Olympic Women's Tennis 2021: Quarterfinal Results, Scores and Reaction
Jul 28, 2021
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina returns the ball to Italy's Camila Giorgi during their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on July 28, 2021. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP) (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina became the first Olympic women's tennis player to clinch a berth in the singles semifinals Wednesday afternoon, defeating Italy's Camila Giorgi in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) in just over 90 minutes.
The first of the day's four quarterfinal matchups saw the No. 6-ranked women's tennis player in the world win 13 of 16 possible points on her first serve, which included four aces.
If Svitolina's dominance continues, she'll become the first Ukrainian to medal in the event—potentially taking home gold in the process.
Here's what she faces moving forward.
Olympic Women's Tennis Single Quarterfinals
Elina Svitolina (UKR) def. Camila Giorgi (ITA): 6-4, 6-4
Paula Badosa (ESP) vs. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE)
Belinda Bencic (SUI) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (ROC)
Garbine Muguruza (ESP) vs. Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Highlights
For the first time since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, all of the Top 3 women's seeds are out before the quarterfinals.
Following Naomi Osaka's third-round defeat, Svitolina remains the highest seed left in the tournament.
On Wednesday, she certainly played like it. The 26-year-old won 27 total points to Giorgi's 22, won 10 of 25 receiving points and played a relatively clean game, brushing off 10 unforced error's to her opponent's 17.
Now one win away from her country's first medal in the sport, Svitolina will have to get a quick rest in before Thursday's semifinal against the winner between Spain's Paula Badosa and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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Novak Djokovic Announces He Will 'Proudly' Participate in Tokyo Olympics
Jul 15, 2021
Novak Djokovic attends a press conference after winning the men's final against Italy's Matteo Berrettini at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 11, 2021. (Joe Toth/Pool via AP)
Twenty-time major winner Novak Djokovic announced that he will represent Serbia in the Tokyo Olympics.
Cannot disappoint my little friend Koujirou. I booked my flight for Tokyo and will proudly be joining #TeamSerbia for the Olympics. 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/23TmSdvc4x
"I'm following your tennis, your progress, all the best, I wish you luck and hopefully I can see you in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Bye bye, my friend."
ESPN provided some context behind the video.
"Djokovic had texted advice on using the backhand to Owaki through his father, Kosuke, in the past after watching videos of he and his older brother Yunosuke playing tennis on an Instagram account created by the father."
Djokovic added in a follow-up tweet that he was proud to pack for Tokyo and that representing Serbia brings a special joy and motivation.
As BBC Sport noted, Djokovic previously said he was "50-50" to compete at the Olympics. The Serbian earned bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The 34-year-old just earned his 20th major victory after winning Wimbledon. He's also earned victories at the Australian Open and French Open this year and will be going for the Grand Slam at the U.S. Open beginning in late August.
If he also wins gold at the Olympics, he'll become just the second professional tennis player to accomplish the "Golden Slam," which Steffi Graf earned in 1988.
French Open 2021: Novak Djokovic vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas Set for Men's Final
Jun 11, 2021
PARIS, FRANCE June 11. Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates his five set victory against Alexander Zverev of Germany on Court Philippe-Chatrier during the semi finals of the singles competition at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on June 11th 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
If the men's singles final at the French Open is more entertaining than the semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on Friday, tennis fans will have witnessed one of the best championship rounds in recent memory.
No. 1 Djokovic will look to prove up to the task against No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday with the title up for grabs.
How each player reached this stage is as significant as the matchup that awaits them.
Djokovic handed Nadal just his third loss ever at Roland Garros in Friday's semifinal—3-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2—dropping Nadal's record to 105-3 at the French Open and denying the Spaniard a 21st major title. Djokovic is now the only player to beat Nadal twice at the tournament.
Things seemed to be trending in Nadal's favor early on before an epic tiebreaker in the third set shifted all the momentum towards Djokovic, who was able to hold off Nadal in the fourth set and secure a win.
Before facing Nadal, Djokovic fought past No. 9 Matteo Berrettini in four sets, while Tsitsipas picked up some revenge against Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals over three sets then knocked off No. 6 Alexander Zverev in five sets.
Tsitsipas dropped a semifinal matchup at the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Medvedev earlier this season as he seeks his first major championship.
The 22-year-old from Greece advanced to the singles final at the French Open for the first time in his career as he continues to improve his performance on clay year after year. After falling in the first round in his 2017 French Open debut, Tsitsipas has advanced further and further each subsequent year, making it to the second round in 2018, fourth round in 2019 and semifinal in 2020.
