Ashley Wagner trails at Cup of China, Grand Prix Final in jeopardy

By Nick ZaccardiNov 18, 2016, 8:12 AM EST

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The U.S. went from potentially having three singles skaters in the Grand Prix Final for the first time since 2009 to possibly having none after the Cup of China short program Friday.

World silver medalist Ashley Wagner is in fifth place after performing a triple-double jump combination rather than a triple-triple. Wagner scored 64.36 points, which is 7.84 points behind leader Kaetlyn Osmond of Canada.

Full scores are here.

If the standings hold and Wagner finishes fifth after the free skate, she will have to wait for the results of next week’s NHK Trophy to see if she qualifies for her fifth straight Grand Prix Final.

December’s Grand Prix Final is the most exclusive event in figure skating, taking the top six skaters from the six-event Grand Prix series by totaling each skater’s two results.

Wagner won Skate America in October, putting her in the driver’s seat for a berth before her short program Friday in her second event.

Russian Yevgenia Medvedeva is already qualified for the Grand Prix Final. If the Cup of China standings hold, Osmond and Russian Yelena Radionova will join her. Two more Russians, Anna Pogorilaya and Maria Sotskova, are in the driver’s seat to qualify at NHK Trophy next week.

Three Japanese skaters — Mai Mihara, Satoko Miyahara and Wakaba Higuchi — are also in the picture.

On the men’s side, China’s Jin Boyang complicated the Grand Prix Final qualifying picture by doing the opposite of Wagner on Friday.

Jin, the world bronze medalist who was fifth at Skate America, topped the Cup of China short program with 96.17 points after landing two quadruple jumps.

He leads a surprise in second place, Israel’s Daniel Samohin, by a whopping 12.7 points. Three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada is third.

If Jin holds on to win Cup of China, he will pass American Adam Rippon in the Grand Prix Final qualifying standings.

This is key, as Shoma Uno and Javier Fernandez have already qualified for the Grand Prix Final, and Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu is likely to join them if he performs well at NHK Trophy next week.

Likewise, Chan, who won Skate Canada in October, will qualify for the Grand Prix Final if the standings hold after the free skate Saturday.

That would essentially leave one open men’s Grand Prix Final spot, with Rippon in the clubhouse lead going into NHK Trophy.

Two other Americans are also in the running. Jason Brown can pass Rippon if he finishes fourth or better at NHK. Nathan Chen can pass Rippon if he finishes second or better at NHK.

But Israel’s Oleksii Bychenko could spoil it for all of the Americans if he finishes second or better at NHK, and ahead of Brown and Chen.

The U.S. has already qualified two ice dance couples for the Grand Prix Final — Madison Chock and Evan Bates and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue — and should get a third with Maia and Alex Shibutani in second place after the Cup of China short dance.

The U.S. has always qualified at least one singles skater for the Grand Prix Final, which debuted in 1995.

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VERY LUCKY with that score and I know it. I'll earn it tomorrow, don't worry🙃 #keepclimbing #warpainton

— Ashley Wagner (@AshWagner2010) November 18, 2016

Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz exit French Open, leaving no U.S. men

Associated PressJun 3, 2023, 7:35 PM EDT

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Frances Tiafoe kept coming oh so close to extending his French Open match against Alexander Zverev: 12 times Saturday night, the American was two points from forcing things to a fifth set.

Yet the 12th-seeded Tiafoe never got closer than that.

Instead, the 22nd-seeded Zverev finished out his 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory after more than 3 1/2 hours in Court Philippe Chatrier to reach the fourth round. With Tiafoe’s exit, none of the 16 men from the United States who were in the bracket at the start of the tournament are still in the field.

“I mean, for the majority of the match, I felt like I was in control,” said Tiafoe, a 25-year-old from Maryland who fell to 1-7 against Zverev.

“It’s just tough,” he said about a half-hour after his loss ended, rubbing his face with his hand. “I should be playing the fifth right now.”

Two other American men lost earlier Saturday: No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz and unseeded Marcos Giron.

No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina beat Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, and Nicolas Jarry of Chile eliminated Giron 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3.

There are three U.S women remaining: No. 6 Coco Gauff, Sloane Stephens and Bernarda Pera.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

It is the second year in a row that zero men from the United States will participate in the fourth round at Roland Garros. If nothing else, it stands as a symbolic step back for the group after what seemed to be a couple of breakthrough showings at the past two majors.

For Tiafoe, getting to the fourth round is never the goal.

“I want to win the trophy,” he said.

Remember: No American man has won any Grand Slam title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open. The French Open has been the least successful major in that stretch with no U.S. men reaching the quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003.

But Tiafoe beat Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the U.S. Open along the way to getting to the semifinals there last September, the first time in 16 years the host nation had a representative in the men’s final four at Flushing Meadows.

Then, at the Australian Open this January, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Ben Shelton became the first trio of Americans in the men’s quarterfinals in Melbourne since 2000. Paul made it a step beyond that, to the semifinals.

After that came this benchmark: 10 Americans were ranked in the ATP’s Top 50, something that last happened in June 1995.

On Saturday, after putting aside a whiffed over-the-shoulder volley — he leaned atop the net for a moment in disbelief — Tiafoe served for the fourth set at 5-3, but couldn’t seal the deal.

In that game, and the next, and later on, too, including at 5-all in the tiebreaker, he would come within two points of owning that set.

Each time, Zverev claimed the very next point. When Tiafoe sent a forehand wide to end it, Zverev let out two big yells. Then the two, who have been pals for about 15 years, met for a warm embrace at the net, and Zverev placed his hand atop Tiafoe’s head.

“He’s one of my best friends on tour,” said Zverev, a German who twice has reached the semifinals on the red clay of Paris, “but on the court, I’m trying to win.”

At the 2022 French Open, Zverev tore ligaments in his right ankle while playing Nadal in the semifinals and had to stop.

“It’s been definitely the hardest year of my life, that’s for sure,” Zverev said. “I love tennis more than anything in the world.”

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2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 3, 2023, 7:30 PM EDT

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, is her top remaining challenger in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round. No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who has three wins over Swiatek this year, withdrew before her third-round match due to illness.

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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