French Open updates | Teen Alcaraz hits 'tweener lob in win
Carlos Alcaraz produced one remarkable back-to-the-net, between-the-legs lob to a corner to earn the last service break he would need in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Karen Khachanov that put the Spanish teenager in the French Open quarterfinals for the first time. The sixth-seeded Alcaraz accrued a 37-19 edge in winners against Khachanov and broke the big server five times.
news.yahoo.comStephens overpowers Gauff at US Open; Osaka's foe withdraws
Three years ago, a reporter asked Sloane Stephens to point out a younger tennis player most fans might not have heard of yet, someone she thought could become a household name some day. Stephens paused to ponder, but not for long, before responding: Coco Gauff, then 14. Stephens had first met Gauff several years earlier — they last hit together on a court in Florida when Gauff was 12 — and clearly knew what she was talking about.
news.yahoo.comThe Latest: Brady, Ostapenko, Tsonga pull out of US Open
Australian Open runner-up Jennifer Brady has withdrawn from the U.S. Open because of an injury. Brady, a semifinalist last year in Flushing Meadows, has not played competitively since being forced to retire from her second-round match against Jelena Ostapenko in Cincinnati. The U.S. Tennis Association did not specify her injury.
news.yahoo.comMexico's Jalisco cartel is hunting down police at their homes
The notoriously violent Jalisco cartel has responded to Mexico’s “hugs, not bullets” policy with a policy of its own: The cartel kidnapped several members of an elite police force in the state of Guanajuato, tortured them to obtain names and addresses of fellow officers and is now hunting down and killing police at their homes, on their days off, in front of their families.
news.yahoo.comU.S. Open Champ Sloane Stephens Dishes on the Miami Open
^ Keep New Times Free Support Us LocalCommunityJournalismI Support Support the independent voice of Miami and help keep the future of New Times free. Support UsAfter 2020 destroyed all of its momentum, the Miami Open is serving up shots once again. The main-draw action of the 2021 Miami Open kicked off Monday and runs through April 4. Plantation native and Fort Lauderdale resident Sloane Stephens won the 2018 Miami Open after winning the previous year's U.S. Open. Miami Open.
miaminewtimes.com'17 French Open champ Ostapenko wants more; Shapovalov upset
2 seed Karolina Pliskova at the French Open on Thursday, the conversation quickly turned to 2017. And just, like, the world doesn’t stop with winning only one Grand Slam. That’s not very different from where she was three years ago in Paris, ranked 47th and just two days past her 20th birthday when she became an impossible-to-predict Grand Slam champion. Pliskova, who came into the French Open dealing with a leg injury, was not the most gracious foe after Thursday’s loss. The first time I’m in the third round in a Grand Slam.
Does Djokovic's next foe have hope? 'I was wondering that'
Serbia's Novak Djokovic serves against Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis in the second round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – At the mere mention of Novak Djokovic’s name, at the mere thought of sharing a court with a 17-time Grand Slam champion and the French Open’s No. He used these phrases: “really, really excited” and “really, really happy” and “really, really special.”Galan is, after all, ranked 153rd and never had won so much as one main-draw match at any major tournament until this week. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champ, plays 87th-ranked Paula Badosa, who arrived in Paris with a 1-5 Grand Slam record. “Well,” came Galan’s reply, “I was wondering that, to be honest.”And then he launched into a story about how he was “really, really nervous” before playing former top 10-member David Goffin in the Davis Cup Finals last November.
The Latest: Earliest French Open exit for Stephens since '11
(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):____6:10 p.m.Former runner-up Sloane Stephens lost in the second round for her earliest exit at Roland Garros since a first-round defeat on her debut in 2011. ___4:15 p.m.Novak Djokovic's biggest concern seemed to be dealing with a rare bit of sunshine during his second-round victory at Roland Garros. ___2:30 p.m.Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin reached the third round at Roland Garros by beating Ana Bogdan 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. ____1:10 p.m.Danish teen Clara Tauson's surprise run is over after losing to American player Danielle Collins 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. Pliskova's twin sister, Kristyna, was also playing a former French Open champion when she faced 2016 winner Garbiñe Muguruza.
