No. 1 Swiatek comes back at U.S. Open, faces No. 8 Pegula next

Associated PressSep 5, 2022, 6:33 PM EDT

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NEW YORK — Iga Swiatek covered her head with a white towel during one changeover after falling behind by a set and a break in the U.S. Open’s fourth round. She kept making mistakes, then rolling her eyes or glaring in the direction of her guest box.

Eventually, Swiatek got her strokes straightened out and began playing more like someone who is ranked No. 1, moving into her first quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows by coming back to beat Jule Neiemeier 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“I’m just proud,” Swiatek said, “that I didn’t lose hope.”

The 21-year-old from Poland will face another first-time U.S. Open quarterfinalist next. That’s No. 8 seed Jessica Pegula, the highest-ranked American woman, who advanced earlier Monday with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in a match interrupted by rain for 45 minutes during the third game because the retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was not closed when a drizzle became a downpour.

Pegula called it “a little frustrating,” saying it was particularly tough “at the start of the match, when there’s no feeling of what’s going on. You’re just sitting there in limbo, not sure what to do.”

The U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement that its “weather team” told U.S. Open organizers there was no rain expected. The statement added: “Unfortunately, a pop-up sunshower occurred.”

The other women’s fourth-round matches Monday were two-time Australian Open champion Viktoria Azarenka against two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova, and No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka against No. 19 Danielle Collins.

In men’s action, No. 9 Andrey Rublev reached his sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating No. 7 Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Rublev is into his third quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows; he is 0-2 at that stage in New York – and 0-5 at all majors.

Rublev next faces 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal or 24-year-old American Frances Tiafoe. Other men’s matches on Monday’s schedule: 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic vs. No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz, and No. 11 Jannik Sinner vs. Ilya Ivashka.

Pegula, a 28-year-old who was born in New York and whose parents own the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, reeled off the last three games of Monday’s opening set, which ended with a double-fault by No. 21 Kvitova, and then the last six games after trailing 2-0 in the second.

This will be Pegula’s third appearance in a major quarterfinal this season – and third against the woman who led the rankings at the time. She lost to the since-retired Ash Barty at the Australian Open, which Barty ended up winning, then to Swiatek at the French Open, which Swiatek wound up winning for her second championship there.

“I just have to play within myself,” Pegula said, “and play smart and be present.”

Swiatek arrived in New York having gone just 4-4 since the end of a 37-match winning streak that carried her to six consecutive tournament titles. On Monday, she listened to her usual pre-match playlist – a mix of Pearl Jam, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Gorillaz – then came out flat as can be against Neiemer, who is ranked 108th but reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in July in just her second major tournament.

Niemeier was better in the first set. Far better. Swiatek produced only four winners and 13 unforced errors, got broken twice and never earned a single break point.

Then, just winning the second set to pull even was quite the struggle for Swiatek.

She got broken early and fell behind 2-1, which is when she draped herself with a towel. She seemed to be talking to herself under there.

Whatever went on, Swiatek immediately flipped things around with a three-game run to lead 4-2. Even after getting a chance to serve for that set at 5-3, she double-faulted to close that game.

Nothing, it seemed, would come easily on this muggy afternoon, with the temperature above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 Celsius) and the humidity above 50%.

But Swiatek did break right back, helped by a wild forehand from Niemeier, and let out a shout.

To a third set they went, and Swiatek completely cleaned up her act: The unforced error count was one for her and 14 for Neiemer. When it ended, Swiatek jumped and threw an uppercut and shook her right fist.

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.”