Nakashima tops Isner at Indian Wells without Djokovic, Nadal

Brandon Nakashima in action against John Isner in an all-American first round match at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday in Indian Wells, California. (AFP)
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Updated 09 March 2023
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Nakashima tops Isner at Indian Wells without Djokovic, Nadal

  • Evgeniya Rodina, a 34-year-old ranked 427th and had played just one tour-level match in 2023, ousted 68th-ranked Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-5

INDIAN WELLS, California: Brandon Nakashima took advantage of two double-faults by John Isner in an error-filled game to collect the match’s only service break and went on to reach the second round at the BNP Paribas Open with a 7-6 (7), 6-3 victory in the all-American contest Wednesday.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in the stands as play got started at the year’s first Masters 1000 event, a combined tournament for women and men.

Nakashima, a 21-year-old from San Diego, saved one set point for 2018 Wimbledon semifinalist Isner, who is 37, en route to grabbing the opening tiebreaker. And Nakashima, who won the ATP Next Gen Finals last year, broke to lead 4-2 in the second set after nearly 1 1/2 hours of play, taking his four points in that game via that pair of double-faults, one forehand by Isner that found the net tape and didn’t make it over, and another that sailed long.

In all, Isner, the 2012 runner-up at Indian Wells, double-faulted seven times, part of his total of 25 unforced errors — 18 more than Nakashima. Next up for the 48th-ranked Nakashima is the tough task of facing 2022 US Open champion and former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who is on a 14-match winning streak and won the past three tournaments he entered.

That run of success includes a win over Novak Djokovic, the 22-time Grand Slam champion not in the field at Indian Wells because he can’t travel to the US as a foreign citizen not vaccinated against COVID-19. The player Djokovic shares the record with for most majors won by a man, Rafael Nadal, also isn’t in the desert; he has been sidelined since injuring his left hip flexor at the Australian Open.

Medvedev, like other seeded players, received a first-round bye.

In other Day 1 action, Evgeniya Rodina, a 34-year-old who is ranked 427th and had played just one tour-level match in 2023, ousted 68th-ranked Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-5; 67th-ranked Wang Xinyu beat 37th-ranked Elize Mertens 6-3, 6-1; wild-card entry Dayana Yastremska defeated Anna Bondar 6-3, 6-4; Aliaksandra Sasnovich got past Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 7-6 (5); Anna Blinkova beat Ann Li 6-1, 6-2; and Linda Noskova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (7), 6-1.

In men’s matches, Marcos Giron, who won an NCAA singles title for UCLA, eliminated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 7-5; Ugo Humbert beat Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 7-6 (6); Jason Kubler edged Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 7-6 (4); and Oscar Otte defeated Laslo Djere 6-3, 7-5.


Alcaraz, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals

Updated 08 July 2025
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Alcaraz, Sabalenka take contrasting routes into Wimbledon semifinals

  • Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year’s tournament
  • Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz swept into the Wimbledon semifinals for a third successive year as the defending champion demolished Cameron Norrie, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka survived a major scare to reach the last four on Tuesday.

Alcaraz needed just 99 minutes to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 in his most commanding performance in this year’s tournament.

The Spanish second seed dropped four sets in a series of scrappy displays during his run to the last eight.

But Alcaraz was back to his imperious best in the quarter-finals, blasting 39 winners against the overwhelmed British world number 61, setting up a last-four clash with American fifth seed Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz is on a career-best 23-match winning run since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April — a superb streak which has brought him titles at the French Open, the Rome Masters and Monte Carlo.

The Spaniard, who vanquished Novak Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, has won 34 of his 37 Tour-level matches on grass, while his last defeat at the All England Club came against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.

“To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,” Alcaraz said.

“It’s going to be great. I’m really happy with the way I played against a really difficult player,“

Wimbledon’s controversial line technology system malfunctioned again as Fritz beat Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4) to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal.

Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell had to stop a point in the opening game of the fourth set on Court One when “fault” was incorrectly called after a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline.

The call of “fault,” rather than “out,” and positioning of the ball suggested the system was still tracking Fritz’s serve as opposed to a rally and the point had to be replayed.

Tournament organizers were forced to apologize and make a change to the system to avoid further issues after a major error in Sonay Kartal’s fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women’s draw.

A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon for the first time this year, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open.

Tournament organizers claimed the system had failed to reset because the ball from Fritz’s first serve was still being retrieved when he started lining up his second.

