Kvitova wins Miami Open, beating Rybakina

Kvitova wins Miami Open, beating Rybakina
Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, kisses her trophy after she beat Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, during the women's singles finals of the Miami Open tennis tournament, Saturday, April 1, 2023, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP)
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Updated 02 April 2023

Kvitova wins Miami Open, beating Rybakina

Kvitova wins Miami Open, beating Rybakina
  • Czech Kvitova, appearing in her first Miami final at the age of 33, triumphed 7-6 (16/14) 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium

MIAMI GARDENS, United States: Petra Kvitova drew on all her experience to claim her 30th WTA singles title with a straight sets Miami Open victory over Elena Rybakina on Saturday.
Czech Kvitova, appearing in her first Miami final at the age of 33, triumphed 7-6 (16/14) 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium, a victory which will return the veteran to the top 10 in the world rankings.
Rybakina came into the final on a career-best 13-match winning streak after winning the title at Indian Wells and was looking for the rare ‘Sunshine Double’ of both WTA Masters events.
It was a tight, serve-dominated battle until Kvitova broke to go 5-4 up but Rybakina, who represents Kazakhstan, immediately broke back.
The tie-break was a thrilling 22-minute, 28-second, 30-point shoot-out in which two-time Wimbledon Kvitova saved five set points to emerge triumphant from when Rybakina returned to the net.
Kvitova took that momentum into the second set, breaking early to go 2-0 up and from then on she never looked like letting her opponent, 11 years her junior, back into the contest.
Rybakina couldn’t convert a break point in the next game and then she herself was broken again when serving to stay in the match at 5-2 down.
Kvitova, who has now won 30 of 41 career finals, said the tie-break had turned the contest in her direction.
“I’m still surprised. I think the tie-break really decided the whole match in the end...it was probably the longest in my career and somehow I managed it,” she said.
“(She hit) so many aces at the beginning of the tie-break, I was like oh my God, I couldn’t even play, so it was a little difficult,” added Kvitova, who now has nine WTA 1000 titles.
“I had to slowly serve it out very well today and I am glad I made it in the end but to be honest I have no idea how I did it,” she added.
Kvitova won 78 percent of her service points (52 of 67) and finished with 29 winners to 14 unforced errors
Rybakina fired 12 aces in the match and became the first player since Serena Williams at 2016 Wimbledon to hit 10 or more aces in six consecutive matches in a single tournament.
The ATP final on Sunday features Russia’s Daniil Medvedev against Italian Jannik Sinner, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s semifinal.


Alcaraz, Djokovic face brief trouble late in straight-set victories at French Open

Alcaraz, Djokovic face brief trouble late in straight-set victories at French Open
Updated 30 May 2023

Alcaraz, Djokovic face brief trouble late in straight-set victories at French Open

Alcaraz, Djokovic face brief trouble late in straight-set victories at French Open
  • Before the start of the tournament, Djokovic called Alcaraz the logical pick to take the trophy
  • Part of the group of past Grand Slam champions who won Monday were Stan Wawrinka and Sloane Stephens

PARIS: Pretty much everyone expects to see, and likely wants to see, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic face each other in the French Open semifinals. There’s work to be done first, of course, and both began their journeys at Roland Garros with straight-set victories Monday against opponents making Grand Slam debuts.

These were supposed to be straightforward chances to ease into the clay-court tournament for the two popular picks to win the men’s trophy — and it turned out that way, other than a brief late blip for each.

Djokovic, a 22-time major champ seeded No. 3, was up first in Court Philippe Chatrier, facing 114th-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic, a 24-year-old from New York.

Djokovic served for the victory at 5-4 in the third set but got broken there. Not surprisingly, he quickly righted himself and won 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1).

“Made me work for my victory,” Djokovic said.

“I played really well and held things under control for 2 1/2 sets and then lost my serve and things got a little bit on a wrong side for me,” said the 36-year-old Serb, who can break the men’s mark for most Slam titles he currently shares with Rafael Nadal, the 14-time French Open winner sidelined by a bad hip. “But I managed to hold my nerves and played pretty much a perfect tiebreak.”

Next came Alcaraz, a one-time major champ seeded No. 1, in Court Suzanne Lenglen, facing 159th-ranked qualifier Flavio Cobolli, a 21-year-old from Florence, Italy.

