Tennis

Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina reaches the final

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2023

Nancy

Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina reaches the final

PHOTO ALESSANDRA TARANTINO, ASSOCIATED PRESS

“It’s very important to win every game because of what Ukraine has been through,” Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina told the crowd, dedicating her victory to her country.

(Rome) Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina beat Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the Italian Open final on Friday.

Fans around Center Court backed Kalinina, whose family home was destroyed in last year’s Russian attacks. Some of them were holding Ukrainian flags.

“It’s very important to win every game because of what Ukraine has been through,” Kalinina told the crowd, dedicating her victory to her country. I really hope I have been able to give a little ray of light and some positive emotions to my country. I really hope Ukraine likes it a bit. »

Kalinina and Kudermetova did not shake hands following this semi-final, which lasted almost three hours.

It’s been quite a journey for Kalinina, ranked 47^e in the world. She was coming back from the longest match on the WTA Tour this season, a win over Beatriz Haddad Maia after 3:41 of play.

Kalinina also eliminated former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and American Madison Keys.

In the final on Saturday, Kalinina will face defending Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina or former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The Italian Open is the last big booster tournament before the start of the French Open, which will begin in nine days.

On the men’s side, the semi-finals will be held on Saturday. Holger Rune will face Casper Ruud while Stefanos Tsitsipas will cross swords with Daniil Medvedev.

Kalinina’s only other final was in Budapest in 2021, when she lost to Yulia Putintseva.

Twelfth racket in the world, Kudermetova also reached the semi-finals at the Madrid Open last week, and lost to Iga Swiatek.

Although Kudermetova used a more powerful serve, Kalinina was able to extend the points with her speed on the clay.

The Ukrainian also dictated the points by placing herself further inside the field than Kudermetova in order to find better angles of attack.

Still, Kudermetova won 16 straight points to erase a 5-3 second-set deficit and force a final set.

Kalinina, however, started the third set well by building a 4-0 lead, closing the books quickly before the rain set in.

Source: lapresse

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Veterans Cilic and Wawrinka reached the 1/16 final at the Aus Open. Djokovic’s reaction

Published

25 minutes ago

January 22, 2026

Nancy

Veterans Cilic and Wawrinka reached the 1/16 final at the Aus Open. Djokovic’s reaction

37-year-old Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic (ATP 70) and a 40-year-old Swiss Stan Wawrinka Reached the 1/16 final at the 2026 Australian Open.

Cilic defeated 21st seed Denis Shapovalov (Canada, ATP 23) in three sets in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Marin started the Australian Open with a win over Daniel Altmaier. His next opponent will be Casper Ruud, who is ranked 13th in the ATP rankings.

Cilic achieved his 599th career win at the ATP level, equaling Goran Ivanisevic for the most wins by a Croatian tennis player in the Open era.

Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final

Denis Shapovalov (Canada) [21] – Marin Cilic (Croatia) – 4:6, 3:6, 2:6

Wawrinka, who is in the final season of his career, won in 4 hours and 33 minutes in a five-set thriller against Arthur Gea (France, ATP 198) in the second round of the Aus Open. This fight is the longest fight in slam so far.

This match marked the 49th five-setter match of Stan’s career in Grand Slam tournaments; He surpassed Roger Federer (48) and became the sole owner of the Open Era record in this indicator.

Since the introduction of the 128-player draw across the four Grand Slams in 1987, Wawrinka became the oldest player to achieve multiple wins at a single major, at 40 years and 296 days.

Stan started AO-2026 with a victory over Laszlo Gyore. His next opponent will be world number 9 Taylor Fritz.

Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final

Arthur Hea (France) [Q] – Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) [WC] – 6:4, 3:6, 6:3, 5:7, 6:7 (3:10)

Besides Cilic and Wawrinka, 38-year-old Novak Djokovic from Serbia also qualified for the 1/16 final at the Aus Open on January 22. After the end of the match day, Novak published a post in his story with the match result and Marin and Stan’s results and signed:

“There is no coup without the old man” translated from Serbian means: “There is no coup without the old man.”

Source: Sport UA

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

The first big sensation occurred in the Australian Open 2026 women’s draw

Published

2 hours ago

January 22, 2026

Nancy

The first big sensation occurred in the Australian Open 2026 women’s draw

Swiss tennis player Belinda Bencic (WTA 10) was sensationally eliminated from the 2026 Australian Open.

In the second round, Switzerland was defeated by the Czech Republic representative in three sets. Nikola Bartunkova (WTA 126) in 2 hours 13 minutes.

Australian Open 2026. 1/32 final

Nikola Bartunkova (Czech Republic) – Belinda Bencic (Switzerland) [10] – 6:3, 0:6, 6:4

Bartunkova and Bencic played each other for the first time.

Belinda lost her first match of 2026. She started the season in the United Cup, where she defeated Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini, among others.

19-year-old Nicola started the Aus Open with the qualifiers. In the first round of the main draw, Bartunkova will compete with Elise Merets after eliminating Daria Kasatkina.

For the first time in her career, Bartunkova beat a tennis player in the top 10 of the WTA rankings. This was also the first defeat of a tennis player ranked in the top 10 at the Australian Open.

Source: Sport UA

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.

Tennis

Australian Open Denis Shapovalov loses in second round

Published

2 hours ago

January 22, 2026

Nancy

Australian Open Denis Shapovalov loses in second round

(Melbourne) Denis Shapovalov lost sharply 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2 to Marin Cilic in the second round of the Australian Open tennis tournament on Thursday.

Shapovalov, the 21^e seeded in the tournament, fell to the Croatian, who was finalist at Melbourne Park in 2018, thus leveling the record between the two tennis players at 3-3 in their careers.

As for Cilic, who is 37 years old, he reached the third round of the first major tournament of the season for the first time since 2022. He will face the winner of the duel between the Spaniard Jaume Munar and the Norwegian Casper Ruud, 12^e seeded.

The Canadian did not seem to be in his right mood during his match against Cilic. He was notably limited to 12 winning shots, committed 42 unforced errors, and seven double faults during their match.

Moreover, Shapovalov was very generous towards his opponent, 70^e world racket. He conceded six breaks in 12 chances to Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open winner, and converted only two of his six break points.

For the 26-year-old Ontarian, it was a fourth defeat in his last five matches.

There is therefore only one representative of the maple leaf left in the singles tables of the Australian Open: Victoria Mboko.

The Ontarian, the 17^e seeded, will face the Danish Clara Tauson, 14^e seeded, in the third round in the evening on Thursday.

Her compatriot, the Ontarian Gabriela Dabrowski, and her Brazilian playing partner, Luisa Stefani, will play their second round doubles match against the French Elsa Jacquemot and the Colombian Emiliana Arango, in the evening.

Source: lapresse

Nancy

I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.