Kim Clijsters marked her dazzling return to the grand slam spotlight by ousting Venus Williams, while kid sister Serena picked up the slack by digging in for an extended New York stay.
There was no shortage of drama amid the ideal weather at Flushing Meadows, with Rafael Nadal advancing to the fourth-round despite an injury.
Second seed Andy Murray joined the men’s clique still alive for the Open’s second week, along with sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, French seventh seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain and Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez.
PHOTO: AFP
Clijsters’ electrifying appearance in the limelight after a two-year hiatus had more than 23,000 in Arthur Ashe Stadium cheering her every move.
She took a bite out of Venus’s Big Apple experience with a 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 victory.
Clijsters will next face Li Na after the Chinese veteran beat Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-3.
With 29-year-old Venus having checked out of the tournament, No. 2 seed Serena had the family flag still flying high with a 6-2, 6-0 annihilation of Daniela Hantuchova.
Nadal knocked off Spanish compatriot and childhood friend Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 in a third-round match, but he drew the most attention off the court.
While trailing 2-1 in the third set, the muscle-bound Nadal was flat on his back on the sideline having his stomach taped by medics.
Nadal, a 23-year-old with tendinitis in both knees, is looking to complete his career grand slam, but that may be too tough a task with an injury-wracked body.
Murray, the Open runner-up last year, needed only 90 minutes to extinguish American Taylor Dent 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and set up a fourth-round encounter with Croat Marin Cilic.
The Scot was pleased with his tournament run so far, having beaten Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, Chile’s Paul Capdeville and the missile-serving Dent.
“I played three pretty different players,” he said. “First one was a big sever who stayed at the back. Second one didn’t hit the ball that big, but really had nothing to lose. Taylor obviously is a serve and volleyer. I thought I dealt with the different tests that were sort of put in front of me pretty well. Try and play like that for the next few matches.”
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS