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CNN —It wasn’t pretty, but Novak Djokovic booked his spot in the 2024 Australian Open third round on Wednesday, beating Australian home favorite Alexei Popyrin in four sets 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 6-3 in a hard-fought affair. 1 seed was able to race away during the second half of the match to continue his run for a record-extending 11th Australian Open men’s title. He deserves a big round of applause.”During his opening two matches at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Djokovic hasn’t played at the imperious levels we’ve come to expect from him. He dropped a set in his opening round match against Dino Prižmić and he struggled for consistency against Popyrin. “She has a big game, big serve, big shots, very athletic.
Persons: Novak Djokovic, Alexei Popyrin, Djokovic, , Djokovic hasn’t, Dino Prižmić, Popyrin, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Ravi Ubha, haven’t, I’m, I’ll, Gauff, Coco Gauff, Caroline Dolehide, Leylah Fernandez, Issei Kato, ” Gauff, Sloane, Stephens, Maria, Sakkari, Organizations: CNN, Popyrin, Parks, Dolehide, Reuters Locations: Melbourne, AFP, Delray Beach
CNN —Leylah Fernandez led Canada to a first ever Billie Jean King Cup triumph on Sunday, securing the title with a 6-2 6-3 win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini. Canada won the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly known as the Fed Cup, for the first time. It’s a dream come true.”Canada’s victory comes just a year after the men clinched the country’s first Davis Cup title. Fernandez was undefeated over the week as she guided Canada to victory. After Fernandez’s victory, the Canadian team was presented with the trophy by Billie Jean King, as well as blue jackets like those regularly worn by the legendary tennis star.
Persons: CNN — Leylah Fernandez, Billie Jean King, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, Fernandez, ” Fernandez, CNN Sport’s Patrick Snell, “ Billie Jean King, “ We’re, Marina Stakusic, Martina Trevisan, Matt McNulty, Heidi El Tabakh, Magdalena Fręch, , ” Stakusic, hasn’t, El Tabakh, ” El Tabakh, Marcelo Del Pozo Organizations: CNN, Canada, Czech, Billie Jean King Cup, Fed, Reuters, Canadian Locations: Canada, Poland, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy
SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — Leylah Fernandez and Marina Stakusic won their singles matches as Canada beat Italy 2-0 to claim its first-ever Billie Jean King Cup on Sunday. Stakusic, ranked 258th in the world, put Canada ahead by defeating No. Canada had beaten 11-time champion Czech Republic in the semifinals, while four-time champion Italy advanced past Slovenia for its first final appearance since 2013. Political Cartoons View All 1240 ImagesCanada, captained by Heidi El Tabakh, is the 13th nation to win the Billie Jean King Cup, and the second new champion after Switzerland’s triumph in Glasgow a year ago. The Canada men's team is the current Davis Cup champion.
Persons: — Leylah Fernandez, Marina Stakusic, Billie Jean King, Stakusic, Martina Trevisan, Fernandez, Jasmine Paolini, Davis, Heidi El Tabakh, Iga Swiatek, ___ Organizations: Canada, Italy, Billie Jean King Cup, La, Czech, Davis, WTA Locations: SEVILLE, Spain, Canada, Seville, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Glasgow, United States, Switzerland, Cancun , Mexico
Fernandez seals Canada's first BJK Cup title
  + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
After the 21-year-old converted match point the Canadian team celebrated wildly on court in front of their jubilant fans. It was then over to Fernandez who duly claimed her fourth singles win of the week by outclassing Paolini. Canada's team will receive $2.4 million in prize money -- a record for the women's team event formerly known as the Fed Cup. "Congratulations to Canada for capturing their first Billie Jean King Cup title," King said. Canada are the 13th nation to win the Billie Jean King Cup and the second new champions in two years following Switzerland’s triumph in Glasgow 12 months ago.
