ATP
Cold War Czech-out
A TENNIS Cold War is developing across Europe with news that an unnamed Russian player was stopped by Czech police on Thursday from entering the country to compete in the WTA Prague Open, which begins tomorrow.
The event was expected to see a handful of Russian and Belarusian players, including Evgeniya Rodina of Russia or Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus, competing as neutrals, without any national flag or symbol, but a Czech government resolution has banned athletes from Russia or Belarus taking part in any events in the country.
Tournament director Miroslav Maly said the unnamed player was the first participant to arrive with a Russian passport.
“The management of the tournament fully respect the current stance of state authorities. We do not expect any player with Russian or Belarusian citizenship to take part in the tournament in this situation,” he said.
The WTA said it would “continue to review the situation as we factor important considerations around these complex geopolitical issues”.
It added: “WTA rules state that all players must be allowed to compete on the WTA based solely on merit, without discrimination.”
But will the WTA act to fine the Prague organisers, as this action clearly violates the rule?
They did when Wimbledon, under pressure from the Ukraine-backing UK government, issued their ban.
A week ago, Polish authorities denied entry to Russian Vera Zvonareva for ‘reasons of state security and public safety’.
AND… Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska wants the WTA to sanction Mirra Andreeva after the young Russian allegedly liked some social media content about the civil war between Russia and Ukraine.
The outspoken Ukranian posted on her own social media calling for the WTA to take action.
So a ‘like’, which may constitute just an opinion, is now not acceptable?
It’s very unlikely the WTA will formally sanction Andreeva even if the allegations are true and as yet the Ukranian hasn’t provided any screenshots or evidence to back up her allegations.
MORE complaints… this time from Casper Ruud, who has criticised the clay courts at the Hamburg European Open.
Ruud, a clay specialist, had just beaten Sebastián Baez at the event, but was clearly not happy.
“After the first three games, Casper Ruud tells the umpire that this Hamburg court is ‘the worst clay court he played all year on tour’,” journalist Jose Morgado reported.
COST of living crisis? Not in Monaco, where millionaire tennis players mingle with … well, millionaire F1 drivers, of course.
Daniil Medvedev, his wife Daria and baby daughter Alisa were recently spotted at FI champion Max Verstappen’s stepdaughter Penelope’s birthday party in the tax haven on the Mediterranean coast.
Verstappen has been in a relationship with Kelly Piquet, the daughter of former Brazilian racing driver Nelson Piquet since 2021 and Piquet was previously dating Russian racing driver Daniil Kvyat, the father of Penelope.
Russian Medvedev has had a long affair with racing, and has frequently been spotted with F1 drivers during his days off in Monaco.
NICK Krygios has dropped a hint he maybe retiring soon.
The outspoken and often controversial Aussie, was speaking in LA during time coaching at the UTS.
“I’m getting old. 28. Yeah,” he said. “But all the drinking and partying, I’m like 57.”
Kyrgios is 28, he has been a regular on the tour since 2014.
In response to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who is 36, claiming he could play for another five years, Kyrgios quickly dismissed any prospects of that.
“No chance. No way. Bro, there’s no chance I’m playing until 33. Kyrgios playing until 33 is insane! I’m not playing until 33. Nah, I promise you, when I’m gone, you’ll never see me again,” he said.
Kyrgios last week withdrew from the Citi Open in Washington, a decision that will likely see a big drop in the ATP rankings.
“Unfortunately my body is not ready to compete yet. My wrist is still not anywhere near to pain-free. Keep you all updated,” he posted on social media.
EMMA Raducanu’s agent Max Eisenbud has insisted her approach of hiring and firing coaches is nothing new, suggesting a change is unlikely.
And Eisenbud has squashed speculation that sponsors will attempt to cut ties with her her poor run of form, where she has struggled since winning the US Open in 2021.
“None of her sponsors have ever called up and been like ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe she’s not winning!’. No one,” Eisenbud said last week.
