Tennis

Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez continued her remarkable US Open run as she beat 2016 champion Angelique Kerber to advance to the quarter-finals. On the eve of her 19th birthday, Fernandez backed up her win over Naomi Osaka with a 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory over Germany's Kerber. She battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the second set to force a tie-break and barely let up from then on. Fernandez will face fifth seed Elina Svitolina for a semi-final spot. Fernandez doubled over as her

World number one Ashleigh Barty fell in the US Open third round after Shelby Rogers produced a superb comeback in front of a raucous New York crowd. Wimbledon champion Barty held a 5-2 lead in the final set and twice served for the match but home favourite Rogers battled her way back into contention. The world number 43 then came through the resulting tie-break to stun the top seed 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-5). She will face British teenager Emma Raducanu next. Barty was

ZEENEWS Novak Djokovic missed an overhead and stared over toward a section of the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands. After taking the next game, Djokovic glared in that direction again. Later, he spoke to the chair umpire about someone making noise in the middle of points, considered a no-no in tennis. That, then, is pretty much what provided some intrigue and interest for Djokovic’s second-round match at the US Open, because the ultimate outcome seemed fairly obvious after all of about 15 minutes on

Defending champion Naomi Osaka claimed a straight-set victory at the US Open on her first Grand Slam appearance since withdrawing from the French Open. The Japanese third seed, 23, ground down Czech world number 87 Marie Bouzkova for a 6-4 6-1 first-round win. She will play world number 145 Olga Danilovic of Serbia next. Osaka withdrew from Roland Garros in May, revealing she had "suffered long bouts of depression" since winning her first major title at the 2018 US Open. The four-time major

Venus Williams joined sister Serena in withdrawing from the US Open as the final Grand Slam of the year lost another two high-profile players. Serena, 39, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday that she needed time to allow her body to "heal completely" from a torn hamstring. The 41-year-old Venus then withdrew hours later with a leg injury. It will be the first time since 2003 that neither Williams sister has appeared at Flushing Meadows. The tournament, which begins on 30

Britain's Andy Murray defeated American lucky loser Noah Rubin in the Winston-Salem Open first round after scheduled opponent Nick Kyrgios withdrew. Former world number one Murray, 34, beat Rubin 6-2 6-0 and clinched victory by winning 10 successive games. The three-time Grand Slam champion was due to face Australia's Kyrgios, who pulled out because of a knee injury. Murray, who is set to compete at the US Open from 30 August, will face American Frances Tiafoe next in North Carolina. "I didn't know

World number one Ashleigh Barty warmed up for the US Open by clinching the Cincinnati Open with a straight-set win over Jil Teichmann in the final. Barty, 25, produced a polished performance to beat the 24-year-old Swiss wildcard 6-3 6-1. The Australian managed eight aces and 28 winners as she cruised to another commanding victory. Alexander Zverev took the men's title with an impressive 6-2 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev. It is a fifth title of the season for Barty, who is favourite

Naomi Osaka says she felt "ungrateful" at points during the last year for being unable to appreciate her success. The world number two was speaking after beating American teenager Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. She also discussed her reasons for withdrawing from the French Open in May, having said on the eve of that tournament that speaking to the media was damaging her mental health. "I wonder what affected me... made me not want to do media?" she said. "I'm wondering if

Naomi Osaka broke down in tears before resuming her first news conference since the controversy over refusing to speak to media at the French Open. Osaka became emotional shortly after being asked about "dealing with media in this format" - and the Cincinnati Masters video call was briefly halted. Earlier, the Japanese star, 23, said she was "proud" of the stand she took in Paris. "It was something that needed to be done," she said. At May's French Open, four-time Grand Slam winner

The 40-year-old Swiss, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, had two knee operations last year. In a video post on Instagram, Federer said he hoped the surgery would give him "a glimmer of hope" to return to action. He was knocked out in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July and then missed the Tokyo Olympics. "I'll be on crutches for many weeks, and also out of the game for many months," Federer, who turned 40 a week ago, said on Sunday evening. "It's going

