U.S. advances to Fed Cup Finals after doubles win over Latvia

Associated PressFeb 9, 2020, 1:51 PM EST

AP Photo

EVERETT, Wash. — Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin helped put the United States into the Fed Cup Finals after falling short earlier Saturday night.

Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands teamed up for a 6-4, 6-0 doubles victory over Jelena Ostapekno and Anastasija Sevastova to give the U.S. a 3-2 win over Latvia in their Fed Cup qualifying match.

It was a far more difficult day than expected for the Americans, who held a 2-0 lead entering the second day of singles matches. But Ostapenko beat Kenin in three sets, and Sevastova followed with a stunning three-set victory over Serena Williams. It was Williams’ first singles loss in Fed Cup competition.

Kenin took the place of Alison Riske in doubles, her third match in barely 24 hours. While she may have looked fatigued in her three-set loss to Ostapenko earlier in the day, Kenin found a boost teaming with the energetic Mattek-Sands and clinched the Americans a trip to Budapest, Hungary, for the finals in April.

Doubles deciding the meeting was a surprise after both Kenin and Williams won on the opening night. Even after Kenin lost Saturday’s opening match, there was still Williams’ 14-0 mark in singles in her Fed Cup history.

But Sevastova ended Williams’ unbeaten run. Sevastova won 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (4), avenging a loss to Williams in their only previous meeting in the 2018 U.S. Open semifinals when Sevastova won only three games.

This time it was Sevastova celebrating at the end, closing out the match with a huge serve Williams couldn’t return.

Williams had been unbeaten in singles, dating to her debut in 1999, including a straight-sets win over Ostapenko on Friday night that had two tiebreakers.

“It’s obviously hard to play Serena and she’s an amazing champion,” Sevastova said. “You just try and enjoy it as best you can and give your best.”

Williams had chances to clinch a victory for the U.S. and wrap up its spot in the finals. Williams rallied from a 5-2 deficit in the opening set by winning four straight games and had three set points with Sevastova serving. But the Latvian managed to hold serve, thanks to a couple of errors by Williams and a pair of aces.

Williams broke the serve of Sevastova four times in the second-set, but couldn’t find the same success in the final set as the players held serve into the tiebreaker. Williams pulled even at 4-all, but Sevastova won the final three points and the match.

Ostapenko beat Kenin 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to give Latvia its first point. Ostapekno broke Kenin four times in the third set as the former French Open champion outlasted the most recent Grand Slam winner.

Kenin struggled with Ostapenko’s power before adjusting to dominate the second set, but she couldn’t hold serve in the final set.

The pair exchanged breaks in the first three games of the third, leaving Ostapenko with a 2-1 lead. She nearly gave the advantage back to Kenin, but Ostapenko saved a pair of break points to take a 3-1 lead on a swinging forehand volley.

Ostapenko broke Kenin for the third time in the set for a 4-1 lead, but gave a game back to the American with a double fault.

Again, Kenin couldn’t hold. Ostapenko’s forehand winner gave her a 5-2 lead and she closed out the match in 1 hour, 58 minutes.

The big-hitting, former French Open champion gave Williams all she could handle in the second singles match on Friday, losing because of errors in both tiebreakers. Ostapenko still had plenty of errors against Kenin – 49 unforced errors – but also had 34 winners to just 13 for Kenin.

“It’s always very special to play for my country and I was just trying my best today,” Ostapenko said. “Until the last point I knew it was going to be a very tough match and I was trying to play aggressive.”

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

Getty Images

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

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

Getty Images

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.”