Djokovic ‘feeling great’ in Monte Carlo as Alcaraz withdraws injured

Djokovic ‘feeling great’ in Monte Carlo as Alcaraz withdraws injured
Serbia's Novak Djokovic plays a backhand return to Russia's Roman Safiullin during their Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament round of 32 tennis match on the Rainier III court at the Monte Carlo Country Club on April 9, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 10 April 2024
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Djokovic ‘feeling great’ in Monte Carlo as Alcaraz withdraws injured

Djokovic ‘feeling great’ in Monte Carlo as Alcaraz withdraws injured
  • The Serb needed just one hour and 10 minutes to make a return to winning ways in his first match since a shock early exit at Indian Wells to Italian Luca Nardi
  • German fifth seed Alexander Zverev breezed into the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian Ofner

MONTE CARLO, Principality of Monaco: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic said his “feeling was great” as he flew past Roman Safiullin in straight sets at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday, after third seed Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the event due to injury.

After receiving a bye in the first round, Djokovic was imperious on the main Rainier III court as he won 6-1, 6-2 against the unseeded Russian.

“My feeling was great,” said Djokovic. “I think... it’s been one of my best performances I had here in quite a few years.

“Monte Carlo is the first big tournament of the clay court season. You know, I haven’t been really able the last six, seven years to start off strong and start off well. I’ve always kind of struggled in this tournament.”

The Serb needed just one hour and 10 minutes to make a return to winning ways in his first match since a shock early exit at Indian Wells to Italian Luca Nardi.

The 36-year-old became the oldest world no.1 in the history of the ATP rankings when he took to the court in Monte Carlo, surpassing Roger Federer’s record.

“It is nice, it is great,” said the 24-time Grand Slam winner.

“I met (Rohan) Bopanna yesterday, who is the oldest doubles no.1 in history. He said we had a combined age of 80, but he does contribute to the 80 more than I do. But it is fun.”

But there was no sign of Djokovic feeling his age as he broke Safiullin’s serve twice to race into a 4-0 lead in the first set.

Djokovic went on to break his opponent’s serve five times over the course of a routine win and now faces a third-round meeting with Lorenzo Musetti, after the Italian ousted rising French starlet Arthur Fils 6-3, 7-5.

Before Djokovic took to court, Alcaraz announced he was pulling out of Monte Carlo after failing to recover from an injury to his right forearm.

“I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres (muscle) in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play,” Alcaraz wrote on social media.

The 20-year-old Spaniard, whose last match came in the straight sets defeat by Grigor Dimitrov in Miami last month, was due to go straight into Wednesday’s second round against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

He will be replaced in the draw by Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who was drafted in as a lucky loser.

The match against Auger-Aliassime was set to be the two-time Grand Slam winner’s second ever appearance at Monte Carlo, following his withdrawal from the tournament last year and a three-set defeat in his only match of the 2022 edition.

Earlier in the day, American Sebastian Korda, the man responsible for that defeat in 2022, stormed past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.

After a rain-hit morning causing a two-and-a-half-hour delay to the day’s play, world no.11 Alex de Minaur made up for lost time with a 62-minute straight sets win over Stan Wawrinka.

The 39-year-old wild card Wawrinka, formerly ranked no.3 in the world but now down to no.79, was no match in the first round for the Australian who prevailed 6-3, 6-0.

Wawrinka, the 2014 champion in Monte Carlo and a three-time Grand Slam winner, made 28 unforced errors to De Minaur’s 18 and landed just four winners to the 12 made by his opponent.

The 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz overcame Britain’s Jack Draper after nearly two and a half hours on court to reach the second round, winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2).

After winning a first title in two injury-hit years in Marrakech on Sunday, Italian Matteo Berrettini’s stay in Monte Carlo was cut short by Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-1.

German fifth seed Alexander Zverev breezed into the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sebastian Ofner.

Gael Monfils of France came back from a double break down in the third set to record an impressive 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 7-5 victory against Australian Aleksandar Vukic.
 