“The player’s service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognize the start of the point,” an All England Club statement said.

“As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.”

Sabalenka fought back from the brink of a shock exit to reach the semifinals with a gutsy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win against Germany’s Laura Siegemund.

She twice trailed by a break in the final set on Center Court and was two games away from crashing out before staging a dramatic revival to win in two hours and 54 minutes of unrelenting tension.

The 27-year-old top seed is through to the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time after losing at that stage in 2021 and 2023.

Beaten in the Australian and French Open finals this year after winning the US Open in 2024, Sabalenka remains on course to reach a fourth successive Grand Slam title match.

Sabalenka remains the only one of the top six women’s seeds still standing at the tournament after two weeks of shocks.

“That was a real test. I need some time to cool down and recover after this,” Sabalenka said.

In the semifinals, the Belarusian will face American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova, who defeated Russian world number 50 Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 7-6 (11/9).

Anisimova took an eight-month break from tennis in 2023 after suffering with depression brought on by the scrutiny and expectations that came from her run to the French Open semifinals aged just 17.

“It’s been an extraordinary year for me. So many highs. It’s been such a ride,” she said.


Paolini parts ways with coach after early Wimbledon exit

Updated 08 July 2025
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Paolini parts ways with coach after early Wimbledon exit

  • Jasmine Paolini last year became the first Italian woman in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon final
  • Paolini won her second WTA 1000-level crown at the Italian Open under coach Marc Lopez

World number four Jasmine Paolini has parted company with coach Marc Lopez just days after her second-round exit from Wimbledon, the Italian said.

Paolini, who last year became the first Italian woman in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon final, lost 4-6 6-4 6-4 to Russian Kamilla Rakhimova last week.

The 29-year-old began working with Lopez in April after ending a decade-long partnership with Renzo Furlan.

Under the guidance of Lopez, a former doubles world number three who was once part of Rafa Nadal’s coaching team, Paolini won her second WTA 1000-level crown at the Italian Open and also lifted the women’s doubles title at the French Open.

“We had some great results together. Especially in Rome and Paris,” Paolini wrote on social media on Monday. “I appreciate all the hard work and energy Marc gave every day.

“Now that this part of the season is over, I’ve decided to make a change. “I’ve learned a lot and made good progress. And now I’m taking the time to reflect on what the next step will be. Thank you again, Marc, for everything.”


Bencic downs Alexandrova to break Wimbledon 4th-round barrier

Updated 07 July 2025
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Bencic downs Alexandrova to break Wimbledon 4th-round barrier

  • Bencic, who has been knocked out in the fourth round here three times before, said she turned the tide by being more courageous

LONDON: Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal in nine attempts on Monday, dismissing 18th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(4) 6-4 in just under two hours on a breezy Court One.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion, 28, shed tears after she finally broke the fourth-round barrier 15 months after giving birth to her daughter Bella and said she felt very proud of herself.

But she needed six match points to down 30-year-old Alexandrova, who just last month beat Bencic with the loss of only three games at the Den Bosch grasscourt tournament in the Netherlands.

Bencic, who has been knocked out in the fourth round here three times before, said she turned the tide by being more courageous.

“I think I tried to be more brave. I had more matches under my belt and it turned out better than the last time I played her,” she said.

“I always got stuck in the fourth round. It was so important for me to break through to the quarterfinals,” she added.

Alexandrova, who has also never passed the fourth round at the All England Club, blew hot and cold in the first set, dropping two service games before turning on the aggression, improving her second serve and fighting back to force a tiebreak.

But Bencic, calm and businesslike, won four points in a row in the tiebreak and sealed the set after an hour and one minute when Alexandrova sent a backhand long.

Bencic broke Alexandrova’s serve in the eighth game of the second set but was unable to capitalize when serving for the match in a mammoth eight-deuce game that lasted some 15 minutes and during which the Russian saved five match points.

But Bencic came fighting back on the Russian’s serve with a forehand winner for a sixth match point, converting it when Alexandrova put a forehand long.

The Swiss, ranked 35 but a former world number four, was one of nine mothers in the draw, but the only one to reach the fourth round. She gave birth in April last year and was back playing competitively within six months even reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open in January 2025.

“I’m really proud of myself and the whole team. We did an amazing job coming back,” she said.

