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Federer On Facing 20-Year-Old Ruud: I Know More About His Dad

  • Posted: May 29, 2019

Federer On Facing 20-Year-Old Ruud: I Know More About His Dad

Swiss to face #NextGenATP Ruud in third round

Roger Federer doesn’t know a lot about his third-round opponent, #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud. In fact, he might know more about Christian Ruud, Casper’s father and coach who ended his career at the 2001 Roland Garros, the eighth Slam Federer played.

“I know probably more about his dad than about him. Even though I never played him, the father,” Federer said. “I know that [Casper has] improved a lot in recent years, and I think he plays very well on the clay. Again, I haven’t seen him play a whole lot. But for any 20-year-old to be on the big stage, playing a top guy, on a centre court, that’s what you dream of.”

Federer coasted into the third round on Wednesday as he continued his Roland Garros return without dropping a set 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 against Germany’s Oscar Otte.

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The third-seeded Swiss, making his first appearance in Roland Garros since 2015, won 75 per cent of his service points, including the same percentage on his second offering, and was never challenged against the 25-year-old German, No. 144 in the ATP Rankings. Federer saved all four break points faced.

I must say I feel really good, considering I haven’t played here in that long. Especially if I think back a few weeks and months ago before Madrid, didn’t know how successful I was going to play or how I was going to feel on the clay,” said Federer, who played in Madrid and Rome before Roland Garros.

The clay-court season has been, it’s been busy, and it’s nice this way. So I hope I can keep it up. Next round is definitely going to be tougher.”

Read & Watch: Like Father, Like Son: Ruud Makes His Mark

Ruud made his first third round at a Grand Slam by beating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. The 20-year-old Ruud, playing at a career-high No. 63, made the fourth round at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome earlier this month (l. to Del Potro) and improved to 13-5 on the season with the straight-sets win against Berrettini.

“Today, by the scoreline against Berrettini, seems like he did his work, and he deserves to be in the third round. I will take him very seriously,” Federer said.

Ruud has matched his Grand Slam win total this week and has yet to drop a set in beating Berrettini and 2014 semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

I didn’t kind of expect myself to win in three straight sets, but I played very good tennis when I had to the most, especially toward the end of both first and second set,” Ruud said of his second-round match.

“Now I’m playing one of the greatest champions ever of this sport on Friday, so I’m just super excited for it. I can play loose and free. I have nothing to stress about or think too much about.

“But of course I will be a bit excited and nervous, but I will just look at it as a great opportunity and a privilege to be able to play Roger.”

In other action, French wild card Nicolas Mahut, 37, beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 and will meet the winner of Argentine Leonardo Mayer and 17th seed Diego Schwartzman. Their match was suspended because of darkness with Mayer leading 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-3.

“I was completely carefree. I could be carefree. I played my last weapons, and it was good. This is something that one can do when one is at the end of one’s career,” Mahut said. “I’m here now at the third round. It’s crazy. But that’s also the [Roland Garros] magic. French players can give their best. As every time when I was young, I would watch tennis on TV and I could see a French player playing in an outstanding way, and that’s never been my case. And I thought, ‘Oh my God, in 20 years I haven’t done it.’ And this year it’s happening. I’m very proud. I’m very happy.”

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Konta reaches French Open third round for first time

  • Posted: May 29, 2019

Johanna Konta became the first British woman since 1992 to reach the French Open third round as she overcame sickness to battle past Lauren Davis.

Konta, seeded 26th, needed four match points to clinch a hard-fought 6-3 1-6 6-3 win over the American in Paris.

“I’ve been a bit sick since Sunday. I’m doing everything I can to recover and dealing with it,” Konta said.

The 28-year-old British number one will play Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova, ranked 46th, on Friday.

Konta would have expected to face fourth seed Kiki Bertens, who Konta beat in the Rome Masters semi-finals recently, but the Dutch player retired from her match against Kuzmova because of illness.

Konta has also been struggling with a heavy cold, blowing her nose between points and sounding hoarse during the post-match media interviews.

