Tennis: Djokovic and Nadal to meet in Rome final, Konta faces Pliskova

ROME - Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal won on Saturday to set up an Italian Open final meeting, while British number one Johanna Konta booked a final clash with Karolina Pliskova.

World number one Djokovic overcame Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman 6-3 6-7(2) 6-3 and will face second seed Nadal for the 54th time on Sunday, ahead of this month’s French Open.

The Serbian triumphed in last week’s Madrid Open and has a chance to win back-to-back clay-court titles after overcoming the spirited Schwartzman in two hours 31 minutes.

Schwartzman, playing in a Masters 1000 semi-final for the first time, fought back from losing the first set in 36 minutes to take the second after a dominant tiebreak, but Djokovic got the crucial break in the sixth game of the deciding set to clinch victory.

Djokovic leads his head-to-head with Nadal by 28 wins to 25, but the Spaniard has dominated on clay with 16 victories to the Serbian’s seven.

Nadal progressed to his 50th Masters 1000 final thanks to a 6-3 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, avenging his defeat to the 20-year-old at the same stage a week ago in Madrid.

The 32-year-old broke Tsitsipas’s serve early in both sets while holding his own service games as he wrapped up victory in one hour 43 minutes.

“It’s an important victory for me because I played a solid match against a good player and a player who is winning lot of matches on this surface," Nadal said.

"Winning in straight sets against him is a very positive result. More than this is a feeling that I am playing better every week, every day. That's important for me."

The win keeps Nadal in the hunt for a ninth Italian Open title after he lost at the semi-final stages of his last four tournaments.

In the women's singles, Konta came from a set behind to beat Madrid Open champion Kiki Bertens 5-7 7-5 6-2 and progress to her first WTA Premier clay final.

She will face world number seven Pliskova, who defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-4.

It will be Konta’s second final of the clay-court season, after finishing as runner-up to Sakkari at the Morocco Open, as she heads into the French Open in fine form.

The 28-year-old lost her momentum after being broken while serving for the first set but fought back by taking the second.

She pulled away in the final set, breaking the Dutch world number four's serve twice before securing victory on her fourth match point.

“After I lost the first set, I mean, I didn’t do much wrong," Konta said.

"It was a very good set of tennis. Equally the second set, as well. There wasn’t anybody putting a bad foot out of line.

“In the third, I definitely felt that I was able to maintain my level a bit better than her. I think that gave me the upper hand in stringing some more points together. I’m just very happy to have come through.”

Konta became the first British woman to reach the final of the tournament since Virginia Wade in 1971. 

(Reporting by Alasdair Mackenzie, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)

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Serena Williams thinking of slain sister shortly before lopsided loss

LOS ANGELES - Tennis great Serena Williams tells Time Magazine in a cover story published Thursday that shortly before the worst defeat of her career she learned the killer of her sister Yetunde Price had been paroled.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion was stunned 6-1, 6-0 by Britain's Johanna Konta on July 31 in San Jose, California.

The defeat marked the first time in 928 professional matches that Williams failed to win more than one game. At the time she spoke of having "so many things on my mind" without elaborating.

But in a wide-ranging interview with Time, she said that 10 minutes before she took the court she learned via Instagram that Robert Edward Maxfield, the man convicted of killing Price in a drive-by shooting in 2003, had been released from prison earlier in the year after serving 12 years of a 15-year sentence.

"I couldn't shake it out of my mind," she said. "No matter what, my sister is not coming back for good behavior. It's unfair that she'll never have an opportunity to hug me."

In discussing Maxfield, Williams noted biblical passages on forgiveness, but admitted "I'm not there yet."

"I want to forgive," she said. "I have to get there. I'll be there.”

Price had three children who were aged 11, nine and five when she died.

"It was hard because all I think about is her kids, and what they mean to me. And how much I love them," Williams said.

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History-maker Konta bests Halep in quarter-final epic

LONDON - Johanna Konta won a place at the Wimbledon semi-final table on Tuesday in a feast of tension-filled tennis, powering past Simona Halep in three epic sets to become the first British woman to reach the last four in almost 40 years.

In a match dripping with tension towards the business end of one of the most open women's grasscourt grand slams in years Konta rode a wave of home support to win 6-7(2) 7-6(5) 6-4.

The sixth seed and second-seeded Halep were facing each other for the first time since a turbulent Fed Cup tie in April.