“All I can think of is my roots, where I came from…My dream was to play in a big stage at the French Open one day."
Now he'll face off against tennis royalty in Djokovic as the Serbian seeks his second French Open title in his fifth final appearance. It's the second time Djokovic has reached the championship round in back-to-back years after a run of three straight appearances from 2014-2016.
It was a privilege for them to play each other again on this stage, and even more of a privilege for us to watch.
After winning the Australian Open in February, the 34-year-old can now claim the first two majors of the season. Doing so would put Djokovic halfway to a season Grand Slam for the second time in his career. He's never won more than three major tournaments in one season, with the last occurring in 2015 (Australian Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open).
No men's player has held all four major titles simultaneously since Rod Laver accomplished the feat in 1969.
Monte Carlo Masters 2021: Rafael Nadal's Upset Loss Highlights Friday Results
Apr 16, 2021
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - APRIL 14: Rafael Nadal of Spain looks on during their Round 32 match against Federico Delbonis of Argentina during day four of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 14, 2021 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Andrey Rublev shocked 11-time champion
Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters on
Friday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dan Evans and
Casper Ruud, who knocked off defending champ Fabio Fognini, were the
other players to punch their tickets to the clay-court tournament's
semifinals at Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France.
Let's check out all of the scores from
Friday's play followed by a recap of the action.
Quarterfinal Results
(6) Andrey Rublev d. (3) Rafael Nadal 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
(4) Stefanos Tsitsipas d. Alejandro
Davidovich Fokina 7-5, ret.
Dan Evans d. (11) David Goffin 5-7,
6-3, 6-4
Casper Ruud d. (15) Fabio Fognini 6-4,
6-3
Friday Recap
Nadal's consistent dominance on clay
over the past two decades make performances like he had against
Rublev a rare reminder that he's still
human on his favorite surface.
The 13-time French Open champion could never find a rhythm with his serve and failed to make up for it with his defense, racking up 36 unforced errors and seven double faults. Rublev took full
advantage of the steady stream of mistakes.
While the sixth seed wasn't
overpowering, he won 50 percent of the points on Nadal's serve and
turned that into seven breaks, including three in the third set, to
pick up one of the biggest wins of his career.
"I don't even know what to say. I
cannot imagine being in the situation of Rafa, knowing that you are
the best player on clay and you have that pressure every time," Rublev said. "I think for him it must be incredibly tough every
time. I am in shock [with] the way he is playing under this pressure
and that is why he is a legend."
The Russian advanced to face Ruud in the
semifinals. The 22-year-old Norwegian is on quite a roll with three
straight wins over seeded opponentsNo. 7 Diego Schwartzman, No.
12 Pablo Carreno Busta and No. 15 Fognini.
Rudd's triumph over Fognini came down
to his terrific play with his back against the wall. He saved six of
the seven break points he faced and converted three breaks of his own
to advance.
Rublev holds a 3-0 advantage in their
prior ATP Tour meetings.
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas will benefit from
a little extra rest as his quarterfinal came to a premature
conclusion with Davidovich Fokina forced to withdraw after a
hard-fought first set. The Spaniard originally injured his ankle/foot in the
previous round against Lucas Pouille, per CNN's Ravi Ubha.
Tsitsipas has reached the semis without
dropping a set.
"I am happy to be at the place where I am right now. ... I am happy with my performance today. I think I fought really hard. Even in difficult moments, I was putting out my best tennis," Tsitsipas said. "I saw he got injured in the middle of the first set, and I took advantage of it [and] tried to make him play."
The Greek will take on Evans, who narrowly
escaped a three-set encounter with Dusan Lajovic in the opening round
and has caught fire ever since. He's also defeated Hubert Hurkacz,
who won the Miami Open earlier this month, top seed Novak Djokovic
and now Goffin to earn a semifinal berth.
It was a match of missed opportunities
for Goffin, who generated 17 break-point opportunities but only
managed to covert two of them in the three-set loss.
The Dream Run Continues 💪
British No. 1 Dan Evans follows win over Djokovic with a 5-7 6-3 6-4 win over Goffin to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final!#RolexMCMasterspic.twitter.com/CCrAxylIMR
Tsitsipas has won both of his prior Tour
matchups with Evans.
The tournament's semifinals will take
place Saturday, with the championship match Sunday.
