Tsitsipas retains Open 13 title for 5th of his career

Associated PressFeb 24, 2020, 3:40 PM EST

AP Photo

Stefanos Tsitsipas was hardly troubled in beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 to retain the Open 13 title on Sunday, securing the fifth overall of his blossoming career without dropping a set.

The second-seeded Greek broke the 19-year-old Canadian’s serve three times and saved four of five break points on his own.

“I am proud of the fact that mentally I didn’t even crack, not once,” said Tsitsipas, who has a volatile temper on court sometimes. “That was really good. Although I got broken, I wouldn’t say that that was a mental lapse. I am very happy with my mental state throughout the whole match.”

Tsitsipas, who is ranked No. 6, became the first player to retain the Marseille indoor title since Thomas Enqvist in 1998.

“I know (Thomas) pretty well. He was our Laver Cup captain,” the 21-year-old Tsitsipas said. “It makes me hungry for more. I want to go out there and break records and do things that others haven’t done yet. That’s what defines my personality.”

Winning without conceding a set underlined how focused Tsitsipas was throughout the week, whilst still being entertaining.

“That makes me very proud,” said Tsitsipas, one of the most exuberant players on the ATP Tour. “It means the world to me to be able to be one of these people that can play well and others can enjoy watching.”

For the seventh-seeded Auger-Aliassime, the wait goes on.

It was a second straight defeat in a final after losing in the World Tennis Tournament final against Gael Monfils in Rotterdam last weekend.

He has lost his five career finals and is now 2-2 against Tsitsipas in career meetings.

“I feel disappointed. You never like losing finals, but now it has been five so it is in my mind,” said Auger-Aliassime, who is ranked No. 18. “It is tough, but I think it is just going to make me a better player.”

After facing match points in his first two matches, he did well to reach the final.

Now Auger-Aliassime just has to win one, and collect some silverware to go with his shot-making ability on court.

“It is going to build my character and I am going to overcome this challenge one day. I’ll keep working towards that goal,” he said. “I am working to win bigger tournaments and to achieve even better things, so I am not going to stop here.”

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

Associated PressJun 5, 2023, 8:49 PM EDT

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

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

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.