Tag: US Open

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Wimbledon: Swiatek beats Anisimova to claim Women’s title

Polish star Iga Swiatek took another stride towards tennis greatness by ruthlessly tearing apart American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0, lifting her first Wimbledon trophy on Saturday.

On another warm afternoon on Centre Court, Swiatek got off to a scorching start by breaking a nervous Anisimova three times en route to winning the first set of a match with a score of 6-0, prompting some spectators to get behind the shell-shocked American.

A frustrated Anisimova looked to her team in the stands for any kind of guidance after conceding yet another break point early in the second set and it was not long before her machine-like opponent pulled away further.

Anisimova continued to disappointingly crack under pressure, before Swiatek completed the brutal mauling in 57 minutes with a backhand winner on her second match point to become the first Wimbledon champion from Poland.

“It’s something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself,” Swiatek told reporters after hoisting the gilded Venus Rosewater Dish.

“I’m really happy with the whole process, how it looked like from the first day we stepped on a grasscourt. Yeah, I feel like we did everything for it to go in that direction without expecting it, just working really hard.”

“It means a lot, and it gives me a lot of experience. Yeah, I don’t even know. I’m just happy,” she added.

Swiatek’s triumph ended a barren 13-month run for the Polish 24-year-old, who served a short suspension late last year after an inadvertent doping violation linked to contaminated sleep medication melatonin.

“I want to thank my coach (Wim Fissette). With the ups and downs now, we showed everybody it’s working,” Swiatek said

Already a US Open champion and a four-time French Open winner, Swiatek’s demolition job at the All England Club meant that she became the youngest woman since a 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to lift major titles on all three surfaces.

Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, celebrated with a picture of himself watching a post-match interview, while President Andrzej Duda was effusive in his praise.

“Iga! Today, on the grasscourts of Wimbledon, you wrote history – not only for Polish sport, but also for Polish pride. On behalf of the Republic of Poland – thank you,” Duda wrote. (VON)

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McIlroy “concerned” for US Open after driver issues

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy says he is “concerned” by his form heading into the US Open next week after struggling with driver issues at the Canadian Open.

The 36-year-old missed the cut at the Canadian Open on Friday, finishing nine over par and 149th in a 153-man field.

The Masters champion shot an eight-over-par 78 during his second round as he struggled to get to grips with a new driver.

McIlroy’s previous driver was ruled non-conforming on the eve of last month’s US PGA Championship, with the Northern Irishman going on to finish 47th in North Carolina.

With a new 44-inch driver in hand, McIlroy found just 13 of 28 fairways in Toronto and he made a quadruple-bogey eight on the par-four fifth hole after a disastrous tee-off.

“Of course it concerns me,” said McIlroy.

“You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. I felt like I came here, obviously with a new driver, thinking that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.

“Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. I’m still sort of searching for the missing piece off the tee. Obviously for me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn’t. Yeah, that’s a concern going into next week.”

With play starting on 12 June, McIlroy has little time to iron out his issues from the tee.

But the five-time Major winner says he will test several drivers in the coming days to find the right one.

“I’m going to have to do a lot of practice and a lot of work over the weekend at home and try to at least have a better idea of where my game is going into next week,” said McIlroy.

“I went back to a 44-inch driver this week to try to get something that was a little more in control and could try to get something a bit more in play. But if I’m going to miss fairways, I’d rather have the ball speed and miss the fairway than not.

“I’d say I’ll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend.” (BBC)

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Gauff beats Sabalenka to win French Open title

Coco Gauff won the first French Open singles title of her career by fighting back to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a rollercoaster final.

American second seed Gauff claimed a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 victory after a tense battle between the WTA Tour’s two leading players in testing conditions.

“I honestly didn’t think I could do it,” Gauff, 21, said during the trophy presentation.

Gauff recovered from a difficult start where she trailed by a double break, eventually finding her rhythm and benefiting from a huge number of mistakes from 27-year-old Sabalenka.

“This hurts so much. Congratulations to Coco – she was a better player than me,” said Sabalenka, who was also bidding for her first Roland Garros title.

A stiff breeze played havoc with serve in the opening two sets, leading to the pair exchanging 12 breaks in an entertaining if not high-quality affair.

Gauff, who lost in the 2022 final, settled quicker in the deciding third set to move a break up and kept her nerve to serve out victory.

She had to survive another break point before winning her second championship point, falling to the clay on her back when Sabalenka pushed a forehand wide.

With her parents Candi and Corey dancing euphorically in the stands, Gauff shared an affectionate hug with Sabalenka before running off court to celebrate with her family.

Gauff’s previous appearance in the French Open singles showpiece, when she was still a teenager, ended in her covering her head with a towel as she sobbed on her chair.

It was the defining image of her defeat by Iga Swiatek, but she vowed to come back stronger – and she has.

“I was going through a lot of things when I lost here three years ago,” Gauff said.

“I’m just glad to be back here. I was going through a lot of dark thoughts.”

Three years on, Gauff returned to the final as a Grand Slam champion, having fulfilled the potential promised by winning in New York.

A productive clay-court swing, taking her to the Madrid and Rome finals, meant she arrived in Paris considered a sounder bet than defending champion Swiatek.

“Three finals… I guess I got the most important win – that’s all that matters,” said Gauff.

Only Sabalenka, who beat her to the Madrid title, had performed better and it was therefore unsurprising the top two seeds met again with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen at stake. (BBC)