Coco Gauff wins WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Zheng Qinwen

Coco Gauff wins WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Zheng Qinwen
Updated 2 min ago
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Coco Gauff wins WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Zheng Qinwen

Coco Gauff wins WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Zheng Qinwen
  • The 20-year-old American came from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the final set and was two points from defeat at one stage
  • Gauff beat the world’s top two players — Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — on her run to the final at the season-ending event in Riyadh

RIYADH: Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals for the first time by rallying to beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the final on Saturday.
The 20-year-old American came from 2-0 and 5-3 down in the final set and was two points from defeat at one stage.
Yet she took the set to a tiebreaker and won the first six points. Zheng threatened a comeback but Gauff took the victory off her third match point with a forehand winner as she came into the net.
She is the first American to win the Finals since Serena Williams in 2014, and received $4.8 million in prize money.
Gauff beat the world’s top two players — Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek — on her run to the final at the season-ending event in Riyadh.
Zheng was looking to complete a season in which she reached a grand slam final for the first time at the Australian Open and delivered China’s first Olympic tennis singles gold medal.
But Gauff edged the three-hour final which included 26 break points. Gauff also won their only previous meeting, in the Rome quarterfinals on clay in May.
Gauff beat Sabalenka at age 19 in last year’s US Open final to win her only major in singles to date. She teamed with Katerina Siniakova to win the French Open doubles this year.
In the WTA doubles final, Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand beat Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the United States 7-5, 6-3. They are the first players from Canada and New Zealand to win the doubles title.


Zheng advances to WTA Finals championship match with semifinal win over Krejcikova

Zheng advances to WTA Finals championship match with semifinal win over Krejcikova
Updated 08 November 2024
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Zheng advances to WTA Finals championship match with semifinal win over Krejcikova

Zheng advances to WTA Finals championship match with semifinal win over Krejcikova
  • Zheng, 22, awaits top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or third-seeded Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday

RIYADH: Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen became the first tournament debutante to reach the championship match at the WTA Finals since 2021 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Barbora Krejcikova in Riyadh on Friday.

The seventh-seeded Zheng needed one hour and 40 minutes to overcome the Wimbledon champion in their semifinal encounter, firing nine aces along the way.
Zheng led 6-3, 3-0 before the eighth-seeded Krejcikova launched a comeback attempt but the Chinese star regained control of the match to make it two wins from two clashes with the Czech.
Zheng, 22, awaits top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka or third-seeded Coco Gauff in the final on Saturday, as she bids to become the first player to win the WTA Finals on her maiden appearance since Ashleigh Barty in 2019.
“It feels so special because this is my first WTA Finals and right now I’m in the final, which is unbelievable. She’s a really good player, today we gave a good match,” said Zheng.
“It was tricky because at 3-0 I think I dropped my performance; suddenly my performance went down, and she played more free and I was suddenly 3-4 down. I gave so much control to myself to not panic too much. It shows I was mentally strong in that moment.”
Zheng was near untouchable on serve in the 40-minute opening set, dropping just one point behind her first delivery en route to a 6-3 lead.
The Olympic champion broke twice for a 3-0 advantage in the second set and looked on her way to a comfortable victory.
But Krejcikova had other ideas and she halted Zheng’s momentum by attacking her second serve to grab the next four games and inch ahead for the first time in the contest.
It became a tug of war but it was Zheng who found an opening, breaking in game 12 to put herself in the position to serve for the match.
The fight wasn’t over yet as Zheng had to save a break point and saw a first match point slip away before she wrapped up the win on her second chance when a Krejcikova forehand sailed wide.
Since the event’s inauguration in 1972, Zheng is only the second Asian player to reach the decider at the WTA Finals after Li Na pulled off that feat in 2013.


Krejcikova beats Gauff to earn last semifinal spot at WTA Finals. Swiatek eliminated despite win

Krejcikova beats Gauff to earn last semifinal spot at WTA Finals. Swiatek eliminated despite win
Updated 08 November 2024
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Krejcikova beats Gauff to earn last semifinal spot at WTA Finals. Swiatek eliminated despite win

Krejcikova beats Gauff to earn last semifinal spot at WTA Finals. Swiatek eliminated despite win
  • Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic beat American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4
  • Swiatek had kept her hopes alive by beating Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0

RIYADH: Barbora Krejcikova grabbed the last semifinal spot at the WTA Finals with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Thursday, a result that eliminated second-ranked Iga Swiatek from the season-ending tournament.
Krejcikova completes a last-four lineup that already included top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, Zheng Qinwen and Gauff.
“Well, I was definitely super excited to be here, to come here, to qualify to play against the best ones,” Krejcikova said. “I don’t really know where everything started to come together. Before the tournament, I had a couple of days where we hit lightly and already during those hits, I felt quite good. And I think definitely for me, it’s a big thing that it’s the last tournament of the season.”


