Category: Tennis

Novak Djokovic faces an anxious wait to find out if a knee injury will derail his Olympic gold medal dream after reaching the semi-finals on Thursday as old rival Andy Murray slipped into retirement.

On a dramatic day at Roland Garros, Zheng Qinwen ended Iga Swiatek’s 25-match unbeaten streak in Paris to become the first Chinese player to reach an Olympic singles final.

Defending men’s champion Alexander Zverev was knocked out and took a bitter swipe at the crammed Games schedule.

Djokovic said he was “hoping for the best” after aggravating his injured right knee, which had required surgery in June, during his 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

The 37-year-old needed on-court treatment and a painkiller after slipping on the baseline of Court Philippe Chatrier.

He recovered from 0-4 and then 2-5 down in the second set, saving three set points in the ninth game, before racing away with the tie-break.

The Serb faces Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on Friday in the last four.

“I’m concerned about the state of the knee. I have to go and examine it with medical staff and then let’s see,” said Djokovic.

“I’m playing at 7:00 pm tomorrow, which gives me slightly more time. But I’m hoping I can be ready and be optimistic. I have to be.”

The 24-time Grand Slam title winner is still looking for a first Olympic gold medal, having so far managed just a bronze in Beijing in 2008.

He is through to his fourth Olympic semi-final.

Musetti stunned Zverev 7-5, 7-5 as the world number 16 became the first Italian to reach the semi-finals since tennis returned to the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

Zverev said the illness was partly responsible for his defeat but also blasted the schedule as “a disgrace” after playing his quarter-final less than a day after his last-16 tie.

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Alcaraz, back at Roland Garros where he won a maiden French Open in June, became the youngest Olympic semi-finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2008.

The second seed saw off 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) after recovering from a breakdown in the second set and saving a set point in the tie-break.

“It’s all about the fight,” said Alcaraz, 21, who was playing the day after he and Rafael Nadal suffered a heartbreaking doubles loss in what was probably the veteran’s final appearance at Roland Garros.

Alcaraz will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat sixth-seeded Casper Ruud, a two-time French Open runner-up, 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3.

Murray’s career came to an end when he and Dan Evans lost to American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-4 in the men’s doubles quarter-finals.

Former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner Murray, 37, had already announced that the Olympics would be his last event.

“I’m proud of my career, my achievements and what I put into the sport,” said Murray.

“Obviously it was emotional because it’s the last time I will play a competitive match. But I am genuinely happy just now. I’m happy with how it finished.”

Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world number one Swiatek and will face Donna Vekic in Saturday’s gold medal match.

Croatia’s Vekic breezed past Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 6-4, 6-0.

“If you ask me to play another three hours for my country, I would,” said Zheng, who had played back-to-back three-hour matches to make the semi-final.

Swiatek, 23, a four-time French Open champion at Roland Garros, had defeated Zheng in all of their six previous meetings but she was hit off-court by the powerful 21-year-old Australian Open finalist.

Zheng is the first Chinese man or woman to reach an Olympic singles gold medal match, bettering the run of Li Na, who finished fourth in the women’s event at Beijing in 2008.

China’s only Olympics tennis gold came thanks to Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the women’s doubles at Athens in 2004.

READ: China’s Zheng Qinwen stuns top seed Swiatek in Paris Olympics

Zheng Qinwen stunned women’s world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 in the singles semi-final to make the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics.

It was the 21-year-old’s first win over the four-time French Open champion at the seventh attempt and ended Swiatek’s 25-match winning run on the clay courts of Paris.

“I’m so happy that I could make this history for China tennis because I always wanted to be one of the athletes who got a medal for China and now I’m one of them,” said seventh-ranked Zheng who is guaranteed at least a silver medal by reaching the final.

“But I know the fight is not over. It’s not the end. The tournament is very long. So I’m really happy but at the same time I’m waiting for more.

“Of course, I have made history already but I don’t want to stop here.”

By making the final, Zheng is the first Chinese man or woman to reach an Olympic singles gold medal match, bettering the run of iconic trailblazer Li Na who finished fourth in the women’s event at Beijing in 2008.

