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Day 4 was fun. 18-year-old Next Gen champion Joao Fonseca made a jolt with a straight-sets win over Andrey Rublev 24 hours earlier, but besides that, there wasn’t much to speak of as the first-round matches were finally concluded. The same couldn’t be said as round two began, with seven seeds falling across both draws while another teenage talent made noise in a memorable night session. Continue reading “AUS OPEN 25: Sabalenka tested, Bencic-Osaka set as Draper relishes the moment”
Taylor Fritz had an interesting line post-match after a seemingly straightforward 6-4, 6-4 win over China’s Zhizhen Zheng in the United Cup, saying: “I started to believe my average level would be enough to beat many top guys, feeling back in the flow again from the end of last season,” an ominous sign given how well he was performing in the second-half of 2024. Continue reading “United Cup: Fritz feeling in the groove, Rybakina to watch as AO prep continues”
Jessica Pegula banished her Grand Slam quarterfinal hoodoo in the best way – fittingly on home soil – yet one more task awaits her as history beckons tonight: beating Australian Open champion and world no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her in Cincinnati three weeks ago and will be fired up to deliver after falling short in the Flushing Meadows finale against another American last season. Continue reading “US Open 2024: Pegula backs up Swiatek scalp with gutsy Muchova recovery win”
Iga Swiatek’s title defence hung by a thread last night against Naomi Osaka, who looked back to her ball-striking best at times during a memorable second-round clash between multiple-time Major champions on Philippe Chatrier. Yet the Pole, 23 on Friday, saved a match point and played the long game to perfection as her temperament outlasted the Japanese from 5-2, 30-0 down. Continue reading “Swiatek’s great escape in round two Osaka thriller typifies the top of women’s tennis”
Today marks one month since Coco Gauff clinched her first Major title, and it felt fitting that career-best achievement came at her home Grand Slam tournament too – against the new world no. 1 in Aryna Sabalenka, from a set down no less. Having reeled off a series of gritty victories during last month’s event and since reaching the Beijing semifinals this past week, here’s a look at how the teenager reached the mountain top six months before her 20th birthday. Continue reading “One month on: Coco Gauff’s US Open triumph, and how she managed such a feat”
Jelena Ostapenko hit 36 unforced errors and recorded a lowly 38% first serve percentage, as the 2017 French Open champion couldn’t back up her Iga Swiatek scalp in the previous round with an in-form Coco Gauff holding firm during their baseline rally exchanges to sweep past her in straight-sets. Now, the teenage American faces Karolina Muchova in a rematch of their Cincinnati final from last month, as a first-time finalist berth awaits tonight’s victor. Continue reading “US Open 2023: Ostapenko’s vulnerabilities return, as Gauff-Muchova rematch up next”
Coco Gauff completed her pre-US Open preparations in style, capping off a memorable hard court stint by winning the biggest title of her career to date – having snapped her Iga Swiatek hoodoo in the semifinals – outlasting Karolina Muchova in humid Cincinnati conditions little over 24 hours later. Armed with new coaches and more self-belief buoyed by recent results, the 19-year-old still remains a work in progress and that is a scary proposition for her rivals on tour. Continue reading “Brad Gilbert in her corner and changing mentalities, Gauff’s growth clear to see”
Karolina Muchova started well with aggression and variety in good measure, weathered an inspired storm before saving match point down 5-2 during a tense deciding set en route to securing her first Major final with a three-set win in three hours 13 minutes against Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Muchova masterful as she makes first Major final in epic comeback win vs. Sabalenka”
40 singles’ matches were played – 20 on each tour – as the French Open main draw kicked off across a busy Sunday of sport worldwide – especially in Europe. The biggest headline featured Maria Sakkari, a tournament semi-finalist two years ago, being stunned in two tight sets 7-6, 7-5 against the same woman who knocked her out prematurely twelve months ago: Karolina Muchova. Continue reading “French Open 2023: Sakkari highest seed to fall on Day 1, while Kokkinakis KOs Evans”
Emma Raducanu’s US Open campaign continued with a 6-2, 6-4 win over China’s Zhang Shuai but Britain’s teenage qualifier said it was much less one-sided than the scoreline suggested. By contrast, Olympic champion Alexander Zverev (#4) blasted past Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in 75 minutes while world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Belinda Bencic and Iga Swiatek all prevailed.
Continue reading “US Open 2021: Raducanu, Zverev earn contrasting straight-set wins on Day 4”
Tuesday’s action promised plenty on paper but ultimately wasn’t as entertaining as it could’ve been, though there are three first-time semi-finalists during a day where all four Ladies’ singles quarter-final matchups ended with straight-sets victories for the respective winners. Among them, world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty and Aryna Sabalenka (#2), breaking new ground at SW19. Continue reading “Wimbledon 2021: Barty-Kerber, Pliskova-Sabalenka semis sealed, Hurkacz stuns Medvedev”
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