Krejcikova, the Wimbledon champion, won the Orange Group and will face Zheng in Friday’s semifinals, while Gauff will take on Purple Group winner Sabalenka.
Swiatek earlier routed alternate Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-0 in less than an hour, but she needed Krejcikova to lose to third-ranked Gauff in order to advance from the Orange Group. Krejcikova, Gauff and Swiatek all finished at 2-1, and Swiatek was eliminated because she has a worse percentage of sets won.
Kasatkina replaced American Jessica Pegula, who withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday because of a left knee injury.
“I’m professional enough to always give 100 percent no matter what the stakes are,” Swiatek said.


Ons Jabeur continues to capture hearts of Arab tennis fans

Ons Jabeur continues to capture hearts of Arab tennis fans
Updated 07 November 2024
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Ons Jabeur continues to capture hearts of Arab tennis fans

Ons Jabeur continues to capture hearts of Arab tennis fans
  • Tunisian tennis superstar may not be taking part in the WTA Finals, but turns heads everywhere in Riyadh

RIYADH: It only takes a few moments shadowing Ons Jabeur around Riyadh to realize what a rock star she is in this part of the world.

After becoming the first Arab in history to qualify for the WTA Finals in 2022, and replicating that feat in 2023, the Tunisian struggled with injuries this campaign and did not make the cut for the season finale in Riyadh.

Still, as an Arab icon and history maker, Jabeur was invited to attend the inaugural Riyadh edition of the tournament and got to witness firsthand the biggest women’s sports event to be staged in Saudi Arabia.

Whether she was taking part in a meet and greet, tennis clinic or the opening ceremony, Jabeur was met with huge fanfare, which has only made her hungrier to qualify for the Finals in 2025.

“I’m very happy to be here in Riyadh, the WTA Finals is happening here. I think it’s a great thing for women’s sport, for Arab women’s sport as well. It’s the biggest event that ever happened for women in Saudi. It’s an amazing step,” Jabeur told Arab News.

Ons Jabeur was invited to attend the inaugural Riyadh edition of the WTA Finals. (Supplied)

“I’m not very happy that I’m not playing, but also at the same time I’m happy that I’m here to check everything out. It will be my motivation to qualify for next year.

“I had time to rest my shoulder, I’m feeling much better than before. It allowed me to also recover mentally. It’s been a tough couple of years going on tour, so to breathe in for a couple of months was really awesome and I can’t wait to come back in Australia.”

A shoulder injury forced Jabeur to pull the plug early on her season. Her last match of 2024, in early August, was an opening round defeat to Naomi Osaka in Toronto.

The former world No. 2 is already in training. “I’m ready and very motivated and honestly hungry to play matches. I feel 2025 is going to be an amazing year,” said the 30-year-old.

 

 

“I listened to my body for sure. I should have done that way before. But as a professional tennis player, as an athlete, you always try to push yourself to do more.

“For me, it was a bit tough, and thankfully it wasn’t too late to stop and take a break.

“I’ve learned with my experience and definitely still learning. The most important thing that I have learned is how to listen to my body and to know when to stop, when to take a break.

“And it’s okay to take a month or two off because it will help you have a deep breath and push for the next tournaments.”

During her time in Riyadh, the three-time Grand Slam finalist interacted with many young aspiring tennis players, who were keen to pick her brain on what it takes to become a professional athlete.

“I had a meet and greet with young girls, they were very nice to me, they asked me a lot of questions. They were amazing questions to answer,” said Jabeur with a smile.

 

 

“We talked a little bit, I got to know them more. They seem very motivated and hungry to become professional tennis players. I hope to see a bright future for them.

“They were different questions about my routines, about how I prepare for the match, how I decided to become a tennis player, what kind of advice I’d give them.

“And they were really on point questions, I’ve got to say. It was fun interacting with them, seeing that they’re truly interested in becoming professional.”

Jabeur also kept her eye on the court and enjoyed following the battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

Sabalenka leapfrogged Swiatek and reclaimed the year-end top spot ahead of these WTA Finals, for the first time in her career.

