Berrettini beats Murray to win Stuttgart Open on tour return

Associated PressJun 12, 2022, 2:32 PM EDT

Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images

STUTTGART, Germany — Matteo Berrettini showed signs of recapturing the form which took him to the Wimbledon final last year as he beat Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to win the Stuttgart Open in his first tournament for three months.

The Italian hadn’t played since Indian Wells in March because of a hand injury which forced him to miss the entire clay-court swing and, in Murray, faced an opponent whose own injury issues hampered him in the deciding set.

“It was the last thing that I imagined when I came here,” Berrettini said of winning the title on his return to the tour.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray collided with one of the players’ seats at courtside in the first point of the decider and called for the physio soon after for treatment on his left leg and hip. He took another timeout when he appeared to indicate a problem with his abdominal muscles at 4-2 down.

“This is not the way that we wanted to finish the match,” Berrettini said, and he praised Murray’s history of bouncing back from injuries. “He showed us so many times how to come back.”

Berrettini moves to 6-3 in career finals with his second career Stuttgart title, while Murray is 46-24 in his 70th career final as he chased a first title since 2019. It was the first time Murray played a singles final on grass since winning Wimbledon in 2016.

Tournament organizers said Sunday that an investigation had begun after Nick Kyrgios said he faced racist abuse from the crowd in his semifinal loss to Murray the day before.

“No discriminating actions by the spectators are accepted,” organizers said in e-mailed comments. “We have expressed our regret towards Nick Kyrgios and his team and assured that any kind of discrimination is unacceptable. The incident is currently under investigation.”

Kyrgios was given a game penalty Saturday when he appeared to confront someone in the crowd during the match.

“One thing I won’t ever tolerate is spectators heckling and blasting abuse to athletes. It’s been happening personally to me for a while, from racist comments to complete disrespect,” the Australian wrote on Instagram on Saturday.

Gael Monfils withdraws from French Open with wrist injury

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 11:34 AM EDT

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

PARIS — A thrilling five-set victory took a toll on Gael Monfils, whose withdrawal from the French Open handed No. 6 Holger Rune a walkover to the third round.

The 36-year-old Frenchman said he has a strained left wrist and can’t continue.

He battled Sebastian Baez for nearly four hours on Court Philippe Chatrier before beating the Argentine 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 in a first-round match that ended at 12:18 a.m. local time.

The victory was Monfils’ first at tour level this year, as the veteran was coming back from heel surgery.

“Actually, physically, I’m quite fine. But I had the problem with my wrist that I cannot solve,” he said. “The doctor say was not good to play with that type of injury. Yesterday was actually very risky, and then today definitely say I should stop.”

Monfils reached the semifinals at the French Open in 2008 and made it to the quarterfinals on three other occasions.

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.”