PARIS: Iga Swiatek played like the current No. 1 and the two-time defending champion at the French Open. No surprise there. That Naomi Osaka looked like the former No. 1 that she is — and on clay, no less — amounted to an announcement that she is still quite capable of elite tennis.
Surging down the stretch as Osaka faded, Swiatek saved a match point and grabbed the last five games to sneak her way to a 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 victory in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday night in a thrill-a-minute contest befitting two women who both own four Grand Slam titles.
“For sure, this match was really intense. Much more intense for the second round than I ever expected. For sure, I’ll be more ready next time,” Swiatek said. “Naomi played amazing tennis. … I’m happy that she’s back and she’s playing well.”
For Swiatek, this extended her Roland Garros winning streak to 16 matches as she pursues a third consecutive trophy at the clay-court major. For Osaka, who cried when she left the court after letting a 5-2 lead in the concluding set slip away, this amounted to a return to her big-hitting best.
They went back-and-forth for nearly three hours as rain loudly pelted the outside of the closed roof at Court Philippe Chatrier — showers forced the postponements of 23 singles matches until Thursday — and a riveted, if hardly full, crowd alternated their support between the two players. Sometimes, spectators called out before a point was done, prompting admonishment from chair umpire Aurélie Tourte during the match. And from Swiatek afterward.
“Sometimes, under a lot of pressure, when you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really, really hard to be focused,” Swiatek said. “The stakes are big and there is a lot of money here to win. So losing a few points may change a lot. So please, guys, if you can support us between the rallies but not during, that would be really, really amazing.”
Osaka served for the victory at 5-3 in the final set, and was a point away from winning, but she put a backhand into the net. Soon, when Osaka missed another backhand, this one long, Swiatek finally converted a break point on her 10th chance of that set, and they played on.
Maybe the lack of high-level matches caught up to Osaka, because her mistakes continued to mount, including a double-fault that put Swiatek in control 6-5. Swiatek, who has led the WTA rankings for nearly every week since April 2022, then held serve one last time.
“I don’t necessarily feel like I regret anything,” Osaka said.
Still, this was, without a doubt, Osaka’s top performance since she returned to the tour in January after 15 months away while becoming a mother. (Her daughter, who is 10 months old now, accompanied Osaka to Paris and recently started walking.)
“I was watching Iga win this tournament last year, and I was pregnant. It was just my dream to be able to play her,” Osaka said. “When I kind of think of it like that, I think I’m doing pretty well. And I’m also just trying not to be too hard on myself. I feel like I played her on her better surface. I’m a hard-court kid, so I would love to play her on my surface and see what happens.”
Because of the weather, only nine matches were completed Wednesday, and winners included Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur, Sofia Kenin, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev.
It’s been a few years since Osaka played this capably and confidently, hammering big serves at up to 122 mph (197 kph) and imposing groundstrokes. Her quick-strike capabilities were on full display: Osaka won 82 of the 139 points (59 percent) that lasted four strokes or fewer, and she finished with a 54-37 advantage in total winners.
All of those familiar mannerisms were back, too. She turned her back to Swiatek to reset between points, hopped in place, tugged at her pink visor’s brim and slapped her palm on her thigh. Osaka celebrated points by shaking a clenched fist and shouting “Come on!”
She grabbed nine of 10 games to dominate the second set and lead 3-0 in the third. Then 4-1. Then 5-2.
As one ball or another would fly past Swiatek, zipped near a corner or right at a line, she turned toward her guest box and shot a look of confusion or concern in the direction of her coach and her sports psychologist.
“I felt for most of the match that I wasn’t really (in the) here and now,” Swiatek said. “My mind was, like, playing around sometimes.”
She’s not used to this sort of one-way traffic coming head-on in her direction. Normally, it’s Swiatek who is delivering lopsided sets at a foe’s expense, especially on clay. She now has won her last 14 matches this month, with titles on the surface at Madrid and Rome — a clay double no woman had done since Serena Williams in 2013.
But this marked a sudden return to the Osaka everyone came to expect, match in and match out, back when she was at the height of her powers, climbing atop the rankings and gathering two trophies apiece at the US Open and Australian Open from late 2018 to early 2021.
It was in May 2021 that Osaka withdrew from the French Open before her second-round match, explaining that she experiences “huge waves of anxiety” before speaking to the media and revealing she had dealt with depression. She took time away from the tour for a mental health break, then opted for another hiatus after her title defense at the US Open a few months later ended with a third-round loss.
She helped usher in a change in the way athletes, sports fans and society at large understood the importance of mental health — and prompted those in charge of various sports, including tennis, to take the issue seriously and try to accommodate and protect them better.
Osaka entered with an 0-4 record on the red stuff against opponents ranked in the top 10 and never has been past the third round at Roland Garros. This also would have been her first win anywhere against a top-10 opponent since January 2020.
Instead, though, it is Swiatek who moves on and continues her bid to become the first woman with three championships in a row in Paris since Justine Henin in 2007-09.
Iga Swiatek saves a match point and comes back to beat Naomi Osaka at the French Open
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Iga Swiatek saves a match point and comes back to beat Naomi Osaka at the French Open
- Surging down the stretch as Osaka faded, Swiatek saved a match point and grabbed the last five games to sneak her way to a 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5 victory
- “For sure, this match was really intense,” Swiatek said
Naomi Osaka wins her first match of new season in a return from injury
- Naomi Osaka beats qualifier Lina Glushko 6-4, 6-4 in a tight contest in her first match since October
- Four-time Grand Slam champion had to deal with a swirling wind on center court and with delays in play
WELLINGTON: Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka made a winning return to the court after an almost three month absence Monday in the first round of the ASB tennis classic in Auckland, undeterred by protests outside the stadium against her Israeli opponent.
Osaka beat qualifier Lina Glushko 6-4, 6-4 in a tight contest in her first match since October when a back injury at the China Open ended her 2024 season.
All the hallmarks of Osaka’s game were present Monday: the powerful serve, forceful ground-strokes particularly from the forehand side and the aggression. She looked relaxed and comfortable on court with no sign of her recent injury.
Osaka had to deal with a swirling wind on center court and with delays in play caused by the chants of a small group of protesters which were clearly audible within the stadium. There was a longer break as Osaka was poised to serve out the first set when Glushko had to leave the court for treatment to a hip injury.
“I just heard a lot of shouting, and then people on the sidelines were telling me there was protests,” Osaka said.
“I had no idea what the score was most of the time. “I just kept trying to tell myself one point at a time and trying not to get discouraged.
“Thankfully it came out in my favor in the end.”
Osaka was supported at courtside by her new coach Patrick Mouratoglou who previously had a long-term association with Serena Williams.
She broke Glushko in the third game of the first set and held comfortably to win 6-4.
The second set was tighter. Osaka broke Glushko in the third game but Glushko converted her only break point of the match to level at 2-2.
Glushko held to love in the seventh game to lead 4-3 but Osaka seemed to step up at that point, held with two aces for 4-4, broke for 5-4 and held serve to love to clinch the win.
Her serve was solid throughout. She sent down seven aces and won 74 percent of first serve points. Her first serve averaged around 180kmh (111mph) and her slice around 140kmh (87mph).
“I think she’s a really amazing opponent. I’ve never played her before,” Osaka said. “It was good to have to scrap a little for the first round.”
Djokovic plans to keep playing for ‘years to come’
- The 24-time Grand Slam champion is beginning a season for the first time without any of the other so-called “Big Four”
Brisbane: Novak Djokovic said Sunday he planned to keep playing for “years to come” — with more tournaments on his schedule in 2025 — as he looks to take down the new guard led by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alzaraz.
The 37-year-old had a disappointing campaign last year by his standards, failing to win a Grand Slam and claiming just one title — Olympic gold in Paris.
He has slipped to number seven in the world and said he wanted to get his ranking back to “where it should be.”
“I’m looking for a good start to the season, I’m looking for more consistency across all the tournaments,” he said as he prepared to play at the Brisbane International this week.
“I’m looking to play more tournaments this year than I played last season, so hopefully also my level is going to go up.
“Hopefully I will win a few more tournaments and my ranking will go up to where it should be.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is beginning a season for the first time without any of the other so-called “Big Four” on the other side of the net following the retirements this year of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.
Roger Federer called it quits in 2022.
As they faded, Sinner and Alcaraz stepped up to become the new Grand Slam kings.
Djokovic, who is targeting an 11th Australian Open title next month and a record 25th Grand Slam crown, said he had no thoughts of retirement despite turning 38 in May.
“The way I’m feeling today, I still think that I can go strong for years to come,” he said.
“But how long I’m going to feel motivated to keep going is unpredictable.
“I still love this sport and I still love competing.”
The Serb, the top seed, starts his campaign against Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata in what will be his first official tournament since losing to Sinner in the final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters in October.
Djokovic will also play doubles alongside Nick Kyrgios, who is making a competitive return after playing just one ATP Tour singles match in two years following knee, foot and wrist injuries.
Swiatek not expecting WADA appeal over doping scandal
- Pole tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine in an out-of-competition sample in August when she was ranked number one
SYDNEY: World number two Iga Swiatek said on Friday she was ready to put a drugs scandal behind her, insisting there was no reason for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to appeal against her case.
The 23-year-old Pole tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August when she was ranked number one.
However, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the violation was not intentional and she escaped with a one-month sanction that saw her miss three tournaments in Asia and lose her top ranking.
News of the saga only emerged in late November and she will play her first tournament since then at the mixed-teams United Cup in Sydney ahead of the Australian Open next month.
Swiatek said that, while the incident had been “mentally tough,” the public response had been generally positive, allaying fears that she would be ostracized.
“I think people, most of them, are understanding,” said the five-time Grand Slam champion.
“And the ones who read the documents and are aware of how the system works, they know that I had no fault and I had no influence on what was going on.
“I try to just go on with my life and focus on different things, focus on preparing for the season and on tennis, because this is the best thing you can do after a case like that,” she said.
Her case is similar to that of Italian men’s world number one Jannik Sinner.
He was exonerated by the ITIA for twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March. But WADA appealed against the decision in September and he is awaiting the outcome.
Swiatek said she does not anticipate WADA will follow the same path with her.
“I gave every possible evidence and there is not much, honestly, more to do,” she said.
“There is no point to do an appeal in our opinion.
“But, you know, I guess overall, this whole process was pretty abstract sometimes and hard to understand from a point of view where you don’t think about the law and everything.
“But honestly, this is about the law and the wording and this kind of stuff. So I’m not expecting an appeal, but I have kind of no influence on what’s going to happen.
“But I can say from the processes that I went through and how they treated me from the beginning, that it seemed fair for me,” she said.
“I managed to give the source (of the contamination) pretty quickly. That’s why the case closed, pretty quickly.”
Rafael Nadal motivated to ‘create beautiful project’ for tennis in Saudi Arabia
- Spanish legend and STF ambassador believes Kingdom’s sports development and youth engagement is moving in the right direction
JEDDAH: Rafael Nadal said he “would really like” to bring his academy to Saudi Arabia but that nothing is yet set in stone, with conversations still in the early stages between his team and tennis officials in the Kingdom.
The former world No. 1 and 22-time Grand Slam champion spent some time in Jeddah last weekend as part of his role as Saudi Tennis Federation ambassador.
Nadal attended the last two days of the Next Gen ATP Finals at King Abdullah Sports City and took part in a host of community activities, including clinics and meet and greets, as he continues to familiarize himself with the tennis ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.
The Rafa Nadal Academy, based in Nadal’s hometown of Manacor in Mallorca, has been expanding to various locations around the globe, with operations in Mexico, Greece and Hong Kong, as well as two bases in the Middle East in Kuwait and Egypt.
Could Saudi Arabia be next?
“We are in conversation, nothing is done. Of course, it will be a great motivation to bring my people here, to create a beautiful project in that matter, where girls, boys, adults, can go and have a place to enjoy, to feel themselves in their club,” Nadal told Arab News.
“But it’s something that is a little bit green and it’s too soon to talk about it. But I know they are in conversation and let’s see what’s going on in the future. But of course, for me, it’s something I would really like.”
Nadal was announced as a new ambassador for the STF in January 2024, and has since made three visits to the Kingdom, including taking part in the Six Kings Slam showpiece in Riyadh two months ago alongside the likes of Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
The 38-year-old Spaniard has visited the Gulf region many times since he made his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut in 2004 and feels a connection with this part of the world.
“I really like the way that the people here treat us every time we come here. In some way, in Spain we have a lot of similarities back in the history. So I enjoyed it,” said Nadal, reflecting on his two decades of visiting the Middle East.
“I enjoyed playing in this part of the world, I had fun, and in general terms, I feel lucky that I was able to know all these places, countries, and because of tennis I was able to know different cultures all around the world and this one I’m happy to learn more and more.”
Nadal sent fans into a frenzy during his meet-and-greet sessions at the Next Gen ATP Finals last weekend, with queues extending from one end of the fan zone to the other, packed with supporters desperate for a signature from the Spanish legend.
He led a children’s clinic on the clay courts at Racquet Space tennis club and attended the trophy ceremony of the U14 ATF tournament staged at the King Abdullah Sports City tennis courts.
He shared some words of wisdom with Saudi Arabia’s Davis Cup team, a group of junior wheelchair tennis players, and some of the up-and-coming ATP stars competing in the Next Gen Finals tournament.
“I am still learning, of course, this is only my third time here. Every time I come, I am able to know a bit more,” Nadal said of his experiences so far in Saudi Arabia.
“I was able to visit the historic old town in Jeddah this time. And I try to receive all the information, to really know the information from the people who really live here, and from the people who live here and are not Saudis, so it’s important to understand how their lives are here, being from a different part (of the world).
“And the message that I received always is really positive. They are very happy, they are following the opening of the country that has witnessed a huge change in the last seven years.”
