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Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Malay Mail
French Open winner Gauff falls to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu at first hurdle on Berlin grass
BERLIN, June 20 — Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin yesterday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first-round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second-round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals in 2024, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. 'After I won the first set, I told myself, 'OK, let's take a minute and enjoy this. I'm playing the French Open champion and I won the first set',' Wang said afterwards. 'No matter how the second and third go, I was like, 'Let's enjoy it for once second.' Wang had lost her only previous match against Gauff in straight sets on the Berlin grass in 2022. 'It was a tough match, but I'm happy I hung in there on the tough moments,' said Wang. The 49th-ranked Chinese player trailed 3-1 in the second set before reeling off five straight games. She will play Spain's Paula Badosa, the 10th seed, in the quarter-finals. Earlier, Sabalenka completed her match, suspended on Wednesday after the first set, The Belarusian had to work hard on the resumption as the 112th-ranked Swiss Masarova took her to a tiebreak. The win takes Sabalenka into the quarter-finals as she looks to build up her grass court form ahead of Wimbledon. The 27-year-old has won 20 titles but none on grass. She will face 11th-ranked Kazakh Elena Rybakina, who beat Czech doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). Sabalenka is bidding to reach the last four in Berlin for the first time in her career. In the first match of the day, 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, ranked down at 164, needed two hours 20 minutes to overcome Russian 12th seed Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3. In the last eight she will face the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the woman she beat in the Wimbledon final two years ago. — AFP
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Coco's false start on grass as Wimbledon bid looms
Newly crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff has been stunned on her return to action following her French Open victory, losing to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-3 at the Berlin Open. World No.2 Gauff, who won at Roland Garros less than two weeks ago for her second grand slam title, amassed 25 unforced errors and seven double faults in her loss to Wang on Thursday. Gauff had a bye to the second round at the grass-court tournament, a warm-up for Wimbledon. An incredible performance! Wang defeats the reigning Roland Garros champ for the biggest win of her career! #BTO — wta (@WTA) June 19, 2025 Wang, ranked No. 49, said she would have been pleased just with the first set, considering the level of her opponent. "After I won the first set, I just told myself, 'okay, let's take a minute and enjoy this, I'm playing the French Open champion, and I won the first set'," said Wang, who next plays Spain's eighth-seed Paula Badosa. "No matter how the second and third go, I was like, 'okay, let's just enjoy it for a second.' I'm really happy with how I played today. I was serving good and putting a lot of pressure on the return, especially second-serve return." Aryna Sabalenka, also playing for the first time since losing to Gauff in the Paris final, completed a 6-2 7-6 (8-6) win over Swiss Rebeka Masarova to reach the quarter-finals, concluding a match that had been suspended on Wednesday because of slippery conditions. When the match resumed, world No.1 Sabalenka was broken at the start of the second set and found herself 3-1 and 4-2 down. She kept her cool, however, and broke back with a fine volley to force a tiebreak. Sabalenka also squandered two match points before sealing her victory at her next opportunity when her opponent sank a simple mid-court forehand into the net. The top seed will next face former Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina. Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, needed three sets over two hours and 20 minutes to break the resistance of Russia's Diana Shnaider 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 win and will face lucky loser Ons Jabeur, the two-time Wimbledon finalist, in the last eight. At the Nottingham Open grass-court event, two-time defending champion Katie Boulter, the fiancee of Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur, was given a real scare before battling past fellow Briton Sonay Kartal 6-4 1-6 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals.
ABC News
31-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- ABC News
Daria Kasatkina's French Open win ensures 37-year first for Australian tennis
Daria Kasatkina has overcome the same feeling of burnout that sank her fellow Australian Alex de Minaur at the French Open, and now feels rejuvenated by reaching the fourth round at her "spiritual" tennis home at Roland Garros. On the venue's famed Simonne Mathieu 'greenhouse court', Australia's newest tennis recruit was left thrilled how her stagnant game suddenly bloomed in humid conditions with a 6-1, 7-5 defeat of former world No.2 Paula Badosa. Kasatkina's victory conjured up the rare but sweet smell of Paris success for her adopted tennis home as, for the first time in 37 years, there will now be an Aussie in both the men's and women's last-16 draws in the same year. In 1988, Nicole Provis, who went on to reach the semis, and Pat Cash, both made the second week. Now the onus is on Kasatkina and Alexei Popyrin, who plays his fourth-round match against Tommy Paul on Sunday night from 7pm (AEST). On Monday, Kasatkina will face Mirra Andreeva, her 18-year-old French-based Russian friend. The vlogging pals ended up sharing an ice bath after their early showcourt progress, and Kasatkina, in her first slam under the Australian flag, sounded as if a weight had been lifted from her following a tough spell when her form and motivation slumped. Echoing the lament of de Minaur, who said he was burnt out and mentally fatigued after his shock second-round loss, Kasatkina admitted it felt like a "super important" win for her. "It means a lot especially the last couple of weeks were a bit rough for me. I couldn't find myself on court, I felt a little bit flat, like with emotions and stuff," said the 28-year-old, whose form hasn't been great since she gained permanent Australian residency two months ago. "I felt little signs of burnout or something like that. I'm really happy I got back on track here in Roland Garros, one of my favourite tournaments." Of de Minaur's complaints about the overcrowded schedule, she added: "I agree with Alex, because our schedule is pretty rough." "We have a completely packed schedule. It's not normal, but it can happen that the person who is travelling all around the world all the time giving their best, living