French Open

From Nadal's thrilling win over Djokovic to Gauff's first French Open semifinal, tennis fans of all ages have reasons to cheer.

“Now, I’m not looking at anything but the ball in front of me.” Owing to his COVID-19 vaccination status, Djokovic was not a contender at the Australian Open in January, leaving Nadal to win that tournament, which he did by rallying from a two-set deficit against Daniil Medvedev. A French Open title would leave Nadal in contention for an epic Grand Slam this summer. Djokovic came close a year ago, winning the first three majors before falling to Medvedev in the U.S. Open final. After he suffered a rib injury at the Indian Wells tournament in March, Nadal’s French Open status was uncertain. Among the women, Coco Gauff, 18, is easy to cheer. Up 2-1 in sets in the French Open quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic, he had already staved off a couple of set points in the fourth. Swiatek has won 32 straight matches and is all of 21. Nadal won the 2005 French Open days after turning 19. Alcaraz, 19, cracked the top 10 on the same day Nadal did 17 years earlier. He could get to 25 major titles and beyond. He left a drop-shot short. Later, he misfired on a cross-court attempt.

The Spaniard will face German Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

Nadal brought it back to 5-3 and earned a break point, but Djokovic breathtakingly held his nerve. Nadal broke Djokovic in the opening game of the third set, and the duo each held serve as they fought like gladiators through each game. The subject of much of the crowd’s ire, he was in the zone as he raced into a 15-40 serve as he tried to break Nadal in game six of the second set. The Serb earned a set point but Nadal admirably held on, only for the inevitable to happen. The next game once again went to deuce, only for Nadal to come out on top - but Djokovic bit back to take a 5-4 lead. Nadal was relentless and boundless, keeping pace with the Serb to win a 25-shot rally.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic say their French Open quarter-final started too late after a four-hour match ended at 1:16am local time in Paris.

"I have what I have in the foot. Honestly, I don't know what can happen after but here I think I'm going to be fine. Playing another semi-finals here in Roland Garros means a lot to me." That's the world we are living in." "I think they are starting too late. Asked if is was too late to be playing, Nadal said: "It is without a doubt.

RAFAEL NADAL reached the semi-finals of the French Open with a late-night victory over Novak Djokovic at Roland-Garros.

Playing another semi-final here in Roland Garros means a lot to me." We need to find a balance." "But it's just a quarter-finals match? The seasoned 35-year-old, who is now hunting his record 14th title at Roland-Garros, had asked officials not to play the night session - a request that was snubbed before he battled past the resilient Serbian to win 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4). I just give myself a chance to be back on court in two days. "It is too late, without a doubt," said Nadal who had asked not to play in the night session.

Rafael Nadal says his foot injury is still making his future in tennis "super difficult" despite beating Novak Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals.

Of course I'm going to keep fighting to find a solution, but for the moment we haven't [got one]. So that's it. "I don't know what can happen.

Nadal and Djokovic spend more than four hours on court and finish at 1.15am in Paris.

“We need to find a balance, the right balance to make the things the best way possible. It is true that to start the match here nine in the evening playing on clay, best-of-five can be very long. “All the history that we have together. “But then he had another two, three fantastic games at the beginning of the third. Djokovic added: “Again, he showed why he’s a great champion. No doubt he deserved it.”

NOVAK DJOKOVIC was beaten by Rafael Nadal at the French Open in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

He was just able to take his tennis to another level in those, particularly moments at the beginning of all sets except the fourth…. Congrats to him and his team. "I gave my best. "Then he had another two, three fantastic games at the beginning of the third. “I went through a tough process again with my foot. That is my situation now.

Nadal beat Djokovic in a four-set thriller to reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros.

I didn’t start so great ... I was gaining momentum as I was coming back in the second set, managed to win the second set, and I thought, ‘Okay, I’m back in the game. Staying there mentally tough and finishing the match the way he did. You know, over four hours’ battle, and I have to accept this defeat.” But he still found the stamina to beat Djokovic in their 59th career meeting. Djokovic, the 35-year-old winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, conceded an early break to Nadal in each of the first three sets and had two set points in the fourth. “I lost to a better player today.

Novak Djokovic criticised the French Open scheduling after his epic quarter-final match with Rafael Nadal on court Philippe-Chatrier finished at 1.15am ...

Staying there mentally tough and finishing the match the way he did." The pair both held serve to take the set to a tiebreak, a fitting end to a highly competitive set of tennis. "The only way to win against him is to play your best from the first point to the last. The momentum swung yet again as Djokovic finally began a set on the front foot, holding serve before breaking the Nadal and forging a 3-0 lead. "I understand the other part of the business, on the other hand television pays a lot of money to have matches that late, the tournament makes money and the players make money, we need to find the right balance to make things work in the best way possible. But once again the 21-time Grand Slam champion showed just how phenomenal he is on the hallowed clay of Roland Garros as a performance coupled with ruthless aggression and sheer resiliency, hallmarks of his legendary career, saw him defeat the world number one.

Nadal has a chronic foot problem that he has been suffering with since 2005. It was diagnosed with Mueller-Weiss Syndrome and affects a bone in the foot ...

He concluded: 'This track is special to me and it has something unique. The only thing I've done is give myself an option to be in the semifinals. It was eventually diagnosed with Mueller-Weiss Syndrome and affects a bone in the foot that is integral to movement. Playing the semi-finals gives me a lot of energy for me and we'll see how it goes down here (left foot). 'They probably know that I'm not going to be here many more times. 'I already said in Rome that having my doctor here helps me do things.