Alcaraz held three match points to close things at 5-3 in the third set but couldn’t convert, then found himself at 5-all minutes later. Not surprisingly, he quickly righted himself and won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.

Before the start of the tournament, Djokovic called Alcaraz the logical pick to take the trophy, given his recent form on clay: 21-2 as of Monday, with three titles.

Hard to argue.

On the other hand, Djokovic also noted that he loves the best-of-five-set format of majors and not-so-accidentally mentioned the 22-1 gap in such championships.

Other seeded men advancing on Day 2 in Paris included No. 12 Frances Tiafoe, No. 14 Cam Norrie, No. 15 Borna Coric, No. 18 Alex de Minaur, No. 19 Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 26 Denis Shapovalov. Among the seeded women moving into the second round: No. 5 Caroline Garcia, No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia, No. 20 Madison Keys and No. 22 Donna Vekic.

Seeds on the way out included No. 12 Belinda Bencic and No. 16 Karolina Pliskova in the women’s bracket and No. 10 Felix Auger-Aliassime and No. 25 Botic Van de Zandschulp in the men’s.

Part of the group of past Grand Slam champions who won Monday were Stan Wawrinka and Sloane Stephens.

Wawrinka edged Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-7 (2), 1-6, 6-4 across more than 4 1/2 hours, while 2017 US Open title winner Stephens defeated two-time major finalist Pliskova 6-0, 6-4.

“One of the big reasons why I keep playing is to relive those emotions. It was special today again to be here, a lot of support, a lot of fans here. It helped me a lot today to stay in the match and to keep fighting for it,” said Wawrinka, a 38-year-old whose three major titles include the 2015 French Open but has dealt with a series of injuries in more recent years. “If I can stay five more minutes on court, I will do it.”


French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz ready to get started at Roland Garros

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz ready to get started at Roland Garros
Updated 29 May 2023

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz ready to get started at Roland Garros

French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz ready to get started at Roland Garros
  • Djokovic begins his bid to break the men’s record he currently shares with Rafael Nadal by earning Grand Slam trophy No. 23
  • Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain ranked No. 1 who won the US Open in September, faces Flavio Cobolli

PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, two men expected to go far at the French Open, make their 2023 Roland Garros debuts on Monday against a pair of opponents who never have played a Grand Slam match.

Alcaraz, a 20-year-old from Spain ranked No. 1 who won the US Open in September, faces Flavio Cobolli, an Italian who is ranked 159th. Djokovic, who won two of his 22 major championships in Paris, takes on Aleksander Kovacevic, an American ranked 114th.

Asked to compare the Alcaraz of today to the Alcaraz of a year ago, his coach, 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, began by saying: “As a person, I would say he’s more mature.”

And then Ferrero added: “As a player, I think he grows up, like, super fast on the court. He can, let’s say, read the matches a little bit better.”

Djokovic begins his bid to break the men’s record he currently shares with Rafael Nadal by earning Grand Slam trophy No. 23. Djokovic also can become the only man with at least three titles from each major.

Other major champs on the Day 2 schedule include Sloane Stephens, Petra Kvitova, Jelena Ostapenko, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem.

Play begins at 11 a.m. local time in Paris, which is 5 a.m. EDT, everywhere except the main stadium, Court Philippe Chatrier, where the first match — 2017 US Open champion Stephens against two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova — is scheduled to start at 11:45 a.m. local time, which is 5:45 a.m. EDT. Djokovic-Kovacevic will be next on that court. Alcaraz-Cobolli is the third match at Court Suzanne Lenglen, so could begin around 4 p.m. local time, which is 10 a.m. EDT.

WHAT HAPPENED SUNDAY?

A handful of seeded players exited: No. 8 Maria Sakkari, No. 21 Magda Linette, and No. 29 Zhang Shuai from the women’s draw; No. 20 Dan Evans and No. 30 Ben Shelton from the men’s. The day’s biggest news, though, emerged from a straight-set victory for No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. That’s because her opponent, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, did not shake hands at the net — something she has consistently avoided doing with players from Russia and Belarus since those countries began the war in Ukraine more than a year ago. The crowd, seemingly unaware of why Kostyuk avoided Sabalenka after the match, booed and whistled.

