Serena retires due to injury as Andreescu wins Rogers Cup

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TORONTO — Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian to win the Rogers Cup in 50 years when Serena Williams retired because of an injury on Sunday.

Andreescu was up 3-1 in the first set when Williams called for a medical timeout.

Less than a minute later, the chair umpire announced that Williams was retiring from the match, handing Andreescu her second WTA Premier title of the season.

The tournament’s final lasted only 16 minutes before Williams withdrew.

After the chair umpire announced Williams’ retirement, the former world No. 1 started to cry on her bench. Andreescu went over to comfort her, hugging her and telling Williams how much she admires the 23-time Grand Slam winner.

“I’m not a crier, but, thank you guys,” said Williams as she choked back tears after accepting the second-place check. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do it today. I tried but I just couldn’t do it.”

Williams’ retirement was the last of several high-profile injuries at this year’s Rogers Cup. Fourth-seeded Simona Halep withdrew from her quarterfinal matchup with Marie Bouzkova. On the men’s side, Milos Raonic retired after two sets against Felix Auger-Aliassime in a much-anticipated all-Canadian matchup. No. 16 seed Gael Monfils then withdrew before his semifinal against world No. 1 Rafael Nadal.

The 19-year-old Andreescu, from nearby Mississauga, Ontario, has victories over seven of the top 10 players in the world. Her world ranking will rise from 27th to 14th on Monday. Her previous high was 22nd.

“I’m speechless right now. I’m the first Canadian who got to the finals and has won this tournament since 1969,” Andreescu said after being presented with the Rogers Cup trophy in an on-court ceremony. “This been a dream come true, really.

“This week has not been easy. I’ve had many, many tough matches.”

The Rogers Cup was Andreescu’s first tournament after a right-shoulder injury sidelined her since the French Open in May.

“What I’ve been through the past two months has not been easy,” Andreescu said when addressing fans. “I kept telling myself `never give up.’ I’m trying to look at my injury not as a setback but more of a challenge. I tried to embrace it as much as I can.”

Andreescu had been on the court more than any other player at this year’s Rogers Cup at 10 hours, 54 minutes heading into the match against Williams.

Faye Urban of Windsor, Ontario, beat Vancouver’s Vicki Berner in the 1969 final, when the tournament was still played on clay courts and called the Canadian Open.

At French Open, Francisco Cerundolo is mad at chair umpire over Holger Rune’s double-bounce

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
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PARIS – Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina was devastated about losing his French Open fourth-round match to Holger Rune of Denmark in a fifth-set tiebreaker Monday. He also was mad at chair umpire Kader Nouni for missing a double-bounce of the ball on a point that was awarded to Rune early in his 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory.

They were tied at a set apiece and on serve at 2-1 for the No. 6-seeded Rune early in the third at Court Suzanne Lenglen when the point of contention happened. Cerundolo, who was serving at deuce, hit a forehand that skidded low at the baseline and quickly bounced a second time – which normally would have meant that the point was his.

But Rune went ahead and got his racket on the ball, sending it back over the net. At about the same time, No. 23 seed Cerundolo was saying “sorry” to apologize for the odd way his forehand made the ball skim across the clay. Nouni was not immediately aware of the double-bounce, thought the ball was still in play and called Cerundolo for hindrance for talking during a point. That meant Rune got the point, and when he won the next one, too, he had a service break.

“It was unbelievable, because it was a clear double-bounce. I was mad at the umpire because he has to see it,” Cerundolo said. “It’s his fault.”

In tennis, electronic line-calling is used at many tournaments to make line calls, but replays are not used to check things like double-bounces or whether a point should be lost because a player touches the net, which is not allowed.

And while Cerundolo put the onus on the official, he also thought Rune could have ceded the point because of the double-bounce.

“For sure, I wish he would have done that, because it was a big moment,” Cerundolo said.

Rune, who moved into a matchup against No. 4 Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, said he saw a replay after the following point, and “saw it was a double bounce. But the point already happened, and he called the score. So I felt sorry.”

But, Rune added: “This is tennis. This is sports. Some umpires, they make mistakes. Some for me; some for him. That’s life.”

Gael Monfils withdraws from French Open with wrist injury

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
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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.