Latest news with #AmandaAnisimova
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
Sabalenka powers into Roland Garros quarter-finals
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka celebrates her victory over American Amanda Anisimova in their French Open fourth-round match at Roland-Garros. (AP pic) PARIS : World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka reached her 10th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final on Sunday with a straight-sets win over Amanda Anisimova in the French Open fourth round. The Belarusian battled through a tight opening set against the American 16th seed and then needed eight match points to clinch a 7-5, 6-3 victory on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Sabalenka, who was the pre-tournament favourite, will face Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the last eight after the Chinese star edged past Liudmila Samsonova. Zheng beat Sabalenka for the first time in their seven meetings in the Italian Open quarter-finals in the build-up to Roland Garros. 'She's a great player. Of course, I expect a great battle, and I'm super excited to face her in the quarter-finals, and I want to get my revenge,' said Sabalenka. 'I want to get this win after Rome, so I'm happy to face her in the quarters.' Anisimova holds a 5-3 winning record over Sabalenka but has now lost their last two matches. The 23-year-old, a French Open semi-finalist in 2019, won her maiden WTA 1000 title in Doha earlier this season. 'I'm building my confidence against her, and I improved my game a lot over the years,' added Sabalenka. 'I think now I have everything I need to get all of those wins back against her.' The 27-year-old, who has never reached a French Open final, suffered a shock defeat in the quarters last year against Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva. 'I think in the last year I improved a lot in my game, and I think now going to the French Open, I don't have those doubts that I cannot play on clay, so maybe I'm more confident this year,' she said. 'Before going to the French Open, like previous years, I was, like, 'I'm not sure'. There's Iga and players that are much better in movement, much better in a lot of things. I'm not sure that I'm ready yet. 'Now going to the French Open I know that I'm ready, and I'm super excited, and I really hope that I'm going to be very proud of myself by the end of this tournament.' Anisimova pushed Sabalenka in the first set, breaking the top seed when she was serving to clinch the opener. But two missed break points in the 11th game proved costly as Sabalenka went on to secure a one-set lead. The three-time Grand Slam champion quickly built a 3-0 advantage in the second set. Anisimova showed real grit to save six match points in a marathon hold of serve to cut the deficit to 5-3, but Sabalenka finally finished it off on her own serve at the eighth time of asking with a thumping backhand winner.
New York Times
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
French Open recap: Aryna Sabalenka's tennis evolution sees her through at Roland Garros
Follow The Athletic's French Open coverage Welcome to the French Open briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament. On day eight, a world No. 1 showed why she has evolved her game, a tale of three match points and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka went into Sunday's meeting with Amanda Anisimova with a 2-5 head-to-head record, and having lost three of their four meetings on clay. In theory, that put the American No. 16 seed at a pretty big advantage. But four of those five Anisimova wins came before Sabalenka had become a Grand Slam champion — and more importantly, the multi-faceted player she is now. Advertisement Sabalenka offered a reminder of that evolution throughout a comfortable 7-5, 6-3 victory to reach the quarterfinals. Things got tight in the first set when Anisimova came back from 5-2 down to having a couple of break points at 5-5, but Sabalenka proved ultimately too good. She had too much variety for Anisimova, who could more or less match her power but lacks the kind of plan B that Sabalenka now has. In the decisive game of the first set, with Anisimova serving at 5-6, Sabalenka used a drop shot to draw a missed forehand from her opponent for 15-15. Later in the game, Anisimova constructed a couple of points — one of them the break point from which Sabalenka ultimately took the set — with calmness and precision, dragging Sabalenka way out of position. On both of them, a high-margin drop shot would have been a safe way to end the point. But Anisimova only had another powerful groundstroke in her locker, and she missed them both and lost the set. In her news conference afterwards, Sabalenka talked about the importance of keeping her opponent guessing. 'As much as I could, I tried to change the rhythm against her,' she said. 'I think I did it pretty well, and overall I stayed really aggressive. Those little moments (of variety) help me a lot to put extra pressure on her.' She'll play Zheng Qinwen for a place in the semifinals Charlie Eccleshare Every player who has taken a point when they know, deep down, that a chair umpire or a line judge has made the wrong call ought to take a look at some video from Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton at Roland Garros. Alcaraz didn't like a call on a Shelton serve during the first set. He complained to the chair umpire that the ball had ticked the net, but didn't get anywhere. Shelton offered to replay the point. Alcaraz turned him down. Advertisement A set later it was Alcaraz's turn to live tennis etiquette in a way so few players do. Early in the second set, Shelton fired a passing shot at Alcaraz. Alcaraz lunged for it and somehow made the volley as his racket flew out of his hand. The chair umpire gave him the point. Alcaraz said no. He knew his racket had made contact with the ball after it left his hand. He gave Shelton the point. Too much class from Carlitos, who gave the point to Ben Shelton after telling the chair umpire he did not have his racket in his hand when contact was made with the ball 👏#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025 'I would have felt guilty I didn't say anything about that,' Alcaraz said. 