“It’s been amazing watching both fighting for this No. 1 spot. I think at the moment Aryna deserves it the best. She’s such a great friend and a great competitor. It’s nice. I hope they’ll keep fighting and get tired so I can take the first spot,” laughed Jabeur.

 

 

Jabeur was speaking to Arab News at the Kayanee flagship store in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter, where her new collection is being launched.

The Saudi Arabia fitness and sports lifestyle brand signed a partnership deal with Jabeur at the start of 2024 and believes she perfectly aligns with Kayanee’s philosophy of fostering health, well-being, and personal growth.

“It’s an honor to be the ambassador of Kayanee. I feel like the perfect language for a woman is through fashion. And I wanted to share my ideas, how I am on the court, how I’m feeling comfortable with my outfit and share that with the rest of the world,” said Jabeur of her new collection.


Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz headline ATP Finals with defending champion Novak Djokovic out

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz headline ATP Finals with defending champion Novak Djokovic out
Updated 07 November 2024
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Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz headline ATP Finals with defending champion Novak Djokovic out

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz headline ATP Finals with defending champion Novak Djokovic out
  • ATP Finals open Sunday without any members of the Big Three for the first time in nearly a quarter century
  • Big name missing is that of defending champion Novak Djokovic, who withdrew on Tuesday due to an unspecified injury

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are poised to add another entry into their rapidly developing rivalry when the ATP Finals open Sunday without any members of the Big Three for the first time in nearly a quarter century.
The top-ranked Sinner and No. 3 Alcaraz evenly split the year’s Grand Slam titles between them with two apiece and it would be fitting if the pair meet again in Turin.
And since Alcaraz was overtaken by Alexander Zverev in the rankings this week, the Spaniard could be placed in the same round-robin group as Sinner.
The draw for the eight-man event is scheduled for later Thursday.
After the round-robin stage, the top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals.
The other qualifiers are: Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev.
The big name missing is that of defending champion Novak Djokovic, who withdrew on Tuesday due to an unspecified injury.
23 years since Djokovic, Federer and Nadal missed the finals
Not since 2001 has the finals been held without at least one of Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. This season also was the first since 2002 without at least one Grand Slam title for a member of that trio.
Djokovic has won the ATP Finals a record seven times. He beat Sinner for the title last year.
Federer, who announced his retirement in 2022, won the event six times after making his debut in 2002; Nadal, who is retiring after playing in the Davis Cup the week after finals, was the runner-up twice at the finals but never won it.
Sinner withdrew from last week’s Paris Masters due to a virus and showed up early in Turin for training.
“This is for me the main event of the end of the year,” Sinner said.
A final decision in Sinner’s doping case is still pending
As an Italian, Sinner will be the main focus of attention in Turin.
It’s the first time that Sinner will be playing at home since it was announced before his US Open title that he had tested positive in two separate drug tests earlier in the year.
A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September and the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to make a final ruling on the case early next year.
Alcaraz has won all 3 of his official meetings with Sinner this year
Sinner opened this year by winning the Australian Open to become the first Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title in nearly a half-century — since Adriano Panatta raised the French Open trophy in 1976.
Alcaraz then claimed the French Open and Wimbledon titles to raise his career total to four Grand Slams.
Sinner responded by winning the US Open.
Alcaraz won all three official meetings with Sinner this year and holds a 6-4 advantage in their career head-to-head rivalry. Last month, Sinner beat Alcaraz in the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
Zverev won in Paris last week and looks for a 3rd title at finals
The only two players in the field to have won the finals are Zverev and Medvedev.
Zverev won in London in 2018 and in Turin in 2021; while Medvedev triumphed in 2020 – the final year the event was held in London.
Zverev enters in solid form coming off a title at the Paris Masters.
Fritz is looking to add another big result after his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open; Ruud was a finalist in 2022; De Minaur is making his tournament debut; and Rublev is making his fifth straight appearance.
Biggest prize money on the men’s tour: $4.8 million
If a player wins all five of his matches en route to the trophy, he will earn $4.8 million – the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour.
That’s significantly more than what Sinner and Alcaraz earned for their victories at the US Open ($3.6 million) and Wimbledon (2.7 million pounds or $3.45 million) this year.