French Open

Coco Gauff moved into her first grand slam semi-final at the French Open after a 7-5, 6-2 win over Sloane Stephens.

This week, Gauff has referenced that match numerous times as one of the most important steps in her growth, explaining that she has learned not to panic in those moments. Throughout her young career, Gauff’s forehand has become a big target for all players, the aim to rush her elaborate swing with depth and pace, but it was Gauff frequently pushing Stephens back with her heavy topspin while constantly looking to dictate and finish points. This pitted two of the very best athletes in the game against each other, but Gauff outworked Stephens in the numerous long rallies and remained solid as each tried to find a way through the other’s defences.

But the victory did allow Nadal to protect his lead in the career-long race to finish with the most Grand Slam men's singles titles. Nadal took sole possession ...

He was downbeat after that defeat but did not rule out playing in the French Open and arrived in Paris with his longtime physician, Angel Ruiz-Cotorro. Djokovic did not get the chance to play that tournament in Australia. He was deported on the eve of the competition after a standoff with the Australian government over his unvaccinated status. Nadal took sole possession of the men’s record with 21 by winning the Australian Open in January, breaking his tie with his longtime rivals Djokovic and Roger Federer, who both have won 20.

Rafael Nadal emerged on top in the latest instalment of his rivalry with Novak Djokovic as the Spaniard reached the French Open semi-finals.

Djokovic scythed Nadal’s serve down with his return and he slowly moved on top of the baseline as it was he who dictated the exchanges, crushing the ball and rushing the Nadal forehand as the Spaniard began the ball short. Nadal opened the third set by continually looking to reach the net and he again broke serve immediately. Nadal arrived on his court and set the tone from the beginning, forcing his way inside the baseline and looking to unload on his forehand down the line, the historic barometer of his confidence. In those early stages, as a sublime Nadal took the set, Djokovic struggled. In the historic 59th meeting of the rivalry that never ends, Nadal moves to 29-30 against Djokovic in their head-to-head record. In a match that began in May and ended in June, Nadal blew Djokovic away in the opening stages, then absorbed a multiple strong fightbacks before rising to win 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).

In a match that Rafael Nadal warned might be his last at the French Open, he dispatched longtime rival Novak Djokovic to reach the semifinals.

“He was a better player I think in important moments,” Djokovic said. “I’m not surprised at all,” Djokovic said of Nadal’s ability to bounce-back physically. If Nadal lifts another Coupe des Mousquetaires on Sunday, then the 35-year-old Djokovic, who after last year’s Wimbledon was tied with Nadal and Federer, cannot take the lead until 2023 at the earliest. “It’s to play at your best since the first point ’til the last, no? After Alcaraz was eliminated, it became clear that the Nadal-Djokovic winner would become the title favorite. “To win against Novak, there is only one way,” said Nadal, who lost to Djokovic in the 2021 French Open semifinals.

Rafael Nadal got past the top-seeded defending champion 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to move closer to his 14th title at the clay-court Grand Slam.

Djokovic’s 3-0 lead in the fourth did him no good, even though he served for it at 5-3, even standing one point from forcing a fifth twice. Nary a game, a point, a stroke or, indeed, a step came with a hint of insouciance. “See you, by the way, in two days,” Nadal said. Nadal is now 110-3 for his career at the place. “To win against Novak, there is only one way — to play at your best from the first point to the last,” Nadal said. The bracket said this was a quarterfinal, yes, but it felt like a final, from the quality of play to the quality of effort, from the anticipation that preceded it to the atmosphere that enveloped it.

The Spaniard beat the Serb in four sets after a gripping match that lasted more than four hours at Roland Garros.

The mannerisms and moods. Nadal is now 110-3 for his career at the place. The tendencies and tactics. Djokovic’s 3-0 lead in the fourth did him no good, even though he served for it at 5-3, even standing one point from forcing a fifth twice. In women’s action on Tuesday, 18-year-old American Coco Gauff and 28-year-old Martina Trevisan of Italy reached their first Grand Slam semifinals. “Tonight has been one of those magic nights for me.”

PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open tennis tournament (all times local): 1:15 a.m. Rafael Nadal has beaten Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, ...

Two of the sport's all-time heavyweights slugged it out in Paris, with Rafa Nadal coming out of Court Philippe Chatrier victorious late Tuesday night.

