Ai Sugiyama may have matched the all-time record for consecutive Grand Slam appearances but the Japanese veteran insists she is still as excited to be playing as during her first major nearly 15 years ago.
The 32-year-old’s determination showed no sign of abaiting as she battled through to a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory against Russia’s Alla Kudryavtseva on Tuesday in a match which was played over five hours because of rain delays at Roland Garros.
Sugiyama, who has the longest Grand Slam streak for a woman in the Open Era, is now tied with the men’s record of 56 consecutive main draw appearances held by the now-retired Wayne Ferreira.
PHOTO: AP
She will overtake Ferreira when she competes at Wimbledon next month.
“Fifty-six in a row, it’s hard to believe!” she said. “Even now I’m really excited to be here. Sometimes there are ups and downs and today was also a tough day, but I always try my best.”
“I’m also lucky to have been really healthy over my career,” said Sugiyama who turned professional nearly 16 years ago.
Her first Grand Slam appearance was in Wimbledon in 1993 and she has competed in 14 French Opens.
Her experience showed against 20-year-old Kudryavtseva in their first round tie which had the players scurrying to the locker room for three hours because of rain.
“In the first set it looked easy but I never got good rhythm,” Sugiyama said. “It was only in the second set that I really started to play my game.”
“Luckily the rain delay helped me a lot. I wasn’t really settled down well after the second set, but I had three hours to think, talk to coaches and trainers and that helped a lot. I saw my game plan a little more clearly,” Suyiyama said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS