Noah Lyles becomes fourth-fastest man in history in 200m

By OlympicTalkJul 5, 2019, 5:30 PM EDT

Noah Lyles responded to his first outdoor 200m defeat in three years with his fastest time ever, a 19.50 bettered only by Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Michael Johnson.

Lyles cemented himself as the world’s dominant half-lapper in Lausanne on Friday with the world’s fastest 200m since Usain Bolt‘s 2012 Olympic title. It’s the eighth fastest in history overall, and it came into a slight headwind.

Incredible time. Impeccable timing for a statement race.

Lyles lost to fellow 21-year-old American Michael Norman in his last 200m in Rome on June 6 (19.70 to 19.72), blemishing his sterling record since finishing fourth at the 2016 Olympic trials and turning pro out of high school.

On Friday, Lyles wore socks inspired by the Japanese superhero manga series My Hero Academia. “It’s time to go Plus Ultra,” he posted on social media before the meet, referencing the motto of the hero academy U.A. High School.

Next up for Lyles is a Diamond League 100m in Monaco next Friday against world champion Justin Gatlin.

Lyles has said he will race strictly the 200m at the USATF Outdoor Championships in two weeks, where the top three per event are in line to make the team for this fall’s world championships, but with every super sprint many are calling for him to double in the 100m and 200m.

Lyles is the joint-second-fastest man in the world this year in the 100m at 9.86 seconds, trailing only Christian Coleman. Norman is not expected to enter the 200m at nationals (his focus is the 400m), clearing the path for Lyles to easily qualify in that event.

Full Lausanne results are here.

In other events, Gatlin earned his first Diamond League 100m victory since Lausanne two years ago, pulling away and shutting it down in 9.92. The 37-year-old clocked 9.92 seconds, breaking 10 for the second straight week.

Gatlin was runner-up to Coleman at the Pre Classic on Sunday in 9.87, his fastest time since the 2016 Olympic trials. Coleman, the fastest man in the world every year in this Olympic cycle, was not in Lausanne. Gatlin has a bye into worlds as defending champion.

Double Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won the women’s 100m in 10.74, just .01 off the fastest time this year shared by Fraser-Pryce and countrywoman Elaine Thompson. Thompson, the Rio gold medalist, was not in the Lausanne field.

World silver medalist Salwa Eid Naser of Bahrain needed every bit of the second-fastest time in the world this year (49.17) to hold off Niger’s Aminatou Seyni, who lowered her national record from 50.24 to 49.19.

Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo of the Bahamas, who was not in Lausanne, remains fastest this year with a 49.05. Olympic silver medalist Allyson Felix has yet to race this season as she returns from childbirth.

Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha won the 5000m after countryman Hagos Gebrhiwet miscounted the laps and sprinted to the finish line as the bell rang signaling one lap left. Gebrhiwet briefly celebrated before realizing his error and ending up 10th, 9.03 seconds behind Kejelcha’s 13:00.56.

Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot won the 1500m in 3:28.77, the fastest time in the world since Cheruiyot’s personal-best 3:28.41 last July 20. Norwegian 18-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen lowered his personal best to 3:30.16 for second place.

Poland’s Piotr Lisek upset world champion Sam Kendricks and 2018 world leader Mondo Duplantis in the pole vault. Lisek had the world’s best clearance this year, 6.01 meters.

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Taylor Fritz becomes crowd enemy at French Open

Associated PressJun 1, 2023, 7:25 PM EDT

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The French Open crowd was not happy with American player Taylor Fritz after he beat one of their own — indeed, their last man in the bracket — so they booed and whistle relentlessly. Fritz’s response? He told them to shush. Over and over again.

Fritz, a 25-year-old from California who is seeded No. 9 at Roland Garros, got into a back-and-forth with the fans at Court Suzanne Lenglen after his 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory over 78th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech in the second round on Thursday night.

Rinderknech attempted a lob that landed long on the last point, and Fritz, who had been running toward the baseline to chase the ball, immediately looked up into the stands and pressed his right index finger to his lips to say, essentially, “Hush!”

