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Wimbledon Women’s Day 4
Defending champion Elena Rybakina continued her steady progress on Thursday as she beat a patched-up Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-6 (2) for a place in the third round at Wimbledon.
The Kazakh holder needed an hour and three-quarters to move into the third round where she plays British No. 1 Katie Boulter, a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Bulgarian Viktorija Tomova.
Rybakina faced an injured Cornet, who arrived at the court with a right thigh taping and needed a medical timeout at 5-all in the third set for further repairs after sliding on the grass during a fall.
The third seed improved to 12-1 at the tournament.
“I started with good energy,” Rybakina said. “In the second set it became a bit tougher.
“I was not pushing as well with the legs. It was a tough match that I’m happy to win.”
The Kazakh knows she will be the emotional underdog in the next round.
“I understand that the crowd won’t be on my side, but that’s OK.”
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula moved through with a 6-1, 6-4 defeat of Spain’s Cristina Busca, a main draw debutante who saved two match points and broke as her opponent served for the match the first time.
Elina Svitolina had few doubts about the success of her return to tennis after giving birth.
The Ukrainian lived up to her own expectations as she reached the third round with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 roller-coaster victory over Belgian Elise Mertens.
The former No. 3 who returned to the WTA in April, and won the Strasbourg title on clay in May.
Svitolina will next face former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over China’s Wang Xinyu.
Keniin is now ranked 128th and had to qualify into the field here; she led 5-1 in the second set but lost serve before nailing the win.
“I expected to play well after playing for so many years in the top level,” Svitolina said. “You want to play on the big stages, win these big matches.
“But it’s very difficult to come back to your best form, to your best game.”
She then added: “I can’t compare my game to what it was before the pregnancy.
“But there is something new in my game.
“My mindset is very fresh now, I’m really motivated like never before.”
Lesia Tsurenko joined her Ukrainian compatriot in the third round through a 6-4, 6-1 win over Katerina Siniakova.
2022 surprise quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier beat Karolina Muchova, the Roland Garros runner-up, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, with the Czech suffering from a tumble she took on the grass in the third set.
Rising 16-year-old qualifier Mirra Andreev, who reached the Paris third round before losing to Coco Gauff, shocked former French Open winner Barbora Krejicova 6-3, 4-0 when the veteran player retired injured.
“It’s my first experience on grass, just my fifth match,” the winner said. “I like the grass so far and I’m not playing that bad.
I’m super happy with my win, but it’s not the way I wanted to win, of course. She (Krejcikova) had some problems with her foot.
“Of course, I wish her the speedy recovery. I know it’s been
tough for her.”
Victoria Azarenka, whose match was postponed due to Wednesday rain, advanced over Nadia Podoroska with the loss of just three games in an 82-minute victory.
Dangerous Croat Petra Martic, who has reached the fourth round here three times, will line up next against top seed Iga Swiatek after defeating France’s Diane Parry 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Anett Kontaveit, who once ranked second on the WTA, ended her career with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Czech Marie Bouzkova. The Estonian is retiring at age 27 due to a back injury.
“It’s just a lot of emotions,” she said. “There’s sadness, there’s happiness, there’s a bit of everything.
“The match didn’t go the way I wanted it to, but I was so happy to be able to play in front of so many people, that so many people that love me were able to
see me play for the last time – in singles.”
Aryna Sabalenka will work to break through on the Stuttgart indoor clay as the world No. 1 bids for the title in a rare Monday final against Jelena Ostapenko in a battle of Grand Slam winners.
Double Australian Open holder Sabalenka is desperate for a change of luck after losing finals here in 2021 (Ash Barty), 2022 and 2023 (the last two against Iga Swiatek).
The top seed booked her spot with Sunday’s 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Italian Jasmine Paolini, duplicating a defeat of the two-time finalist at the majors from last month in Miami.
Ostapenko, who won Roland Garros in 2017, defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4.
With the event taking a day off for Good Friday, the final is delayed by 24 hours,
Sabalenka got a bye in the first round and a walkover in the second and only began her first actual match on Saturday.
She showed no rust in her semi-final, ending the first set against Paolini without an unforced error. She overcame a 3-0 lead from the Italian in the second set but got it back before an insurance break for 5-4 followed by victory in 89 minutes.
Ostapenko will be competing in her first clay final in nearly eight years – her first since Roland Garros back in the day.
Holger Rune battled past injured Carlos Alcaraz to spoil the Spanish Easter party at the Barcelona Open, with the Dane lifting the trophy 7-6 (6), 6-2.
The pair of 21-year-olds were familiar foes, having played 20 times in juniors before hitting the Tour; Rune won the first 500 series title of his career and his fifth overall.
Alcaraz was treated three times in the second set after an apparent injury to his upper right thigh/groin after duelling hard in the opening set at the Real Club.
The loss will send Alcaraz back to third in the rankings, with Alexander Zverev moving back to second behind Jannik Sinner as a result of winning the Munich title on Sunday.
Rune, a first-round victim last week in Monte Carlo, reversed his clay momentum in Spain, handing Alcaraz a first loss of a set for the week.
The Spanish top seed’s two final shots both clipped the top of the net and fell back as Rune raised his hands in celebration after 97 minutes on court in the Catalan capital.
“This means the world,” the winner said. “I started the match stressed, he was playing big-time tennis.
“I was able to find my rhythm after he broke me (3-2 in the opening set) and I got more into the match.
“The first set was a big battle with a lot of important points. It was super-important to win the set and gain momentum.
“I’m so proud of myself.”
Rune ended with 18 winners while the ailing Alcaraz produced 33 unforced errors. The Dane claimed his 50th match win on clay and levelled his Tour record in the series to 2-2.
Rune said he channeled Novak Djokovic’s Paris Olympic gold medal win from last summer over Alcaraz as he struggled to turn his game around in Barcelona.
“I asked myself what Novak did to win that final. I (realised) that I didn’t need to hit every ball on the line. I need to make him play and hit a lot of balls.”
Rune, who won the elite Paris Bercy Masters 1000 title in 2022, finally began reversing a 13-match loss streak against top five opponents.with his title victory.
Alcaraz may be racing for fitness with the Madrid Masters starting on Wednesday as the ATP ploughs ahead with an unpopular two-week format for Masters tournaments despite growing protest from exhausted players.
Main photo:- Holger Rune celebrates Barcelona win – by ATPTour.com
Alexander Zverev turned 28 on Sunday and awarded himself a third title on his home Munich clay as he beat Ben Shelton 6-2,6-4 to win the ATP event.
The 2017 and 2018 champion here is now threatening Carlos Alcaraz as the pair duel for the world No. 2 position which the Spaniard took over last week after winning Monte Carlo.
Zverev schooled lefthander Shelton in 70 minutes for a second win in their series. The winner becomes the second to hold three Munich titles after countryman Philipp Kohlschreiber (2007, 2012, 2016).
“I’m enjoying my birthday so far,” Zverev said. “It’s extremely special to win in Germany, the most special thing I can do.
January’s Australian Open finalist added: “It’s definitely a great birthday present, I knew I had to play my best today, conditions were very hot and very fast.They were perfect for me.”
The winner broke three times while never facing a challenge to his serve from Shelton as he claimed a sixth career title at the 500-Tour level.
Main photo:- Alexander Zverev with his “birthday” trophy – by BMW Open/Bitpanda
Sabalenka hoping to turn her luck in Stuttgart
Rune rises to the occasion with defeat of Alcaraz
Zverev grabs a birthday gift with third Munich title
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