China has previously won medals in women’s doubles in Paris Olympics.

In 2004, at Athens, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian captured gold while four years later in Beijing, Yan Zi and Zheng Jie claimed bronze.

Zheng Qinwen said she always believed she could defeat Iga Swiatek despite her poor record against the Pole and having had to play gruelling back-to-back three-hour matches in Paris to make the semi-finals.

“I finally showed I could beat the world number one on her best surface,” added Zheng.

“I always knew I can do it, but you have to show it. I’m so proud of myself and so proud for my country.”

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Zheng will face either Croatia’s Donna Vekic or Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia in the gold medal match.

Swiatek, meanwhile, was left to rue 36 unforced errors in a tie where she also dropped serve six times. She will have to content herself now by playing for the Paris Olympics bronze.

“Sorry guys, next time,” she told reporters, refusing to discuss her shock defeat.

Swiatek was hit off the court by the powerful 21-year-old Australian Open finalist who broke the Pole three times in the opening set.

Iga Swiatek appeared restored by a 10-minute break and quickly stretched out to 4-0 lead in the second set before Zheng Qinwen battled back, retrieving both breaks for 4-4.

The Chinese star broke again for a 6-5 lead against the error-plagued Swiatek and claimed victory in the next game.

“Before, when I was not at this stage, I let matches go. I say, okay, let’s fight for the third set. But today, no, I don’t use this mentality. I say, I am just going to fight every single point,” explained Zheng.

She said that she is a different player now to the one who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final where she managed just five games in a straight-sets loss.

“In Australia, my energy was really low. But if you ask me to fight for my country for another three hours today, I could do it.”

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Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were dumped out of the Paris Olympics men’s doubles on Wednesday by Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in possibly Nadal’s last appearance at Roland Garros.

The Spanish dream team lost 6-2, 6-4 to the US fourth seeds, who progressed to the semi-finals in Paris.

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, dubbed “Nadalcaraz”, have been one of the main talking points at the Paris Games tennis tournament, wowing the crowds in their first two matches.

But they came unstuck in the last eight against doubles specialists Krajicek and Ram, who both have Grand Slam-winning pedigree.

Nadal was broken in the first game of the match on Court Philippe Chatrier and Alcaraz also lost serve as the US pair took the first set.

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The Spaniards suffered another costly break in the seventh game of the second set, which ultimately proved decisive.

They battled tigerishly in the 10th game but failed to take advantage of three break points and Krajicek and Ram sealed victory on their second match point.

Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, said after his painful defeat to Novak Djokovic in the singles competition in Paris that he would make a decision on his future after the Olympics.

The 38-year-old, immortalised in a statue at Roland Garros, has been plagued by injuries in recent years and is now 161st in the world.

Alcaraz still has a chance of winning a medal in the men’s singles competition — he is through to the quarter-finals, where he will face US ninth seed Tommy Paul.

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Novak Djokovic found his rhythm in the punishing heat to beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer and reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Wednesday, staying on track for an elusive gold.

The Serbian top seed, who crushed Rafael Nadal in the previous round, came through 7-5, 6-3 and will face world number 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight.

“I’m soaking wet, honestly. It’s a very, very humid day as it was yesterday. I just hope it rains so it cools down the temperature a bit and the air.

“But it is what it is. You have to kind of accept and embrace the conditions and it’s the same for you and your opponents so you have to try to make the best out of it.”

The 24-time Grand Slam champion broke Koepfer early but the German world number 70 returned the favour in the next game to get back on serve.

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Novak Djokovic, a three-time French Open champion on the clay courts at Roland Garros, took the first set 7-5 when Koepfer went long to concede another break.

As the sun beat down on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic found his groove, surging into a 3-0 lead to take a grip on the second set, sealing the win with a minimum of fuss.

He has yet to drop a set in three rounds of tennis in Paris.

The 37-year-old, searching for his first trophy in 2024, is still wearing strapping on his right knee after undergoing an operation in June.

