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| [ PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES ] |
Former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna has died at the age of 49 after suffering from cancer, the WTA said on Monday. Novotna, who won the Wimbledon title in 1998 when she defeated France's Nathalie Tauziat in the final, died on Sunday in her native Czech Republic surrounded by her family, a WTA statement said.
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| [ PHOTO: THE TELEGRAPH ] |
World number one Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters on Friday before his quarter-final with a knee injury. The Spaniard, who had his right knee strapped during his third-round win on Thursday, said he wanted to try and be ready to face Filip Krajinovic in the last eight but that "it wasn't possible to play".
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| [ PHOTO: LOS ANGELES TIMES ] |
Roger Federer streaked to the Shanghai Rolex Masters title with a 6-4, 6-3 dominating victory over rival Rafael Nadal on Sunday in China. It was a vintage Federer performance as the second-seeded Swiss secured the 71-minute win over the top-seeded Spaniard to clinch a second Shanghai crown (2014) and 27th at the ATP World Tour Masters…
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| [ PHOTO: NEW YORK POST ] |
Maria Sharapova ended a victory drought of more than two years Sunday by posting a 7-5, 7-6 (8) victory over upstart Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the championship match of the Tianjin Open in China. The 30-year-old Russian hadn't won a tournament since beating Carla Suarez Navarro in the 2015 Italian Open in Rome, several months…
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| [ PHOTO: USA TODAY ] |
Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams became the oldest semi-finalist in US Open history at age 37 on Tuesday by defeating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2). US ninth seed Williams, seeking her third US Open crown, advanced to a Thursday matchup for a spot in Saturday's final against 83rd-ranked compatriot Sloane Stephens.…
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| [ PHOTO: NEW YORK POST ] |
American Sloane Stephens reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time by outlasting Anastasija Sevastova in Tuesday's quarterfinal match at New York. The unseeded Stephens corralled a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4) decision in the two-hour, 29-minute tussle to record her 13th victory in the past 15 matches. The win was the biggest of Stephens' career…
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| [ PHOTO: NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ] |
Late bloomer Pablo Carreno Busta believes that breaking through to a first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open merits as much attention as the heat generated by compatriot Rafael Nadal. The 26-year-old Spaniard, seeded 12th, made the last-four in New York by defeating Argentine 29th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. But his achievement may…
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| [ PHOTO: SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE ] |
Reaching world number one is a blessing if your name is Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova or Maria Sharapova, all multiple Grand Slam winners. However, if you happen to be Caroline Wozniacki, Dinara Safina or Jelena Jankovic, then reaching the summit of the women's game brings nothing but vertigo. Now it's Karolina Pliskova who is…
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| [ PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES ] |
Pablo Carreno Busta has reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time in his career after rolling over Diego Schwartzman in Tuesday's quarterfinal match at New York. The 12th-seeded Carreno Busta recorded a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over the 29th-seeded Argentine to keep his streak of not losing a set intact. The 26-year-old Spaniard has…
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| [ PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST ] |
NEW YORK - Maria Sharapova described her return to Grand Slam center stage after a 15-month doping ban as "a great ride" despite her US Open campaign ending in the fourth round on Sunday. The former world No 1 and five-time major winner fell 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 to Latvian 16th seed Anastasija Sevastova. It was her…
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| [ PHOTO: THE GUARDIAN ] |
Denis Shapovalov's magical run at the US Open ended Sunday, but the engaging Canadian teenager with the unruly blonde hair and back-to-front black baseball cap vowed to return to New York and "cause some damage." Shapovalov, 18, was attempting to become the youngest player to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open since Andre Agassi in…
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| [ PHOTO: NEW YORK DAILY NEWS ] |
Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta advanced to his second Grand Slam quarter-final Sunday by eliminating Canadian teen qualifier Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3). Carreno Busta, the first player in Grand Slam history to face four qualifiers, ended a dream run for 18-year-old left-hander Shapovalov, who would have been the youngest US Open…
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| [ PHOTO: METRO ] |
Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena have become parents of a baby girl, local media reported on Sunday. Jelena gave birth on Saturday evening and their second child will be named Tara, Blic newspaper reported on its online edition. The couple have a two-year-old son Stefan. The 30-year-old Djokovic announced in July…
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| [ PHOTO: ESPN ] |
Rafael Nadal insisted Saturday that tennis chiefs were wrong to wait three days before kicking controversial Italian Fabio Fognini out of the US Open for a vile, sexist tirade at a female umpire. The 30-year-old Fognini aimed two ugly misogynistic blasts at umpire Louise Engzell as he crashed to defeat in a first-round singles match against…
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| [ PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES ] |
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer edged closer to a US Open semi-final blockbuster on Saturday as controversial Italian Fabio Fognini was kicked out for a vile, misogynistic tirade at a female umpire. Nadal, 31, saw off Argentine lucky loser Leonardo Mayer 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, taking his record over the world number 59 from Buenos…
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| [ PHOTO: THE INDEPENDENT ] |
Juan Martin del Potro continued his impressive play at the U.S. Open on Saturday, recording his third straight-sets victory and setting up a fourth-round match against sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem. The 24th-seeded del Potro blew past 11th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the third round. The 6-foot-5 Argentine hit 14 aces while collecting 38…
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| [ PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES ] |
Japanese teen Naomi Osaka opened her shattered emotions for all to see Saturday after a third-round loss to 418th-ranked Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi at the US Open. The 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 loss left the 19-year-old of Haitian and Japanese descent wiping away tears after her fifth third-round exit in seven Grand Slam starts. "I was more…
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| [ PHOTO: NEW YORK POST ] |
Alexandr Dolgopolov shrugged off the gambling controversy hanging over him to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, matching his best New York showing in the process. The 64th-ranked Ukrainian needed only 82 minutes to dispatch 52nd-ranked Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-1, 6-0, 6-4, and reach his first Grand Slam last 16 since the…
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| [ PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST ] |
Karolina Pliskova saved a match point to defeat China's Zhang Shuai on Saturday and reach the US Open last 16, hanging on to her world number one spot in the process. Top seed Pliskova, the runner-up in 2016, triumphed 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 but the lanky Czech was forced to save a match point in the 10th…
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| [ PHOTO: METRO ] |
An unlikely group of US Open contenders, one destined to become a first-time Grand Slam finalist, has a message for injured stars Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray -- don't hurry back. The former world number ones withdrew from the New York hardcourt showdown with injuries, Djokovic an elbow and Murray his left hip. Defending champion Stan…
