Latest news with #FrenchOpens
France 24
2 hours ago
- Sport
- France 24
Zverev ready for 'best in world' at French Open
The German third seed will be well rested for the latter stages of the tournament after his last-16 opponent Tallon Griekspoor retired with an abdominal injury while trailing 6-4, 3-0. Zverev, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in last year's Roland Garros final, will face either Djokovic or Britain's Cameron Norrie in the last eight as he continues his latest bid for a maiden Grand Slam title. "For me, Carlos is the favourite. I have said that before. Then I would say the next three in line are Jannik, myself, and Novak, right? I still believe that," said Zverev, who is seeded to meet world number one Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. "I still believe on tennis and on experience Novak is up there with us, no question about that at all. So, yeah, I think from now on I have the toughest draw in the tournament. "I'm looking forward to the battles ahead, and I'm looking forward to playing the best in the world." He also reached the final at the Australian Open earlier this year before losing to Sinner. Zverev has made at least the last four at the past four French Opens and is into his seventh quarter-final at Roland Garros in total. The 28-year-old has won five of his 13 career matches with Djokovic, including in Melbourne in January when the Serb retired injured from their semi-final following the first set. "We have great history in our rivalry, I would say, but I'm looking forward to the match, and it's always a privilege to be on court with him," added Zverev. "But he has to win first today, also, right? I don't want to disrespect anybody, and anybody who is in the fourth round deserves to be there, so I have to respect Cam and we'll see how the match goes. "Of course, playing Novak is always an honour." Dutchman Griekspoor's serve was severely affected by his injury, although he managed to take a 3-0 lead in the first set before Zverev found his rhythm. "Unfortunately this morning in the warm-up... I pulled my abdominal (muscle) which made me not serve fully and not able to compete the way I would like," said Griekspoor, who was playing in the fourth round of a major for the first time. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Iga Swiatek wins thrilling Elena Rybakina duel at French Open after opening set rout
ROLAND GARROS, PARIS — Iga Świątek, a four-time champion at Roland Garros whose progress here tends to be so serene, was pushed to her limits Saturday in a thrilling 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina at the French Open. For the past three years, it has been hard to quantify just how good Świątek's performances have been, because of the obvious gulf in quality between her and her opponent, even when some of them are her rivals at the very top of the sport. Świątek has not lost a match at this tournament in four years, and has rarely been troubled on her way to winning the last three French Opens. Advertisement Not so Saturday. While Rybakina's results over the past year had not been brilliant until a recent surge in form, she can blast anyone off any court when she is playing near her peak. 'The first set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner,' Świątek said in her on-court interview, after Rybakina had taken her racket out of her hands throughout it. 'I just kept fighting.' Świątek trailed by a set and a break, and having lost so many matches against red-lining opponent, she could have panicked. Not here on Court Philippe-Chatrier, where she has been unbeatable the past four years. Just as when she stared down a match point against Naomi Osaka last year, Świątek dug in and showed why she is the greatest clay-court player of the modern era. She was even able to shrug off the frustration of thinking she had secured a decisive break for 5-4 in the decisive set, only to be denied by an overrule from umpire Kader Nouni. Having struggled with her footwork early on, Świątek came up clutch when she needed to, saving seven break points in a row at one stage. Now she's into a quarterfinal against Elina Svitolina, and with little momentum coming into the tournament, she has the wind at her back. A semifinal against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka looms on the horizon, which would reopen the rivalry everyone in women's tennis wants to see. Advertisement Świątek quickly found herself down 5-0, at the start of the match, bringing back worrying memories of recent defeats to Danielle Collins and Coco Gauff and even a win against Madison Keys in which she was taken apart in the opening set. Rybakina even had a couple of points for a 6-0 set, which would have been Świątek's first at Roland Garros since 2019, but Świątek just about clung on. Świątek had spoken in the week about not chasing down balls during those defeats, and her footwork problems recurred on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It was alarming to see her getting caught in her service motion time and again, struggling to stay balanced as Rybakina swung away. Both players left the court at the end of the set, but it was Rybakina who benefited from the stoppage, raising her level even higher and breaking to love by rolling a backhand winner crosscourt and then sending a bruising forehand scudding down the line. Rybakina is one of the game's cleanest ball-strikers; when she plays to her top level she can be borderline unplayable. The question was whether she could sustain the level, with Świątek needing a dip from her opponent to remain in the tournament. It duly arrived not long after, when Rybakina netted a sitter of a volley to give up a break for 2-2. Świątek then squeaked her way out of a game in which she double-faulted three times when up game point to hold for 3-2. Świątek's dominance at Roland Garros