Serving up the only tennis show in town as the rain drummed down outside the roofed-in Centre Court and avoiding eye contact at changeovers, the pair also had the extra weight of history to contend with.

Konta, working hard to keep her opponent pinned behind the baseline, was bidding to book a date with Venus Williams on Thursday as the first home semi-finalist since Virginia Wade in 1978, the year after Wade won the title.

Halep, scampering from wing to wing as she soaked up the pressure, was one match from becoming the first Romanian to top the computerised world rankings - a distinction that, following her defeat, passed to Czech Karolina Pliskova.

The refined surroundings of the main showcourt were a world away from the tiny stadium on the Black Sea where the two players last met, Halep winning that encounter in straight sets.

Konta became tearful during her other singles match in that Fed Cup tie, against Sorana Cirstea, blaming what she called a hostile reception from Romanian fans who Halep this week described as "very fair".

On Tuesday the Australia-born Briton struggled to take it all in too -- but for altogether different reasons.

"Right now it's a little bit surreal," she told the BBC after sealing victory in just under two-and-three-quarter hours.

"Simona... was really not going to give me much for free so I definitely had to be the one out there to create my own chances and I felt I did that."

Konta said she was "excited and humble" to be facing Venus Williams, a match that Wade predicted the Briton would win.

"It’s fine to be the last British women’s winner (at) ...Wimbledon, but it’s better to have plenty of British players to win," Wade said in comments released by the All England Club.

"If I get a chance I will tell (Johanna) how well she played and wish her good luck."



FINAL SCREAM

The match closed on a surreal note, when the final point was punctuated by a spectator's scream, Halep lamely netting a forehand as she appealed in vain for a let.

In a nod to that episode, Konta described the crowd as incredible, adding: I think they were a little over-enthusiastic in parts, but I definitely cannot complain with the amount of support and general good feeling they were wishing my way."

Defying the cheers and cries of "C'mon Jo" echoing around the arena, where only the Royal Box had seats to spare, Halep shaded the early exchanges.

She pounced on any error and broke serve to lead 3-0 as the sixth-seeded Briton, close to brimming over with nervous energy, struggled to keep her searing groundstrokes in court.

But Konta fought back, cranking up her serve and winning eight straight points to draw level at 4-4.

Halep won the first set on a tiebreak with Konta, having squandered a clutch of break points, returning the favour in the second.

The intensity moved up a notch in the third set before Konta broke in the fifth game and held her nerve to serve the match out.

The stadium erupted and, out on Henman Hill, the umbrellas of the fans massed in front of the big screen twirled.

"We've been to every (other) Konta match," said Glenda Powell from Farnham. "She gives the British people heart."

(Reporting by John Stonestreet; editing by Ken Ferris)

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Djokovic muscles in on women's quarter-final day

LONDON - It is women's quarter-finals day at Wimbledon on Tuesday, with Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko among those looking to make their mark, but Novak Djokovic gets the action underway on Centre Court (1100 GMT) in a fourth round match pushed back from Monday.

The Serbian second seed's match against France's Adrian Mannarino was delayed because of the epic five-setter between Gilles Muller and Rafa Nadal.

From then on, it is women's quarters all the way.

Five-times champion Venus Williams is, at 37, the oldest player in more than two decades to reach the last eight. The American faces 20-year-old French Open champion Ostapenko from Latvia.

Next up is second seed Halep, who will become the first Romanian woman to reach world number one if she beats Konta. The British sixth seed is looking to become the first home women's champion for 40 years.

On Court One, Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova - in the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the first time in 10 years - will go up against Spain's Garbine Muguruza, who eliminated world number one Angelique Kerber on Monday.

Wrapping up the women's quarter-finals, big-hitting Coco Vandeweghe from the United States will hope her new coach Pat Cash, a former Wimbledon champion, will give her the edge as she takes on Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova.

(Reporting by Pravin Char; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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Vekic savours coming-of-age win over Konta in Nottingham

Croatia's Donna Vekic came from a set down to win the Nottingham grasscourt event in a pulsating final against Britain's Johanna Konta on Sunday to remind the tennis world why she was once considered one of the game's hottest prospects.

As a teenager, Vekic won her first tour tournament three years ago but had not won one since, enduring some tough times before this 2-6 7-6(3) 7-5 major breakthrough win over the home favourite, world number eight Konta.