“I wouldn’t say I’m feeling brilliant, but I’m also managing well and cracking on,” she said.

“I’m letting my body heal itself as best as it can with the demands that are on it right now.”

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‘I knew it wasn’t over until I was shaking hands’

Konta has surged back up the world rankings after a productive clay-court season which has seen her reach the Morocco Open and Italian Open finals, beating Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams and Bertens in Rome.

She had never won a main-draw match in Paris until her first-round win over German qualifier Antonia Lottner on Tuesday.

Now she has a great opportunity to reach the Roland Garros second week after eventually seeing off Davis, who is ranked 111th in the world.

After edging a tight opening set by breaking in the penultimate game, then losing her way in the second, Konta showed impressive mental resilience to eventually take the decider.

She managed to instantly block out the second set, hitting 10 winners and making only two unforced errors to surge into a 5-0 lead.

Then she stuttered again with one game separating her from victory.

Davis saved the first match point on her own serve with a crunching cross-court forehand, then nicked a break back after Konta let slip a 40-15 lead at 5-2.

A hold to love for Davis reinforced momentum had swung back in her favour, with Konta’s plight looking precarious when she trailed 0-40 as Davis threatened to put the set back on serve.

Konta, however, managed to reset again, fighting back to avert danger and clinching victory at the fourth attempt with a thumping drive volley.

“I knew up until the very end, until I was shaking hands with her, it was not going to be over,” added Konta, who has emulated Briton Jo Durie’s achievement of reaching the last 32.

“I’m definitely playing good tennis right now. I’m competing well.

“When I’m presented with tough situations out there, I keep a cool head. I’m managing to problem-solve well, which makes me difficult to play.”

‘She is tough mentally’ – analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

Only twice in 13 matches this year has Johanna Konta failed to win a deciding set: that is a record which stands comparison with the very best in the world.

Lauren Davis was far too good in the second set, but Konta reasserted her authority from the very first point of the decider. And she then slammed the door shot as a resurgent American threatened to force it open again.

Konta will now play Viktoria Kuzmova for a place in the last 16. The Slovak has a ranking similar to the one Konta had before she reached the final in Rome, but it will be the 21 year old’s first ever Grand Slam third round match.

Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

I am thrilled for Konta. It is tough to get over the line when sets get tight like that. It is wonderful to see. The third round is such good progress for her.

With Kiki Bertens having to retire from her match, it has opened up the draw. It gives Konta a really good opportunity to get to the second week.

We have seen upsets but she is in a good way. She is tough mentally and has shown good composure.

Evans and Norrie win in men’s doubles

Britons Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie fought back from a set down to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 against Americans Steve Johnson and Denis Kudla in the first round of the men’s doubles.

Evans and Norrie face the 14th-seeded duo of Dutchman Robin Haase and Denmark’s Frederik Nielsen in the second round on Thursday.

In the first round of the mixed doubles, Britain’s Luke Bambridge, partnered with American Asia Muhammad, overcame the French pair of Pauline Parmentier and Fabrice Martin, winning 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 10-5.

Briton Neal Skupski and Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez won via a champions tie-break, beating Japan’s Eri Hozumi and Ben McLachlan 6-1 3-6 10-6.

Britain’s Dominic Inglot and Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu lost 1-6 7-5 14-12 to Croatia’s Darija Jurak and American Austin Krajicek.

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Cabal/Farah, Marach/Pavic Extend Clay Streaks At Roland Garros

  • Posted: May 29, 2019

Cabal/Farah, Marach/Pavic Extend Clay Streaks At Roland Garros

Both duos won titles entering clay-court major

Third seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, making their first appearance since clinching the ATP Masters 1000 title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, opened their Roland Garros campaign on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Australians Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith.

The Colombians also won the clay-court crown in April at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Murray/Soares), and improve to a 10-1 match record starting with that title run. Cabal and Farah will be looking to reach the quarter-finals or better for a third straight year in Paris.

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, the No. 4 seeds and returning finalists, defeated Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Mischa Zverev 7-6(2), 6-4 in their first-round match. The Austrian/Croatian duo also entered Paris on the heels of a successful title run, claiming their first trophy of the season last week in Geneva.

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The other seeded duo in action Wednesday, No. 5 seeds Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor, fell to Spaniards Pablo Cuevas and Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Mektic and Skugor had won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title to start off the European clay swing, and were making their team’s debut at the clay-court major.

Cuevas and Lopez are both former Roland Garros doubles champions. Cuevas won here 11 years ago with Luis Horna, while Lopez teamed up with fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez to claim the title in 2016.

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Federer & Nadal win in straight sets at French Open

  • Posted: May 29, 2019
2019 French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 26 May-9 June
Coverage: Live text and radio commentary on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app.

Former champion Roger Federer and 11-time winner Rafael Nadal moved into the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros without dropping a set.

Federer, the 2009 champion, needed only 96 minutes to see off Germany’s lucky loser Oscar Otte.

The Swiss third seed, playing in the tournament for the first time since 2015, beat the world 144 6-4 6-3 6-4.

Defending champion Nadal eased to a 6-1 6-2 6-4 win over Germany’s world number 114 Yannick Maden.

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It was difficult, he really played a great match – Federer

Otte held his serve in his opening four services games but was broken in his fifth as Federer took the opening set.

The 37-year-old then took control to move two sets ahead and a break in the ninth game of the third set gave him the opportunity to clinch an assured victory on his serve.

Otte had lost in the third qualifying round but took his place in the main draw as a ‘lucky loser’ because of withdrawals.

“The Grand Slams are incredible. You can meet a player who qualified who you have not heard of before,” said Federer, who had to save four break points on his serve.

“It was difficult, he really played a great match. Happily for me, he helped me with some mistakes at the end of the sets.”

Next up for Federer is a match against Norway’s Casper Ruud who knocked out Italian 29th seed Matteo Berrettini 6-4 7-5 6-3.

Nadal won the first five games of the match on his way to taking the opening set in 42 minutes and then broke 29-year-old Maden’s serve in the opening service game of the second.

Maden, playing in the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time, managed to break Nadal’s serve twice in the third set, but struggled to hold on to his own serve as the second seed moved into the last 32.

He is the second German qualifier that Nadal has defeated at this year’s French Open after his first-round win over Yannick Hanfmann on Monday.

Nadal will now face Belgium’s David Goffin in round three.

Tsitsipas, Nishikori & Wawrinka all advance

Elsewhere, sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece fought back from a set down to beat Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 4-6 6-0 6-3 7-5.

Kei Nishikori, seeded seventh, also suffered a scare in his match against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Two-time French Open semi-finalist Tsonga won the opening set but the Japanese player came back to win 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Former champion Stan Wawrinka won in straight sets, overcoming Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-1 6-4 6-0.

The Swiss will play either Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov or former US Open winner Marin Cilic next.

Meanwhile, France’s Corentin Moutet, the world’s number 110, defeated Argentina’s 19th seed Guido Pella 6-3 6-1 2-6 7-5.

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For Serbia's Lajovic, Business Is Good At Roland Garros, And Off The Court

  • Posted: May 29, 2019

For Serbia’s Lajovic, Business Is Good At Roland Garros, And Off The Court

30th seed to face French qualifier Elliot Benchetrit in R2 in Paris

Serbian Dusan Lajovic swears he’s not addicted to coffee. With his morning breakfast, if he feels a little bit low on energy, the 30th seed at Roland Garros usually has a short espresso, and around 4 or 5 p.m., he might savour a cappuccino, a little pick-me-up to avoid the mid-afternoon slump.

So about two coffees every day.

“Two… three… four… Sometimes but not every day,” Lajovic told ATPTour.com. “Let’s say two is a regular dose.

“But I’m trying to not overdue it.”

Who could fault him, though, for occasionally indulging? It’s good for business.

