Mikaela Shiffrin returns to podium in Sestriere

By OlympicTalkDec 11, 2022, 11:56 AM EST

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Mikaela Shiffrin returned to the Alpine skiing World Cup podium with a runner-up to Swiss Wendy Holdener in a slalom in Sestriere, Italy, on Sunday.

Holdener, who two weeks ago earned her first World Cup slalom victory (a tie with Swede Anna Swenn Larsson) after 30 second- or third-place finishes, won her first World Cup slalom outright in the Italian Alps.

“I heard in the start that Mikaela’s in the lead, so I knew I had to give all I have,” said Holdener, who became the first Swiss woman to win back-to-back World Cup slaloms since Vreni Schneider in 1994. “Most of the records are Mikaela’s, so it’s cool I have small victories.”

She prevailed by 47 hundredths of a second over Shiffrin combining times from two runs. Shiffrin, who was third after the first run, leapfrogged first-run leader Petra Vlhova, who dropped to third.

American Paula Moltzan finished fifth, matching her best World Cup slalom finish. The last U.S. woman other than Shiffrin to place higher in a World Cup slalom was Resi Stiegler, who was a runner-up in 2012.

ALPINE SKIING: Results | Broadcast Schedule

Holdener cut Shiffrin’s standings lead for the World Cup overall title, the biggest annual prize in ski racing, to 19 points through nine of 39 scheduled races. She also tied Shiffrin in the season slalom standings through four of 11 scheduled races.

Shiffrin rebounded for her 100th World Cup podium between traditional slaloms and giant slaloms after placing 13th, fifth and sixth in her previous three races between a stop in Killington, Vermont, two weeks ago and a GS in Sestriere on Saturday. She hasn’t missed the podium in four consecutive World Cup technical races in eight years.

“I am quite exhausted, but I think I had some really good turns and some things to fix for the next slalom,” Shiffrin said. “Anyway, it’s a step from Killington, a step in the right direction. It was two really difficult days.”

Shiffrin plans to travel to St. Moritz, Switzerland, ahead of speed races next weekend but may reevaluate her plans during downhill training runs. After that is a critical stretch for Shiffrin’s season title hopes: eight consecutive slaloms or giant slaloms from Dec. 27 through Jan. 10, all at venues where she has multiple victories.

Shiffrin, who has 76 World Cup wins, can move closer to the female record of 82 held by Lindsey Vonn and the overall record of 86 held by Swede Ingemar Stenmark.

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.@MikaelaShiffrin takes ANOTHER podium on the year getting second in the Sestriere slalom World Cup🔥

She is currently sharing the slalom leader bib with @WendyHoldener at 325 points so far this season💪#stifelusalpineteam pic.twitter.com/9hMlPdUwaD

— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) December 11, 2022

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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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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