has at times led to her matches being foregone conclusions, so much so that the entertainment value of her quality can get forgotten. Not so Sunday, as Rybakina pushed to her limits — Świątek secured another break by surfing into a forehand pass as only she can, going on a run of 11 straight points to flip a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead, before winning the set 6-3. Advertisement After the surges and slumps of the first two sets, both players were playing at a good level at the same time at the start of the decider. Świątek was spearing forehands across the clay, while Rybakina replied in kind on her backhand, one in the fourth game so powerful that it sent Świątek's racket flying out of her hand. To end that game, Świątek missed a volley into the net that was as simple as the one Rybakina missed to get broken in the second set. Furious with herself, she was at risk of losing her serve, but didn't let it affect her. It was Świątek who earned the first break of serve at 3-3, but Rybakina broke back immediately on another double fault from the Pole to level at 4-4. In the next game, Świątek, and everyone in the stadium, thought she had broken again in the next game, when a Rybakina second serve was called long down 15-40. The players even started walking to their chairs, but umpire Nouni came down off his to inspect the mark and called it in. Per the rules, Rybakina was given a first serve, and buoyed by the reprieve saved both break points and held for 5-4. She couldn't repeat the trick in the 11th game. Świątek again got herself to 15-40 and this time took a 6-5 lead, before converting her second match point with a forehand crosscourt winner to earn a thrilling win, the kind which has eluded her in recent times. Advertisement Świątek had won 24 matches in a row at the French Open, tied with Justine Henin for the third-longest women's streak in the Open Era. She went into this fourth-round match, her 41st at the tournament, with a 38-2 record. A defeat would have seen her be around No. 8 in the WTA Tour rankings going into Wimbledon, which begins June 30. That would have put her in line to face one of the world's top four at the quarterfinal stage, although she has never gone beyond the quarterfinals at what is to date her least successful Grand Slam. For Rybakina, this is her best performance at a Grand Slam since last year's Wimbledon, when she reached the semifinals and was up a set before losing to eventual champion Barbora Krejčíková. Since then, her longtime coach Stefano Vukov has been suspended for one year by the WTA Tour, after an investigation found that he had breached its code of conduct by engaging in 'abuse of authority and abusive conduct' toward Rybakina. Rybakina, who has maintained that Vukov has never mistreated her, played some of her best tennis of the past year at this French Open, as she has done for most of the past month. She won her first title in over a year in Strasbourg, France in the run up to Roland Garros. On Court Philippe-Chatrier, she raised her level even higher against the four-time champion. She just proved too much, in the end. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka reach fourth round at French Open
Swiatek, who has won four of her five major titles at Roland-Garros, defeated Jaqueline Cristian, 6-2, 7-5, on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to extend her French Open winning streak to 23 matches. A second set lasting 1 hour, 16 minutes, tested the Pole, who yelled in relief after winning on her second match point. Swiatek had 20 winners and 21 unforced errors. Advertisement 'She used her chances and just went for it,' said Swiatek, who enjoyed temperatures which reached 84 degrees. 'For sure I don't mind. On clay it gives the balls the extra bounce.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Sabalenka and Swiatek have been in contrasting form. Sabalenka has reached six singles finals this year, the most for a woman entering Roland-Garros since Serena Williams in 2013. But Swiatek is looking to reach her first final anywhere since winning her third straight French Open title, and fourth overall, a year ago. No woman has won four straight French Opens in the Open era. Asked who was under the most pressure to win this year — her or Swiatek — Sabalenka said, jokingly: 'Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row?' Advertisement Defending men's champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain was in action later Friday. The No. 2-ranked Alcaraz faced Damir Dzumhur, who hurt his left knee during a fall in his second-round win. What else happened at the French Open on Friday? Fourth-seeded Jasmine Paolini, last year's runner-up, beat Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva, 6-4, 6-1, and No. 12 Elena Rybakina won against 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko. Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen beat 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko, 6-3, 6-4, while No. 16 Amanda Anisimova and Liudmila Samsonova also advanced. In men's third-round play, No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy beat Mariano Navone; No. 10 Holger Rune of Denmark beat Frenchman Quentin Halys in five sets; and 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul did the same against No. 24 Karen Khachanov. No. 15 Frances Tiafoe beat No. 23 Sebastian Korda, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 6-4, in an all-American matchup, joining Paul and No. 13 Ben Shelton to give the US three men in the French Open fourth round for the first time since 1995. If qualifier Ethan Quinn wins on Saturday, there would be four American men in Week 2 in Paris for the first time since 1991. Shelton won against Matteo Gigante, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. No. 25 Alexei Popyrin of Australia also advanced.
