Tennis: Alcaraz, Medvedev ease into US Open second round

NEW YORK -- Carlos Alcaraz launched the defense of his US Open crown with a brisk victory after his opponent suffered an injury on Tuesday as third seed Daniil Medvedev strolled into the second round with a quick-fire win.

Alcaraz, returning to the same Arthur Ashe Stadium court where he lifted his first Grand Slam as a teenager a year ago, was always in control after Germany's Dominik Koepfer rolled his left ankle badly in the opening game.

Koepfer tried to continue despite being in obvious discomfort, but finally called it quits while trailing 3-2 in the second set after dropping the first 6-2.

"That's not the best way to get through into another round," said world number one Alcaraz. "But I have to say on my side I was playing great."

Alcaraz, who faces Lloyd Harris of South Africa in the second round, is on course to face 2021 US Open champion Medvedev in the semi-finals.

Medvedev opened his account on Tuesday with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-0 thrashing of Hungary's Attila Balazs in just 74 minutes.

The Russian will face Australia's Christopher O'Connell in the second round on Thursday for a spot in the last 32.

"That's probably the fastest three-set match I played," Medvedev said after his blistering demolition of Balazs.

While Alcaraz and Medvedev cruised into the second round, Karen Khachanov -- a semi-finalist at last year's US Open -- was on the wrong end of a first-round upset.

The 11th-seeded Russian was bounced out in straight sets by American world No.89 Michael Mmoh, losing 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.

Germany's 12th seed Alexander Zverev, a beaten finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2020, never looked in danger of following Khachanov out of the tournament, registering a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.

Jannik Sinner, the Italian sixth seed, trounced Yannick Hanfmann of Germany 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.

In other men's games on Tuesday, British veteran Andy Murray downed France's Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-5, 6-3, in a match that saw a bungled attempt to use the US Open's new video review technology for the first time.

Chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell attempted to deploy the system after Moutet requested a review following a double-bounce call.

The umpire was forced to abandon the attempt however after discovering officials were unable to properly access footage of the incident.

"I don't know how the technology works," Murray said. "But it obviously didn't go to plan in a pretty important moment of the match. So, yeah, it would be good if they could get that fixed."

Meanwhile, China sealed a notable first when Wu Yibing beat Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 3-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to join compatriot Zhang Zhizhen in the second round.

It is the first time in tennis's Open era that two Chinese men have reached the second round of the same Grand Slam tournament.

 - Ailing Jabeur advances -

In the women's draw meanwhile another semi-finalist from 2022 also made an early exit, with French seventh seed Caroline Garcia slumping to a 6-4, 6-1 reverse against Chinese qualifier Wang Yafan.

Meanwhile second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the reigning Australian Open champion, progressed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ukraine-born Belgian Maryna Zanevska.

The end of the match was tinged with controversy as Zanevska declined to shake hands with Sabalenka in protest at Belarus's military support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"I know I'm representing Belgium but all my family are in Ukraine," Zanevska told AFP.

"I have family fighting on the frontline. And I think if I shake her hand it would be the same as spitting in the face of them."

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, desperate to land her first Grand Slam title after losing in three major championship finals in 2022 and 2023, survived a medical scare before scraping past Colombia's Camila Osorio.

The 29-year-old fifth seed looked out of sorts throughout her 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) win, at one stage in the opening set complaining of breathing difficulties before taking an extended medical timeout.

Jabeur has played only one tournament since being upset in last month's Wimbledon final by unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova.

Vondrousova, seeded ninth in New York, cruised into the second round on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-0 win over South Korean qualifier Han Na-Lae.

Third seed Jessica Pegula meanwhile kept home hopes alive with a clinical 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Italy's Camila Giorgi.

But there was disappointment for American icon Venus Williams, competing in her record-extending 24th US Open.

Williams was bounced out 6-1, 6-1 by Belgium's Greet Minnen -- who was just a few weeks old when Williams reached her first US Open final back in 1997.

Agence France-Presse

Tennis: Rybakina overpowers Jabeur to win Wimbledon title

LONDON -- Russian-born Elena Rybakina powered back from a set down against Ons Jabeur to win the Wimbledon title on Saturday, denying the Tunisian world number two the chance to make African tennis history.

Jabeur raced out of the blocks but the 17th seed regrouped and dropped just four more games after the first set on the way to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Russian and Belarusian players were banned from Wimbledon this year following the invasion of Ukraine but Moscow-born Rybakina was able to play as she had switched her allegiance to Kazakhstan in 2018.

The 23-year-old, who had never previously progressed beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, said she had been "super nervous" before and during the match on a sun-baked Centre Court.

"I did not expect to be in the second week of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon," she said. "To be a winner is just amazing. I don't have the words to say how happy I am."

Jabeur, 27, started the match in style, using dropshots and passing shots to great effect as Rybakina's power game failed to fire.

The Tunisian broke in the third game of the match when the Kazakh went long with a backhand.

- Unforced errors -

Rybakina held twice more despite pressure from Jabeur but then produced an error-strewn service game to gift the set to her opponent.

As the Tunisian celebrated with a fist-pump, Rybakina returned to her chair contemplating a costly 17 unforced errors.

But momentum shifted immediately at the start of the second set as Rybakina broke Jabeur before holding for a 2-0 lead.

She had now found her rhythm and Jabeur had to battle hard to stay in touch as the Kazakh repeatedly chased down dropshots and found the touch she needed to hit finely angled winners.

Rybakina, who stands six feet (1.84 meters) tall, then fended off three break points before breaking again to take a 4-1 lead when Jabeur went long with a forehand.

She levelled the match with an ace as Jabeur reflected on four missed break-point opportunities in the set.

- 'Stole my title!' -

The 23rd-ranked Kazakh was first to strike in the decider, breaking straight away to heap the pressure on Jabeur, who failed to rediscover her sharpness from earlier in the match.

The Tunisian squandered three break points in the sixth game as her frustration mounted and that proved to be her last chance.

Rybakina showed a few nerves in serving out for the match but won with her first championship point when Jabeur went long with a backhand.

She ended the day with four aces, taking her total at this year's Wimbledon to a tournament-leading 53, and 29 winners to 33 unforced errors.

Rybakina was asked at her post-match press conference if the Russian government would be tempted to politicize her triumph.

"I'm playing for Kazakhstan very, very long time," she said. "I represent them on the biggest tournaments, Olympics, which was dream come true. 

"I don't know what's going to happen. I mean, it's always some news, but I cannot do anything about this."

Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev, however, hailed Rybakina's victory as a triumph for Russia, describing the player as "our product".

"It's very nice! Well done Rybakina! We win the Wimbledon tournament," Tarpischev was quoted as saying by Russian news agency, Ria Novosti.

Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final, was attempting to become the first African woman to win a major.

The player, labelled by Tunisians as the "Minister of Happiness", said she had given everything during her run at the All England Club.

"Of course, I will leave happy, with a smile, big smile always," she said. "Tennis is just a sport for me. The most important thing is that I feel good about myself."

On Sunday, Novak Djokovic goes for a seventh Wimbledon men's title when he faces unpredictable Nick Kyrgios of Australia in the final.

A win would put him level with Pete Sampras and just one behind Roger Federer's men's record of eight.

In the men's doubles final on Saturday, Australian pair Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell, the 14th seeds, beat Croatian defending champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/2).

Ebden and Purcell had saved a total of eight match points in previous rounds to make the final.

Pavic, meanwhile, played despite breaking his right wrist in the semi-finals.

Agence France-Presse