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Brands look to serve up an ace in Indian tennis amid a long slump
Revathi entered the Mumbai Open 2025 as a wildcard but walked out as India's next tennis sensation
Sarthak Choudhury New Delhi
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With the French Open beginning on Sunday, a persistent image associated with the Grand Slam for two decades has been of Rafael Nadal. The 14-time French Open's champions on-field duels with Roger Federer and later with Novak Djokovic have been etched in the memories of people who have viewed the sport. Last year, the man, who competed at the Roland Garros 115 times, made his final appearance on the clay court, losing to Alexander Zverev in a three-set thriller in the first round. Nadal went on to retire from the sport a few months later.
Nadal's shadow looms not only
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The Hindu
34 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Alcaraz set for 'great' French Open final against Sinner after Musetti abandons
Carlos Alcaraz promised a spectacular Roland Garros final against top seed Jannik Sinner after the reigning champion advanced past an injured Lorenzo Musetti in the last four on Friday. The Spaniard was leading 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-0, 2-0 after two hours and 25 minutes of play on Court Philippe Chatrier when eighth seed Musetti was forced to abandon with a thigh issue. Second seed Alcaraz will defend his crown against world number one Sinner, after the Italian dashed Djokovic's latest tilt at a 25th Grand Slam with a straight-sets victory in Friday's second semi-final. It will be the first time the pair meet in the final of a major. "It's going to be a really great Sunday, I think, for the fans of tennis," the 22-year-old said. "Jannik, he's the best tennis player right now. I mean, he's destroying every opponent through (to) the semi-final," he added of the three-time Grand Slam winner, who is yet to drop a set in the tournament. When the dust settles on Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday, the past six Grand Slam titles will have been shared between the two new dominant forces of the men's game. Alcaraz bested Sinner in five sets in the semi-final on his way to the title at Roland Garros in 2024, and he beat the 23-year-old last month in the Italian Open final as Sinner made his return from a three-month doping suspension. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz has emerged the victor in the last four meetings between the current top two-ranked players in the world, and leads their series 7-4 overall. 'Speedy recovery' With Musetti's forced retirement in Paris, Alcaraz moved into his second French Open showpiece match, and fifth major final overall. He now leads the 23-year-old 6-1 in their head-to-head series, winning all three of their clay-court battles this season after victories in the final at Monte Carlo and semi-finals of the Italian Open. Both players battled through an even opener, before Musetti pounced at 5-4 on Alcaraz's serve, setting up the break opportunity at the start of the game with a powerful crosscourt forehand winner to conclude a brutal baseline exchange. The pair exchanged consecutive breaks early in the second set. The Monte Carlo and Rome champion got ahead again in the 11th game, but Musetti immediately hit back to force a tie-break. Alcaraz was not to be denied however as he dominated the breaker, eventually levelling the match at the third time of asking as Musetti netted a forehand on the run. Now firmly in the ascendancy, Alcaraz pressed his advantage by racing through the third set in 22 minutes for the loss of just five points. Musetti received a massage on his left thigh during the change-over while trailing 0-5 in the third frame, before signalling that he was unable to continue three games later. "I felt at the beginning of the third (set) when I was serving, I start to, start losing a little bit of strength on the left leg behind, and definitely was going worse and worse, so I decided to stop," explained Musetti. It was an unfortunate end to an otherwise excellent clay-court season for the Carrara-native as he reached at least the semi-finals of the three Masters-level tournaments, as well as Roland Garros. "It's not the way that I want to win, to make the final," said Alcaraz. "The clay season for him has been unbelievable, the level he has reached is pretty high. "I just wished him, you know, speedy recovery. I hope to see him soon, you know, on court again, enjoying his tennis again. He's gonna reach these rounds, and he's going to fight for finals and Grand Slam, I'm sure about it."
United News of India
2 hours ago
- United News of India
Salisbury & Skupski reach French Open doubles final
Paris, June 6 (UNI) British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski came from a set down to beat Christian Harrison and Evan King and reach the French Open men's doubles final on Friday The eighth seeds, who only paired up at the start of the season, beat the American duo 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (10-7). It is the first time either Salisbury or Skupski have gone beyond the quarter-finals in the men's doubles in Paris. They will face Spain's Marcel Granollers and Argentina's Horacio Zeballos in Saturday's final from 15:30 BST. Harrison and King won a tense opening set via a tie-break but the British pair secured an early break in the second to force a decider. Salisbury and Skupski then had to battle back from a break down in the third set, forcing parity after the Americans served for the match at 5-3, the BBC reported. Harrison and King had a 6-3 lead in the deciding tie-break before Salisbury and Skupski fought back to secure a place in the final. The pair are bidding for a first Grand Slam title together, having reached finals on the clay in Qatar and Barcelona this year. UNI BM
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Tennis-Sinner says rivalry with Alcaraz just the tonic sport needs
PARIS, - Jannik Sinner believes his battle for supremacy with fellow French Open finalist Carlos Alcaraz could become the defining rivalry of their era and is something the sport needs with its golden generation of players calling time on their careers. Sinner beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-5 7-6 in a generational battle on Court Philippe Chatrier to deny his Serbian opponent a record 25th Grand Slam and leave him unsure whether he will ever return to Roland Garros, where he has won three major trophies. The 23-year-old Italian, who is seeking his fourth Grand Slam title, booked a mouth-watering meeting with his main rival Carlos Alcaraz, who will aim to retain his crown at Roland Garros and add a fifth major crown to his trophy cabinet. With Djokovic now the only active member of tennis' Big Four that also included Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray and yielded a collective 69 major titles in more than two decades, Sinner sensed an opportunity for himself and Alcaraz. "It takes time to compare us with the Big Three or Big Four, no? Only time can tell, to be honest," Sinner told reporters. "For sure, from my point of view, he's a player who makes me a better player. He pushes me to the limit. We try to understand where we have to improve, for the next times I play against him. "I believe that tennis or every sport needs rivalries. This could be potentially one of them, but there are amazing players coming up. There can be so many different and other players joining or one drops. You never know." Sunday's clash on Court Philippe Chatrier will mark only the 12th time that Sinner and Alcaraz have faced off, with the 22-year-old Spaniard looking for a fifth straight victory over his opponent to successfully defend his title. Djokovic said the pair would have to keep going to match the rivalry that he had with Federer, Nadal and Murray. "At the moment, that's hard, because they need to play against each for at least 10-plus years non-stop in order to be part of the same discussion," Djokovic added. "But they're definitely great for tennis, both of them. I think their rivalry is something our sport needs." Sinner said he and Alcaraz had a similar aura and could get more fans interested in the sport. "He's a player with charisma, with that aura," Sinner said. "The moment he steps on court, you can feel his presence. In the end, that's exactly what tennis needs. The more people like that, the more players like that, the better. "In the end, it's exactly those players who bring people closer to the sport and make them want to watch tennis."
