Federer, Serena retire; tennis moves on to Alcaraz, Swiatek
The timing of it all hardly could be more symbolic: All within a span of two weeks, Serena Williams plays what is believed to be her last match at age 40, Roger Federer announces he’ll be retiring at 41, Iga Swiatek wins her third Grand Slam title at 21, and Carlos Alcaraz gets his first at 19.
A busy Thursday in golf and tennis awaits the Korda family
MIAMI – Nelly Korda keeps asking her parents if she can book their flight to watch her and her sister play in the LPGA’s first major of the year this week. “Probably they’re going to change their schedule a little bit and hopefully stay with me,” Sebastian Korda said. 18 in the world; Nelly Korda, 22, is ranked No. Sebastian Korda is the little brother, at least in terms of age — he’s 20, but at 6-foot-5, he’s certainly not little. “He loves to pump up,” Nelly Korda said.
Barty, Medvedev rise to challenge on tough day at Miami Open
Barty didn't wilt, ousting Sabalenka 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 for her third three-set win in four matches at the tournament. Medvedev beat Tiafoe 6-4, 6-3, and has gone 10-1 in sets against the American in their past four head-to-head matchups. Ad“Everywhere in the world there are different conditions and at times it suits you more than other places,” Barty said. Medvedev had 11 aces and showed no signs of wear, two days after cramping in the heat during a third-round win. 21 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy in the quarterfinals; Sinner advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland.
No sign of Grand Slam drought ending soon for American men
The last American man to win a Grand Slam tournament was Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open in 2003, and there's no sign the drought will end anytime soon. “But I don’t see it being what it once was ever again.”AdOpelka, for one, isn’t surprised the United States has the same number of seeded men in Melbourne as, say, Bulgaria or Norway. The United States has four seeded women in Melbourne, including Kenin and Serena Williams. That’s a challenge, because those kids want to play basketball and football.”The United States Tennis Association has inner-city programs in more than 250 locations. Opelka (ranked 38th), Fritz (ranked 31st), Tommy Paul (53rd) and Frances Tiafoe (64th) are all 23 and good friends who root for each other.
Djokovic holds off Tiafoe; Venus hobbles out in Australia
Serbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to United States' Frances Tiafoe during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. 1, had never beaten anyone in the Top 5, and now he'd just won a tiebreaker against Novak Djokovic to level their second-round match at the Australian Open. But it wasn't quite enough to beat the eight-time Australian Open champion, who won the 3 1/2-hour afternoon match 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-3. AdAnother U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, needed only an hour to sweep Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3. 29 Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a rollicking night cap full of turns and twists.
Serena Williams through easily in Australian Open tuneup
United States' Serena Williams makes a backhand return to Australia's Daria Gavrilova during a tuneup tournament ahead of the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Hamish Blair)MELBOURNE – Serena Williams found a silver lining in the delayed start to the Australian Open, the season-opening Grand Slam tournament that is starting three weeks later than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Williams is playing in the Yarra Valley Classic, along with top-ranked Ash Barty and defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. “So I definitely was pushing the limits, but I’m here.”Williams has been stalled on 23 major singles titles since the 2017 Australian Open, when she was two months pregnant with now-3-year-old daughter Olympia. AdFrances Tiafoe, an Australian Open quarterfinalist in 2019, lost to Corentin Moutet 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Thiem OK with how many of Big 3 are in US Open (hint: zero)
Dominic Thiem, of Austria, returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the fourth round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in New York. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. He is 0-3, losing twice to Nadal at the French Open and to Djokovic at the Australian Open this February. Thats all of his $250,000 prize money for reaching the fourth round, plus $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and an additional $7,500 for skipping his post-match news conference. On Monday, she extended her stay in her comeback event, beating Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the fourth round.