Persons: Billie Jean King, Marina Stakusic, Italy's Martina Trevisan, Marcelo Del Pozo, Leylah Fernandez, Jasmine Paolini, Heidi El Tabakh, Martina Trevisan, Trevisan, Stakusic, Fernandez, outclassing Paolini, Marketa Vondrousova, Gabriela Dabrowski, Barbora Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova, American King, King, Martyn Herman, Hugh Lawson, Ken Ferris Organizations: La, U.S ., WTA, Wimbledon, Fed, Billie Jean King Cup, Thomson Locations: Seville, Spain, SEVILLE, Canada, Italy, Czech Republic, Czech, American, Glasgow
Doubles powerhouse Krejcikova, Siniakova part ways
  + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
Tennis - Billie Jean King Cup Finals - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - November 11, 2023 Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Fernandez celebrate after winning their doubles match against Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 12 (Reuters) - Dynamic Czech duo Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova will not play doubles together during the 2024 season, the WTA said on its website on Sunday, pausing their hugely successful partnership after collecting seven Grand Slam titles together. The pair won in San Diego in September but lost to Canadians Gabriela Dabrowski and Leylah Fernandez at the Billie Jean King Cup this weekend. Siniakova initiated the split after an injury-marred 2023, according to media reports, but did not rule out a potential reunion. The Olympic doubles champions picked up their seventh Grand Slam title at the Australian Open this year. Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Billie Jean King, Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski, Leylah Fernandez, Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova REUTERS, Marcelo Del Pozo, Barbora Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova, Gabriela Dabrowski, Siniakova, Amy Tennery, Ken Ferris Organizations: La, Czech, WTA, Thomson Locations: Seville, Spain, San Diego, New York
WTA roundup: Jelena Ostapenko upset in Seoul
  + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
Wild card Dayeon Back, down 5-2 in the third set, rallied to beat second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) in two hours, 13 minutes to advance. It was the first time two South Koreans won their opening matches in Seoul since 2013. 569, was able to force Ostapenko into long rallies, and the mistakes piled up for Ostapenko. In other first-round action, Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, fresh off her finals appearance in the China Open, continued her strong play with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Germany's Tatjana Maria. Another Russian, Kamilla Rakhimova, beat eighth seed Varvara Gracheva of France 6-3, 6-2, and Czech Linda Fruhvirtova topped seventh-seeded Peyton Stearns in three sets.
Persons: Jelena Ostapenko, Russia's Liudmila Samsonova, Florence, Jeong Jang, Sofia Kenin, Jang, Kenin, Jessica Pegula, Viktoria, Marie Bouzkova, Vera Zvonareva, Veronika Kudermetova, Zvonareva, Germany's Tatjana Maria, Daria Kasatkina of, Petra Martic, Laura Siegemund, Zhuoxuan Bai, Canadian Leylah Fernandez, Victoria, Fernandez, Anna Blinkova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Martina Trevisan, Kamilla, Varvara Gracheva, Czech Linda Fruhvirtova, Peyton Stearns Organizations: National Tennis Center, Hana Bank, South Koreans, Ostapenko, Viktoria Hruncakova, WTA, China . Hong Kong, Victoria Azarenka, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Hana Bank Korea, Seoul, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Zhengzhou, Russia, Daria Kasatkina of Russia, Croatia, Germany, China . Hong, Canadian, Italy, France, Czech
WTA roundup: Greet Minnen, Yulia Putintseva advance in China
  + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
The unseeded Putintseva eliminated third seed Tatjana Maria of Germany 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-0. Putintseva converted six of 12 break points and saved nine of 11, overcoming Maria's 6-1 edge in aces. Minnen, the seventh seed, ousted fourth seed Lucia Bronzetti of Italy 6-7 (8), 6-4, 6-1. Top seed Magda Linette of Poland avoided the upset in defeating fifth seed Rebeka Masarova of Spain 7-5, 7-6 (6). In the semifinals, Dolehide will face countrywoman Sofia Kenin, who was a 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1 winner over Canada's Leylah Fernandez on Thursday.
