Wimbledon’s player ban isn’t fair, but it’s the right move
Placeholder while article actions loadOrganizers of the famous Wimbledon tennis tournament in England announced last week that players from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to play in the 2022 championships. Lots of people, including the top-ranked male player, Novak Djokovic, as well as tennis legend and nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, do not think the ban is fair. In some ways, telling tennis players that they cannot play in an important tournament just because they are from a certain country is unfair. In February, Putin ordered Russian troops to invade Ukraine, an independent country that was not threatening Russia. The punishment may not be perfectly fair, especially for the athletes, but I think it is the right thing to do.
washingtonpost.comTeam Europe easily tops Team World for 4th Laver Cup in row
Even without any of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic on the roster, Team Europe clinched its fourth consecutive Laver Cup victory by going up 14-1 against Team World on Sunday. Tokyo Olympics singles gold medalist Alexander Zverev of Germany and Andrey Rublev of Russia gave Team Europe an insurmountable lead by beating Reilly Opelka of the U.S. and Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-2, 6-7 (4), 10-3 in a match tiebreaker in doubles to open Sunday's play.
news.yahoo.comBerrettini, Ruud, Rublev give Team Europe 3-1 Laver Cup lead
The pandemic-delayed fourth edition of the Laver Cup — and first without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic participating — began Friday with Team Europe taking a 3-1 lead over Team World thanks to victories in singles from Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev. Italy's Berrettini, the runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon in July, saved 12 of 13 break points and came back to edge Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in a match tiebreaker 6-7 (3), 7-5, 10-8.
news.yahoo.comTsitsipas, with Big Three missing, makes 4th round in Miami
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece returns to Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia during the Miami Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)MIAMI – For tennis up-and-comers like Stefanos Tsitsipas, the draw at the Miami Open began to look a lot less daunting even before the tournament began. “It’s a first test to see how it is playing without them,” Tsitsipas said after his third-round victory Saturday. 2-seeded Tsitsipas is among those with the best chance to take advantage, and he looked the part against Damir Dzumhur, winning 6-1, 6-4. “I created a lot of opportunities with my serve — I wasn’t rushing at all, finding the right angles and executing it perfectly,” Tsitsipas said. In women's play, top-ranked Ash Barty and three-time champion Victoria Azarenka advanced to a round of 16 showdown.
Everyman's everyman, who faced Federer at Wimbledon, retires
FILE - Marcus Willis, of Britain, celebrates after winning a point against Roger Federer of Switzerland during their men's singles match on day three of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, in this Wednesday, June 29, 2016, file photo. Willis, the Everymans everyman who was ranked 772nd when he faced Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2016, is ending his playing career and focusing on coaching tennis to try to show youngsters that anyone can live the dream. 1 are tied with Novak Djokovic for the most in ATP history (until Monday, when Djokovic will break the record). And just to get to that segment of qualifying matches, Willis needed to win three earlier matches in a special playoff set up for low-ranked British players. A year later, Willis was beaten in the third round of Wimbledon qualifying and never made it back in singles.
The Latest: Nadal loses to Tsitsipas in 5 at Australian Open
(AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE – The Latest on Day 10 of the Australian Open (all times local):11:55 p.m.Rafael Nadal’s bid for a men’s-record 21st Grand Slam title has ended with a five-set loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals. He has been pushed to a fifth set by Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals. ___10 p.m.Rafael Nadal's Grand Slam set streak has ended at 35 after he dropped one against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals. The pair were teammates when Russia won the ATP Cup team event on the eve of the Australian Open. Kenin lost to Kaia Kanepi in straight sets in the second round of her title defense at the Australian Open last week.
