ATP
Lights out! RG faces strike power blackouts
THE lights could go out on the French Open next month as striking electricity workers in France threaten a major disruption as the battle to overturn recent pension reform in the country.
The National Federation of Mines and Energy of the CGT (FNME- CGT) have promised ‘100 days of anger’ as they seek to overturn the new laws that will see French workers fall into line with most of the rest of Europe’s retirement age.
“The Cannes Film Festival, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Roland-Garros tournament could end up in the dark! We will not let go,” hammer the CGT union said.
Only ion France could you have a “National day of Rage”, but that is what has been proposed as workers across the country look to impose “energy disturbances”.
Protests have steadily grown since French President Emmanuel Macron announced his plans last month.
And evening sessions under lights at Roland Garros are potential targets.
French Open organisers have scheduled 10 night sessions for the 2023 event, all starting at 8.30pm on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Last year, play didn’t start until 9pm at the earliest and it drew a lot of criticism because of the lack of late night public transport to allow fans to get home.
It is unknown what, if any, plans have been made in the event of sudden power blackouts.
Photo Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
JUDY Murray said her £14.99 budget flight to the south of France to watch son Andy win in Aix-en-Provence was “worth every penny”.
Judy took great delight on Twitter as she shared the price of her plane ticket to Marseille for the final.
“So lucky that @ryanair had a direct flight to Marseille this morning and I could make it to @ATPChallenger Aix en Provence for the final. And it was only £14.99 🤣… worth every penny!!”
Murray defeated Gael Monfils and Harold Mayot in the earlier rounds of tube vent as he came back from a set down to defeat Tommy Paul in the final.
BORIS Becker has ditched prison blues for a black suit as he was pictured with partner Lilian at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Paris last Monday.
The three-time Wimbledon champion, no longer welcome in Britain after a stint in prison for insolvency fraud, told the BBC incarceration was a ‘real punishment’ but that he had discovered that he is a ‘survivor’.
Addressing questions about whether he will return to punditry roles on the BBC in the near future, Becker said he was still looking at his options.
His deportation and subsequent ban from the UK will not end until mid-2024.
ROLAND Garros officials are still optimistic major drawcard Nick Kyrgios will make a surprise comeback at the French Open.
Australian Kyrgios hasn’t played a tour match since the Japan Open seven months ago and has since undergone knee surgery.
Kyrgios though is not a big fan of Roland Garros.
His last match on the European clay-court circuit ended with him throwing a chair on the court in Rome, in one of his classic tantrums.
He has previously dismissed Roland Garros as being the worst grand slam of all.
He even suggested the event should be removed from the calendar.
“I think he will play Roland Garros,” an unnamed official told Australian media last week.
Kyrgios is still on the French Open entry list and with a ranking of No.26 in the world would be seeded.
Back in December Kyrgios told reporters in Saudi Arabia that would be playing the French Open.
“My girlfriend (Costeen Hatzi) wants to see Paris, so why not?” he said.
SO the ATP are to ditch line judges. Some Slams have already done that – New York and Melbourne.
But is there another reason, other than just the ‘digital age’ excuse?
Some think so.
In a thought provoking column pice in the London Daily Mail, tennis writer Mike Dickson suggested the decision had been made with the idea to set up a new data stream that would play into the hands of the betting industry.
“One day it is likely that courts on tour going fully electric will open up a whole new seam of data to add to that which is already being sold to gambling companies,” he wrote.
A sad fact if true, with gambling being one of the digital diseases of the 21st century.
FORMER World No. 1 Venus Williams took over from younger sister Serena for cover shots last week when she graced the cover of Paper Magazine’s May edition.
Inside, Venus talked about her latest project – co-curating the childhood home of late Blues singer, Nina Simone with conceptual artist Adam Pendleton.
Williams is leading a fundraising campaign to restore and safeguard Simone’s childhood home.
QUOTE of the week…
“Stadium full of Italians booing and whistling, thinking I’m trying to cheat Fabio out of point. All because Mo couldn’t read a mark properly. Cheers mate.” – Andy Murray responds on Instagram after a dodgy line call during his match against local Fabio Fognini in Rome.
And brother Jamie then waded in:
“How do you get this so wrong when you can get off your chair and look at the mark?! Where’s ELC?”
ELC refers to the Electronic Line Calling system which is due to be rolled out in all ATP tournaments from 2025.
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