Latest news with #ArthurFils
NBC Sports
2 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Arthur Fils, France's last man in French Open field, has stress fracture in back
PARIS — Arthur Fils pulled out of the French Open because of a stress fracture in his lower back and could miss Wimbledon while sidelined for at least a month, he explained at a news conference Saturday. The 14th-seeded Fils, who had been the last man from France in the bracket, announced his withdrawal on Friday without offering details then about the extent of his injury. 'We decided with the team it was better to stop now, because if I'm stopping now, I could stop for only four to six weeks,' the 20-year-old Fils said Saturday. 'If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a couple of months. ... Had to make a choice.' With Fils out, No. 17 Andrey Rublev received a walkover into the fourth round. Fils had been dealing with back pain for a while, and things got worse during his five-set victory over Jaume Munar on Thursday. 'I gave everything. I couldn't go for more,' Fils said Saturday. 'At the end of the second set, I could feel that the back was not good at all.' He said he doesn't think he needs surgery. Fils knows he'll need to sit out some tournaments but said he wants to try to be able to compete at Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam tournament, which begins on June 30.
France 24
2 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
PSG one step away from glory against Inter Milan in Champions league final
07:24 Issued on: 07:24 min Five years after losing the final in an empty stadium because of Covid's health restrictions, PSG are once again one step closer to their European dream. In a full stadium, they will be able to count on their supporters as they attempt to win their first Champions League. The city of Paris is holding its breath ahead of what could become a historic evening. As for Roland-Garros, it was a disappointing end for French fans. Arthur Fils, France's best hope in the tournament, was forced to withdraw due to injury. Meanwhile, defending champions Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz successfully avoided elimination. On a brighter note, Frenchman Nicolas Prodhomme delivered an impressive performance in Italy, winning the extremely challenging 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jack Draper dispatches teenage sensation Joao Fonseca in straight sets to reach the last-16 of the French Open for the first time
There will come a day when Jack Draper vs Joao Fonseca blossoms into a fine rivalry. But not this day. For now, it is man against boy. The 23-year-old from London dispatched the 18-year-old from Rio de Janeiro 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second week of the French Open for the first time. 'Joao has caught the intention of everyone, there's so much more to come from him,' said No 5 seed Draper. 'Just a bit of experience from me today. But he's got a really bright future right at the top of the game.' Draper had never won a match here before this fortnight, but his stated ambitions are far greater than breaking his duck and he is matching deed with word. In the last 16 he will be a heavy favourite, whoever wins the clash of outsiders between Alexander Bublik and Henrique Rocha. A likely quarter-final against the mighty Jannik Sinner awaits thereafter. But his focus over the last two days was squarely on Fonseca, a teenager whom everyone has pegged as a future Grand Slam champion. Draper's chances received a boost at 8.52pm on Friday night, with the news that French No 1 Arthur Fils was withdrawing with a stress fracture of the back. That triggered a chain reaction in the schedule which saw Draper v Fonseca bumped up from Court Simone Mathieu to Suzanne Lenglen. The result was a totally different atmosphere. Mathieu is only partially ticketed, so the unreserved upper tiers would have been swarming with Brazilians. Over on Lenglen, there were only a few brushstrokes of green and gold. It was not even a full house. It was hot and humid - too muggy to be chanting and hollering. Draper will have been urging himself to strike early and take the sting out of the match. There was very little sting to begin with and what venom there was he quickly extracted. As Draper secured an early break, there was a shot from Fonseca which summed up where his game is currently at. Draper whipped a solid forehand, deep and with plenty of spin. On clay, it called for Fonseca to retreat a few feet, allow the ball to drop and rebuild the rally. Instead he stepped in, took it on the half-volley and ripped it into the middle of the net. Tennis, especially on the dirt, is about knowing when to push and when to absorb; it is about respecting your opponent's shots. Fonseca plays with the disrespect of youth and that makes him thrilling to watch. It also for now, at least for the top guys, makes him rather easy to beat. And Draper is every inch a top guy these days. He dominated Fonseca in every facet of the game. Instead of avoiding the dangerous Fonseca forehand, he attacked it. The Brazilian loves to trade in the backhand corner, before stepping round and unleashing the forehand hammer. By proactively going into the forehand wing, Draper was hitting into space, and forcing Fonseca to defend on a side where he prefers to attack. In his second-round win over Gael Monfils, Draper struggled at times with the cool, slow night time conditions. In the 28 degree afternoon heat, his forehand and serve had far more zip. The drop shot was also tremendously, at times laughably, effective - Fonseca just couldn't get a read on it, often so bamboozled he stood stock still as the ball plopped over. And those two weapons were often deployed in tandem: heavy forehand down the line to push Fonseca back; wrong-footing drop shot to that same