Thiem, Barty through to China Open finals

Associated PressOct 5, 2019, 4:40 PM EDT

AP Photo

BEIJING — Top seeds Dominic Thiem and Ashleigh Barty are through to the finals of the China Open in Beijing.

Austrian Thiem will face Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. In the women’s tournament, Australian Barty meets two-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan, who downed defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

Thiem dropped the first set to Russia’s Karen Khachanov, but came roaring back to win 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.

“I was disappointed to lose that set, but still I had the feeling that I’m not playing that bad. I just got a little more aggressive,” said Thiem, who ousted Andy Murray in Friday’s quarterfinals.

“I’m really proud that I was fighting like crazy through the whole match because Karen was playing exceptionally well today.”

Third-seeded Tsitsipas fought past Germany’s second-seeded Alexander Zverev 7-6 (6), 6-4.

Barty advanced with a three-set victory over Kiki Bertens. The French Open champion traded breaks of serve in the third set before beating her Dutch opponent 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7).

“The quality from both of us was exceptional at times,” said Barty, who credited new members of her backroom team and a better physical and mental outlook for the improvements she has made over the past 18 months.

“I’m pretty happy with the way I was able to fight and dig in,” she added.

Fourth-ranked Osaka came up big when it mattered by converting three of her five breakpoints, while Wozniacki went 0 for 7.

“My serve is confusing to me,” said Osaka, who eased to a 6-4, 6-2 victory and won 76 percent of her first serve points to 58 percent for the Dane. “The percentage is really low but when it goes in it’s very helpful, I would say.”

Osaka is in her second consecutive final after winning the title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in her birthplace of Osaka, Japan.

She has said she hopes her performances on the Asian swing of the tour would dispel any doubts following what she described as a year that has been “very up and down.”

“I feel like I’m still in a way the underdog, which I really love,” Osaka said.

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.”

Debutant Stearns beats former champ Ostapenko to reach French Open 3rd round

Associated PressMay 31, 2023, 11:14 AM EDT

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PARIS — French Open debutant Peyton Stearns produced the biggest win of her career by defeating former champion Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round at Roland Garros.

Stearns, a former player at the University of Texas, only turned professional in June last year.

Ostapenko won the 2017 French Open but has since failed to advance past the 3rd round. The 17th-seeded Latvian dropped her serve five times against Stearns and hit 28 unforced errors in her 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 loss.

The 21-year-old Stearns has been climbing the WTA rankings and entered the French Open at No. 69 on the back of an encouraging clay-court campaign.

Third-seeded Jessica Pegula also advanced after Camila Giorgi retired due to injury. The American led 6-2 when her Italian rival threw in the towel.

Only hours after husband Gael Monfils won a five-set thriller, Elina Svitolina rallied past qualifier Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

In the men’s bracket, former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2. The fifth-seeded Greek was a bit slow to find his range and was made to work hard for two sets but rolled on after he won the tiebreaker.

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Novak Djokovic are on court later. Alcaraz meets Taro Daniel on Court Philippe Chatrier, where Djokovic will follow against Martin Fucsovics in the night session.