French fancy fails as Argentine advances
ALTHOUGH things went to plan for most of the seeds overnight at the Olympics, everything did not go to plan for all as Ugo Humbert found out the hard way after the 10th seed went down to Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 7-5. 6-7, 7-5. In a match that lasted two hours and 44 minutes, the Argentine […]
Svitolina shocks Pegula but others have an easier time
NOT too many seeds have fallen yet in the women’s singles yet at these Olympics, but American Jessica Pegula added her name to that list after Elina Svitolina beat her 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. In a match that lasted an hour and 47 minutes, once Svitolina got going she progressively got through the sets at a […]
Berrettini’s back, alright
AFTER having to take the tough road, Italian Matteo Berrettini is back alright. The former world number six claimed his third title of 2024 – and second consecutive trophy – at the Generali Open over the weekend when he knocked off Frenchman Hugo Gaston 7-5 6-3 in the final. The 28-year-old proved too powerful for […]
Popyrin pushes past Jarry to set up Stan showdown
AUSSIE Alexei Popyrin spiced up the men’s singles draw at the 2024 Olympics after he upset Chilean 16th seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 7-6(5) . Popyrin blitzed his more fancied opponent in the first set in 36 minutes, before being made to work for the set win in the second term, taking just under an hour. […]
Barbora battles valiant Tormo but ultimately prevails
NINTH seed Barbora Krejcikova was certainly made to work for her first round win at Roland Garros, but ultimately prevailed 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(3) over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo to progress to the second round. In a match that lasted just under three hours, the Spaniard defied her world ranking of in the 80s for much […]
Parks denies Joint title in Warsaw
TALENTED American Alycia Parks came from behind to defeat Aussie Maya Joint and deny the fifth seed a chance at a maiden WTA 125 title. No longer considered a Challenger event level but a step below official WTA Tour level, the former Top 40 player won the Polish Open final 4-6 6-3 6-3 in two […]
Ange Kerb’s Naomi’s influence to win in Paris
RETIRING German Angelique Kerber ensured her swan song had at least one more chapter after defeating Naomi Osaka in a battle of the former world number ones in the first round of the Paris Olympics. Kerber won 7-5 6-3 to book her place in the second round as she looked to go out on a […]
No Djoke – Novak cruises through to Paris second round
THERE was no mucking about for top seed and world number two Novak Djokovic as his quest for an elusive Olympic gold medal kicked off with a 53-minute rout of doubles specialist Matthew Ebden. It was always tipped to be a heavily one-sided contest given Ebden is not even ranked in singles anymore, and Djokovic […]
Linette, Andreeva lift titles set to face off in Paris
ON a day where the two WTA Tour finals featured players from the same nation in each respect, it was the higher ranked player in each case that got the chocolates. In Prague, Magda Linette crushed her Polish countrywoman Magdalena Frech 6-2 6-1, while in Iasi it was top seed Mirra Andreeva proving too strong […]
2024 Paris Olympics draw talking points
LAST night the 2024 Paris Olympics took place and there was no shortage of talking points coming out of the draw. Here is some of those talking points from the men’s and women’s singles. MEN’S SINGLES: Novak vs Rafa one last time? Speculation pre-draw was whether or not the two most successful Grand Slam winners […]
Avanesyan does double duty to reach maiden WTA Tour final
RISING Russian talents Elina Avanesyan and Mirra Andreeva will face off in the Iasi Open WTA Tour final tomorrow, guaranteeing a first-time title-winner. The young compatriots won through to the Romanian decider with Avanesyan forced to do double duty – winning her quarter final and semi-final on the same day – while top seed Andreeva […]
Polish pride: Linette and Frech make history
POLISH duo Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech have made history in Prague by knocking off the two homecourt hopes in the WTA Tour 250 event’s semi-finals and creating the first all-Poland final of the Open era. Frech had to overcome 16-year-old wildcard Laura Samson who was forced to retire at 4-2 down in the deciding […]
