Katie Ledecky wins by 21 seconds to open first full swim meet in one year

By OlympicTalkMar 3, 2021, 7:36 PM EST

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Katie Ledecky said the one-year break between full-on swim meets didn’t impact her goals for the Tokyo Olympics. She backed up that statement on Wednesday.

Ledecky, in her first broadcasted race since last March, crushed most of the other top U.S. 1500m freestylers, prevailing by 21.37 seconds to open a four-day Pro Series meet in San Antonio.

“I didn’t set too many expectations coming into this first race,” she said. “I knew getting the first race out of the way would kind of be a milestone in this journey back into real racing.”

Ledecky, who owns the 10 fastest times in history in the event, clocked 15 minutes, 42.92 seconds. She is the overwhelming favorite in the 1500m free this summer, when it’s on the Olympic program for the first time as a women’s event.

Her world record is 15:20.48. The second-fastest swimmer in history, retired Dane Lotte Friis, had a best time of 15:38.88.

ON HER TURF: Simone Manuel reflects on how her own story is told

Ledecky lost one 1500m freestyle in her life — when she was 13 years old in 2010. She also withdrew ahead of the event final at the 2019 World Championships with an illness. Italian Simona Quadarella went on to win in 15:40.89.

Ashley Twichell, who in 2019 made the Tokyo Olympic team in the open-water 10km, was second on Wednesday, followed by Erica Sullivan. They came into the meet ranked second and third among Americans since the start of 2019.

Ledecky and Stanford training group partner Simone Manuel are racing in their first top-level meet since last March.

They spent last spring training in at least one backyard pool, then passed on meets last fall and earlier this winter while getting back into more normal practice. They did race within their group and against those who train at nearby Berkeley.

The San Antonio meet also includes Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy, Ryan Lochte and Regan Smith as swimmers prep for June’s Olympic Trials, where the top two per individual event are in line to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

The San Antonio meet continues the next three nights at 8 ET on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA and streaming on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app.

Ledecky is entered in her other best events — the 400m, 200m and 800m frees — the next three days.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 4:59 PM EDT

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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).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek set French Open rematch

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 3:25 PM EDT

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Coco Gauff swept into the French Open quarterfinals, where she plays Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year’s final.

Gauff, the sixth seed, beat 100th-ranked Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 in the fourth round. She next plays the top seed Swiatek, who later Monday advanced after 66th-ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko retired down 5-1 after taking a medical timeout due to illness.

Gauff earned a 37th consecutive win over a player ranked outside the top 50, dating to February 2022. She hasn’t faced a player in the world top 60 in four matches at Roland Garros, but the degree of difficulty ratchets up in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Swiatek won all 12 sets she’s played against Gauff, who at 19 is the only teenager in the top 49 in the world. Gauff said last week that there’s no point in revisiting last year’s final — a 6-1, 6-3 affair — but said Monday that she should rewatch that match because they haven’t met on clay since.

“I don’t want to make the final my biggest accomplishment,” she said. “Since last year I have been wanting to play her, especially at this tournament. I figured that it was going to happen, because I figured I was going to do well, and she was going to do well.

“The way my career has gone so far, if I see a level, and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve, and I feel like you don’t really know what you have to improve on until you see that level.”

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Also Monday, No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia dispatched 36th-ranked American Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-1, breaking all eight of Pera’s service games.

Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, has now reached the quarterfinals of all four majors.

Jabeur next faces 14th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia, who won 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who played on a protected ranking of 68. Haddad Maia became the second Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open Era (since 1968) after Maria Bueno, who won seven majors from 1959-1966.

Pera, a 28 year-old born in Croatia, was the oldest U.S. singles player to make the fourth round of a major for the first time since Jill Craybas at 2005 Wimbledon. Her defeat left Gauff as the lone American singles player remaining out of the 35 entered in the main draws.

The last American to win a major singles title was Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought matches the longest in history (since 1877) for American men and women combined.

In the men’s draw, 2022 French Open runner-up Casper Ruud reached the quarterfinals by beating 35th-ranked Chilean Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5. He’ll next play sixth seed Holger Rune of Denmark, a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7) winner over 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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