Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Tuesday surged into the French Open mixed doubles semi-finals, while Novak Djokovic’s worst fears materialized as a knee injury forced him out of Roland Garros.
Hsieh and Zielinksi blasted past top seeds Ellen Perez and Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-3, 6-4 in just more than an hour to set up a showdown between the Australian Open winners and Desirae Krawczyk of the US and Neal Skupski of England on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
That match that was to begin after press time last night.
Photo: AFP
The fourth-seeded American-English duo on Tuesday took down China’s Zhang Shuai and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 and 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic withdrew ahead of his quarter-final against Casper Ruud after a scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
The 37-year-old Djokovic had blamed the “slippery” Roland Garros courts for aggravating the problem during his last-16 win on Monday.
“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros,” Djokovic wrote on social media. “My team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.”
Ruud, who lost to Djokovic in last year’s final, would receive a walkover and play Alexander Zverev or Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Djokovic’s injury-enforced exit from the tournament also means that Jannik Sinner would next week become Italy’s first No. 1 in the sport.
For the first time since 2004, the men’s final in Paris would not feature Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
Second seed Sinner reached his first Roland Garros semi-final shortly after the news of Djokovic’s withdrawal, beating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
“It’s every player’s dream to become No. 1 in the world. On the other hand, seeing Novak retiring [from the tournament] is disappointing, so I wish him a speedy recovery,” Sinner said.
The Australian Open champion goes through to a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz, a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 winner over Stefanos Tsitsipas in a repeat of last year’s quarter-final.
Alcaraz is looking increasingly assured in Paris after an injury-hit preparation, and has now won all six encounters with Tsitsipas.
The 21-year-old Spaniard is seeking to become the youngest man to win Grand Slams on all three surfaces by adding to his Wimbledon title from a year ago and the 2022 US Open crown.
“It’s going to be a really difficult challenge for me, but I’m ready to take that challenge,” Alcaraz said of facing Sinner. “It’s the match everybody wants to watch... Let’s see who’s going to win.”
Earlier in the day, women’s reigning champion Iga Swiatek thrashed Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 to set up a last-four showdown with American third seed Coco Gauff, the player she beat in the 2022 Roland Garros final.
World No. 1 Swiatek improved her career record in Paris to 33-2 and is on course to become the first woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three years in a row since Justine Henin from 2005 to 2007.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
Australian Alex de Minaur reached the second week of the US Open for the third year in a row with little fanfare on Saturday and said he intended to keep winning until the tournament organizers were forced to give him better billing. Despite being the eighth seed and a quarter-finalist last year at Flushing Meadows, De Minaur’s third-round match against German Daniel Altmaier was scheduled for Court 17 — the smallest of the four stadium venues in the precinct. “It is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. I’m not gonna lie,” he told reporters after progressing 6-7 (9/7), 6-3, 6-4,
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
Spain are in danger of not getting out of EuroBasket Group C after losing 67-63 to Italy on Tuesday, but the defending champions still control their destiny. Marco Spissu put Italy in front for good at 64-63 with two free throws with 31 seconds left and made two more with 14 seconds remaining. Giampaolo Ricci converted one of two free throws with eight seconds on the clock. Spain, which in 2022 won their fourth title, are tied with Georgia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 2-2 each. Greece and Italy have clinched two of the group’s four spots in the round-of-16,
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