Stosur loses in first round at Brisbane; Murray nears return

Associated PressDec 31, 2017, 3:32 PM EST

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BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Australian Samantha Stosur’s year ended on a sour note after she was bundled out of her home state tournament by Brisbane International seventh seed Anastasija Sevastova on Sunday.

The former US Open champion and French open finalist had opportunities against her 27-year-old Latvian opponent in the first set, but was completely outplayed by Sevastova in the second set to be eliminated 6-1 6-3 in the first round.

It wasn’t a good day for French world No.8 Caroline Garcia either, after she retired in her first round match against compatriot Alize Cornet.

The fourth seed started brightly to take the first set 6-3, but Cornet rallied to claim the second and force a deciding set.

Garcia then took an injury time-out for treatment on her lower back and played just one point in the final set before retiring.

Cornet will next play Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the second round after the Croatian beat Germany’s Tatjana Maria 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

Serbian Aleksandra Krunic beat Carinna Witthhoeft of Germany 7-5, 7-6 (2) to set up a second round clash with Spanish top seed Garbine Murguruza.

In the men’s draw Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine beat sixth seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Meanwhile, former world No.1 Andy Murray continued his return from a hip injury with a practice session in Brisbane on Sunday as he prepares for his first competitive match since July. That comeback match will be against either American Ryan Harrison or Leonardo Mayer of Argentina in the second round on either Tuesday or Wednesday.

“I just want to enjoy playing again, I really missed it,” Murray said on Sunday. “I want to play tennis… I don’t mind if it’s 30 in the world level – I’d love it to be number one in the world level – I just want to play.”

“When that’s taken away from you, you realize how important it is.”

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.”