Thiem Talks First Win Over Murray At Barcelona 2017
Thiem Talks First Win Over Murray At Barcelona 2017
Apr292017
Pouille plays Lorenzi on Saturday
Aljaz Bedene continued his outstanding play on Saturday at the Gazprom Hungarian Open in Budapest, sweeping past fellow qualifier Laslo Djere 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final.
“The first set was very solid. I made a few more errors in the second set, but I was serving well the whole match and it helped,” said Bedene. “I was working really hard in the pre-season and staying solid, so I’m really happy with how I’m playing. It’s great to play in a final.”
Next up for the Brit in the final is either top seed Lucas Pouille or sixth seed Paolo Lorenzi. Pouille leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Bedene 1-0 after claiming victory this February in Marseille.
Bedene is through to his second ATP World Tour final, having finished runner-up in Chennai in January 2015 (l. Wawrinka). He has been in red-hot form throughout April, winning back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles in Sophia Antipolis and Barletta. Including his wins in the Budapest qualifying draw, the 27-year-old Brit is riding a 16-match win streak.
Bedene dropped just three points in racing out a 4-0 lead in the opening set before eventually taking the early advantage. The Brit only needed a single break of serve in the second set at 3-3 to clinch the match in 77 minutes.
Despite the loss, the 22-year-old Djere, currently No. 184 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, completed a career-best week by reaching his first ATP World Tour semi-final.
DOUBLES
Third seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah are through to the final after defeating Robin Haase and Dominic Inglot 6-3, 6-7, 10-3. This is the third ATP World Tour doubles final of 2017 for the Colombian Power, having won the title in Buenos Aires (d. Gonzalez/Marrero) and finished runner-up in Rio de Janeiro (l. Cuevas/Carreno Busta).
Awaiting them in the championship are third seeds Brian Baker and Nikola Mektic, who also seek their second title together in 2017 after prevailing this February in Memphis (d. Harrison/Johnson).
Maria Sharapova suffered a first defeat since returning from a 15-month doping ban as Kristina Mladenovic beat her in the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open.
Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova was up a set and a break but squandered it to lose 6-3 5-7 4-6.
Mladenovic faces Romanian Simona Halep or German Laura Siegemund in the final.
Having been given a wildcard entry, Russian Sharapova needed to reach the final in Germany to be eligible for qualifying for the French Open.
Her defeat means she will finish outside the top 200 when the rankings are released on Monday, ruling out a qualifier spot for the event in Paris, which starts on 22 May.
She will learn on 16 May whether she will be given a wildcard for the main draw at Roland Garros.
Sharapova, who has also received wildcards for forthcoming tournaments in Madrid and Rome, took complete control at the start of the contest as a second double fault gave the 30-year-old a 4-1 lead before sealing the first set in just 38 minutes.
She broke Mladenovic again at the start of the second set and looked to be cruising to victory, but despite conceding 11 double faults, the Frenchwoman improved her baseline game and fought her way back into the contest.
The world number 19 broke back and then held her composure to survive three break points to go 6-5 ahead before converting her first set point on Sharapova’s next service game.
The pair traded blows early in the third before Mladenovic grabbed a break to go 4-2 up before fighting back from 0-40 to hold her serve.
Mladenovic seized the advantage in the final set by converting her fourth break point and then coming from 40-0 down in the seventh game to take a commanding 5-2 lead.
Sharapova rallied to pull it back to 5-4, but Mladenovic was not to be denied her first win over the Russian and converted her first match point.
World number one Andy Murray suffered a 6-2 3-6 6-4 defeat against Dominic Thiem in the Barcelona Open semi-final.
More to follow.
Maria Sharapova is receiving “extra help” to qualify for tournaments following her 15-month doping ban, says her next opponent Kristina Mladenovic.
Sharapova beat Anett Kontaveit 6-4 6-3 to set up a last-four match with Mladenovic at the Stuttgart Open.
This is one of three events for which the Russian has been given wildcard entries after returning from her ban for testing positive for meldonium.
“I understand tournaments want her in the draw,” said Mladenovic.
“She is very famous and they want more attention, which is part of the business.
“On the other hand, you can ask if it is fair to get a wildcard. It’s a fact that she was caught by anti-doping, but she wasn’t the first one.
“Others have also had the right to come back and play tennis, but with a different road – they wouldn’t get invitations to tournaments.
“Of course, she is authorised to play tennis again, but why would she get that extra help compared to other players?”
When asked whether Mladenovic’s comments would motivate her in their encounter, Sharapova replied: “Not at all”.
She added: “I am not someone that uses it as part of my comeback. I have let my tennis do the talking.
“My results have spoken for everything that needs to be said. The biggest part of my comeback is what happens on court.”
Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova’s world ranking points expired during her suspension.
But she is yet to drop a set in Germany and will earn an automatic place in qualifying at the French Open if she reaches the final in Stuttgart.
She has also been given wildcard entries for the upcoming events in Madrid and Rome.
The former world number one was called “a cheat” by 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard on Thursday.
Sharapova said she was “way above” replying to criticism of her comeback by her rivals.
Sharapova continued her fine form following her return with a straight sets victory over Estonian qualifier Kontaveit to reach the last four in Stuttgart.
The 30-year-old broke twice in the first set, and dug deep in the second to take victory in one hour 23 minutes.
“I served quite well, which gave me confidence. I’m happy,” said Sharapova.
“I kept myself in good shape, because once you lose it, it’s hard to get it back.”
Mladenovic booked her place in the last four with a 6-3 6-2 win over Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 6-2 on Friday.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller
The draw has been kind to Sharapova – the frailties of the sport’s leading lights mean she has not yet faced a top-30 player – but she is playing exceptionally well after 15 months free of competition.
She says she will take no extra motivation from the comments made by Mladenovic, or from the knowledge just one more win will guarantee a place in French Open qualifying.
But her tone changes significantly when the issue of drugs is raised: her answers became very curt when replying to questions about the proposed increase in annual tests.
And when asked whether her team – about whom she had just spoken glowingly – were upset she did not tell them about her meldonium use, she replied: “That is such an inappropriate question. Can we do one last one from someone else?”