Latest news with #KaterinaSiniakova
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Gauff battles past Keys to reach semi-finals
French Open 2025Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland GarrosCoverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app World number two Coco Gauff overcame a scrappy start to beat fellow American Madison Keys and reach the semi-finals of the French won 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-1 under the roof on Court Phillippe Chatrier to reach her third semi-final at Roland players were well below their best but Gauff eventually found her rhythm late in the second set and kicked on to dominate in the third."It wasn't an easy match and I'm very happy to get through it," said Gauff, 21."She is obviously a very great player and her forehand is probably one of the best, if not the best, on tour."Honestly I knew that I just had to be able to run today. As soon as the ball came short, I knew I had to punish her for it."Gauff, who won the French Open doubles title alongside Czech Katerina Siniakova in 2024, will face either Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva or French wildcard and world number 361 Lois Boisson. Gauff has fared well on clay so far this year, reaching back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome where she missed out on the titles to Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively.A nervy start saw Gauff and Keys trade early breaks but Keys settled quickly as her rival continued to flounder, opening up a 4-1 Gauff's credit, she fought her way back into proceedings and held set point, but Australian Open champion Keys came through in the errors started to creep into Keys' game during the second set and she quickly found herself on the backfoot at a double break just as Gauff had in the first set, Keys cancelled out the advantage, only for her opponent to level the match with another break and a had conceded nine double faults across the opening two sets but it was Keys who finished the match with 60 unforced errors off her racquet, compared to Gauff's ultimately proved to be the difference as Gauff, having finally found her serve, raced through the deciding is the third time Gauff has beaten Keys in six meetings and marked the first time she has beaten the 30-year-old on has lost to the eventual winner on each of her last four appearances at the French Open and if she can get through the semi-finals will face either defending champion Iga Swiatek or world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Second seed Gauff through to Paris third round
French Open 2025Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland GarrosCoverage: Live radio commentaries across 5 Live Sport and BBC Sounds, plus live text commentaries on the BBC Sport website and app Coco Gauff continued her bid for a second Grand Slam singles title with victory over Tereza Valentova to reach the French Open third 21-year-old beat 18-year-old Czech Valentova 6-2 6-4 to second seed Gauff reached the singles final at Roland Garros in 2022 but fell in straight sets to 'Queen of Clay' Iga has now won 12 of her past 14 matches, including reaching finals on the clay in Madrid and she was made to work in the final set, with the pair exchanging nine breaks of serve before Gauff held for a 5-4 then broke Valentova to 15 to secure victory and set up a third-round meeting with Marie won her first major singles title at the US Open in 2023 and also claimed the Roland Garros women's doubles title alongside Katerina Siniakova last year. American third seed Jessica Pegula progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) victory over compatriot Ann documented her subway trips to the US Open last year and has done the same in Paris, taking the Metro to Roland Garros during the week."Nobody recognised me at all. Nobody cared in that sense," the 31-year-old laughed."It was definitely very nice, very clean. A lot more relaxed than when I took the subway in New York. That's, like, an experience. "Paris, it was really easy, super chill, very clean. I didn't have to go that far. "I want to see if I can maybe take some players and do a couple of those in the future."Teenager Mirra Andreeva, a semi-finalist in Paris last year, was a 6-3 6-4 winner against American Ashlyn Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova advanced on day five, beating Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-0 4-6 6-3, but defending SW19 champion Barbora Krejcikova lost 6-0 6-3 to Veronika Kudermetova in 74 minutes.
