Chase Kalisz continues impressive weekend with world-leading time

By Nick ZaccardiMay 6, 2017, 11:09 PM EDT

In the last two nights, Chase Kalisz set a personal best in the 200m breaststroke and posted the fastest time in the world this year in the 400m individual medley in Atlanta.

Kalisz, the Olympic 400m IM silver medalist, is setting up well for the U.S. Championships next month and the world championships in Budapest in July.

On Friday, Kalisz won the 200m breast in 2:10.74, lowering his personal best in the event at a second straight meet. Kalisz came into the year with a 200m breast best of 2:12.43 from 2014.

Kalisz rarely races the 200m breast and might not contest it at nationals, where the top two per event qualify for worlds. Kalisz now ranks third in the U.S. in the 200m breast this year.

“My endurance is kind of getting back to where I want to be,” Kalisz, coming off his senior season at the University of Georgia, told media Friday night. “Last year, I was consistent almost every single day, and I’m finally back to that level.”

Kalisz came back Saturday and won the 400m IM in 4:09.43, the best time in the world this year by .58 of a second. The 400m IM is his signature event. Kalisz is looking to duel Japan’s Kosuke Hagino and Daiya Seto, the Olympic gold and bronze medalists, and Hungarian Dávid Verrasztó at worlds.

Kalisz’s time Saturday was his fastest-ever outside of a major international meet or a U.S. Championships by 1.58 seconds.

Also Saturday, Katie Ledecky won for the second straight night.

The four-time Rio Olympic champion took the 200m freestyle in 1:56.26 after dominating the 400m free on Friday.

Ledecky was 1.44 seconds slower in the 200m free than at this same meet last year but also said she was “racing a little bit tired” due to recent hard training. She ranks No. 4 in the world in the 200m free this year, while leading the 400m and 800m free rankings.

Simone Manuel, the co-Olympic 100m free champion, followed her 100m free win from Friday by taking the 50m free on Saturday. Manuel clocked 24.73 seconds, not her best time this year, but still broke the pool record set by Amy Van Dyken at the 1996 Olympics.

Ryan Murphy, who swept the backstrokes in Rio, won the 200m back Saturday in 1:55.82, dousing Rio Olympic finalists Jacob Pebley (1:56.43) and Ryosuke Irie (1:57.85). Murphy ranks third in the world in the 200m back this year.

The meet concludes Sunday, with finals streamed on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app from 7-8:30 p.m. ET.

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Novak Djokovic breaks record he shared with Rafael Nadal at French Open

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 11:18 AM EDT

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Novak Djokovic broke a tie with rival Rafael Nadal by reaching the French Open quarterfinals for the record 17th time, never truly in trouble during a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Juan Pablo Varillas on Sunday.

Djokovic is closing on bettering Nadal in a more prestigious category: Grand Slam singles championships. Both currently sit at 22. For Djokovic, that total includes two at Roland Garros, in 2016 and 2021, and he can become the first man to own at least three trophies from each major tournament.

Nadal is a 14-time champion in Paris but is missing this time because of a hip injury; he had arthroscopic surgery Friday night.

Against the 94th-ranked Varillas, who had never won a Slam match until this event and then took three in a row in five sets, Djokovic was, not surprisingly, at his dominant best at Court Philippe Chatrier on a warm, sunny day.

The 36-year-old from Serbia finished with more than twice as many winners, 35-15, and fewer unforced errors. He went 15 for 17 on trips to the net. He put in 80% of his first serves. He converted 6 of 12 break points while dropping his serve only once.

All in all, a no-drama showing in under two hours from Djokovic, who hasn’t ceded a set yet through four matches. He’s had his less-than-amiable back-and-forths with some spectators over the past week in Paris, but when this one ended, Djokovic gestured as though to hug everyone as he heard some chants of his two-syllable nickname, “No-le!”

In his 55th career major quarterfinal — Roger Federer, who retired with 58, is the only man to reach more — and 14th in a row at Roland Garros, the No. 3-seeded Djokovic will face No. 11 Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.

Khachanov, who is 1-8 against Djokovic, made it this far at a Slam for the fifth time by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-1.

The other men’s fourth-round matches Sunday were No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 17 Lorenzo Musetti, and No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Sebastian Ofner.

Two unseeded women moved into quarterfinals and will play each other next: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 runner-up at Roland Garros, and Karolina Muchova.

Pavlyuchenkova, who missed last year’s tournament as part of a lengthy absence with a knee injury, got past a third consecutive seeded opponent, No. 28 Elise Mertens, by a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 score.

Muchova was a 6-4, 6-4 winner against Elina Avanesyan, who lost in qualifying but got into the main draw when another player withdrew.

The other women’s matches scheduled for later: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, and No. 9 Daria Kasatkina vs. Elina Svitolina.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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French Open doubles team disqualified after tennis ball hits ball girl

Associated PressJun 4, 2023, 9:57 AM EDT

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French Open doubles player Miyu Kato and her partner were forced to forfeit a match when Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball after a point on Sunday.

In the second set on Court 14 at Roland Garros, Kato took a swing with her racket and the ball flew toward the ball kid, who was not looking in the player’s direction while heading off the court.

At first, chair umpire Alexandre Juge only issued a warning to Kato. But after tournament referee Remy Azemar and Grand Slam supervisor Wayne McEwen went to Court 14 to look into what happened, Kato and her partner, Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia, were disqualified.

That made Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain the winners of the match.

“It’s just a bad situation for everyone,” Bouzkova said. “But it’s kind of something that, I guess, is taken by the rules, as it is, even though it’s very unfortunate for them. … At the end of the day, it was the referee’s decision.”

Bouzkova said she did not see the ball hit the ball girl, but “she was crying for like 15 minutes.”

She said one of the officials said the ball “has to do some kind of harm to the person affected” and that “at first, (Juge) didn’t see that.”

Bouzkova said she and Sorribes Tormo told Juge “to look into it more and ask our opponents what they think happened.”

During Coco Gauff’s 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 singles victory over Mirra Andreeva on Saturday, Andreev swatted a ball into the Court Suzanne Lenglen stands after dropping a point in the first set. Andreev was given a warning by the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct but no further penalty.

“I heard about that. Didn’t see it,” Bouzkova said. “I guess it just depends on the circumstances and the given situation as it happens. … It is difficult, for sure.

In the quarterfinals, Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo will face Ellen Perez of Australia and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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a tough scene in Paris. Doubles partners Kato/Sutjiadi just got defaulted as Kato hit a ball girl accidentally at 6-7(1), 3-1.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/A7BIshh1CX

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 4, 2023

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