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

Rybakina wins Italian Open; Rune to play Medvedev in men’s final
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina poses with her trophy after winning the final match of the Women's WTA Rome Open tennis tournament against Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina at Foro Italico in Rome on Saturday. (AFP)
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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.”


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 to clash with Ukraine’s Kalinina in Rome final

Rybakina to clash with Ukraine’s Kalinina in Rome final
Updated 20 May 2023

Rybakina to clash with Ukraine’s Kalinina in Rome final

Rybakina to clash with Ukraine’s Kalinina in Rome final
  • The 6-2, 6-4 comeback from the Kazakh sent Rybakina into her fourth major final of the season
  • Kalinina pointedly refused to shake hands with her defeated Russian Kudermetova opponent and made no apologies for the snub

ROME: Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina fought from 4-1 down in the second set to overhaul Jelena Ostapenko on Friday to reach the final of the Italian Open.

The 6-2, 6-4 comeback from the Kazakh sent Rybakina into her fourth major final of the season after the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.

She will bid for the trophy on Saturday against Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine, who reached the second WTA final of her career with a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 defeat of Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova.

The winner then gave a shout out to her country, invaded by Russia last year, as she moved into the title match at the Foro Italico.

“It’s absolutely important to try and win every match, (considering) what Ukraine is going through,” she said.

“I hope I can give a small light and maybe some positive emotions to my country.”

Rybankina will need a quick turnaround after winning a rain-interrupted semifinal in just under one and three quarter hours, aided by 33 unforced errors from 2017 Roland Garros champion Ostapenko.

The second-set fightback sealed victory for Rybakina on her first match point as her opponent dumped a volley into the net.

“It was not easy at all with the starting and stopping,” the winner said. “I need to recover for the final.”

Everyone knows how good Anhelina is, we are also good friends — if you can say that (in tennis).

“It will be a tough match for sure. I think of course I’m more consistent, there are still a lot of things to improve.

“But I’m happy that physically I can maintain and stay in the tournament till the end.

Rybakina was pleased with her second-set turnaround.

“I didn’t start that well, I was a bit low in energy. Lost my serve. So it was difficult.

“Then a few good shots from her, good serves — it changed very quickly.

“I just tried to focus on every point and got the break back and served really well after that.”

Earlier, Kalinina pointedly refused to shake hands with her defeated Russian Kudermetova opponent and made no apologies for the snub.

“We didn’t shake hands because the girl is from Russia basically. It’s no secret why I didn’t shake, because this country actually attacked Ukraine,” she said.

“This is sport, but it’s also kind of a politician thing. It’s nothing personal. But in general, yes, it’s not acceptable.”

Kalinina will be the lowest ranked finalist at the tournament since 1986 and will rise to her equal career-high ranking of 28th.

It took her nearly three hours to go through in a match played 72 hours after she won another marathon in the quarter-finals.

“I don’t feel my legs, I’ve played so much tennis last couple of days — all three-setters,” the winner said.

“I’m barely walking but I’m happy to be able to go through.”

The Ukrainian dominated the third set after a back-and-forth battle in the earlier chapters on the clay.

Kalinina saved eight break points over two games in the first set before finally taking a 4-3 lead with a break to love.

Kudermetova stayed in touch, delivering two aces to trail 4-5, with Kalinina subsequently broken as she tried to serve out the set.

But the Ukrainian came good on a second chance, winning it 7-5 after 66 minutes thanks to 18 unforced errors from her opponent.

The second set began with a pair of love holds before Kudermetova handed over a break for 3-2 to Kalinina from a long forehand.

The Ukrainian, who lost her only previous WTA final two years ago in Budapest, was broken to love while serving for the match, with a recharged Kudermetova taking a 6-5 lead.

She quickly captured one more game after winning 16 straight points to throw the match into a deciding third set.

Kudermetova saved three break points but fell short on a fourth to lose serve in the opening game of the third set as she went down to defeat.


Novak Djokovic loses to Holger Rune, again, this time at Italian Open

Novak Djokovic loses to Holger Rune, again, this time at Italian Open
Updated 18 May 2023

Novak Djokovic loses to Holger Rune, again, this time at Italian Open

Novak Djokovic loses to Holger Rune, again, this time at Italian Open
  • Rune, who also defeated Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in November, gave the Serb fits with his rapid court coverage
  • In the women’s tournament, Jelena Ostapenko beat Paula Badosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach her first semifinal on clay

ROME: Novak Djokovic sees a bit of himself in Holger Rune.

The 20-year-old Danish player is solid in nearly every area: A great mover and super fit physically, he’s strong off both his forehand and backhand, has good hands and is an aggressive returner.

Perhaps that’s why Rune has now recorded two victories over Djokovic in little more than six months, beating the 22-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 Wednesday to reach the Italian Open semifinals.

Rune, who also defeated Djokovic in the Paris Masters final in November, gave the Serb fits with his rapid court coverage. He made his opponent hit extra balls on points that Djokovic thought he had already finished off.

Djokovic said the consistently damp conditions at the Foro Italico this week were challenging for him.

