Swiatek Weathers Rain Break with Puzzles to Reach Semis, Top Seed Pegula Also Advances
Fourth seed Iga Swiatek solved crossword puzzles during an hour-long rain interruption on Thursday but kept her focus to earn a 6-4 7-6(5) victory over Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova and reach the Bad Homburg Open semi-finals.
The Pole, who is playing her only grasscourt tournament in the run-up to Wimbledon which starts next week, struggled at times and had 37 unforced errors against Alexandrova before setting up a semi-final against second-seed Jasmine Paolini.
"I think today was all about adjusting to the conditions because it was super windy," Swiatek said. "On one hand to be intense on the other hand being safe."
"Ekaterina is a tough opponent. I have lost against her before. She can play amazing tennis and her flat shots really fit the grass so I am happy I am through."
She won the first set after breaking Alexandrova twice but the match was interrupted midway through the second set with rain starting to fall.
Swiatek said she kept focused by solving crossword puzzles during the break and it seemed to work as she held serve throughout the second set to clinch the tiebreak and face Paolini next. Swiatek currently leads Paolini in their head-to-head 4-0.
The Italian, a Wimbledon finalist last year, recorded her fourth win over Beatriz Haddad Maia in as many meetings with a 7-5 7-5 victory.
It was also her first win over the Brazilian in straight sets as the Italian reached her fourth semi-final of the season.
Top-seed Jessica Pegula joined her in the last four after needing three sets to edge past fellow American and fifth-seed Emma Navarro 6-4 1-6 6-3.
Pegula will face 20-year-old Czech Linda Noskova who outplayed third-seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-3.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Wimbledon 2025: Anniversaries for Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, Isner-Mahut, and COVID
A look at some of the anniversaries this year at Wimbledon: 50 years ago (1975): Arthur Ashe became the first – and to this day only – Black man to win the singles title at Wimbledon in 1975, beating defending champion Jimmy Connors 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4 in the final. Also that year, Billie Jean King easily won her sixth – and it turned out last – singles championship at the All England Club, defeating Evonne Goolagong 6–0, 6–1. It also was the 19th of the 20 total Wimbledon trophies (across singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles) that King would win. 45 years ago (1980): Bjorn Borg earned his fifth consecutive Wimbledon trophy in 1980, barely getting past rival John McEnroe 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7 (16), 8–6 in a final immediately – and still – considered one of the greatest tennis matches of all time. The fourth-set tiebreaker alone, known as 'The War of 18-16,' is still discussed with reverence. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. 40 years ago (1985): Anne White showed up for her first-round Wimbledon match in 1985 against Pam Shriver wearing a full white bodysuit that drew plenty of attention – and criticism. After they split the first two sets, play was called because of darkness. During the break, White was told that the All England Club did not love her original outfit, even if it did comply with the all-white rule, and she wound up wearing more traditional clothing for the third set when action resumed the next day. Shriver won the match. 35 years ago (1990): A 6–4, 6–1 victory over Zina Garrison in the 1990 final gave Martina Navratilova her record ninth Wimbledon championship. It also was her 18th and last Grand Slam title, equaling rival Chris Evert for the Open era record at the time. 25 years ago (2000): Pete Sampras' 2000 Wimbledon title via a 6–7 (10), 7–6 (5), 6–4, 6–2 victory over Patrick Rafter in the final gave the American his seventh and last trophy at the All England Club and his then-record 13th title from all Grand Slam tournaments. Sampras would win his 14th major at the 2002 US Open, then walk away from the sport. That stood as the men's record until Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all surpassed it. 15 years ago (2010): John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match on record at Wimbledon in 2010, competing for 11 hours 5 minutes stretched across three days in the first round at the All England Club until Isner eventually prevailed 70–68 in the fifth set. That was part of the impetus for rules changes that eventually mandated tiebreakers at 6–all in fifth sets of men's matches (and third sets of women's matches) at all four Grand Slam tournaments. 10 years ago (2015): Serena Williams completed her second self-styled 'Serena Slam' – four Grand Slam titles in a row, although not all within a single season – by winning Wimbledon in 2015. Her 6–4, 6–4 victory over Garbiñe Muguruza in the final made the 33-year-old Williams the oldest woman to win a major singles championship in the Open era. It also set up Williams for a bid at a true Grand Slam – going 4 for 4 at the majors within one calendar year – at the US Open later in 2015. She fell just short, losing to Roberta Vinci in a stunning upset in the semifinals in New York. 5 years ago (2020): Wimbledon was called off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first time since World War II that the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament wasn't held. The cancellation was announced in April with Britain under a nationwide lockdown. Roger Federer offered a one-word commentary on social media, writing simply: 'Devastated.'
