logo
Bad Homburg Open: Iga Swiatek Moves Into Final With Win Over Jasmine Paolini

Bad Homburg Open: Iga Swiatek Moves Into Final With Win Over Jasmine Paolini

News186 hours ago

Pole Swiatek coasted to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Italian Paolini to punch her ticket to the final.
Iga Swiatek secured her berth in the final of the Bad Homburg Open on Friday with a win over Jasmine Paolini in the semifinal of the event in the suburb of Frankfurt, Germany.
Pole Swiatek coasted to a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Italian Paolini to punch her ticket to her first final on grass-court.
'I wasn't expecting to win this match, so I'm happy that I just did my job," Swiatek said following the victory.
'I knew how I wanted to play and I just went for it," the 24-year-old added.
'I'm happy I kept the momentum going until the end of the match, Jasmine, you can't let her get back in the game because she's a fighter," Swiatek said crediting her opponent.
Swiatek surrendered her opening service game on the day but hit back immediately to break back before closing out the opening set with five more games on the trot. Paolini did fare marginally better in the second set, however, she was no match for the Pole who closed out the matchup in straight sets in dominant fashion.
Swiatek will take on either American Jessica Pegula or Czech Linda Noskova in the summit clash of the grass-court event which serves as a tune up to the prestigious Wimbledon.
Swiatek, who has managed to clinch five Grand Slam titles in her nascent career, will face Russian Polina Kudermetova in her Wimbledon 2025 opener at the SW19. The Pole has clinched four of her major crowns on clay at the French Open with the other one coming at the US Open.
Paolini will begin her quest for the coveted Wimbledon title with her fixture against Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.
Location :
Germany
First Published:
June 27, 2025, 19:56 IST

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Fritz faces lucky loser Brooksby in Eastbourne final, Eala makes history
Fritz faces lucky loser Brooksby in Eastbourne final, Eala makes history

Hindustan Times

timean hour ago

  • Hindustan Times

Fritz faces lucky loser Brooksby in Eastbourne final, Eala makes history

Top seed Taylor Fritz is on course for a fourth Eastbourne Open title in six attempts after setting up a final against fellow American and lucky loser Jenson Brooksby on Friday. HT Image Fritz overcame a second set stumble to beat Spanish sixth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 and close in on his second title of the grass court season after winning in Stuttgart earlier this month. If the world number five was fully expected to reach Saturday's final, Brooksby has been on a fairytale run since losing in straight sets to Aleksandar Vukic in qualifying. The 24-year-old upset French fourth seed Ugo Humbert 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 6-4 to become the first lucky loser to reach the final in tournament history. "I think it's a lot less pressure when you don't expect to be in the main draw and get the opportunity," said 149th-ranked Brooksby. "You just want to make the most of it." Brooksby won his first ATP Tour title earlier this year as a qualifier in Houston, where he saved match point in three of his matches during his run. "It means a lot to be back on stages like this, not just skill-wise but physically," said Brooksby, who began the year outside the top 1,000 in the world. "This is my favourite thing in the world to be back on these big stages in these big matches. I'm very happy to be playing again tomorrow." Earlier, Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour final after beating Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Eala survived a tense clash lasting more than two hours to make history in the Wimbledon warm-up event on the grass at Devonshire Park. In a final featuring two of the rising stars of the women's game, the 20-year-old will face Australian teenager Maya Joint on Saturday. Joint, 19, ranked 51 the world, beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3. "It was a challenge for both of us, physically and mentally. She's a really solid player, had some moments where she was really dominating," said Eala. "The fact that I was able to stay there and wait for my opportunities was a big achievement for me." Eala's run to the final underlined the world number 74's emergence as one to watch. She burst onto the scene with three shock victories over Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-finals in March. Eala is due to face reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon first round on Centre Court on Tuesday. But Krejcikova is struggling with a thigh injury that forced her to pull out of the Eastbourne quarter-finals on Thursday, putting the Czech's title defence in doubt. kca-smg/jw/nr/nf