Nadal added: “Of course nothing can be done from zero to 100 because the culture and the population cannot absorb all these changes in a short period of time. But I am really happy to see young people playing tennis, practicing the sport, and I think it’s the right move.
“Saudi is a very big country, with 35 million people, a very young population that I think having all these great events here encourages the young population here to practice and do sport and that’s great news. Because a sporting community is a healthy community and I really believe the country is moving in that direction and that’s very positive.”
As a long-time friend of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Riyadh club Al-Nassr two years ago, Nadal is hoping to catch up with the Portuguese star in the Kingdom soon.
“I didn’t speak to Cristiano about that, hopefully next time I will be in Riyadh we can be in touch and meet each other,” Nadal said. “The last couple of times I have been here, we didn’t have the chance. But I am sure that in the future we will be together, at some point.”
Nadal officially retired from professional tennis last month at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga and a docu-series detailing the final season of his career is scheduled for release on Netflix in 2025.
A collaborative production between Netflix and Skydance Sports, the docu-series “will include unprecedented access with Nadal throughout his comeback to competitive play in the 2024 season after sitting out much of 2023 due to injury” the streaming platform announced last week.
Skydance founder and CEO David Ellison is one of the producers of the docu-series and the son of billionaire Larry Ellison, who owns the Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament.
“I think it’s going to be something interesting, that people are going to know more about my personal life, my daily life trying to come back. And of course they’re going to know more about my career, even if it’s very well known around, but to know a little bit more from inside, something that has never been talked about before,” Nadal said of the upcoming project.
“So I’m excited to see the final result, we have been working very hard. I always have been a little bit against doing this stuff but a great team like Skydance team and David Ellison called me and presented to me the project and at the end it was a fast decision and it was a big help of the family, the team, the tournaments, the rest of the players accepting that, and I am sure, and I hope that the people will like it.”
Just one month into his retirement, Nadal admits he is still getting used to life without tennis but he knows he will stay close to the sport, be it through his academy, his foundation, his role as STF ambassador, or any other capacity.
Would he consider coaching another player in future?
“You never say never,” the Spaniard said.
“Today it’s too early to think about this kind of stuff. I just need to organize my life. Now I don’t see myself in any project like this, but I don’t know how life is going to be in one, two, three years.”
Game Changers Falcons crowned champions of World Tennis League season 3
- Game Changers Falcons beat TSL Hawks 20-16
- Coach John-Laffnie de Jager lauds team’s spirit
ABU DHABI: Game Changers Falcons clinched the World Tennis League season three title with a hard-fought 20-16 victory over the TSL Hawks at the Etihad Arena on Sunday.
Despite losing the first two sets — women’s doubles and singles — Game Changers Falcons staged a remarkable comeback, dominating the men’s doubles and singles to claim the title.
In a rematch of the season opener, Game Changers Falcons’ Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia began strongly, breaking the opening serve of the match against the TSL Hawks’ Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva.
Despite their stellar performances in the league stage, Sabalenka and Andreeva looked unsettled early on. However, they mounted an impressive comeback as they recovered from a 0-5 deficit to level the score at 5-5.
Rybakina and Garcia then managed to break serve again to regain the lead, but a series of unforced errors allowed their opponents to force a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Sabalenka and Andreeva found themselves trailing once again but displayed remarkable composure to turn the tables and clinch the women’s doubles set 7-6.
Teenage sensation Andreeva carried her remarkable form into the women’s singles against Rybakina. She broke Rybakina’s second and third serves to gain the upper hand and comfortably close out the set 6-2, extending the TSL Hawks’ overall lead to 13-8 in the match.
In the men’s doubles, Game Changers Falcons’ Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov dominated the entire set against the TSL Hawks’ Sumit Nagal and Jordan Thompson. They broke Nagal’s serve twice to maintain the lead and sealed the set 6-2. This win narrowed the overall game tally to 14-15, setting the stage for a thrilling men’s singles.
Rublev held his opening serve to level the overall game tally at 15-15 before winning three consecutive games to take an 18-15 lead. While Nagal managed to pull a game back, Rublev closed the men’s singles set 6-1 to help his team clinch the title 20-16.
“I’ve done team events for a while, and I’ve been very fortunate over the years to have really good people on the team,” Game Changers Falcons coach and captain, John-Laffnie de Jager, said at the post-match press conference.
“They get along well, they’re professional, they show up and at the end of the day, they perform. First time when we played against the Hawks, we were behind, we came back from that point to win it and the same happened tonight.
“So, the format is great, because you are never out and always have a chance to win it. It was an awesome campaign for us, and everybody enjoyed it.”
Game Changers Falcons’ Garcia said: “In tennis it’s not very often you have an opportunity to play in a team setup, and I really enjoyed it. I had a great time knowing a bit more about everyone in the team and looking forward for more fun next year.”