The metro had long closed, but no one dared move until Nadal took four steps into the middle of the court and raised his arms to the sky, before falling to clasp his knees. But the louder the boos, the harder the Djokovic forehand, the more precise the serve. They waited for a spark or for Djokovic's expressionless mask to slip -- and it did in the second game of the fourth, when he clubbed the net in frustration after he was unable to tame a Nadal forehand. "So yeah, between Novak, Roger [Federer], myself, we have an amazing story together facing each other in the most important matches for such a long time. The crowd responded by booing Djokovic to the skies. But the night drew in, and the starless sky blanketed the stadium just as Djokovic started winning, finding his rhythm to take the second set 6-4. "I know I could have played better," Djokovic said. "The crowd is something difficult to describe; I can't thank everyone enough here in Paris. It was an unforgettable night." And from the moment the two walked out, it had that big-event feel. Nadal's walk on to the court was cheered to the rafters, while Djokovic entered to a mixture of boos and cheers -- and looking to gate-crash the party on Nadal's clay. The two grizzled heavyweights of the sport have traded blows since they first met on this patch of clay back in 2006. As sporting rivalries go, add this up there with the best of them; they are one of the very few surefire things in tennis.

Gauff, 18, ousted fellow American Sloane Stephens and still hasn't dropped a set in Paris.

Fernandez, 19, appeared to injure her right ankle during the first set against Trevisan and summoned the trainer, but she played on. “I did feel [the foot issue] before the match, but I didn’t think much of it,” she said. “Obviously you can see someone and look at them and watch them and tell they have whatever it takes to be a top player.” “No matter how good or bad my career is, I think I’m a great person, and that’s a message to all young players,” she said. Rather than let it unsettle her, she got more aggressive and creative with her ground game, varying her tactics and pace to disrupt Stephens until she reclaimed the momentum. They had met on court just once before, with Stephens scoring a straight-sets victory at the U.S. Open last year.

Spain's Rafael Nadal celebrates winning his quarterfinal match against Serbia's Novak Djokovic in four sets at the French Open tennis tournament in the Roland ...

"I'm proud of fighting and staying till the last shot. After the match, Djokovic congratulated Nadal saying he "showed why he's a great champion. On Sunday, following his five-set win against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round of 16, Nadal said, "Two and a half weeks ago, even if I had (positive hopes) after Rome, I didn't even know if I would be able to be here. "I don't know what can happen. And being honest, every match that I play here, I don't know if it is going to be my last match in Roland Garros in my tennis career." I think probably they know that I'm not going to be here (many) more times."

The Spaniard, looking for a 14th Roland Garros title, battled to a 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) victory over the defending champion and world No 1, in a match lasting ...

I fought until the last second of the match, and I'm proud of it." "But then he had another two, three fantastic games at the beginning of the third. "He showed why he's a great champion. A magic night for me." Nadal threw some early punches after coming hurtling out of the blocks. A magic night for me"

Coco Gauff, 18, is into her first major semifinal after defeating fellow American Sloane Stephens in straight sets at Roland Garros. Gauff has yet to drop a ...

Gauff dropped serve in the opening game of the second set but went on a five-game tear after that to serve for the match at 5-1. However, when Gauff served for the set at 5-3, Stephens refused to miss and grabbed control, pulling back on serve. However, Gauff has started her own record of excellence at the majors. "It's important that you have high hopes for yourself, but also, at the same time, it's important to be in reality and I think that's where I am," Gauff said afterward. "I think I was in double digits with double faults. Trevisan ousted Leylah Fernandez earlier on Tuesday, winning her 10th straight match in the process.

Gauff beat Sloane Stephens to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first time in her career.

Stephens, 29, is now based in the Boston area, but she was long based in South Florida, like Gauff and her family, and knew them well enough to attend Gauff’s 10th birthday party. She can extend points like few players in the game with her quickness and defensive skills, and can also finish them with her terrific two-handed backhand and increasingly with her forehand, long her weaker wing. Unlike some teen prodigies, Gauff did not soar to the top of women’s tennis in a hurry. She won the French Open girls’ title at age 14, a year before her breakthrough run in 2019 as a qualifier at Wimbledon, where she defeated one of her role models, Venus Williams, in her first main-draw match at the All England Club. At 13, she was the youngest U.S. Open girls’ singles finalist in history. A year ago, Gauff faced Barbora Krejcikova, a then-unseeded doubles specialist, in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and lost, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open tennis tournament (all times local): 2:25 p.m. Daria Kasatkina advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal with a ...

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek extended her winning streak to 33 matches to stay on course for her second French Open title in three years.

