Subterms
The former world No. 1 may have lost to Ashleigh Barty, but she takes the value of learning to cope with falling short as a critical part of learning how to win.WIMBLEDON, England — Karolina Pliskova was happy with how she had played in the Wimbledon final on Saturday, despite a disastrous start — she lost the first 14 points of the match — and the fact that it ended in a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 loss to Ashleigh Barty. More
The world No. 1 and tournament favorite fended off Karolina Pliskova in three sets to win her first Wimbledon championship.Ashleigh Barty won her first Wimbledon singles title Saturday, beating Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.Barty is the No. 1-ranked player in the world and was the top seed at Wimbledon but she was hardly considered a runaway favorite at Wimbledon, a tournament she has never won. Just last month, Barty had to retire in the middle of her second round match at the French Open with an injury to her left hip.She did not play a warm-up event on grass ahead of Wimbledon but reeled off six straight wins at the All England Club without dropping a set on her way to the final. Barty is the first Australian woman to win the Wimbledon singles title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won the title in 1980.Barty idolizes Goolagong Cawley and paid tribute to her throughout this year’s tournament by wearing a version of Goolagong Cawley’s scallop-hemmed dress.Barty chose not to play in 2020 when tennis resumed in August, remaining instead in Australia. She returned to the sport in January for a tuneup event ahead of the Australian Open but lost in the quarterfinal of the her country’s championship.Since then, she has had a standout year, even with her injury in France, and especially considering that because of Australia’s strict quarantine requirements, she has not been home since March. Barty will not head home until at least after the United States Open in September.In beating Pliskova, Barty knocked off a two-time Grand Slam finalist whose own success at Wimbledon was perhaps even more surprising than Barty’s. Pliskova, who was seeded eighth, had lost three of her last four matches ahead of Wimbledon and suffered a humiliating 6-0, 6-0 loss to Iga Swiatek of Poland at the Italian Open in May. More
Barty, the women’s world No. 1, is aiming for her first Wimbledon singles title and will take on a former No. 1 who is chasing her first Grand Slam title.WIMBLEDON, England — Centre Court is back to full capacity as England gradually relaxes its pandemic restrictions. The fans merrily quaffing Pimm’s in their expensive seats certainly got two very different matches for their money on Thursday. More
No. 8 seed Karolina Pliskova will face No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, and No. 1 Ashleigh Barty will play No. 25 Angelique Kerber on Thursday, for a chance to make the women’s singles final at Wimbledon.WIMBLEDON, England — Karolina Pliskova, the only woman to reach this year’s Wimbledon semifinals without dropping a set, is learning to appreciate what she’s done, rather than dwelling on what she hasn’t. More
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Ashleigh Barty feature in an action-packed second round at Roland Garros.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on Tennis Channel; streaming on Tennis Channel+.The four Grand Slam tournaments are the most important tennis events of the year. For good reason, they draw the world’s best players. But it’s a rarity for all of the top players, the tournament favorites, to be playing in the same half of the bracket.On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek and Ashleigh Barty, the past two winners of the French Open, are both looking to extend their Roland Garros win streaks to nine matches. On the men’s side, the three most decorated champions of the sport, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, are appearing in the same half of a major draw for the first time. With 58 Grand Slam titles among them, the Big Three are still dominating. Any other player in their half will have quite a challenge to reach the final.