Australian Open's hard quarantine 'took a toll' on players
When Tennys Sandgren resumed practicing after his can’t-go-anywhere hard quarantine ended, the American said Tuesday, his hands developed blisters from holding a racket. And, like Azarenka, both Sandgren and Pospisil lost their opening matches. “I wouldn’t say the whole tournament is a joke, but for some players, it’s not feasible. “I needed fresh air or maybe a bigger room or better conditions to play against the best players,” she said. Players in the “regular” quarantine were allowed to leave their rooms for five hours per day during the first two weeks after getting to Australia.
French Open: Mladenovic collapses again but blames umpire
France's Kristina Mladenovic plays a shot against Germany's Laura Siegemund in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – Kristina Mladenovic's first match since her nightmarish end to the U.S. Open produced another collapse and a controversial umpire's call at the French Open on Tuesday. The French player lost to Laura Siegemund of Germany 7-5, 6-3 after serving for the first set at 5-1. Mladenovic was furious with chair umpire Eva Asderaki for not spotting a double bounce on set point. Mladenovic slowed up, looked confused, and wound up touching the net, which automatically gave the point to Siegemund.
Down but not out, Serena Williams yells herself to Open win
Serena Williams, of the United States, reacts after defeating Maria Sakkari, of Greece, during the quarterfinals of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)NEW YORK Theres no crowd at the U.S. Open this year to pull for Serena Williams and try to push her to victory. Shouting at herself point after point, Williams came back from a third-set deficit against a woman she lost to less than two weeks ago, and took another step closer to Grand Slam title No. When the match ended, Williams turned and yelled toward her husband, who stood at his front-row seat and yelled right back. She sent a backhand return long to give Sakkari her fifth set point, then pushed a forehand out.
Thiem OK with how many of Big 3 are in US Open (hint: zero)
Dominic Thiem, of Austria, returns a shot to Felix Auger-Aliassime, of Canada, during the fourth round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020, in New York. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. He is 0-3, losing twice to Nadal at the French Open and to Djokovic at the Australian Open this February. Thats all of his $250,000 prize money for reaching the fourth round, plus $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and an additional $7,500 for skipping his post-match news conference. On Monday, she extended her stay in her comeback event, beating Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the fourth round.
No. 1 Djokovic, Pospisil would lead new men's tennis group
1-ranked Novak Djokovic and former top-30 member Vasek Pospisil would be the co-presidents of a new group they are trying to set up to represent mens professional tennis players. A letter emailed to players -- and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday -- pushes the formation of a Professional Tennis Players Association, abbreviated PTPA. Unlike many other professional sports, mens professional tennis has never had a representative body that is represented for players by players, the email said. The mens tennis tour is organized by the ATP; the womens tennis tour is run by the WTA. Djokovic is the president of the ATP Player Council and Pospisil has been a member for two years, but he tweeted Friday night that he was resigning.