Djokovic, Barty are Wimbledon top seeds, Federer, Serena 7th

Associated PressJun 23, 2021, 8:55 PM EDT

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WIMBLEDON, England — Defending champion Novak Djokovic was named as the top seed at Wimbledon on Wednesday as he seeks a 20th Grand Slam title while Roger Federer and Serena Williams will begin the grass-court tournament next week seeded seventh.

Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty is seeded first on the women’s side. The Australian hasn’t played since retiring from her second-round match at the French Open due to the flareup of an upper-leg injury.

The draw is Friday and the tournament begins Monday.

Eighth-ranked Federer has the seventh seed because third-ranked Rafael Nadal is sitting out Wimbledon to rest and recover after his loss to Djokovic in the French Open semifinal.

Daniil Medvedev is the second seed, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem, although the Austrian retired from a match in Mallorca on Tuesday because of wrist pain.

Defending champion Simona Halep is seeded second, ahead of Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Svitolina. Second-ranked Naomi Osaka is not playing.

At Roland Garros, Djokovic earned his 19th Grand Slam title to leave him one short of the record co-held by Federer and Nadal.

Federer, a record eight-time champion at the All England Club, said earlier this year that he would build up to Wimbledon as he returned from two surgeries on his knee.

But the 39-year-old Swiss great hasn’t been in top form, pulling out of the French Open after a grueling third-round match and failing last week to reach the Halle Open quarterfinals for the first time.

Federer was tantalizingly close to a ninth Wimbledon title in the 2019 final, holding two championship points before eventually losing to Djokovic in a fifth-set tiebreaker. It was Djokovic’s fifth Wimbledon title.

The 39-year-old Williams’ latest bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title ended in a fourth-round loss at the French Open. Her most recent major title came in early 2017.

Wimbledon was canceled last year for the first time since 1945 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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.”