Australian Open: Amanda Anisimova ousts Olympic gold medalist; Naomi Osaka next

By OlympicTalkJan 19, 2022, 6:27 AM EST

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Amanda Anisimova is into the Australian Open third round, continuing a promising start to the year for a player who was once the next big thing in American tennis, and still could be.

Anisimova, 20, ousted No. 22 seed and Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 7-5, her seventh consecutive match win to start 2022. She next plays defending champion Naomi Osaka for the first time.

“I’ve been wanting to play her for a while,” Anisimova said. “Our personalities are a little bit similar in terms of composure and trying to be the quiet players on tour.”

AUSTRALIAN OPEN DRAWS: Men | Women

Anisimova had not been heard from much since her run to the 2019 French Open semifinals at age 17, becoming the youngest major semifinalist in 12 years.

Her father and former longtime coach died unexpectedly one week before the 2019 U.S. Open.

She returned for the 2020 Australian Open and lost in the first round. Though she made the third round of the French Open and U.S. Open during the pandemic, she tested positive for the coronavirus shortly before last year’s Australian Open and missed the tournament while isolating in Abu Dhabi.

She then rolled an ankle later that winter and ended up playing just one match in a four-month stretch. She went nearly eight months between winning multiple matches in a tournament and finished 2021 ranked 78th, down 48 spots from 2020.

“I’ve had a lot of good matches against top players last year, so I feel like everyone knows that I can play very good tennis, but it was just not as consistent as I hoped for,” she said.

Anisimova started working with respected Australian coach Darren Cahill going into this season. It’s looking shrewd. She won an Australian Open lead-in tournament in Melbourne, her second WTA title and first since April 2019.

Now she gets Osaka, a 6-0, 6-4 winner over American Madison Brengle on Wednesday.

“It’s very interesting to play against the younger players because I remember being a younger player myself,” the 24-year-old Osaka said, “and feeling like I have nothing to lose.”

Elsewhere, top seed Ash Barty followed her 6-0, 6-1 win in the first round with a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing of 142nd-ranked Italian Lucia Bronzetti. The Australian gets No. 30 Camila Giorgi of Italy in the third round.

Rafael Nadal, the No. 6 seed and lone past men’s champion in the field, swept 126th-ranked German Yannick Hanfmann 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Nadal gets No. 28 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia next.

No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland became the first top-10 seed to lose in either draw, eliminated by veteran Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Australian Open Day 4 Schedule

Thursday’s highlight matches to close out the second round include No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia facing Australian crowd favorite Nick Kyrgios. Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, became the clear tournament favorite after top-ranked Novak Djokovic was deported.

Elsewhere, the highest-ranked American man, No. 20 seed Taylor Fritz, faces countryman Frances Tiafoe for a spot in round three.

The women’s match du jour is a sentimental one: Aussie Sam Stosur, the 2011 U.S. Open winner, is playing her final singles tournament. The 37-year-old is an underdog against No. 10 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia but will have tremendous support.

Nos. 2 and 3 seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Garbiñe Muguruza are also in action.

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkMay 31, 2023, 6:46 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).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe and No. 16 Tommy Paul are the highest-seeded Americans, all looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

At the French Open, a Ukrainian mom makes her comeback

By OlympicTalkMay 31, 2023, 5:15 PM EDT

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, once the world’s third-ranked tennis player, is into the French Open third round in her first major tournament since childbirth.

Svitolina, 28, swept 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan of Italy, then beat Australian qualifier Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach the last 32 at Roland Garros. She next plays 56th-ranked Russian Anna Blinkova, who took out the top French player, fifth seed Caroline Garcia, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on her ninth match point.

Svitolina’s husband, French player Gael Monfils, finished his first-round five-set win after midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. She watched that match on a computer before going to sleep ahead of her 11 a.m. start Wednesday.

“This morning, he told me, ‘I’m coming to your match, so make it worth it,'” she joked on Tennis Channel. “I was like, OK, no pressure.

“I don’t know what he’s doing here now. He should be resting.”

Also Wednesday, 108th-ranked Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis ousted three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in four and a half hours. Wawrinka’s exit leaves Novak Djokovic as the lone man in the draw who has won the French Open and Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz as the lone men left who have won any major.

The top seed Alcaraz beat 112th-ranked Taro Daniel of Japan 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. The Spaniard gets 26th seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the third round. Djokovic, the No. 3 seed, swept 83rd-ranked Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (2), 6-0, 6-3 to reach a third-round date with 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Svitolina made at least one major quarterfinal every year from 2017 through 2021, including the semifinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2019. She married Monfils one week before the Tokyo Olympics, then won a singles bronze medal.

Svitolina played her last match before maternity leave on March 24, 2022, one month after Russia invaded her country. She gave birth to daughter Skai on Oct. 15.

Svitolina returned to competition in April. Last week, she won the tournament preceding the French Open, sweeping Blinkova to improve to 17-3 in her career in finals. She’s playing on a protected ranking of 27th after her year absence and, now, on a seven-match win streak.

“It was always in my head the plan to come back, but I didn’t put any pressure on myself, because obviously with the war going on, with the pregnancy, you never know how complicated it will go,” she said. “I’m as strong as I was before, maybe even stronger, because I feel that I can handle the work that I do off the court, and match by match I’m getting better. Also mentally, because mental can influence your physicality, as well.”

Svitolina said she’s motivated by goals to attain before she retires from the sport and to help Ukraine, such as donating her prize money from last week’s title in Strasbourg.

“These moments bring joy to people of Ukraine, to the kids as well, the kids who loved to play tennis before the war, and now maybe they don’t have the opportunity,” she said. “But these moments that can motivate them to look on the bright side and see these good moments and enjoy themselves as much as they can in this horrible situation.”

Svitolina was born in Odesa and has lived in Kharkiv, two cities that have been attacked by Russia.

“I talk a lot with my friends, with my family back in Ukraine, and it’s a horrible thing, but they are used to it now,” she said. “They are used to the alarms that are on. As soon as they hear something, they go to the bomb shelters. Sleepless nights. You know, it’s a terrible thing, but they tell me that now it’s a part of their life, which is very, very sad.”

Svitolina noted that she plays with a flag next to her name — unlike the Russians and Belarusians, who are allowed to play as neutral athletes.

“When I step on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all of us Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians are fighting for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine,” she said, “and me, I’m fighting here on my own front line.”

Svitolina said that she’s noticed “a lot of rubbish” concerning how tennis is reacting to the war.

“We have to focus on what the main point of what is going on,” she said. “Ukrainian people need help and need support. We are focusing on so many things like empty words, empty things that are not helping the situation, not helping anything.

“I want to invite everyone to focus on helping Ukrainians. That’s the main point of this, to help kids, to help women who lost their husbands because they are at the war, and they are fighting for Ukraine.

“You can donate. Couple of dollars might help and save lives. Or donate your time to something to help people.”

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Australian Open Day 4 Schedule

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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