Sebastian Foss-Solevaag wins slalom world title after format change

By OlympicTalkFeb 21, 2021, 10:52 AM EST

Norwegian Sebastian Foss-Solevaag won the men’s slalom, the final race of the world Alpine skiing championships, after a criticized format change.

Foss-Solevaag, a 29-year-old who notched his first World Cup victory last month, prevailed by .21 of a second over surprise first-run leader Adrian Pertl, the fourth and final man on Austrian’s slalom team.

“Of course, you always wish for it, and you always want it, but it’s a lot of people who are aiming for it,” Foss-Solevaag said. “It’s a small margin, and today was my day.”

Another Norwegian, Henrik Kristoffersen, took bronze.

ALPINE WORLDS: TV Schedule | Results

Foss-Solevaag was in third place after the first run, trailing Pertl by .16 and Italian Alex Vinatzer by .02.

He ended Norway’s 24-year slalom world title drought, its longest among the men’s events. He also ensured Norway left these worlds with an individual title after season-ending injuries to star Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and the promising Lucas Braathen, among others.

Foss-Solevaag ranks third in slalom in this season’s World Cup standings. Austrian Marco Schwarz, the world’s top-ranked slalom skier, straddled in the second run after placing eighth in the opener.

On Saturday night, the second run format was changed from a reverse order of the top 30 to a reverse order of the top 15.

Officials believed warmer weather would cause the course to deteriorate significantly and wanted the top-ranked skiers from the first run to go earlier in the order, before it wore down.

U.S. coaches, among others, criticized it. U.S. slalom coach Ryan Wilson called it “bull—-” on Saturday, NBC Sports analyst Steve Porino wrote for SkiRacing.com.

The lone American to finish was Benjamin Ritchie in 13th. Jeff Seymour and Luke Winters were 10th and 15th, respectively, after the first run but straddled in the second run.

The last (and only) U.S. man to earn a slalom medal at a standalone worlds was Billy Kidd in 1970, by far the longest drought for the U.S. in any event for either gender.

Four of the first 15 highly ranked starters in the first run failed to finish. Four of the top 15 going into the second run failed to finish.

The World Cup season resumes next weekend with women’s speed races and men’s giant slaloms.

Mikaela Shiffrin, who earned a medal in all four of her events at worlds, is next expected to race the following weekend with a giant slalom and slalom.

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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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