Nadal rallies to beat Murray and reach Monte Carlo final

Associated PressApr 16, 2016, 5:54 PM EDT

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MONACO (AP) Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters final for the first time since 2013.

Murray had dominated on his serve – and pressured Nadal’s – throughout the first set, using his drop shot effectively. But Nadal broke Murray to start the second set, regaining momentum to defeat Murray for the third time in a semifinal here.

The Spaniard found his serving range in the deciding set, twice holding at love and eventually clinching victory on his fifth match point.

Nadal won the last of his eight straight titles in 2012, then lost the final to Novak Djokovic the following year.

He’ll face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Gael Monfils in the final.

Nadal has not won a tournament this year and the last of his 67 titles was on clay at Hamburg last August while his last final was in January, when he lost to Djokovic in Doha, Qatar.

This showed as he served for the match – with a full 10 minutes between his first match point and his successful fifth.

He got the win after 2 hours, 44 minutes when Murray’s forehand swipe on the run failed to clear the net, improving to 17-6 in career meetings against Murray and 7-1 on clay.

Murray lost to Nadal in the semis here in 2009 and 2011 when the Spaniard was the undisputed world’s best on clay. But Nadal has since proven vulnerable, and the nine-time French Open champion relinquished his Roland Garros title last year to Stan Wawrinka.

Murray beat him for the first time on clay last year too, routing him 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the Madrid Masters.

No British player has reached the final in Monte Carlo since Welshman Mike Davies finished runner-up in 1960, and Murray looked well set to end that long barren run.

While Nadal was struggling on his serve, Murray hit an ace to move 2-1 up and then broke Nadal in the sixth game to lead 4-2 in the first set. A superb drop shot from Murray gave him set point and he clinched it when Nadal sent a forehand into the net.

The major turning point came when Nadal broke to lead 4-3 after Murray missed an easy smash at the net, allowing Nadal to pass him down the line.

Nadal then saved two break points in the next game to lead 5-3 as the players thrilled the crowd with some spectacular rallies in a long ninth game that Murray struggled to hold.

After Nadal served out the second set, during which Murray got only 39 percent of his first serves in, the Spaniard broke him again at the start of the third with an exquisite drop shot.

Trailing 3-1, Murray’s composure started to wilt in the sunshine as he remonstrated several times with the chair umpire.

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

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PARIS — Ons Jabeur got a do-over on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open and won this time.

A year after her first-round exit, the No. 7 seed Jabeur beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1 to help erase some bad memories and answer questions about a recent calf injury.

The Tunisian, a crowd favorite in Paris, smiled and expressed relief in not repeating last year’s mistake, when she lost to Magda Linette of Poland.

“I’m very happy to win my first match on Philippe Chatrier – because I’ve never won here,” Jabeur said on court about the clay-court tournament’s main stadium.

Now she can focus on trying to win her first major. She was runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

The 28-year-old Jabeur has also battled injuries this season. She had knee surgery after the Australian Open, and was then sidelined with a calf injury. She had stopped playing against top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, in late April and then pulled out of the Madrid Open.

“It was a very difficult period for me after Stuttgart,” said Jabeur, adding that she’s beginning to find her rhythm.

Jabeur struck 27 winner’s to Bronzetti’s seven, though with 24 unforced errors she’ll have room to improve.

Mirra Andreeva had a memorable Grand Slam debut by dominating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-1. Andreeva’s older sister – 18-year-old Erika – was facing Emma Navarro later in the day.

Later, Swiatek gets her French Open title defense started against Cristina Bucsa, who is ranked 70th.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Casper Ruud beat qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, to remind the higher-profile tournament favorites that he was runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year at Roland Garros.

New mom Elina Svitolina beats seeded player at French Open in 1st Slam match in 16 months

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

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PARIS — So much has changed for Elina Svitolina, who played – and won – her first Grand Slam match in nearly 1 1/2 years at the French Open, eliminating 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

For one thing, she’s now a mother: Svitolina and her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in October. For another, Svitolina is now ranked 192nd, nowhere near the career high of No. 3 she first reached in 2017, back in the days when she was regularly reaching the second weeks of major tournaments – including a pair of semifinal runs. Away from the courts, her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia last year, and the war continues.

“Everything,” she said, “is kind of old and new for me right now.”

In sum, Svitolina is juggling a lot nowadays.

She hadn’t played at a Slam since a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January 2022. She hadn’t played a match anywhere since March 2022, when she was still ranked 20th.

“It was always in my head … to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” the 28-year-old Svitolina said.

The work to return to the tour after giving birth began this January; her initial WTA match came at Charleston, South Carolina, in April. She won her first title since returning to action, at a smaller event on red clay in Strasbourg, France.

At Roland Garros, she used her big forehand to compile a 20-12 edge in winners and never faced a single break point against Trevisan, who was seeded 26th.

Trevisan cried as she spoke after the match about a problem with her right foot that made it difficult to even walk and prompted her to stop playing during her quarterfinal last week at the Morocco Open, where she was the defending champion.

Still, she gave Svitolina credit.

“Even though she’s just coming back from having a daughter, she’s a champion,” Trevisan said. “And she’s coming off a title, so she’s confident.”

Svitolina talked about feeling “awful when you’re pregnant, especially the last months,” but getting into a position now where she thinks she’s stronger than before – in more ways than one.

“I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court and, match by match, I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental (state) can influence your physicality, as well,” she said. “I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently as well after the break. Everything is getting there. The puzzles are getting slowly into place.”