis’ leading lights, and lost control of his emotions after giving away a service game at the start of the second set.

Being one set and a break down was too much for the 26-year-old who then repeatedly smashed his racket into his left knee, drawing blood, and soon after gave into his anger and promptly collapsed just as he did in his opening defeat to long-time friend Medvedev.

Afterwards Rublev brushed off the assault on his own limb as “nothing” but then admitted that he is struggling emotionally with what has been a hard end to the season.

On Thursday Jannik Sinner will try to become the first Italian to reach the semifinals when he takes on Holger Rune in the tight Green Group.

Straight-set victories over now-retired Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic might not be enough to secure a spot in the next round.

And Sinner faces Rune who only had to play three games against Tsitsipas who dropped out with injury.

Sinner meanwhile prevailed on Tuesday in a three-hour thriller with Djokovic, who plays Tsitsipas’ replacement Hubert Hurkacz with his last-four spot also still in the balance.


Olympic champion Zheng wins in Tokyo for third title of year

Updated 27 October 2024
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Olympic champion Zheng wins in Tokyo for third title of year

  • The win extended world No. 7 Zheng’s impressive run of form this year
  • She also won in Palermo and finished runner-up in Wuhan and at the Australian Open

TOKYO: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen won the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Sunday for her third title of the year, beating Sofia Kenin 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the final.

China’s Zheng, the tournament’s top seed, kept her cool to edge a tight first set despite two rain delays, before pressing home her advantage to take the second comfortably.

The win extended world No. 7 Zheng’s impressive run of form this year after she became the first Chinese player to win an Olympic singles tennis gold when she triumphed in Paris.

She also won in Palermo and finished runner-up in Wuhan and at the Australian Open.

Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, was in doubt after retiring from her doubles semifinal on Saturday with a leg injury.

The American played the final with heavy strapping on her upper leg but showed no outward signs of discomfort.

It was world No. 155 Kenin’s first final of 2024.

She was looking to end a title drought that stretches back more than four years.

Neither player was allowed to get into a rhythm early in the match as rain twice brought play to a halt in Tokyo.

The roof was eventually closed and Zheng edged ahead with the slimmest of margins to take the first set in a tiebreak.

Backed by a large contingent of Chinese fans, the 22-year-old took control of the second set early.

She hit a total of 16 aces in the match and closed it out when Kenin hit a return long.


Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin advances to the WTA tournament final in Tokyo

Updated 26 October 2024
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Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin advances to the WTA tournament final in Tokyo

  • American Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open in 2020 and was a French Open finalist the same year

TOKYO: Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin has advanced to the final of the Pan Pacific Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over ninth-seeded Katie Boulter on Saturday.
Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020 and was a French Open finalist the same year, broke the British player’s serve in the seventh game of the second set and the American served out to win the match for her best tournament performance of the season.
Later, No. 1 seed and Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen was scheduled to play Diana Shnaider for a place in Sunday’s final against Kenin.
The 25-year-old Kenin was ranked as high as No. 4 early in 2020, but a series of injuries, including ankle and quadricep ailments, has seen her WTA ranking drop to its current 155.
Boulter, ranked 33rd, had not lost a set during the Tokyo hard-court tournament.
Kenin beat Boulter in the only other time they have played but it was when Boulter retired with an injury in the second set while trailing 4-1 to Kenin after losing the first set in Acapulco in 2019.
Boulter beat 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu on Friday in the quarterfinals.


Maria Sharapova and the Bryan brothers are elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Updated 25 October 2024
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Maria Sharapova and the Bryan brothers are elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame

  • Sharapova won at least one championship at each of her sport’s four most prestigious events, making her one of 10 women in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam
  • She was the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings
  • The Bryan brothers also compiled a career Grand Slam and spent 438 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings

NEW YORK: Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion known for plenty of on-court grit and off-court attention, and Bob and Mike Bryan, twins who won a record 16 major titles in men’s doubles together, are first-ballot selections for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

The Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall announced the Class of 2025 on Thursday.

Sharapova won at least one championship at each of her sport’s four most prestigious events, making her one of 10 women in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam, and she was the first Russian woman to reach No. 1 in the WTA singles rankings. She retired in 2020 at age 32 after a career that included 15 years in the spotlight, a 15-month doping ban and multiple operations on her right shoulder.

In a message posted on social media, Sharapova called herself “incredibly grateful to receive this honor.”

The Bryan brothers also compiled a career Grand Slam and spent 438 weeks at No. 1 in the ATP doubles rankings. They won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and helped the United States win the 2007 Davis Cup title; Bob is currently the captain of the American team that will go to Malaga, Spain, for next month’s finals to compete for the country’s first triumph in that competition since then.

Mike Bryan — he’s right-handed, and his brother is a lefty — is the career leader with 18 major men’s doubles trophies overall; he got two with Jack Sock while Bob was injured in 2018.

“We are truly humbled and grateful to receive this honor. Though making it to Newport was never our goal, being included among so many of our idols and role models is incredibly special,” Bob Bryan wrote in a text message to The Associated Press on Thursday. “Mike and I continue to be best friends, and we feel lucky to have been able to ride this tennis rollercoaster together.”