He was a bronze medallist on his Olympic debut in 2008 but is targeting gold in Paris to complete his staggering collection of trophies.

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Tearful Coco Gauff crashed out of the Paris Olympics at the hands of Donna Vekic on Tuesday after a heated row with the umpire as Rafael Nadal prepared to return to the baking courts.

With temperatures rocketing into the mid-30s Celsius at Roland Garros, officials activated a heat protocol, allowing a 10-minute break between the second and third sets.

In the first match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Vekic shocked Gauff 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals, but the match was overshadowed by a lengthy row between the US Open champion and the chair umpire.

Coco Gauff, the flag-bearer for the United States at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony alongside NBA star LeBron James, made a fast start but squandered three set points before her Croatian opponent won the first-set tie-break.

The pair swapped breaks early in the second set but the match came to a standstill at the end of the sixth game as an emotional Gauff pleaded her case with the umpire.

At 30-40, Vekic hit a return deep to Gauff’s forehand, which the American mishit into the net.

Vekic’s shot was called out but the call was overruled by the chair umpire and the point was awarded to the Croat, giving her the break. Gauff argued her shot was compromised by the initial call.

“I have to advocate for myself all the time,” a weeping Gauff, 20, said on court. “I’m getting cheated in this game. You guys are not fair to me.”

Later, a more composed Coco Gauff called for a video review system at Roland Garros to match those in place at other Grand Slam venues.

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“I can’t say I would have won the match if I would have won that point but, for sure, being not a break, whereas maybe replaying that point can make a big difference in that game,” she said.

Vekic, ranked 21, briefly lost her composure, slipping to 0-40 on her own serve before recovering to hold, and she broke again to seal victory.

The Wimbledon semi-finalist said the row over the line call was a “tricky situation”.

“After that, the crowd, it was not so easy,” she said. “I lost my concentration for a couple of points, but I’m happy that I managed to come back in that game because it was an important game.”

Germany’s defending men’s champion Alexander Zverev coasted into the third round with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 39th-ranked Czech Tomas Machac.

In the women’s draw, three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber of Germany progressed to the quarter-finals along with US eighth seed Danielle Collins and China’s Zheng Qinwen.

Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek targets a 24th straight win on the clay courts of Paris against China’s Wang Xiyu in the evening session.

Rafael Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, was swept off court by old rival Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the pair’s 60th meeting on Monday.

The 38-year-old, immortalised in a statue at Roland Garros, has been plagued by injuries in recent years and is now 161st in the world.

Rafael Nadal said after his painful defeat to Djokovic that he would make a decision on his future after the Paris Olympics.

But the Spaniard, who won singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and doubles gold in Rio in 2016, can still collect a medal in the doubles alongside current French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

They take on Dutch pair Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof.

Britain’s three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, playing his final tournament, is in action later alongside doubles partner Dan Evans.

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Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics on Monday, claiming a 6-1, 6-4 victory in the pair’s 60th and potentially last meeting.

It was 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic’s 31st win in a rivalry which began on the same Roland Garros clay courts in 2006.

Nadal was largely outclassed in the much-anticipated encounter, only coming briefly to life when he won four games in a row in the second set.

“I’m very relieved,” said Djokovic. “Everything was going my way, I was 6-1, 4-0 up but I played a sloppy service game and gave him chances.”

He added: “I never thought back in 2006 that we’d still be playing each other almost 20 years later.”

In a sign of the wear and tear the pair have endured in recent months, Novak Djokovic wore a protective strapping around his right knee while Rafael Nadal’s right thigh was heavily strapped.

But Djokovic played freely, forcing Nadal to scamper around Court Philippe Chatrier where the Spaniard had collected 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.

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The Serb raced to a 4-0 lead, on the back of a double break, and held for 5-0 before Nadal stopped the rot much to the relief of a packed, sweltering crowd.

Djokovic pocketed the one-sided opener when 2008 Olympic gold medallist Nadal ballooned a forehand wide of the mark.

The statistics made grim reading for the 38-year-old who managed to eke out just four points off the Djokovic serve in the first set.

