logo
ATP roundup: Majchrzak keeps momentum going

ATP roundup: Majchrzak keeps momentum going

Express Tribune5 days ago
Poland's Kamil Majchrzak in action during his round of 16 match against Russia's Karen Khachanov. Photo: REUTERS
Coming off his best result at a major with a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, Kamil Majchrzak continued his recent success by defeating Frenchman Terence Atmane 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in Switzerland on Monday.
The 29-year-old from Poland won 70 percent of his service points in the one hour, 49-minute match at the ATP 250 clay-court event.
Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse ousted fifth seed Laslo Djere of Serbia 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-4. Argentine Roman Andres Burruchaga won 74 percent of his first-serve points to beat Czech competitor Dalibor Svrcina 6-3, 6-1, setting up a matchup with No. 3 seed Pedro Martinez.
Frenchman Arthur Cazaux needed nearly three hours to defeat Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia, who couldn't overcome nine double faults in a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) victory by Cazaux, and hometown favorite Dominic Stricker outlasted France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Nordea Open
Sixth-seeded Luciano Darderi faced a roller coaster of a match but ultimately prevailed over Raphael Collignon of Belgium in first-round action at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden on Monday.
In a two hour, 10-minute match, the two swapped 6-2 wins in three sets, with Darderi saving six of eight break points overall, including two critical break points from 2-2, 15/40 in the decider. The 23-year-old Italian is in search of his third ATP Tour title, with his most recent title coming in April in Marrakech.
The only other main-draw singles match on Monday saw Dutchman Jesper de Jong knock down eight aces on his way to easily taking care of wild card William Rejchtman Vinciguerra, the son of former pro Andreas Vinciguerra, by a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Mifel Tennis Open
Seventh-seeded Aleksander Kovacevic edged Lebanon's Hady Habib, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the first match of the main draw at the Mifel Tennis Open in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Habib broke in the third game of the deciding set, but Kovacevic answered back to knot the set at 2-2. The New York native held serve and outlasted Habib in a 13-point sixth game to take a 4-2 lead en route to the 6-3 triumph in the one hour, 48-minute match.
On the same side of the draw, Emilio Nava defeated Australia's Aleksander Vukic, 7-6 (4), 6-3. Nava ran off the final four points to prevail in the first set tie-breaker, then raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set.
Kovacevic and Nava are both on the same side of the draw as top-seeded Andrey Rublev.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Short ruled out of first WI T20I
Short ruled out of first WI T20I

Express Tribune

time3 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Short ruled out of first WI T20I

Australia's Matt Short celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of England's Jamie Smith. Photo: REUTERS/File Australia on Sunday announced their playing XI for the opening T20I against the West Indies, scheduled to be held later in the day, with Mitchell Owen set to make his international debut and Jake Fraser-McGurk returning to the side as an opener. The team suffered a setback ahead of the five-match series, as all-rounder Matt Short was ruled out due to a minor side strain sustained during training in Jamaica. In his absence, young batter Jake Fraser-McGurk has been recalled to the squad and will open the innings in the first match of the series. Short sustained the injury during a training session in Jamaica before the series opener. Following medical assessment, he was withdrawn from the squad and sent home to recover. He is expected to be fit in time for Australia's upcoming white-ball series against South Africa, starting August 10 in Darwin. Fraser-McGurk, who was on standby after initially missing out on selection, steps in after having already replaced Spencer Johnson. The 23-year-old batter has previously featured in seven T20Is, scoring 113 runs at a strike rate of 143.03. Several senior players, including Travis Head, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, are being rested. It is pertinent to mention that the five-match T20I series between Australia and West Indies is set to begin on July 20 in Kingston, Jamaica. The Australian team will face the West Indies in five T20Is matches scheduled in Jamaica and St Kitts. Australia playing XI for the first T20I vs West Indies: Mitch Marsh (c), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa

Ten-woman Germany reach Euro 2025 semis
Ten-woman Germany reach Euro 2025 semis

Express Tribune

time3 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Ten-woman Germany reach Euro 2025 semis