Perfect prep: Halep takes 14-match win streak to French Open
Amid all the tumult of the coronavirus pandemic, Simona Halep might very well have found the perfect formula to prepare for the French Open. When the clay-court Grand Slam tournament begins Sunday, 2018 champion Halep will be on court against 70th-ranked Sara Sorribes Tormo. Separated from her Australian coach Darren Cahill for seven months during the pandemic, Halep spent the extended break from competition with her Romanian coach, Artemon Apostu-Efremov. At the Italian Open, Halep’s final three matches came against Yulia Putintseva, Garbiñe Muguruza and Karolína Pliskova — all three of whom played at the U.S. Open. Halep added a second major trophy by dropping only four games against Serena Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final.
The Latest: Williams-Stephens on tap at sunny US Open
NEW YORK The Latest on the U.S. Open tennis tournament (all times local):11:30 a.m.Day 6 has started at the year's second Grand Slam tournament the U.S. Open normally closes the major tennis championship season but the pandemic caused changes to the calendar. The sun is shining and the temperature is in the mid-70s Fahrenheit (mid-20s Celsius) as the third round continues Saturday. The highlight of the afternoon is expected to be Serena Williams against Sloane Stephens in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams owns 23 Grand Slam singles titles, including six in New York. Stephens won the 2017 U.S. Open.
Williams takes 10 of 12 games to beat Stephens at US Open
Serena Williams, of the United States, reacts during a match against Sloane Stephens, of the United States, during the third round of the US Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK In danger of her earliest exit at the U.S. Open since her debut 22 years ago, Serena Williams turned things around and took over against Sloane Stephens. Williams collected 10 of the last 12 games by lifting her level, to be sure. You know, Serena is Serena," Sakkari said after advancing earlier Saturday by beating 19-year-old American Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-1. Quickly, that set belonged to Stephens, who held at love when all four points ended with Williams miscues.
Osaka withdraws in protest; W&S put on hold Thursday
Naomi Osaka, of Japan, leaves the court after winning her match with Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, during the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in New York. Soon after, the whole tournament was put on hold for a day. Osaka tweeted that as a Black woman, she feels compelled to pull out of the tournament to put a focus on police shooting Black people. "Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach. I have to be patient, to try to enjoy every single match I play here after six months without competing.
Serena Williams is fit and ready to play after 6-month break
FILE - In this May 27, 2019, file photo, Serena Williams of the U.S. plays a shot against Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia during their first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris. If the French Open were being held as scheduled right now -- instead of postponed to September because of the coronavirus pandemic, Williams again would have had a shot at her 24th major to pull even with Margaret Court for the most in history. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
Serena Williams is fit and ready to play after 6-month break
(AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)LEXINGTON, Ky. Serena Williams flexed and then kissed a sinewy right bicep to show down time well spent in training even without bench pressing. Williams now looks to flex her muscles on a tennis court for the first time in six months. Serena Williams, ranked No. If the results from Williams previous comeback from a long break are any indication, she has something to look forward to. Her husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, built a tennis court for her.
US Open singles champs to get $850K less prize money in 2020
FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2017, file photo, Sloane Stephens, of the United States, reacts after receiving the winner's award check after beating Madison Keys, of the United States, in the women's singles final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Defending U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal said Tuesday he didnt want to travel during the pandemic and would not be entering the tournament. Professional tennis was suspended in March because of the pandemic, leaving many players, coaches and others without a regular income. First-round singles prize money at the U.S. Open is going up 5%, from $58,000 to $61,000, the only level where there is a jump. Paychecks for players who reach the second round ($100,000) or third round ($163,000) will remain the same.
Serena Williams to return to action in Kentucky next month
LEXINGTON, Ky. Serena Williams is planning to make her return to competition at a new hard-court tournament in Kentucky next month. Itll be the 23-time Grand Slam singles champions first action since playing for the U.S. in the Fed Cup in February, before all sanctioned tennis was shut down the next month because of the coronavirus pandemic. The womens and mens professional tennis tours are scheduled to resume in August. The Kentucky event, called the Top Seed Open, announced Thursday that Williams and 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens will be in the field when play begins there Aug. 10. Williams already has said she will enter the next scheduled Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open, which is supposed to begin in New York on Aug. 31.