Italian Sinner qualifies for Roland Garros Round of 16
Flawless performance
Wearing a green shirt and exuding focus, the 23-year-old Italian showed no mercy, especially in the first set, which he claimed in just 25 minutes. Sinner allowed Lehecka only three games across the remaining two sets, continuing his flawless run in the tournament.
Eyes on Djokovic and Zverev
Sinner, who returned recently from a three-month doping suspension, has not dropped a set so far in the tournament. He now awaits potential matchups with fellow title contenders Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev as the competition heats up in the second Grand Slam of the year.
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Gulf Today
21 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
Boisson stuns Andreeva to continue dream French Open run, Sinner breezes past Bublik
An inspired Lois Boisson delighted Roland Garros as the French world number 361 downed Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday to set up a French Open semi-final against Coco Gauff. Boisson, making her debut at a Grand Slam event, powered her way to a thrilling 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory on a raucous Court Philippe Chatrier to become the first Frenchwoman to reach the semis since Marion Bartoli in 2011. The 22-year-old, who was due to play at last year's French Open but suffered a knee injury the week before the tournament, is the lowest-ranked woman to reach a major semi-final in 40 years. 'It was incredible to play in front of this crowd and feel support like that,' said Boisson, after hitting 24 winners past Russian sixth seed Andreeva to follow up her fourth-round win over world number three Jessica Pegula with an even more surprising victory. A dramatic first set saw Andreeva miss a set point after leading 5-3, before Boisson fought back only to see three chances of her own come and go in a marathon 12th game. But the wildcard fought off another set point in the tie-break, before taking her next opportunity, cupping her ear towards the adoring crowd in celebration. Andreeva gathered herself and quickly built a 3-0 lead in the second set, only to be left jumping up and down in anger after a missed backhand gave Boisson a much-needed hold of serve. The 18-year-old Andreeva started to crumble under the pressure, being given a warning for slamming a ball into the top tier of the stands as the atmosphere heated up under the Chatrier roof. She was roundly booed when she then argued with the umpire over a line call, and was broken later that game after another double-fault to suddenly trail 4-3. Boisson made it six consecutive games to secure a seismic victory as Andreeva, one of the pre-tournament favourites, completely unravelled. Second seed Gauff battled back from a set down to defeat fellow American, and Australian Open champion, Madison Keys in an error-strewn opening match 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1. The former US Open champion upped her level enough after dropping the first set to get through a quarter-final littered with 14 double-faults and a whopping 101 unforced errors. 'It means a lot, especially getting through this tough match today, it wasn't an easy match and I'm very happy to get through it,' she said. Gauff, the 2022 losing finalist, will be hoping to go at least one better than when she lost to Iga Swiatek in last year's semi-final. Swiatek continues her bid for a fourth consecutive Roland Garros title in a blockbuster clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Thursday's other semi-final. Meanwhile, world number one Jannik Sinner continued his relentless pursuit of a maiden French Open title with a typically efficient 6-1 7-5 6-0 win over Kazakh showman Alexander Bublik to reach the semi-finals. The near-flawless victory ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to make six Grand Slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January. 'I'm very happy with how I've arrived in the semi-finals. The semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I'm looking forward to it,' Sinner said. The retraction of Court Philippe Chatrier's roof after a cold, rainy morning signalled the opening of the floodgates as Sinner raced into a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and immediately threatened to break the top seed. Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but the 23-year-old ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out trademark drop shots from his bag of tricks and worked his opponent harder to stay level after 10 games. 'We've played each other a couple of times already, so we already knew what to expect a little bit. But, in other aspects, you never know how he is going to play,' Sinner added. 'I feel like he deserved to be in this quarter-final ... I tried to focus on my side of the court. I was trying to play as solid as possible because he can have some ups and downs, so I just needed to stay consistent throughout the whole match.' Agencies Paris: An inspired Lois Boisson delighted Roland Garros as the French world number 361 downed Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday to set up a French Open semi-final against Coco Gauff. Boisson, making her debut at a Grand Slam event, powered her way to a thrilling 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory on a raucous Court Philippe Chatrier to become the first Frenchwoman to reach the semis since Marion Bartoli in 2011. The 22-year-old, who was due to play at last year's French Open but suffered a knee injury the week before the tournament, is the lowest-ranked woman to reach a major semi-final in 40 years. 