Sinner looks smooth on clay at Monte Carlo Masters;  defending champion Rublev is ousted

Sinner looks smooth on clay at Monte Carlo Masters;  defending champion Rublev is ousted
Italy's Jannik Sinner up against Sebastian Korda of the US 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 10, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 11 April 2024
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Sinner looks smooth on clay at Monte Carlo Masters;  defending champion Rublev is ousted

Sinner looks smooth on clay at Monte Carlo Masters;  defending champion Rublev is ousted
  • The second-seeded Sinner won 95 percent of points on his first serve and saved all three break points in improving his record to 23-1 this year
  • The sixth-seeded Rublev dropped his serve three times against Popyrin, who next faces No. 11 Alex de Minaur in an all-Australian contest

MONACO: After dominating on aggressive hard courts, Jannik Sinner made a smooth transition to softer clay by beating Sebastian Korda 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.

But defending champion Andrey Rublev was eliminated after a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Alexei Popyrin.

The second-seeded Sinner won 95 percent of points on his first serve and saved all three break points in improving his record to 23-1 this year. He has three titles in 2024, including the Australian Open — his first major trophy — and recently the Miami Open.

“I moved quite well in these conditions,” said the 22-year-old Italian, who reached the semifinals at Monte Carlo last year. “Every year it is tough to come here and perform well but I am happy with the performance.”

Sinner faces Jan-Lennard Struff on Thursday in the third round, where he will join two-time champions Novak Djokovic — who won on Tuesday — and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 12th-seeded Tsitsipas routed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-0 and next faces No. 5 Alexander Zverev in a contest between big servers. Djokovic takes on unseeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti.

The sixth-seeded Rublev dropped his serve three times against Popyrin, who next faces No. 11 Alex de Minaur in an all-Australian contest at the Monte Carlo Country Club, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.

“I am feeling really comfortable on (clay) and happy to beat a guy who was in form, confident and the defending champ,” Popyrin said. “It was an awesome match.”

De Minaur rallied past unseeded Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, who is chasing his first title of the year, won 6-2, 6-4 against French veteran Gael Monfils, and two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud — seeded eighth — downed Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-4.

Later Wednesday, last year’s runner-up Holger Rune faced qualifier Sumit Nagal of India and No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov played Miomir Kecmanovic.

Also in the second round, there were wins for No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 14 Ugo Humbert, No. 15 Karen Khachanov and lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego, who replaced the injured Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard pulled out on Tuesday with a right forearm injury.

Record 11-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal pulled out with a lingering injury before the tournament.


Rublev needs 8 match points to beat De Minaur in Qatar Open quarterfinals

Rublev needs 8 match points to beat De Minaur in Qatar Open quarterfinals
Updated 20 February 2025
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Rublev needs 8 match points to beat De Minaur in Qatar Open quarterfinals

Rublev needs 8 match points to beat De Minaur in Qatar Open quarterfinals
  • The Russian fifth seed wasted a 5-2 lead in the last set against the Australian second seed
  • He’ll face Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime

DOHA: Andrey Rublev saved one match point and needed eight of his own to subdue Alex de Minaur 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8) in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on Thursday.
The tortuous journey to the win prompted Rublev to joke about de Minaur, “I wanna punch him.”
The Russian fifth seed wasted a 5-2 lead in the last set against the Australian second seed, who forced the tiebreak with remarkable scrambling.
But after 2 1/2 hours, Rublev was through to his fourth semifinals in Doha, where he won the title in 2020.
He’ll face Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Daniil Medvedev when the Russian retired after losing the first set 6-3.
“I felt he was playing normal,” Auger-Aliassime said on court. “And then I broke, I held my serve. And he just told (the umpire) that he didn’t want to shake our hands because he was sick. I hope it’s nothing too bad. I was surprised.”


