Danill Medvedev puts Russia back in Davis Cup semifinals

Associated PressDec 2, 2021, 9:23 PM EST

Burak Akbulut/Getty Images

MADRID — Daniil Medvedev maintained his perfect record at the Davis Cup Finals to put Russia into the last four.

Medvedev defeated Mikael Ymer 6-4, 6-4 to give Russia an insurmountable 2-0 lead over Sweden in the quarterfinals of the revamped team event.

Andrey Rublev earlier outlasted Elias Ymer, Mikael’s older brother, in a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3) win at the Madrid Arena. With Russia having secured the win after the two singles matches, the doubles match wasn’t played.

Russia will face Germany in the semifinals on Saturday. Serbia and top-ranked Novak Djokovic will face Croatia in the other semifinal on Friday.

It was the third consecutive straight-set victory for the second-ranked Medvedev after group-stage wins over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Ecuador’s Emilio Gomez.

Medvedev broke serve twice in the first set and three times in the second against No. 94 Mikael Ymer, Sweden’s top-ranked player.

“Today I should’ve served better, but I’m really happy to bring the point to the team,” Medvedev said. “The most important thing is that we are winning a lot of matches. We didn’t lose a tie in the group and we are really looking forward to Saturday.”

Russia beat Serbia in the quarterfinals of the event’s first edition in 2019 before losing to Canada in the last four. Russia is seeking its third Davis Cup title after triumphs in 2002 and 2006.

The Russian team is officially being called RTF (Russian Tennis Federation) in the competition amid its ongoing doping suspension in international sport.

The fifth-ranked Rublev had a much harder time than Medvedev in his singles match against the 171st-ranked Elias Ymer.

After breaking serve twice to win the first set, he served for the match at 5-4 in the second but couldn’t close it out as Ymer won three straight games.

“Serving for the match, I relax a bit when I shouldn’t do this,” Rublev said. “I missed some easy forehands that normally if you’re focused and you’re doing everything right, you’re not going to miss them. I bring him back to the game. Then he starts to believe in himself, he starts to play much, much better.”

The Swede saved seven break points in total in the decisive set to keep it tight, but Rublev ultimately prevailed in the tiebreaker for his second straight victory after opening with a loss against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez. Elias Ymer had won both of his group-stage matches.

Sweden last made it to the last four in 2007, when it lost to the United States. This was its first quarterfinal appearance since 2011. It is trying to win its eighth Davis Cup title, and first since 1998.

Russia won a group that included Spain and Ecuador, while Sweden was the best second-place team after playing in a group won by Kazakhstan and that included Canada, the runner-up in 2019.

Shamil Tarpischev, the longest-serving captain in Davis Cup history, is participating in his 100th tie with Russia.

Madrid was the sole host of the team event in 2019, but this time Innsbruck in Austria and Turin in Italy also held matches. The competition did not take place last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

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.”

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

Associated PressMay 31, 2023, 11:14 AM EDT

Getty Images

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.