Sharapova became an instant star when she won her first major title at Wimbledon in 2004 at age 17 by beating Serena Williams in the final, then collected the trophies at the US Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014.

Sharapova helped Russia win the team competition now known as the Billie Jean King Cup in 2008, and she claimed a silver medal in singles at the 2012 Olympics, losing to Williams in the final.

All the while, Sharapova earned millions of dollars more in endorsement deals than prize money.

“There are a couple of sides of me,” Sharapova said in an interview with the AP in 2006, shortly before she won the title at Flushing Meadows. “There’s the Maria that’s a tennis player. There’s the Maria that is a normal girl. And there’s the Maria who’s a businesswoman. And that’s where the ‘Maria Sharapova brand’ comes into play.”

At the 2016 Australian Open, Sharapova tested positive for the newly banned drug meldonium and initially was handed a two-year suspension. After appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Sharapova was given a reduced penalty when it was determined that she bore “less than significant fault” in the case and could not “be considered to be an intentional doper.”

The Bryans and Sharapova will be inducted in August.

“We are thankful to so many people who supported us along the way, and we look forward to sharing this moment with them next year,” Bob Bryan wrote. ”Our parents created a magical environment at their club and made tennis fun for us. They helped us fall in love with the game, so tennis never felt like work; it was always play.”

Daniel Nestor, a Canadian who won 12 Grand Slam titles in men’s or mixed doubles, did not receive the 75 percenet of the vote required to qualify for the Hall in balloting among members of the media, historians, Hall of Fame members, industry experts and fans. This was his third — and final — year as a candidate.


Wawrinka outlasts Mannarino at Swiss Indoors and Rublev advances

Updated 24 October 2024
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Wawrinka outlasts Mannarino at Swiss Indoors and Rublev advances

  • Playing in front of a home crowd, the 39-year-old Wawrinka earned his first win over Mannarino after having lost to the Frenchman three times
  • Two-time defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-1

BASEL, Switzerland: Stan Wawrinka became the oldest match-winner in the Swiss Indoors tournament history when he outlasted Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 on Wednesday.

Playing in front of a home crowd, the 39-year-old Wawrinka earned his first win over Mannarino after having lost to the Frenchman three times.

Wawrinka will next face 22-year-old Ben Shelton for a spot in the quarterfinals.

Also Wednesday, top-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (3), 6-1 to reach his 13th quarterfinal of the season.

Roberto Bautista Agut beat second-seeded Casper Ruud 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Two-time defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Sebastian Baez 7-5, 6-1.

David Goffin and Pedro Martinez also advanced.


Austria’s Grand Slam winner Thiem ends career cheered on by home crowd

Updated 23 October 2024
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Austria’s Grand Slam winner Thiem ends career cheered on by home crowd

  • Thiem: I would really like to thank you for all the sensational years, because of course I am only a part of this all, the whole career
  • Throughout his career, Thiem won 17 career titles and more than $30 million in prize money

VIENNA: Austria’s Dominic Thiem, a former US Open champion, was swept aside 6-7 (6-8), 2-6 by Luciano Darderi at the Vienna Open on Tuesday, ending his career on home ground after battling a long-term wrist injury.

Earlier this year, Thiem had announced his retirement from tennis, giving up on his fruitless struggle to fully recover from the injury he sustained in 2021.

On Tuesday evening, his Italian rival, 22-year-old Darderi, did not seem to dominate at first, winning the first set in a tie-break.

But the world No. 42 gained steam as the match progressed, beating an ever more loudly grunting Thiem 6-2 in the second set.

“I would really like to thank you for all the sensational years, because of course I am only a part of this all, the whole career,” Thiem told the cheering crowd after the match.

“A huge thank you to everyone for their support over the years. The whole journey was an absolute dream,” he said to his almost 10,000 fans, which celebrated him with standing ovations.

Former world No. 3 Thiem, who is currently ranked 318th, needed a wildcard to play at the ATP 500 in Vienna.

The 31-year-old Austrian’s career has nose-dived since his crowning moment in 2020 when he beat Alexander Zverev in the COVID-affected US Open final behind closed doors.

Back then it appeared that he was finally poised to challenge the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

However, his career took a turn for the worse in mid-2021 when he suffered serious ligament damage competing in Mallorca, and was forced to sit out the rest of the year.

He played just two Slams in 2022 and his ranking fell to outside the top 100 for the first time in over a decade.

Heading into his final ATP tournament on Tuesday, Thiem, who went pro in 2011, had won just two main draw matches all year.

Throughout his career, Thiem won 17 career titles and more than $30 million in prize money.

Over the weekend, current and former tennis players including Zverev — who Thiem faced one last time for fun on court — and Boris Becker paid tribute to the Austrian in a farewell party attended by thousands of fans at Vienna’s Stadthalle.

Video messages by Djokovic, Nadal and Federer were shown on Sunday, with many praising Thiem for his good vibes and camaraderie.