Alcaraz needs three sets to oust Luca Nardi at Qatar Open

Alcaraz needs three sets to oust Luca Nardi at Qatar Open
Updated 20 February 2025
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Alcaraz needs three sets to oust Luca Nardi at Qatar Open

Alcaraz needs three sets to oust Luca Nardi at Qatar Open
  • Second-seeded Alex de Minaur beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev
  • Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-1 and will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final eight

DOHA: Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open by beating Luca Nardi 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Spaniard let his guard down in the second set, when his Italian opponent fought back from trailing 1-4 to force a decider.

“My energy levels probably went down a little bit, but credit to him,” said the third-ranked Alcaraz, who will next face Jiri Lehecka.

Also Wednesday, second-seeded Alex de Minaur beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal match against fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev.

Fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev beat Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-1 and will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final eight.

Jack Draper eliminated Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 6-1. He will next play either Matteo Berrettini, who knocked out Novak Djokovic, or Tallon Griekspoor.


Raducanu says ‘I’ll be OK’ after man removed from stands at Dubai tournament

Raducanu says ‘I’ll be OK’ after man removed from stands at Dubai tournament
Updated 19 February 2025
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Raducanu says ‘I’ll be OK’ after man removed from stands at Dubai tournament

Raducanu says ‘I’ll be OK’ after man removed from stands at Dubai tournament
  • “Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed,” Raducanu wrote
  • WTA issued a statement explaining that Raducanu was approached in a public space Monday “by a man who exhibited fixated behavior”

DUBAI: Emma Raducanu said she will be OK after what she called a “difficult experience” related to the presence of a man who had exhibited “fixated behavior” toward her at the Dubai Championships.
The 2021 US Open champion had approached the chair umpire early in her second-round match against 14th-seeded Karolina Muchova on Tuesday night. She was in tears, and the WTA later linked her reaction to the presence of the unidentified man.
On Wednesday, the 22-year-old British player responded with a statement on her Instagram account.
“Thank you for the messages of support. Difficult experience yesterday but I’ll be okay and proud of how I came back and competed despite what happened at the start of the match,” Raducanu wrote. “Thank you to Karolina for being a great sport and best of luck to her for the rest of the tournament.”
Raducanu, who was still a teenager in 2022 when a man in Britain was convicted of stalking her, returned to play after a brief delay at 2-0 down and eventually lost 7-6 (6), 6-4 to Muchova.
Early Wednesday, the WTA issued a statement explaining that Raducanu was approached in a public space Monday “by a man who exhibited fixated behavior” and “this same individual was identified in the first few rows during Emma’s match on Tuesday ... and subsequently ejected.”
“He will be banned from all WTA events pending a threat assessment.”
The chair umpire called tournament organizers immediately when Raducanu reported her concerns in the first set of the night match, and Muchova walked over to console her opponent.
Raducanu then picked up a towel, wiped her face, nodded and continued the match. She didn’t immediately comment on the incident.
The WTA said it was working with Raducanu and her team “to ensure her well-being and provide any necessary support.”
Raducanu rose to fame in 2021 by winning the US Open as a qualifier, one of the most unlikely achievements in tennis. She hasn’t advanced past the third round at a major since then and has spent long stints recovering from injuries.


Sabalenka thrashed in Dubai as Paolini’s title defense ends

Sabalenka thrashed in Dubai as Paolini’s title defense ends
Updated 19 February 2025
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Sabalenka thrashed in Dubai as Paolini’s title defense ends

Sabalenka thrashed in Dubai as Paolini’s title defense ends
  • Sabalenka suffered a second straight premature exit after losing in her opening match in Qatar a week ago
  • Tauson broke Sabalenka’s serve six times and the Dane will go on to play Czech youngster Linda Noskova