Germany's Sjoeke Nusken and Klara Buhl celebrate after winning the penalty shootout at Euro 2025 against France. PHOTO: REUTERS Ten-woman Germany reached the Women's Euro 2025 semi-finals on Saturday after prevailing 6-5 in a penalty shootout against France following a gruelling match which finished 1-1 after extra time. Alice Sombath missed the decisive penalty for France to hand a last-four clash with Spain to Germany, who will take on the world champions in Zurich on Wednesday. Germany maintained their record of having never lost to France in a major summer tournament after battling back from going a goal and a woman down in the first 15 minutes to win a bruising encounter in Basel. St Jacob's Park was dominated by fierce German support which flocked over the nearby border with Switzerland and roared their team on even after Kathrin Hendrich was sent off and gave away the penalty from which Grace Geyoro opened the scoring. Sjoeke Nuesken — who also missed a penalty in the second half — levelled the scores 10 minutes later and, after a long battle to hold off France, Sombath's mistake sent the majority of the crowd wild. Germany came into the match already missing key defenders Giulia Gwinn and Carlotta Wamser, to injury and suspension respectively, while star striker Lea Schueller was also surprisingly left on the bench. And the Germans' task was made even harder in the 13th minute when Hendrich inexplicably pulled Griedge Mbock's hair while defending a free-kick. But out of nowhere Nuesken drew a huge roar from the fans when she rose, completely unmarked, to glance home Klara Buehl's inswinging corner. From there Germany were content to sit back and hold France off by fair means or foul, and they were saved from being behind at the break by Delphone Cascarino needlessly straying offside before flicking home Kadidiatou Diani's low cross. That was one of the few decent attacks France managed to conjure up with an extra woman, and they continued to struggle after the break. Even when Geyoro had the ball in the net for the second time, lashing home on the rebound after a fine save from Ann-Katrin Berger, the goal was ruled out as Maelle Lakrar impeded the Germany goalkeeper while in an offside position. And Pauline Peyraud-Magnin saved France's skin when she kept out Nuesken's awful penalty in the 69th minute, given for a soft foul on Jule Brand. But it was Ann-Katrin Berger who made possibly the save of the tournament 12 minutes into extra time when she somehow clawed out Janina Minge's inadvertant header and stopped Germany going out with an own goal. Berger could only watch as Melvine Malard shook the crossbar with almost the last kick of the game before the shootout, in which Amel Majri and Sombath both had weak efforts saved and allowed Germany to win against all odds. Germany's Berger 'living best life' after Euros shootout heroics Ann-Katrin Berger is on top of the world after her saves on Saturday helped send Germany past France and into the semi-finals of Women's Euro 2025. Berger, a two-time survivor of thyroid cancer, saved Alice Sombath's penalty to decide the shootout 6-5 in Germany's favour after a gruelling match ended 1-1 after extra time. The 34-year-old also stopped France's first penalty from Amel Majri and kept the scores level in the first half of extra time with an astonishing stop to make sure Janina Minge didn't knock Germany out with an own goal. "I feel like I'm not a really emotional person, I'm glad I'm here and I'm glad that I have the team I have. Obviously the time here just makes me proud to be here," Berger told reporters. "Whatever happened in 2022 is in the past and I'm looking forward to it now, to the future. For me, now I live my best life and I'm in the semi-final." In the last four, Germany will face world champions Spain in Zurich on Wednesday.

Tour de France'Do we wait for a death?' UCI remains silent
Tour de France'Do we wait for a death?' UCI remains silent

Express Tribune

time2 days ago

  • Express Tribune

Tour de France'Do we wait for a death?' UCI remains silent

Rising temperatures and increasing speeds in the Tour de France have prompted sports directors to call for changes to feeding zone regulations, citing heightened risks of injury and dehydration for riders. "We're placing feed zones on flat, fast stretches where riders are doing 60 kph," Philippe Mauduit, performance director at Groupama-FDJ, told Reuters on Friday before the start of the 13th stage. "It's so dangerous. A rider trying to grab a musette (feed bag) can break a finger or crash. And if he brakes too much, he's dropped - and in that group speed, he's not coming back." French rider Bryan Coquard broke a finger in Thursday's 12th stage as he attempted to grab his feed bag and said he would abandon the race after Friday's individual time trial. The growing risk, particularly under extreme weather conditions, has prompted a reevaluation of race feeding protocols among teams and organisers. "In 35°C heat, this isn't a luxury. It's vital," Mauduit said. "Do we need to wait for someone to die on Mont Ventoux before we act?" Tour organisers (ASO) and the International Cycling Union (UCI) were not immediately available for comment. One key complaint is the placement of feed zones on long straightaways instead of safer, slower segments like slight uphills or post-town exits. Mauduit cited several recent crashes and injuries directly linked to chaotic feeding zones. "There have been a lot of broken collarbones and scaphoid fractures this season. We're putting riders in no-win scenarios," he said. In response, a coalition of sports directors formed after the Criterium du Dauphine in June presented proposed reforms to the UCI, ASO, and the AIGCP (international organisation of professional groups). Among the changes already accepted is the reinstatement of feeding on categorised climbs. "Thankfully, we can now feed at the foot of climbs," Mauduit said. "The race jury and (Tour racing director) Thierry Gouvenou responded quickly. But it's not enough." Tom Southam, sports director at EF Education-EasyPost, echoed many of these concerns while also acknowledging the complexity of the issue. "The rules changed this year, and it's no longer us who decide where feeds go," Southam said. "Now you've got 23 teams vying for space in the same spot. That massively increases pressure. Even if we placed them ourselves, it wouldn't be massively different on a flat 120-km day." While Southam credited organisers for doing the best they could, he also advocated for more input from experienced team personnel. "They should involve a DS (sports director) who knows the terrain — you need parking for 23 teams, a slight uphill, and slower sections. Other races just call a local DS and say, 'Can you help us?' It works." The increasing heat across stages is another urgent concern. "The Tour is just getting hotter," Southam noted. "We had 9 or 10 planned hand-up spots yesterday plus the cars, so we were fine. But it's becoming a huge factor. "If we keep racing in July, we need to start stages earlier — not 1 p.m. If the race finishes at 5:30 instead of 4:30 on TV, so be it. Something has to change." "We're not asking for chaos," Mauduit concluded. "Just smarter placement. If we want riders to give a show, let's at least give them the means to do it - safely."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store