It is so mental but I am happy that I was able to keep it." So I tried to use it that way." It was the key and I'm pretty happy I was playing with a good dynamic to push her back a little bit," said 2020 champion Swiatek, who is bidding to become the fourth player since 2000 to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup multiple times after Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

New French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo says nine of the 10 night session matches at Roland Garros this year involved men because women's tennis ...

"That's actually a key issue that needs to be settled, and that will be one of our priorities in the future," Mauresmo said. Mauresmo's last major tournament was the 2009 US Open. After retiring as a player, Mauresmo moved into coaching and worked with Andy Murray, Lucas Pouille and Marion Bartoli, among others. Night sessions at the US Open, for example, usually include one women's match and one men's match. Mauresmo's session with reporters was held the morning after 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal's 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) quarterfinal victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic in Tuesday's night session. It dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit during his quarterfinal. If we continue with these night sessions in this direction, people need to leave the stadium late enough and make sure that they have a way to come back home, as they should."

PARIS (AP) — The Latest on the French Open tennis tournament (all times local):

___ Ruud is 3-0 against the 19-year-old Rune with all three wins coming on clay including at Monte Carlo this season. No. 7 Andrey Rublev plays No. 20 Marin Cilic in the first men's quarterfinal of the day. Eleventh-seeded Jessica Pegula will try to snap Swiatek's streak in a bid to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. ___ But she then lost nine of the next 10 points before her brief comeback in the tiebreaker. ___ Swiatek gained from what appeared to be a missed call in the seventh game of the first set. ___

Swiatek, who turned 21 on Tuesday, is on the longest unbeaten run in the women's tour since Serena Williams bagged 34 victories in succession in 2013.

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros)June 1, 2022 Pegula did her a favour by sending a routine forehand wide on the second. — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros)June 1, 2022 So I tried to use it that way.” It was the key and I’m pretty happy I was playing with a good dynamic to push her back a little bit,” said Swiatek on a sunbathed, yet windswept court Philippe Chatrier. — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros)June 1, 2022

The Spaniard hit 57 winners as compared to his opponent's 48 in the duo's quarterfinal clash on Tuesday. Nadal's 60% win rate on his second serve – vastly ...

After Djokovic’s resurgence in the second set, Nadal did well to take advantage of his opponent’s lapses and take the third 6-2. Nadal lost just eight points on serve in the fourth, and only two of those were on his second serve. The Serb was struggling to find much purchase on what is usually an extremely reliable first serve, only making it 48 percent of the time in the first set, and failing to land it on multiple crucial points. After winning just two of the first 11 games in the match, much of Djokovic’s reset was down to him targeting Nadal’s backhand more and more. The strategy worked very well in the second set, earning him 24 return points, eight break-point opportunities, and allowing him to come back from a double-break deficit to draw level. Djokovic took too long to get out of the gates in the encounter, during which time he made several unforced errors and failed to take advantage of good court positions.

In their 59th meeting, Rafael Nadal was victorious in a quarterfinal showdown against Novak Djokovic. There's been an ongoing rivalry between the two tennis ...

Amelie Mauresmo, who is in her first year as the French Open's first female tournament director, said on Wednesday that nine of the 10 night sessions at ...

"That's actually a key issue that needs to be settled, and that will be one of our priorities in the future," Mauresmo said. Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android Night sessions at the US Open, for example, usually include one women's match and one men's match. what match in the woman's draw can I put there? "That's the general (reasons) for the men's matches." It dropped below 15 degrees during his quarter-final.

Rafael Nadal was victorious in a quarterfinal showdown against Novak Djokovic. There's been an ongoing rivalry between the two tennis greats.

Iga Swiatek is into the French Open semifinals on a 33-match win streak, extending the longest unbeaten run on the WTA Tour in nine years.

If Swiatek wins her second Roland Garros title in two years, she will be at 35 matches, the longest undefeated run since Venus Williams also won 35 in a row in 2000. “I don’t know why, but that’s how my brain sometimes works after matches like that.” It’s hard, but I’m working on it.”

Rafael Nadal's chronic foot injury issues mean that every tournament, or even every match, he plays in could be his last. It comes after the Spaniard beat ...

The main goal is be focused on all the level that I have been playing today." "I am not the kind of guy and player that emotionally goes high and low. I don't know what can happen after, honestly, but here I think I'm going to be fine." I am very clear about that, no?" "So it's not the moment to talk about that. "Yes, I can't say another thing.

The world No 1 defeated Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-final at Roland Garros, and will play Daria Kasatkina in the last four.

“If we continue with these night sessions in this direction, people need to leave the stadium late enough and make sure that they have a way to come back home, as they should. Mauresmo, who is in her first year as tournament director, spoke unimpressively in her press conference about various topics in the tournament. “In this era that we are in right now, I don’t feel – and as a woman, former woman’s player, I don’t feel bad or unfair saying that right now you have more attraction, more attractivity – can you say that?

Tennis expert Gavin Mair has locked in his Martina Trevisan vs. Coco Gauff picks in the French Open 2022 semifinal on Thursday.

Be sure to check out Mair's picks and analysis before locking in your own 2022 French Open picks for the women's semifinals. Trevisan won a WTA event just before coming to the French Open, and she is a clay court specialist. Now, Mair has locked in on the 2022 French Open women's semifinal matchup featuring Gauff vs. Mair is forecasting a wildly interesting matchup between Gauff and Trevisan. Both players are seeking their first grand slam final appearance, and Gauff became just the third American in two decades to reach a major semifinal before turning 19 years old. The match is set to begin at 10:30 am ET in Paris. The winner will face either top-seeded Iga Swiatek or Daria Kasatkina for the 2022 French Open title. He also correctly backed Barbora Krejcikova in the 2021 French Open final.

In her first year as the tournament director, Amelie Mauresmo has already given a very controversial take about the scheduling of matches.

“That’s actually a key issue that needs to be settled, and that will be one of our priorities in the future,” Mauresmo said. If we continue with these night sessions in this direction, people need to leave the stadium late enough and make sure that they have a way to come back home, as they should.” “That’s the general (reason) for the men’s matches.” Mauresmo’s session with reporters was held the morning after 13-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal’s 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) quarterfinal victory over defending champion Novak Djokovic in Tuesday’s night session. Night sessions at the U.S. Open, for example, usually include one women’s match and one men’s match. It dropped below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius) during his quarterfinal. “And some may say that it’s unpredictable and girls are not consistent. There’s more drama.” “There’s more rallies. “In this era that we are in right now, I don’t feel — and as a woman, former women’s player, I don’t feel bad or unfair saying that, right now — you have more ... appeal,” Mauresmo said. Asked about that decision-making process, Mauresmo said in French that having just one match in each night session made it “more difficult to have” that be a women’s match. “It’s kind of the personal opinion of every person if they like men’s tennis or women’s tennis more or if they like them equally, but I think women’s tennis has a lot of advantages,” said Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, who has won 33 matches in a row.

The world No 23 defeated his Russian opponent 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6( 2) and has now reached the semi-finals of every grand slam tournament.

But this year at the French Open he has done so, reaching the semi-final here for the first time in his career by defeating Andrey Rublev, the seventh seed, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) in one of the best matches of the tournament so far. With his success in Paris, he will also cross the $30m (£24m) mark for prize money. He played a great tiebreak, the first ever seen on Court Philippe Chatrier, filled with nuclear forehand winners and big serving, to advance.

French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said Wednesday that women's matches had less appeal than men's at Roland Garros, an opinion dismissed as ...

“Some may say that it’s unpredictable and girls are not consistent. Appeal? -- for the men’s matches,” said Mauresmo, a former world number one and a two-time Grand Slam champion. Women’s tennis has a lot of advantages.

Serbian star Novak Djokovic, the world's number one, was defeated by his long-time rival Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who improved to an incredible 110 of 113 at ...

American Coco Gauff reached her first semi-finals at a major tournament. Host Scott Tong speaks about all this and more with Christopher Clarey, who is covering the French Open for the New York Times. On Tuesday night, Spaniard Rafael Nadal outdueled Serbian star Novak Djokovic in an all-time great match that lasted more than four hours in the semi-finals of the French Open.

Building a buzz at night at Roland Garros has stirred up moments of gender inequality, dilemmas for fans and neighbors and inconveniences for players.

And yet it is supposed to get the marquee match even if the contract, according to L’Équipe, allows the French Open organizers the final say. But the one-match nighttime format also made it difficult to showcase Swiatek, who is winning most of her matches in a hurry at this stage. To have the matchup of the tournament end at 1:15 a.m. on a weeknight surely was not great for viewership in France, either. “The generation and depth of talent we are currently witnessing in the sport is incredible,” he said. But she said she struggled to find the marquee matchups and star power she was seeking. Because, according to Mauresmo, the night-session broadcast contracts from 2021 through 2023 stipulate that there be just one match. But the new night sessions at Roland Garros, created above all to increase profits for an event that trails the other the Grand Slam events in domestic television revenue, also have had plenty of downsides. The disparity has continued even though Amélie Mauresmo, a former WTA No. 1 from France, is the new French Open tournament director. “I admit it was tough,” she said. There is certainly room for improvement, and if we want to build the value of our combined product, then a balanced match schedule is critical in providing that pathway.” There are certainly bigger issues in tennis, but Bouin more or less kept his word, retiring long before the French Open adopted its “sessions de nuit” in 2021. Mauresmo said her goal after the draw came out was to try to find women’s matches that she could put in that showcase nighttime slot.