Persons: Belgium's, Minnen, Venus Williams, Shannon Stapleton, Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, Putintseva, Tatjana Maria, Lucia Bronzetti, Magda Linette, Rebeka, China's Xiyu Wang, Wang, Linette, Caroline Dolehide, Martina Trevisan, Dolehide, Trevisan, countrywoman Sofia Kenin, Canada's Leylah Fernandez, Maria Sakkari, Colombia's Emiliana Arango, Caroline Garcia of Organizations: Tennis, U.S, REUTERS, Guangzhou, Slovakian Viktoria Hruncakova, Guadalajara Open Akron, Caroline Garcia of France, Victoria Azarenka, Thomson Locations: Flushing Meadows , New York, United States, China, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Putintseva, Guadalajara, Mexico
"I'm very happy, very proud of myself," said Kenin, who is bidding to make her first WTA 1000 final. In the semi-finals, Kenin will take on American world number 111 Caroline Dolehide who saved four matchpoints to beat Martina Trevisan 3-6 7-6(9) 6-3. "To be honest, I had to find a way today to win," Dolehide said after reaching her first Tour-level semi-final. "I just played with my kick, played with my best shots and I ended up winning that set. The Frenchwoman meets second seed and last year's runner-up Maria Sakkari, who eased past Emiliana Arango 6-3 6-4.
Persons: Sofia Kenin, Canada's Leylah Fernandez, Henry Romero, Leylah Fernandez, Kenin, I've, Caroline Dolehide, Martina Trevisan, Dolehide, Caroline Garcia, Garcia, Maria Sakkari, Emiliana Arango, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Stephen Coates Organizations: Panamerican Tennis Center, Canada's Leylah Fernandez REUTERS, Rights, San Diego Open, Victoria Azarenka, Thomson Locations: Guadalajara, Mexico, Rights GUADALAJARA, Melbourne, Bengaluru
WTA roundup: Madison Keys loses Guadalajara opener
  + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
Keys, the tournament's fourth seed, received a first-round bye. Navarro converted five of her seven break-point opportunities, while Keys broke serve three times on five chances. Navarro advances to face former U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez of Canada, who knocked out 13th-seeded Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-4. 1 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia routed the United States' Alycia Parks 6-2, 6-2, and No. The United States' Sofia Kenin eliminated 12th-seeded Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Persons: Madison Keys, Aryna Sabalenka, Mike Segar, Keys, Navarro, Leylah Fernandez, Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, Australia's Storm Hunter, Caroline Garcia of France, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Poland's Magdalena Frech, Sofia Kenin, Lucia Bronzetti, Yi Yang, Bronzetti, Yang's, Uchijima, France's, Tatjana Maria of, Alexandra Eala, Daria Saville of, Germany's Anna, Lena Friedsam, Viktoria Hruncakova, Russian Anna Kalinskaya, Viktorija, Yulia Putintseva, Xiyu Wang, Yue Yuan, Zhuoxuan Bai Organizations: Madison, Belarus, Aryna Sabalenka REUTERS, U.S, Australia's Storm, Poland's, United, Thomson Locations: Flushing Meadows , New York, United States, Guadalajara, Mexico, Open Akron, U.S, Canada, Belgium, Tunisia, Greece, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Guangzhou, Italy, Taiwan, China, Tatjana Maria of Germany, Philippines, Daria Saville of Australia, Slovakia, Russian, Switzerland, Kazakhstan
WTA roundup: Ashlyn Krueger wins 1st title at Japan Open
  + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
[1/2] FILE PHOTO:Aug 6, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Camila Giorgi (ITA) hits a forehand against Ashlyn Krueger (USA) (not pictured) in second round qualifying play at IGA Stadium. 123 in the world, Krueger, 19, entered the week without a main-draw win on hard court this year and had never advanced past a quarterfinal of a WTA event. Krueger had the edge in aces, 7-3, and never had to save a break point in the 96-minute match. She broke Zhu on her first service game of the match, and Zhu was 1-for-2 in saving break points. "I think I was very aggressive today, playing a lot of really aggressive tennis and using my serve," said Krueger, who recorded 28 winners to 13 for her opponent.
