US teenagers Coco Gauff and Caty McNally on Saturday won their first pro tournament as a doubles team by beating the fourth-seeded duo of Maria Sanchez and Fanny Stollar 6-2, 6-2 in the Citi Open final.
“For both of us, it means a lot,” Gauff said.
Gauff, a 15-year-old from Florida, and McNally, a 17-year-old from Ohio, only decided to team up for the hard-court tournament in the US capital of Washington right before the deadline for entering the field.
Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY
“It was pretty much a last-minute thing,” McNally said.
They also won the junior doubles title at last year’s US Open.
Gauff shot to fame last month with a breakthrough performance at Wimbledon, becoming the youngest player to get into the main draw at the All England Club via qualifying, then upsetting five-time champion Venus Williams along the way to reaching the fourth round.
Gauff’s magical run ended with a loss to eventual champion Simona Halep.
McNally’s impressive showing in Washington included a run to the singles semi-finals, where she had a 7-6 (5), 6-2 loss to Camila Giorgi of Italy.
That came before McNally joined Gauff for the doubles final.
MEN’S SINGLES
The first meeting between Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas lived up to the hype on Saturday as the Australian saved a match point in a wildly entertaining 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7) win to reach the Citi Open final.
Kyrgios put on a show for the sold-out crowd, fist bumping with fans during the first set, smashing his racket in the second and mixing in tweeners, underhand serves and slick no-look volleys throughout.
Kyrgios appeared in control when he raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set tiebreaker with a blistering cross-court forehand, but Tsitsipas battled back to get to a match point.
However, the Greek’s backhand return sailed long and, when Kyrgios earned a match point of his own, he consulted with a fan prior to his serve for the second night in a row.
The spectator seemed to advise him to aim for the top seed’s backhand and Kyrgios did just that.
Tsitsipas could only block the rocket back, setting up an easy forehand winner that ended the match on a hot and humid night.
“I just go there and I ask them where they want me to serve — and it’s two-for-two,” Kyrgios said.
The match statistics were even, with Kyrgios winning 91 points to Tsitsipas’ 90 and each player breaking the other’s serve twice.
“In the first set I was playing pretty clinical tennis, playing really well,” Kyrgios said. “I obviously went a bit nuts [in the second] and somehow was able to pull in back in the third set.”
Kyrgios had nothing but kind words for his doubles partner Tsitsipas, who will reach a career high of world No. five today.
“He’s the perfect example for any tennis player,” Kyrgios said. “His consistency shows every week. He’s doing all the right things and he’s going to have an amazing career.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka staged a “crazy comeback,” saving four match points before beating Elena Rybakina 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (6) in the quarter-finals of the Berlin Open on Friday. Sabalenka was 6-2 down in the final-set tie-breaker, but won six straight points to reach her eighth semi-final of the season. “Elena is a great player and we’ve had a lot of tough battles,” Sabalenka said. “I have no idea how I was able to win those last points. I think I just got lucky.” “I remember a long time ago when I was just starting, I won a lot of matches being down
While British star Jack Draper spent the past week trying to find rhythm and comfort in his first grass tournament of the season at the Queen’s Club Championships in London, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday bulldozed everything in his path. After more than two furious hours of battle, their form was reflected in the final scoreline as Lehecka toppled a frustrated Draper, the second seed, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the biggest final of his career, against Carlos Alcaraz. Lehecka is also the first Czech to reach the men’s title match at Queen’s since Ivan Lendl lifted the trophy in 1990. Draper, who