GET CAUGHT UP

What you need to know about the year’s second Grand Slam tennis tournament:

- Nadal is not here

- Djokovic can break a tie with Nadal by winning Slam No. 23

- Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina split past four major titles

- Alcaraz, Djokovic drawn to meet in the semifinals


Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits

Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits
Updated 27 May 2023

Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits

Djokovic says ‘part of me will leave’ when Nadal quits
  • Djokovic shares the all-time men's record of 22 Grand Slam titles with Nadal but can break that tie by winning the French Open for a third time
  • Nadal, the 14-time champion in Paris, is sitting out Roland Garros with a hip injury

PARIS: Novak Djokovic admitted Saturday that when career-long rival Rafael Nadal retires next year “part of me will be leaving too.”
Djokovic shares the all-time men’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles with Nadal but can break that tie by winning the French Open for a third time.
Nadal, the 14-time champion in Paris, is sitting out Roland Garros with a hip injury. With his 37th birthday fast approaching, the Spaniard has admitted that 2024 will likely be his final year on tour.
“When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of his career, I felt part of me is leaving with him too,” said Djokovic.
“It made me think about my career and how long I’m going to play.
“I’m not going to make any announcement today, but just reflecting on it. I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.”
Djokovic holds a 30-29 career edge over Nadal but the Spanish star has been the superior force at Roland Garros with eight wins in the pair’s 10 meetings.
“I don’t like seeing him in the draw of Roland Garros, to be honest,” added Djokovic.
“I have had not so much success against him in our head-to-head. I have managed to beat him twice, but I had to leave my heart and my guts out on the court to achieve that.”
Should Djokovic add the 2023 French Open title to his wins in 2016 and 2021, he will not only break the Grand Slam tie with Nadal in the men’s record books.
He would also go level with Serena Williams’s 23 and be just one short of the overall record for men and women in the sport — the 24 Grand Slams held by Margaret Court.
“It’s no secret that one of the main reasons I play today and compete in professional tennis is to try to break more records and make more history in tennis,” said Djokovic.
“That’s extremely motivating and inspiring for me. History being on the line is something that is very flattering.”
Despite his two titles at Roland Garros, Djokovic insists current world number one Carlos Alcaraz is favorite to add a maiden Paris crown to his US Open triumph.
The 20-year-old Spaniard, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, has titles on clay in Buenos Aires, Madrid and Barcelona this spring.
By comparison, Djokovic failed to get beyond the last eight in any of his clay tournaments with his progress hampered by the recurrence of an elbow injury.
“He’s No. 1 in the world, and he’s a player that won big titles on clay this season. So right now he is the biggest favorite regardless of the fact that he has one Grand Slam and I have 22.”
Djokovic and Alcaraz are seeded to meet in the semifinals of the French Open which starts Sunday.
Alcaraz will start his campaign against Italy’s world number 159 Flavio Cobolli.
Djokovic, meanwhile, will take on 114th-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States who will be making his main draw bow at the major.


‘OK if she hates me’: Sabalenka faces no Ukraine handshake at French Open

‘OK if she hates me’: Sabalenka faces no Ukraine handshake at French Open
Updated 26 May 2023

‘OK if she hates me’: Sabalenka faces no Ukraine handshake at French Open

‘OK if she hates me’: Sabalenka faces no Ukraine handshake at French Open
  • World number two Sabalenka knows that Kostyuk will refuse to shake hands after their first round match at Roland Garros
  • Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Belarus's two-time Grand Slam title winner and former world number one Victoria Azarenka at last year's US Open in New York

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka said Friday that “it’s OK if she hates me” as the Belarusian star braced to face Ukraine rival Marta Kostyuk in a highly-charged French Open showdown.
World number two Sabalenka knows that Kostyuk, an outspoken critic of tennis authorities over their handling of players from Russia and their Belarusian allies in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, will refuse to shake hands after their first round match at Roland Garros.
“If she hates me, OK. I can’t do anything about that,” said 25-year-old Sabalenka.
“There are going to be people who love me; there are going to be people who hate me. If she hates me, I don’t feel anything like that to her.”
Kostyuk refused to shake hands with Belarus’s two-time Grand Slam title winner and former world number one Victoria Azarenka at last year’s US Open in New York.
They agreed to touch racquets instead at the net at the end of the match.
“If I could I would stop the war,” said Australian Open champion Sabalenka.
“And about the no shaking, I can kind of understand them. Like I imagine if they’re going to shake hands with Russians and Belarusians, then they’re gonna get so many messages from their home countries.
“So I kind of understand why they are not doing it. At the same time, I feel like sports shouldn’t be in politics. Like we’re just athletes. If they feel good with no shaking hands, I’m happy with that.”
Sabalenka defeated Kostyuk in Dubai in February 2022, just one week before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.
Last week in Rome, Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina refused to shake hands with Veronika Kudermetova after beating the Russian in the semifinal.


Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune to play Medvedev in men’s final

Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune to play Medvedev in men’s final
Updated 21 May 2023

Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune to play Medvedev in men’s final

Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune to play Medvedev in men’s final
  • Rybakina earned her biggest tournament win on clay
  • The 20-year-old Rune rallied past Casper Ruud and Medvedev beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the men’s semifinals

ROME: Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina won the Italian Open when Ukrainian opponent Anhelina Kalinina retired due to a left thigh injury early in the second set of the rain-delayed final on Saturday.

Rybakina was leading 6-4, 1-0, 15-0 when Kalinina called for a trainer and grasped her left leg as she teared up. She then decided she couldn’t continue.

The final began at almost 11 p.m. on Saturday and ended just after midnight on Sunday.

“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t play,” Kalinina said during the trophy ceremony as the crowd whistled after waiting under the rain for hours before the night session started. “I was trying to do my best.”

Holger Rune will face Daniil Medvedev in the men’s final on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Rune rallied past Casper Ruud 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 and Medvedev performed a little celebratory dance after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-5 in a semifinal that was suspended twice in the first set for a total of nearly 4 ½ hours due to rain.

Rybakina earned her biggest tournament win on clay. Her only other title on the surface was in Bucharest in 2019.

It’s been quite a year for Rybakina, who reached the final of the Australian Open, also won an elite title in Indian Wells and was the runner-up in Miami. On Monday, she’ll move up to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings and will be considered a contender at the French Open, which starts next weekend.

The 47th-ranked Kalinina was playing in the biggest final of her career, and has been dedicating her performances to her war-torn country.

Kalinina’s family home was destroyed in a Russian attack last year. Also, her elderly grandparents have had to relocate from the southern city of Nova Kakhovka — which is held by Russian forces — to Kyiv. Kalinina’s parents work as tennis coaches in Kyiv and she said on Friday there was a “huge, huge bomb near them, near their academy” a few days ago.

Rybakina was born in Moscow and has represented Kazakhstan since 2018, when that country offered funding to support her tennis career.

Kalinina spent more than four hours longer on court than Rybakina entering the final, having won the longest match on the women’s circuit this season — 3 hours, 41 minutes against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals. She also required three sets to beat Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova in an emotionally charged semifinal.

Rune, who eliminated six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, improved to 7-1 in his career against players ranked in the top five.

“I play some of my best tennis when I play the top guys of the world,” Rune said. “You need it against those players.”

Making the final marked quite a turnaround for Medvedev, who lost his opening match in Rome in his three previous appearances. If he beats Rune, Medvedev will return to No. 2 in the rankings and thus be seeded second for the French Open, which starts next weekend.

It will be just the second clay-court final for Medvedev, and first since 2019.

He celebrated with a little dance after converting his first match point more than six hours after the match started.

“It’s like being in the club completely drunk. When you are dancing — and I have a lot of friends like this — you feel like you are the god of the dance floor. But then when they show you the video it was not the thing,” Medvedev said. “So I don’t know how did it go but I was just happy to be in my first clay Masters final.”

Medvedev embraced the challenge of the delays: “Sometimes it can throw you off, you can be a little bit angry. Today, I don’t know why, I was just kind of laughing.”

The seventh-ranked Rune was down a set and a break before he overcame Ruud, who had won all four of their previous meetings.

“It’s crazy. I really played some of my best tennis, especially the last two matches, first against Novak and then against Casper,” Rune said. “Two so difficult players to play, so I had to find my best tennis. And I actually didn’t find it today, only at the end.”

It will be Rune’s third clay-court final this season after losing to Andrey Rublev in Monte Carlo and beating Botic van de Zandschulp in Munich.

“He plays very fearless, takes the ball early, which is really impressive to do on clay,” Ruud said. “It’s not very typical to sort of do too well on clay because you have some wrong bounces. ... A couple times I played heavy, he just went on the rise, hit the clean winner back.”

The semifinal was filled with memorable points as both players routinely ran down drop shots and rushed back and forth across the baseline.

“There were some great rallies,” Ruud said. “It was a fun match to play.”