KUALA LUMPUR: Japan's Naomi Osaka will return to the spotlight on Sunday, kicking off her Olympic campaign as a home crowd favourite after taking a mental health break two months ago. Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and world number two, has not played a competitive match since pulling out of the French Open in May amid controversy https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/osaka-withdraws-french-open-following-row-over-media-boycott-2021-05-31 over her decision to skip all press conferences at the tournament in an effort to protect her mental well-being. But with all of her

TOKYO: World No 1 Novak Djokovic's road to the Golden Slam is not an easy one, with possible matches against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev in his path at the Tokyo Olympics. Djokovic, representing Serbia, has won the season's first three grand slams and could become the first male player ever to win the Golden Slam if he first captures gold in Tokyo. Then all that's left is winning the US Open in August. Steffi Graf is the only player to ever do

LONDON: Naomi Osaka will defend her title at the US Open, organisers said on Wednesday (Jul 21), after she withdrew from this year's French Open and Wimbledon on mental health grounds. Japan's Osaka stunned the tennis world when she quit the claycourt major in Paris in May following her first-round match after being fined and threatened with disqualification when she refused to attend mandatory post-match press conferences. The world number two, who said she had social anxiety, also skipped Wimbledon but is scheduled

Italy's Stefano Travaglia pulled off an upset Monday as the Plava Laguna Croatia Open began in Umag, beating sixth-seeded Jaume Munar of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (1). Travaglia won 73 percent of his first-serve points and converted four of his seven break-point opportunities. Munar won just 58 percent on his first serve and went 2-for-7 on break-point chances. In other first-round matches, Radu Albot of Moldova rallied past Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune of Denmark 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 thanks to a strong performance on return

PARIS: World number one Novak Djokovic said on Thursday (Jul 15) he will play at the Tokyo Olympics, paving the way for the first Golden Grand Slam by a male player. "I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics," tweeted Djokovic. The Serb has already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year and needs just Olympic gold and the US Open to become the first man to sweep the Golden Grand Slam.

REUTERS World number one Novak Djokovic beat Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 6-3 on Sunday to win his sixth title at Wimbledon. His third straight triumph at the All England Club also earned the Serbian a 20th Grand Slam title, equalling the men's record haul held by Switzerland's Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal of Spain. "It means none of us three will stop," Djokovic said during the presentation ceremony when asked what the milestone meant to him. "I have to

Nick Kyrgios will not represent Australia at this year's Olympics in Tokyo because he does not want to compete if there are no fans in the stands, he said on Thursday (Jul 8). Earlier in the day, Olympic organisers said the Games would take place without spectators in host city Tokyo as a resurgent coronavirus forced Japan to declare a state of emergency in the capital that will continue throughout the event which starts on July 23. "It has been my dream to

People are often put in a jam when they are asked a question that they don't fully understand, and try to talk their way out of it as they don't wish to reveal that they didn't get it. However, Roger Federer had no qualms in admitting that he did not comprehend a certain English phrase while being interviewed after getting a walkover in his Wimbledon first round match against France's Adrian Mannarino. Federer's honesty left the crowd at Centre Court in splits. The official Twitter

US Open champion Dominic Thiem on Thursday joined Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal in withdrawing from the Tokyo Olympics. World number five Thiem said he wanted to concentrate on Wimbledon and then defending his only Grand Slam title in New York. "Hi everybody, I have some sad news to share with you all. After talking with my team and analysing the situation I have taken the very difficult decision to withdraw from competing in the Tokyo Olympics," the 27-year-old Austrian wrote on Twitter. "For me, like all

Stefanos Tsitsipas has learnt the hard way over the last two months that Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will take some shifting from the top of the men's game. The Greek led world number one Djokovic by two sets in the French Open final on Sunday, but still ended up losing and it has become a familiar feeling to be so close and yet so far. Tsitsipas led Djokovic in the Rome Masters quarter-finals this year, but lost. He also pushed 13-time French