DUBAI: World number one Aryna Sabalenka slumped to a 6-3, 6-2 loss against Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the last 16 of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday, as Jasmine Paolini’s title defense came to a painful end.
Sabalenka, who beat the 38th-ranked Tauson on her way to last month’s Australian Open final, suffered a second straight premature exit after losing in her opening match in Qatar a week ago.
Tauson broke Sabalenka’s serve six times and the Dane will go on to play Czech youngster Linda Noskova, who knocked out fifth seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old Tauson beat Noskova in the first round of the Australian Open. She also won the title in Auckland at the start of January and made the semifinals in Linz earlier this month.
Noskova will have her shot at revenge on Thursday after beating Pegula 6-3, 7-6 (10/8).
Defending champion Paolini suffered an ankle injury and was dumped out by Sofia Kenin as the fourth seed from Italy lost 6-4, 6-0 in just over an hour.
Kenin, the world number 27, raced to a 5-2 lead in the opening set before closing the door on a Paolini fightback.
Any hopes Paolini had of forcing the match to a deciding set were undone when she took a bad fall early in the second set.
Rolling over her right ankle mid-rally she played on, but was obviously suffering, and in tears.
This was Kenin’s first win over a top-five player since her victorious title run at the 2020 Australian Open.
Kenin’s reward for defeating last year’s Wimbledon and French Open finalist was a quarter-final date with Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh sixth seed overcame a tight battle with Paula Badosa 4-6, 7-6 (10/8), 7-6 (7/2).
Paolini’s loss came after a tricky start to her title defense on Tuesday.
She had reached match point before rain forced the players off the court. Over four hours later, the world No.4 returned to win the final point, beating German qualifier Eva Lys 6-2, 7-5.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen suffered a similar fate to Paolini, the Chinese seventh seed beaten in three sets by Kenin’s fellow American, Peyton Stearns.
The 23-year-old Stearns, ranked 46 in the world, fought back from a set down against last year’s Australian Open finalist to win the second round tie held over after Tuesday’s rain 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
After a brief break Stearns returned to face 12th seed Mirra Andreeva in the last 16 where her Dubai run ended, losing 6-1, 6-1 to the young Russian.
Waiting for Andreeva in the quarter-finals is second seed Iga Swiatek.
The Pole, beaten in the Australian Open semifinals last month, won the last eight games to beat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-0.
American eighth seed Emma Navarro, made it into the last 16 after defeating this month’s Abu Dhabi Open winner Belinda Bencic 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-3.
Earlier Wednesday tennis officials said Emma Raducanu was targeted by “a man who exhibited fixated behavior” after the former US Open champion was reduced to tears on court.
The 22-year-old Briton was down 2-0 in the first set against Karolina Muchova on Tuesday when she approached the umpire, then briefly took refuge behind the umpire’s chair.
Muchova went over to see what was wrong before Raducanu reappeared, wiping away tears with her towel.
The WTA said it would ban the man, who had been sitting in the first few rows of the crowd in Raducanu’s match, after what it called “the security incident in Dubai.”


De Minaur, Medvedev and Rublev advance to Qatar Open quarterfinals

De Minaur, Medvedev and Rublev advance to Qatar Open quarterfinals
Updated 19 February 2025
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De Minaur, Medvedev and Rublev advance to Qatar Open quarterfinals

De Minaur, Medvedev and Rublev advance to Qatar Open quarterfinals
  • Top-seeded player Carlos Alcaraz can join them among the last eight later if he beats Italy’s Luca Nardi

DOHA: Four of the top-seeded players of the Qatar Open advanced on Wednesday to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, and Jack Draper won their matches in straight sets.
Top-seeded player Carlos Alcaraz can join them among the last eight later if he beats Italy’s Luca Nardi.
Second-seeded De Minaur beat Botic van de Zandschulp by a double 6-4. Rublev, the No. 5 seed, will be Australian’s rival in the next stage. He topped Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-4.
Medvedev overcame Zizou Bergs 6-2, 6-1. His next challenger will be Félix Auger-Aliassime, who advanced without having to play Hamad Mededovic.
Draper eliminated Christopher O’Connell 6-2, 6-1. His rival will be either Matteo Berrettini, who knocked out Novak Djokovic, or Tallon Griekspoor.