The Advertiser
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Kasatkina triumphs for her new 'unbelievable country'
Daria Kasatkina sounded just a mite emotional as she reflected how she used to be so envious of those lucky folk who lived in Australia. The flag was "beautiful", the country "unbelievable", the people "so welcoming", she used to think. And this was the day, she concluded at Roland Garros, when she felt proud and honoured to be playing tennis not just as an Australian, but an Australian winner. "Couldn't believe that one day I could call myself an Australian. You never know where life will bring you," was the 28-year-old's slightly incredulous take on a day when she overcame all the added stress that came with wanting to shine for her new adopted nation with a maiden green-and-gold grand slam win to repay them. It came the hard way for the 17th seed, a tough battle to overcome the steely Katerina Siniakova, the Czech world No.1 doubles exponent, 6-1 3-6 6-2, in the first round of the French Open on Monday. It was just under two months ago that Kasatkina, who's not been back to Russia for three years since coming out as gay in 2022 and since courageously venting her disapproval in public about the invasion of Ukraine, revealed she would represent Australia after gaining permanent residency. They have been two "intense" months, she admitted. She's still not had the chance to visit her adopted country because of the hectic tour schedule but reckons she can't wait to look for her new Melbourne home once her passport has been sorted. And while her recent form has dipped on court amid all the fuss, she has been blown away by the support she's received. "Of course, changing the flag now, I want to be better, I want to bring success being an Australian. I think that's a little bit of pressure, but I think it's good. It's also a motivation," she explained. "I knew today's match wasn't going to be easy, but I'm really happy the way I was able to fight and how I managed the nerves, the tough situations in the second set, and then improved in the third set. Yeah, super proud of myself." Asked about playing under a new flag, the former French Open semi-finalist, who's set up a second-round clash with French wildcard, world No.100 Leolia Jeanjean, beamed: "Well, it's a beautiful flag, first of all, honestly. "It's good to have a little tension, which gives you the adrenaline, helps you through the match. But when it's a bit too much, that's not good. "So I was trying to balance this moment. I think I did it pretty good. I mean, to play my first grand slam under Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just super happy and proud to also win the first match. "The main thing is that I can live my life now freely and happy. With that, the tennis will come. I'm just really thankful to Australia to give me this opportunity." Asked why she chose Australia amid all the places that might have embraced her, she smiled: "Because it's unbelievable country. Simple. "This country was always amazing me, how the people are just getting along with each other so good, how welcoming it is. Nature and everything. "I mean, me personally, I feel so comfortable there every time coming. Every year there." And could embracing Australia have just given her extra reason to dream? Because after all that's happened, she explained, "I just feel free with the wings." Daria Kasatkina sounded just a mite emotional as she reflected how she used to be so envious of those lucky folk who lived in Australia. The flag was "beautiful", the country "unbelievable", the people "so welcoming", she used to think. And this was the day, she concluded at Roland Garros, when she felt proud and honoured to be playing tennis not just as an Australian, but an Australian winner. "Couldn't believe that one day I could call myself an Australian. You never know where life will bring you," was the 28-year-old's slightly incredulous take on a day when she overcame all the added stress that came with wanting to shine for her new adopted nation with a maiden green-and-gold grand slam win to repay them. It came the hard way for the 17th seed, a tough battle to overcome the steely Katerina Siniakova, the Czech world No.1 doubles exponent, 6-1 3-6 6-2, in the first round of the French Open on Monday. It was just under two months ago that Kasatkina, who's not been back to Russia for three years since coming out as gay in 2022 and since courageously venting her disapproval in public about the invasion of Ukraine, revealed she would represent Australia after gaining permanent residency. They have been two "intense" months, she admitted. She's still not had the chance to visit her adopted country because of the hectic tour schedule but reckons she can't wait to look for her new Melbourne home once her passport has been sorted. And while her recent form has dipped on court amid all the fuss, she has been blown away by the support she's received. "Of course, changing the flag now, I want to be better, I want to bring success being an Australian. I think that's a little bit of pressure, but I think it's good. It's also a motivation," she explained. "I knew today's match wasn't going to be easy, but I'm really happy the way I was able to fight and how I managed the nerves, the tough situations in the second set, and then improved in the third set. Yeah, super proud of myself." Asked about playing under a new flag, the former French Open semi-finalist, who's set up a second-round clash with French wildcard, world No.100 Leolia Jeanjean, beamed: "Well, it's a beautiful flag, first of all, honestly. "It's good to have a little tension, which gives you the adrenaline, helps you through the match. But when it's a bit too much, that's not good. "So I was trying to balance this moment. I think I did it pretty good. I mean, to play my first grand slam under Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just super happy and proud to also win the first match. "The main thing is that I can live my life now freely and happy. With that, the tennis will come. I'm just really thankful to Australia to give me this opportunity." Asked why she chose Australia amid all the places that might have embraced her, she smiled: "Because it's unbelievable country. Simple. "This country was always amazing me, how the people are just getting along with each other so good, how welcoming it is. Nature and everything. "I mean, me personally, I feel so comfortable there every time coming. Every year there." And could embracing Australia have just given her extra reason to dream? Because after all that's