There was no respite for Nadal, playing just his seventh tournament of an injury-plagued season, as Djokovic again carved out a double break for a 4-0 lead in the second set.

Rafael Djokovic, seeking a first Olympic gold medal to add to his 24 Grand Slam triumphs, surprisingly handed Rafael Nadal a lifeline when he served up a double fault to be broken for the first time.

Nadal retrieved the second break to claw his way back from 0-4 to 4-4 as the top seed went suddenly off the boil.

Novak Djokovic responded in style, a drop-shot leaving Nadal flat-footed as the Serb broke for 5-4 on a fourth break point and clinched victory in style with an ace.

Despite his defeat on Monday, Nadal still has hopes of a Paris Olympics gold medal in the men’s doubles where he is playing alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

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Former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner Andy Murray confirmed on Tuesday that he will retire after the Paris Olympics.

“Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics. Competing for Great Britain have been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I’m extremely proud to get do it one final time,” the 37-year-old wrote on social media.

Now ranked at 121, and playing with a metal hip since 2019, time has caught up with Murray who suffered ankle damage this year and underwent surgery to remove a cyst from his spine which ruled him out of singles at Wimbledon.

Instead, he played doubles with his brother Jamie and was defeated in the first round.

“I want to play forever, I love the sport and it’s given me so much. It’s taught me loads of lessons over the years I can use for the rest of my life. I don’t want to stop so it is hard,” admitted Murray at the All England Club.

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Andy Murray famously ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon when he triumphed in 2013, defeating career-long rival Novak Djokovic in the final.

He added a second title in 2016, taking his career majors total to three after breaking his duck at the 2012 US Open.

Murray won gold at the 2012 Olympics on an emotional day at the All England Club where he defeated Roger Federer just weeks after he had lost the Wimbledon final to the Swiss on the same Centre Court.

Four years later, he defeated Juan Martin del Potro to become the first player, male or female, to win two Olympic singles golds.

Murray also led Britain to the Davis Cup in 2015, the country’s first in 79 years.

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Rafael Nadal lost his first final in two years on Sunday as the Spaniard went down 6-3, 6-2 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges at the clay-court Bastad Open.

The Spanish tennis great had shown signs of a return to form in Scandinavia as he made an impressive run to the final, just one week before tennis at the Olympic Games gets underway on the clay in Paris.

But Nadal, rather than celebrating his 64th title on the surface and first since Roland Garros 2022, was dominated by Borges as he struggled to find fluency with his serve and groundstrokes.

“I don’t know what to say. I think I was wishing for this moment for a while already,” said Borges in his post-match interview.

“It’s crazy, in tennis it doesn’t happen when you expect it sometimes. I know we all wanted Rafa to win, a part of me wished that too, but something even bigger inside of me really pushed through today… I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say, I’m very emotional.”

Borges was the first to make headway in the match when he broke the Spaniard’s serve to go 3-1 up, with Nadal saving break points before overcooking a forehand down the line.

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But the 14-time French Open winner struck back immediately on the Borges serve, earning two break-back points before the Portuguese dumped a forehand into the net from inside the service box.

But neither player could quite grab the ascendancy in the first set as Borges quickly ran up a 0-40 lead in the next service game, converting his second break point with a perfectly executed drop shot.

Rafael Nadal was struggling to find his first serve but managed to hold just his second service game of the opening set to force Borges to serve one more time. The world number 51 kept his nerve to do just that.

The 38-year-old showed signs of his old self serving at deuce in the first game of the second set with a booming forehand winner down the line before he eventually held but that was one of the few highlights for Nadal on the day.

Borges then struck at 2-2 as he broke Nadal’s serve for the first time in the second set and the fourth time overall to edge ahead.

The 27-year-old followed it up by winning the next three games, sealing a maiden career title in his first-ever match-up against the former world number one with an ace.

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Novak Djokovic insists he will return to Wimbledon next year and attempt to clinch an eighth All England Club title despite a shattering straight-sets defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s final.

