Gauff, McNally reach Citi Open women’s doubles final

Associated PressAug 2, 2019, 11:57 PM EDT

AP Photo

WASHINGTON — Coco Gauff reached the Citi Open women’s doubles final Friday with fellow teenager Coco McNally, who also is into the singles semifinals in her first appearance in the main draw of a WTA tournament.

Gauff and McNally routed the third-seeded team of Russian Anna Kalinskaya and Miyu Kato of Japan 6-1, 6-2. The Americans will face the No. 4 seeds, American Maria Sanchez and Fanny Stollar, on Saturday.

Gauff, the 15-year-old who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, and the 17-year-old McNally were given a wild card into the tournament. Their victory Friday came after McNally returned to the court after pulling off the latest upset in the women’s field.

She beat No. 4 seed Hsieh Su-wei 6-4, 6-3, leaving no seeded players remaining in the women’s final four. McNally will play Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the semifinals. Giorgi beat Zarina Diyas 6-3, 6-2.

Jessica Pegula won an all-American women’s quarterfinal matchup with Lauren Davis, 6-2, 7-6 (2), and Kalinskaya beat Kristina Mladenovic of France, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Andy Murray and brother Jamie were knocked out in the doubles quarterfinals, outlasted by the third-seeded team of Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6), 10-7 earlier Friday.

Andy Murray, the former No. 1 ranked singles player, has been limited to doubles as he recovers from hip surgery. He hasn’t said if he will attempt to play singles this year. He and Jamie had won a match tiebreaker for their first victory in Washington before falling in the same manner Friday.

In singles, top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece swept past No. 10 seed Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-0. He will face Nick Kyrgios – with whom he played doubles in the tournament – after the Australian beat Norbert Gombos of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3.

Also, No. 3 Daniil Medvedev edged sixth-seeded Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6 (7) to set up a semifinal meeting with Peter Gojowczyk, who continued his surprising run by upsetting No. 13 seed Kyle Edmund 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The 122nd-ranked Gojowczyk, who lost in qualifying and only made it into the main draw when another player withdrew, has only one career title.

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.”