'It was incredible to play in front of this crowd and feel support like that,' said Boisson, after hitting 24 winners past Russian sixth seed Andreeva to follow up her fourth-round win over world number three Jessica Pegula with an even more surprising victory. A dramatic first set saw Andreeva miss a set point after leading 5-3, before Boisson fought back only to see three chances of her own come and go in a marathon 12th game. But the wildcard fought off another set point in the tie-break, before taking her next opportunity, cupping her ear towards the adoring crowd in celebration. Andreeva gathered herself and quickly built a 3-0 lead in the second set, only to be left jumping up and down in anger after a missed backhand gave Boisson a much-needed hold of serve. The 18-year-old Andreeva started to crumble under the pressure, being given a warning for slamming a ball into the top tier of the stands as the atmosphere heated up under the Chatrier roof. She was roundly booed when she then argued with the umpire over a line call, and was broken later that game after another double-fault to suddenly trail 4-3. Boisson made it six consecutive games to secure a seismic victory as Andreeva, one of the pre-tournament favourites, completely unravelled. Second seed Gauff battled back from a set down to defeat fellow American, and Australian Open champion, Madison Keys in an error-strewn opening match 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-1. The former US Open champion upped her level enough after dropping the first set to get through a quarter-final littered with 14 double-faults and a whopping 101 unforced errors. 'It means a lot, especially getting through this tough match today, it wasn't an easy match and I'm very happy to get through it,' she said. Gauff, the 2022 losing finalist, will be hoping to go at least one better than when she lost to Iga Swiatek in last year's semi-final. Swiatek continues her bid for a fourth consecutive Roland Garros title in a blockbuster clash with world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Thursday's other semi-final. Meanwhile, world number one Jannik Sinner continued his relentless pursuit of a maiden French Open title with a typically efficient 6-1 7-5 6-0 win over Kazakh showman Alexander Bublik to reach the semi-finals. The near-flawless victory ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to make six Grand Slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January. 'I'm very happy with how I've arrived in the semi-finals. The semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I'm looking forward to it,' Sinner said. The retraction of Court Philippe Chatrier's roof after a cold, rainy morning signalled the opening of the floodgates as Sinner raced into a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and immediately threatened to break the top seed. Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but the 23-year-old ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out trademark drop shots from his bag of tricks and worked his opponent harder to stay level after 10 games. 'We've played each other a couple of times already, so we already knew what to expect a little bit. But, in other aspects, you never know how he is going to play,' Sinner added. 'I feel like he deserved to be in this quarter-final ... I tried to focus on my side of the court. I was trying to play as solid as possible because he can have some ups and downs, so I just needed to stay consistent throughout the whole match.' Agencies
Gulf Today
21 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
Grebnev hangs on to slim lead despite draw
A draw was sufficient for Grandmaster (GM) Aleksey Grebnev to maintain his half-point lead after a catastrophic collapse by one of his closest pursuers in the eighth round of the 25th Dubai Open Chess Tournament at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club. Grebnev of Russia upped his score to 6.5 points after a relatively short, uneventful 21-move draw with Iran's GM Sina Movahed, one of two players who were just half a point behind the tournament leader. Grebnev's compatriot GM Ivan Zemlyanskii, the other player within striking distance of the lead, dropped out of the running for the championship after losing to Armenia's GM Shant Sargsyan. Movahed, Sargsyan, and Spain's GM Alan Pichot, who defeated IM Rohith Krishna S of India, closely trail Grebnev with six points each going into the final round. Playing the white pieces in an Italian Game, Sargsyan sacrificed a pawn that created room for his pieces to operate on both sides of the board. Looking for counterplay, Zemlyanskii decided to strike in the centre with a pawn break on the d-file, a flawed plan that allowed Sargsyan to win back the sacrificed material and enter the endgame with a strategically won position. Zemlyanskii stirred the game into complications in a bid to provoke errors and create practical chances, but despite a few imprecisions in technique, Sargsyan maintained control and converted with a tactical blow to finish the game. Grebnev will take on Sargsyan in Wednesday's final round, while Movahed faces Pichot, with all four players in the running for the title. In Category B, after six straight wins to start the tournament, Fide Master (FM) Mahdi Nikookar conceded a second consecutive draw, allowing India's Candidate Master (CM) Alankar Sawai Vandan to tie him for the lead. Nikookar drew his game with India's M. Mridav, while Vandan defeated