Tennis: Alcaraz survives qualifier Purcell to reach Cincinnati semis

CINCINNATI -- World number one Carlos Alcaraz shook off a slow start and held on late to beat qualifier Max Purcell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the semi-finals of the ATP/WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday.

The Spanish top seed was caught out by the 70th-ranked Australian, dropping the first set in 44 minutes.

Alcaraz steadied the ship to force a third, struggling through an exchange of service breaks before breaking for a 5-4 lead and serving out the victory.

Alcaraz, the Wimbledon champion chasing a seventh title of the season, polished off the win in two and a quarter hours with an ace among his 29 winners.

Purcell, meanwhile, was hindered by 49 unforced errors in the tight contest.

"It was really tough and tricky today, he serves really well," Alcaraz said. "He played well at the net. I returned well, that was the key to the win.

"I'm happy to have my seventh Masters semi-final here in Cincy."

Alcaraz booked a semi-final clash with Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, who needed seven match points to finally put away Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-1, 7-6 (10/8).

Cincinnati marked the first time since Cincy 2002 (Lleyton Hewitt, Wayne Arthurs) that two Aussies competed in a Masters quarter-finals.

Alcaraz had a close call with Hurkacz last week in Toronto, winning the third set in a tiebreaker.

"The court is faster here than in Toronto and that will be good for his game." Alcaraz predicted. "I have to focus on return and try to play well in the rallies.

"I'll do my best - I'll go for it."

Hurkacz had 19 winners and the same number of unforced errors in beating Popyrin, the first lucky loser to reach the quarters in Cincinnati since Jeremy Chardy in 2012.

"I'm happy to finish in straight sets," Hurkacz said. "I had to stay aggressive and keep my foot on the gas. I'm really happy with how I played."

- Swiatek tops Vondrousova -

In the WTA draw, top-seeded Iga Swiatek proved to be a quick learner as she ousted Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 in a battle of Grand Slam champions.

Swiatek, the reigning US Open and French Open champion, said she applied the lessons from her first-set struggles in the second to sweep past Wimbledon winner Vondrousova.

She had lost serve twice in the opening set as she struggled with Vondrousova's lefty game, but broke as the Czech served for the set and eventually won the tiebreaker.

Swiatek dominated the second set to claim the victory in 93 minutes.

"It's not easy to adjust to her spin," Swiatek said. "After the first set, I was determined to fight for every ball.

"I was more focused and I knew what worked," she added. "I learned from the first set. I knew exactly how I should play. That's why it was such a good performance."

The Polish star will play for a place in the final against seventh-seeded American Coco Gauff -- who tossed a racquet in anger on the way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini.

"I showed a little anger, but it was needed," Gauff said. "Usually they say don’t throw your racquet but I won six games in a row. What can you do? At least no one got hurt."

Czech Karolina Muchova advanced to the final four without problem as compatriot Marie Bouzkova retired injured after losing all three games they played.

Agence France-Presse

'It's crazy': Unseeded Vondrousova stuns Jabeur to win Wimbledon

LONDON -- Marketa Vondrousova admitted even she was stunned by her historic Wimbledon triumph as the injury-plagued Czech became the first unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era.

Vondrousova upset the odds in Saturday's final on Centre Court as she powered to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur.

The 24-year-old clinched an unexpected maiden Grand Slam title at the second attempt after losing to Ash Barty in the 2019 French Open final.

"After everything I have been through, I had a cast last time, it's amazing I can stand here and hold this trophy," said Vondrousova, who was sidelined with a wrist injury in 2022.

"I don't know how I've done it. Tennis is crazy."

Vondrousova joins Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova as the only Czech women to win a Wimbledon title.

She is just the ninth unseeded champion at a Grand Slam tournament.

Vondrousova's triumph completed a remarkable comeback after a rash of injuries stalled her promising career.

Just 12 months ago, she was an injured bystander at Wimbledon, reduced to watching her best friend Miriam Kolodziejova attempt to qualify for the main draw.

Vondrousova's second wrist surgery had ruled the Olympic silver medallist out for six months, although her absence from the tour at least allowed her the space and time to get married.

"The comebacks are not easy. You never know what to expect," she said.

"I was hoping I could come back to this level and now I am here. It's an amazing feeling."

At 42 in the world, she was the second-lowest ranked player to reach the Wimbledon final -- only Serena Williams in 2018 was lower at 181.