happened, she explained, "I just feel free with the wings." Daria Kasatkina sounded just a mite emotional as she reflected how she used to be so envious of those lucky folk who lived in Australia. The flag was "beautiful", the country "unbelievable", the people "so welcoming", she used to think. And this was the day, she concluded at Roland Garros, when she felt proud and honoured to be playing tennis not just as an Australian, but an Australian winner. "Couldn't believe that one day I could call myself an Australian. You never know where life will bring you," was the 28-year-old's slightly incredulous take on a day when she overcame all the added stress that came with wanting to shine for her new adopted nation with a maiden green-and-gold grand slam win to repay them. It came the hard way for the 17th seed, a tough battle to overcome the steely Katerina Siniakova, the Czech world No.1 doubles exponent, 6-1 3-6 6-2, in the first round of the French Open on Monday. It was just under two months ago that Kasatkina, who's not been back to Russia for three years since coming out as gay in 2022 and since courageously venting her disapproval in public about the invasion of Ukraine, revealed she would represent Australia after gaining permanent residency. They have been two "intense" months, she admitted. She's still not had the chance to visit her adopted country because of the hectic tour schedule but reckons she can't wait to look for her new Melbourne home once her passport has been sorted. And while her recent form has dipped on court amid all the fuss, she has been blown away by the support she's received. "Of course, changing the flag now, I want to be better, I want to bring success being an Australian. I think that's a little bit of pressure, but I think it's good. It's also a motivation," she explained. "I knew today's match wasn't going to be easy, but I'm really happy the way I was able to fight and how I managed the nerves, the tough situations in the second set, and then improved in the third set. Yeah, super proud of myself." Asked about playing under a new flag, the former French Open semi-finalist, who's set up a second-round clash with French wildcard, world No.100 Leolia Jeanjean, beamed: "Well, it's a beautiful flag, first of all, honestly. "It's good to have a little tension, which gives you the adrenaline, helps you through the match. But when it's a bit too much, that's not good. "So I was trying to balance this moment. I think I did it pretty good. I mean, to play my first grand slam under Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just super happy and proud to also win the first match. "The main thing is that I can live my life now freely and happy. With that, the tennis will come. I'm just really thankful to Australia to give me this opportunity." Asked why she chose Australia amid all the places that might have embraced her, she smiled: "Because it's unbelievable country. Simple. "This country was always amazing me, how the people are just getting along with each other so good, how welcoming it is. Nature and everything. "I mean, me personally, I feel so comfortable there every time coming. Every year there." And could embracing Australia have just given her extra reason to dream? Because after all that's happened, she explained, "I just feel free with the wings." Daria Kasatkina sounded just a mite emotional as she reflected how she used to be so envious of those lucky folk who lived in Australia. The flag was "beautiful", the country "unbelievable", the people "so welcoming", she used to think. And this was the day, she concluded at Roland Garros, when she felt proud and honoured to be playing tennis not just as an Australian, but an Australian winner. "Couldn't believe that one day I could call myself an Australian. You never know where life will bring you," was the 28-year-old's slightly incredulous take on a day when she overcame all the added stress that came with wanting to shine for her new adopted nation with a maiden green-and-gold grand slam win to repay them. It came the hard way for the 17th seed, a tough battle to overcome the steely Katerina Siniakova, the Czech world No.1 doubles exponent, 6-1 3-6 6-2, in the first round of the French Open on Monday. It was just under two months ago that Kasatkina, who's not been back to Russia for three years since coming out as gay in 2022 and since courageously venting her disapproval in public about the invasion of Ukraine, revealed she would represent Australia after gaining permanent residency. They have been two "intense" months, she admitted. She's still not had the chance to visit her adopted country because of the hectic tour schedule but reckons she can't wait to look for her new Melbourne home once her passport has been sorted. And while her recent form has dipped on court amid all the fuss, she has been blown away by the support she's received. "Of course, changing the flag now, I want to be better, I want to bring success being an Australian. I think that's a little bit of pressure, but I think it's good. It's also a motivation," she explained. "I knew today's match wasn't going to be easy, but I'm really happy the way I was able to fight and how I managed the nerves, the tough situations in the second set, and then improved in the third set. Yeah, super proud of myself." Asked about playing under a new flag, the former French Open semi-finalist, who's set up a second-round clash with French wildcard, world No.100 Leolia Jeanjean, beamed: "Well, it's a beautiful flag, first of all, honestly. "It's good to have a little tension, which gives you the adrenaline, helps you through the match. But when it's a bit too much, that's not good. "So I was trying to balance this moment. I think I did it pretty good. I mean, to play my first grand slam under Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just super happy and proud to also win the first match. "The main thing is that I can live my life now freely and happy. With that, the tennis will come. I'm just really thankful to Australia to give me this opportunity." Asked why she chose Australia amid all the places that might have embraced her, she smiled: "Because it's unbelievable country. Simple. "This country was always amazing me, how the people are just getting along with each other so good, how welcoming it is. Nature and everything. "I mean, me personally, I feel so comfortable there every time coming. Every year there." And could embracing Australia have just given her extra reason to dream? Because after all that's happened, she explained, "I just feel free with the wings."