“I know people want to say ‘the pressure, she’s got the pressure’, I think the pressure she has is that she won a great tournament and she wants that feeling again and she wants to keep winning.”
But the every changing coach role? Well, that looks likely to continue.
Raducanu, 20, worked with Andrew Richardson for her US Open triumph. Since then, she has had spells with Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs.
She split with Sachs last month, with no new name as yet to fill a position controlled by her father Ian.
“The coaching situation, right or wrong, and this is something that her dad and Emma pretty much control on all the coaching stuff,” Eisenbud told The Tennis Podcast.
“That has been their philosophy all the way up through the juniors.
“They never had coaches for a long time. You’ve probably heard of that. For them, that is calm waters, having a coach for five months and going on to someone else.”
No doubt injury has been one issue to overcome, but no elite sportsman or woman wins anything without longterm coaching support.
FORMER world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki is set to return to the court on August 8 at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Wozniacki, 33, announced a surprise return to tennis last month. She retired from the Tour after the 2020 Australian Open.
The Dane, now a mother of two children, has been granted wildcards for Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open.
“Over these past three years away from the game I got to make up for lost time with my family, I became a mother and now have two beautiful children I am so grateful for,” Wozniacki said.
But I still have goals I want to accomplish. I want to show my kids that you can pursue your dreams no matter your age or role. We decided as a family it’s time. I’m coming back to play and I can’t wait!”
AND finally …
Nick Kyrgios has challenged world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz to an exhibition match in Spain next year.
“He is a force for sure. I would of loved to see how it would of gone down last year when I was healthy and playing lights out,” Kyrgios wrote on social media.
“@carlitosalcarazz what about next year in your town we do an exhibition?
“He’s got that showman about him, which I like.”
Alexander Zverev cooled the jets of a teenaged tearaway on Tuesday, schooling Spaniard Rafael Jodar 7-6 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to power to his fifth career semi-final at the French Open.
The world No. 3 German finished runner-up in Paris two years ago and is still seeking his first trophy at one of the majors.
Zverev has been a consistent presence at the business end of the event here, figuring iin five of the past six semis.
But the achievement doesn’t amount to much for the seed, who has his eye on the big prize.
“I want to keep going. I don’t really care so much about a semi-final,” he said. “I want to win all the matches in front of me.
“Today was a tough test against a good player – that’s it for now.”
The 29-year-old who becomes the ninth man to play five Paris semi-finals, got away slowly as the 19-year-old Jodar showed his intentions with an early break..
But the seed began turning the tables on his young opponent while trailing 5-2 in the opening set after dropping serve in the eight-minute opening game.
Jodar’s unravelling began as he served for the first set leading 5-4 but was unable to close it out.
From then on, Zverev was in control.
The German won the opener in a tiebreaker and dominated the second to claim that chapter also.
In the third, he broke the fading youngster in the first and last games of the set
before closing out the win with a running forehand down the line on match point.
“He had perfect rhythm in the first set and I didn’t,” the winner said. “I was playing too short and too defensive.
“The ball was also not bouncing as high as it did in (last week’s) heat, I had to flatten out my shots.
“He outplayed me at the beginning of the first, but I managed to come back.
he seemed a bit nervous when he served for (the set).
“I took my chances, it was a good match for me.”
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev in control at Roland Garros – by ATPTour.com
Matteo Berrettini took Italian revenge on Monday against the Argentine who knocked out Jannik Sinner with a 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6) fourth-round demolition of Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open.
Former top 10 player Berrettini, now mended after several seasons of intermittent injury absences sent the South American packing in a solid clay display.
The Italian saved three Cerundolo set points in the third-set tiebreaker, with Berrettini claiming a match point on an inside-out forehand, and following up with a serve winner..
“I feel great,” Berrettini said. “I’m happy with the support in a full stadium.
“This is why we train and fight, I’m enjoying the atmosphere with my team and family.”
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime booked the last eight as he put out another South American in Canadian-born Chilean AlejandroTabilo 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
FAA becomes the first Canadian man to complete the set of quarter-finals at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
The 30-year-old Berretini from Rome is competing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2021 when he also reached the last eight here.