So unexpected was her run that she told her husband Stepan Simek to stay at home in Prague to look after their cat Frankie until the final, when a pet sitter was found to allow her partner to make the trip to Wimbledon.

"It's amazing, tomorrow is our first wedding anniversary," said Vondrousova, who had a dismal record on grass prior to this year's Wimbledon.

"I think I'm going to have some beer. It's been an exhausting few weeks."

The tattooed Vondrousova has a fondness for body art and her victory means coach Jan Mertl has to get inked as well.

"I made a bet with my coach. He said if I win a Grand Slam he's going to get one also. So I think we're going to go tomorrow!" she said.

- Ice-cool Vondrousova -

While Vondrousova celebrated, Jabeur wept during an emotional trophy presentation after her latest heart-breaking Grand Slam loss.

Jabeur was the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final last year at Wimbledon, but defeat to Elena Rybakina in three sets took the shine off that achievement.

She endured more misery just weeks later when she lost to Iga Swiatek in the US Open final.

"It's going to be a tough day but I am not going to give up," she said while wiping away her tears.

Even for a player known as the 'Minister of Happiness', Jabeur's positive personality will be tested after her bid to become the first African and Arab woman to win a Grand Slam singles title ended in failure again.

"It's the most painful loss of my career. I'm going to look ugly in the photos so that's not going to help!" she said.

"But we're going to make it one day, I promise you. I'm going to come back stronger."

Jabeur had no answer to the big-hitting Vondrousova despite the support of 15,000 partisan fans under the closed Centre Court roof.

Trailing 4-2 in the first set, Vondrousova seized the momentum as she reeled off four consecutive games to take the opener.

Jabeur moved 3-1 up in the second set with a pair of breaks, only to falter again as her unforced errors reached 31 by the final game.

In contrast to Jabeur's troubles, Vondrousova remained ice-cool and sealed her unlikely triumph with a perfect volley before falling to the turf in delight.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Barty party underway, as Aussie woman crowned French Open champ

PARIS—Ashleigh Barty, the Australian who ditched tennis to play professional cricket for a year, smashed Marketa Vondrousova for six on Saturday to lift the French Open crown at Roland Garros.

Boasting a bewildering array of shots and spins, the eighth seed crushed her Czech teenage opponent 6-1, 6-3 to win her first Grand Slam title, and Australia’s first French women’s singles crown in more than four decades.

“It’s unbelievable... I played the perfect match today. I am so proud of myself and my whole team... it has been a crazy two weeks,” said Barty, the ninth different female champion in the last 10 grand slams.

“This is a special place for Australian players... it has been a magical two weeks.”

Not since Margaret Court’s triumph in Paris in 1973 has an Australian won the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen but this victory was in very little doubt from the moment the final began.

In a match-up where guile and artistry always trumped power, Barty was simply smarter throughout.

Producing angles so sharp they might have come with a health warning, the 23-year-old carved apart Vondrousova in the opening set, clinching it in half an hour.

While the match was no classic, those fans who had taken a break after the conclusion of the Dominic Thiem-Novak Djokovic men’s semi-final which had caused the women’s final to run more than an hour late, missed some of the more thoughtful tennis played on the Roland Garros clay this past fortnight.

Vondrousova, who herself has bamboozled a succession of opponents here, repeatedly found herself outfoxed by Barty, whose doubles excellence was always on display with her net-play and cleverly angled serving.

Barty, who returned to tennis in 2016 after a successful stint with the Brisbane Heat in Australian cricket’s Women’s Big Bash League, took nary a backward step, breaking instantly in the second set to deprive her 19-year-old opponent any foothold.

Cracking a stiff-armed, two-handed backhand, in the manner of Jim Courier, Barty was able to counter Vondrousova’s attempts to pull her wide with her loopy left-handed backhand, and the Czech rapidly ran out of ideas.

Vondrousova turned to ever riskier strategies — her drop shots became finer, her drives more firmly struck — and she earned a little breathing space, holding serve three times after that early break.

But the irrevocable damage had been done and when Barty slammed a short smash high into the stands it was all over and she raised her arms in triumph.

The victory lacked drama but lifts Barty to number two in the world — a feat last accomplished by an Australian woman in 1976 by Evonne Goolagong. (Editing by Clare Fallon)

source: news.abs-cbn.com