Persons: Camila Giorgi, Ashlyn Krueger, Eric Bolte, Ashlyn Krueger didn't, Zhu Lin, Krueger, China's Zhu, Zhu, Grace Min, Elise Mertens, Yanina, Mertens, Jasmine Paolini, Louisa Chirico, Karolina Pliskova, Ena Shibahara, Sloane Stephens, Ann Li, Canada's Leylah Fernandez breezed, Asia Muhammad, Taylor Townsend, Hailey Baptiste, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada, Dayana, Martina Trevisan, Cristina Bucsa Organizations: IGA, Japan, WTA, Dallas, United, Thomson Locations: Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Osaka, Guadalajara, Mexico, Ukraine, United States, Italy, Czech, Japan, U.S, Asia, Alycia, Spain, Belarus
Swiatek reaches Montreal quarters, will stay world No. 1
  + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
[1/4] Aug 10, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Iga Swiatek (POL) serves against Karolina Muchova (CZE) (not pictured) during third round play at IGA Stadium. Just as play was about to begin in the third, rain swept across Montreal sending players to the locker room. They returned and Swiatek broke to open the deciding set but rain once again forced a delay. With the win, Swiatek guaranteed that Aryna Sabalenka, whose round of 16 match was postponed until Friday due to the weather, will not overtake her at the top of the rankings come Monday. Pegula will battle her doubles partner and compatriot Coco Gauff in the quarters after the teenager crushed Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 6-0 under the lights in Montreal.
Persons: Iga Swiatek, Karolina Muchova, Eric Bolte, Swiatek, we've, I've, Danielle Collins, Leylah Fernandez, Jessica Pegula romped, Jasmine Paolini, Pegula, Coco Gauff, Marketa, Rory Carroll, Robert Birsel Organizations: IGA, U.S, Montreal, Wimbledon, Thomson Locations: Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Warsaw, Czech, Canadian, Los Angeles
It may be a little hard to remember, with all the injuries, career detours and mystifying losses, but there was a time when everything seemed possible for Canadian tennis. Every time a tennis fan looked up, it seemed, another wildly talented or gritty Canadian had made a Grand Slam final. Bianca Andreescu even won one, beating Serena Williams in the 2019 U.S. Open when she was still a teenager, playing with a style so creative she left tennis aesthetes drooling. Lately, with all the bum knees (Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime), stress fractures (Leylah Fernandez) and the mental anguish (Milos Raonic and Andreescu) that so many players struggle with these days, even Fernandez’s improbable run to the 2021 U.S. Open final can feel like it was a long time ago. And then there was a day like Wednesday at Wimbledon, with the rain finally going away long enough for outdoor tennis to happen, for Shapovalov and Raonic to show why there had been so much fuss in the first place.
Persons: detours, Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger, Leylah Fernandez, Milos Raonic, Shapovalov, Raonic, Eugenie Bouchard Organizations: aesthetes, Wimbledon
WTA roundup: Coco Gauff cruises into quarterfinals
  + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
4 Ons Jabeur was eliminated in the second round of the Rothesay International on Wednesday in Eastbourne, England. Gauff defeated Brit Jodie Burrage 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals, where she will play fellow American Jessica Pegula. 3 seed needed three sets to dispatch Camila Osorio 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Jabeur was bounced in 72 minutes by unseeded Italian Camila Giorgi 6-3, 6-2. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland cruised into the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Switzerland's Jil Teichmann in Germany.
Persons: Coco Gauff, Britain's Jodie Anna Burrage, Paul Childs, Gauff, Brit Jodie Burrage, Jessica Pegula, Camila Osorio, Jabeur, Camila Giorgi, Carolina Garcia, Ana Bogdan, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Petra Martic, Daria Kasatkina, Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, Swiatek, Anna Blinkova, Leylah Fernandez, Lucia Bronzetti, Mayar Sherif, Katerina Siniakova Organizations: Eastbourne International, Lawn Tennis Club, Rothesay International, Madison, Bad, Canada, Thomson Locations: Eastbourne, Britain, Rothesay, England, Brazil, Bad Homburg, Poland, Germany, Egypt, Czech Republic
CNN —After winning the US Open at just 18 years old, Emma Raducanu had the world at her feet. Speaking to The Sunday Times, Raducanu touched on the side of sporting success that many don’t see and the impact it has had on her. “When I won I was extremely naive,” Raducanu admitted. Raducanu won the 2021 US Open, becoming the first qualifier to win the major, after defeating Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 in Flushing Meadows’ first all-teen final since 1999. And sometimes I think to myself I wish I’d never won the US Open, I wish that didn’t happen,” Raducanu acknowledged.
