Murray wins second singles match since return from hip surgery

Associated PressOct 1, 2019, 1:02 PM EDT

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BEIJING — Andy Murray continued his positive return to singles play after hip surgery with a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7) win over 13th-ranked Matteo Berrettini of Italy in the first round of the China Open on Tuesday.

The former top-ranked Murray, who had a hip resurfacing operation in January, fired eight aces and saved five of seven break points to pick up his second tour-level singles win since returning in August.

Murray defeated Tennys Sangren in the opening round of the Zhuhai Championships last week, before losing to eventual champion Alex de Minaur in the second round.

“Last week was a big step for me. Now I just need to try and get the matches, get them consistently, so that I’m used to playing three, four matches in a week,” Murray said.

He will next play British compatriot Cameron Norrie, who beat Chile’s Cristian Garin on Monday.

Also in Beijing, top-seeded Dominic Thiem defeated Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round, while American John Isner upset seventh-seeded Gael Monfils of France 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

In the women’s tournament, top-ranked Ash Barty advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Yulia Putintseva. The top-seeded Australian, who has been nursing a calf injury, received a first-round bye after reaching the Wuhan semifinals last week.

The Roland Garros champion hit 23 winners and seven aces in her first career victory in Beijing.

“I think there were times where it was pretty good and there were times where it was challenging,” Barty said. “Overall pretty happy with how it went today, how we were able to get on a roll in the second set a little bit there.”

Naomi Osaka of Japan extended her win streak to six as she eased past Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-0 in just 59 minutes.

In her second match since winning the Pan Pacific Open in Osaka two weeks ago, the fourth-seeded Osaka won 91% of first-serve points while saving the only break point she faced.

Also on Tuesday, seventh-seeded Petra Kvitova beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-4 while No. 16-seeded Caroline Wozniacki had a 6-4, 6-0 straight-set victory over Christina McHale.

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.”