Djokovic and Alcaraz eye power and glory in Olympic gold medal duel

Update Djokovic and Alcaraz eye power and glory in Olympic gold medal duel
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada during their men’s singles semifinals tennis match, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, on Aug. 2, 2024, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris. (AP)
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Updated 03 August 2024
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Djokovic and Alcaraz eye power and glory in Olympic gold medal duel

Djokovic and Alcaraz eye power and glory in Olympic gold medal duel
  • At 37, Djokovic would be the oldest Olympic tennis singles champion since the sport returned to the Games at Seoul in 1988
  • At 21, Alcaraz would be the youngest of all time

PARIS: Novak Djokovic insists Carlos Alcaraz will be the “favorite” for Olympic gold on Sunday in the latest instalment of tennis’s generational power grab.
At 37, Djokovic would be the oldest Olympic tennis singles champion since the sport returned to the Games at Seoul in 1988.
At 21, Alcaraz would be the youngest of all time.
A win for the Serb would be his first gold medal at the fifth attempt and represent a significant upgrade on the bronze he won at Beijing in 2008.
Victory would also allow Djokovic to become only the fifth player to complete the Golden Slam of all four majors plus an Olympic title.
Only Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf can make similar boasts.
However, Djokovic goes into Sunday’s high-profile clash still bruised by being swept off court by Alcaraz in a one-sided Wimbledon final just three weeks ago.
“I don’t consider myself a favorite because Alcaraz has proven he’s the best player in the world,” said Djokovic pointing to the Spaniard’s rare achievement of winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.
“He won Roland Garros, he won Wimbledon and beat me in the final quite comfortably there.”
Despite his caution, Djokovic is nothing if not fired up for his seventh career clash against the Spanish crowd-pleaser.
In his stormy semifinal win over Lorenzo Musetti, he was warned for swearing and screamed at his support team watching nervously on Court Philippe Chatrier.
He is acutely aware that Paris 2024 is his last chance to finally capture an elusive gold.
“I was thinking about all the semifinals that I lost in the Olympic Games and that’s why I was very tense on the court. I was very nervous, a lot of emotions.”
Djokovic and Alcaraz have made the final without dropping a set while the Serb appeared to have no adverse reaction to aggravating his right knee injury during a last-eight win against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
He also believes he’s a “different player” to the one beaten so badly at Wimbledon.
“In the way I move, the way I’m striking the ball,” explained Djokovic, who has won three of his 24 Grand Slam titles in Paris.
“Not to take anything away from him winning the Wimbledon final, he was dominating and deservedly a winner, but I feel more confident about myself and my chances in the final.”
The two men have met twice on clay with Alcaraz on top in their first meeting in Madrid in 2022 while Djokovic prevailed in the French Open semifinals last year.
Alcaraz suffered body cramps in that loss, a factor he attributed to the stress of facing Djokovic.
Alcaraz is the fourth Spanish man to reach the Olympic men’s final after Jordi Arrese at Barcelona in 1992, Sergi Bruguera in Atlanta four years later and Nadal who won gold at Beijing in 2008.
“I have imagined (winning gold),” admitted Alcaraz. “I have thought about it and visualized it.
“It is something that boosts my mood, that gives me energy to keep going forward, keep learning, and give all my best every day.”
Victory on Sunday would allow Alcaraz to join Graf and Nadal as the only players to win the French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic gold in the same year.
“We are one step closer. I would love to add my name next to Steffi’s and Rafa’s, two legends from sport in general.
“But I will try not to think of every stat, the things I could achieve ... I will try to avoid all that, and keep improving, and give my best, and make Spanish people proud.”


Serena says she would have received 20-year ban if she failed drug tests like Sinner

Serena says she would have received 20-year ban if she failed drug tests like Sinner
Updated 17 April 2025
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Serena says she would have received 20-year ban if she failed drug tests like Sinner

Serena says she would have received 20-year ban if she failed drug tests like Sinner
  • Former world number one Simona Halep was also banned despite denying knowingly taking the banned drug roxadustat

American great Serena Williams said she would have been banned for 20 years and stripped of her Grand Slam titles had she failed drug tests like men’s world number one Jannik Sinner did last year.
Sinner accepted a three-month ban in February following an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which challenged an independent tribunal’s decision to clear him of wrongdoing after two positive tests for the anabolic agent clostebol.
“I love the guy, love this game,” Williams, who retired in 2022 after winning 23 Grand Slam trophies, told Time Magazine.
“He’s great for the sport. I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him.
“(But) if I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest. I would have gotten Grand Slams taken away from me.”
Reuters has contacted Sinner’s team and WADA for comment.
Reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Sinner, whose ban will end on May 4, has always maintained his innocence though his case raised questions about whether he had received preferential treatment from the authorities.
Iga Swiatek’s case also caused some surprise with the women’s world number two accepting a one-month suspension in November after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine.
Former world number one Simona Halep was also banned despite denying knowingly taking the banned drug roxadustat and her four-year suspension was cut to nine months in 2024 after an appeal at sport’s highest court.
Williams also said she took extra care with what she put into her body during her career in case she ingested something that got her in trouble.