Persons: CNN —, Emma Raducanu, Raducanu, ” Raducanu, it’s, Canadian Leylah Fernandez, Brit, Leylah Fernandez, Al Bello, I’ve, I’d, Organizations: CNN, Sunday Times, Canadian Locations: British, Flushing Meadows
On an historic day on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic won his 21st consecutive Grand Slam tournament match to become the only man to capture each of the four majors - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open - at least three times. "Obviously a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam," Djokovic said. "It's no coincidence that I won the 23rd Grand Slam here in Paris, because this tournament was really in my entire career the toughest to win. Victory meant Djokovic has won the first two Grand Slams in a year for a third time after similar runs in 2016 and 2021. "Another day, another record and another day you rewrite tennis history," Ruud said, addressing a beaming Djokovic.
Persons: Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud, Rafa Nadal, of Clay, Roland Garros, Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic, it's, Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Ruud, Alcaraz, Kylian, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ruud volleyed, ranted, I'm, Taiwan's Hsieh Su, China's Wang Xinyu, Taylor Townsend, Leylah Fernandez, Julien Pretot, Toby Davis Organizations: Wimbledon, Serbian, Nadal, U.S ., Djokovic, Soccer, Melbourne Park, Thomson Locations: Serbian, Paris, Kosovo
CNN —Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva has continued her meteoric rise by reaching the third round of the French Open with an emphatic 6-1 6-2 win over France’s Diane Parry. The 16-year-old, who celebrated her birthday in April, is now the youngest player to reach the third round at Roland Garros since 2005, according to the WTA. Andreeva, the youngest player in this year’s main draw, took only 77 minutes to defeat wild card Parry and secure her sixth top 100 win of the season. Andreeva had already become the seventh youngest player this century to beat a top 20 player, according to the WTA, when she beat world No. Andreeva, who was unranked 14 months ago, entered her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros this year.
Persons: Mirra Andreeva, France’s Diane Parry, Roland Garros, Parry, Andreeva, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Ian MacNicol, Leylah Fernandez, Magda Linette, Alison Riske, Coco Gauff, Julia Grabher Organizations: CNN, WTA, Madrid, ITF Locations: Madrid
I didn't feel a 100% but it doesn't matter, a win is a win and I'm going to take it," said Kenin, who converted seven of her 21 breakpoints. I felt tired and... after three hours I'd imagine that she was too, so I just had to battle it out." Former U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez was beaten 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3 by Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova overcame Kaia Kanepi 6-0 4-6 6-2 in other first round matches. The 37-year-old Czech will take on world number eight Maria Sakkari in the second round. The men's tournament headlined by six-times champion Novak Djokovic and Rome debutant Carlos Alcaraz begins on Wednesday.
Russian Andreeva, 15, stuns Fernandez in Madrid
  + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
April 27 (Reuters) - Russian 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 event by stunning 2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3 6-4 in the opening round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday. Andreeva, ranked 194th in the world, saved five of the six break points she faced against world number 49 Fernandez of Canada. She will face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round later on Thursday at the claycourt tournament. Andreeva said she had needed time to recover from her defeat in the Australian Open girls' final earlier this year, where she lost the match after winning the first set. "My coach said to me after maybe five years you will not even remember that you played the Australian Open final or against who.
