Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis trailblazer, dies at 83

Associated PressDec 11, 2021, 5:20 PM EST

Alex Pantling/Getty Images

MADRID — Manuel “Manolo” Santana, who reached No. 1 in the tennis rankings and was the first man from Spain to win a Grand Slam singles title, has died. He was 83.

The Madrid Open announced the death of its honorary president. No cause of death was given.

Santana won four major singles championships: at the French Open in 1961 and 1964, at the U.S. Open in 1965 and at Wimbledon in 1966, the same year he reached the No. 1 ranking.

Santana was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.

“It’s difficult for a genius to be rewarded in tennis and Manolo was one of those few who could,” Gene Scott said at the induction ceremony where he spoke on Santana’s behalf. “He literally invented one of the strokes that we now see in profusion – the backhand topspin lob.”

Rafael Nadal joined in the flood of condolences on social media, writing in Spanish that “we will all miss you Manolo.”

“You will always be one of a kind and special,” Nadal wrote. “As I have said many times in the past: a thousand thanks for what you did for our country and for opening the way for others. You were always my role model, a friend and someone who was close to all of us.”

Garbine Muguruza posted a photo of her with an elderly Santana with the message thanking him for his “goodness, warmth, and for showing us the way forward.

“You were always our reference point, for everyone in Spanish tennis, a pioneer,” the two-time Grand Slam winner said. “So close and so attentive, in the good and bad times. We will miss you. All my love for your family and loved ones.”

Spain’s king and its prime minister echoed the sentiments of Nadal, calling Santana a “legend.”

“There are people who become legends and make a country great. Manolo Santana was and will always be one of them,” Spanish King Felipe VI wrote on Twitter.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “He won Roland Garros, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, a total of 72 tournaments and an Olympic gold to make him a tennis legend and one of the best athletes our country has seen.”

Billie Jean King fondly recalled winning her first Wimbledon title alongside Santana’s triumph there in 1966.

“We danced the 1st dance at the Ball,” King wrote on Twitter.

Kvitova upends Rybakina for women’s Miami Open title

Associated PressApr 1, 2023, 11:56 PM EDT

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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) Twelfth-seeded Petra Kvitova won the Miami Open in her 13th appearance, beating seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina with a marathon tiebreaker in a 7-6 (14), 6-2 victory Saturday.

The 33-year-old Kvitova, 10 years older than her opponent, snapped Rybakina’s 13-match winning streak and halted her bid to win the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami Open).

In winning with will, stalwart defense and one sensational forehand winner on the dead run that electrified the crowd in the second set, the lefty Kvitova captured her 30th WTA singles title and first one since 2018 in Madrid.

After Rybakina hit a forehand long on match point, Kvitova raised her arms and put her hands to her head. She was broken just once in the match. It was her 41st career WTA Finals appearance but first final in Miami. She also will vault into the Top 10.

“I take it as a positive I can still play with the best,’’ said Kvitova who earned a $1.26 million first prize. “I take pride, even at my age, I could win big tournaments.’’

Kvitova, who is from the Czech Republic, disagreed with the announcement Wimbledon would accept Russian players this year. Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion, is from Moscow but represents Kazakhstan.

A past Wimbledon champion, the 6-foot Kvitova won the first-set epic tiebreaker 16-14 on her fifth set point. A suddenly shaky Rybakina hit a forehand long to end the 22-minute tiebreaker; she had been undefeated at 7-0 in tiebreakers in 2023.

“The tiebreaker was going to decide the whole match,’’ Kvitova said. “The tiebreaker – oh, by God – was the longest in my career. I won the tiebreaker so emotionally I was on the better side. You could see the balls after the tiebreak. They were big fluffy balls.″

Rybakina, who won at Indian Wells, admitted to fatigue after the tiebreaker from the travel. The women’s tour will shortly head to Europe for the claycourt season.

“The second set I think overall it was not easy after the first set,’’ Rybakina said. “I think the second she was also more free to hit, to maybe risk a bit more. I think that in the second I just didn’t stay disciplined and was a bit rushing.’’

The set lasted 66 minutes during which each player held serve until 4-4 then exchanged service breaks. Rybakina finished with 10 aces for the first set while setting the record for most aces in a WTA Tournament, smashing Madison Keys’ mark. Rybakina, who had 12 aces total for the match, finished the tournament with 69 for the tournament.

Kvitova broke Rybakina in second game of the second set with a backhand winner on the service return to go up 2-0 and the streak was soon over for Rybakina.

“Maybe if the first set had gone my way it would’ve been different,’’ Rybakina said. “Because I was physically tired and that’s why I didn’t have discipline.

The men’s singles final is Sunday and pits Jannik Sinner, coming off his semifinal upset of defending Miami Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, against Daniil Medvedev.

Medvedev has won 23 of 24 matches and beat Sinner in the Finals last month in Rotterdam. Sinner, the 10th seed from Italy, is 0-5 against Medvedev and coming off a physical, three-set, three-hour war with Alcaraz that ended late Friday night.

In the men’s doubles final, Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Austin Krajicek and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 7-5.

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Sinner stuns top-ranked Alcaraz in Miami Open semifinals

Associated PressMar 31, 2023, 11:37 PM EDT

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Tenth-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy stunned top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz on Friday night in the Miami Open semifinals, rallying from a set down to beat the defending champion, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2 in a three-hour thriller.

Sinner ended Alcaraz’s winning streak at 10 matches. Sinner’s powerfully steady baseline game wore down Alcaraz, who appeared to be cramping early in the decisive third set while he also dealt with an apparent finger injury. He will lose the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic.

Sinner, the 21-year-old who made the Miami Open final last year but hasn’t been past the quarterfinals of a major, will face fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the championship match Sunday. Medvedev has beaten Sinner in all five meetings.

Alcaraz had been so dominant recently, he hadn’t lost a set since February before Sinner’s rally in the Miami humidity. The Alcaraz hype train has been so breakaway NBA stars Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler showed up to watch the Spanish star from the teal seats.

Alcaraz also fought Sinner in Indian Wells in the semifinals, and it was a taut match but not quite like this. These two young guns are poised for a long and spectacular rivalry. Sinner’s victory ended Alcaraz’ hope of becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to win the Sunshine Double if Indian Wells and Miami.

Medvedev beat fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 on the same day Wimbledon announced Russians will be allowed back.

Medvedev has won 23 of 24 matches – the lone loss to Alcaraz – and is in his fifth straight final.

Also Friday, No. 15 seed Petra Kvitova beat unseeded Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-3 in the second women’s semifinal. Kvitova will face Elena Rybakina in the final.

Alcaraz prevailed in the first set in a tiebreaker but that took a lot out of Alcaraz’ 19-year-old legs. Between points in the third set, Alcaraz was stretching noticeably during the third set, trying to stave off cramps and waved to the crowd for support.

Despite Alcaraz getting the second set back on serve, Sinner stunned Alcaraz in the ninth game, breaking him at love to go up 5-4 and then closing it out. Alcaraz had won 21 straight sets.

An ATP trainer came out to attend to Alcaraz midway through the second set, examining one of his fingers before the cramps set in.