Federer finishes with flurry of aces in third round at Miami

Associated PressMar 26, 2019, 2:49 AM EDT

Getty Images

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Roger Federer finished with a flurry of aces and advanced to the fourth round of the Miami Open by beating Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-3 on Monday.

In the final game, Federer smacked aces on the first three points. An ace on the next point was overturned by a replay review, and instead Krajinovic dumped the last shot into the net.

Federer finished with 14 aces and pulled away after converting only one of his first eight break-point chances.

Seeded fourth, Federer improved to 14-2 this year. He made his Miami debut 20 years ago and won the tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2017, when it was played on Key Biscayne.

Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu retired from her fourth-round match with a right shoulder injury while trailing Anett Kontaveit 6-1, 2-0. Three-time Miami champion Venus Williams lost to No. 2-seeded Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3. No. 3 Petra Kvitova faced only one break point and beat Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3.

Andreescu, who is tied for the WTA lead with 20 match victories this year, said she felt pain and tightness in the shoulder.

“I’ve played so many matches,” the 18-year-old Canadian said. “I guess it’s just my body’s way of telling me it has had enough. The doctor said it’s nothing too serious, but the pain is there.”

Andreescu said she will skip the tournament next week in Charleston, South Carolina, but plans to play the Fed Cup on April 20-21.

She called a medical timeout after the first set to receive treatment, and received similar treatment during her third-round victory over Angelique Kerber, who afterward told Andreescu she was the “biggest drama queen ever.”

Andreescu defeated Kerber in the Indian Wells final on March 17 for her first career title. The injury ended Andreescu’s bid to become the fourth woman to win Indian Wells and Miami back to back.

“I’m pretty upset,” she said. “But I really can’t complain, with what I’ve achieved.”

The No. 21-seeded Kontaveit was joined in the Miami quarterfinals by Kvitova, who is ranked a career-high No. 2 and will rise to No. 1 if she wins the title. No. 1 Naomi Osaka lost in the third round.

Kvitova’s match against Garcia was interrupted by rain for more than 90 minutes, and she took advantage.

“I had a quick nap, which was really helpful,” Kvitova said.

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.”