Ryan Lochte wins 200 IM over Michael Phelps at Nationals

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IRVINE, Calif. — Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps performed like the rivals of old in their final race of the U.S. Championships on Sunday, putting four days of shaky swims behind them.

Lochte edged Phelps by .05 in the 200m individual medley for his first victory of the meet.

“It’s been hard throughout this whole year,” said Lochte, who re-tore an MCL in the spring after initially injuring the knee when an overzealous fan ran into him in November. “My confidence wasn’t really there because I always rely on my training. … This year, I haven’t done that training.”

Lochte, the 11-time Olympic medalist, won in 1:56.5, barely holding off the charging Phelps on the final 50 meters of freestyle.

Lochte’s title came less than a month after Phelps beat him in all three of their races together at a meet in Athens, Ga. That was Lochte’s first meet since April.

Lochte also ensured that Phelps showed up at Nationals and failed to win a single race for the first time since the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, when he was 15 and made the Sydney team by finishing second in the 200m butterfly.

“We both hate to lose to one another,” Phelps said, “but we enjoy racing against each other.”

Phelps, in his fifth meet since a 20-month competitive retirement, had two runner-ups, a sixth and a seventh in four events. He also clocked the fastest 100m butterfly in the world this year, but it was in the preliminary heats.

“I’m a lot happier with finishing [the meet] like that [the third-fastest 200m IM time in the world this year] than finishing with some of the sub-par performances that I’ve had throughout the finals sessions of this meet,” Phelps said.

Next up: the Pan Pacific Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, from Aug. 21-25. There, Lochte and Phelps will face swimmers from nations outside Europe in the biggest international meet of the year.

They are free to enter any individual events they like in Gold Coast.

“If I want to be where I want to be, I know what I have to do,” Phelps said. “Some of these races really upset me, frustrated myself and [coach] Bob [Bowman].”

In other events Sunday, Anthony Ervin won the 50m freestyle in 21.55, 14 years after he tied for Olympic gold in the event. Nathan Adrian was second in 21.69, followed by Cullen Jones, who snuck onto the Pan Pacs team.

Simone Manuel won the women’s 50m free in 24.56. Twelve-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin was sixth, failing to make the Pan Pacs team.

Three women’s stars miss Pan Pacs, Worlds

Michael McBroom took the 800m freestyle in 7:49.66, improving on his third-fastest time in the world this year. McBroom won 800m free silver at the 2013 World Championships.

Melanie Margalis won the women’s 200m individual medley in 2:10.20, the third-fastest time in the world this year. Olympic bronze medalist Caitlin Leverenz was third to sneak onto the Pan Pacs team.

Katy Campbell knocked 27.11 seconds off her personal best to win the women’s 1500m free in 16:17.69.

Katie Ledecky‘s world record in the 1500m free from June 19 is 15:34.23. Ledecky, who broke the 400m world record Saturday, decided not to swim the 1500m free.

U.S. roster for Pan Pacs

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

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At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

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

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

French Open Men's Draw
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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.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

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).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded Americans, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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