Playing elder sister tougher than facing top-ranked players for Mirra Andreeva

Playing elder sister tougher than facing top-ranked players for Mirra Andreeva
Updated 17 April 2025
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Playing elder sister tougher than facing top-ranked players for Mirra Andreeva

Playing elder sister tougher than facing top-ranked players for Mirra Andreeva
  • Mirra had beaten the likes of world No. 1 and 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek en route to the Indian Wells title last month, but the 17-year-old said it was tougher to focus when her elder sister is on the other side of the net
  • Mirra will next play compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16

STUTTGART: Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva has beaten the world’s best players to move up to world No. 7 but on Wednesday she beat a player who had got the better of her for years —  her elder sister Erika.

The Andreeva sisters were drawn against each other at the Stuttgart Open but any hopes of witnessing an absorbing sibling rivalry were put to bed when Erika, 20, was forced to retire with a knee injury while trailing 6-2 1-0.

Mirra had beaten the likes of world No. 1 and 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek en route to the Indian Wells title last month, but the 17-year-old said it was tougher to focus when her elder sister is on the other side of the net.

“For me, 75 percent-80 percent is about my mental preparation, because you’re also not just focusing on yourself and you’re not focusing on how to beat her, but you’re also focusing (on her) — does she feel good? I don’t know,” Mirra told reporters.

“I wonder, how does she feel? What are we going to do after the match? How is it going to be? All those thoughts.

“Me, I don’t just focus on myself, but I also focus on kind of paying more attention to her. This makes the match more difficult for me... To really just focus on myself, it’s almost impossible when I play against her.”

The two had met once before in Wuhan last year where Erika — who is now 90 rungs below Mirra in the rankings — triumphed in straight sets.

Mirra said she knew Erika was struggling with her knee as they are sharing a room, but also revelled in beating her for the first time — even though the victory did not come under ideal circumstances.

“We played a couple of times on the practices when we were younger, and actually, until Wuhan last year, we never ever played an official match. So we were always playing a couple of games on the practices or a couple of tiebreaks,” Mirra said.

“But most of the time, of course she has, like a 90 percent win (record) against me and this is actually the first time I really won a set against her.

“I just know that, of course, if she would feel her 100 percent, the score would be completely different and the match would be different as well. But I’m sure that we have a lot of time to play and to show the great level of tennis.”

She will next play compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16.


Alcaraz caps ‘difficult week’ with first Monte Carlo Masters title

Alcaraz caps ‘difficult week’ with first Monte Carlo Masters title
Updated 14 April 2025
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Alcaraz caps ‘difficult week’ with first Monte Carlo Masters title

Alcaraz caps ‘difficult week’ with first Monte Carlo Masters title
  • It marks a sixth Masters title for Alcaraz and is his most prestigious title since winning Wimbledon last year
  • Alcaraz: Coming here and seeing how the whole hard work has paid off, I’m really happy

MONTE CARLO, Principality of Monaco: Carlos Alcaraz made the best possible start to his preparations for the defense of his French Open title, burning past the Italian Lorenzo Musetti in three sets on Sunday to win his first Monte Carlo Masters.

The 21-year-old Spaniard, already a four-time Grand Slam winner, dropped the opening set but came back hard to take the next two at the cost of a single game as he cleaned up 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, albeit helped by a limping Musetti.

It marks a sixth Masters title for Alcaraz and is his most prestigious title since winning Wimbledon last year.

It was also his first win on clay since winning the French Open last season, although in mitigation he only had one tournament after that when he missed out on gold at the Paris Olympics.

“I’m just really happy to have won Monte Carlo for the first time,” said Alcaraz who lost in his first match on his only previous appearance at the tournament in 2022.

“It’s been a really difficult week with a lot of difficult situations.

“I’m really proud of myself, how I’ve dealt with everything. It’s been a really difficult month for me on the court and outside.

“Coming here and seeing how the whole hard work has paid off, I’m really happy.”

Alcaraz chose not to expand on his difficulties but they may be eased partly by this win which will lift him up to No 2 in the world rankings, ahead of Alexander Zverev but still behind the suspended Jannik Sinner.

