3 former champions return to 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships

Daniil Medvedev poses with the the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy after his triumph last year. (Supplied)

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Updated 03 February 2024

Arab News

February 03, 2024 12:02

3 former champions return to 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships

Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev, 2022 winner Andrey Rublev, 2017 champion Andy Murray will compete at ATP 500 event from Feb. 26 - March 2
Dubai women’s event, recently awarded permanent WTA 1000 status, will run 1 week prior to ATP event, from Feb. 18-24

Updated 03 February 2024

Arab News

February 03, 2024 12:02

DUBAI: The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships will welcome three former champions for the ATP 500 tournament later this month.

Reigning champion Daniil Medvedev – a recent Australian Open finalist – and 2022 winner Andrey Rublev will be joined in the emirate by Andy Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion and Olympic gold medallist.

Medvedev will have his eye on more success in Dubai, with Italian sensation Jannik Sinner stunning the Russian with an epic five-set comeback win to clinch his first Grand Slam in Melbourne last month.

Medvedev, 27, will be looking to build on a remarkable 2023 season, during which he won five titles, reached two Grand Slam finals, and ended the year as world No. 3.

Rublev, meanwhile, reached the 50-wins mark for the third straight season in 2023, while breaking new ground by claiming his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo. The 26-year-old also lifted the Bastad trophy with a straight sets victory over Casper Ruud, the third time in four years that he has claimed multiple tour-level crowns.

It is two years since Murray’s last appearance in Dubai and seven since he became the first Briton to win Dubai’s annual tennis showpiece. He will join three of the world’s top 10 ATP players when the tournament’s 32nd edition takes place from Feb. 26 to March 2.

Murray, the Scotland-born three-time Grand Slam winner, is set to make his eighth appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, with world No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz, the 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist, also part of the experienced line-up.

Colm McLoughlin, executive vice chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, said: “We are thrilled to have three former champions in Andy, Andrey, and Daniil participating, further underlining the regard in which this tournament is held.”

Other notable names who will feature in the men’s tournament include last year’s Australian Open semi-finalist and current world No. 18 Karen Khachanov, five-time ATP Tour singles title winner Adrian Mannarino, currently ranked No. 17 in the world, and former Wimbledon finalist and Australian Open semi-finalist Milos Raonic.

Salah Tahlak, joint chief operating officer of Dubai Duty Free and tournament director of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Andy, Andrey, and Daniil back to Dubai this year.

“They are all extremely popular figures among the tennis fraternity, so having these types of players competing in the tournament is great news for us.”

Meanwhile, a star-studded Women’s Tennis Association line-up will see 17 of the world’s top 20 players descend on Dubai for the 24th edition of the WTA Tour tournament – recently awarded permanent WTA 1000 status.

Nine of the world’s top 10 female players will be in the emirate for the latest instalment of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships; world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, fresh from securing her second successive Australian Open crown, and No. 3 Coco Gauff lead the impressive pack.

Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller

Updated 08 September 2024

AFP

September 08, 2024 01:34

Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller

World number two Sabalenka triumphed 7-5, 7-5 to add the New York title to her back-to-back Australian Open victories

