Erriyon Knighton bounces back, American records fall: Brussels Diamond League recap, results, highlights

By OlympicTalkSep 2, 2022, 4:26 PM EDT

After a sixth-place finish in Lausanne last week, 18-year-old phenom Erriyon Knighton bounced back with a win in the 200m at the Brussels Diamond League, the final meet of the season before the two-day final in Zurich. Knighton ran 20.07, edging out second-place Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic and Canada’s Aaron Brown, for the first Diamond League win of his career. The meet was the final opportunity for athletes to earn points and qualify for the Diamond League final. Knighton’s win secured him a spot – the full Diamond League standings are here.

To continue her remarkable retirement tour, Kara Winger threw an American and meet record 223′ 5″ (68.11m) for the win in the women’s javelin. The 36-year-old Winger, who announced that 2022 would be her final competitive season, won silver at 2022 World Championships, going from fifth to second on her final throw and becoming the first American woman to win a world medal in javelin.

National record ✅
Meeting record ✅
World lead ✅
Personal best ✅

A MASSIVE 68.11m throw from @karathrowsjav to claim the victory in the women's javelin at #BrusselsDL. #DiamondLeague pic.twitter.com/YPtDK9kbOI

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) September 2, 2022

Winger wasn’t the only athlete of the day to notch an American record in Brussels: Grant Fisher finished second in the men’s 5000m in 12:46.96, breaking Bernard Lagat’s record of 12:53.60 from 2011. Fisher was 4th in the 10,000m at 2022 World Championships and sixth in the 5000m, where he was in medal position in the final 200m but got caught in traffic just ahead of the finish line. Pending official ratification, this is the 25-year-old’s fourth entry in the American record books this year – he owns the top mark in the outdoor 3000m, the indoor and outdoor 5000m and the outdoor 10,000m. Kenya’s Jacob Krop took the win in a world-leading 12:45.71, with his countryman Nicholas Kipkorir third.

WHAT A RACE.

Kenyan Jacob Krop clocks a world lead time of 12:45.71 to win the men's 5000m and Grant Fisher comes in second and smashes the American record!#DiamondLeague #BrusselsDL | 📺 @peacockTV pic.twitter.com/EbCdGkMoFz

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) September 2, 2022

2022 400m hurdles world champion Alison Dos Santos of Brazil continued his undefeated season in his signature event, winning in 47.54 ahead of American Khallifah Rosser. In the women’s 100m, a dominant summer continued for Jamaican sprinters, with reigning 200m world champion Shericka Jackson taking the win ahead of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Fraser-Pryce, the 2022 world champion, returned to racing after dropping out of the Lausanne meet with a hamstring issue. Marie-Josee Ta Lou (Côte d’Ivoire) was third. Aleia Hobbs was the top American finisher in 4th, with Sha’Carri Richardson 5th in 10.93.

Full results from Brussels Diamond League meet

Undoubtedly the most shocking upset of the meet came in the men’s pole vault, where world and Olympic champion and world record holder Mondo Duplantis of Sweden finished second to Ernest John “EJ” Obiena of the Philippines. Obiena has international credentials after taking bronze at 2022 World Championships but Duplantis had been undefeated for over a year (his last loss was a fourth-place finish at the Lausanne Diamond League meet on August 26, 2021, shortly after his win at the Tokyo Olympics).

In the 100m hurdles, Tokyo Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn (Puerto Rico) took care of business with a win in 12.27, a meet record. Americans Tia Jones and Keni Harrison were second and third across the line. And in the final race of the meet, world 1500m champion Jake Wightman of Great Britain took the win in the men’s 800m over 2022 world silver medalist Djamel Sedjati (Algeria) and reigning world and Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir (Kenya). Wightman has taken advantage of the packed track calendar this summer to find success at multiple distance: in addition to the world title at 1500m, he was third at the distance at the Commonwealth Games, and 2nd in the 800m at European Championships in August.

How does the Diamond League Final Work?

Now that the Brussels Diamond League meet has concluded, the next and last event on the DL calendar is the final in Zurich, scheduled for September 7th and 8th on Peacock and CNBC. Throughout the season, athletes have earned points at Diamond League meets based on their finish, with eight points awarded for a win, seven for second and on down to one point for an eighth-place finish. At the final, athletes will compete for the title of Diamond League champion, which comes with a bye to 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Full rules can be found here.

Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz exit French Open, leaving no U.S. men

Associated PressJun 3, 2023, 7:35 PM EDT

Getty

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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