Tennis
Moscow-born Elena Rybakina powers past Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur to Wimbledon title
In a year when Russian players were banned from Wimbledon, Moscow-born Elena Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2 on Saturday to become the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles title.
With Russian and Belarussian players banned from the grasscourt major following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Rybakina would have been excluded had she not switched allegiance from Russia in 2018for better funding and support.
But even if the repeated questions on her links to Russia during the past fortnight affected Rybakina mentally, it did not have any discernable impact on the 23-year-old’s game.
In a showpiece featuring two first-time Grand Slam finalists for the first time since 1962, the lanky Rybakina lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish after another power-packed performance to become the fifth different women’s champion in as many editions.
“It’s special because I was super nervous before the match (and) during the match and I’m honestly happy that it is over,” said Rybakina, who became the first woman to win a Wimbledon final from a set down since Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.
“I’ve never felt something like this.”
The cool-as-cucumber Rybakina celebrated the win with barely a fist pump and just a fleeting smile in her typical demeanour.
BOOMING DELIVERY
Before Saturday’s final, Rybakina and Jabeur had met three times and each had won a match apiece before the Kazakh retired due to illness in Chicago in their last showdown a year ago.
World number two Jabeur also came into the contest on an 11-match winning streak — all of them on grass.
Rybakina’s booming delivery was supposed to be a key factor in Saturday’s contest but it was Jabeur who had less trouble holding serve in the opening stages on a sun-bathed Centre Court.
Jabeur’s ploy to mix things up with heavy slices and drop shots clearly upset Rybakina’s rhythm as the Tunisian landed the first blow with a break in the third game.
Stepping inside the baseline to punish her opponent’s second serve, Jabeur made optimum use of her slices during the rallies to slow the pace down.
Rybakina appeared to lose the plot while trailing 5-3 as she committed four unforced errors — including a double fault — to hand Jabeur a second break and with it the opening set in 32 minutes.
“You have an amazing game and I don’t think that we have someone like this on Tour, you are a joy to play against,” Rybakina said in praise of her opponent after being handed the gilded dish by the Duchess of Cambridge.
“I ran today so much, I don’t think that I need to do fitness any more.”
SPITTING FIRE
The match was far from over and Rybakina looked a completely different player for the next 80 minutes.
Her red-framed racket was suddenly spitting fire while she demonstrated the agility to run down Jabeur’s drop shots despite her tall frame.
The momentum shifted in her favour as she nosed ahead in the second set with an early break.
Jabeur tried to match Rybakina’s power but instead her game unravelled. The drop shots started looking less tricky as Rybakina also cut down on her unforced errors.
The Tunisian had three chances to level things up during a lengthy fourth game but Rybakina held firm and then broke Jabeur in the following game to take a 4-1 lead.
Three games later the 17th seed slammed down a 116mph ace to send the contest into a deciding set.
Rybakina surged ahead in the final set by breaking Jabeur in the opening game.
Known back home as ‘Minister of Happiness’, Jabeur by then cut a frustrated figure on the lush green lawns, screaming at herself in anger, despite enjoying the raucous backing of the Centre Court crowd.
Jabeur got them more excited in anticipation of a fightback when she set up three break point chances in the sixth game but once again Rybakina shut her out.
The Kazakh won five straight points to save the break points and then broke Jabeur again to leave the Tunisian, who was attempting to become the first African woman as well as first Arab to win a major, burying her face in her towel during the changeover.
Rybakina appeared a bit nervous while serving for the match but then sealed the title on her first championship point as Jabeur sent a backhand wide.
-Reuters
Argentina’s 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti proved tennis dreams do not come with an expiration date when he became the oldest first-time tour-level finalist in the Open Era after beating the top seed at the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals in Marrakech on Saturday.
Trungelliti, who came through the tournament’s qualifiers, upset Italy’s defending champion Luciano Darderi 6-4 7-6(2) to break the previous record held by Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic, who reached his first final aged 34 years in 2015.
Darderi, ranked 19 in the world, was only six-years-old when Trungelliti turned pro in 2008. With the victory, Trungelliti secured just his second career top-20 win.
“Of course, I believed it, that’s one of the reasons that I’m here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible,” Trungelliti said in the on-court interview.
“I’ve worked a lot, me and my team and also my wife, my kid. We all believed in breaking the record basically and that’s exactly what we have done now.”
The milestone caps a remarkable journey for Trungelliti, who made his first ATP Tour semi-final in 2018 in Umag, Croatia – 402 weeks ago.
Having entered the tournament ranked 117 in the world, Trungelliti’s breakthrough week has already guaranteed he will crack the top 100 for the first time. He is currently ranked number 75 in the live rankings.
“It’s been happening the whole week, leaving the court with a victory,” added Trungelliti, who has dropped only one set at the tournament. “So hopefully (there) is one more to go.”
He will face Rafael Jodar on Sunday after the Spaniard prevented an all-Argentine final with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has been listed as eligible to return to tennis by the sport’s drug-testing body (ITIA) as of February 22, though it remains unclear whether the 23-time Grand Slam champion will make a stunning comeback to the women’s tour.
The 44-year-old raised eyebrows late last year after rejoining the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time the move signalled she was preparing to return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
She reignited speculation last month when she deflected questions about a possible return during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.
The Women’s Tennis Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has re-entered the tennis anti-doping testing pool but the 23-times Grand Slam champion denied on Tuesday that the move had anything to do with her making a return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to Reuters that Williams, who has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open, was among the list of players in its testing pool, which requires individuals to provide their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing
But as the story of 44-year-old Williams’ inclusion on the list, first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Athletic, gained traction and sparked talk about her potential return, the tennis great took to social media to deny a comeback was in her plans.
“Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” Williams wrote on X.
Her agent did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters asking why the player had re-entered the testing pool.
Williams’ name appears on the ITIA website’s list of retired players and would be able to return to a sanctioned event after making herself available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months.
Last week former world number one Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram showing herself on a tennis court with her youngest daughter, Adira River, whom she gave birth to in August 2023.
In August 2022, ahead of her final U.S. Open, Williams announced in a Vogue article that she was “evolving away from tennis.”
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, had been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would have drawn her level with Australian Margaret Court, who holds the record.
The American came tantalisingly close to achieving that feat, featuring in four major finals since giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017.
-Reuters
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