This was their 10th meeting at Roland Garros, and Nadal now leads 8-2.

He led 5-2 at one stage and was serving for the set at 5-3, only to get broken. Nadal will next play Alexander Zverev in the semi-final. And Nadal would use his groundstroke off his right wing to play shots into angles or in the open court to create openings, draw an error or finish a point. The drop shot is used to break rhythm and send the opponent scrambling to the net. I had my chances in the fourth (set),” Djokovic said later. Against Djokovic though, just as he did in the final of the 2020 French Open, Nadal was aggressive from the get-go. By the end of the match, he had cracked 57 winners to the Serbian’s 48. This tactic was helped, especially in the first set, by the fact that Djokovic had been rather passive in his approach. A part of the reason for his high unforced error count is also Nadal’s impressive defence on the night. There were no signs of the foot injury the 35-year-old had talked about numerous times – at least, he didn’t show that he was in pain. Nadal, known to have a vicious looping and curling forehand, can use it to devastating effect. And he did.

Nadal has lifted the men's singles trophy 13 times at Roland Garros, making him the most successful player in the history of the tournament. No player has won ...

At the moment we haven’t found a solution. By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice. No player has won that many titles at any of the other Grand Slams, and Nadal holds more major trophies than any men’s player (21).

French Open night sessions will remain despite the reservations of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic whose epic quarter-final clash ended at 1:15 Wednesday ...

"There were a lot of discussions. We do not have the means to organise this for 15,000 people yet," said Mauresmo. There is a 7:30pm start for the finals. Appeal? -- for men's matches." "When did it end, at half past one? They decide."

Rafael Nadal has admitted that any Roland Garros match could be his last after his tough victory against Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Rolling report: Join Stuart Goodwin for updates from Roland Garros with the women's No 1 seed, Iga Swiatek, in action against Jessica Pegula.

But a player rises to No 3 in the rankings for a reason. She then forces Kudermetova long to take the game to deuce, and Hawk-Eye agrees with her assessment that a viciously struck cross-court blast fell just wide. The meagre early crowd is starting to bulk up a little, and have a decent, well-matched quarter-final to enjoy. A fifth break point courtesy of an ill-advised leave, the ball over the top judged (correctly) to be just in, and the longest game of the match ends with a limp dab into the net. 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. She then gifts the chance of a fourth with a double fault, but races round the court to salvage it, set up by a well-measured dink over the net. The pattern of the match as a whole has been Kudermetova throwing errors in at critical moments where she needs to push forward and keep pressure on her opponent. Kasatkina eases to 30-0, and after a fine winner in response, she conjures a delicious passing shot down the line to go 40-15 up. The Pole then capitalises on an error before thrashing a winner to bring up the first break point of the match. A wild thrash wide makes it 5-0 – with Kudermetova uncomfortably close to the half-century of unforced errors in the match. She closes out the game, but there will be a brief break with Kudermetova calling for a trainer. And she starts upsetting the pattern, emerging on top of a few lengthy exchanges.

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

French Open boss Amelie Mauresmo has risked accusations of sexism by claiming only one of the 10 night sessions at this year's event had a women's match ...

The night sessions will stay, but obviously we are going to see whether we move the starting time or not. I'm learning a lot of things regarding the scheduling of the tournament. But former world No 1 Mauresmo, who coached Andy Murray, said: “In this era that we are in right now, I don't feel as a woman, former woman's player, I don't feel bad or unfair saying that right now you have more attraction, more appeal in general, for the men's matches. Both Nadal and Djokovic later admitted the match started too late. The new floodlights on Court Philippe-Chatrier have seen dedicated night sessions for the first time at the clay-court Grand Slam with the sole singles match starting at 8.45pm Paris time. Both players complained the match started too late.

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 ...

PARIS, June 1 (Reuters) - Women's tennis is not as appealing as men's tennis at the moment, French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said after ...

Appeal? That's the general, for the men's matches," former two-time Grand Slam champion Mauresmo said. It happened on Tuesday, when the Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic epic quarter-final clash finished around 1.15 am. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

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 ...

Mauresmo also expanded women’s role in tennis as coach of former No. 1 Andy Murray for a time. “ When you have this — it’s an interesting one, because as I was saying, the fact that it’s right now a one-match night session is tough on this. Serena Williams, the sport’s 23-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t competed in 11 months, not since her first-round loss at Wimbledon last year. Appeal? — for the men’s matches,” Mauresmo said, asked about the gender imbalance in the scheduling of the feature night match on Court Philippe-Chatrier. “My goal was when I was doing the schedule every day to try and see, and from the first rounds, from the first round, when the draw came out, to try and see what match in the woman's draw can I put there, honestly,” she said. “The confrontation or the star that I could put there.

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.

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.

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.”

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 ...

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.

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 ...

World No.1 Iga Swiatek's unbeaten run extended to 33 straight matches with a victory over No.11 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals of the French Open.

... Being in the semifinal, it's a new experience because it [doesn't] happen very often and I hope I'm going to use my chance." Because I feel like she's playing even more solid than she was and she already played really solid. The pair traded serviced breaks to start the match, and the American saved three match points in the second set before succumbing to defeat. "But I don't really want to become overconfident. Swiatek's win also puts her in sole possession of third in the list of longest WTA winning streaks this century; she shared 32 with Justine Henin's effort between 2007-08. Swiatek leads their overall head-to-head, 3-1, with all three of those wins coming this year.