Updated 08 September 2024

AFP

September 08, 2024 01:34

NEW YORK: Aryna Sabalenka won the US Open and her third Grand Slam crown with a thrilling victory over a gallant Jessica Pegula in a rollercoaster final on Saturday.
World number two Sabalenka triumphed 7-5, 7-5 to add the New York title to her back-to-back Australian Open victories.
Pegula went down fighting, however, recovering from 0-3 and break point down to lead 5-3 in the second set before Sabalenka came through.
The 26-year-old from Belarus clubbed 40 winners to become the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to capture both hardcourt majors in the same season.
“I’m speechless. So many times I was close to the US Open title and finally I got it,” said Sabalenka, the runner-up last year and semifinalist in 2022 and 2023.
“Never give up on your dream. Work hard. I’m super proud of myself.”
Pegula had arrived in New York with a title in Toronto and runner-up spot to Sabalenka in Cincinnati.
She had won 15 out of 16 matches on the North American summer hard court swing.
“I wish she would have at least let me get one set. We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she’s one of the best in the world,” said the American.
“She’s super powerful and isn’t going to give you anything. She can take the racquet out of your hand.
“I’m just glad I was able to stay in there and keep taking opportunities.”
Sabalenka lost the 2023 US Open final to Pegula’s compatriot Coco Gauff and she struggled to settle in during the early stages on Saturday as a flurry of errors handed the home favorite a break for 2-1.
But the powerful Sabalenka levelled immediately and broke again for 4-2.
A capacity crowd of 23,000 included sporting royalty such as Olympic 100m gold medallist Noah Lyles, NBA star Steph Curry and former Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton watched on.
Most were behind Pegula but the 30-year-old was defenseless against the remorseless hitting of the world number two, whose screams echoed beneath the closed roof of the cavernous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Pegula, who had knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek and then battled from a set and break down to see off Karolina Muchova in the semifinal, clung on.
From 2-5 down, she hit back for 5-5, breaking Sabalenka as the Australian Open champion served for the set.
In a marathon 12th game, however, Pegula saved four set points but not the fifth.
Sabalenka had unleashed 25 winners and committed 23 unforced errors to Pegula’s nine and 11, illustrating a dramatic contrast of styles in the 60-minute opener.
For the second match in succession, Pegula was soon a set and break down again, a double fault allowing Sabalenka to move ahead 3-0.
Incredibly, the 30-year-old stormed back to lead 5-3 before Sabalenka broke in the 10th game as her opponent attempted to level the final.
Sabalenka held her nerve to claim victory when Pegula went long with a weary drive.

Topics: US Open 2024 Aryna Sabalenka Jessica Pegula US Open

French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse

Updated 07 September 2024

AFP

September 07, 2024 18:39

French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse

The 23-year-old’s complaint to Paris prosecutors also denounced identity theft
Tubello claimed the defeat triggered a wave of hatred from sports bettors through her social media accounts

Updated 07 September 2024

AFP

September 07, 2024 18:39

PARIS: French tennis player Alice Tubello has filed a complaint over online abuse from sports bettors following 300 hateful messages she received after a recent defeat, a source close to the case told AFP on Saturday.
The 23-year-old’s complaint to Paris prosecutors also denounced identity theft after a false Facebook page, now closed, was created in her name and posted slurs targeting her family.
The 219-ranked player said she received a torrent of abuse after losing in the quarter-finals in Arequipa, Peru, last month to local player Dana Guzman.
Tubello claimed the defeat triggered a wave of hatred from sports bettors through her social media accounts.
Contacted by AFP, Tubello slammed “recurring abuses with sports betting, sponsors of the world tennis organization.”
“Whether it’s a victory or a defeat, every time after a match, I receive hate messages,” she said.
“I’ve even had punters come behind the fence on my property.
“Security has increased at tournaments, but there is still this phenomenon of online abuse under the cover of anonymity.”
The content of the fake Facebook page, presenting her father as “a paedophile” or publishing racist messages, were particularly distressing.
“They touched my family, I will not give up,” she insisted, hopeful that investigators can identify and arrest those involved.
Fellow French tennis player Caroline Garcia also recently shared some of the disparaging messages she has received in the wake of defeats, citing “unhealthy betting” as a driver of social media abuse of players.
After her US Open first round defeat, Garcia shared “just a few” of the messages, including one telling her to shoot herself and another saying “I hope your mom dies soon.”
“Tournaments and the sport keeps partnering with betting companies, which keep attracting new people to unhealthy betting,” former world number four Garcia said.
“The days of cigarette brands sponsoring sports are long gone. Yet, here we are promoting betting companies, which actively destroy the life of some people.”

Topics: France Alice Tubello online abuse Paris prosecutors

Fritz wins an all-American matchup against Tiafoe in 5 to reach the US Open final against Sinner

Updated 07 September 2024

AFP

September 07, 2024 02:12

Fritz wins an all-American matchup against Tiafoe in 5 to reach the US Open final against Sinner

Updated 07 September 2024

AFP

September 07, 2024 02:12

NEW YORK: Taylor Fritz surged with a six-game run against a fading and frustrated Frances Tiafoe to come out on top 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in an all-American matchup at the US Open on Friday night to reach his first Grand Slam final.
The No. 12-seeded Fritz’s momentum-shift-filled victory against No. 20 Tiafoe — a pair of 26-year-olds who are close pals and have known each other since they were playing in tournaments for kids younger than 14 — earned a showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the championship on Sunday.
Fritz will be the first US man to appear in a major final since Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. And if he can get past Sinner, Fritz would become the first US man to win a Slam trophy since Roddick got his 21 years ago at the US Open.
From 4-all in the fourth set Friday, Fritz seized control as Tiafoe’s strokes and usual confidence betrayed him. After a double-fault handed over a break to make it 4-0 in the fifth, more than three hours into the proceedings, Tiafoe chucked his racket. Fritz repaid the favor by double-faulting to end the next game, but broke right back and soon it was over.

Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy exonerated in a doping case less than three weeks ago, finished off a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 25 Jack Draper earlier Friday that featured simultaneous treatment of both competitors by trainers deep in the 1 1/2-hour second set.
“It was a very physical match, as we see,” said Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January. “I just tried to stay there mentally.”
He got his left wrist massaged after falling during a point he managed to win; Draper needed medical attention after vomiting twice in a game with the temperature in the high 70s and the humidity above 60 percent. During that break in the action, a vacuum was used to clear the ground behind the baseline and finish the cleaning job Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, tried to do himself by wiping his, um, mess with a towel.
There was none of that sort of drama away from the actual play in Tiafoe vs. Fritz, and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd might have been forgiven for not knowing for whom to cheer in the first semifinal in New York between two American men in 19 years.

Topics: tennis Jannik Sinner

Pegula in thrilling comeback to set-up US Open final with Sabalenka

Updated 06 September 2024

AFP

September 06, 2024 06:47

Pegula in thrilling comeback to set-up US Open final with Sabalenka

The sixth-ranked American will take on world No. 2 and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s championship match
Pegula has now won 15 of 16 matches on the US summer hard court swing which saw a title in Toronto and defeat in the Cincinnati final to Sabalenka

Updated 06 September 2024

AFP

September 06, 2024 06:47

NEW YORK: Jessica Pegula staged an astonishing recovery from a set and a break down to defeat Karolina Muchova and reach her first Grand Slam final at the US Open on Thursday.
The sixth-ranked American came through 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and will take on world number two and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday’s championship match.
Sabalenka reached her second successive US Open final by seeing off another American, Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-6 (7/2).
“I thought I was lucky to still be in it,” admitted Pegula after seeing Czech opponent Muchova miss an easy chance to go 3-0 up with a double break in the second set.
“She made me look like a beginner, she was destroying me and I was about to burst into tears but it all came down to small moments.
“I don’t know how I turned that around.”
Pegula has now won 15 of 16 matches on the US summer hard court swing which saw a title in Toronto and defeat in the Cincinnati final to Sabalenka.
“It’s a chance for revenge, but she’ll be tough to beat,” said Pegula.
Muchova saved three break points in the third game of the first set which sparked a rapid collapse by Pegula.
The 30-year-old American dropped serve in the fourth and sixth games and lost a set for the first time in the tournament.
Muchova’a all-court game yielded 11 winners to her opponent’s three as the opener was wrapped up in just 28 minutes.
It was a severe comedown for Pegula who had knocked out world number one Iga Swiatek on Wednesday to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal after losing all six of her previous last-eight matches.
Muchova then broke for a 2-0 lead in the second set, racking up a seventh game in a row before Pegula stopped the rot.
That suddenly reinvigorated the American who went 4-2 ahead before being pulled back to 4-4 but then levelled the semifinal when Muchova double-faulted on set point.
Pegula sprinted to a break up at 3-0 in the decider and then 5-2 after a seventh game which stretched to alnmost 10 minutes.
The last of Muchova’s 46 unforced errors sealed her fate.

Topics: Jessica Pegula US Open 2024 Aryna Sabalenka

Pegula stuns Swiatek at US Open as home hopes surge, Draper in breakthrough

Updated 05 September 2024

AFP

September 05, 2024 04:41

Pegula stuns Swiatek at US Open as home hopes surge, Draper in breakthrough

Draper, meanwhile, became the first British man to make the last four since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago by beating Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 7-5, 6-2