Iga Swiatek benefited from the chair umpire's no-call on a double bounce that gave her a key first-set service break during a match-altering five-game run ...

Pegula could not get to that response, and the point went to Swiatek, giving her a 4-3 edge. Rather than being derailed by the sudden switch in status, Swiatek has flourished, going 16-0 since rising from No. 2. She has not lost a match since February and claimed the title at each of her past five tournaments. Pegula tried a drop shot, and Swiatek ran to it, reaching out to flip the ball over the net at an impossible angle. Iga Swiatek wins 33rd match in a row to advance to the French Open semis Swiatek extended her winning streak to 33 matches, the longest on tour since Serena Williams won 34 in a row in 2013.

Serbian star Novak Djokovic, the world's number one, was defeated by his long-time rival Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who improved to an incredible 110 of 113 at ...

American Coco Gauff reached her first semi-finals at a major tournament. Host Scott Tong speaks about all this and more with Christopher Clarey, who is covering the French Open for the New York Times. On Tuesday night, Spaniard Rafael Nadal outdueled Serbian star Novak Djokovic in an all-time great match that lasted more than four hours in the semi-finals of the French Open.

Croatian Marin Cilic triumphed in a fifth-set quarter-final tiebreaker over Russian Andrey Rublev, who won fans' admiration for two critical displays of ...

"You have to keep up with your level, which I did. One had to go down and today was my day. "The win comes from being me.

Serbian star Novak Djokovic, the world's number one, was defeated by his long-time rival Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who improved to an incredible 110 of 113 at ...

American Coco Gauff reached her first semi-finals at a major tournament. Host Scott Tong speaks about all this and more with Christopher Clarey, who is covering the French Open for the New York Times. On Tuesday night, Spaniard Rafael Nadal outdueled Serbian star Novak Djokovic in an all-time great match that lasted more than four hours in the semi-finals of the French Open.

Marin Cilic's French Open renaissance continued as the Croatian reached his first Grand Slam semi-final in four years with a clash against Norwegian Casper ...

"It's a big day for Norwegian tennis," Ruud added. These matches are the ones you are dreaming about playing." "Of course a lot of nerves all day to get going. Available to download now on - iPhone & iPad and Android "I started great but Holger fought back and raised his level." "You have to keep up with your level, which I did.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek has won her 33rd match in a row with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 11th-seeded Jessica Pegula to advance to the semifinals of the French ...

Ruud is 3-0 against the 19-year-old Rune with all three wins coming on clay including at Monte Carlo this season. No. 7 Andrey Rublev plays No. 20 Marin Cilic in the first men’s quarterfinal of the day. Eleventh-seeded Jessica Pegula will try to snap Swiatek’s streak in a bid to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal. But she then lost nine of the next 10 points before her brief comeback in the tiebreaker. ___ Swiatek gained from what appeared to be a missed call in the seventh game of the first set.

Serbian star Novak Djokovic, the world's number one, was defeated by his long-time rival Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who improved to an incredible 110 of 113 at ...

American Coco Gauff reached her first semi-finals at a major tournament. Host Scott Tong speaks about all this and more with Christopher Clarey, who is covering the French Open for the New York Times. On Tuesday night, Spaniard Rafael Nadal outdueled Serbian star Novak Djokovic in an all-time great match that lasted more than four hours in the semi-finals of the French Open.

PARIS — Rafael Nadal won an epic late-night battle with old foe Novak Djokovic to reach the semifinals of the French Open.

Croatia's Marin Cilic said it was a “great achievement” as he joined Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray in becoming only the fifth ...

Cilic praised Rublev for his sportsmanship after the match. The ball is touching the line! “Please! No! No! No! The ball is touching the line. Cilic delivered what he thought was an ace, only for it to be called a fault. He pocketed the third with a lone break in the seventh game. Rublev showed great sportsmanship in the fifth set, helping his rival when he knew it could hurt him dearly.