Citing bad back, Rafael Nadal out of Rotterdam tournament

Associated PressFeb 25, 2021, 1:19 PM EST

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Rafael Nadal pulled out of next week’s hard-court tournament at Rotterdam, Netherlands, because of the bad back that bothered him during the Australian Open.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion wrote in a series of posts on Twitter that he “found a temporary solution that allowed me to play without pain in the second week” of the Australian Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets.

But, one of Nadal’s tweets said, “Once I got back to Spain I visited my doctor and together with my team they’ve advised not to play this upcoming week. I was really looking forward to coming back to Rotterdam and The Netherlands since it’s been a while (since) I played there.”

The second-ranked Nadal would have been seeded No. 1 in Rotterdam. Instead, third-ranked Daniil Medvedev, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, will take the top spot in the seedings.

If Medvedev reaches the final in Rotterdam, he would replace Nadal at No. 2 in the rankings, according to the ATP Tour. That would allow Medvedev to become the first man other than Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray to be in the ATP’s Top 2 since Lleyton Hewitt was second to Federer in July 2005.

Nadal cited the back issue when he sat out the ATP Cup team competition at Melbourne Park that preceded the Australian Open.

The 34-year-old Spaniard then was able to participate in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, which began Feb. 8.

He entered the Australian Open with a chance to break his tie with Federer for the most major singles championships won by a man.

During that event, though, Nadal said his back prevented him from practicing properly for about three weeks and that he frequently needed to skip training sessions on the days he did not have matches.

After winning his first four outings, all in straight sets – and calling his opening set against Fabio Fognini in the fourth round “without a doubt” his “best level in the tournament” – Nadal took a two-set lead against Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals last week.

Nadal had been 223-1 in Grand Slam matches when leading two sets to none, but he faltered in the third-set tiebreaker with some uncharacteristically poor play and wound up losing to Tsitsipas 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5.

Nadal was among the men on the entry list released Thursday for the Miami Open, which runs March 22 to April 4. Federer, who has been sidelined for more than a year after two knee operations, and Djokovic are also in the field for Miami.

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

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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

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

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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.”