Sri Lanka's Pesandu Rashmitha Liyanage. Both have seven points, a full point ahead of five others. Tournament format, schedule, prizes The tournament follows a 9-round Swiss system with a 90-minute time control plus a 30-second increment per move. Games are played every day from 5pm, except the final round on June 4, which starts at 10am. The tournament offers a prize pool of $52,000 to be handed out to the winners of both categories. Category A, contested by players with a rating over 2300, has a total prize fund of $39,500 with $12,000 going to the champion, while Category B, open to players rated below 2300, offers $12,500 in total prizes and $2,000 awarded to the champion. Special prizes will also be distributed to top performers among rating categories, unrated, youth, women, and UAE players. International arbiter team & live coverage International Arbiter Majed Al Abdooli of the UAE spearheads the tournament's international team of arbiters who will manage and oversee the competition. Chess fans from around the world can watch the Category A games live on the club's website as well as chess platforms such as and
Dubai Eye
an hour ago
- Dubai Eye
Boisson shocks Andreeva as Djokovic sets up Sinner showdown
Wild card Lois Boisson stunned sixth seed Mirra Andreeva to reach the French Open semi-finals, before Novak Djokovic set up a clash with world number one Jannik Sinner. While Sinner stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 19 matches after back-to-back titles at the US Open last year and the Australian Open in January, Boisson, ranked 361st, thrilled the home crowd with a dazzling performance. Three-time French Open winner Novak Djokovic stole the show in the evening by outlasting German third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 to remain in the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title at the venue of his Olympic gold medal last year. Victory after three hours and 17 minutes was the 38-year-old Serbian's 101st win at Roland Garros but he had to draw from his seemingly endless reserves of energy and experience to prevail. "There was a lot of tension, pressure but it's normal when you play Zverev, one of the best in the world, in the last five-six years," Djokovic said. "My game is based on a lot of running. I'm 38, it's not easy to keep running like that but, OK, it works." Sinner was barely troubled as he defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1 7-5 6-0 and became the first Italian man to reach six Grand Slam semi-finals. The 23-year-old, who served a three-month doping ban before returning to action in Rome last month, raced through the first set after twice breaking the Kazakh, who had stunned fifth seed Jack Draper in the previous round. Looking to become the first man representing Kazakhstan to defeat a world number one, Bublik, who hit 37 drop shots against Draper, pulled out this weapon again in the second set. Sinner broke and held to take it before the 27-year-old Bublik, ever the entertainer, delighted fans with an underarm serve but ultimately could do nothing to stop the Italian's march into the last four. Boisson Sparkles Earlier Boisson became the toast of France after staging the tournament's biggest upset with a 7-6(6) 6-3 win over Andreeva, who had been tipped as a title contender, in an electrifying match that had the home crowd on the edge of their seats. The 22-year-old had stunned third seed Jessica Pegula in round four, but on Wednesday pulled off another major shock, beating Andreeva, who had not lost a set in the tournament. "Every player dreams of winning a Slam - and for a French player, Roland Garros even more so. I'll go for it because my dream is to win the final, not the semi-final," Boisson said. Andreeva, the 18-year-old sixth seed who was bidding to become the youngest female player to reach back-to-back French Open semi-finals in nearly three decades, quickly found herself chasing Boisson's fierce forehand. The underdog, who has been a breath of fresh air in the tournament with her no-nonsense power game and down-to-earth approach, looked to have run out of steam as Andreeva went 3-0 up but she proceeded to win the next six consecutive games. Andreeva repeatedly lost her temper and was handed a warning when she fired a ball into the stands in frustration. With the home crowd the loudest it had been since the start, chants of 'Lois, Lois' echoed across the Philippe Chatrier court, with the decibel level lifted even further because the roof was closed due to rain. Boisson, who will jump almost 300 places in the rankings next week, will face 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff, who came out on top in an error-ridden quarter-final against Australian Open champion Madison Keys, with the pair littering the court with 101 unforced errors. Unforced Errors With a total of 49 unforced errors in the first set alone they both struggled to hold serve and Gauff, a semi-finalist in Paris last year, wasted a set point before Keys, who reached the French Open last four in 2018, edged ahead with a tiebreak win. Gauff, who reached the final in 2022 and is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000), bounced back to win the next two sets. "So many unforced errors," Gauff, who also had 10 double faults, said to herself after sinking another easy baseline shot into the net. "I was just trying to be aggressive," the 21-year-old Gauff said. "Usually if you're playing too passive, in the end the more aggressive player is going to win. I knew in the second and the third that I had to try my best."