Updated 05 September 2024

AFP

September 05, 2024 04:41

NEW YORK: Jessica Pegula became the fourth American to reach this year’s US Open semifinals on Wednesday by stunning world number one Iga Swiatek as Jack Draper broke through to his first Grand Slam last-four.
Pegula swept past 2022 champion and four-time French Open winner Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 to reach a maiden semifinal at the majors after falling in six quarter-finals.
The 30-year-old will next face Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic.
If she gets through that she would set-up an all-American title match should Emma Navarro stun world number two Aryna Sabalenka in Thursday’s other semifinal.
Draper, meanwhile, became the first British man to make the last four since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago by beating Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
The 25th seed will tackle either world number one Jannik Sinner or 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev for a place in Sunday’s championship showdown.
Pegula has now won 14 times in 15 matches on US hard courts this summer.
“Finally I can say I’m a semifinalist. I lost so many of these damn things,” said the American after her fourth career win against Swiatek.
“Thanks to the crowd. I sent over a 65mph second serve (on a third match point) because I was so tight.
“I did everything I could to not get frustrated. I took advantage of some things she was not doing so well and just rode that momentum.”
Swiatek was undone by 41 unforced errors.
Draper pulled off victory over 10th-ranked De Minaur despite taking a medical timeout early in the second set to have his right thigh bandaged.
“It’s amazing. My first time on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it means the world to me,” said Draper, who had lost three times in three meetings with De Minaur before Wednesday.
“I played a solid match and I feel the best fitness-wise that I have felt in a long time.”
Draper has made the semifinals without dropping a set as he continued an impressive summer run which saw him capture his first ATP title in Stuttgart and then defeat Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club on the eve of Wimbledon.
On Wednesday, he sent down 11 aces in his 40 winners while forcing De Minaur to fend off 14 of 20 break points.
The British player enjoys a 1-0 lead over Sinner in the pair’s head-to-head although that win at Queen’s came three years ago. He lost to Medvedev on clay in Rome earlier this year.
Sinner is the only top-four player left in the men’s draw following the exits of Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
However, he is yet to reach the last four in New York and faces a test of his credentials against fifth-ranked Medvedev.
Sinner defeated Medvedev from two sets down to win his first major at the Australian Open in January before the mercurial Russian avenged that loss at Wimbledon.
“I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said Medvedev, also the 2019 and 2023 runner-up at the US Open.
With Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz already lined up for an all-American men’s semifinal on Friday, and Navarro and Pegula safely into the women’s last four, home fans are dreaming of a title sweep this weekend.
Andy Roddick was the last US man to lift a Grand Slam singles trophy in New York in 2003 while Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff have triumphed in the women’s tournament in the last decade.
Muchova’s 6-1, 6-4 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia came despite having to sprint to the bathroom early in the second set, a dash which caught everyone on the hop.
“I had a problem that I wouldn’t like to comment on,” said the 28-year-old. “Sorry if I disturbed anybody but I really didn’t have any other choice.”
After losing to eventual champion Coco Gauff in the 2023 semifinals, Muchova suffered a serious wrist injury which sidelined her until June this year.
A former world number eight, now ranked at 52, Muchova has yet to drop a set, knocking out two-time champion Naomi Osaka and this year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini.

Topics: US Open 2024 Jessica Pegula Iga Swiatek US Open Jack Draper

3 former champions return to 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships

3 former champions return to 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships

Princess Reema rejects opposition to holding women’s tennis tourney in Saudi Arabia

World’s top 10 players confirmed for women’s Dubai Tennis Championships

Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller

Sabalenka downs Pegula to win US Open thriller

Pegula in thrilling comeback to set-up US Open final with Sabalenka

US Open: Aryna Sabalenka beats Emma Navarro to reach her second consecutive final in New York

French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse

French tennis player takes legal action over online abuse

Online abuse puts sports at risk of losing stars, survey finds

FIA joins forces with FIM in coalition against online abuse

Fritz wins an all-American matchup against Tiafoe in 5 to reach the US Open final against Sinner

Fritz wins an all-American matchup against Tiafoe in 5 to reach the US Open final against Sinner

Medvedev into US Open quarter-finals with Sinner on horizon

Sinner avoids US Open trapdoor as Swiatek moves into last 16

Pegula in thrilling comeback to set-up US Open final with Sabalenka

Pegula in thrilling comeback to set-up US Open final with Sabalenka

US Open: Aryna Sabalenka beats Emma Navarro to reach her second consecutive final in New York

Pegula stuns Swiatek at US Open as home hopes surge, Draper in breakthrough

Pegula stuns Swiatek at US Open as home hopes surge, Draper in breakthrough

Pegula stuns Swiatek at US Open as home hopes surge, Draper in breakthrough

Sabalenka demolishes Zheng to reach fourth US Open semifinal

Champion Gauff knocked out of US Open by Navarro after serving horror show

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3 former champions return to 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships

3 former champions return to 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships

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