side. Clay-court mastery of which Rafael Nadal would have been proud; it is startling how quickly Draper has tapped into the cadences of this most unfamiliar surface. He displayed a tactical sophistication of which Fonseca is not yet capable. For now, the young man's results remain far short of the hype. There were so many flashes of cameraphones from the crowd that Draper asked the umpire to ask them to stop. And that speaks to the fact that, as much as people flock to Fonseca's matches to watch him, they come almost more to have watched him; to be able to say, when he lifts a 10th Grand Slam title, 'I was there when he lost to Draper on Lenglen.' If that sounds like a lot on a teenager's shoulder's, that's because it is, but Fonseca seems to be dealing with things remarkably well at the moment. His game is so impressive, just unrefined. He will surely sit at the top table one day. Draper has not taken his seat there yet either - but he is pulling up a chair and perusing the starters.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Jannik Sinner makes light work of Jiri Lehecka at French Open
is clearly making up for lost time at this year's French Open. The world number one, who only returned from a three-month doping ban three weeks ago, raced into the fourth round in just 94 minutes. Sinner won the first 11 games against Czech Jiri Lehecka on his way to a commanding 6-0 6-1 6-2 victory. 'This morning I said to my team I'm feeling well and physically ready,' said the Italian. 'We had to go hard in the beginning because the beginning in grand slams is very important for confidence. I warmed up well, I felt very good so after 20-25 minutes I was feeling brave. 'My team gave me the right tactics, I tried to play them in the match so it's a combination of also being happy on court – it's very important. 'After today I don't think there's much I can improve but every opponent is different.' Sinner will meet Russian 17th seed Andrey Rublev on Monday. Meanwhile, Frenchman Arthur Fils has revealed he won a five-set match on Thursday despite having a stress fracture in his back. The 20-year-old 14th seed, who beat Jaume Munar in a marathon match lasting four and a half hours, has been forced to withdraw from the tournament. He said: 'I had some issue with the back for a long time, and during the match against Munar it got worse. 'Then I did some examinations. They were not good at all. I've got some stress fracture.' Fils was unsure whether he will be fit enough in time to compete at Wimbledon.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Reuters
French Open Day Seven
PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) - Highlights of the seventh day at the French Open on Saturday (times GMT): American third seed Jessica Pegula rallied from a set down to knock out former Wimbledon champion and 2019 Roland Garros runner-up Marketa Vondrousova 3-6 6-4 6-2. Russian-born Australian 17th seed and 2022 Roland Garros semi-finalist Daria Kasatkina made light work of Paula Badosa, beating the Spanish 10th seed 6-1 7-5. Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva, a quarter-finalist last year at Roland Garros, carved out a comfortable 6-3 6-1 victory over Kazakh 32nd seed Yulia Putintseva to book a place in the round of 16. French world number 14 Arthur Fils said he will miss "some tournaments" after pulling out of Saturday's third-round clash against Russian 17th seed Andrey Rublev due to a stress fracture in his back. "I'm going to skip some tournaments. I don't know which one yet. I will try to be ready for Wimbledon, but we are not sure," said Fils, who came through a punishing five-setter to beat unseeded Spaniard Jaume Munar in the second round. READ MORE: Preview-Djokovic faces Misolic at French Open with Parisian eyes on Champions League final Andreeva's lucky charm helps her into French Open last 16 Alcaraz survives after Sabalenka, Zheng shine at scorching French Open Swiatek wants equal treatment for women as French Open schedule remains in focus A third five-setter in a row? Bring it on, says marathon man Tommy Paul Swiatek stays cool to beat Cristian at French Open as temperature soars Rybakina through to French Open fourth round as Ostapenko derails Fourth seed Paolini cruises past Starodubtseva and into fourth round Quit your jobs, world number one Sabalenka tells overbearing coaches 0912 PLAY UNDER WAY Play began under cloudy skies, with the temperature hovering around 22 degrees Celsius. It is a humid day at Roland Garros, with light showers forecast. Novak Djokovic will headline the night session, while world number one Jannik Sinner and top seeds including Alexander Zverev, Jack Draper, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys are also in action. FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SATURDAY (prefix number denotes seeding): COURT PHILIPPE-CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT) Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic) v 3-Jessica Pegula (U.S.) 3-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v Flavio Cobolli (Italy) Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic) v 2-Coco Gauff (U.S.) 6-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) v Filip Misolic (Austria) COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT) 6-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v 32-Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) 1-Jannik Sinner (Italy) v Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic) 17-Andrey Rublev (Russia) v 14-Arthur Fils (France) 7-Madison Keys (U.S.) v 31-Sofia Kenin (U.S.) COURT SIMONNE-MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT) 17-Daria Kasatkina (Australia) v 10-Paula Badosa (Spain) Elsa Jacquemot (France) v Lois Boisson (France) Joao Fonseca (Brazil) v 5-Jack Draper (Britain) Cameron Norrie (Britain) v Jacob Fearnley (Britain)
