Top-ranked Serena Williams advanced smoothly to the quarter-finals of the French Open by beating Shahar Peer 6-2, 6-2 yesterday, while Novak Djokovic reached the same stage on the men’s side.
Williams complained of dizziness from a cold following a seesaw three-set win in her previous match, but the only wobble against the No. 18-seeded Peer came at the start. Williams lost the first seven points, then swept nine in a row.
From 2-2, Williams won five consecutive games to take charge of the match.
PHOTO: AFP
Afterward, she was interviewed courtside by former French player Cedric Pioline.
“I love Paris,” she told the crowd in French. “My game is better. I hope I’m going to win.”
The No. 3-seeded Djokovic eliminated the last American in the men’s draw, beating Robby Ginepri 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Ginepri was serving at 0-1 in the third set when he went down face-first chasing a shot. He made the most of his awkward court position by doing two push-ups, but lost the next two points to lose serve and won only three more games the rest of the way.
Djokovic’s next opponent will be No. 22 Jurgen Melzer, a first-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist playing in his 32nd major event. The Austrian advanced by beating qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
On another chilly, cloudy, windy afternoon, center court was half empty for the start of Williams against Peer.
It didn’t last long. Williams hit six aces, broke six times and won in just over an hour.
Serena’s sister Venus, eliminated on Sunday, watched from the stands. She did not wear a corset.
Peer fell to 0-10 against the Williams sisters, including 0-5 versus Serena. Peer is 4-22 against top-five opponents.
Serena is bidding for her 13th Grand Slam championship and her second this year. Her lone French Open title came in 2002.
Ginepri, ranked 98th, was an unlikely round-of-16 foe for Djokovic. He entered the tournament with a 1-7 record this year and a career record of 9-31 on clay.
Djokovic’s box included more than a dozen supporters who cheered and waved a Serbian flag every time he won a point. Ginepri’s without a coach and traveled to Paris by himself.
Still, the American played Djokovic on even terms for more than an hour. He held serve easily until the final game of the first set, when he was broken.
Djokovic blew an easy forehand put-away to lose his serve for the first time and Ginepri broke again while dominating the second set, but then he faded fast, perhaps weary after playing 13 grinding sets in his first three matches. His ground-strokes became more erratic and Djokovic won five consecutive games and 10-of-11 to take control.
The Serb volleyed well, found the range with his serve and used his drop-shot to keep Ginepri off balance.
A two-time semi-finalist at Roland Garros, Djokovic is bidding for his second major title.
“I played really good in the third and fourth sets,” Djokovic said. “I had some really good matches on clay recently. Now I’m in the quarter-finals and I need to keep playing aggressively.”
Ginepri, a former top 15 player, fell to 0-15 against opponents ranked in the top three.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two