Johanna Konta’s rise up the rankings over the past 2 years has been a great story for British Tennis at a time when the…
Former champion Grigor Dimitrov needed three sets to overcome Daniil Medvedev and reach the Aegon Championships semi-finals at Queen’s Club.
The Bulgarian sixth seed led 5-0 after Medvedev injured his shoulder in the warm-up and required treatment.
The 21-year-old Russian fought back but Dimitrov eventually won 6-3 3-6 6-3 after one hour and 45 minutes.
Dimitrov will play Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the last four, while 2012 winner Marin Cilic meets Gilles Muller.
Croatian fourth seed Cilic beat American Donald Young 6-4 7-5 to set up the semi-final against Luxembourg’s Muller, who won 6-4 7-6 (7-5) against American Sam Querrey.
It appeared unlikely that the third quarter-final would even start when Medvedev called for the trainer during the warm-up.
The youngster, ranked 60th in the world, hurt his shoulder during a practice serve and had treatment before deciding to play.
After the first five games went to Dimitrov, a close contest developed and the Russian had his chances at a break up in the decider, finishing with 14 aces.
“It was a very tricky match,” said Dimitrov.
“It’s never easy to play a guy you’ve never played before. He’s a very talented player, he definitely surprised me.
“I wasn’t playing good tennis overall but those are the matches that I’m happy to win. Hopefully I can produce some better tennis tomorrow.”
Lopez, 35, needed almost two and a half hours to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (1-7) 7-5 against Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych.
The world number 32 saved two match points at 5-4 in the final set before taking Berdych’s serve in the next game, after earning his first break points of the match, with a brilliant passing forehand that video technology showed was initially incorrectly called out.
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Cilic and Muller will meet after both men reached the semi-finals without dropping serve in the tournament.
Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, has not faced a break point in dominating his opening three matches, winning 78 of 84 points behind his first serve.
“I’m playing really well this week,” he said. “I’m feeling great on the court and again today another match without losing serve, so that’s extremely good.”
Muller is in the form of his life at the age of 34, the left-hander taking his winning run on grass to seven matches in a row.
He is at a career-high ranking of 26 in the world and has already won the first two ATP titles of his career in 2017.
“It’s a great feeling when you get that many matches in a row,” said Muller.
“It does happen too often in a year for me, so to get this many wins in a row gives me a big boost and a lot of confidence.”
| Wimbledon on the BBC | |
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| Venue: All England Club Dates: 3-16 July | |
| Coverage: Follow on BBC TV, BBC Radio and online with further coverage across Red Button, Connected TVs and BBC Sport website. | |
British number three Dan Evans has announced he tested positive for cocaine in a drugs test taken in April.
The 27-year-old, who has played for Britain in the Davis Cup, learned of the failed test earlier this week and said he had “let a lot of people down”.
“I made a mistake and I must face up to it,” said the world number 50.
A player can be banned for up to four years for an anti-doping violation, according to International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules.
The ITF said Evans provided the positive sample at the Barcelona Open on 24 April and he will be provisionally suspended from 26 June.
“It’s really important you know this was taken out of competition and in a context completely unrelated to tennis,” said Evans, from Birmingham.
“I do not condone for one second to anyone that this is acceptable behaviour.
“I have let a lot of people down – my family, my coach, my team, sponsors, British Tennis and my fans. I can only deeply apologise from the bottom of my heart.
“This has been a sad and humbling experience.”
| Dan Evans factfile | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 May 1990, Birmingham |
| Turned pro | 2006 |
| Best Grand Slam performances | Australian Open: 4R (2016) |
| French Open: 1R (2017) | |
| Wimbledon: 3R (2016) | |
| US Open: 3R (2013) and (2016) | |
| ATP Tour titles | 0 |
| ATP Tour finals | 1 (Sydney 2017) |
| Career prize money | £1,053,266 |
| 2017 prize money | £319,132 |
Evans last played on 10 June at Surbiton, retiring with a calf injury before withdrawing from events in Nottingham, London and Eastbourne.
He was ranked 772nd in the world in April 2015 but had reached a career-high ranking of 41 in March this year.
He lost all three of his matches last month, going out in the first round at the French Open, Madrid Open and Rome Masters.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body of British tennis, said it was “very disappointed” by the news.
“We absolutely condemn any form of drug-taking and will support the process which needs to take place,” said LTA performance director Simon Timson.
“We are in touch with Dan and we will offer appropriate guidance, support and education to him on how best to address the issues he now faces.”
Evans has accepted the finding and the ITF said the ban will begin on Monday, “pending determination of the case”.
A ban of two years is possible if it can be proved the substance was taken “in a context unrelated to sport performance”, according to the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme guidelines.
Spaniard Jose-Manuel Roman Gomez was given a four-year ban after testing positive for cocaine in 2015, while French world number 30 Richard Gasquet had a two-year ban overturned in 2009.
An ITF panel accepted Gasquet’s claim that the substance was in his system after he kissed a woman who had taken cocaine in a nightclub.
Former world number one Martina Hingis was given a two-year ban in 2008 after testing positive for cocaine while competing at Wimbledon the previous year.
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent:
Cocaine is a prohibited substance, classed as a stimulant, which is banned in competition.
Tennis’ anti-doping programme states a four-year ban is the starting point, if guilt is established, but the suspension can be reduced in certain circumstances.
It is cut to two years if the player can persuade the tribunal the drug was used out of competition and “in a context unrelated to sport performance”.
Evans used an almost identical set of words in his brief statement.
My reading of the rules is that, if successful, Evans could then try and argue he bore “no significant fault or negligence”.
If he is able to make a convincing case, any suspension could be cut yet further – but he does face a minimum of one year away from the sport.
John Lloyd, BBC Sport commentator and 1977 Australian Open finalist:
The bottom line is how many chances do you get?
He has had so many in his career where we have written him off, done things like not trained and done the things he needed to, got in trouble and then came back.
It looked like he had finally broken through that with some tremendous performances and he was a world-class player. Now this has happened.
At some stage it has to change. It is very sad.
Amy Denton Clark recalls taking the racket during the 1997 final at the Queen’s Club.
Khachanov could face Federer next
In an all #NextGenATP quarter-final clash at the Gerry Weber Open, Karen Khachanov came out on top on Friday as he edged good friend Andrey Rublev 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-3 in two hours and 16 minutes.
The 21-year-old Khachanov is currently third in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, looking to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan at the end of the year. The right-hander, who won his first ATP World Tour title in Chengdu in October 2016 (d. Ramos-Vinolas), is through to his first semi-final of the season.
Coming into this ATP World Tour 500 tournament on the back of a breakthrough run to the Roland Garros fourth round (l. to Murray), Khachanov had never won a tour-level match on grass before. He is now due to face either Roger Federer or Florian Mayer for a spot in the final.
Khachanov and Rublev both train at the 4 Slam Tennis Academy in Barcelona, with Khachanov coached by Galo Blanco and Rublev under the tutelage of Fernando Vicente. But friendship was put aside as the pair clashed for the first time on the ATP World Tour.
After twice failing to serve out the first set, Khachanov then saved set point at 6/7 in the tie-break before clinching the opener on his fifth opportunity. Rublev seized control early in the second set, with two breaks of serve levelling the match. The 19-year-old Rublev then looked to have the upperhand in the decider as he broke for a 2-1 lead, but Khachanov swept five of the next six games to complete the comeback.
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