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Philippe Chatrier Court | 10 a.m.Roger Federer vs. Marin CilicRoger Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion in men’s singles, recently returned to the ATP Tour after a pair of operations on his right knee. Now 39, he has missed the French Open four times in the past five years, often resting during the clay-court swing.Marin Cilic has won just one Grand Slam tournament, the 2014 U.S. Open, which made him the fourth most successful male player entering this year’s French Open. Twice, Cilic was denied a second major title by Federer, at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018.The two players are not well suited to the crushed brick of Roland Garros; Federer’s elegant slices and Cilic’s powerful serve and volley are dampened on clay. This match will revolve more around tennis fundamentals and fitness than on stylistic strengths.Philippe Chatrier Court | 10 a.m.Sloane Stephens vs. Karolina PliskovaSloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, had to play through the qualifying rounds of the Italian Open in May, the first time she needed to qualify into a tournament since 2012. In the first round at Roland Garros, she edged Carla Suárez Navarro on Tuesday in a late-night match. Both players have had off-court struggles in the past year; Suárez Navarro recently underwent treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma, and Stephens had deaths in her extended family from Covid-19.Karolina Pliskova, the ninth seed, had a good run on the clay-court swing, reaching the final of the Italian Open. But then she was dismantled by the 2020 French Open champion, Iga Swiatek. Pliskova won only 13 points and lost, 6-0, 6-0. She will need to shake off any doubts from that performance.Philippe Chatrier Court | 8 a.m.Ashleigh Barty vs. Magda LinetteAshleigh Barty, above, beat Bernarda Pera in the first round, and will next meet Pera’s doubles partner, Magda Linette.Adam Pretty/Getty ImagesAshleigh Barty, the first seed, was pressed by Bernarda Pera in the first round. To win in three sets, Barty focused on consistency, making only 25 unforced errors as she focused on lengthening points. Her first serves were not in fine form, however. She landed only 66 percent of them, and when they did land, she was less likely to win the point than on her second serves. The 2019 French Open champion, Barty will need to address this issue.Magda Linette, ranked No. 45, struggled at the beginning of 2021, losing five of her first six matches. She has turned it around just in time, gaining some confidence as she reached the semifinals of the Internationaux de Strasbourg last week in France. Now, she will try to avenge the loss by her doubles partner, Pera, and upset Barty to equal her best major result.Court 7 | 10 a.m.Aslan Karatsev vs. Philipp KohlschreiberPhilipp Kohlschreiber, ranked No. 132, was once a regular presence in the fourth round of major tournaments. But in the past eight Grand Slam events, he has not made it past the second round, and this once fearsome player now seems to be edging toward the end of his career. That’s not to say that he is without hope. In the first round, he beat Fernando Verdasco, a clay-court specialist and former world No. 7.Aslan Karatsev, the 24th seed, burst into the public eye with an outrageous run to the semifinals of the Australian Open as a qualifier, knocking out three seeded players before being dismissed by Novak Djokovic. It was not just a flash in the pan. He followed that with his first ATP Tour title at the Dubai Open and big victories on clay over Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev. Karatsev’s consistency can be tested over the best-of-five format if Kohlschreiber imparts pressure with aggressive baseline play.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Elina Svitolina vs. Ann Li; Suzanne Lenglen Court, 5 a.m.Sofia Kenin vs. Hailey Baptiste; Court 14, 5 a.m.Novak Djokovic vs. Pablo Cuevas; Suzanne Lenglen Court, 10 a.m.Rafael Nadal vs. Richard Gasquet; Philippe Chatrier Court, 3 p.m. More
Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty start their French Open campaigns on the final day of first-round matches.How to watch: 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time on the Tennis Channel; streaming on the Tennis Channel+ app.As the first-round matches stretch into a third day of play at Stade Roland Garros, there are two women who can claim defense of the French Open title. Iga Swiatek, the 2020 champion, won her first-round match on Monday. On Tuesday, we turn our attention to Ashleigh Barty, the 2019 champion, who did not play at the French Open or United States Open last year, citing pandemic health concerns. Today, Barty will return to Court Phillipe-Chatrier to face Bernarda Pera, ranked No. 70.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are estimates and may fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 3 p.m. TuesdayNovak Djokovic vs. Tennys SandgrenTennys Sandgren made a joke on Twitter after the French Open draw was revealed that was a self-aware assessment of his slim chances, given he has only won one of his six clay court matches this year.Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1, has also assessed his chances of winning the French Open in clear terms. He sees only one player as his main challenge: Rafael Nadal. He lost to Nadal in three sets in the final of the Italian Open, so if they were to meet in the semifinals in Paris, the five-set format could favor Djokovic’s fitness. While there are plenty of opponents to mind before then, it’s unlikely that Sandgren will last long in the bullring with Djokovic, the Australian Open and Wimbledon defending champion.Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER | 10 a.m. TuesdayRafael Nadal vs. Alexei PopyrinAlexei Popyrin, ranked No. 63, secured his first ATP title in February at the Singapore Open. The lanky 21-year-old’s game is more suited to hard courts, but Popyrin reached the third round at the Madrid Open on clay. Unfortunately, he then ran into Rafael Nadal, who summarily knocked him out.Nadal has won the French Open 13 times, and is the four-time defending champion at Roland Garros. The undisputed “King of Clay” won the Barcelona Open and Italian Open this year, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic in the finals. Although Nadal has not looked as usually dominant in the clay court tournaments, he demonstrated that he can still make up for shortcomings with tenacity. It is an almost foregone conclusion that he will advance to the next round on his way to a deep run.COURT SUZANNE-LENGLEN| 1 p.m. TuesdayKarolina Pliskova vs. Donna VekicKarolina Pliskova, the ninth seed, has struggled with her form over the past few years. Although she is an exceptional ball striker, her movement on court has declined. Pliskova added the renowned coach Sascha Bajin to her team in 2020, but so far, any improvement has been met with a counterbalance. At the Italian Open, she reached the final only to be swept by Iga Swiatek.Donna Vekic, ranked No. 36, did not played any clay tournaments in preparation for Roland Garros as she recovered from knee surgery after the Australian Open in February. Vekic reached the round of 16 in Melbourne, and has the ability to make a similar run in Paris, but without match fitness, it will be difficult to chase after Pliskova’s flat, powerful shots.Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam tournaments but struggles on red clay.Juanjo Martin/EPA, via ShutterstockCourt 14 | 10 a.m. TuesdayVenus Williams vs. Ekaterina AlexandrovaEkaterina Alexandrova, the 32nd seed, won her first WTA title in 2020, but has yet to break through to the second week of a Grand Slam event. Alexandrova has reached the third round of the French Open for the past two years, and if all goes as expected she will meet the fifth seed, Elina Svitolina, there once again this year.Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, has always struggled the most on red clay. Williams captured her first major title on grass at Wimbledon in 2000, before the defending champion of the French Open, Iga Swiatek, was born. This year, Williams has only won one match, but continues fighting for victories that seem only slightly out of reach.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Ons Jabeur vs. Yulia Putintseva; Court 8, 5 a.m. TuesdayAshleigh Barty vs. Bernarda Pera; Court Phillipe-Chatrier, 8 a.m. TuesdayFelix Auger-Aliassime vs. Andrea Seppi; Court 13, 8 a.m. TuesdaySloane Stephens vs. Carla Suárez Navarro; Court Simonne-Mathieu, 1 p.m. Tuesday More
AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main story2021 Australian Open: What to Watch on Friday NightRafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty are in the spotlight after easing through the first two rounds of the Australian Open.Rafael Nadal will face Cameron Norrie, a 25-year-old British player, in the fourth round.Credit…Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesFeb. 12, 2021, 9:31 a.m. ETHow to watch: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern on the Tennis Channel and 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. on ESPN2 in the United States; streaming on the ESPN+ and ESPN3 apps.Rafael Nadal cruised past Michael Mmoh, a 23-year-old American, in his second-round match, dropping only seven games across three sets. Although there was plenty of flash on the court, an aggrieved fan had the most memorable moment, heckling Nadal and making an obscene gesture at him before being removed by security. During a post-match news conference, Nadal laughed away the stunt and was visibly puzzled, but not angered, by the fan’s outburst.Tonight’s matches won’t have any hecklers as fans won’t be allowed at the tournament for the next several days because of a coronavirus lockdown in the Australian state of Victoria, but they are sure to provide plenty of entertainment as the third round of the Australian Open concludes.Here are some matches to keep an eye on.Because of the number of matches cycling through courts, the times for individual matchups are at best