“In these kind of conditions, it’s very difficult to get the ball past him,” Djokovic said. “He’s very, very fast, very quick. Great anticipation. Just a very talented, dynamic player, all-around player.

“He was just better. He played too good for me for most part of the match,” Djokovic said. “He kept his nerves and deserved to win.”

Unlike the win in Paris, which was a breakthrough moment for Rune, this one felt like a confirmation.

“If it’s working against Novak, it works against almost anybody,” Rune said of his performance.

The 35-year-old Djokovic didn’t appear at his best physically early on and called for a trainer after holding for a 2-1 lead in the second set. It wasn’t immediately clear what the issue was but it appeared that Djokovic swallowed a pill that the trainer gave him.

Djokovic recently returned after three weeks off because of a lingering issue with his surgically repaired right elbow. He’s preparing for the French Open, which starts in 11 days.

“I know I can always play better,” Djokovic said. “I always like my chances in Grand Slams against anybody on any surface, best-of-five.”

Rune, meanwhile, is boosting his credentials as a Grand Slam contender after a solid season on clay that included a runner-up finish in the Monte Carlo Masters, a title in Munich, and now a semifinal spot in his first main draw appearance in Rome.

“I want to win a Grand Slam this year,” Rune said. “I hope it can be achieved at the French Open. If not, I hope to make it in the other two Grand Slams.”

Djokovic stormed out to a 5-2 lead in the second but Rune rallied back, winning a 34-shot rally with a sublime backhand drop-shot winner to set up a late break.

Rune also called for a trainer late in the second set to have his right leg treated. The match was then suspended because of rain with Rune serving to stay in the set at 4-5, 0-30.

After a suspension of more than an hour, Djokovic won two straight points to break Rune’s serve and take the second set. But Rune then broke Djokovic’s serve twice early in the third.

Djokovic committed 35 unforced errors to Rune’s 15, with 22 of those coming on his forehand.

Djokovic has won the Italian Open six times, including last year, and failed to reach the final only once in eight previous editions — when he was beaten by Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in 2018.

Nadal, who holds the record of 10 titles in Rome, is not playing as he remains hampered by a nagging hip injury, leaving his status for Roland Garros in question.

With Djokovic eliminated, an 18-year streak of either him or Nadal playing in the Rome final ends.

Djokovic will also lose the No. 1 ranking to Carlos Alcaraz, another 20-year-old player, next week — even though Alcaraz was beaten by 135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round on Monday.

Rune’s semifinal opponent will be Casper Ruud, who beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (5), 6-4.

In the women’s tournament, Jelena Ostapenko beat Paula Badosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach her first semifinal on clay since winning the 2017 French Open. Ostapenko was then going back out on court to play in the doubles quarterfinals with partner Lyudmyla Kichenok.

In another quarterfinal, two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek was up against Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Rune got into a heated exchange with the chair umpire about a disputed call during the second set. When the umpire refused to change the call despite Rune saying that the mark on the clay showed that Djokovic’s shot was out, he lost his cool.

“Do you get punished when you make mistakes? You don’t. So please respect the player,” Rune said to the umpire, Mohamed Lahyani. “It’s an absolute joke.”

As Rune’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, motioned from the stands for his player to calm down, Rune then said to nobody in particular, “It’s always the umpire who makes me look like the bad guy.”

Afterward, when Rune was asked about the dispute, he said: “Apparently I was right because I saw the Hawk-Eye after the match and it was out.”

He also took issue when he was asked about his reputation as the game’s “bad boy.”

“I don’t see myself as the bad boy at all,” he said. “I play with a lot of passion and energy when I’m on the court. ... I don’t know why that should be a bad boy thing, to play with energy on the court. A bad boy thing is to break rackets and stuff like this. If I remember well, I don’t break a racket when I play.”


Nadal to reveal French Open decision, amid injury concerns

Nadal to reveal French Open decision, amid injury concerns
Updated 17 May 2023

Nadal to reveal French Open decision, amid injury concerns

Nadal to reveal French Open decision, amid injury concerns
  • The 22-time Grand Slam winner has battled to recover from a hip injury he sustained in January at the Australian Open
  • "If he plays or not and the reasons either way will only be communicated tomorrow," said a spokesman for Nadal on Wednesday

BARCELONA, Spain: Rafael Nadal will announce if he will compete in the French Open on Thursday, amid a long-term injury struggle and some Spanish reports that he will withdraw.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner has battled to recover from a hip injury he sustained in January at the Australian Open, not playing since then.
“If he plays or not and the reasons either way will only be communicated tomorrow,” said a spokesman for Nadal on Wednesday.
Nadal will speak at 4pm local time (1400 GMT) on Thursday at his Rafa Nadal academy in Mallorca.
The Spaniard, 36, pulled out of the Barcelona and Madrid Open tournaments among others in the run-up to Roland Garros, and earlier in May confirmed he would not participate in the Italian Open.
The French Open, which he has won on a record 14 occasions, starts in Paris on May 28.
Nadal’s struggles with fitness over the past couple of years have created wider doubts concerning his career. He has competed in just four matches in 2023, winning only once.
Earlier in May, Nadal said his injury situation had improved with a new treatment, but not sufficiently to be able to play in Rome this week.