Lajovic, along with Serbian doubles player Nikola Cacic, co-founded and co-owns “Laboratorije Kafe”, or Coffee Lab, located about 25 metres from his front door in Belgrade, or, if it was at Roland Garros, about the distance between Court Philippe Chatrier and Court 1.

The café serves the usual coffees – espressos and cappuccinos – along with fresh juices, smoothies, bagels, cookies and ice cream. They import their coffee beans from Italy, after originally sourcing them from Colombia and Brazil, where a sweeter bean grows.

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Now I would say it’s a little bit darker, and it’s similar to what people are used to in the country,” Lajovic said.

Most Serbians drink Turkish coffee, which has a more sour-tasting flavour, at home, Lajovic said, but the lab offers something a little different.

True to its name, the business also has a lab-like feel. It’s all black and white, and its smoothies come in beaker-like glassware. “We actually buy the glasses in the shop from the laboratories,” Lajovic said.

Initially, when he and Cacic founded the business about a few years ago, Lajovic envisioned it as the first in a future chain of shops. But even the most fledgling of tennis careers require full-time focus, and, for Lajovic, future growth forecasts for his main hustle have never looked more promising.

The Serbian reached his first ATP Tour final in April at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, an ATP Masters 1000 event, beating Austrian Dominic Thiem (No. 5) and Daniil Medvedev of Russia (No. 14) to hit a career-high in the ATP Rankings of No. 23.

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He hasn’t surprised me with the level of tennis on clay, because I knew that he has the ability to play at a really high level,” said countryman Novak Djokovic, World No. 1 and 2016 Roland Garros champion.

But to do it day after day at such a big tournament and to win against big players like Dominic Thiem is phenomenal, and I congratulate him for the great success… It’s great for Serbian tennis.”

At Roland Garros, Lajovic is seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam, a designation that has helped him avoid the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the first or second round.

In four of the past seven Grand Slams, Lajovic has faced a Top 5 player in the first two rounds.

It’s a little bit of a relief,” Lajovic said. “Top 32 in a Grand Slam is something you’re always trying to do. When I broke into the Top 50, the next goal was to be seeded in a Grand Slam. Now I’m here, so I’m liking that I did those steps.

I think every player is doubting about his goals and everything, so whenever you do something like that, it feels satisfactory.”

Lajovic

The 28-year-old credits coach Jose Perlas, who has worked with former No. 1s Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero, along with Lajovic’s countryman Janko Tipsarevic, for the steady improvement. At the start of 2017, Lajovic was ranked No. 93.

“I’ve tried to become a little bit more aggressive, to be more dominant with the forehand… and try to use that as my weapon from all kinds of positions on the court,” Lajovic said.

In the past, for instance, if the ball came to his backhand side, he’d hit a backhand, and if it came to his forehand, he’d hit a forehand. He rarely diverted from those basics.

They’ve tweaked his fitness regimen as well, matching his workouts to his in-match movements.

“I understand him perfectly what he wants from me, he understands what I feel on the court. The connection is really good,” Lajovic said.

The Serbian should also feel good on the clay, and especially at Roland Garros, where he made his best Slam showing in 2014, reaching the Round of 16 before falling to Nadal.

Lajovic, however, doesn’t have to worry about facing the 11-time Roland Garros champion unless both reach the final.

The earliest time the Serbian could play a Top 5 player is in the third round, against fifth seed Alexander Zverev, which wouldn’t be until Saturday, or, in Lajovic’s language, at least three espressos and three cappuccinos from now.

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Muguruza and Stephens reach third round in Paris

  • Posted: May 29, 2019
2019 French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 26 May-9 June
Coverage: Live text and radio commentary on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app

Sloane Stephens and Garbine Muguruza both progressed to French Open third round with victories on Wednesday.

American Stephens, last year’s runner-up, beat Spanish world number 75 Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1 7-6 (7-3).

Muguruza, who won the title in 2016, won 6-4 6-1 against 172-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden.

The Spaniard will play ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the third round after the Ukrainian received a walkover when compatriot Kateryna Kozlova pulled out.

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