Angry about tennis politics, Vasek Pospisil stages tirade in Miami

Associated PressMar 25, 2021, 2:30 PM EDT

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MIAMI — Angry about tennis politics, Vasek Pospisil of Canada staged a tantrum and was docked a key point during his opening-round loss at the Miami Open.

Pospisil, who has been trying to set up a new group to represent men’s professional players, was beaten by qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

During a changeover after his meltdown in the first set, Pospisil used a profanity to describe ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, and complained about a meeting they both attended.

Pospisil told the chair umpire Gaudenzi was “screaming at me in a player meeting for trying to unite the players – for an an hour and a half. … If you want to default me, I’ll gladly sue this whole organization.”

Hours later, Pospisil tweeted an apology for his behavior during the match.

“I disrespected the game I love, and for that I am truly sorry,” he wrote. “By way of explanation, I felt deeply unnerved during a meeting between players and ATP executives last night, and I underestimated the toll those emotions took on me until I stepped onto the court. I am sorry for my on-court behavior and the language I used.”

Pospisil and No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic have been trying to set up a group to represent tennis players, who have never have had a union, unlike athletes in North American team sports.

The ATP didn’t respond to a request for comment on Pospisil’s tirade. He angrily launched a ball out of the court and smashed two rackets in the first set. Serving while facing a set point, he was penalized for verbal abuse to lose the set.

A former top-25 player, Pospisil is now ranked 67th.

In women’s play, American Sloane Stephens earned her first victory of the year by rallying past qualifier Oceane Dodin of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-2.

Stephens, who won the tournament in 2018, had been 0-4 previously this year and hadn’t won a match since the French Open in September. Against Dodin, Stephens fell behind after she failed to convert two sets in the opening set, but she pulled away in the final set.

Stephens, ranked 49th, is among six former champions in the women’s draw.

Wild-card Ana Konjuh of Croatia won her first main-draw match in a WTA event since 2018 when she beat Katerina Siniakova 7-6 (3), 7-5. Konjuh’s career has been slowed by four elbow surgeries.

Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain overcame two match points and a 5-1 deficit in the final set to overtake Bernarda Pera 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. American Danielle Collins swept Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-3, and Jelena Ostapenko defeated Xiyu Wang 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1.

On the first day of men’s play, Alexei Popyrin built on his recent momentum by beating Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 7-6 (4). Popyrin, a 21-year-old Australian who won his first ATP Tour title late last month in Singapore, will next play big-serving American Reilly Opelka, who is seeded 30th.

Lopez, 39, was the oldest player in the men’s draw.

Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France, runner-up at the recent Open 13 in Marseille, France, beat Pedro Sousa 6-1, 6-3. Herbert will next face No. 11-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada.

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.”