Thiem upsets Nadal to reach Barcelona Open final

Associated PressApr 27, 2019, 2:06 PM EDT

AP Photo

BARCELONA, Spain — Dominic Thiem defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in the Barcelona Open semifinals on Saturday, becoming the first player other than Novak Djokovic to defeat the Spaniard on clay four times.

Thiem will try to win his second title of the year on Sunday in a final against Daniil Medvedev, who upset fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

The fifth-ranked Thiem won his first title of the season by defeating Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final in March. This will be his first final on clay since last year’s French Open, where he lost to Nadal.

It was the second straight semifinal loss for the second-ranked Spaniard, who was coming off a defeat to Fabio Fognini in Monte Carlo.

Nadal was seeking a record 12th Barcelona title, and fourth consecutive.

Thiem lost the Barcelona final to Nadal two years ago, but the Austrian has beaten the 17-time Grand Slam champion on clay in each of the last three seasons.

“I’m always super proud if I beat him because he’s the best player ever on this surface,” Thiem said. “We always had great matches in the past, and also today’s was very good. I was more lucky today.”

Only two other players have beaten Nadal on clay three times – Fognini and Gaston Gaudio.

The second-ranked Nadal had never lost a semifinal or final in Barcelona. He had won 18 straight here going back to a third-round defeat to Fognini in 2015.

Thiem has yet to lose a set this week, and he was in control early on against Nadal, putting pressure on the Spaniard’s serve from the start. He broke Nadal in the fifth game of the first set and had four break opportunities immediately after that before Nadal recovered to hold.

The one break ended up being enough for Thiem in the first set, and he moved ahead of the Spaniard again at 2-2 in the second set. He was down 0-40 while serving for the match, but came back to close out the victory at the Rafa Nadal main court.

Nishikori, the winner in Barcelona in 2014 and 2015, was broken twice in the final set against Medvedev, including in the final game of the match.

It was a tour-best 25th win this year for the 14th-ranked Medvedev, who was coming off a semifinal appearance in Monte Carlo. It will be his first-ever clay court final.

“I’m really happy that I managed to hold my nerves, to try to come back, and I managed to come back,” Medvedev said. “I’m just happy to be in the final.”

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.”