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Wimbledon's draw puts Alcaraz against Fognini in the first round. Coco Gauff faces Yastremska
Carlos Alcaraz will begin his bid for a third consecutive Wimbledon championship and put his career-best 18-match winning streak on the line by facing the volatile Fabio Fognini in the first round at Centre Court when the tournament begins Monday. The singles brackets for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament were set in Friday's draw, including potential men's quarterfinals of No. 1 Jannik Sinner against No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 4 Jack Draper against No. 6 Novak Djokovic – who has won seven of his 24 major trophies at the All England Club – No. 2 Alcaraz against No. 8 Holger Rune, and No. 3 Alexander Zverev against No. 5 Taylor Fritz. The possible women's quarterfinals are No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 6 Madison Keys and No. 4 Jasmine Paolini vs. No. 5 Zheng Qinwen in the top half, and No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. No. 8 Iga Swiatek or 2022 champion Elena Rybakina and No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the bottom half. In addition to Sinner, Djokovic, Draper, and 2024 semifinalist Musetti, the top half has No. 10 Ben Shelton and No. 13 Tommy Paul of the US, along with Alexander Bublik, an unpredictable and underarm-serving player from Kazakhstan. He reached his first major quarterfinal at the French Open by defeating Draper – his potential third-round opponent next week – and then won a grass-court title at Halle, Germany, for the second time, beating Sinner along the way. Alcaraz and Sinner could only meet at Wimbledon in the July 13 final, which would be a rematch of their epic showdown for the French Open title, won by the 22-year-old Alcaraz for his fifth major trophy. In Fognini, Alcaraz faces a 38-year-old veteran who has been ranked as high as No. 9 and was a French Open quarterfinalist in 2011, but is currently No. 130 and has never been past the third round in 14 previous appearances at Wimbledon. Fognini, who is married to 2015 US Open champion Flavia Pennetta, has described himself as a 'hot-head' and is known for mid-match flare-ups, including at Wimbledon, where he was fined $3,000 in 2019 for saying he wished a bomb would explode at the club during a third-round loss, and a then-record $27,500 in 2014 for a series of outbursts during a first-round victory. He was put on a two-year probation by the Grand Slam Board in 2017 after insulting a female chair umpire at the US Open and getting kicked out of that tournament. Gauff, coming off her second major title at the French Open, will open Wimbledon on Tuesday against Dayana Yastremska, a 2024 Australian Open semifinalist. Win that, and Gauff might face former No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the second round, while a rematch with No. 28 seed Sofia Kenin could await in the third. Kenin eliminated Gauff in the opening round at Wimbledon two years ago. Sabalenka, the runner-up to Gauff at Roland-Garros three weeks ago, finds herself in an intriguing quarter of the women's bracket. Sabalenka, who owns three Slam titles, begins against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine and could meet 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lulu Sun in the second round and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu or 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the third. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova begins Tuesday's Centre Court schedule against Alexandra Eala, who is the first woman representing the Philippines to be ranked inside the top 100 and upset Swiatek on the way to reaching the Miami Open semifinals in March. In their section of the draw, 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who announced she will retire later this year, takes on No. 10 Emma Navarro in the first round.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Max Verstappen heads into Red Bull's home race with upgrades and growing uncertainty
Max Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring is usually a recipe for success. The defending Formula 1 champion has an upgraded car for his team's home race in Austria–where he's won five times–on the back of an encouraging second place in Canada where his two McLaren rivals collided. Zoom out though, and the situation is much more uncertain. Verstappen remains at risk of a one-race ban for too many penalty points. Red Bull teammate Yuki Tsunoda is usually too far adrift to help him, and Verstappen's own future is far from clear. 'I don't think we need to talk about that,' Verstappen said Thursday when asked to confirm whether he'll stay with the team for 2026. 'It's not really in my mind. It's just driving and trying to push the performance, you know. And then we focus on next year.' What are Verstappen's options? Verstappen has a long-term contract through 2028, so in theory his Red Bull seat should be one of the safest on the grid. However, the deal has performance-related clauses which could reportedly allow a move. In that case, the most obvious option could be Mercedes, which has yet to confirm either driver for 2026. That would mean Verstappen teaming up with an old foe in Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who'd also have to choose to drop either George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. Dramatic changes to how F1 cars look and perform are coming in 2026, and Red Bull has to adapt more than most. For the first time in nearly two decades, it heads into a new era of F1 rules without design guru Adrian Newey, who left last year and is now at Aston Martin. The other leading teams are sticking with their current engine arrangements, but not Red Bull. The team has an in-house engine developer, Red Bull Powertrains, but it's switching partners for 2026 from Honda to newcomer Ford. The second seat. No team in F1 depends as much on one driver as Red Bull does on Verstappen. He's scored 155 of the team's 162 points this season. His teammates–first Liam Lawson, then Yuki Tsunoda–have struggled all season. That's helped to restore the reputation of Sergio Perez, who was dropped by Red Bull after scoring barely one-third of Verstappen's points last season. 'I know deep down they really regret it,' Perez said on a podcast this week. 'And I know that from a very reliable source. It's tough. I have very good friends there and people might think I take pleasure in what happened, but no.' Red Bull's car seems to favor Verstappen's driving style over anyone else's, but the Dutch driver says he can't diagnose the issue because he's been with the team since 2016 and has nothing else to compare it with. 'The thing is that I don't know any better, right?' he said Thursday. 'I mean, I've basically started with Red Bull, so I only know one car and that's how I drive. I adapt to it. Is it the best? Is it the fastest? Is it not? I don't know.'
