Gauff leads upsets in Dubai; top-seeded Svitolina loses

Associated PressMar 10, 2021, 4:54 PM EST

Getty Images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — American teen Coco Gauff led a day of upsets in the second round of the Dubai Championships when top-seeded Elina Svitolina lost and Petra Kvitova dropped out with a hip problem.

The 16-year-old Gauff fought back to defeat 12th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 to set up a third-round clash with Tereza Martincova, who upset the fifth-seeded Kiki Bertens 6-1, 6-4.

Svetlana Kuznetsova upset two-time champion Svitolina 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, completing her comeback win in just under two hours and will face Barbora Krejcikova in the third round. The Czech defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-1.

Another teenager, 19-year-old Anastasia Potapova, defeated 11th-seeded Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3.

Kvitova, who defeated Garbine Muguruza to win the Qatar Open, retired with Jil Teichmann leading 6-2, 3-4. Kvitova said she’s had an adductor problem since the semifinal in Doha.

French Open champion Iga Swiatek eased past lucky loser Misaki Doi, 6-2, 6-4 for a third-round clash with Muguruza, who defeated American teenager Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 6-2.

The second-seeded Karolina Pliskova had to dig hard for a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-2 win over Anastasija Sevastova and the sixth-seeded Belinda Bencic also had a tough match in beating Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Bencic needed five match points to seal her win.

Elise Mertens defeated Shelby Rogers 6-3, 6-3, but another American, Jessica Pegula, prevailed with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kristina Mladenovic.

There were wins, too, for Caroline Garcia, Anett Kontaveit, Aryna Sabalenka, and Ons Jabeur.

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.

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.”