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Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Francis Tiafoe and Tommy Paul put two American men in quarterfinals for first time since 1996
It's the first time the country placed more than one man in the quarterfinals in Paris since 1996, when Jim Courier and Pete Sampras did it together. Zero men from the United States had made it this far in any year since Andre Agassi in 2003. The key for Tiafoe? Advertisement 'Playing hard-court tennis on a clay court,' he said. And Tiafoe — who celebrated his win by twice shouting a phrase that can't be quoted fully here but included the words 'let's' and 'go' — has done it without dropping a set. Quite a turnaround for a guy whose big-strike tennis long suffered on the slow red clay. He began his French Open career with a 0-6 record before getting his first win in 2022 and one more last year. 'On clay, I get a little more passive than on other surfaces, because the court doesn't help me play as fast as I would like,' said Tiafoe, twice a semifinalist on the hard courts of the US Open, where speedy shots are rewarded and the loud crowds and bright lights tend to bring out his best. 'Patience is a thing I struggle with.' Advertisement Look at him now, though. And listen to something else he said when he met with reporters a little more than a week ago, with a dash of his usual sense of humor: 'Overall, I'm a big believer it can all change in a week. When I'm backed up against it, it seems like I start to produce my best tennis, because I have to if I want to continue living the life I want to live.' Tiafoe, a 27-year-old from Maryland, added: 'If I'm ready to go, I'm not just going to get to the third round — I can go for a run. I genuinely feel I can beat anybody on any specific day.' He wants more, too, naturally. 'Quarterfinals is not end-all, be-all,' Tiafoe said. Next up is a matchup on Tuesday against No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy or No. 10 Holger Rune of Denmark. Four American women play in the fourth round Monday: No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, and No. 7 Madison Keys against Hailey Baptiste in an all-US encounter. Paul, a semifinalist at the Australian Open in 2023, was never really troubled Sunday during his 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win against 25th-seeded Alexei Popyrin of Australia in less than two hours. Paul is a 28-year-old who grew up in North Carolina and now goes up against No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, Advertisement 'Obviously,' Paul said about Alcaraz, 'the guy can play amazing tennis here.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iga Swiatek Rolls to Start Indian Wells Title Defense
Second-seeded Iga Swiatek, who has yet to win a tournament this year, got off to a strong start in her title defense at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday in Indian Wells, Calif. The Polish star cruised past France's Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-0 in the second round. The tournament's 32 seeded players all received a first-round bye. Swiatek, also the Indian Wells champion in 2022, dominated with her return game on Friday. She won 58 percent of the points on Garcia's first serve, 75 percent on Garcia's second serve. "I (was) solid no matter what the score is, and I don't take (the) next games for granted," Swiatek said. "If I'm leading even 4-0, I know that I should keep playing the same way and keep the same attitude to just win the match." Swiatek is looking to become the first three-time women's singles champion in Indian Wells. The others who won twice in the Southern California desert were Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez, Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. The other highly seeded players in action on Friday also posted straight-set wins. No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States downed Poland's Magda Linette 6-4, 6-2. No. 7 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat the Netherlands' Suzan Lamens 6-3, 6-3. No. 9 Mirra Andreeva of Russia edged France's Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-4. No. 15 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic ousted Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-4, 6-3, and No. 18 Marta Kostyuko of Ukraine trounced the United States' Robin Montgomery 6-1, 6-3. The Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova blitzed No. 21 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-2. China's Xinyu Wang eliminated No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-4, 6-4. New Zealand's Lulu Sun got past No. 31 Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4, and Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska bested No. 32 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia 6-3, 6-1. Also advancing were No. 22 Clara Tauson of Denmark, No. 23 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, No. 25 Katie Boulter of Great Britain, Armenia's Elina Avanesyan and US players Caroline Dolehide, Alycia Parks and Iva Jovic. In the last two matches of the night, Azarenka of Belarus opposed No. 8 Qinwen Zheng of China, and No. 14 Danielle Collins met Hailey Baptiste in an all-US contest.
