Federer, Medvedev reach third round in Shanghai; Murray out

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SHANGHAI — Roger Federer didn’t face a break point as he won his opening match at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday, beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 7-6 (5).

The second-seeded Federer, who is bidding to win a third Shanghai Masters title, dominated in the first set, but was tested in the second.

Federer struggled in the tiebreaker, falling behind 1-4, but eventually managed to pull even. He won his lone match point when he executed a forehand crosscourt volley.

“I focused and had good energy, because sometimes, you know, when you travel around the globe, you’re missing a bit of energy,” Federer said. “Those first few games or matches can be sometimes a bit tricky.

“I think (my) serve was solid. I was hitting my spots and really was never in trouble there.”

The last time the two faced each other was in the 2015 Shanghai Masters, where the Spaniard shocked Federer by taking the three-set encounter, and Federer admitted he had that second-round match on his mind on Tuesday.

“All the time,” said Federer, when asked if he thought of their previous outing. “The truth, yeah, I was thinking about it. Watched highlights. Remember how it felt. I had my chances. I won many more points that time than I lost, so I should have actually won that match.”

Andy Murray served for his second-round match against 10th seed Fabio Fognini twice in the third set – in the 10th and 12th games – but ended up losing 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (2) in a match which lasted more than three hours.

“I’m very disappointed right now,” Murray said. “There is a lot of things that I need to get better at, and I can do much better. I will go away and I’ll work on those things.

“I served for the match twice and lost after three hours, so I want to say that’s the first time ever in my career that that’s happened.”

Similarly to Federer, third seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia never offered his opponent, British qualifier Cameron Norrie, a break point opportunity in securing a 6-3, 6-1 second-round win in 54-minutes.

“I’m really happy with my performance, really happy with the score and am really looking forward to the next round,” Medvedev said. “It was my first match here in Shanghai after having a few weeks off, so I was a little bit stressed about how my level would be.

“I managed to get out of there in less than an hour.”

Medvedev has reached the final of the last five tournaments he’s played, including his first Grand Slam final showing, which came at the U.S. Open.

Unseeded Andrey Rublev of Russia upset Borna Coric 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the first round.

The 12th-seeded Coric was runner-up in Shanghai last year, losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final.

Two Americans – 16th-seeded John Isner and Reilly Opelka – are through to the second round.

Isner ousted Alex De Minaur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-4, and Opelka defeated Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-4.

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

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PARIS — Ons Jabeur got a do-over on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open and won this time.

A year after her first-round exit, the No. 7 seed Jabeur beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-4, 6-1 to help erase some bad memories and answer questions about a recent calf injury.

The Tunisian, a crowd favorite in Paris, smiled and expressed relief in not repeating last year’s mistake, when she lost to Magda Linette of Poland.

“I’m very happy to win my first match on Philippe Chatrier – because I’ve never won here,” Jabeur said on court about the clay-court tournament’s main stadium.

Now she can focus on trying to win her first major. She was runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year.

The 28-year-old Jabeur has also battled injuries this season. She had knee surgery after the Australian Open, and was then sidelined with a calf injury. She had stopped playing against top-ranked Iga Swiatek at the clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, in late April and then pulled out of the Madrid Open.

“It was a very difficult period for me after Stuttgart,” said Jabeur, adding that she’s beginning to find her rhythm.

Jabeur struck 27 winner’s to Bronzetti’s seven, though with 24 unforced errors she’ll have room to improve.

Mirra Andreeva had a memorable Grand Slam debut by dominating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6-1. Andreeva’s older sister – 18-year-old Erika – was facing Emma Navarro later in the day.

Later, Swiatek gets her French Open title defense started against Cristina Bucsa, who is ranked 70th.

On the men’s side, No. 4 seed Casper Ruud beat qualifier Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, to remind the higher-profile tournament favorites that he was runner-up to Rafael Nadal last year at Roland Garros.

New mom Elina Svitolina beats seeded player at French Open in 1st Slam match in 16 months

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PARIS — So much has changed for Elina Svitolina, who played – and won – her first Grand Slam match in nearly 1 1/2 years at the French Open, eliminating 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

For one thing, she’s now a mother: Svitolina and her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in October. For another, Svitolina is now ranked 192nd, nowhere near the career high of No. 3 she first reached in 2017, back in the days when she was regularly reaching the second weeks of major tournaments – including a pair of semifinal runs. Away from the courts, her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia last year, and the war continues.

“Everything,” she said, “is kind of old and new for me right now.”

In sum, Svitolina is juggling a lot nowadays.

She hadn’t played at a Slam since a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January 2022. She hadn’t played a match anywhere since March 2022, when she was still ranked 20th.

“It was always in my head … to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” the 28-year-old Svitolina said.

The work to return to the tour after giving birth began this January; her initial WTA match came at Charleston, South Carolina, in April. She won her first title since returning to action, at a smaller event on red clay in Strasbourg, France.

At Roland Garros, she used her big forehand to compile a 20-12 edge in winners and never faced a single break point against Trevisan, who was seeded 26th.

Trevisan cried as she spoke after the match about a problem with her right foot that made it difficult to even walk and prompted her to stop playing during her quarterfinal last week at the Morocco Open, where she was the defending champion.

Still, she gave Svitolina credit.

“Even though she’s just coming back from having a daughter, she’s a champion,” Trevisan said. “And she’s coming off a title, so she’s confident.”

Svitolina talked about feeling “awful when you’re pregnant, especially the last months,” but getting into a position now where she thinks she’s stronger than before – in more ways than one.

“I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court and, match by match, I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental (state) can influence your physicality, as well,” she said. “I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently as well after the break. Everything is getting there. The puzzles are getting slowly into place.”