West Australian
26-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Kasatkina triumphs for her new 'unbelievable country'
Daria Kasatkina sounded just a mite emotional as she reflected how she used to be so envious of those lucky folk who lived in Australia. The flag was "beautiful", the country "unbelievable", the people "so welcoming", she used to think. And this was the day, she concluded at Roland Garros, when she felt proud and honoured to be playing tennis not just as an Australian, but an Australian winner. "Couldn't believe that one day I could call myself an Australian. You never know where life will bring you," was the 28-year-old's slightly incredulous take on a day when she overcame all the added stress that came with wanting to shine for her new adopted nation with a maiden green-and-gold grand slam win to repay them. It came the hard way for the 17th seed, a tough battle to overcome the steely Katerina Siniakova, the Czech world No.1 doubles exponent, 6-1 3-6 6-2, in the first round of the French Open on Monday. It was just under two months ago that Kasatkina, who's not been back to Russia for three years since coming out as gay in 2022 and since courageously venting her disapproval in public about the invasion of Ukraine, revealed she would represent Australia after gaining permanent residency. They have been two "intense" months, she admitted. She's still not had the chance to visit her adopted country because of the hectic tour schedule but reckons she can't wait to look for her new Melbourne home once her passport has been sorted. And while her recent form has dipped on court amid all the fuss, she has been blown away by the support she's received. "Of course, changing the flag now, I want to be better, I want to bring success being an Australian. I think that's a little bit of pressure, but I think it's good. It's also a motivation," she explained. "I knew today's match wasn't going to be easy, but I'm really happy the way I was able to fight and how I managed the nerves, the tough situations in the second set, and then improved in the third set. Yeah, super proud of myself." Asked about playing under a new flag, the former French Open semi-finalist, who's set up a second-round clash with French wildcard, world No.100 Leolia Jeanjean, beamed: "Well, it's a beautiful flag, first of all, honestly. "It's good to have a little tension, which gives you the adrenaline, helps you through the match. But when it's a bit too much, that's not good. "So I was trying to balance this moment. I think I did it pretty good. I mean, to play my first grand slam under Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just super happy and proud to also win the first match. "The main thing is that I can live my life now freely and happy. With that, the tennis will come. I'm just really thankful to Australia to give me this opportunity." Asked why she chose Australia amid all the places that might have embraced her, she smiled: "Because it's unbelievable country. Simple. "This country was always amazing me, how the people are just getting along with each other so good, how welcoming it is. Nature and everything. "I mean, me personally, I feel so comfortable there every time coming. Every year there." And could embracing Australia have just given her extra reason to dream? Because after all that's happened, she explained, "I just feel free with the wings."
Perth Now
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Kasatkina triumphs for her new 'unbelievable country'
Daria Kasatkina sounded just a mite emotional as she reflected how she used to be so envious of those lucky folk who lived in Australia. The flag was "beautiful", the country "unbelievable", the people "so welcoming", she used to think. And this was the day, she concluded at Roland Garros, when she felt proud and honoured to be playing tennis not just as an Australian, but an Australian winner. "Couldn't believe that one day I could call myself an Australian. You never know where life will bring you," was the 28-year-old's slightly incredulous take on a day when she overcame all the added stress that came with wanting to shine for her new adopted nation with a maiden green-and-gold grand slam win to repay them. It came the hard way for the 17th seed, a tough battle to overcome the steely Katerina Siniakova, the Czech world No.1 doubles exponent, 6-1 3-6 6-2, in the first round of the French Open on Monday. It was just under two months ago that Kasatkina, who's not been back to Russia for three years since coming out as gay in 2022 and since courageously venting her disapproval in public about the invasion of Ukraine, revealed she would represent Australia after gaining permanent residency. They have been two "intense" months, she admitted. She's still not had the chance to visit her adopted country because of the hectic tour schedule but reckons she can't wait to look for her new Melbourne home once her passport has been sorted. And while her recent form has dipped on court amid all the fuss, she has been blown away by the support she's received. "Of course, changing the flag now, I want to be better, I want to bring success being an Australian. I think that's a little bit of pressure, but I think it's good. It's also a motivation," she explained. "I knew today's match wasn't going to be easy, but I'm really happy the way I was able to fight and how I managed the nerves, the tough situations in the second set, and then improved in the third set. Yeah, super proud of myself." Asked about playing under a new flag, the former French Open semi-finalist, who's set up a second-round clash with French wildcard, world No.100 Leolia Jeanjean, beamed: "Well, it's a beautiful flag, first of all, honestly. "It's good to have a little tension, which gives you the adrenaline, helps you through the match. But when it's a bit too much, that's not good. "So I was trying to balance this moment. I think I did it pretty good. I mean, to play my first grand slam under Australian flag, it's big honour. Yeah, just super happy and proud to also win the first match. "The main thing is that I can live my life now freely and happy. With that, the tennis will come. I'm just really thankful to Australia to give me this opportunity." Asked why she chose Australia amid all the places that might have embraced her, she smiled: "Because it's unbelievable country. Simple. "This country was always amazing me, how the people are just getting along with each other so good, how welcoming it is. Nature and everything. "I mean, me personally, I feel so comfortable there every time coming. Every year there." And could embracing Australia have just given her extra reason to dream? Because after all that's happened, she explained, "I just feel free with the wings."