France 24
6 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Zverev sees off Tien to reach French Open second round
The German third seed, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in last year's French Open final, saw off Tien 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen. The 28-year-old, who has lost all three of his Grand Slam finals, has made at least the last four in each of the past four French Opens. Tien, 19, appeared to be a tricky first-round draw for Zverev after an impressive run to the Australian Open last 16, but was no match for the world number three. "I thought I was quite aggressive today," said Zverev, who lost his only previous meeting with Tien earlier this year in Mexico. "I thought I did a good job taking care of my chances and then the result is kind of a turnaround from Acapulco." Zverev's preparation for the tournament has been far from perfect. As a last-minute entry in Hamburg, he lost in the round of 16 and blamed illness for a lacklustre display. He then revealed his journey to Paris was delayed after his plane, which was also carrying other tennis players, got struck by lightning, which forced it to turn around and do an emergency landing. "I think I didn't have the ideal preparation. I think throwing up three days before tournament starts is not ideal," Zverev added. He will next face Dutchman Jesper de Jong who beat Italy's Francesco Passaro in five sets. "I'm doing my things, I'm doing my job, I'm looking at myself at the moment," Zverev insisted. "Then when it's semi-finals, finals, whatever, then we look at who I play. Right now, everybody needs to win the matches, everybody needs to beat the opponents that are in front of them.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
French Open 2025: Dates, schedule and draw as prestigious Roland-Garros tournament begins
The 2025 French Open is here. The event, which is held every year at Roland-Garros, has begun. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek will look to defend their titles after winning the men's and women's singles events last year. Alcaraz and Swiatek, however, won't enter the event as the No. 1 ranked player. Alcaraz might not be the No. 1 ranked men's player, but he's close. He sits No. 2 on the list, just behind Jannik Sinner. Swiatek, on the other hand, dropped all the way to No. 5 following a rough stretch. Aryna Sabalenka will enter the event as the No. 1 ranked women's player, with Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula threatening for that top spot. When will Alcaraz and Swiatek take the court to defend their titles? Here's everything you need to know about the 2025 French Open, including the dates, schedule and draw for the prestigious event. The 2025 French Open takes place between May 25 and June 8. Singles play begins May 25, with the men's final closing things out on June 8. That's consistent with past French Opens, which typically occur at the end of May. The tournament typically runs two weeks, ending in June. That's been the case throughout most of the tournament's history, though the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted that schedule in both 2020 and 2021. Below is a full schedule for the 2025 French Open. May 25: First round singles play begins May 26: First round singles play continues May 27: First round singles play continues May 28: Second round singles play begins May 29: Second round singles play continues May 30: Third round singles play begins May 31: Third round singles play continues June 1: Fourth round singles play begins June 2: Fourth round singles play continues June 3: Quarterfinals singles play begins June 4: Quarterfinals singles play continues June 5: Women's semifinals singles play June 6: Men's semifinals singles play June 7: Women's final June 8: Men's final Over on the men's side, top-ranked Jannik Sinner will take on Arthur Rinderknech in the first round. If Sinner advances, he wouldn't face another highly-ranked opponent until the third round, when he might face No. 26 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. That's basically the case on the entire men's side. There aren't many big-name matchups before Round 3. Carlos Alcaraz could see Stefanos Tsitsipas as early as the fourth round, though he could also matchup against American Ben Shelton at that point. Novak Djokovic will kick off his 2025 French Open against American Mackenzie Mcdonald. If Djokovic — who comes into the event ranked No. 6 — can advance to the third round, that could set up a match with No. 27 Denis Shapovalov. The 2025 Men's singles draw 🔒#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2025 The women's side could provide more excitement in the earlier rounds. Right off the bat, No. 10 Paula Badosa will face Naomi Osaka in a tantalizing first-round matchup. Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic will also square off in Round 1. Poland's Iga Swiatek could face a tough road in the event. If she can advance past Rebecca Sramkova in Round 1, No. 5 Swiatek could take on Emma Raducanu in the second round. Women's No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on Kamilla Rakhimova in Round 1. Coco Gauff — the women's No. 2 — will face Olivia Gadecki in the first round. Potential women's singles quarter-finals (by seeding)(1) Sabalenka vs Zheng (8)(4) Paolini vs Swiatek (5) 👑(3) Pegula vs Andreeva (6)(2) Gauff vs Keys (7)#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2025 The French Open is held at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. That's why the event is sometimes called Roland Garros instead of the French Open. The stadium was named after French aviator Roland Garros. Roland-Garros features outdoor clay courts. Clay courts are considered slow, which could result in longer rallies. The 2025 French Open will air on TNT and truTV. That's a change from recent years, when NBC owned broadcast rights for the event. Matches can also be streamed on Max. Coverage will begin at 5 a.m. ET most days. A number of former tennis stars are expected to provide analysis for the event, including Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Sloane Stephens, Lindsay Davenport, Jim Courier, Chris Evert, Venus Williams and Boris Becker, among others. Brian Anderson, Alex Faust and Mark Petchey will provide play-by-play and Adam Lefkoe will provide in-studio coverage of the event.
