Tag: Tennis

Osaka Begins Roland Garros Campaign With Straight Sets Win

PARIS—World number two Naomi Osaka had to dig deep to defeat Romanian Patricia Maria Tig 6–4 7–6(4) as the four-time Grand Slam winner began her French Open campaign on the opening day on Sunday hoping to improve on her record at the claycourt major. Osaka has not made it past the third round at her…


Djokovic, Nadal, Federer Grouped in Same Half at French Open

Well, here’s a new one for the Big Three of men’s tennis: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer ended up in the same half of the French Open field. Thursday’s draw in Paris marks the first time in their long and distinguished careers that Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer all are on one side of…


Florida Men, Texas Women Win NCAA Tennis Team Titles

ORLANDO, Fla.—The top-seeded Florida rallied to beat Baylor 4–1, and the second-seeded Texas women topped Pepperdine 4–3, on Saturday night to claim team national titles on Saturday night. No. 2 seed Baylor took a 1–0 lead when Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah beat Florida’s Duarte Vale/Johannes Ingildsen 6–2 and the Bears’ Finn Bass/Charles Broom beat Brian Berdusco/Will…


Serena Williams Unlikely to Equal Slam Record at French Open, Says Coach

Serena Williams is unlikely to win a record equalling 24th Grand slam title on the claycourts of Roland Garros, although her chance will come, the American’s long-time coach Patrick Mouratoglou told Reuters on Friday. The French Open, which starts on May 30, has been the least rewarding of the four majors for Williams, who won…


Tennis-Federer Gets Serena’s Vote in GOAT Debate

While fans and pundits continue to debate who should be considered the greatest men’s tennis player of all time, 23-times Grand Slam winner Serena Williams says Roger Federer gets her vote. Rafael Nadal picked up a record-extending 13th French Open title in October to join Federer at the top of the list of men’s Grand…


Federer Gets Serena’s Vote in GOAT Debate

While fans and pundits continue to debate who should be considered the greatest men’s tennis player of all time, 23-times Grand Slam winner Serena Williams says Roger Federer gets her vote. Rafael Nadal picked up a record-extending 13th French Open title in October to join Federer at the top of the list of men’s Grand…


Nadal Beats Djokovic for 10th Italian Open Title

ROME—Rafael Nadal beat a tired Novak Djokovic 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 for a record-extending 10th Italian Open title on Sunday. The Spaniard recovered from a potentially dangerous fall after tripping over a raised line to take the latest installment of the most-played rivalry in modern men’s tennis. “To have this trophy in my hands for the…


Sabalenka Wins Madrid Open; Zverev Faces Berrettini in Final

MADRID—Aryna Sabalenka is glad she changed her mind about playing at the Madrid Open. Two weeks after nearly withdrawing from the tournament because of a muscle injury, Sabalenka was standing on center court with the winner’s trophy in her hands on Saturday. Sabalenka defeated top-ranked Ash Barty 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 for her 10th WTA title—and…


Djokovic Hopes COVID-19 Vaccine Will Not Become Compulsory for Players

Novak Djokovic said he hopes it will not become mandatory for players to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to compete on the ATP circuit and that their freedom of choice should be supported. The ATP earlier this month issued new guidelines saying players who have been vaccinated would not be considered a close contact of anybody…


French Open Postponed by 1 Week Because of Pandemic

PARIS—For the second year in a row, the traditional French Open schedule is being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The clay-court Grand Slam tennis tournament said Thursday it will push back the start of this season’s event by one week because of surging virus cases in France. “This postponement will give us a little more…