Andy Murray, coach Ivan Lendl end 2nd stint together

Associated PressNov 17, 2017, 9:54 PM EST

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Andy Murray and Ivan Lendl are calling it quits for a second time, ending a partnership that produced three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals.

Murray announced Friday on his website that he and Lendl “have mutually agreed to end their coaching relationship.”

All of Murray’s greatest triumphs as a tennis player have come with Lendl guiding him as his coach. That includes, most famously, the Scotsman’s 2013 title at Wimbledon, which made him the first British man in 77 years to win the singles championship at the All England Club.

Before that, Lendl helped Murray win the 2012 U.S. Open and the gold medal at the London Olympics earlier that year. Then they split in 2014, before reuniting last year, about a month before Murray won his second Wimbledon trophy.

Murray also reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings while working with Lendl, getting to that spot for the first time in November 2016.

“I’m thankful to Ivan for all his help and guidance over the years,” Murray said in the statement on his site. “We’ve had great success and learned a lot as a team.”

Lendl, who won eight major titles from 1984 to 1990, and Murray were at the forefront of a trend of players hiring former stars of the sport as coaches.

Murray yielded the No. 1 ranking to Rafael Nadal this August, shortly before saying he would miss the rest of the 2017 season because of a hip injury.

It turned out his last match of the year came on July 12 at Wimbledon, where his title defense ended with a five-set quarterfinal loss to Sam Querrey.

Murray intends to be ready for the start of next season in January, when the Australian Open is played, saying Friday: “My focus now is on getting ready for Australia with the team I have in place and getting back to competing.”

He plans to enter a tournament in Brisbane, Australia, to prepare for the year’s first Grand Slam tournament. Before that, he will train in Miami, as usual.

Lendl will continue to work with the U.S. Tennis Association’s player development program.

“I wish Andy well going forward,” Lendl said. “We had a great run and a lot of fun.”

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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.”