Amazon needs to watch out for Charlie Bell. A founder of Amazon Web Services and the firm's "best person in the room," Bell shook the industry last September when he joined Microsoft. Bell will be overseeing a new cybersecurity division at Microsoft — but insiders at both Amazon and Microsoft wonder if he'll go more directly up against his former employer. My colleague Ashley Stewart examines the growing threat of Microsoft now that Bell is free from his noncompete purgatory. Look into the future here for Bell — and Microsoft — without Amazon's restrictions.
U.S. finishes Billie Jean King Cup qualifying unbeaten
  + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
Each best-of-five series consists of two singles matches on the first day, then the reverse singles matches followed by a doubles match on the second day. The doubles match pitting Juvan and Zidansek against Irina Bara and Monica Niculescu was suspended at 3-3 in the first set. Jule Niemeier posted a three-set win over Beatriz Haddad Maia, and then Anna-Lena Friedsam lost only one game in defeating Laura Pigossi. Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina handed Poland's Magda Linette her second loss in two days to clinch the 3-1 series win in Astana, Kazakhstan. After Fernandez's three-set win over Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgium's Greet Minnen again knotted the match with a three-set win over Katherine Sebov.
She's won two Women's Tennis Association titles and was a U.S. Open finalist in 2021. This week, Fernandez was in New York as Morgan Stanley and the WTA announced a new, multi-year global partnership. "Morgan Stanley's partnership with the WTA is a great step forward for women's sports in general. Morgan Stanley was drawn to Fernandez's leadership example. She also reflects our brand values, including giving back to the community, and valuing equity and inclusion," said Alice Milligan, Morgan Stanley's chief marketing officer.
WTA roundup: Top seeds roll in Dubai
  + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
February 22 - The top two seeds in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships lost a combined three games while cruising to second-round wins on Tuesday in the United Arab Emirates. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, the reigning French Open and U.S. Open champion, routed Canada's Leylah Fernandez 6-1, 6-1, and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the reigning Australian Open champion, demolished the United States' Lauren Davis 6-0, 6-1. Third-seeded Jessica Pegula of the United States, who lost to Swiatek in the Doha final, got past Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 in the second round at Dubai. Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, had lost her first-round matches at Auckland, New Zealand; Hobart, Australia; and the Australian Open to begin the year.
Nadal's injury-plagued defeat in the second round will be another boost for Djokovic, who can grab a record-extending 10th crown as well as the world number one ranking with a title run in Melbourne. "They're just numbers at the end of the day," Djokovic said when asked about the targets in his sights. The 35-year-old's tournament preparation was limited due to a left hamstring injury sustained during his title run in Adelaide, and he conceded he had some concerns before his opening round win. "The great sign was that the longer the match went, the better I felt, the better I moved. "She did great in the slams in the past, and she's very young player, very talented lefty," Garcia said.
Heat brings play to a halt at Australian Open
  + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
MELBOURNE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Scorching heat halted outdoor matches and sent fans scurrying for shade at the Australian Open on Tuesday as players were given an early test of their endurance on a sweltering day two at Melbourne Park. The tournament's Heat Stress Scale, which measures radiant heat, humidity and air temperature in the shade, crossed its highest threshold of 5.0, halting 10 outdoor matches at the Grand Slam. Organisers said play on outdoor courts would not resume before 5 p.m. local time (0600 GMT). "I think I did well to manage my emotions, and then especially manage the heat, try not to get too hot-headed," Fernandez told reporters. Extreme heat is a feature of the Australian Open, held in mid-summer in the country, with play occasionally suspended and leaving organisers with scheduling headaches.
Thiem, a finalist at Melbourne Park and U.S. Open champion in 2020, is on the comeback trail after a wrist injury and was able to compete only to a certain extent against the power of the rangy Russian. Thiem was simply unable to get a foothold in the contest and the 25-year-old Rublev, a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2021, served out for the match after little more than two hours on court. Tennis Australia on Tuesday morning banned fans from bringing flags of either nation into the Melbourne Park precinct after a Russian tricolour was hung on a bush next to a court where Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl was playing on Monday. "It wasn't that easy a match and I'm super happy to start with a win," said the Belarusian. Novak Djokovic will begin his bid for a record-extending 10th title at Melbourne Park against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the final match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.
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