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News18
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Former two-time champion Venus Williams headlines US Open wildcards
Washington [US], August 14 (ANI): Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams is the headlining the wildcard category for the women's singles competition in the upcoming US Open, starting from August 18 onwards. The two-time US Open champion, who won the title in 2000, 2001, will be joining fellow Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn, France's Caroline Garcia, a 2022 semifinalist, and Australian Talia Gibson in the wild card category for women's aged 45, made her return to action last month at the Washington DC Open and played her first match in 16 months. She also earned her first singles win in almost two years, becoming the oldest player to win a WTA Tour-level singles match in more than 21 years. She made it to the round of 16 of the competition. Also, at the US Open, she will be a part of the mixed doubles competition with compatriot Reilly with her sister Selena, Williams paved the way for the next generation of black tennis stars, including Ngounoue. During the presser ahead of the event, Venus expressed thrill at the amount of impact she had made, something she was not expecting when she picked up the racquet. 'As a young person, I wanted to play the game, be a champion. I loved the game so much, I did not realise that it would be so much bigger than myself," she said as quoted by the US Open's website.'Seeing these young women doing positive things with their life, winning tournaments, inspiring the next generation, too, it is like I could have never imagined that. So it is like icing on the cake, cherries on top with the nuts and all the fixings. It is beautiful," she concluded. (ANI)
Kuwait Times
06-08-2025
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Fritz, Shelton set up all-American ATP Toronto Masters semi-finals
Sizzling Osaka to face Tauson in WTA Canadian Open semis TORONTO: US second seed Taylor Fritz overcame a late niggle while serving for the match on Tuesday to beat Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) and reach the ATP Toronto Masters semi-finals. The American claimed his place in a fifth semi-final of the season after losing serve while trying to close out what had been looking like a quick win, finally coming through into the last four at this level for the first time after 83 minutes. The Californian will play for a spot in the Thursday final when he takes on fourth seed Ben Shelton, who won a Masters quarter-final on his fourth attempt, defeating Australian Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4. Shelton laid down 11 aces in his 91-minute victory and dominated on rallies longer than nine shots. The result ended a seven-match win streak for last week's Washington champion de Minaur. 'I'm really happy with that performance. It showed mental toughness from start to finish,' Shelton said. 'This win gives me a lot of confidence, I'm excited about the semi-final. 'People often just see me as a server, not much of a grinder, but when I go into lockdown mode and put a lot of balls onto the court, it surprises guys sometimes. 'Winning longer rallies is all part of my evolution.' MONTREAL: Naomi Osaka of Japan plays a forehand against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their quarterfinals singles women's match on Day Ten of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open at IGA Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. – AFP Shelton set up three match points with his final ace and needed only one chance to emerge the winner. Fritz admitted he was struck by brain freeze as he served for victory leading a set and 5-4. After saving three break points he put a return into the net for 5-all as Rublev held on. 'That game was so shaky for me, we had both been holding serve easily, everything felt calm and chill,' he said. 'It came out of nowhere, the pressure of that game. It was tight and my brain just turned off. 'The only thing to do is to come back and try to win the set. That's what is able to make it all feel not as bad.' Fritz did just that, closing out the win 15 minutes later in the second-set tiebreaker with a serve winner. Fritz struck a personal-best 20 aces (for three-set matches) among his 29 winners. He now stands 6-4 over Rublev. The American has now won 19 of his last 22 matches including reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals. Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA Canadian Open on Tuesday with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 triumph over 10th seed Elina Svitolina. Osaka, chasing her first WTA Tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, needed only 68 minutes to dispatch the Ukraine star and book a Wednesday semi-final with Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson, who stunned reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4. 'I'm just having a lot of fun playing. I'm glad to be here,' Osaka said. 'I think I'll be seeded in the US Open because I won my match. That was a really good goal for me. I'm just really excited.' Tauson dedicated her victory to her late grandfather, who died on Sunday as the Dane was dispatching Polish second seed Iga Swiatek, who won her sixth Grand Slam title last month at Wimbledon. 'Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away so I really wanted to win for him today,' a tearful Tauson said after beating US sixth seed Keys. 'I was told the day after I beat Iga so I really wanted to come out and show my best tennis for him. Hopefully he's watching.' The US Open hardcourt tuneup in Montreal is the first event where Tauson has beaten two top-10 foes, with Swiatek and Keys exiting at her hand. Tauson dominated the opening set and took full advantage of Keys giving up a break on a double fault to open the second. The Dane won 12 of 19 points on her second serves and kept Keys at bay most of the night. Keys joined a scrap heap of Montreal seeds, with the top five seeds and seven of the top 10 seeds ousted before the quarter-finals. Tauson, 22, seeks her fourth career WTA title after the 2021 Lyon and Luxenbourg Opens and this year's Auckland Open, where Osaka retired after winning the first set of the final in their only WTA meeting. 'She's really tough,' Osaka said of Tauson. 'I played her in Auckland this year. I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So I'm really excited that I'm healthy.' First title as a mom? Osaka seeks her eighth WTA-level title, and her first since a maternity leave comeback last year. She last won a WTA-level title below the Grand Slams at the 2019 China Open. Osaka broke for a 3-1 edge in the opening set and exchanged breaks in the last three games to capture the set after 38 minutes, then cruised through the second set, taking the triumph when Svitolina hit a forehand wide. Tauson is one win away from her second WTA 1000 final, having lost the first in February at Dubai to Mirra Andreeva. The Dane dominated Keys in the first set, breaking in the fourth and sixth games, and Keys double faulted away another break to begin the second set. Tauson held from there to win, never facing a break point in the second set before holding at love in the last game to end matters after 70 minutes. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, and 18-year-old Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko will meet in Wednesday's other semi-final. Rybakina won their only prior meeting 6-3, 7-5 last month in the second round at Washington. — AFP
Perth Now
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Two-time champ Pegula suffers upset loss in Montreal
American Jessica Pegula's bid for a three straight titles at the Canadian Open has ended with a three-set loss in Montreal. Thirty-five-year-old Anastasija Sevastova stunned the defending champion and No 3 seed on Friday, winning 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 32. Ranked 386, Sevastova was granted entry into the main draw with a protected spot after suffering a challenging knee injury. She's the lowest-ranked player to beat someone in the top 10 since Angelique Kerber surprised Jelena Ostapenko more than a year ago at Indian Wells. Sevastova wasn't sure how she pulled off the upset. "Somehow, I was down 2-0 in the second set and started to play better and better," she said. "Third set, I played really good. Just trying to stay on the court as long as possible." The Latvian was playing only her 24th WTA Tour-level match in the past four years and had lost her last seven meetings against top five opponents. Her last big result came at the 2018 US Open when she defeated Sloane Stephens in her best Grand Slam singles performance. In the decisive third set, Sevastova scored two service breaks against Pegula to lock it up. She was better in the big moments, saving nine of 13 break points and converting six of 10. Sevastova can equal her best career result in Canada with a win on Sunday against Naomi Osaka who defeated Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4. Osaka has won three matches in Montreal including a second-round struggle when she saved two match points against Liudmila Samsonova. Meanwhile, No. 6 seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys came back to defeat fellow American Caty McNally 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 15 minutes. Keys converted her third match point with a forehand pass, breaking McNally for the fourth time. "Today I did a good job of bouncing back after the first set," Keys said. "Let go of the first set and move on. Happy I was able to do that."
