INSIDER
Wimbledon tennis tournament replaces line judges with technology in break with tradition
Read full article: Wimbledon tennis tournament replaces line judges with technology in break with traditionWimbledon is replacing line judges with electronic line-calling to mark the latest step into the modern age by the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament.
Unvaccinated Djokovic out of US Open tuneup in Cincinnati
Read full article: Unvaccinated Djokovic out of US Open tuneup in CincinnatiNovak Djokovic has pulled out of next week’s hard-court tournament in Cincinnati because he has not gotten any COVID-19 vaccine shots and so is not allowed to travel to the United States.
Nadal improves to 18-0 with win over Opelka at Indian Wells
Read full article: Nadal improves to 18-0 with win over Opelka at Indian WellsNursing a nagging foot injury, Rafael Nadal improved to 18-0 this season, edging Reilly Opelka 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) on Wednesday in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
No Novak yet but rest of tennis prepares for Australian Open
Read full article: No Novak yet but rest of tennis prepares for Australian OpenWhile the “will he or won’t he” question remains for No. 1 Novak Djokovic and his participation in the Australian Open the rest of the tennis world returns to work this week to prepare for the season’s first major.
Djokovic extends Slam bid; 1st time no US players in Open QF
Read full article: Djokovic extends Slam bid; 1st time no US players in Open QFNovak Djokovic has extended his pursuit of the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969 by beating the last U.S. singles player at the U.S. Open.
Never count him out: Nadal rallies past Shapovalov in Rome
Read full article: Never count him out: Nadal rallies past Shapovalov in RomeRafael Nadal showed he’s still got the stamina to withstand much younger challengers in a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) comeback win over 22-year-old Denis Shapovalov that secured him a spot in the Italian Open quarterfinals.
No sign of Grand Slam drought ending soon for American men
Read full article: No sign of Grand Slam drought ending soon for American menThe last American man to win a Grand Slam tournament was Andy Roddick at the U.S. Open in 2003, and there's no sign the drought will end anytime soon. “But I don’t see it being what it once was ever again.”AdOpelka, for one, isn’t surprised the United States has the same number of seeded men in Melbourne as, say, Bulgaria or Norway. The United States has four seeded women in Melbourne, including Kenin and Serena Williams. That’s a challenge, because those kids want to play basketball and football.”The United States Tennis Association has inner-city programs in more than 250 locations. Opelka (ranked 38th), Fritz (ranked 31st), Tommy Paul (53rd) and Frances Tiafoe (64th) are all 23 and good friends who root for each other.
Djokovic holds off Tiafoe; Venus hobbles out in Australia
Read full article: Djokovic holds off Tiafoe; Venus hobbles out in AustraliaSerbia's Novak Djokovic makes a forehand return to United States' Frances Tiafoe during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. 1, had never beaten anyone in the Top 5, and now he'd just won a tiebreaker against Novak Djokovic to level their second-round match at the Australian Open. So did another U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, who needed only an hour to sweep Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3. AdFormer U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, coming back from 15 months out with injury, became the latest top-10 player to be beaten by Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan. 11 Denis Shapovalov beat Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic 6-1, 6-3, 6-2, advancing along with two other Canadians, Milos Raonic and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Thiem right at home in 1st-round win at a chilly French Open
Read full article: Thiem right at home in 1st-round win at a chilly French OpenAustria's Dominic Thiem reacts in the first round match of the French Open tennis tournament against Croatia's Marin Cilic at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)PARIS – Dominic Thiem felt right at home in the cold of the French Open on Monday. “I love the conditions because I’m from Austria, because I know how it is in these cold conditions," Thiem said on court. “Ten, 15 degrees, I love it.”Two weeks ago, Thiem won his first major tournament at the U.S. Open in New York. Serena Williams and Nadal were to follow Thiem on Chatrier, the main court at Roland Garros.
Osaka withdraws in protest; W&S put on hold Thursday
Read full article: Osaka withdraws in protest; W&S put on hold ThursdayNaomi Osaka, of Japan, leaves the court after winning her match with Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, during the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in New York. Soon after, the whole tournament was put on hold for a day. Osaka tweeted that as a Black woman, she feels compelled to pull out of the tournament to put a focus on police shooting Black people. "Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach. I have to be patient, to try to enjoy every single match I play here after six months without competing.
Djokovic's neck better, as is his play; now 20-0 in 2020
Read full article: Djokovic's neck better, as is his play; now 20-0 in 2020Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, returns a shot from Tennys Sandgren during the third round at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)NEW YORK Novak Djokovics neck felt much better, and his tennis looked much better, in a 6-2, 6-4 victory over unseeded American Tennys Sandgren at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday that improved the No. The Western & Southern Open is usually held in Ohio but was moved to the U.S. Opens site in Flushing Meadows this year to make for a two-event, no-spectator bubble amid the pandemic. He has won five of the past seven Grand Slam tournaments, including at the Australian Open in February. Womens quarterfinal matchups set earlier in the day were two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka against Anett Kontaveit, former No.
Pain in the neck: Djokovic gets by in 1st post-hiatus match
Read full article: Pain in the neck: Djokovic gets by in 1st post-hiatus matchA trainer works on the neck of Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, during his match with Ricardas Berankis, of Lithuania, during the second round at the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in New York. 1-ranked Djokovic was playing his first ATP match in six months because of the coronavirus pandemic; he pulled out of the doubles event Sunday because of his neck. That major championship's site in Flushing Meadows is hosting the Ohio-based Western & Southern Open, too, as part of an unusual doubleheader with no spectators. Like Djokovic, Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka emerged with difficult wins, while two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova, the No. Djokovic now meets American Tennys Sandgren, a 6-7 (4), 6-2, 7-6 (5) winner over No.