Top-seed Tsitsipas, Zverev advance with straight-set wins

Associated PressOct 26, 2021, 8:49 PM EDT

Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images

VIENNA — Stefanos Tsitsipas saved three set points before beating Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (6), 6-4 to join Olympic champion Alexander Zverev in the second round of the Erste Bank Open.

Zverev also advanced in straight sets but had to rally from 5-2 down in the second to overcome Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 7-5.

The top-seeded Tsitsipas, who lost to Dimitrov in the second round last year, was 6-3 down in the tiebreaker before reeling off five straight points to claim the opening set.

Tsitsipas converted his first match point with Dimitrov serving at 5-4 when the 22nd-ranked-Bulgarian hit a forehand wide.

The third-ranked Greek, who is striving for his third title of the season, next plays Frances Tiafoe, who defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-4.

Tiafoe beat Tsitsipas in straight sets at Wimbledon this year, but Tsitsipas leads the American 2-1 in career meetings.

Zverev avoided break points against Krajinovic until he was serving for the opening set, but the second-seeded German fought off all three chances for the 40th-ranked Serb.

Zverev lost his serve early in the second but dropped just five more points from 5-2 down to close out the win with five straight games and set up a second-round match against Alex De Minaur.

Casper Ruud and Cameron Norrie, who both are in the race for the remaining two berths at next month’s ATP Finals, also advanced with two-set wins.

The fourth-seeded Ruud defeated Lloyd Harris 7-5, 7-6 (2) for his 50th win of the year, and Norrie beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (4), 6-1.

Also, the sixth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime downed Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-2, and Austrian wild-card entry Dennis Novak edged Italian qualifier Gianluca Mager 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) in a late game.

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.