Korda, Nakashima set up all-US semifinal at Next Gen finals

Associated PressNov 11, 2021, 9:27 PM EST

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MILAN — Sebastian Korda and Brandon Nakashima set up an all-American semifinal at the Next Gen ATP Finals by winning their last round-robin matches.

The 21-year-old Korda, the son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, methodically picked apart local favorite Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in a 4-2, 4-3 (4), 4-2 victory to win Group B with a record of 3-0.

Earlier, the 20-year-old Nakashima defeated Holger Rune 3-4 (3), 4-1, 4-1, 4-3 (1) to secure second place in Group A behind top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz at the season-ending tournament for the top 21-and-under players.

Korda won his first career title on Italian soil in Parma in May, after which Nakashima reached back-to-back championship matches at Los Cabos, Mexico, and Atlanta to become the youngest American to play in multiple finals since Andy Roddick in 2001-02.

Also reaching the last four was Sebastian Baez of Argentina, who beat Hugo Gaston 4-3(2), 4-2, 4-2 to finish second in Group B behind Korda and set up a semifinal with Alcaraz.

Alcaraz, who had already won Group A, produced 22 forehand winners in a 4-0, 4-1, 2-4, 4-3 (3) win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was already eliminated.

The victory made the 18-year-old Alcaraz the youngest player to earn 30 tour-level wins in a season since Rafael Nadal went 30-17 in 2004 when he was 18. Alcaraz is also 30-17 entering the semifinals.

There are different rules at the Next Gen tournament, including on-court coaching, no-Ad scoring, medical timeout limits, and Hawk-Eye making all the line calls.

The most drastic change is the shorter first-to-four set, with a tiebreaker at 3-3.

Debutant Stearns beats former champ Ostapenko to reach French Open 3rd round

Associated PressMay 31, 2023, 11:14 AM EDT

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PARIS — French Open debutant Peyton Stearns produced the biggest win of her career by defeating former champion Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round at Roland Garros.

Stearns, a former player at the University of Texas, only turned professional in June last year.

Ostapenko won the 2017 French Open but has since failed to advance past the 3rd round. The 17th-seeded Latvian dropped her serve five times against Stearns and hit 28 unforced errors in her 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 loss.

The 21-year-old Stearns has been climbing the WTA rankings and entered the French Open at No. 69 on the back of an encouraging clay-court campaign.

Third-seeded Jessica Pegula also advanced after Camila Giorgi retired due to injury. The American led 6-2 when her Italian rival threw in the towel.

Only hours after husband Gael Monfils won a five-set thriller, Elina Svitolina rallied past qualifier Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

In the men’s bracket, former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas ousted Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2. The fifth-seeded Greek was a bit slow to find his range and was made to work hard for two sets but rolled on after he won the tiebreaker.

No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Novak Djokovic are on court later. Alcaraz meets Taro Daniel on Court Philippe Chatrier, where Djokovic will follow against Martin Fucsovics in the night session.

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.