“It’s amazing to share the memories together as a family. I’m enjoying it more. I juggle it like every mum does.”


Wimbledon blames ‘human error’ for embarrassing line-calling glitch

Updated 07 July 2025
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Wimbledon blames ‘human error’ for embarrassing line-calling glitch

  • Officials apologize to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal after the malfunction during their fourth-round match
  • A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon in 2025, in line with the Australian Open and the US OpeN

LONDON: Wimbledon chiefs on Monday blamed human error for an embarrassing failure of the tournament’s electronic line-calling system.

Officials apologized to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal after the malfunction during their fourth-round match on Center Court on Sunday, which Pavlyuchenkova won in straight sets.

After an investigation, organizers admitted the technology was turned off in error on a section of the court for a game, with the mistake only becoming apparent when a shot from Britain’s Kartal that clearly missed the baseline was not called out.

Had the call been correct, it would have given Russia’s Pavlyuchenkova a 5-4 lead in the first set, but instead umpire Nico Helwerth ruled the point should be replayed, with Kartal going on to win the game.

The Russian accused the official of home bias, saying: “Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.”

Wimbledon issued a statement on Sunday saying the system had been “deactivated in error” for one game by those operating the system.

“In that time, there were three calls not picked up by live ELC on the affected part of the court. Two of these were called by the chair umpire, who was not made aware that the system had been deactivated,” it said.

“Following the third, the chair umpire stopped the match and consulted with the review official. It was determined that the point should be replayed.

“The chair umpire followed the established process. We have apologized to the players involved.”

Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, told reporters on Monday that the system was “working optimally.”

“The issue we had was human error in terms of the tracking system having been inadvertently deactivated, and then the chair (umpire) not being made aware of the fact that it had been deactivated,” she said.

She added: “We’ve spoken to the players, we’ve apologized to them, we’ve very quickly moved into reviewing everything that had happened yesterday afternoon and putting in place the appropriate changes to the processes.”

A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon in 2025, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open.

But the glitch in Sunday’s fourth-round match follows concerns raised by other players about the technology, including British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.

Around 80 former line judges are employed as match assistants, with two on each court offering support to the umpire.

But Bolton said there was no need to put them back on the courts.

“The system was functional,” she said. “It had been deactivated. We didn’t need to put line judges back on the court again, we needed the system to be active.”

Automated line-calling technology has become standard across tennis, with all events on the men’s ATP Tour and many WTA tournaments using it.


Sabalenka downs former doubles partner to power into Wimbledon quarters

Updated 06 July 2025
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Sabalenka downs former doubles partner to power into Wimbledon quarters

  • Sabalenka has never reached a final at the All England Club
  • Now she is the only one of the top six seeds in the women’s draw still standing

LONDON: World number one Aryna Sabalenka marched into the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Sunday as her former doubles partner Elize Mertens fell short of upsetting the US Open champion.
Sabalenka has never reached a final at the All England Club but is the player to beat as the only one of the top six seeds in the women’s draw still standing.
The 27-year-old missed last year’s Wimbledon due to injury and was banned in 2022 as part of a blanket suspension on Russian and Belarusian athletes due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Sabalenka looks determined to make up for lost time and, just like in her third-round victory over Emma Raducanu, had to overcome a tough test from Mertens to progress 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
The pair won the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open together as a doubles partnership, but Sabalenka has now won their last 10 meetings against each other in singles.
“It’s tough to play against someone you know quite close, it’s tricky facing her,” said Sabalenka.
“I know how smart she is, I know she is going to fight until the very end.
“She really challenged me today and I’m super happy with the win.”
A fast start from Sabalenka saw her stretch out to a 4-1 first set lead, only for Mertens to battle back and level at 4-4.
The three-time Grand Slam winner responded in style, winning eight of the next 11 points, to take the set.
Mertens got the early break in the second, but the world number 23 could not hold on.
Sabalenka broke back to tie up the second set at 3-3 and after six straight holds of serve, the match was decided in a tie-break.
Mertens again had the early advantage, but Sabalenka’s blistering ground strokes forced the Belgian onto the back foot before a volleyed winner sealed victory in just over 90 minutes on court.
Sabalenka faces Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the last eight on Tuesday.
“It’s such a beautiful tournament. I always dreamed of winning it,” she added of potentially claiming a first Wimbledon title.
“I’m just trying to give my best and really hope for the best.”