The current No. 105 is the lowest-ranked men’s quarter-finalist in Paris since in 2007.
Cobolli lost his first set of the tournament as he ran up against an American with negligible experience on clay, defeating Zach Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5).
The 10th-seeded Italian’s victory put him into his second Grand Slam and his first in Paris.
“I was a little bit nervous to close the match today,” the winner said. “It means a lot, this tournament, for me.
“Sometimes it’s not easy when you have to close, especially when you are up in the score like I was today.
“But also Zachary played a really good match today after the second set… tennis is like this. At the end, I was happy, and that’s the important thing.”
Svajda came to the major with only one career match win on clay. He began correcting that in the third round by beating Francisco.Cerundolo.
Cobolli cruised through the first two sets but his perfect set record took a dent in the third as Svajda forced a tiebreaker and saved a match point after closing the Italian’s 5-1 lead and forcing a tiebreaker.
It took a tiebreak fourth set to settle the outcome after more than three and a quarter hours.
Alexander Zverev stayed on track for a possible fourth Grand Slam final as the highest seed remaining in the men’s draw at the French Open moved efficiently into the quarter-finals on Sunday.
The German who has finished runner-up at the Australian and US Open plus Roland Garros, defeated qualifying lucky loser Jesper de Jong 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-1.
With this week’s second-round losses by world No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic, Zverev could have one of his best chances at lifting a major trophy.
The 29-year-old reached his eighth Roland Garros quarter-final as he beat his Dutch opponent on de Jong’s 26th birthday.
He needed a tiebreak to secure the opening set but picked up momentum before crushing it in the third set to get off court in a relatively quick two and a quarter hours.
“I had some early difficulties but he started well,” the winner said. “But once I found my rhythm I felt comfortable on the court.
“That is important for my game. It’s (his game) is there, I just have to show it on the match court.”
With the recent 10-day heatwave now gone, temperatures dropped into the mid-20s Celsius, which should make for more comfortable conditions.
But Zverev is not so sure: “To be honest, I like the heat, I prefer it. My ball flies a lot faster through the air and opponents struggle a bit more.
“I also spend a lot of time in Florida so I’m used to the heat. But we have to make the best of it, things can change within one day.”
Zverev will bid for the semi-finals in a matchup against Rafael Jodar, the prodigy who won an all-Spanish fourth-rounder 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 over Pablo Carreno Busta.
The fightback took nearly three and three-quarter hours and put the 19-year-old into his first last-eight spot in only his second Grand Slam appearance.
He has reached the last eight here for a sixth straight year.
Jodar, ranked No. 707 a year ago, is the fifth man this century to reach the quarters in his main draw debut at the event.
The youngster made a 4-1 start in the opening set but soon found himself in a five-set dogfight against a 34-year-old dealing with a shoulder injury.
The winner of a clay title in March has now taken victory in 19 of his last 22 matches.
“He’s young and incredibly talented,” Zverev said of his next opponent. “He came onto the clay scene in two months.
“He will be a difficult challenge but I’ll be ready for it.”
Main photo:- Favourite Alexander Zverev wins third round match – by ATPTour.com
Roland Garros 2026 Men’s Day 10
Roland Garros 2026 Women’s Day 10
Sabalenka plays lights-out to stop Osaka in Paris
-
Madrid Masters4 weeks agoSabalenka all in on possible RG player boycott
-
ATP4 weeks agoSinner the winner to push on with Rome entry
-
ATP4 weeks agoSinner all-in as Grand Slam boycott pressure grows
-
ATP3 weeks agoDarderi earns Italian upset with defeat of Zverev
-
Brisbane3 weeks agoSabalenka sensation as top seed toppled
-
ATP3 weeks agoAnother Italian victim for Sinner
-
Indian wells3 weeks agoSinner coasts to opening Rome win
-
ATP3 weeks agoSinner storms ahead as skies clear in Rome