the life of tennis player, sometimes can feel he's tired, that sometimes you are just not super excited to go on court. "I mean, this can happen. This is our job but I think everyone can relate that sometimes you don't want to wake up to go to your job. "Yeah, we are super lucky at having this opportunity to do what we love and get paid for it and travel around the world. It's a nice life, but sometimes when you give everything to something, you feel tired and you need some rest." But the 17th seed said she felt much better on court, dominating the first set against an out-of-sorts world No.10 Badosa before having to dig deep when the Spaniard, with more firepower but little of Kasatkina's all-court guile and superb defence, dragged her into a "tense" second-set scrap. This triumph, still greeted by a standing ovation from the largely pro-Badosa crowd, was comfortably Kasatkina's best since her allegiance switch as she powered out to win eight of the first nine games, then nullified Badosa's biggest weapons, frustrating her into many of her 41 "unforced" errors. Kasatkina smiled about how she transforms when returning to Roland-Garros, where she was a semifinalist in 2022, quarterfinalist in 2018 and the girls' champion in 2014. "The courts, amazing, super-good quality, the atmosphere. I won here as a junior. When this happens, it just stays forever in you and automatically the place becomes special," she said. "It's my 10th professional Roland-Garros, every time I'm coming here, I feel comfortable. I know every corner of the stadium. I don't know how it works, honestly, on a spiritual level, but somehow this place, it's been always nice to me." AAP
The Star
31-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Tennis-Kasatkina dodges burnout, says packed tour schedule takes toll on players
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Australia's Daria Kasatkina in action during her third round match against Spain's Paula Badosa REUTERS/Christian Hartmann TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY PARIS (Reuters) -Daria Kasatkina saw signs of burnout in recent weeks amid a packed tour schedule, and her French Open run into the fourth round has helped her get back on track, she said on Saturday. The Russian-born 17th seed, who now represents Australia, beat Paula Badosa in straight sets to reach the last 16 in Paris at the French Open. It was her best result in months after losing in early rounds in each of her last seven tournaments this year. "I would say I felt little signs of burnout or something like that," Kasatkina told a press conference. "The last couple of weeks were a bit rough for me. I couldn't find myself on court. I felt a little bit flat, like with emotions and stuff. "I'm really happy that I got back on track here in Roland Garros. Playing much better, feeling much better on court. I think that's the most important, especially now." The world number 17 said the busy tour schedule left little time for recovery throughout the year, echoing the views of fellow Australian Alex De Minaur. The top Australian player this week called for a shorter season and said he felt drained after his second round five-set loss earlier in the week. The season kicked off with the United Cup mixed team tournament in December, 33 days after the Davis Cup Finals ended in Spain, and the gruelling nature of the circuit has repeatedly come under a harsh spotlight in recent years. "I agree with Alex, because our schedule is pretty rough. I mean we have a completely packed schedule. There's no spot for anything," Kasatkina said. "I think everyone can relate that sometimes you don't want to wake up to go to your job. It's normal. We are all humans. This can happen," she added. "It can happen that the person who is travelling all around the world all the time giving their best, living the life of tennis player, sometimes can feel this feeling that he's tired. That sometimes you are just not super excited to go on court." (Reporting by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Christian Radnedge)
Straits Times
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Kasatkina dodges burnout, says packed tour schedule takes toll on players
Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Spain's Paula Badosa reacts during her third round match against Australia's Daria Kasatkina REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Australia's Daria Kasatkina in action during her third round match against Spain's Paula Badosa REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Australia's Daria Kasatkina in action during her third round match against Spain's Paula Badosa REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Spain's Paula Badosa in action during her third round match against Australia's Daria Kasatkina REUTERS/Christian Hartmann Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Australia's Daria Kasatkina in action during her third round match against Spain's Paula Badosa REUTERS/Christian Hartmann TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY PARIS - Daria Kasatkina saw signs of burnout in recent weeks amid a packed tour schedule, and her French Open run into the fourth round has helped her get back on track, she said on Saturday. The Russian-born 17th seed, who now represents Australia, beat Paula Badosa in straight sets to reach the last 16 in Paris at the French Open. It was her best result in months after losing in early rounds in each of her last seven tournaments this year. "I would say I felt little signs of burnout or something like that," Kasatkina told a press conference. "The last couple of weeks were a bit rough for me. I couldn't find myself on court. I felt a little bit flat, like with emotions and stuff. "I'm really happy that I got back on track here in Roland Garros. Playing much better, feeling much better on court. I think that's the most important, especially now." The world number 17 said the busy tour schedule left little time for recovery throughout the year, echoing the views of fellow Australian Alex De Minaur. The top Australian player this week called for a shorter season and said he felt drained after his second round five-set loss earlier in the week. The season kicked off with the United Cup mixed team tournament in December, 33 days after the Davis Cup Finals ended in Spain, and the gruelling nature of the circuit has repeatedly come under a harsh spotlight in recent years. "I agree with Alex, because our schedule is pretty rough. I mean we have a completely packed schedule. There's no spot for anything," Kasatkina said. "I think everyone can relate that sometimes you don't want to wake up to go to your job. It's normal. We are all humans. This can happen," she added. "It can happen that the person who is travelling all around the world all the time giving their best, living the life of tennis player, sometimes can feel this feeling that he's tired. That sometimes you are just not super excited to go on court." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
