Wozniacki into Dubai final after beating Sevastova

Associated PressFeb 24, 2017, 2:05 PM EST

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Caroline Wozniacki reached her second final in two weeks by beating Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 6-4 at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.

Wozniacki was a finalist at Doha last weekend, when she lost to Karolina Pliskova.

“Pretty good couple of weeks for me,” Wozniacki said. “Very happy how I have managed to get through these two weeks, because it’s been very tiring mentally.

“The fact that I have just been staying in there and keep grinding, I’m kind of proud of that.”

This will be Wozniacki’s 44th career singles final. She’s won 25 titles.

The last time she reached back-to-back finals was at the 2014 U.S. Open and Tokyo tournaments. She didn’t win either of them.

Wozniacki won the Dubai title in 2011. She’s reached at least the semifinals in six of the seven years she’s played in Dubai, compiling a 22-5 record.

“I love playing here,” she said. “To have a finals here again, it just feels good.”

Wozniacki posted an impressive 70 percent first-serve percentage against Sevastova. She lost her serve on the one break point she faced, in the eighth game of the second set, but otherwise was impenetrable on her serve.

Wozniacki plays top-seeded Angelique Kerber or seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina in the final on Saturday. She has a losing record against both potential finalists: Kerber leads 8-5, while Svitolina leads 1-0.

The semifinal finish will deliver Sevastova her first top-25 ranking.

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.”