'I have to be honest with myself and with everyone I play,' He said that's what tennis is, or should be. Stuff like this happens a lot in tennis. Here's a simple rule that would solve a lot of problems for players: Be cool. Matt Futterman For an encapsulation of how much more aggressively No. 13 seed Elina Svitolina plays these days, check out the third match point she saved against last year's runner-up, Jasmine Paolini. Svitolina had already saved two match points. Serving down 4-5 in the second set, she got on the front foot in of them; in the other, Paolini went for broke and made an unforced error. The third was the toughest. The set had gone to a tiebreak, and Paolini was serving at 6-5. After seeing off the serve, Svitolina edged her way forward and then ripped a forehand up the line that Paolini could only float back in response. Svitolina, who had anticipated that kind of ball, knifed away a backhand winner to keep herself alive. Svitolina hit 37 winners in total in the match, and pinched the tiebreak 8-6 to level the match at one-set all. Advertisement From there, she kept on attacking and cruised home 6-1 in the decider. Once considered a relatively safe player, Svitolina has dialled up the aggression and it's led to her playing some of the best tennis of her career. Paolini has seen it at closer quarters than most: Svitolina came back from a set down against her at this year's Australian Open, too, winning the final set there 6-0. Next up for Svitolina is a quarterfinal Tuesday against the four-time champion Swiatek, who Svitolina beat at the same stage of Wimbledon two years ago. For Paolini, this defeat will take a bit of getting over. 'I had my chances, and I didn't — I don't know, maybe one match point I could play better, but at the same time, she's a great player,' Paolini said in a post-match news conference. 'She played really well.' Charlie Eccleshare Iga Świątek is the only Roland Garros champion left in the draw… Or is she? Świątek didn't win the last tennis final played on these clay courts: Zheng Qinwen did, beating Świątek on the way to Olympic gold in women's singles last summer. She remains the only player to beat Świątek here since 2021, and she walks the grounds with the swagger of a champion. Zheng outlasted Liudmila Samsonova Sunday, to set up a quarterfinal with Sabalenka, the player she beat in Rome last month. There's no question this is her tennis happy place at the moment. 'I still remember how many times I fall on the ground last year,' she said after the Samsonova win, which she celebrated with the kind of backwards collapse normally associated with Grand Slam titles. 'Even me today I still remember the Olympic Games moment on court. I say to myself during the match, 'Keep fighting, just keep going on, don't look at the score, and let's see what's going to happen.'' Advertisement With that attitude and her recent memories of toppling Sabalenka for the first time in her career, Zheng may be a very tough out for the world No. 1. Matt Futterman Tell us what you noticed on the eighth day… (Top photo of Aryna Sabalenka: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic)
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
No more outside courts for me, only centre court from now on, says Sabalenka
PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - World number one Aryna Sabalenka is done playing on the outside courts in Paris and wants only the centre court from now on as she chases her first French Open crown. The top seed has played two of her four matches so far on the Suzanne Lenglen court -- the second court with a capacity of 10,000 -- including Sunday's straight sets win over American Amanda Anisimova. The Belarusian three-time Grand Slam champion, however, now wants her quarter-final against China's seventh-seed and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen to be scheduled on the Philippe Chatrier court, which fits 5,000 more fans than the Lenglen. "If you ask me what I prefer, I prefer to play on Philippe Chatrier," Sabalenka told a press conference. "Why the decision was to put me on that court for the second time, I don't know. Hopefully from now I'm going to be playing only on Philippe Chatrier. I think I should be, right?," she said. Sabalenka said while playing on the smaller court gave fans without tickets to the showcase court the opportunity to watch her play, the Philippe Chatrier had a different aura and a bigger audience. "When you play on the biggest courts, they show those matches on the TV, so more people are watching and you can show yourself to more people," Sabalenka said. "Also, the court is so beautiful, and it's much bigger. The moment you step on the Chatrier, you feel like, okay, this is a big stage, and this is where I'm meant to be." "This is where I want to compete, and I want to fight, and I want to bring my best tennis. So I think it's all about the energy of the stadium."