'Not normal': Djokovic raises quarantine-injury connection
Italy's Matteo Berrettini, left, receives medical treatment during a break while playing Russia's Karen Khachanov during their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. 1-ranked Djokovic, who sees what is happening all around Melbourne Park and draws a direct connection to the 14-day quarantines imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic when players arrived in Australia in January. Ad“It's too many injuries, honestly,” Djokovic said, then sighed heavily, during an on-court interview after his four-set quarterfinal victory against Alexander Zverev. “I'm just hoping this is all temporary, so we can kind of go back to what we are kind of used to, without interruptions of practice,” Djokovic continued. It's really — it's taken its toll, unfortunately, on all of us.”Zverev's midsection, like Djokovic's, was taped up for their match.
Medvedev in 5, finally, advances to 4th round in Australia
Russia's Daniil Medvedev gestures after defeating Serbia's Filip Krajinovic in their third round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)MELBOURNE – Daniil Medvedev finally worked out how to a win a five-setter. The fourth-seeded Medvedev was 0-6 in Grand Slam matches that went to five sets, and his Australian Open third-round match against No. here I was really calm to finish the match," Medvedev said. Medvedev, the U.S. Open finalist last year, will next play McDonald, a player he compared with Roger Federer in style.
The Latest: Greek player tested negative in Australia
(AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE – The Latest from the Australian Open (all times local):12:45 a.m.Australian Open organizers say the player from Greece’s ATP Cup team who tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in South Africa had returned a negative result the day he left Melbourne. Michail Pervolarakis played in the Greek team with Stefanos Tsitsipas last week in one of the six tuneup tournaments for the Australian Open. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that Tennis Australia confirmed Pervolarakis tested negative for the coronavirus on Feb. 9. He reached the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the 14th time in 16 trips. The top-seeded Australian beat Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third straight year.
Thiem, Nadal win opening matches at ATP Finals in London
(John Walton/PA via AP)LONDON – Dominic Thiem made sure this year's ATP Finals didn't begin the same way last year's ended. Nadal is looking to cap a season in which he earned his record-equaling 20th Grand Slam title and 1,000th match win on tour by capturing his first trophy at the ATP Finals. Nadal broke in the opening game of the second set as well and never faced a break point of his own. He served out the win on his second match point when Rublev's return sailed long. This is the 12th and last year that the ATP Finals is played at the 02 Arena before moving to Turin, Italy, next year.
French Open champ Swiatek rises to 17th; Djokovic, Nadal 1-2
2, followed by U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem and Federer. The 19-year-old Swiatek entered the French Open at No. 54 and became the lowest-ranked female champion at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament since the WTA computer rankings began in 1975. The top three in the women’s rankings remained as they were before the French Open, with Ash Barty at No. Halep did compete at the French Open, but her 6-1, 6-2 loss to Swiatek in the fourth round didn’t affect the three-time major champion’s ranking.
Djokovic's body acts up at French Open; faces Tsitsipas next
Carreño Busta, for his part, had at least a bit of doubt about what was going on. Nadal eyes a 13th championship at the French Open, which would give him 20 majors overall, equaling Roger Federer's record for men; Schwartzman never has played in a Slam semifinal. At the U.S. Open, Tsitsipas failed to convert a half-dozen match points in a third-round loss. Then, against Rublev in the final of the clay-court Hamburg Open on Sept. 27 — Day 1 of the French Open — Tsitsipas served for the victory but wound up absorbing another disheartening defeat. At the changeover before the second set, Djokovic was attended to by a trainer, who returned for another massage three games later.
The Latest: Djokovic has arm issue but wins at French Open
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):___9:50 p.m.Novak Djokovic has overcome a bothersome left arm and early deficit to reach the French Open semifinals for the 10th time. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in one of Friday’s semifinals as he seeks a second French Open championship and 18th Grand Slam title. ___5:15 p.m.Polish teenager Iga Swiatek has reached the French Open semifinals in both singles and doubles. ___4:50 p.m.Laura Siegemund has taken issue with the chair umpire for giving her a time violation during her 6-3, 6-3 loss to Petra Kvitova in the French Open quarterfinals. Rublev won their final at the clay-court Hamburg Open on the same day main-draw competition began at the French Open.