Daria Kasatkina wins Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic

Associated PressAug 8, 2022, 1:33 PM EDT

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SAN JOSE, Calif. — Daria Kasatkina fell to the ground in triumph and laid on her back for several moments after attacking a short ball off her serve and putting it away with a forehand winner on match point.

A dramatic comeback victory sealed at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, the Russian star then turned back to the big picture in her topsy-turvy world: “I want to thank every single person who is sharing now this moment with us on this beautiful court, thank you guys,” she told the crowd at San Jose State University while accepting her trophy. “I want to wish you, everyone, a lot of love, happiness and … peace in this world.”

The seventh-seeded Kasatkina rallied from one set down after dropping the opener in a tiebreaker and beat unseeded American Shelby Rogers for the championship, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-2.

The 25-year-old Kasatkina immediately found her rhythm again following a frustrating tiebreaker in a first set she had led 4-2 and 5-3 before some mistakes in crucial moments, such as double faults. Now, her first title this year and fifth overall will propel her back into this week’s top-10 rankings – and No. 10 is her previous career best.

“It’s a tough journey, which is still going on. I’m happy with the way things are going, especially this season, but I don’t want to stop, because I did this mistake already one time and I don’t want to repeat it,” she said. “I’m still hungry for the wins.”

Kasatkina, who recently came out as gay and has said she appreciates the positive support, lost here in last year’s championship. She became the first player to make consecutive finals in the event since Serena Williams in 2011-12 and earned her first title since St. Petersburg last year – snapping a two-match skid in finals, having lost last year here and at Birmingham. It also was her 200th career main draw win on tour.

“I feel great, every year better and better, I wonder what it’s going to be next year,” Kasatkina said.

Now, off to Toronto for the next tournament.

“We’re very happy because of the great job that she’s doing we have now the result here. We are super proud of Daria because she’s a great champion,” coach Carlos Martinez said, pleased with Kasatkina’s resilience after falling behind a set. “… She’s fighting `til the end, fighting for every single ball. She’s very consistent.”

Early on, Rogers scampered all over the court to keep long baseline rallies alive before closing out points or forcing Kasatkina into an error. By the third set, she was slapping her leg in frustration and growling aloud, though she said afterward how much she appreciated the support of the crowd cheering her name and holding signs reading “GO SHELBY!”

Rogers rallied in the first set, playing impressive comeback tennis for a second straight day. She trailed 4-2 and 5-3 before going up 6-5, then holding on to win the first set. Kasatkina double-faulted to make it 6-1 in the tiebreaker.

Kasatkina then gathered herself.

“I played really solid. I thought I picked my chances well and was aggressive when I needed to be, was patient when I needed to be,” Rogers said. “She made me hit a lot of balls, she hits a lot of balls back, she’s one of the best movers on the tour. The wind started to pick up. She started putting a little more pace on the ball and being a little more aggressive, too, and just reset after that first set.”

Rogers defeated No. 9 seed Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday in the semifinals – trailing Kudermetova 4-3 in the second set before breaking serve twice while winning three straight games to pull out the match.

In the earlier doubles final Sunday, fourth-seeded Chinese pair of Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan defeated the unseeded duo of Shuko Aoyama from Japan and Chan Hao-Ching of Taiwan 7-5, 6-0. They will face off in the first round this week in Toronto for an immediate rematch.

Jabeur bounces back at French Open, Ruud and Andreeva advance

Associated PressMay 30, 2023, 11:32 AM EDT

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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

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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.”