Qinwen in seventh heaven, reaches Olympic final
AFTER half a dozen losses to Iga Swiatek, Chinese Top 10 talent Qinwen Zheng found the winning formula to defeat the world number one and reach the 2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medal Match. In a match that was riddled with errors and breaks of serve early, it was Zheng who kicked away in the second […]
Mixed doubles means more mixed up expectations
IF there is one thing to learn from the mixed doubles draw at the 2024 Olympics, it is that rankings are often nothing more than just a number. American third seeds Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz learnt this the hard way, losing to their northern neighbours Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets. The […]
Czeched out: It’s Schmiedl-ova for Wimbledon champ
GIANT-KILLING Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova is the major surprise packet through to the 2024 Paris Olympics medal matches with a straight sets victory over ninth seed and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. Already a Olympic gold medalist in doubles, Krejcikova’s quest for a singles medal is over at the final step, losing in the quarter finals. […]
Rankings don’t mean much with surprises aplenty in mixed doubles
THE Mixed Doubles competition of the 2024 Olympics got underway at Roland Garros overnight, and right out of the gate the surprises came. German pair Laura Siegemund and Alexander Zverev found out the hard way that their number one ranking was merely a number after they succumbed to Czech pair Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac […]
Czech it out: Samson stuns Siniakova
CZECH wunderkind Laura Samson wasted no time announcing herself on the big stage against a quality opponent, shocking her far more experienced compatriot Katerina Siniakova in front of home fans at the Prague Open overnight. Samson – who turned 16 in March – is a former junior girls number one, and shortened her surname this […]
Dart on point in all-Brit battle
IN A hard-fought come-from-behind battle, world number 100 Harriet Dart spoiled the party of British number one, Katie Boulter. Despite 71 ranking places separating them, both players know each other’s games intimately and put on a show on Court 1, with the lower ranked compatriot winning 4-6 6-1 7-6 in two hours and 57 minutes. […]
Spaniard shocks Wimbledon defending champion
IN ONE of the biggest upsets in some time at Wimbledon, and certainly the largest shock of day two, world number 83 Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro knocked out defending champion and sixth seed Marketa Vondrousova in the first round of the Grand Slam event. Vondrousova was one of the favourites to take out the title […]
2024 Wimbledon preview
GRASSCOURT season is at its peak with the All-England Club preparing for the first day of action at Wimbledon tonight. Both the gentlemen’s and ladies singles kick off and will run for the next two weeks and we preview the huge Grand Slam event. GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES Top seed: Jannik Sinner (Italy) Italian Jannik Sinner enters […]
Niemeier makes most of second chance to upset Sakkari
GERMAN lucky loser Jule Niemeier has won in front of her home fans, grinding out a two-and-a-half-hour marathon victory over top 10 talent Maria Sakkari in Bad Homburg. The world number 96 ripped open the WTA 500 draw with a win over the top seed, defeating Sakkari in a come-from-behind win, 2-6 6-2 7-6 in […]
Around the Tour: Draper downs defending champ
TOP-RANKED Brit Jack Draper produced the biggest upset of his career by downing world number two and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at the Cinch Championships in London overnight. Draper won in a tight two-set contest 7-6 6-3 to put Alcaraz spot at number two in the world in threat ahead of Wimbledon. Prior to the […]