.@Taylor_Fritz97 fights off Rinderknech and the French crowd to earn a 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 win!

Faces Cerundolo next for a spot in the Fourth Round. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/156koAad5w

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 1, 2023

He held that pose for a bit as he headed back toward the net for a postmatch handshake, then spread his arms wide, wind-milled them a bit as if to egg on the rowdiness, and yelled: “Come on! I want to hear it!”

During the customary winner’s on-court interview that followed, more jeers rained down on Fritz, and 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli kept pausing her attempts to ask a question into her microphone.

So Fritz again said, “Shhhhh!” and put his finger toward his mouth, while Bartoli unsuccessfully tried to get the spectators to lower their decibel level.

More boos. More whistles.

And the awkwardness continued as both Bartoli and a stadium announcer kept saying, “S’il vous plaît” — “Please!” — to no avail, while Fritz stood there with his arms crossed.

A few U.S. supporters with signs and flags drew Fritz’s attention from the front row, and he looked over and said to them, “I love you guys.”

But the interview was still on hold.

Bartoli tried asking a question in English, which only served to draw more boos.

So Fritz told her he couldn’t hear her. Bartoli moved closer and finally got out a query — but it didn’t seem to matter what her words were.

Fritz, who has been featured on the Netflix docuseries about tennis called “Break Point,” had his hands on his hips and a message on his mind — one reminiscent of Daniil Medvedev’s contretemps with fans at the 2019 U.S. Open.

“I came out and the crowd was so great honestly. Like, the crowd was just so great,” Fritz said, as folks tried to drown out his voice. “They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure that I won. Thanks, guys.”

And with that, he exited the stage.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

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"The crowd was just so great that I had to let it fire me up. They cheered so well for me, I wanted to make sure I won. Thanks guys." 😂@Taylor_Fritz97 | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/NieIPfo59e

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 1, 2023

French Open: Coco Gauff to face younger opponent for first time at a Grand Slam

By OlympicTalkJun 1, 2023, 5:26 PM EDT

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Coco Gauff‘s first 49 Grand Slam main draw singles matches were all against older opponents. Her 50th will be against a younger one.

The sixth-seeded Gauff reached the French Open third round by beating 61st-ranked Austrian Julia Grabher 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday. Gauff, 19, next plays 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the round of 32 on Saturday.

“I don’t see age as a factor,” said Gauff, who has practiced with Andreeva. “When you step on the court, you just see your opponent, and you don’t really think about the personal side of things. You just see forehand, backhand, serve, and all the same.”

Gauff made her major debut at age 15 in 2019 by beating Venus Williams at Wimbledon. In her 15 majors, Gauff has usually been the youngest male or female singles player, including most recently at 2022 Wimbledon. She is still the lone teenager in the WTA top 49.

But that may soon change. Youngsters from the Czech Republic and Russia are on the rise. Such as Andreeva, who, at No. 143 in the world and climbing, is the highest-ranked player under the age of 18. And she doesn’t turn 17 until next April. Andreeva dropped just six games in her first two matches, fewest of any woman.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

But Gauff is still in a class of her own among her generation, having at last year’s French Open become the youngest major finalist since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon at 17. She somehow flew somewhat under the radar into Paris this year with a 4-4 record this spring and in between full-time coaches.

She has now won back-to-back matches for the first time since March, rallying past 71st-ranked Spaniard Rebeka Masarova in the first round and then dispatching an error-prone Grabher, a runner-up at a low-level clay event last week.

The other three seeds in Gauff’s section have all lost, so she would not play a seed until the quarterfinals. And that would be No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who has won all 12 sets they’ve played, including in last year’s French Open final.

“I lost that final, and like for like a week or two, I really thought it was the worst thing ever,” Gauff said. “There’s no point in me revisiting last year. It’s in the past. It was a great tournament, but I’m looking forward for more this week.”

While the men’s draw has been upended by 14-time champion Rafael Nadal‘s pre-event withdrawal and No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev‘s loss in the first round, the top women have taken care of business.

The top four seeds — Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, American Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan — all reached the third round without dropping a set.

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