Kenya's Kipyegon falls well short in bid for first sub-four-minute mile
Kenya's Kipyegon falls well short in bid for first sub-four-minute mile

Time of India

time2 hours ago

  • Time of India

Kenya's Kipyegon falls well short in bid for first sub-four-minute mile

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon fell short in her attempt to become the first woman to run a mile in under four minutes on Thursday when she clocked 4:06.42 in a Nike "Breaking4" project that, though faster than her own world record, will not be ratified. The 31-year-old triple world and Olympic 1,500 metres champion had needed to take more than seven seconds off her own 2023 world record of 4:07.64 but, despite a series of aids, managed just over one second. She was helped by innovative new kit, super-spikes and, crucially, a phalanx of mostly male pacers who blocked the wind on the four and a bit laps of the Stade Charlety track where she set her 1,500m world record last year. Dressed in a black one-pieced suit with black arm warmers, the diminutive Kenyan was swamped by her group of pacers, mostly men and all world class athletes themselves. In a pre-designed plan, a group of five men ran in a line in front of her as "the shield" with American double Olympic bronze medallist Grant Fisher on her shoulder. Live Events She was about on course at halfway but began to slip behind the coloured pacing lights inside the track and drifted on the final lap as she tied up over the last 200 metres. Those male pacers meant, just as with compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two-hour marathon run with "in and out" pacers in 2019, that the new mark will not be recognised as a world record. Kipyegon, however, was her usual upbeat self at the finish. "I'm tired but I feel good and I tried," she said, thanking the crowd of around a thousand people who had given her enthusiastic support. "That is why I was coming here - to try to be the first woman to run under four minutes. It's only a matter of time but I think it will come our way. If it's not me, it will be someone else. "So, yeah, I know one day, one time, a woman will run under four. I will not lose hope. I will still go for it and if there's not something like this, a special one, I think in a normal Diamond League, or anything, I will still go for it and I hope I will get it one day." Britain's Roger Bannister was the first man to go under four minutes in May 1954, with compatriot Diane Leather the first woman to break five minutes later the same month. The current men's record is the 3:43.13 set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1999.

Lewis Hamilton Given Formal Warning As Difficult Ferrari Start Continues
Lewis Hamilton Given Formal Warning As Difficult Ferrari Start Continues

NDTV

time2 hours ago

  • NDTV

Lewis Hamilton Given Formal Warning As Difficult Ferrari Start Continues

Lewis Hamilton's difficult start to life at Ferrari continued on Friday as he was handed a warning by the race stewards after winding up 10th in second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The seven-time champion was alleged to have impeded his successor at Mercedes, Italian teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli, at turn four of the fast and technical Red Bull Ring circuit in the Styrian Alps. Hamilton apologised immediately and explained that he had not seen Antonelli approaching behind him as he descended over the crest of a hill on a slow lap and drifted into the racing line. Hamilton raised his hand to signal his apology to Antonelli as he passed him. After speaking to Hamilton, the stewards decided to give the Briton a formal warning -- the usual sanction for such a misdemeanour in practice. It is the third time this season that Hamilton has been warned. "The driver of car 44 (Hamilton), although constantly checking his mirrors after being informed by the team about car 12 (Antonelli) closing in, slowly moved on to the racing line on the approach to turn four and thereby unnecessarily impeded car 12 which had to take evasive action," said the stewards in a statement. Hamilton was given a three-place grid drop at the Monaco Grand Prix where he impeded four-time champion Max Verstappen in qualifying when his race engineer Riccardo Adami wrongly informed him that the Dutchman was not on a flying lap. Hamilton struggled with gearbox problems on Friday as he evaluated a new floor design on his Ferrari car. His team-mate Charles Leclerc was fifth, six-tenths off the pace of McLaren's Lando Norris. str/nf

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store