Djokovic saw his hopes of a record-setting 25th Grand Slam title ruthlessly brushed aside by the 21-year-old Spanish star who had also defeated the Serb in last year’s championship match.

Even though the clock is ticking on Djokovic’s career, he said he will keep playing into 2025, when he will turn 38.

“As far as coming back here, I would love to. I don’t have anything else in my thoughts right now that this is my last Wimbledon,” he said after his 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) loss.

“I don’t have any limitations in my mind. I still want to keep going and play as long as I feel like I can play on this high level.”

So far this season Djokovic has seen his Australian Open title pass to Jannik Sinner, the 22-year-old Italian who has also taken his world number-one ranking.

Alcaraz succeeded him as French Open champion in Paris last month, where Djokovic was forced to withdraw before his quarter-final due to a knee injury which then required surgery.

Djokovic is due to return to the French capital in under two weeks’ time when he will try to win an elusive Olympic Games gold medal.

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After that, he will attempt to defend his US Open title in New York.

“I have intentions to play the Olympic Games, hopefully have a chance to fight for a medal for my country,” he said.

“On a completely different surface (clay) obviously, going back to the place where I got injured some weeks ago. Let’s see how physically and mentally I’m going to feel.”

Despite the upbeat forecast on his future plans, Djokovic is enduring a sub-par year by his standards.

He is without a title since winning the ATP Finals in November last year and has yet to defeat a top-10 opponent in 2024.

On Sunday, he was out-hit by Alcaraz, who clubbed 42 winners to 26 and created 14 break points, five of which he converted.

“To beat these guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) in Grand Slam latter stages or the Olympics, I’m going to have to play much better than I did today and feel much better than I did today,” admitted Djokovic.

“I’m going to work on it. It’s not something I haven’t experienced before ever in my life. I’ve had so many different experiences throughout my career. In the face of adversity, normally I rise and I learn and get stronger. That’s what I’m going to do.”

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Carlos Alcaraz overpowered seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets to retain his Wimbledon title on Sunday in a brutal statement that the new era of men’s tennis has arrived.

The Spanish third seed produced a performance combining awesome power with delicate touch to win 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), collecting the fourth Grand Slam of his young career.

Alcaraz equals the Open Era record for most Grand Slams won at the age 21 or under, joining Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.

And he is just the sixth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back.

Djokovic, 37, who had knee surgery just weeks ago, was aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam — which would have been a record in the men’s and women’s game.

But he had no answers in the Centre Court sunshine as the electric Alcaraz pounded him from the back of the court and treated the crowd to an array of his trademark drop shots.

Alcaraz seized the initiative in a first game of breathtaking quality lasting 14 minutes, taking advantage of his fifth break point.

The Spaniard settled quickly into his routine on serve and went up a double break when Djokovic double-faulted in the fifth game.

The shellshocked Serbian, playing in his 10th Wimbledon final, held serve to love to close the gap to 5-2 but dumped the ball into the net to hand the Spaniard the first set.

Carlos Alcaraz was immediately on the front foot in the second set, forcing a break in the first game and fending off pressure on his own serve to take a 2-0 lead.

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A Djokovic backhand into the net in the seventh game handed Alcaraz another break point and a double fault put the defending champion 5-2 up and on the cusp of a two-set lead.

The Centre Court crowd, including Catherine, Princess of Wales, looked on in disbelief as their hopes for a titanic tussle evaporated.

Djokovic fended off another of clutch of break points early in the third set to stay alive and showed signs that he was finding his range.

But the Spaniard carved out three break points in the ninth game, arrowing a passing shot past his stranded opponent to move 5-4 ahead.

Alcaraz stepped up to serve for the championship but squandered three match points, missing a straightforward drive volley as Djokovic broke for the first time in the match.

But he recovered his composure quickly as the set went to a tie-break.

Novak Djokovic went wide with a forehand to give Alcaraz a 5-3 lead and the Spaniard won the title with his fourth championship point.

The result means Djokovic has still not beaten a top-ten player this year and has yet to win a title.

The Serbian will now turn his attention to the Paris Olympics as he seeks to win gold for the first time.

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