However, this was no easy win in chilly conditions against a man playing in his first Masters 1000 final after taking down two top 10 players, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur, to get there.

Musetti dropped his opening service but broke back straight away and took the fight to Alcaraz who, in spite of the odd blissful winner, appeared at odds with his game, making six unforced errors.

The Spaniard bounced back, however, lifting his game as he galloped through the second set 6-1.

That trend continued as Musetti began to have problems with his right leg, receiving treatment when he was 0-3 in the decider.

He battled on but could not live with the intensity or physicality of Alcaraz’s game.

“It is not the way I would have wanted to win a match,” said Alcaraz.

“Lorenzo’s been through a really tough week, long and intense matches.

“I feel sorry for him, one of the best results he has done. To end like this is not easy. Hopefully it’s not serious and he’s 100 percent soon.”

Some consolation for Musetti is a rise to No 11 in the rankings and the promise of more to come on the clay as the season gets underway.

“It was probably one of my best tournaments so far,” said Musetti who took bronze at last year’s Olympics behind Alcaraz and gold medallist Novak Djokovic.

“I’m disappointed I couldn’t finish the match in the best way, for the crowd. You deserve it so I will keep going and try and come back for revenge.”

Both Alcaraz and Musetti will continue their clay court preparations at the Barcelona Open next week in the buildup to the French Open at the end of May.


Ukraine and Spain qualify for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Ukraine and Spain qualify for Billie Jean King Cup Finals
Updated 13 April 2025
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Ukraine and Spain qualify for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Ukraine and Spain qualify for Billie Jean King Cup Finals

RADOM, Poland: Elina Svitolina sent Ukraine to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the first time with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann to level the countries’ qualifier 1-1 on Saturday.
It ensured Ukraine tops Group E to qualify for the tournament in Shenzhen in September. Switzerland needed a flawless record against Ukraine to progress. Ukraine went on to win 2-1.
Spain also secured its place in the finals after Jessica Bouzas Maneiro defeated Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2 for an unassailable 2-0 lead in their meeting.
Bernarda Pera defeated Denmark’s Johanne Svendsen to give the United States a 2-0 lead in Group C. The US next faces host nation Slovakia on Sunday with the winner going through to the finals.
Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima saved two match points before beating Romania’s Anca Todoni 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to win their meeting in Group A. It set up a decider against Canada on Sunday to determine which team qualifies for the finals.


Rybakina leads Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win over Australia in BJK Cup

Rybakina leads Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win over Australia in BJK Cup
Updated 11 April 2025
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Rybakina leads Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win over Australia in BJK Cup

Rybakina leads Kazakhstan to a 2-1 win over Australia in BJK Cup
  • Czech Republic beat Brazil 2-1 in Ostrava in Group B, while the Netherlands cruised past Germany 3-0 in The Hague in Group F
  • Poland, without French Open champion Iga Swiatek after the world No. 2 opted out of the tournament to focus on her training ahead of the clay season, beat Switzerland 3-0 in Radom

BRISBANE: Elena Rybakina showcased her prowess to beat Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6(4) as Kazakhstan secured a 2-1 win over Australia in their Billie Jean King Cup Group D qualifier in Brisbane on Thursday.

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, went down an early break but cranked up her powerful forehand and drew level after six games before claiming the opening set with an ace.

Birrell raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set but squandered a set point and Rybakina clawed her way back with some ferocious shot-making to clinch victory in the tiebreak.

“It was such a difficult match,” said Rybakina, who secured her eighth victory in 10 singles matches since her debut in the competition in 2021.

“I’m super happy to bring the win for the team ... it’s always nice to be back in Australia.”

Earlier at the Pat Rafter Arena, Yulia Putintseva gave Kazakhstan an early lead with a 6-2 6-1 win over debutant Maya Joint.

However, Australia’s Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez claimed the third match of the night with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Anna Danilina and Zhibek Kulambayeva in the doubles.

Czech Republic beat Brazil 2-1 in Ostrava in Group B, while the Netherlands cruised past Germany 3-0 in The Hague in Group F.

Poland, without French Open champion Iga Swiatek after the world No. 2 opted to skip their Group E ties to focus on her training ahead of the clay season, beat Switzerland 3-0 in Radom.

Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins were among a trio of players to withdraw from the US team, which plays Denmark on Saturday in Group C, for the three-day qualifiers.

Teams have been divided into six round-robin groups of three in the qualifiers this year with the winners joining hosts China and 2024 champions Italy at the Finals in Shenzhen toward the end of the season.