Mondo Duplantis, Yulimar Rojas break world records at world indoor championships

By OlympicTalkMar 20, 2022, 11:59 PM EDT

Mondo Duplantis and Yulimar Rojas broke their own world records in the men’s pole vault and women’s triple jump to close the world indoor track and field championships.

Duplantis, a Louisiana-raised Swede, cleared 6.20 meters (20 feet, 4 inches) on his third and final attempt to raise his record by one centimeter for the second time in two weeks in Belgrade.

“It’s something that you can only dream of,” he said. “There are no limits. The sky’s the limit.”

The Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas launched the farthest jump in history in any setting, leaping 15.74 meters.

Rojas, who has won every global title since placing second at the 2016 Olympics, bettered her previous world indoor record of 15.43 meters from 2020 by more than a foot.

WORLD INDOORS: Full Results

Her outdoor world record is 15.67 meters from the Tokyo Games.

“The 16-meter mark is my big goal,” said Rojas, who hopes to compete in the long jump and triple jump at this summer’s world outdoor championships. “Every day, I am trying to add one more centimeter to get closer to it.”

Just as in Tokyo, Rojas’ record-breaking jump came on the last jump of the competition on Sunday, with the gold medal already assured.

The 6-foot-2 star has lost just one triple jump competition since September 2019.

Later Sunday, Americans Grant Holloway and Ajeé Wilson won the men’s 60m hurdles and women’s 800m, respectively.

Holloway, the Olympic 110m hurdles silver medalist, tied his world record of 7.29 seconds in the semifinals, then won the final in 7.39. He has an eight-year unbeaten streak in the 60m hurdles, and his only defeat in any event since the start of 2021 was in the Olympic final.

Wilson, 27, earned her first senior global title after two bronzes and two silvers between indoor and outdoor worlds.

“It feels amazing to finally come home with the gold after coming so close so many times,” she said.

Isaiah Harris gutted out his preliminary round 4x400m anchor leg after suffering an upper right leg injury with about 175 meters to go. He willed to hold onto second place, giving the U.S. a chance to advance to the final, but the Americans ended up not advancing on time.

Ethiopian Samuel Tefera upset Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway by .25 in the men’s 1500m, running 3:32.77.

Ethiopian Selemon Barega, the Olympic men’s 10,000m gold medalist, won the 3000m by .25 of a second over countryman Lamecha Girma.

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True grit 😳

Despite pulling a muscle, Isaiah Harris 🇺🇸 runs through the pain in a bid to finish the race for @usatf's 4×400 team!#WorldIndoorChamps pic.twitter.com/BAv3qlHDRw

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) March 20, 2022

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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