Amelie Mauresmo becomes French Open’s first female director

Associated PressDec 10, 2021, 8:50 PM EST

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Two-time major champion Amelie Mauresmo was appointed as tournament director of the French Open on Thursday, replacing Guy Forget and becoming the first woman to hold the position.

Forget, whose contract was to expire at the end of the year, resigned this week, citing communication issues with new French tennis federation president Gilles Moretton.

The 42-year-old Mauresmo, who was inspired to play tennis after watching Yannick Noah win the 1983 French Open, became the first player from France – male or female – to reach No. 1 in the modern era, on Sept. 13, 2004. She was No. 1 for 39 weeks in her career.

“This tournament has made me dream since my early days, has created a vocation in me,” Maursemo told a press conference on Thursday.

But she was never able to emulate Noah’s feat of winning on the clay at Roland Garros, failing to go beyond the quarterfinals at the Grand Slam tournament in Paris, where she struggled to withstand the pressure in front of her home crowd.

Mauresmo, whose backhand delighted tennis aficionados around the world, also won the Fed Cup with France in 2003 and the WTA Tour championship in 2005. She won the Olympic silver medal in Athens in 2004.

After her playing career, Mauresmo coached one of the top men’s players, Andy Murray. She was also France’s Fed Cup women’s team captain and did TV commentary work during Roland Garros this year.

Mauresmo is the second woman to be appointed as a Grand Slam director after Stacey Allaster, the U.S. Open’s tournament boss.

“Yes, I am very proud to be the first woman director of Roland Garros, but I also believe that it is necessary to emphasize why I am here, other (reasons) than my gender,” Mauresmo said. “I would like this question to be no longer relevant today. We need to aim and move toward something more egalitarian, regardless of gender. It doesn’t matter what gender you are, it’s just what skills you have.”

Mauresmo’s contract runs to 2024, the French federation said.

Forget had been running the tournament at Roland Garros since 2016. He was a former tennis player who achieved a career-best ranking of No. 4 in the early 1990s.

Stade Roland Garros had undergone a major facelift during Forget’s tenure, with the addition of a retractable roof on Court Philippe Chatrier and the building of a stunning new court surrounded by greenhouses filled with exotic plants.

Under Forget’s leadership, the French Open also introduced night sessions this year.

Alcaraz wins Indian Wells over Medvedev, regains No. 1 rank

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 1:00 AM EDT

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Carlos Alcaraz defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-2 to win the BNP Paribas Open title and regain the world’s No. 1 ranking.

The 19-year-old Spaniard will move from second to first in the ATP Tour rankings on Monday, displacing Novak Djokovic. The Serb withdrew from Indian Wells before the tournament began when he couldn’t gain entry to the U.S. because he’s unvaccinated for COVID-19.

“For me, it’s a dream come true again,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, it’s an amazing feeling.”

“I would say this has been the perfect tournament,” he said.

In the women’s final, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 and handed the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Last year, Alcaraz became the youngest man to reach No. 1 in ATP history after his title at the U.S. Open.

He achieved another mark in the third round at Indian Wells. That’s when Alcaraz notched his 100th career match victory, the second-quickest player behind John McEnroe to do so.

Alcaraz also became the first man to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017 and the youngest man to win the title in the desert.

“I really trust in every shot that I hit,” he said. “If I miss, I don’t mind.”

Alcaraz hit 19 winners and had 10 unforced errors while keeping Medvedev off-balance with a steady array of serve-and-volley and drop shots. The teenager never faced a break point while opening leads of 3-0 in the first set and 4-0 in the second.

“What I improve a lot is to don’t take the pressure, just to play relaxed,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I show a great level, because I feel like I have no pressure. I enjoy. I’m playing relaxed.”

Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak ended. It went back to his title run in Rotterdam in February. He then won tournaments in Doha and Dubai.

“I want to congratulate you for the work you have done in the last few months,” Alcaraz told his opponent. “Winning three titles in a row and reaching the finals here is an amazing achievement.”

Alcaraz and Rybakina earned $1,262,220 each for their wins.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

For the first time in their budding rivalry, the match didn’t go three sets. Sabalenka went the distance to beat Rybakina in the Australian Open final in January. In that match, Sabalenka fired 17 aces and rallied from a set down to win her first Grand Slam title.

This time, the 10th-seeded Rybakina had seven aces and No. 2 seed Sabalenka committed 10 double faults. Sabalenka won just 11 of 35 second-serve points.

“I would say that I was super disappointed with my serve, so I was back to old habits,” she said. “I was like a little bit overreacting on things, and I wasn’t there in the first two games in the second set.”

Rybakina broke for leads of 2-0 and 5-2 in the second set before Sabalenka closed to 5-4. But Rybakina served out the victory in just over two hours.

“This tiebreak was really epic, I would say, with all these double faults and nerves,” Rybakina said. “In the end, it was just focusing on every point and try to fight till the end.”

Rybakina improved her match record to 16-4 this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.

“This tough loss will motivate me more because I don’t like to lose in the finals,” Sabalenka said. “This is the worst.”

During the victory ceremony, Rybakina, the current Wimbledon champion, told the crowd it was the first time she’d beaten Sabalenka.

Sabalenka stepped forward, took the mic and said, “I will make sure it was the last one.”

Then she smiled.

Rybakina defeats Sabalenka to win Indian Wells title

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 12:58 AM EDT

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Elena Rybakina defeated Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (11), 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open and hand the world’s second-ranked player just her second loss this year.

Rybakina carried the momentum from her straight-set semifinal upset of top-ranked Iga Swiatek into the final and beat Sabalenka for the first time in five career meetings.

This time, Rybakina had seven aces and Sabalenka committed 10 double faults.

Rybakina improved her match record to 16-4 this year; Sabalenka fell to 17-2.