Steven Holcomb snaps European drought in bobsled

By Nick ZaccardiJan 18, 2014, 12:38 PM EST

Steven Holcomb ended a four-year drought, winning a World Cup bobsled race outside of North America for the first time since before the 2010 Olympics on Saturday.

Holcomb and push athlete Steve Langton set a track record in Igls, Austria, in the first two-man bobsled run and prevailed in a two-run time of 1 minute, 43.72 seconds. Swiss Beat Hefti was second in 1:43.95, followed by Russian Alexander Zubkov.

“This season we’ve been really tweaking the sled, looking to get it faster,” Holcomb said of the one-year-old BMW-designed sled. “I think we showed that this sled can be really fast.”

It marked Holcomb’s first World Cup victory in Europe since Dec. 13, 2009, in Winterberg, Germany. That was a four-man race.

His last two-man World Cup win in Europe was on Feb. 10, 2007.

This is key for Holcomb’s Olympic medal hopes in Sochi, where he will attempt to win his first major international race outside of North America.

Holcomb has long been dominant on North American tracks, where he has more experience. His biggest victories — the 2010 Olympics four-man and 2009 and 2012 World Championships — were in Canada and the U.S.

Holcomb was 11th and 12th in two- and four-man World Cup races at the Sochi Olympic track last season.

The other U.S. sleds, driven by Cory Butner and Nick Cunningham, were ninth and 15th on Saturday.

The U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team is scheduled to be named Sunday after a four-man World Cup race in Igls.

Holcomb, Butner and Cunningham will almost surely be the three two-man drivers named for Sochi.

Igls Two-Man
1. Steven Holcomb/Steve Langton (USA) 1:43.72
2. Beat Hefti/Thomas Amrhein (SUI) 1:43.95
3. Aleksander Zubkov/Dmitry Trunenkov (RUS) 1:44.00
9. Cory Butner/Chuck Berkeley (USA) 1:44.36
15. Nick Cunningham/Andreas Drbl (USA) 1:44.95

Who is greatest U.S. Winter Olympian of all time?

Follow @nzaccardi

Iga Swiatek sweeps into French Open final, where she faces a surprise

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

Iga Swiatek marched into the French Open final without dropping a set in six matches. All that stands between her and a third Roland Garros title is an unseeded foe.

Swiatek plays 43rd-ranked Czech Karolina Muchova in the women’s singles final, live Saturday at 9 a.m. ET on NBC, NBCSports.com/live, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

Swiatek, the top-ranked Pole, swept 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-2, 7-6 (7) in Thursday’s semifinal in her toughest test all tournament. Haddad Maia squandered three break points at 4-all in the second set.

Swiatek dropped just 23 games thus far, matching her total en route to her first French Open final in 2020 (which she won for her first WTA Tour title of any kind). After her semifinal, she signed a courtside camera with the hashtag #stepbystep.

“For sure I feel like I’m a better player,” than in 2020, she said. “Mentally, tactically, physically, just having the experience, everything. So, yeah, my whole life basically.”

Swiatek can become the third woman since 2000 to win three French Opens after Serena Williams and Justine Henin and, at 22, the youngest woman to win four total majors since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Muchova upset No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to reach her first major final.

Muchova, a 26-year-old into the second week of the French Open for the first time, became the first player to take a set off the powerful Belarusian all tournament, then rallied from down 5-2 in the third set to prevail 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Sabalenka, who overcame previous erratic serving to win the Australian Open in January, had back-to-back double faults in her last service game.

“Lost my rhythm,” she said. “I wasn’t there.”

Muchova broke up what many expected would be a Sabalenka-Swiatek final, which would have been the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 match at the French Open since Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the 2013 final.

Muchova is unseeded, but was considered dangerous going into the tournament.

In 2021, she beat then-No. 1 Ash Barty to make the Australian Open semifinals, then reached a career-high ranking of 19. She dropped out of the top 200 last year while struggling through injuries.

“Some doctors told me maybe you’ll not do sport anymore,” Muchova said. “It’s up and downs in life all the time. Now I’m enjoying that I’m on the upper part now.”

Muchova has won all five of her matches against players ranked in the top three. She also beat Swiatek in their lone head-to-head, but that was back in 2019 when both players were unaccomplished young pros. They have since practiced together many times.

“I really like her game, honestly,” Swiatek said. “I really respect her, and she’s I feel like a player who can do anything. She has great touch. She can also speed up the game. She plays with that kind of freedom in her movements. And she has a great technique. So I watched her matches, and I feel like I know her game pretty well.”

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

2023 French Open men’s singles draw

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

Getty

The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history. He can also become the first man to win all four majors at least three times and, at 36, the oldest French Open men’s or women’s singles champion.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

Djokovic took out No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, advancing to a final against 2022 French Open runner-up Casper Ruud of Norway.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!

Follow @nbcolympictalk

More: Olympics

2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

More: Olympics