estimates and certain to fluctuate based on when earlier play is completed. All times are Eastern.Rod Laver Arena | 7 p.m. FridayKarolina Muchova vs. Karolina PliskovaKarolina Pliskova, the sixth seed from the Czech Republic, is one of the best players on the women’s tour without a Grand Slam title. Her only appearance in a final was at the 2016 U.S. Open, and although she has reached two semifinals since, she has not been able to push past more nimble opposition.Karolina Muchova during her second-round match. Muchova and Karolina Pliskova have split their two matches.Credit…Andy Brownbill/Associated PressPliskova and Karolina Muchova, her countrywoman, have played each other only in Grand Slams, with Pliskova winning in the first round of the 2019 Australian Open and Muchova prevailing in a three-set match in the round of 16 at Wimbledon later that year.Muchova can adapt her game and tends to push her opponents around the court with a variety of shots that rely more on finesse than power. Pliskova will need to grab control of points early with her powerful baseline shots if she’s going to avert an upset.Margaret Court Arena | 11 p.m. FridayAndrey Rublev vs. Feliciano LopezFeliciano Lopez upset the 31st seed, Lorenzo Sonego, in a tight five-set match in the second round. Lopez, a 39 year-old Spaniard, is playing in his 75th consecutive Grand Slam tournament, continuing a streak that started at the 2002 French Open. Having exited in the first round in the last four Australian Opens, Lopez is enjoying being deeper into the tournament.Feliciano Lopez, 39, has played in 75 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments. He has never reached a final.Credit…Andy Brownbill/Associated PressAndrey Rublev, the seventh seed, has been bulldozing his opposition over the last couple of weeks. Rublev, 23, dropped only one set in singles as he helped Russia win the ATP Cup, and he has won his first two rounds at the Australian Open in straight sets. His explosive forehand shots are thriving on the fast courts of Melbourne Park, helping him move opponents around the court even when he is under pressure. While Lopez certainly has more experience than Rublev, it will be hard for him to keep up with the pure ferocity of Rublev’s game.Rod Laver Arena | Midnight SATURDAYBelinda Bencic vs. Elise MertensIn her return to a Grand Slam after skipping the United States and French Opens in 2020, Belinda Bencic has not been particularly satisfied with her play going into the third round. Bencic, the 11th seed from Switzerland, needed three sets to beat each of her unseeded opponents in the first two rounds. She is an incredibly intelligent player, but sometimes struggles to keep pace with some of her peers, who can overpower her. Bencic, 23, will need to improve if she’s to reach the round of 16.Elise Mertens has not lost before the third round in a major tournament since the 2018 Australian Open.Credit…Paul Crock/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesElise Mertens, the 18th seed from Belgium, is on a good run: She won the Gippsland Trophy last week while beating the fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina in the process. Mertens, 25, has a particularly consistent game, which is reflected in her Grand Slam results. She was a semifinalist at the 2018 Australian Open, and has not lost before the third round in a Grand Slam since. Considering Bencic’s middling play going into the match, Mertens should be a clear favorite.John Cain Arena | 3 a.m. SaturdayMatteo Berrettini vs. Karen KhachanovKaren Khachanov, the 19th seed, and Matteo Berrettini, the ninth seed, have styles so similar that one might think they were coached together from a young age. Both are 24 years old, and they are built in the same vein, models of strength sticking out among a generation of players who aimed to be lithe and flexible.Matteo Berrettini lost only one set in his first two matches.Credit…Rick Rycroft/Associated PressBerrettini had a breakout year in 2019, when he reached the U.S. Open semifinal, but he struggled last year, not making the final of any ATP event. Now, he’s looking to return to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since that U.S. Open run. Khachanov hasn’t made a quarterfinal at a major since the 2019 French Open.When these two bruisers meet, especially on a faster court, expect plenty of points to end with either a stunning winner, or an unforced error when a player chooses the wrong moment to strike.Here are a few more matches to keep an eye on.Elina Svitolina vs. Yulia Putintseva — 7 p.m.Mackenzie McDonald vs. Lloyd Harris — 9 p.m.Ashleigh Barty vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova — 3 a.m.Rafael Nadal vs. Cameron Norrie — 5 a.m.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
