Nadal beats Granollers, reaches 3rd round in Barcelona

Associated PressApr 20, 2016, 3:13 PM EDT

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Rafael Nadal rebounded from an early break to beat Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday, advancing to the third round of the Barcelona Open.

Nadal lost his serve to start the match but recovered in the following game of his opening match at the clay-court tournament.

“He started very aggressively, getting to every ball, taking the initiative,” Nadal said. “It was very important to break him right back. After that, everything was a bit easier.”

The top-seeded Nadal had 16 break points, converting four of them. He saved three break points against the 50th-ranked Granollers.

Seeking his ninth title at the Barcelona Open, Nadal will next play wild-card entry Albert Montanes, the 104th-ranked Spaniard who defeated 14th-seeded Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-1, 6-3.

Nadal has won all his three matches against Montanes, who is coming off a semifinal appearance in Morocco.

Nadal, ranked fifth in the world, won the Monte Carlo Masters last week for his first title of the year.

Two-time Barcelona Open champion Kei Nishikori advanced to the third round by beating Thiemo de Bakker 6-4, 6-2. He broke the Dutchman’s serve three times.

“The conditions were tough for both of us because of the wind,” said the second-seeded Nishikori, who will next play 33rd-ranked Jeremy Chardy of France. “But I played a solid match.”

Nishikori is trying to become the third player to win three consecutive titles at the Barcelona Open, joining Mats Wilander and Nadal. The 26-year-old Japanese player has won 11 straight matches at the tournament.

Also, eighth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 and 12th-seeded Fabio Fognini of Italy defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 3-6, 6-0, 6-1.

Alexander Zverev of Germany beat 15th-seeded Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5 and 10th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany eased to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

Gael Monfils withdraws from French Open with wrist injury

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS — A thrilling five-set victory took a toll on Gael Monfils, whose withdrawal from the French Open handed No. 6 Holger Rune a walkover to the third round.

The 36-year-old Frenchman said he has a strained left wrist and can’t continue.

He battled Sebastian Baez for nearly four hours on Court Philippe Chatrier before beating the Argentine 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in a first-round match that ended at 12:18 a.m. local time.

The victory was Monfils’ first at tour level this year, as the veteran was coming back from heel surgery.

“Actually, physically, I’m quite fine. But I had the problem with my wrist that I cannot solve,” he said. “The doctor say was not good to play with that type of injury. Yesterday was actually very risky, and then today definitely say I should stop.”

Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals on three other occasions.

Mikael Ymer fined about $40K after default for hitting umpire stand with racket

Associated PressMay 31, 2023, 3:55 PM EDT

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS — Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer was docked about $40,000 after being disqualified for smashing his racket against the umpire’s chair at a tournament the week before he competed at the French Open.

An ATP Tour spokesman said Ymer forfeited about $10,500 in prize money and 20 rankings he earned for reaching the second round of the Lyon Open. Ymer also was handed an on-site fine of about $29,000.

The spokesman said the ATP Fines Committee will conduct a review of what happened to determine whether any additional penalties are warranted.

The 56th-ranked Ymer, who is 24 and owns a victory over current No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, was defaulted in Lyon for an outburst late in the first set against French teenager Arthur Fils last week.

Ymer was upset that the chair umpire would not check a ball mark after a shot by Fils landed near a line. As the players went to the sideline for the ensuing changeover, Ymer smacked the base of the umpire’s stand with his racket twice – destroying his equipment and damaging the chair.

That led to Ymer’s disqualification, making Fils the winner of the match.

After his 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 loss to 17th-seeded Lorenzo Musetti in the first round at Roland Garros, Ymer was asked whether he wanted to explain why he reacted the way he did in Lyon.

“With all due respect, I think it’s pretty clear from the video what caused it and why I reacted the way I reacted. Not justifying it at all, of course,” Ymer replied. “But for me to sit here and to explain? I think it’s pretty clear what led me to that place. I think that’s pretty clear in the video.”