Straits Times
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Top seed Sabalenka powers past Anisimova into the French Open last eight
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka embraces Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. after winning their fourth round match REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2025 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. in action during her third round match against Denmark's Clara Tauson REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her fourth round match against Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2025 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. in action during her fourth round match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - June 1, 2025 Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka in action during her fourth round match against Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner Top seed Sabalenka powers past Anisimova into the French Open last eight PARIS - World number one Aryna Sabalenka was briefly troubled in the first set before battling past 16th-seed Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-3 on Sunday to reach the French Open quarter-finals and improve her losing record against the American. The Belarusian three-time Grand Slam champion, who now has more match straight set wins this year (33) than any other player has tour wins, will take on China's seventh-seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals. "She is a great player, a tough one," Sabalenka said in a post-match interview. "We had tough battles in the past. Honestly I was so focused, put as much pressure on her, change some rhythm. I am super happy with the win. She challenged me a lot." Sabalenka is now the first player to reach the quarter-finals in 10 consecutive Grand Slams since Serena Williams between 2014-17. "I am super hungry for this tournament. I want to stay until the very last day," she said. The top seed went into the match with a 2-5 win-loss record against the 16th-seed Anisimova and a 1-3 record on clay in their previous matches. She broke the American twice to race to a 4-1 lead. The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who has never won the French Open, carved out a set point on her serve at 5-3 but Anisimova, a semi-finalist in Paris in 2019, hung in to level before her opponent recovered to win the first set. The top seed then powered to a 3-0 lead, with Anisimova landing a warning for throwing her racket as her frustration boiled over. Sabalenka racked up the pressure, firing three aces to move 5-2 clear but Anisimova, with her back to the wall, valiantly saved six match points to hold. She saved another on her opponent's serve but Sabalenka finished the job on the eighth opportunity with a fierce backhand down the line. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Top seed Sabalenka powers past Anisimova into the French Open last eight
PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - World number one Aryna Sabalenka was briefly troubled in the first set before battling past 16th-seed Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-3 on Sunday to reach the French Open quarter-finals and improve her losing record against the American. The Belarusian three-time Grand Slam champion, who now has more match straight set wins this year (33) than any other player has tour wins, will take on China's seventh-seed Zheng Qinwen in the quarter-finals. "She is a great player, a tough one," Sabalenka said in a post-match interview. "We had tough battles in the past. Honestly I was so focused, put as much pressure on her, change some rhythm. I am super happy with the win. She challenged me a lot." Sabalenka is now the first player to reach the quarter-finals in 10 consecutive Grand Slams since Serena Williams between 2014-17. "I am super hungry for this tournament. I want to stay until the very last day," she said. The top seed went into the match with a 2-5 win-loss record against the 16th-seed Anisimova and a 1-3 record on clay in their previous matches. She broke the American twice to race to a 4-1 lead. The 27-year-old Sabalenka, who has never won the French Open, carved out a set point on her serve at 5-3 but Anisimova, a semi-finalist in Paris in 2019, hung in to level before her opponent recovered to win the first set. The top seed then powered to a 3-0 lead, with Anisimova landing a warning for throwing her racket as her frustration boiled over. Sabalenka racked up the pressure, firing three aces to move 5-2 clear but Anisimova, with her back to the wall, valiantly saved six match points to hold. She saved another on her opponent's serve but Sabalenka finished the job on the eighth opportunity with a fierce backhand down the line.