In a thrilling 2-1/2 hour contest in which momentum switched dramatically, the hard-hitting Vekic, who is still only 20, was left feeling very emotional after a second tight tussle in 24 hours following her dramatic semi-final win over Lucie Safarova.

Vekic is probably best known now as the girlfriend of Swiss three-times grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka but in 2012, when she reached her first WTA Tour final in Tashkent, the Croat was known only as a remarkable teenage prospect in the women's game.


"It's pretty amazing. The last time I played a final, I wasn't allowed to have champagne," she told the crowd, laughing. "I'm going to drink a bottle of champagne with my team to celebrate."

At 16, Vekic was runner-up in another Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham, prompting former champion Chris Evert to predict a top-10 career for the Croat but she has never come remotely near to those heights.

Yet with her 21st birthday coming later this month, Sunday's victory over Konta felt like the tennis coming-of-age for a player who had finished outside the top 100 in the last two seasons but who now reckons she has become older and wiser.

Konta, who had been hot favourite to annex her first grasscourt title, said: "She was able to continuously raise her level throughout that match and I was just not able to stay with her, so full credit to her for playing incredibly well."

Konta, who has won two finals already this year in Sydney and Miami, had been expected to become the first British woman to win a tournament on home soil for 36 years since Sue Barker triumphed in Brighton.

It all looked plain sailing as she outclassed the nervy world number 70 in the opening set but Vekic gradually relaxed and went for broke, finding the lines consistently with her bigger groundstrokes.

After Vekic had let a 3-1 lead slip in the deciding set, Konta appeared to be surging towards the title as she moved into a 4-3 lead but the Croatian held her nerve to break for a 6-5 lead and then served out for victory.

(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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Irrepressible Serena powers into Aussie semis

MELBOURNE, Australia -- An irrepressible Serena Williams kept her record-breaking Grand Slam dream alive Wednesday by beating Johanna Konta to make the Australian Open semi-final, where she will meet fellow veteran Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

The American joined sister Venus in the last four after stepping up a level to oust the dangerous Briton 6-2, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena and end her nine-match winning streak.

Her battling victory keeps intact a potential all-Williams final, with Venus needing to get past fellow American Coco Vandeweghe in the other semi-final to set-up the nostalgic showdown.

But first Serena must beat former teenage prodigy Lucic-Baroni, who upset fifth seed Karolina Pliskova to continue her heart-warming comeback after her career was derailed by personal issues.


"She played so well, she's definitely a future champion here for sure," Williams said of ninth-seeded Konta. "I'm really happy to get through that.

"I got a little frustrated, but I told myself, stop complaining. Don't be 'Baby-rena'. I admit I complain a lot. That's my thing. I try to just have fun, and try to enjoy the moment out here."

The victory over Konta, who had been in impeccable touch heading into the match, marked an incredible 10th successive Grand Slam semi-final for Williams, and her 34th overall, reinforcing the 35-year-old's remarkable consistency.

She has refused to talk about the possibility of finally surpassing Steffi Graf to win a 23rd Grand Slam and take sole ownership of the Open-era record.

But Williams now has a real chance of doing so to further cement her place as perhaps the greatest player of all time.

If she achieves the goal of winning a seventh Australian Open, it will also propel her back to world number one, after Angelique Kerber snatched the accolade from her last year.

- Service problems -

In the first meeting between the pair, Konta showed intent by winning the opening point but Williams settled to hold serve, before the Briton served to love.

Williams was struggling with her first serve, with just one in three finding their mark in the opening encounters and she had to fend off a break point in the third game, raising her arms in the air when she finally won with an ace.

But it was Konta under pressure in the next game with Williams unloading some powerful ground strokes, forcing a backhand error from the Briton to go 3-1 in front.

Williams is known for her pounding forehand winners, but her baseline weapon had been lacking its usual punch in Melbourne, until now.

She began hitting some ferocious shots that Konta struggled to counter and the decorated American raced through the first set in 35 minutes.

Before the match, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou said Williams must start moving better around the court to counter Konta's lightning fast game, and she seemed to have taken the advice to heart.

But her service game continued to cause problems with too many first serves called out, handing Konta a chance on the second and she broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set when Williams shunted a forehand wide.

But back-to-back aces on Williams' next service game helped her confidence and she broke back to level the scores at 3-3.

Konta, 25, who made the semi-finals last year in a breakthrough season, remained calm and collected but she could do nothing to stop Williams as she moved up another gear to close out the match.

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