Thiem eliminates Sock to reach Paris Masters semifinals

Associated PressNov 2, 2018, 3:24 PM EDT

AP Images

PARIS — Dominic Thiem beat defending champion Jack Sock 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Paris Masters semifinals on Friday.

The Austrian served out the match and clinched victory on his first match point when Sock hit a big forehand long.

Thiem broke the American in the fifth game of the third set, and then showed good composure to save two break points of his own at 15-40 in the eighth game.

Four-time champion Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who is seeking a 100th career title, were playing their quarterfinals later Friday.

Djokovic, who is guaranteed to take the No. 1 ranking on Monday, played Marin Cilic, and Federer faced Kei Nishikori.

The sixth-seeded Thiem, meanwhile, next faces unseeded Karen Khachanov of Russia.

Khachanov, who won the Kremlin Cup in Moscow last month, broke fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev’s serve six times in a 6-1, 6-2 win.

Zverev had treatment on his right shoulder late in the first set and made a string of unforced errors. He took exception to some comments made in Khachanov’s box and spoke to his opponent at the end of the first set.

“I told him my shoulder is hurting and that his uncle, or something, that he’s going a bit crazy. I told him to tell him to keep it down a little bit because he was going a little bit too much over the edge,” Zverev said. “I was never going to win the match, so I told him to calm down a little bit.”

Zverev said he was struggling all week with his troublesome right shoulder.

“I did hours of treatment. And after yesterday’s match, you know, I had a lot of pain in the evening and during the night. Today, during the warmup, especially on my second serve where I was doing the kick motion, I had a lot of pain.”

Khachanov played down the incident with Zverev.

“When you are playing and you are losing sometimes, you just get a little bit frustrated and upset. And maybe some calls or some noise makes more problems and more frustration for you,” Khachanov said. “Everything is fine between us and there is no problem. Just during the match sometimes it’s tough to control the emotions.”

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.”