Tennis

News 6   //    15 Oct 2019, 05:22 IST SHARE Two-time champion Svetlana Kuznetsova suffered an early exit at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow on Monday, losing to Karolina Muchova in straight sets.Home favourite Kuznetsova – who won the WTA Tour tournament in 2015 before returning to successfully defend her title the following year – managed just 13 winners as Muchova triumphed 6-2 6-3 to set up a second-round clash with fourth seed Donna Vekic.Anastasija Sevastova had no such problems in her opening encounter, easing past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-1 7-5, while Anna Kalinskaya overcame Anastasia Potapova 6-0 3-6 6-4 via a tense final set that saw the two players combine to produce seven breaks of serve.Elina Svitolina and Kiki Bertens are the top seeds for the tournament, though neither are in action during Tuesday's play in Russia.At the Luxembourg Open, Viktoria Kuzmova rallied from a set down to defeat teenager Katie … [Read more...] about Home favourite Kuznetsova suffers early exit in Moscow

News 6   //    14 Oct 2019, 20:30 IST SHARE Roger Federer has confirmed he will play at the 2020 Olympic Games, revealing his "heart decided" to compete again.The Swiss will be aiming to secure a third medal next year in Tokyo; he struck gold playing alongside Stan Wawrinka in the men's doubles in Beijing in 2008, then collected silver in the singles tournament four years later in London, falling in the final to home favourite Andy Murray.Federer, 38, also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000, losing out in the bronze-medal match to Arnaud Di Pasquale, and 2004, but missed Rio 2016 while recovering from a knee injury.The 20-time grand slam champion announced his decision to compete again after an exhibition match against John Isner staged in the host city for next year's Games."I've been debating with my team for a few weeks now, months actually, what I should do in the summer time [of 2020] after Wimbledon and before the US … [Read more...] about Federer to play at 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo

News 7   //    13 Oct 2019, 21:00 IST SHARE Alexander Zverev hailed Shanghai Masters champion Daniil Medvedev as a unique talent following Sunday's final.World number four Medvedev continued his exceptional form with a 6-4 6-1 triumph over Zverev - who had knocked out Roger Federer in the quarters - to claim his fourth title of 2019 in style.The US Open runner-up needed just an hour and 13-minutes to dismantle Zverev, who had enjoyed a resurgent week in Shanghai.Zverev labelled the Russian as "the best player in the world right now" before and after Medvedev's convincing triumph, and the world number six believes the 23-year-old's unique style is what makes him such a special talent."Daniil is somebody that plays a way that we have never seen before," Zverev said."Maybe he doesn't do huge winners or jumping forehands or anything like that, but he plays a style that we have never seen before."He plays very flat. He plays with shots that you … [Read more...] about He plays like we have never seen before

News 5   //    13 Oct 2019, 19:48 IST SHARE Coco Gauff claimed the first WTA Tour title of her career with a thrilling 6-3 1-6 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko in the final of the Linz Open.The 15-year-old American sensation was the youngest WTA finalist since Nicole Vaidisova won the Tashkent Open in 2004 and showed plenty of the form that saw her spring to grand slam prominence this year to take the first set.Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, rallied impressively both to level matters and delay a victory that marks the latest staging post in Gauff's rapid rise.Gauff, who stunned world number eight Kiki Bertens in the quarter-finals, was forced to save a pair of break points in the first game but immediately got stuck in to the Ostapenko serve, opening up a 3-0 lead.Playing her first final of 2019, Ostapenko settled well enough thereafter but Gauff looked imperious, shrugging off a double fault at the start of the ninth … [Read more...] about Teen sensation Gauff outlasts Ostapenko for Linz glory

News 13 Oct 2019, 20:00 IST SHARE Rebecca Peterson won her second title of the 2019 Asian swing as she denied a resurgent Heather Watson at the Tianjin Open.Having won the Jiangxi Open in Nanchang, Peterson overcame Watson 6-4 6-4 in a rain-delayed final.The match was postponed by over five hours, with adverse weather during the warm-up then forcing a switch to an indoor court.But the weather did not dampen Peterson's clinical performance, though Watson - who had knocked out second seed Wang Qiang and Bronx Open champion Magda Linette en route to the final - did take an early advantage.Watson broke Peterson's first service game, but the Swede immediately rallied to break back at the fourth time of asking in the next game.Another break followed to give Peterson a 5-4 lead, with the 24-year-old saving a break point to wrap up the set.Watson started the second set on the front foot, only to concede two successive breaks - Peterson holding her serves as she … [Read more...] about Peterson outclasses Watson in Tianjin Open final