Rafael Nadal not worried after Madrid exit, keeps focus on Paris

Associated PressMay 7, 2022, 1:53 PM EDT

Getty Images

MADRID — Rafael Nadal wasn’t losing any sleep after his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open.

His focus hasn’t changed. It’s still all about getting ready for the French Open in a few weeks.

“I accept this loss naturally and with tranquility,” Nadal said after a three-set defeat. “I’m know the path I have to stay on so I can arrive (in Paris) with real options in two-and-a-half weeks’ time. That’s what I’m working on right now.”

Nadal came to Madrid without being able to prepare properly because of a six-week injury layoff. He said ideally he should have skipped the tournament but in the end was happy with how it turned out.

“I have done what I could,” he said. “I have had better days, worse days. But it has not been a disaster in any case. I have competed with the correct attitude. I have played two, two-and-a-half hours, nearly three, I think three matches, this is a positive outcome.”

The 35-year-old Nadal was trying to win his sixth Madrid Open title. He opened with a straight-set win over Miomir Kecmanovic then needed to save four match points to get past David Goffin in three sets in his second match. He was overpowered in the quarterfinals by the 19-year-old Alcaraz, one of the hottest players on tour this year and considered by many in Spain as Nadal’s successor.

“I was out there with the correct attitude and analyzing every single morning what I had to do to generate options for myself and to improve,” Nadal said. “It’s clear to me what I need to improve. Now is the moment to work and to be confident that things will evolve in the right way.”

The 21-time Grand Slam champion said he has fully healed from the rib stress fracture that kept him from playing in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. The fourth-ranked Spaniard was off to a great this season start before getting injured, having won three titles, including the Australian Open in January.

“Some days the injuries don’t allow you to do the right things correctly to improve your game,” he said. “You have to prioritize your physical evolution.”

Nadal, who also won tournaments in Melbourne and Acapulco this season, will next play in Rome, where he is a defending champion after beating Novak Djokovic in three sets last year.

After Rome, Nadal will try to win a record-extending 14th French Open title. He lost to Djokovic in four sets in last year’s semifinals in Paris.

The tournament at Roland Garros starts on May 22.

“Just looking forward with optimism,” Nadal said. “We will see what happens.”

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

Getty Images

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.

New mom Elina Svitolina beats seeded player at French Open in 1st Slam match in 16 months

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:27 AM EDT

Getty Images

PARIS — So much has changed for Elina Svitolina, who played – and won – her first Grand Slam match in nearly 1 1/2 years at the French Open, eliminating 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

For one thing, she’s now a mother: Svitolina and her husband, French tennis player Gael Monfils, welcomed their daughter, Skaï, in October. For another, Svitolina is now ranked 192nd, nowhere near the career high of No. 3 she first reached in 2017, back in the days when she was regularly reaching the second weeks of major tournaments – including a pair of semifinal runs. Away from the courts, her home country of Ukraine was invaded by Russia last year, and the war continues.

“Everything,” she said, “is kind of old and new for me right now.”

In sum, Svitolina is juggling a lot nowadays.

She hadn’t played at a Slam since a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January 2022. She hadn’t played a match anywhere since March 2022, when she was still ranked 20th.

“It was always in my head … to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” the 28-year-old Svitolina said.

The work to return to the tour after giving birth began this January; her initial WTA match came at Charleston, South Carolina, in April. She won her first title since returning to action, at a smaller event on red clay in Strasbourg, France.

At Roland Garros, she used her big forehand to compile a 20-12 edge in winners and never faced a single break point against Trevisan, who was seeded 26th.

Trevisan cried as she spoke after the match about a problem with her right foot that made it difficult to even walk and prompted her to stop playing during her quarterfinal last week at the Morocco Open, where she was the defending champion.

Still, she gave Svitolina credit.

“Even though she’s just coming back from having a daughter, she’s a champion,” Trevisan said. “And she’s coming off a title, so she’s confident.”

Svitolina talked about feeling “awful when you’re pregnant, especially the last months,” but getting into a position now where she thinks she’s stronger than before – in more ways than one.

“I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court and, match by match, I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental (state) can influence your physicality, as well,” she said. “I tried to find the balance, and I feel like I’m seeing (things) a little bit again differently as well after the break. Everything is getting there. The puzzles are getting slowly into place.”