Tennis Player Oleksandra Oliynykova Sells Patch of Skin on Right Arm as NFT for $5K
Mar 31, 2021
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Tennis balls are seen in a bag on day two of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Tennis player Oleksandra Oliynykova is taking the NFT craze to a new level.
Per Emily Caron of Sportico, the 20-year-old sold lifetime ownership of a patch of skin on her right arm between her elbow and shoulder on NFT marketplace OpenSea for more than $5,000.
Caron noted that the owner of the six-inch-by-three-inch area of skin "can commission a tattoo or temporary body art," "leave the patch of skin blank or resell it later, potentially at a higher price."
“I will bring your art object or message to every tennis court I play,” Oliynykova wrote on the OpenSea listing, via Caron. “As I am 20 years old only and my sports career is on the rise, I believe it’s [going to] be the biggest tennis locations in the world.”
Oliynykova did set some limits as to what can be put on her arm, including no extremist messages or gambling or betting-related content since the latter would be in violation of tennis rules and regulations.
Currently playing on the International Tennis Federation World Tour, Oliynykova is the 30th-ranked singles player on that circuit. She is also ranked 658th in the Women's Tennis Association.
NFTs have exploded in popularity recently, thanks in large part to the emergence of NBA Top Shot. The crypto-collectible site has generated $500 million in sales since October.
72 Players in Quarantine Amid COVID-19 After Flights Ahead of Australian Open
Jan 17, 2021
The Australian Open announced an additional 25 players will face a two-week quarantine period after a person on their charter flight to Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total players in quarantine up to 72.
The person who tested positive, who was not among the playing contingent, had tested negative for the virus ahead of the flight.
Players who were on the contaminated flight will not be eligible to practice during their quarantine period. The Australian Open has provided regular updates on the incoming flights; this is the third to have at least one person test positive for COVID.
Australia has strict quarantining and testing policies, which has led to the country being among the most successful in fighting the global pandemic.
Reid Butler of 9News in Melbourne has confirmed some players have attempted to get around their quarantine period and face potential fines. They could wind up being expelled from the country if there are further violations. Some players have expressed concern with their ability to compete after a 14-day quarantine.
"People complaining we are entitled. I have no issues to stay 14 days in the room watching Netflix," Sorana Cirstea tweeted. "Believe me this is a dream come true, holiday even. What we cant do is COMPETE after we have stayed 14 days on a couch. This is the issue, not the quarantine rule."
The 2021 Australian Open is set to take place Feb. 8-21
47 Players Quarantined Ahead of 2021 Australian Open Because of COVID-19 on Flights
Jan 16, 2021
Ahead of the 2021 Australian Open, which is set to get underway Feb. 8, 47 players are in quarantine for 14 days because of positive COVID-19 tests returned by three people on flights from Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to Melbourne.
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the charter flights were carrying players, coaches and officials to Melbourne in preparation for the tournament. Two non-players tested positive for COVID-19 from the L.A. flight, and one non-player tested positive from the Abu Dhabi flight.
Victoria Azarenka and Kei Nishikori were reportedly among the players on the flight from Los Angeles, while Heather Watson said she was on the flight from Abu Dhabi.
With regard to the Los Angeles flight, Victoria state's health department said:
An aircrew member and Australian Open participant who is not a player have been transferred to a health hotel following positive test results for coronavirus [COVID-19].
All remaining 66 passengers on the flight have been determined to be close contacts. Any players and support people will not be able to leave quarantine to attend training. The remaining flight crew all tested negative and were permitted to fly out without passengers directly to their home port.
Tennis Australia then released a statement regarding the Abu Dhabi flight:
All passengers from the flight are already in quarantine hotels, and the positive case, who is not a player and had tested negative before the flight, has been transferred to a health hotel.
The 23 players on the flight will not be able to leave their hotel room for 14 days and until they are medically cleared. They will not be eligible to practice.
The players who are quarantining in their hotel rooms could be at a disadvantage since they will not be permitted to return to practice until one week before the Australian Open begins.
Eight-time winner Novak Djokovic, seven-time champion Serena Williams and one-time winner Rafael Nadal are among the high-profile players who were not on either flight.
Djokovic, Williams and Nadal flew to Adelaide and began a hotel quarantine period ahead of an exhibition they are scheduled to participate in Jan. 29, per the AP.
Djokovic and American Sofia Kenin will look to defend their 2020 titles when the 2021 Australian Open commences next month.
